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| On the Holy Spirit.
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Chapter III.—On
the Holy Spirit.
1. The next point is to investigate as briefly as
possible the subject of the Holy Spirit. All who perceive, in
whatever manner, the existence of Providence, confess that God, who
created and disposed all things, is unbegotten, and recognise Him as the parent of the universe.
Now, that to Him belongs a Son, is a statement not made by us only;
although it may seem a sufficiently marvellous and incredible assertion
to those who have a reputation as philosophers among Greeks and
Barbarians, by some of whom, however, an idea of His existence seems to
have been entertained, in their acknowledging that all things were
created by the word or reason of God. We, however, in conformity
with our belief in that doctrine, which we assuredly hold to be
divinely inspired, believe that it is possible in no other way to
explain and bring within the reach of human knowledge this higher and
diviner reason as the Son of God, than by means of those Scriptures
alone which were inspired by the Holy Spirit, i.e., the Gospels and
Epistles, and the law and the prophets, according to the declaration of
Christ Himself. Of the existence of the Holy Spirit no one indeed
could entertain any suspicion, save those who were familiar with the
law and the prophets, or those who profess a belief in Christ.
For although no one is able to speak with certainty of God the Father,
it is nevertheless possible for some knowledge of Him to be gained by
means of the visible creation and the natural feelings of the human
mind; and it is possible, moreover, for such knowledge to be confined
from the sacred Scriptures. But with respect to the Son of God,
although no one knoweth the Son save the Father, yet it is from sacred
Scripture also that the human mind is taught how to think of the Son;
and that not only from the New, but also from the Old Testament, by
means of those things which, although done by the saints, are
figuratively referred to Christ, and from which both His divine nature,
and that human nature which was assumed by Him, may be discovered.
2. Now, what the Holy Spirit is, we are taught in
many passages of Scripture, as by David in the fifty-first
Psalm, when he says,
“And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me;”1988
and by Daniel, where it is said, “The
Holy Spirit which is in thee.”1989
And in
the New Testament we have abundant testimonies, as when the Holy Spirit
is described as having descended upon Christ, and when the Lord
breathed upon His apostles after His resurrection, saying,
“Receive the Holy Spirit;”1990
and the saying of the angel to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come
upon thee;”1991
the declaration by
Paul, that no one can call Jesus Lord, save by the Holy
Spirit.1992
In the Acts
of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit was given by the imposition of the
apostles’ hands in baptism.1993
From all
which we learn that the person of the Holy Spirit was of such authority
and dignity, that saving baptism was not complete except by the
authority of the most excellent Trinity of them all, i.e., by the
naming of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and by joining to the
unbegotten God the Father, and to His only-begotten Son, the name also
of the Holy Spirit. Who, then, is not amazed at the exceeding
majesty of the Holy Spirit, when he hears that he who speaks a word
against the Son of man may hope for forgiveness; but that he who is
guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has not forgiveness, either
in the present world or in that which is to come!1994
| 1994 Cf. Matt. xii. 32 and Luke xii. 10. |
3. That all things were created by God, and
that there is no creature which exists but has derived from Him its
being, is established from many declarations of Scripture; those
assertions being refuted and rejected which are falsely alleged by some
respecting the existence either of a matter co-eternal with God, or of
unbegotten souls, in which they would have it that God implanted not so
much the power of existence, as equality and order. For even in
that little treatise called The Pastor or Angel of Repentance,
composed by Hermas, we have the following: “First of all,
believe that there is one God who created and arranged all things; who,
when nothing formerly existed, caused all things to be; who Himself
contains all things, but Himself is contained by none.”1995
| 1995 Cf. Hermæ
Past., Vision v. Mandat. 1. [See vol. ii. p. 20.] | And in the book of Enoch also we have
similar descriptions. But up to the present time we have been
able to find no statement in holy Scripture in which the Holy Spirit
could be said to be made or created,1996
| 1996 Per quem Spiritus
Sanctus factura esse vel creatura diceretur. | not even in
the way in which we have shown above that the divine wisdom is spoken
of by Solomon, or in which those expressions which we have discussed
are to be understood of the life, or the word, or the other
appellations of the Son of God. The Spirit of God, therefore,
which was borne upon the waters, as is written in the beginning of the
creation of the world, is, I am of opinion, no other than the Holy
Spirit, so far as I can understand; as indeed we have shown in our
exposition of the passages themselves, not according to the historical,
but according to the spiritual method of interpretation.
