THE WORK OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT
BY
ABRAHAM KUYPER, D.D., LL.D.
PROFESSOR OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM.
TRANSLATED FROM THE DUTCH WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES
BY
REVEREND HENRI DE VRIES
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY
PROFESSOR BENJAMIN B. WARFIELD, D.D., LL.D.
OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY
NEW YORK AND LONDON
BT
COPYRIGHT, igoo
BY
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY
{Registered at Stationers Hall, London.]
Printed in the United States of A merici
i 5 a 1M to
CONTENTS.
FACE
PREFACE, ix
EXPLANATORY NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION, xv
PARTIAL LIST OF THE WORKS OF DR. KUYPER, xix
INTRODUCTION BY PROF. BENJAMIN B. WARFIELD, D.D., LL.D., . xxv
VOLUME I.
FIRST CHAPTER.
INTRODUCTION.
I. Careful Treatment Required, 3
II. Two Standpoints, 8
III. The Indwelling and Outgoing Works of God, . . . .13
IV. The Work of the Holy Spirit Distinguished, . 18
SECOND CHAPTER.
THE CREATION.
V. The Principle of Life in the Creature, 22
VI. The Host of Heaven and of Earth, 27
VII. The Creaturely Man, 32
VIII. Gifts and Talents 38
THIRD CHAPTER.
RE-CREATION.
IX. Creation and Re-Creation, 43
X. Organic and Individual, 48
XI. The Church Before and After Christ, 52
FOURTH CHAPTER.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
XII. The Holy Scripture 56
XIII. The Scripture a Necessity, 60
iv CONTENTS
PAGE
XIV. The Revelation to Which the Scripture of the Old Testa
ment Owes Its Existence, 65
XV. The Revelation of the Old Testament in Writing, . . 70
XVI. Inspiration, 74
FIFTH CHAPTER.
THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD.
XVII. Like One of Us, 79
XVIII. Guiltless and Without Sin, 84
XIX. The Holy Spirit in the Mystery of the Incarnation, . . 88
SIXTH CHAPTER.
THE MEDIATOR.
XX. The Holy Spirit in the Mediator,
XXI. Not Like unto Us,
XXII. The Holy Spirit in the Passion of Christ,
XXIII. The Holy Spirit in the Glorified Christ,
SEVENTH CHAPTER.
THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
XXIV. The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 112
XXV. The Holy Spirit in the New Testament Other than in the
Old, 117
XXVI. Israel and the Nations, . 123
XXVII. The Signs of Pentecost, 128
XXVIII. The Miracle of Tongues, 133
EIGHTH CHAPTER.
THE APOSTOLATE.
XXIX. The Apostolate
XXX. The Apostolic Scriptures,
XXXI. Apostolic Inspiration,
XXXII. Apostles To-Day?
NINTH CHAPTER.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
XXXIII. The Holy Scriptures in the New Testament,
XXXIV. The Need of the New-Testament Scripture,
XXXV. The Character of the New-Testament Scripture, .
CONTENTS v
TENTH CHAPTER.
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
PAGE
XXXVI. The Church of Christ, i?9
XXXVII. Spiritual Gifts, . 184
XXXVIII. The Ministry of the Word, 190
XXXIX. The Government of the Church 196
VOLUME II.
FIRST CHAPTER.
INTRODUCTION.
I. The Man to be Wrought upon, 203
II. The Work of Grace a Unit 208
III. Analysis Necessary 213
IV. Image and Likeness, 218
V. Original Righteousness, ....... 222
VI. Rome, Socinus, Arminius, Calvin, ..... 227
VII. The Neo-Kohlbruggians, ....... 232
VIII. After the Scriptures, 238
IX. The Image of God in Man, 242
Y Adam Not Innocent, but Holy, ...... 247
SECOND CHAPTER.
THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON.
XL Sin Not Material, ......... 252
XII. Sin Not a Mere Negation, 258
XIII. Sin a Power in Reversed Action, 263
XIV. Our Guilt, 268
XV. Our Unrighteousness, ........ 273
XVI. Our Death 278
THIRD CHAPTER.
PREPARATORY GRACE.
XVII. What It Is, 283
XVIII. What It Is Not, . 288
vi CONTENTS
FOURTH CHAPTER.
REGENERATION.
PAGE
XIX. Old and New Terminology, 293
XX. Its Course, 2 99
XXI. Regeneration the Work of God, 304
XXII. The Work of Regeneration . 3 IQ
XXIII. Regeneration and Faith, 3 T 5
XXIV. Implanting in Christ, 322
XXV. Not a Divine-Human Nature,
XXVI. The Mystical Union with Immanuel, 333
FIFTH CHAPTER.
CALLING AND REPENTANCE.
XXVII. The Calling of the Regenerate,
XXVIII. The Coming of the Called, .
XXIX. Conversion of All that Come,
SIXTH CHAPTER.
JUSTIFICATION.
XXX. Justification,
XXXI. Our Status,
XXXII. Justification from Eternity,
XXXIII. Certainty of Our Justification,
SEVENTH CHAPTER.
FAITH.
XXXIV. Faith in General, 378
XXXV. Faith and Knowledge, 384
XXXVI. Brakel and Comrie 39 o
XXXVII. Faith in the Sacred Scriptures, 39-
XXXVIII. The Faculty of Faith 40:
XXXIX. Defective Learning 407
XL. Faith in the Saved Sinner Alone, . . . . .415
XLI. Testimonies, .... ..... 420
CONTENTS vii
p
VOLUME III.
FIRST CHAPTER.
SANCTIFICATION.
PAGE
I. Sanctification, 431
II. Sanctification a Mystery 435
III. Sanctification and Justification, 440
IV. Sanctification and Justification (Continued), . . . 444
V. Holy Raiment of One s Own Weaving, .... 448
VI. Christ Our Sanctification, 452
VII. Application of Sanctification, 456
VIII. Sanctification in Fellowship with Immanuel, . . . 460
IX. Implanted Dispositions, 464
X. Perfect in Parts, Imperfect in Degrees, 468
XI. The Pietist and the Perfectionist, 474
XII., The Old Man and the New 480
XIII. The Work of God in Our Work, 485
XIV. The Person Sanctified, ........ 490
XV. Good Works 496
XVI. Self-Denial 502
SECOND CHAPTER.
LOVE.
