The work of the Spirit
The illuminating work of the Holy Spirit may be said to be the groundwork of all his other operations; for it is by the truth known and believed that the Spirit fulfils all the functions of his glorious office.1 By enlightening the mind in the knowledge of sin, he lays a groundwork for the conviction of conscience; by enabling us to see the import and meaning of the Gospel, he proposes motives for conversion; by teaching us right views of God and of ourselves, our privileges and prospects, he supplies us with means of comfort; by showing us the nature and necessity of Gospel holiness, he carries forward the work of sanctification; by disclosing to us scriptural views of our spiritual necessities, he calls forth the spirit of prayer; and, generally, he does whatever he is wont to do, by means of the knowledge Hence it is important to give due consideration to this part of the Spirit’s work, that we may be prepared to understand, and rightly to improve, whatever we shall find revealed respecting his other operations on the soul. Such, indeed, is the inseparable connection, or rather the real affinity of all the saving graces of the Spirit, that none of them can exist without being accompanied or followed by all the rest; and hence any one of them may be used to signify the presence of all. Thus, knowledge, faith, repentance, and love are severally spoken of in Scripture as either comprehending or implying every thing that is essential to a sinner’s salvation; and hence a full exposition of any one of these fruits of the Spirit might embrace a description of the whole of the Spirit’s work. It is not, then, with the view of separating betwixt them, or assigning the precise order of their production, that we distinguish one part of the Spirit’s work from another; but rather with the view of unfolding it, in all the magnitude of its extent, and the variety of its aspects, as it is exhibited in the Gospel.
The Holy Spirit is the enlightener of God’s people, and imparts spiritual illumination to their minds.
This part of the Spirit’s work implies a previous state of spiritual darkness on the part of those who are the subjects of it; and the natural state of all men is very frequently represented under the figures of darkness, blindness, and ignorance. They are described as ‘walking in the vanity of their minds, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.’ And again, ‘The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.’
Here observe, that this spiritual darkness is universal; it is affirmed of all the Gentiles, and we shall find that it is also affirmed of all the unbelieving Jews: it belongs to the ‘natural man,’ or to every man as he is by nature. It is not dispelled by those common notions of God and divine things, which an unrenewed mind may acquire in the exercise of its own faculties. Nor is its prevailing power disproved by the existence of these notions, any more than the prevailing power of sin is disproved by the existence of some notions of the difference betwixt right and wrong. Nay, as in nature itself there is ‘no darkness without a mixture of light,’2 such light as serves only to make ‘the darkness visible,’ so is it with the unrenewed soul; its common notions of God are not sufficient to dispel the darkness in which it is shrouded; and hence the apostle, in one place, declares, that when ‘men knew God, they glorified him not as God;’ and, regarding this as a proof that there was some radical defect in their knowledge of him, he speaks of it elsewhere as if it were no knowledge at all; for, says he, ‘the world by wisdom knew not God.’ And may we not apply to these common notions, which have nothing in them of the true celestial light, the solemn remark of our Lord himself, ‘If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!’ This darkness does not consist merely in the absence of outward light, but in the ‘blindness of the mind’ such blindness as obstructs the entrance of the light, even when it is shining gloriously around us. Thus, of the unbelieving Jews it is said, that they remained in spiritual darkness with the revelation of God in their hands: ‘But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.’ (2 Cor. 3. 14-16). A two-fold veil is here spoken of — the one which covered the Old Testament, before the advent of Christ, by whom it was explained as well as fulfilled; and the other which lay upon their own souls, and which prevented them from seeing, even when the first ‘veil was done away in Christ.’ And so, of multitudes who live in the full blaze of Gospel light, it is said, that they remain inwardly in a state of spiritual darkness; for ‘if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.’ (2 Cor. 4. 3, 4). If this spiritual darkness be natural to all men, and if it may exist notwithstanding the common notions of God and religion which they may acquire by their natural faculties, and notwithstanding the still higher instruction of the written Word; it follows that it can only be removed by an inward operation on the mind itself, and this is expressly ascribed to the enlightening influence of the Spirit. ‘The Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.’ If we would ‘with open or unveiled face behold the glory of the Lord,’ it must be ‘as by the Spirit of the Lord.’