4. Some indeed of our predecessors have
observed, that in the New Testament, whenever the Spirit is named
without that adjunct which denotes quality, the Holy Spirit is to be
understood; as e.g., in the expression, “Now the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, and peace;”1997
and, “Seeing ye began in the Spirit, are ye now made
perfect in the
flesh?”1998
We are of
opinion that this distinction may be observed in the Old Testament
also, as when it is said, “He that giveth His Spirit to the
people who are upon the earth, and Spirit to them who walk
thereon.”1999
For, without
doubt, every one who walks upon the earth (i.e., earthly and corporeal
beings) is a partaker also of the Holy Spirit, receiving it from
God. My Hebrew master also used to say that those two seraphim in
Isaiah, which are described as having each six wings, and calling to
one another, and saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of
hosts,”2000
were to be
understood of the only-begotten Son of God and of the Holy
Spirit. And we think that that expression also which occurs in
the hymn of Habakkuk, “In the midst either of the two living
things, or of the two lives, Thou wilt be known,”2001
ought to be understood of Christ and of the
Holy Spirit. For all knowledge of the Father is obtained by
revelation of the Son through the Holy Spirit, so that both of these
beings which, according to the prophet, are called either “living
things” or “lives,” exist as the ground of the
knowledge of God the Father. For as it is said of the Son, that
“no one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son
will reveal Him,”2002
the same also is
said by the apostle of the Holy Spirit, when He declares, “God
hath revealed them to us by His Holy Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth
all things, even the deep things of God;”2003
and again in the Gospel, when the Saviour, speaking of the divine and
profounder parts of His teaching, which His disciples were not yet able
to receive, thus addresses them: “I have yet many things to
say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; but when the Holy Spirit,
the Comforter, is come, He will teach you all things, and will bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.”2004
We must
understand, therefore, that as the Son, who alone knows the Father,
reveals Him to whom He will, so the Holy Spirit, who alone searches the
deep things of God, reveals God to whom He will: “For the
Spirit bloweth where He listeth.”2005
We are not, however, to suppose that
the Spirit derives His knowledge through revelation from the Son.
For if the Holy Spirit knows the Father through the Son’s
revelation, He passes from a state of ignorance into one of knowledge;
but it is alike impious and foolish to confess the Holy Spirit, and yet
to ascribe to Him ignorance. For even although something else
existed before the Holy Spirit, it was not by progressive advancement
that He came to be the Holy Spirit; as if any one should venture to
say, that at the time when He was not yet the Holy Spirit He was
ignorant of the Father, but that after He had received knowledge He was
made the Holy Spirit. For if this were the case, the Holy Spirit
would never be reckoned in the Unity of the Trinity, i.e., along with
the unchangeable Father and His Son, unless He had always been the Holy
Spirit. When we use, indeed, such terms as “always”
or “was,” or any other designation of time, they are not to
be taken absolutely, but with due allowance; for while the
significations of these words relate to time, and those subjects of
which we speak are spoken of by a stretch of language as existing in
time, they nevertheless surpass in their real nature all conception of
the finite understanding.
5. Nevertheless it seems proper to inquire what is
the reason why he who is regenerated by God unto salvation has to do
both with Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and does not obtain salvation
unless with the co-operation of the entire Trinity; and why it is
impossible to become partaker of the Father or the Son without the Holy
Spirit. And in discussing these subjects, it will undoubtedly be
necessary to describe the special working of the Holy Spirit, and of
the Father and the Son. I am of opinion, then, that the working
of the Father and of the Son takes place as well in saints as in
sinners, in rational beings and in dumb animals; nay, even in those
things which are without life, and in all things universally which
exist; but that the operation of the Holy Spirit does not take place at
all in those things which are without life, or in those which, although
living, are yet dumb; nay, is not found even in those who are endued
indeed with reason, but are engaged in evil courses, and not at all
converted to a better life. In those persons alone do I think
that the operation of the Holy Spirit takes place, who are already
turning to a better life, and walking along the way which leads to
Jesus Christ, i.e., who are engaged in the performance of good actions,
and who abide in God.