XVII. Natural Love 508
XVIII. Love in the Triune Being of God, ...... 513
XIX. The Manifestation of Holy Love, . . . . . .517
XX. God the Holy Spirit the Love which Dwells in the Heart, . 522
XXI. The Love of the Holy Spirit in Us, ..... 527
XXII. Love and the Comforter, ....... 532
XXIII. The Greatest of These Is Love, 538
XXIV. Love in the Blessed Ones, 543
XXV. The Communion of Saints, 548
XXVI. The Communion of Goods, ....... 554
XXVII. The Communion of Gifts 560
XXVIII. The Suffering of Love, 565
XXIX. Love in the Old Covenant, 570
XXX. Organically One, 575
XXXI. The Hardening Operation of Love, 580
XXXII. The Love which Withers, 584
viii CONTENTS
PAGE
XXXIII. The Hardening in the Sacred Scripture, . . . .589
XXXIV. Temporary Hardening, ....... 594
XXXV. The Hardening of Nations, 598
XXXVI. The Apostolic Love, 603
XXXVII. The Sin Against the Holy Ghost, 6oS
XXXVIII. Christ or Satan, 613
THIRD CHAPTER.
PRAYER.
XXXIX. The Essence of Prayer, 618
XL. Prayer and the Consciousness, ...... 623
XLI. Prayer in the Unconverted, 629
XLII. The Prayer of the Regenerated, 636
XLIII. Prayer for and with Each Other, 643
PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR.
SPECIAL treatises on the Person of the Holy Spirit are compara
tively few, and systematic treatment of His Work is still more un
common. In dogmatics, it is true, this subject is introduced, devel
oped, and explained, but special treatment is exceptional.
As much as there is written on Christ, so little is there written
on the Holy Spirit. The work of John Owen on this subject is
most widely known and still unsurpassed. In fact, John Owen
wrote three works on the Holy Spirit, published in 1674, 1682, and
1693. He was naturally a prolific writer and theologian. Born
in 1616, he died at the good old age of seventy-five years, in 1691.
From 1642, when he published his first book, he continued writing
books until his death.
In 1826 Richard Baynes reissued the works of John Owen, D.D.,
edited by Thomas Russell, A.M., with memoirs of his life and wri
tings (twenty-one volumes). This edition is still in the market,
and offers a treasury of sound and thorough theology.
Besides Owen s w r orks I mention the following:
David Rungius, " Proof of the Eternity and Eternal Godhead of
the Holy Spirit," Wittenberg, 1599.
Seb. Nieman, " On the Holy Spirit," Jena, 1655.
Joannes Ernest Gerhard, " On the Person of the Holy Spirit,"
Jena, 1660.
Theod. Hackspann, " Dissertation on the Holy Spirit," Jena, 1655.
J. G. Dorsche, " On the Person of the Holy Spirit," Konings-
berg, 1690.
Fr. Deutsch, " On the Personality of the Holy Spirit," Leipsic,
1711.
Gottfr. Olearius (John F. Burgius), " On the Adoration and Wor
ship of the Holy Spirit," Jena, 1727.
J. F. Buddeuss, " On the Godhead of the Holy Spirit," Jena, 1727.
x PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR
J. C. Pfeiffer, " On the Godhead of the Holy Spirit," Jena, 1740.
G. F. Gude, " On the Martyrs as Witnesses for the Godhead of
the Holy Spirit," Leipsic, 1741.
J. C. Danhauer, " On the Procession of the Holy Spirit from the
Father and the Son," Strasburg, 1663. J. Senstius, Rostock, 1718,
and J. A. Butstett, Wolfenbiittel, 1749. John Schmid, John Meisner,
P. Havercorn, G. Wegner, and C. M. Pfaff.
The Work of the Holy Spirit has been discussed separately by
the following: Anton, " The Holy Spirit Indispensable." Carsov,
"On the Holy Spirit in Conviction." Wensdorf, "On the Holy
Spirit as a Teacher." Boerner, " The Anointing of the Holy Spirit."
Neuman, " The Anointing which Teaches All Things." Fries, " The
Office of the Holy Spirit in General." Weiss, "The Holy Spirit
Bringing into Remembrance." Foertsch, "On the Holy Spirit s
Leading of the Children of God." Hoepfner, " On the Intercession
of the Holy Spirit." Beltheim, Arnold, Gunther, Wendler, and
Dummerick, " On the Groaning of the Holy Spirit." Meen, " On
the Adoration of the Holy Spirit." Henning and Crusius, " On the
Earnest of the Holy Spirit."
The following Dutch theologians have written on the same
subject: Gysbrecht Voetiusin his" Select-Disput.," I., p. 466. Sam.
Maresius, " Theological Treatise on the Personality and Godhead
of the Holy Spirit," in his " Sylloge-Disput.," I., p. 364. Jac. Fruy-
tier, " The Ancient Doctrine Concerning God the Holy Spirit, True.
Proven, and Divine"; exposition of John xv. 26, 27. Camp. Vi-
tringa, Jr., " Duae Disputationes Academicae de Notione Spiritus
Sancti," in his Opuscula.
Works on the same subject during the present century can
scarcely be compared with the studies of John Owen. We notice
the following: Herder, " Vom Paraclet." Kachel, " Von der Laster-
ung wider den Heiligen Geist," Niirnberg, 1875. E. Guers, " Le
Saint-Esprit, Etude doctrinale et pratique sur Sa Personne et Son
CEuvre," Toulouse, 1865. A. J. Gordon, "Dispensation of the
Spirit."
This meager bibliography shows what scant systematic treatment
is accorded to the Person of the Holy Spirit. Studies of the Work
of the Holy Spirit are still more scanty. It is true there are several
dissertations on separate parts of this Work, but it has never been
treated in its organic unity. Not even by Guers, who acknowledges
that his little book is not entitled to a place among dogmatics.
PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR xi
In fact, Owen is still unsurpassed, and is therefore much sought
after by good theologians, both lay and clerical. And yet Owen s
masterpiece does not seem to make a closer study of this subject su
perfluous. Altho invincible as a champion against the Arminians
and Semi-Arminians of the latter part of the seventeenth century,
his armor is too light to meet the doctrinal errors of the present time.
For this reason the author has undertaken to offer the thinking Chris
tian public an exposition of the second part of this great subject, in
a form adapted to the claims of the age and the errors of the day.
He has not treated the first part, the Person of the Holy Spirit.
