The Necessity of Being Empty of Self
Jesus declared: “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do… I can of Myself do nothing… because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”(John 5:19, 30)
The life of Jesus Christ reveals the pattern for every disciple. Although He was the Son of God, He lived in complete dependence upon His Father, seeking only the Father’s will. If Christ Himself refused to act independently, how much more must His followers abandon confidence in themselves?
Jesus also declared: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”(Matthew 16:18). Christ builds His Church, but He builds it through lives that are fully yielded to Him. Those whom He has called out of the world are not to depend upon the world’s wisdom, methods, or strength for spiritual growth. They have been drawn into His Kingdom to become living stones through whom His life is revealed.
The fullness of Christ is always preceded by the emptying of self. The more self governs the believer, the less room there is for the Holy Spirit to work. This is why John the Baptist declared: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30).
God continually calls His people to lay aside everything that hinders His Spirit. Pride, self-will, worldly dependence, hidden sin, unforgiveness, and personal ambitions all restrict what He desires to accomplish both in us and through us.
The Lord’s dealings with Jeremiah reveal this divine principle: “See, I have this day set you over the nations… to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”
(Jeremiah 1:10) . Before God builds, He first removes. Before He plants, He uproots. The work of the Holy Spirit often begins with tearing down everything that competes with Christ for mastery of the heart.
Jesus expressed the same truth: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). The greatest obstacle to God’s work is seldom His willingness to move, but man’s unwillingness to surrender. A genuine desire for revival or greater spiritual power is not enough. Obedience must accompany desire. The believer must willingly cooperate with the Holy Spirit by removing whatever grieves Him.
Scripture warns: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.”(Ephesians 4:30). A single act of disobedience, cherished compromise, or refusal to yield can hinder what God desires to accomplish in an individual life or even within an entire fellowship. The Holy Spirit never ceases moving forward, but His people must be willing to move with Him.
Jesus said: “Abide in Me, and I in you… for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4–5). The Father’s purpose is not merely to improve the old life but to replace it with the life of His Son. Therefore, the call remains as urgent today as ever: empty yourself so that Christ may fill you; surrender your will so that His will may be accomplished; decrease, so that He alone may increase.