6. That the working of the Father and the
Son operates both in saints and in sinners, is manifest from this, that
all who are rational beings are partakers of the word, i.e., of reason,
and by this means bear certain seeds, implanted within them, of wisdom
and justice, which is Christ. Now, in Him who truly exists, and
who said by Moses, “I Am Who I
Am,”2006
all things,
whatever they are, participate; which participation in God the Father
is shared both by just men and sinners, by rational and irrational
beings, and by all things universally which exist.
The Apostle Paul also shows
truly that all have a share in Christ, when he says, “Say not in
thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (i.e., to bring Christ down
from above;) or who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up
Christ again from the dead.) But what saith the Scripture?
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart.”2007
By which he
means that Christ is in the heart of all, in respect of His being the
word or reason, by participating in which they are rational
beings. That declaration also in the Gospel, “If I had not
come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no
excuse for their sin,”2008
renders it manifest
and patent to all who have a rational knowledge of how long a time man
is without sin, and from what period he is liable to it, how, by
participating in the word or reason, men are said to have sinned, viz.,
from the time they are made capable of understanding and knowledge,
when the reason implanted within has suggested to them the difference
between good and evil; and after they have already begun to know what
evil is, they are made liable to sin, if they commit it. And this
is the meaning of the expression, that “men have no excuse for
their sin,” viz., that, from the time the divine word or reason
has begun to show them internally the difference between good and evil,
they ought to avoid and guard against that which is wicked:
“For to him who knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it
is sin.”2009
Moreover,
that all men are not without communion with God, is taught in the
Gospel thus, by the Saviour’s words: “The kingdom of
God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! or,
lo there! but the kingdom of God is within you.”2010
But here we must see whether this does
not bear the same meaning with the expression in Genesis:
“And He breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became
a living soul.”2011
For if this
be understood as applying generally to all men, then all men have a
share in God.
7. But if this is to be understood as spoken
of the Spirit of God, since Adam also is found to have prophesied of
some things, it may be taken not as of general application, but as
confined to those who are saints. Finally, also, at the time of
the flood, when all flesh had corrupted their way before God, it is
recorded that God spoke thus, as of undeserving men and sinners:
“My Spirit shall not abide with those men for ever, because they
are flesh.”2012
By which, it
is clearly shown that the Spirit of God is taken away from all who are
unworthy. In the Psalms also it is written: “Thou
wilt take away their spirit, and they will die, and return to their
earth. Thou wilt send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be
created, and Thou wilt renew the face of the earth;”2013
which is manifestly intended of the Holy
Spirit, who, after sinners and unworthy persons have been taken away
and destroyed, creates for Himself a new people, and renews the face of
the earth, when, laying aside, through the grace of the Spirit, the old
man with his deeds, they begin to walk in newness of life. And
therefore the expression is competently applied to the Holy Spirit,
because He will take up His dwelling, not in all men, nor in those who
are flesh, but in those whose land2014
has been
renewed. Lastly, for this reason was the grace and revelation of
the Holy Spirit bestowed by the imposition of the apostles’ hands
after baptism. Our Saviour also, after the resurrection, when old
things had already passed away, and all things had become new, Himself
a new man, and the first-born from the dead, His apostles also being
renewed by faith in His resurrection, says, “Receive the Holy
Spirit.”2015
This is
doubtless what the Lord the Saviour meant to convey in the Gospel, when
He said that new wine cannot be put into old bottles, but commanded
that the bottles should be made new, i.e., that men should walk in
newness of life, that they might receive the new wine, i.e., the
newness of grace of the Holy Spirit. In this manner, then, is the
working of the power of God the Father and of the Son extended without
distinction to every creature; but a share in the Holy Spirit we find
possessed only by the saints. And therefore it is said, “No
man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”2016
And on one occasion, scarcely even the
apostles themselves are deemed worthy to hear the words, “Ye
shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon
you.”2017
For this
reason, also, I think it follows that he who has committed a sin
against the Son of man is deserving of forgiveness; because if he who
is a participator of the word or reason of God cease to live agreeably
to reason, he seems to have fallen into a state of ignorance or folly,
and therefore to deserve forgiveness; whereas he who has been deemed
worthy to have a portion of the Holy Spirit, and who has relapsed, is,
by this very act and work, said to be guilty of blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit. Let no one indeed suppose that we, from having said
that the Holy Spirit is conferred upon the saints alone, but that the
benefits or operations of the Father and of the Son extend
to good and bad, to just and
unjust, by so doing give a preference to the Holy Spirit over the