This is not a subject for controversy. The Godhead of the Holy
Spirit is indeed being confessed or denied, but the principles of which
confession or denial is the necessary result are so divergent that a
discussion between confessor and denier is impossible. If they
ever enter the arena they should cross lances on the point of first
principles, and discuss the Source of Truth. And when this is set
tled they might come to discuss a special subject like that of the
Holy Spirit. But until then such a discussion with them that deny
the Revelation would almost be sacrilegious.
But with the Work of the Holy Spirit it is different. For altho
professing Christians acknowledge this Work, and all that it includes,
and all that flows from it, yet the various groups into which they
divide represent it in very divergent ways. What differences on this
point between Calvinists and Ethicals, Reformed, Kohlbruggians,
and Perfectionists ! The representations of the practical Supernatu-
ralists, Mystics, and Antinomians can scarcely be recognized.
It seemed to me impracticable and confusing to attack these
deviating opinions on subordinate points. These differences should
never be discussed but systematically. He that has not first staked
off the entire domain in which the Holy Spirit works can not suc
cessfully measure any part of it, to the winning of a brother and to
the glory of God.
Hence leaving out polemics almost entirely, I have made an
effort to represent the Work of the Holy Spirit in its organic rela
tions, so that the reader may be enabled to survey the entire do
main. And in surveying, who is not surprised at the ever-increas
ing dimensions of the Work of the Holy Spirit in all the things that
pertain to God and man?
Even tho we honor the Father and believe on the Son, how little
do we live in the Holy Spirit! It even seems to us sometimes that
xii PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR
for our sanctification only, the Holy Spirit is added accidentally to
the great redemptive work.
This is the reason why our thoughts are so little occupied with
the Holy Spirit; why in the ministry of the Word He is so little
honored, why the people of God, when bo wed in supplication before
the Throne of Grace, make Him so little the object of their adora
tion. You feel involuntarily that of our piety, which is already
small enough, He receives a too scanty portion.
And since this is the. result of an inexcusable lack of knowledge
and appreciation of His glorious Work in the entire creation, holy
enthusiasm constrained me, in the power of God, to offer my fellow
champions for the faith once delivered by the fathers, some assist
ance in this respect.
May the Holy Spirit, whose divine Work I have uttered in hu
man words and with stammering tongue, crown this labor with such
blessing that you may feel His unseen Presence more closely, and
that He may bring to your disquieted heart more abundant conso
lation.
AMSTERDAM, April 10, 1888.
Postscript for American readers, I add one more observation.
This work contains occasional polemics against Methodism
which to the many ministers and members of the churches called
"Methodist" may appear unfair and uncalled for. Be it, there
fore, clearly stated that my controversy with Methodism is never
with these particular churches. The Methodism that I contend with
prevailed until recently in nearly all the Protestant churches as an
unhealthy fruit of the Rcveil in the beginning of this century.
Methodism as here intended is identical with what Mr. Heath, in 77/6
Contemporary Review (May, 1898), criticized as wofully inadequate to
place Protestantism again at the head of the spiritual movement.
Methodism was born out of the spiritual decline of the Episco
pal Church of England and Wales. It arose as the reaction of the
individual and of the spiritual subjective against the destructive
power of the objective in the community as manifested in the
Church of England. As such the reaction was precious and un
doubtedly a gift of God, and in its workings it would have contin
ued just as salutary if it had retained its character of a predominant
reaction.
PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR xiii
It should have supposed the Church as a community as an
objective power, and in this objective domain it should have vindi
cated the significance of the individual spiritual life and of the
subjective confessing.
But it failed to do this. From vindicating the subjective rights
of the individual it soon passed into antagonism against the objec
tive rights of the community. This resulted dogmatically in the
controversy about the objective work of God, viz., in His decree
and His election, and ecclesiastically in antagonism against the ob
jective work of the office through the confession. It gave suprem
acy to the subjective element in man s free will and to the individ
ual element in the deciding of unchurchly conflicts in the Church.
And so it retained no other aim than the conversion of individual
sinners ; and for this work it abandoned the organic, and retained
only the mechanical method.
As such it celebrated in the so-called Reveil its most glorious
triumph, and penetrated nearly all the Protestant churches, and
even the Episcopal Church under the name of Evangelicalism or
Low Churchism. As a second reaction against the second decline
of the Protestant churches of that time this triumph undoubtedly
brought a great blessing.
But when the necessity arose to reduce this new spiritual life
to a definite principle, upon this to construct a Protestant-Christian
life and world-view in opposition to the unchristian philosophies
and to the essentially pantheistic life and world-view, and to give
these position and to maintain it, then it pitiably failed. It lacked
conscious, sharply defined principles; with its individualism and
subjectivity it could not reach the social questions, and by reason
of its complete lack of organic unity it could not formulate an in
dependent life and world-view; yea, it stood everywhere as an ob
stacle to such formations.
For this reason it is absolutely necessary to teach the Protestant
churches clearly to see this dark shadow of Methodism, while at
the same time they should continue to study its precious signifi
cance as a spiritual reaction.
Hence my contending with Methodism and my persistent point
ing to the imperative necessity of vindicating over against and
alongside of the purely mechanical subjectivity the rights of the
organic social in all human life, and of satisfying the need of the
power of objectivity in presence of the extravagant statements of
xiv PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR
subjectivity. This presses all the more since in the Methodist
theology of America the modern tendency is gaining ground.
The Work of the Holy Spirit may not be displaced by the activ
ity of the human spirit.
KUYPER.
AMSTERDAM, April 21, 1899.
EXPLANATORY NOTES TO THE AMERICAN
EDITION.
DR. KUYPER S work on the Holy Spirit first appeared in the He-
raut in weekly instalments, after which it was published in book
form, Amsterdam, 1888.
This explains the object of the author in writing the book, viz.,
the instruction of the people of the Netherlands. Written in the
ordinary language of the people, it meets the need of both laity and
clergy.
However, depth of thought was not sacrificed to simplicity of
speech. On the contrary, the latter was only the instrument to
make the former lucid and transparent.
The Heraut is a religious weekly of which Dr. Kuyper has been
the editor-in-chief for more than twenty years. It is published on
Friday, and forms the Sunday reading of a large constituency.
Through its columns Dr. Kuyper has taught again the people of the
Netherlands, in city and country, the principles of the Reformed
faith, and how to give these principles a new development in ac
cordance with the modern conscience of our time.
