Book Review – “He That Is Spiritual” by Lewis Sperry Chafer

This was my first exposure to the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary – Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer. This book, entitled He That Is Spiritual, was published in 1918, so its prose is a bit dense at times. And pieces of Dr. Chafer’s theology seem a bit off. But this is a short, sweet read, one that has great insight on Christian spirituality. Here’s the good and the bad (my opinions only).

The good:  Nobody can say Chafer doesn’t write clearly. As long as you don’t speed, you will know exactly what Chafer meant by what he said. The book is chiefly concerned with the spiritual interaction between the Christian and God. Nowadays we’d call it our “daily walk” I suppose. The book, therefore, deals chiefly with the interaction of the believer with the Holy Spirit in day-to-day life. It’s interesting stuff, and richly written. There are some gems to be found if you dig a little bit. Here’s one:

“There is such a thing as ‘ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth.’ Truth must become real to us. We may know by faith that we are forgiven and justified forever:  it is quite another thing to have a heart experience wherein all is as real as it is true. We may believe in our security and coming glory:  it is different to feel its power in the heart.”

There are many more great words like this to be found in the book. You’ll need to be careful not to read a paragraph like this one and commit the very foul that it condemns – acknowledging the words as logical and clever but not contemplating what they mean for your life. Slow down and feel what you read.

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