Father and the Son, or assert that His dignity is greater, which
certainly would be a very illogical conclusion. For it is the
peculiarity of His grace and operations that we have been
describing. Moreover, nothing in the Trinity can be called
greater or less, since the fountain of divinity alone contains all
things by His word and reason, and by the Spirit of His mouth
sanctifies all things which are worthy of sanctification, as it is
written in the Psalm: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens strengthened, and all their power by
the Spirit of His mouth.”2018
There is
also a special working of God the Father, besides that by which He
bestowed upon all things the gift of natural life. There is also
a special ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ to those upon whom he
confers by nature the gift of reason, by means of which they are
enabled to be rightly what they are. There is also another grace
of the Holy Spirit, which is bestowed upon the deserving, through the
ministry of Christ and the working of the Father, in proportion to the
merits of those who are rendered capable of receiving it. This is
most clearly pointed out by the Apostle Paul, when demonstrating that
the power of the Trinity is one and the same, in the words,
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are
diversities of administrations, but the same Lord; and there are
diversities of operations, but it is the same God who worketh all in
all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal.”2019
From which it
most clearly follows that there is no difference in the Trinity, but
that which is called the gift of the Spirit is made known through the
Son, and operated by God the Father. “But all these worketh
that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every one severally as
He will.”2020
8. Having made these declarations regarding
the Unity of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, let us
return to the order in which we began the discussion. God the
Father bestows upon all, existence; and participation in Christ, in
respect of His being the word of reason, renders them rational
beings. From which it follows that they are deserving either of
praise or blame, because capable of virtue and vice. On this
account, therefore, is the grace of the Holy Ghost present, that those
beings which are not holy in their essence may be rendered holy by
participating in it. Seeing, then, that firstly, they derive
their existence from God the Father; secondly, their rational nature
from the Word; thirdly, their holiness from the Holy
Spirit,—those who have been previously sanctified by the Holy
Spirit are again made capable of receiving Christ, in respect that He
is the righteousness of God; and those who have earned advancement to
this grade by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, will nevertheless
obtain the gift of wisdom according to the power and working of the
Spirit of God. And this I consider is Paul’s meaning, when
he says that to “some is given the word of wisdom, to others the
word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit.” And while
pointing out the individual distinction of gifts, he refers the whole
of them to the source of all things, in the words, “There are
diversities of operations, but one God who worketh all in
all.”2021
Whence also
the working of the Father, which confers existence upon all things, is
found to be more glorious and magnificent, while each one, by
participation in Christ, as being wisdom, and knowledge, and
sanctification, makes progress, and advances to higher degrees of
perfection; and seeing it is by partaking of the Holy Spirit that any
one is made purer and holier, he obtains, when he is made worthy, the
grace of wisdom and knowledge, in order that, after all stains of
pollution and ignorance are cleansed and taken away, he may make so
great an advance in holiness and purity, that the nature which he
received from God may become such as is worthy of Him who gave it to be
pure and perfect, so that the being which exists may be as worthy as He
who called it into existence. For, in this way, he who is such as
his Creator wished him to be, will receive from God power always to
exist, and to abide for ever. That this may be the case, and that
those whom He has created may be unceasingly and inseparably present
with Him, Who IS, it is the business of wisdom
to instruct and train them, and to bring them to perfection by
confirmation of His Holy Spirit and unceasing sanctification, by which
alone are they capable of receiving God. In this way, then, by
the renewal of the ceaseless working of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in
us, in its various stages of progress, shall we be able at some future
time perhaps, although with difficulty, to behold the holy and the
blessed life, in which (as it is only after many struggles that we are
able to reach it) we ought so to continue, that no satiety of that
blessedness should ever seize us; but the more we perceive its
blessedness, the more should be increased and intensified within us the
longing for the same, while we ever more eagerly and freely receive and
hold fast the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But if
satiety should ever take hold of any one of those who stand on the
highest and perfect summit of attainment, I do not think that such an
one would suddenly be
deposed from his position and fall away, but that he must decline
gradually and little by little, so that it may sometimes happen that if
a brief lapsus take place, and the individual quickly repent and return
to himself, he may not utterly fall away, but may retrace his steps,
and return to his former place, and again make good that which had been
lost by his negligence.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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