Dr. Kuyper is not an apologist, but an earnest and conscientious
reconstructionist. He has made the people acquainted with the
symbols of the Reformed faith, and by expounding the Scriptures
to them he has maintained and defended the positions of those
symbols. His success in this respect appears conspicuously in the
reformation of the Reformed Churches in 1886, and in the subsequent
development of marvelous energy and activity in Church and State
which are products of revived and reconstructed Calvinism. With
out the patient toil and labor of this quarter of a century, that ref
ormation would have been impossible.
In his religious and political reformations, Dr. Kuyper proceed
ed from the personal conviction that the salvation of Church and
State could be found only in a return to the deserted foundations
of the national Reformed theology ; but not to reconstruct it in its
xvi NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION
worn-out form. " His fresh, brave spirit is entirely free from all
conservatism" (Dr. W. Geesink). He is a man 0/his time as well
as for his time. The new superstructure which he has been rear
ing upon the carefully reuncovered foundations of the Reformed
theology he seeks to adapt to all the needs, demands, and distresses
of the present. In how far he has succeeded time only can tell.
Since 1871 he has published in the columns of the Heraut and
afterward in book form the following: " Out of the Word," Bibkj
studies, four volumes; " The Incarnate Word, " The Work of the
Holy Spirit/ three volumes, and " E Voto Dordraceno," an explana
tion of the Heidelberg Catechism, four volumes. This last work is
a rich treasury of sound and thorough theology, dogmatic and prac
tical. He has published several other treatises which have not yet
appeared in book form. Among these we notice especially " ( )n
Common Grace," which, still in process of publication, is full of
most excellent reading. The number of his works amounts already
to over one hundred and fifty, a partial list of which is to be found
following this introduction.
The following works have been translated into English : " Ency
clopaedia of Sacred Theology" (Charles Scribner s Sons, 1898);
"Calvinism and Art ; "Calvinism and Our Constitutional Lib
erties"; "Pantheism and Destruction of the Boundaries 11 ; "The
Stone Lectures."
For the better understanding of the work, the translator begs to
offer the following explanations :
" Ethical Irenical," or simply " Ethical/ is the name of a move
ment in the Netherlands that seeks to mediate between modern
Rationalism and the orthodox confession of the old Reformed
Church. It seeks to restore peace and tranquillity not by a return
to the original church order, nor by the maintenance of the old
Confession and the removal of deviating ministers through trial
and deposition (Judicial Treatment), but by making efforts to find
a common ground for both parties. It proceeds from the idea that
that which is diseased in the Church can and will return to health .
partly by letting the disease alone to run its course (Doorziekeri)-
forgetting that corruption in the Church is not a disease, but a sin ; *
partly 1 j a liberal diffusion of Bible knowledge among the people
(Medical Treatment).
* Dr. W. Geesink.
NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION xvii
Dr. Chantepie de la Saussaye, a disciple of Schleierrnacher, was
the spiritual father of this Ethical theology. Born in 1818, Dr. De
la Saussaye entered the University of Leyden in 1836. Dissatis
fied with the rational supernaturalism of a former generation,
unable to adapt himself to the vagueness and ambiguousness of the
so-called Groningen school, or to find a basis for the development
of his theological science in the treasures of the Calvinistic theol
ogy, he felt himself strongly attracted to the school of Schelling,
and through him he came under the influence of Pantheism. During
the years of his pastorate in Leeuwarden (1842-48) and in Leyden
to 1872, he modified and developed the ideas of Schleierrnacher in
an independent way. The Ethical theology was the result. Its
basic thought may be comprehended as follows :
" Transcendent above nature, God is also immanent in nature.
This immanence is not merely physical, but also, on the ground of
this, ethical. This ethical immanence manifests itself in the relig
ious moral life, which is the real and true life of man. It originates
in the heathen world, and through Israel ascends to Christ, in whom
it attains completion. Among the heathen it manifests itself espe
cially in the conscience with its two elements of fear and hope ;
among Israel in Law and Prophecy ; and in Christ in His perfect
union with God and humanity. For this reason He is the Word/^r
excellence, the Central Man, in whom all that is human is realized.
However, while until Christ it proceeded from circumference to
center, after Christ it proceeds in ever-widening circles from center
to circumference. Life flows from Christ into the Church, which,
having temporarily become an institution for the education of the
nations, became through the Reformation and the French Revolu
tion what it should be, a confessing Church. Its power lies no
more in ecclesiastical organization, neither in authoritative creed
and confession, but in moral activity and influence. The divine
Word in the conscience begins to work and to govern; Christianity
is being transferred into the moral domain.
" However, the perfect ethical immanence of God is not attained
in this dispensation; being always possible, it may be realized in
the succeeding eons."*
It is not surprising that this theology, obliterating with its pan
theistic current the boundary-lines between the Creator and the
* Dr. Bavink.
XVI 11
NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION
creature, should have come in hostile contact with the Reformed
theology, which most zealously guards these boundary-lines. In
fact, instead of uniting the two existing parties on one common
ground, the Ethical movement added a third, which in the subse
quent conflict was much more bitter, arbitrary, and tyrannical than
the moderns, and which has already abandoned the Holy Scriptures
in the manner of Wellhausen and Kuenen.
In 1872 Dr. Chantepie de la Saussaye was appointed professor
of theology in the University of Groningen, succeeding Hofstede
de Groot. He filled this position but thirteen months. He fell
asleep February 13, 1874.
His most excellent disciple is the highly gifted Dr. J. H. Gun
ning, till 1899 professor of theology at the University of Leyden.
The name of Dr. Kohlbrugge is frequently found in the follow
ing pages. Born a Lutheran, a graduate of the seminary of Am
sterdam, a candidate for the Lutheran ministry, Dr. Kohlbrugge
became acquainted with the Reformed theology through the study
of its earlier exponents. Known and feared as an ardent admirer
of the doctrine of predestination, the authorities first of the Luther
an then of the State Church refused him admission to the minis
try. He left Holland for Germany, where for the same reason he
was debarred from the pulpits of the German Reformed churches
At last he was called to the pulpit of a Free Reformed church at
Elberfeld, established by himself.
He was a profound theologian, a prolific writer, and one zealous
for the honor of his Master. His numerous writings, half Luther
an, half Reformed, were spread over Holland, the Rhenish prov
inces, the cantons of Switzerland, and even among some Reformed
churches of Bohemia.