Accordingly, the change which is wrought in the mind at the time of its conversion is compared to a transition from darkness to light, or to the change of night into day. It is said of the Father, that ‘he hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son;’ that ‘he hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light;’ and of Christ, that he commissioned Paul ‘to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God:’ but that this was not to be accomplished by mere human teaching appears from that striking passage where God speaks of it as his own peculiar work, and intimates that it could be accomplished by no other than that creative power which, ‘when the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,’ spoke saying, ‘Let there be light, and there was light;’ for says the apostle, ‘God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ And then will the wondering disciple exclaim, ‘One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.’
This great change is ascribed to the immediate agency of the Holy Spirit on the soul. It is ascribed, indeed, to the Father, as ‘the fountain of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift;’ and to the Son also, as the anointed Prophet of the Church, ‘the light of the world;’ but it is the Holy Spirit, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, by whose immediate personal agency this illumination of the mind is wrought. Our Lord himself promised to send the Spirit as an Enlightener. ‘When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.’ ‘He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.’ ‘The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.’ And that this precious promise was not personal to the apostles, nor limited to the primitive Church, appears from the preceding context: ‘I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth;’ by whose constant presence and continued grace in the Church, he fulfils that other promise, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’
There are various distinct operations of the Holy Spirit as the Enlightener of the soul. (1) As the revealer of the truth, by whom it was made known to the prophets, evangelists, and apostles, — for ‘holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ ‘God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.’ (2) As the Author of the Scriptures, inspiring the prophets, evangelists, and apostles to write what should be preserved and recorded for the conviction of the world, and the comfort of the Church, in all ages, for ‘all Scripture was given by his inspiration.’ So that every individual stands indebted to the Holy Ghost for every ray of light that has ever beamed on his understanding from the page of Scripture. The Bible is the Spirit’s message; it is the textbook which he has provided for the Church. (3) But there is, and must be, a more direct operation of the Holy Spirit on every human soul that is enlightened by his truth. It is not enough that he has revealed the truth to his apostles, and that he has embodied and preserved it in an authentic Bible. The glorious light may shine around us, without shining into our hearts. There is a defective vision that must be cured, a blind eye that must be opened, a veil that must be taken away, a thick darkness within, which must be dispelled by his creative mandate, ‘Let there be light.’ Notwithstanding all the abundance of Gospel light, it is still true as it ever was, that ‘the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God’; ‘that no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him;’ and that he is often pleased ‘to hide these things from the wise and prudent, and to reveal them unto babes.’
The Holy Spirit is the enlightener of God’s people, and imparts spiritual illumination to their minds.
This part of the Spirit’s work implies a previous state of spiritual darkness on the part of those who are the subjects of it; and the natural state of all men is very frequently represented under the figures of darkness, blindness, and ignorance. They are described as ‘walking in the vanity of their minds, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.’ And again, ‘The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.’