Some of his disciples fell into Antinomianisrn, and occupy pul
pits in the State Church at the present time. They are called Neo-
Kohlbruggians. Professor Bohl, of Vienna, is the learned repre
sentative of the Old Kohlbruggians. Both the old and the new
school are strongly opposed to Calvinism.
The translation of "The Work of the Holy Spirit" was under
taken by appointment of the author, to whom the proof-sheets of al
most all the first volume were submitted for correction. Being
overwhelmed " with work, and being fully satisfied with the trans
lation so far as he had seen it, the author decided not to delay the
work for the reading of the remaining volumes, but to leave that to
NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION xix
the discretion of the translator. A question of the omission of mat
ter referring to local conditions and to current theological discus
sions was also left to the translator s judgment.
Grateful thanks are due to Rev. Thomas Chalmers Straus, A.M.,
of Peekskill, N. Y., for valuable assistance in preparing this work
for the press.
TRANSLATOR.
PEEKSKILL, N. Y., January 27, 1900.
The following is a partial list of the works of Dr. Kuyper:
"J. Calvini et J. a Lasco : De Ecclesia Sententiarum inter S3 Compositio
Acad. Diss." 1862.
"Joarmis a Lasco: Opera turn Edita quam Inedita." Two vols., 1866.
"Wat moeten wy doen, het stemrecht aan ons zelven houden of den
Kerkeraad machtigen?" (What Are We to Do: Retain the Right of
Voting, or Authorize the Consistory ?) 1867.
"De Menschwording Gods Het Levensbeginsel der Kerk." Intreerede
te Utrecht. (The Incarnation of God the Vital Principle of the
Church. Inaugural discourse at Utrecht. ) 1867,
" Het Graf. " Leerrede aan den avond van Goede-Vrydag. (The Tomb.
Sermon on Good Friday night.) 1869.
"Zestal Leerredenen. " (Six Sermons.) 1869.
"De Kerkelyke Goederen." (Church Property.) 1869.
"Vrymaking der Kerk. (The Emancipation of the Church.) 1869.
"Het Beroep op het Volksgeweten." (An Appeal to the National Con
science.) 1869.
"Eenvormigheid de Vloek van het Moderne Leven." (Uniformity the
Curse of Modern Life.) 1869.
" De Schrift het Woord Gods. " (Scripture the Word of God. ) 1870.
"Kerkeraadsprotocollen der Hollandsche Gemeente te London." 1569-
1571. (The Consistorial Minutes of the Dutch Church in London.)
1870.
"De Hollandsche Gemeente te London." 1570-1571. (The Dutch Church
in London.) 1870.
"Conservatisme en Orthodoxie, Valsche en Ware Behoudzucht." (Conser
vatism and Orthodoxy, the True and the False Instinct of Self-Preser-
vation.) 1870.
"Gewortelden Gegrond, de Kerk als Organisme en Institute." (Rooted
and Grounded, the Church as Organism and Institute.) Inaugural at
Amsterdam. 1870.
"De Leer der Onsterfelykheid en de Staats School." (The Doctrine of
Immortality and the State School.) 1870.
xx NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION
"Ben Perel in de Verkeerde Scbeip.* A Pearl in the Wrong She.l >
1871.
"Het Modernisme een Fata Morgana op Christelyk Gebied." (Modem-
ism a Fata Morgana in the Christian Domain.) 1871.
"De Zending Naar de Schrift." (Missions According to Scripture.)
1871.
" Tweede Zestal Lecrredenen." (Another Six Sermons. ) 1871 .
"O God Wees My Zondaar Genadig "* Leerredeop den Laatsten Dag van
Het Jaar, 1170. (O God be Merciful to Me a Sinner Sermon on
Old Year s night. 1870.) 1371.
"De Bartholomeusnacht." (The Bartholomew Night ) 1872
" De Sneeuw van den Lebanon." (The Snow of Lebanon.) 1872.
" Bekeert u Want bet Koningryk Gods is Naby " (Repent, for the Kingc jm
of Heaven Is at Hand) . Sermon on the last day of the year 1871 i : 72.
"Het Vergryp der Zeventien Ouderlingen ." (The Mistake of the Seven
teen Elders. Memoir of the Consistory of Amsterdam.) 1872.
M Uit bet Woord. " (Out of the Word.) Devotional Bible studies. i:}.
"Het Calvinisme, Oorsprong en Waarborg onzer Constitution eel e Yry-
heden." (Calvinism, the Origin and Surety of Our Constitutional
Liberties.) 1874.
"Uit bet Woord. " (Out of the Word ) Second volume. 1875
"De Schoolquestie. " (The School Question.) Six brochures. 1875
" Liberal isten en Joden." (Liberalists and Jews.) 1878.
" Uit het Woord." (Out of the Word.) Third volume. 1879
"Ons Program. " (Our Program.) 1879
"De Leidsche Professoren en de Executeurs der Dordtsche Nalatenschap."
(The Leyden Professors and the Executors of the Inheritance of
Dordt.) 1079.
"Revisieder Revisielegende." (Revision of the Revision Legend.) 13-9.
" De Synode der Nederlandsche Revormde Kerk uit Haar Eigen Ver-
maanbrief Geoordeeld." (The Synod of the Reformed Church in the
Netherlands Judged by Its Own Epistle of Exhortation.) 1879.
" Antirevolutionair ook in u\v Gezin." (Anti-Revolutionary Even in the
Family.) 1880.
"Bede om een Dubbel Corrigendum." (Prayer for a Double Corrigen
dum.) 1880.
"Strikt Genomen." (Taken Strictly. The Right to Found a University
Tested by Public Law and History.) 1880
"Souvereiniteitin Eigen Kring." (Sovereignty in Our Own Circle.) i8So.
"Honig uit den Rottsteen." (Honey Out of the Rock.) 1880.
" De Hedendaagsche Schriftcritiek in Hare Bedenkelyke Strekking voor de
Gemeente des Levenden Gods." (Modern Criticism and Its Danger
ous Influence upon the Church of the Living God.) Discourse. i8S2.
NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION xxi
"D. Franscisci Junii : Opuscula Theoiogica. " 1882.
Alexander Connie." Translated from The Catholic Presbyterian Re
view. 1882.
"Ex Ungue Leonem.* Dr. Doedes s Method of Interpretation Tested on
One Point. 1082.
"Welke zyn de Voomitzchten TOOT de Studenten der vrye Universiteit? "
(What Are the Prospects for the Students of the Free University?;
: - -.
* Tractaat van de Reformatie der Kerken. " (Tractate of the Reformation
-.::. . ~ -:.;-::.*-.. : ;
"Honig uit den Rottsteen. " (Honey Out of the Rode. ) Second volume.
Uit bet Woord. " (Out of the Word. ) Second series, first volume . That
Grace Is Particular. 1884.
"Yzer en Leem." (Iron and Clay.) Discourses. 1885,
* Uit bet Woord. * (Out of the Word.) Second volume : The Doctrine of
the Covenants. 1885.
" Uit het Woord. " Third volume : The Practise of Godliness, 1886,
" He: Dreigend Conflict. " (The Conflict Threatening, j 1886,
M Het Conflict Gekomen. * (The Conflict Come. ) Three vols. , 1886,
"Dr. Kuyper TOOT de Synode. " (Dr. Kuyper Before the Synod. ) 1886,
| ail if n Woord tot de Conscience Tan de Leden der Synode." (Last
Word to the Conscience of the Members of Synod.) On behalf of the
persecuted members of the Consistory of Amsterdam. 1886.
Afwfrpinjv ran bet Juk der Synodale Hierarchic. " (The Throwing Off
of the Yoke of the Synodical Hierarchy. , i 86,
"Alzoozal net onder u niet zyr." (It Shall Not be So Among You.)
: :
"^^^ ziel die zich Nederbuigt. " (A Prostrate Soul. } Opening address
of the Reformed Chtirch Congress at Amsterdam. 1 887,
De Verborgen Dingen zyn voor den Heere Onzen God." (Tne Secret
Things Belong to the Lord Our God., i "7.
M Sion Door Recht Verlost." (Zion Saved through Judgment.) i- ;.
* De \Teescbword:ng des Woords. " (The Incarnation of the Word. ) ie* 7.
* Dagen van Goede Boodscbap. " (Days of Glad Tidings. ) 1887.
"Tweederlei Vaderland." (Two Fatherlands.) 1^7.
M Het Cahrinisme en de Ktmst." (Calvinism and Art) 1888.
*Dr Gisbeni Voetii Selectantm Dispotationum Fasciculus. " In the hib-
liotheca Reformat a i***,.
net Work des tfeihgen Geestes." (Tne Work of the Holy Spirit.)
Three vols. , 1889
fHomer TOOT den Sabbath.* (Homer for the Sabbath.) Meditations on
:-.-.
xxii NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION
"Niet de Vryheidsboom Maar het Kruis." (Not the Tree of Liberty, but
the Cross.) Opening address at the tenth annual meeting of the
Deputies. 1889.
"Eer is Teer." (Honor Is Tender.) 1889.
"Handenarbeid." (Manual Labor.) 1889.
"Scolastica." (The Secret of True Study.) 1889.
"Tractaat van den Sabbath." (Tractate on the Sabbath.) A historical
dogmatic study. 1890.
"Separatie en Doleantie." ("Secession and Doleantie." "Doleantie"
from doleo, to suffer pain, to mourn is in Holland the historic name
adopted by a body of Christians to designate the fact that they are
either being persecuted by the State Church or have been expelled
from its communion on account of their adherence to the orthodox
confession.) 1890.
"Zion s Roem en Sterkte." (Zion s Strength and Glory.) 1890.
"De Twaalf Patriarchen." (The Twelve Patriarchs.) A study of Bible
characters. 1890.
"Eenige Kameradviezen." (Chamber Advices.) Of the years 1874, 1875.
1890.
" Is er Aan de Publieke Universiteit ten onzent Plaats voor eene Facul-
teit der Theologie? " (Is tkere Room in Our Public Universities for a
Theological Faculty?) 1890.
"Calvinism and Confessional Revision." In The Presbyterian and Re
formed Review, July, 1891.
"Voor een Distel een Mirt." (Instead of a Brier a Myrtle-Tree.) 1891.
"Maranatha." Opening address at the meeting of Deputies. 1891.
" Gedrachtslyn by de Stembus." (Line of Conduct at the Polls. ) 1891.
" Het Sociale Vraagstuk en de Christelyke Religie. " (The Social Question
and the Christian Religion. ) Opening address at the Social Congress.
1891.
"De Verflauwing der Grenzen." (The Destruction of the Boundaries.)
Address at the transfer of the Rectorate of the Free University. 1892.
"In de Schaduwe desDoods." (In the Shadows of Death.) Meditations
for the sick-chamber and death-bed. 1893.
" Encyclopaedic der Heilige Godgeleerdheid." (Encyclopedia of Sacred
Theology.) Three vols. , 1894.
"E Voto Dordraceno " Explanation of the Heidelberg Catechism. Four
vols., 1894-95.
Levinus W. C. Keuchenius, LL.D. Biography. 1896.
" De Christus en de Sociale Nooden, en de Democratische Klippen."
(Christ and the Social Needs and Democratic Dangers.) 1895.
"Uitgave van de Statenvertaling van den Bybel." (Edition of the Au
thorized Version of the Bible.) 1895.
NOTES TO THE AMERICAN EDITION xxiii
"DeZegen des Heeren over Onze Kerken." (The Blessing of the Lord
upon Our Churches.) 1896.
"Vrouwen uit de Heilige Schrift." (Women of the Bible.) 1897.
"Le Parti Antirevolutionaire." (The Anti-Revolutionary Party.) In
Les Pay-Pas. Presented by the Dutch Society of Journalists to the
foreign journalists at the inauguration of the Queen. 1898.
"By de Gratie Gods." (By the Grace of God.) Address. 1898.
"Calvinism." Six lectures delivered at Princeton, N. J., October, 1898.
"Calvinism in History," "Calvinism and Religion," "Calvinism and
Politics," "Calvinism and Science," "Calvinism and Art," "Calvinism
and the Future." Published in Dutch, January, 1899.
"Als gy in uw Huis Zit." (When Thou Sittest in Thine House.) Medita
tions for the Family. July, 1899.
"Evolutie. " (Evolution.) Oration at the transfer of the rectorate of the
Free University, October 20, 1899.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
BY PROF. BENJAMIN B. WARFIELD, D.D., LL.D.,
Of Princeton Theological Seminary.
IT is fortunately no longer necessary formally to introduce Dr.
Kuyper to the American religious public. Quite a number of his
remarkable essays have appeared of late years in our periodicals.