Here observe, that this spiritual darkness is universal; it is affirmed of all the Gentiles, and we shall find that it is also affirmed of all the unbelieving Jews: it belongs to the ‘natural man,’ or to every man as he is by nature. It is not dispelled by those common notions of God and divine things, which an unrenewed mind may acquire in the exercise of its own faculties. Nor is its prevailing power disproved by the existence of these notions, any more than the prevailing power of sin is disproved by the existence of some notions of the difference betwixt right and wrong. Nay, as in nature itself there is ‘no darkness without a mixture of light,’2 such light as serves only to make ‘the darkness visible,’ so is it with the unrenewed soul; its common notions of God are not sufficient to dispel the darkness in which it is shrouded; and hence the apostle, in one place, declares, that when ‘men knew God, they glorified him not as God;’ and, regarding this as a proof that there was some radical defect in their knowledge of him, he speaks of it elsewhere as if it were no knowledge at all; for, says he, ‘the world by wisdom knew not God.’ And may we not apply to these common notions, which have nothing in them of the true celestial light, the solemn remark of our Lord himself, ‘If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!’ This darkness does not consist merely in the absence of outward light, but in the ‘blindness of the mind’ such blindness as obstructs the entrance of the light, even when it is shining gloriously around us. Thus, of the unbelieving Jews it is said, that they remained in spiritual darkness with the revelation of God in their hands: ‘But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.’ (2 Cor. 3. 14-16). A two-fold veil is here spoken of — the one which covered the Old Testament, before the advent of Christ, by whom it was explained as well as fulfilled; and the other which lay upon their own souls, and which prevented them from seeing, even when the first ‘veil was done away in Christ.’ And so, of multitudes who live in the full blaze of Gospel light, it is said, that they remain inwardly in a state of spiritual darkness; for ‘if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.’ (2 Cor. 4. 3, 4). If this spiritual darkness be natural to all men, and if it may exist notwithstanding the common notions of God and religion which they may acquire by their natural faculties, and notwithstanding the still higher instruction of the written Word; it follows that it can only be removed by an inward operation on the mind itself, and this is expressly ascribed to the enlightening influence of the Spirit. ‘The Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.’ If we would ‘with open or unveiled face behold the glory of the Lord,’ it must be ‘as by the Spirit of the Lord.’
Accordingly, the change which is wrought in the mind at the time of its conversion is compared to a transition from darkness to light, or to the change of night into day. It is said of the Father, that ‘he hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son;’ that ‘he hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light;’ and of Christ, that he commissioned Paul ‘to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God:’ but that this was not to be accomplished by mere human teaching appears from that striking passage where God speaks of it as his own peculiar work, and intimates that it could be accomplished by no other than that creative power which, ‘when the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,’ spoke saying, ‘Let there be light, and there was light;’ for says the apostle, ‘God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ And then will the wondering disciple exclaim, ‘One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.’
This great change is ascribed to the immediate agency of the Holy Spirit on the soul. It is ascribed, indeed, to the Father, as ‘the fountain of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift;’ and to the Son also, as the anointed Prophet of the Church, ‘the light of the world;’ but it is the Holy Spirit, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, by whose immediate personal agency this illumination of the mind is wrought. Our Lord himself promised to send the Spirit as an Enlightener. ‘When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.’ ‘He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.’ ‘The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.’ And that this precious promise was not personal to the apostles, nor limited to the primitive Church, appears from the preceding context: ‘I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth;’ by whose constant presence and continued grace in the Church, he fulfils that other promise, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’
There are various distinct operations of the Holy Spirit as the Enlightener of the soul. (1) As the revealer of the truth, by whom it was made known to the prophets, evangelists, and apostles, — for ‘holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ ‘God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.’ (2) As the Author of the Scriptures, inspiring the prophets, evangelists, and apostles to write what should be preserved and recorded for the conviction of the world, and the comfort of the Church, in all ages, for ‘all Scripture was given by his inspiration.’ So that every individual stands indebted to the Holy Ghost for every ray of light that has ever beamed on his understanding from the page of Scripture. The Bible is the Spirit’s message; it is the textbook which he has provided for the Church. (3) But there is, and must be, a more direct operation of the Holy Spirit on every human soul that is enlightened by his truth. It is not enough that he has revealed the truth to his apostles, and that he has embodied and preserved it in an authentic Bible. The glorious light may shine around us, without shining into our hearts. There is a defective vision that must be cured, a blind eye that must be opened, a veil that must be taken away, a thick darkness within, which must be dispelled by his creative mandate, ‘Let there be light.’ Notwithstanding all the abundance of Gospel light, it is still true as it ever was, that ‘the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God’; ‘that no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him;’ and that he is often pleased ‘to hide these things from the wise and prudent, and to reveal them unto babes.’
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