These have borne such titles as " Calvinism in Art," " Calvinism the
Source and Pledge of Our Constitutional Liberties," " Calvinism and
Confessional Revision," "The Obliteration of Boundaries," "The
Antithesis between Symbolism and Revelation "; and have appeared
in the pages of such publications as Christian Thought, Bibliotheca
Sacra, The Presbyterian and Reformed Review not, we may be sure,
without delighting their readers with the breadth of their treatment
and the high and penetrating quality of their thought. The col
umns of The Christian Intelligencer have from time to time during
the last year been adorned with examples of Dr. Kuyper s practical
expositions of Scriptural truth ; and now and again a brief but il
luminating discussion of a topic of present interest has appeared in
the columns of The Independent. The appetite whetted by this taste
of good things has been partially gratified by the publication in
English of two extended treatises from his hand one discussing in
a singularly profound way the principles of " The Encyclopedia of
Sacred Theology" (Charles Scribner s Sons, 1898), and the other
expounding with the utmost breadth and forcefulness the funda
mental principles of " Calvinism " (The Fleming H. Revell Company,
1899). The latter volume consists of lectures delivered on " The
L. P. Stone Foundation," at Princeton Theological Seminary in the
autumn of 1898, and Dr. Kuyper s visit to America on this occasion
brought him into contact with many lovers of high ideas in Amer
ica, and has left a sense of personal acquaintance with him on the
minds of multitudes who had the good fortune to meet him or to
hear his voice at that time. It is impossible for us to look longer
upon Dr. Kuyper as a stranger, needing an introduction to our fa-
xxvi INTRODUCTORY NOTE
vorable notice, when he appears again before us ; he seems rather
now to be one of our own prophets to whose message we have a
certain right, and a new book from whose hands we welcome as
we would a new gift from our near friend charged in a sense with
care for our welfare. The book that is at present offered to the
American public does not indeed come fresh from his hands. It
has already been within the reach of his Dutch audience for more
than a decade (it was published in 1888). It is only recently, how
ever, that Dr. Kuyper has come to belong to us also, and the pub
lication of this book in English, we may hope, is only another step
in the process which will gradually make all his message ours.
Certainly no one will turn over the pages of this volume much
less will he, as our Jewish friends would say, " sink himself into the
book" without perceiving that it is a very valuable gift which
comes to us in it from our newly found teacher. It is, as will be at
once observed, a comprehensive treatise on the Work of the Holy
Ghost a theme higher than which none can occupy the attention
of the Christian man, and yet one on which really comprehensive
treatises are comparatively rare. It is easy, to be sure, to exag
gerate the significance of the latter fact. There never was a time,
of course, when Christians did not confess their faith in the Holy
Ghost; and there never was a time when they did not speak to one
another of the work of the Blessed Spirit, the Executor of the God
head not only in the creation and upholding of the worlds and in
the inspiration of the prophets and apostles, but also in the regen
erating and sanctifying of the soul. Nor has there ever been a
time when, in the prosecution of its task of realizing mentally the
treasures of truth put in its charge in the Scriptural revelation, the
Church has not busied itself also with the investigation of the mys
teries of the person and work of the Spirit; and especially has there
tiever been a time since that tremendous revival of religion which
we call the Reformation when the whole work of the Spirit in the
application of the redemption wrought out by Christ has not been
a topic of the most thorough and loving study of Christian men.
Indeed, it partly arises out of the very intensity of the study given
to the saving activities of the Spirit that so few comprehensive
treatises on the work of the Spirit have been written. The subject
has seemed so vast, the ramifications of it have appeared so far-
reaching, that few have had the courage to undertake it as a whole.
Dogmaticians have, to be sure, been compelled to present the en-
BY PROFESSOR WARFIELD xxvii
tire range of the matter in its appropriate place in their completed
systems. But when monographs came to be written, they have
tended to confine themselves to a single segment of the great cir
cle; and thus we have had treatises rather on, say, Regeneration,
or Justification, or Sanctification, on the Anointing of the Spirit, or
the Intercession of the Spirit, or the Sealing of the Spirit, than on
the work of the Spirit as a whole. It would be .a great mistake to
think of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as neglected, merely be
cause it has been preferably presented under its several rubrics or
parts, rather than in its entirety. How easily one may fall into
such an error is fairly illustrated by certain criticisms that have
been recently passed upon the Westminster Confession of Faith
which is (as a Puritan document was sure to be) very much a treat
ise on the work of the Spirit as if it were deficient, in not having a
chapter specifically devoted to " the Holy Spirit and His Work."
The sole reason why it does not give a chapter to this subject, how
ever, is because it prefers to give nine chapters to it ; and when an
attempt was made to supply the fancied omission, it was found that
pretty much all that could be done was to present in the proposed
new chapter a meager summary of the contents of these nine chap
ters. It would have been more plausible, indeed, to say that the
Westminster Confession comparatively neglected the work of
Christ, or even the wcrk of God the Father. Similarly the lack in
our literature of a large number of comprehensive treatises on the
work of the Holy Spirit is in part due to the richness of our litera
ture in treatises on the separate portions of that work severally. The
significance of Dr. Kuyper s book is, therefore, in part due only to
the fact that he has had the courage to attack and the gifts success
fully to accomplish a task which few have possessed the breadth
either of outlook or of powers to undertake. And it is no small gain
to be able to survey the whole field of the work of the Holy Spirit
in its organic unity under the guidance of so fertile, so systematic,
and so practical a mind. If we can not look, upon it as breaking en
tirely new ground, or even say that it is the only work of its kind
since Owen, we can at least say that it brings together the material
belonging to this great topic with a systematizing genius that is
very rare, and presents it with a penetrating appreciation of its
meaning and a richness of apprehension of its relations that is ex
ceedingly illuminating.
It is to be observed that we have not said without qualification
xxviii INTRODUCTORY NOTE
that the comparative rarity of such comprehensive treatises on the
work of the Holy Spirit as Dr. Kuyper s is due simply to the great
ness and difficulty of the task. We have been careful to say that
it is only in part due to this cause. It is only in the circles to
which this English translation is presented, to say the truth, that
this remark is applicable at all. It is the happiness of the Re
formed Christians of English speech that they are the heirs of what
must in all fairness be spoken of as an immense literature upon this
great topic ; it may even be said with some justice that the pecu
liarity of their theological labor turns just on the diligence and
depth of their study of this locus. It is, it will be remembered, to
John Owen s great " Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit "that
Dr. Kuyper points as hitherto the normative treatise on the subject.
But John Owen s book did not stand alone in his day and genera
tion, but was rather merely symptomatic of the engrossment of
the theological thought of the circle of which he was so great an
ornament in the investigation of this subject. Thomas Goodwin s
treatise on " The Work of the Holy Ghost in Our Salvation" is well
worthy of a place by its side ; and it is only the truth to say that
Puritan thought was almost entirely occupied with loving study of
the work of the Holy Spirit, and found its highest expression in dog-
matico-practical expositions of the several aspects of it of which
such treatises as those of Charnock and Swinnerton on Regeneration
are only the best-known examples among a multitude which have
fallen out of memory in the lapse of years. For a century and a
half afterward, indeed, this topic continued to form the hinge of
the theologizing of the English Nonconformists. Nor has it lost
its central position even yet in the minds of those who have the
best right to be looked upon as the successors of the Puritans.
There has been in some quarters some decay, to be sure, in sure-
ness of grasp and theological precision in the presentation of the
subject; but it is possible that a larger number of practical treat
ises on some element or other of the doctrine of the Spirit continue
to appear from the English press annually than on any other branch
of divinity. Among these, such books as Dr. A. J. Gordon s " The
Ministry of the Spirit," Dr. J. E. Cumming s " Through the Eternal
Spirit," Principal H. C. G. Moule s " Veni Creator," Dr. Redford s
"Vox Dei," Dr. Robson s "The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete," Dr.
Vaughan s "The Gifts of the Holy Spirit" to name only a few of
the most recent books attain a high level of theological clarity
BY PROFESSOR WARFIELD xxix
and spiritual power ; while, if we may be permitted to go back only
a few years, we may find in Dr. James Buchanan s " The Office and
Work of the Holy Spirit," and in Dr. George Smeaton s " The Doc
trine of the Holy Spirit," two treatises covering the whole ground
the one in a more practical, the other in a more didactic spirit
in a manner worthy of the best traditions of our Puritan fathers.
There has always been a copious stream of literature on the work of
the Holy Spirit, therefore, among the English-speaking churches;
and Dr. Kuyper s book comes to us not as something of a novelty,
but as a specially finely conceived and executed presentation of a
topic on which we are all thinking.
But the case is not the same in all parts of Christendom. If we
lift our eyes from our own special condition and view the Church at
large, it is a very different spectacle that greets them. As we
sweep them down the history of the Church, we discover that the
topic of the work of the Holy Spirit was one which only at a late
date really emerged as the explicit study of Christian men. As we
sweep them over the whole extent of the modern Church, we dis
cover that it is a topic which appeals even yet with little force to very
large sections of the Church. The poverty of Continental theology
in this locus is, indeed, after all is said and done, depressing. Note
one or two little French books, by E. Guers and G. Tophel,* and a
couple of formal studies of the New-Testament doctrine of the Spirit
by the Dutch writers Stemler and Thoden Van Velzen, called out
by The Hague Society and we have before us almost the whole
list of the older books of our century which pretend in any way
to cover the ground. Nor has very much been done more recently
to remedy the deficiency. The amazing theological activity of
latter-day Germany has, to be sure, not been able to pass so fruit
ful a theme entirely by ; and her scholars have given us a few scien
tific studies of sections of the Biblical material. The two most
significant of these appeared, indeed, in the same year with Dr.
Kuyper s book Gloel s " Der heilige Geist in des Heilsverkiindi-
gung des Paulus," and Gunkel s " Die Wirkungen des heiligen Geistes
nach d. popular. Anschauung der apostolischen Zeit und der Lehre
d. A. Paulus" (2d ed., 1899); these have been followed in the same
spirit by Weienel in a work called " Die Wirkungen des Geistes und
* Guers " Le Saint-Esprit : Etude Doctrinale et Practique " (1865); G.
Tophel s "The Work of the Holy Spirit in Man" (E. T., 1882), and also
more recently " Le Saint-Esprit ; Cinq Nouvelles Etudes Bibliques " (1899) .
xxx INTRODUCTORY NOTE
der Geister im nachapostolischen Zeitalter" (1899); while a little
earlier the Dutch theologian Beversluis issued a more comprehensive
study, " De Heilige Geest en zijne werkingen volgens de Schriften
des Nieuwen Verbonds" (1896). Their investigation of the Biblical
material, however, is not only very formal, but it is also dominated
by such imperfect theological presuppositions that it can carry the
Student scarcely a step forward. Very recently something better
in this respect has appeared in such books as Th. Meinhold s " Der
heilige Geist und sein Wirken am einzelnen Menschen, mit beson-
derer Beziehung auf Luther " (1890, 121110, pp. 228);* W. Rolling s
" Pneumatologie, oder die Lehre von der Person des heiligen Geistes "
1894, 8vo, pp. 368); Karl von Lechler s "Die biblische Lehre vom
heiligen Geiste" (1899, 8vo, pp. 307) ; and K. F. Nosgen s" Geschichte
von der Lehre vom heiligen Geiste" (1899, 8vo, pp. 376); which
it is to be hoped are the beginnings of a varied body of scholarly
works from the Lutheran side, out of which may, after a while,
grow some such comprehensive and many-sided treatment of the
whole subject as that which Dr. Kuyper has given our Dutch breth
ren, and now us in this English translation. But none of them pro
vides the desired treatise itself, and it is significant that no one
even professes to do so. Even where, as in the case of the books
of Meinholcl and von Lechler, the treatment is really topical, the
author is careful to disclaim the purpose to provide a well-compacted,
systematic view of the subject, by putting on his title-page a hint
of a historical or exegetical point of view.
In fact, only in a single instance in the whole history of German
theological literature or, we may say, prior to Dr. Kuyper in the
entire history of continental theological literature has any one had
the courage or found the impulse to face the task Dr. Kuyper has
so admirably executed. We are referring, of course, to the great
work on " Die Lehre vom heiligen Geiste," which was projected by
that theological giant, K. A. Kahnis, but the first part of which
only was published in a thin volume of three hundred and fifty -six
pages, in 1847. It was doubtless symptomatic of the state of feel
ing in Germany on the subject that Kahnis never found time or en
couragement in a long life of theological pursuits to complete his
* Meinhold s book is mainly a Lutheran polemic in behalf of funda
mental principles, against the Ritschlian rationalism on this subject. As
such its obverse is provided in the recent treatise of Rudolf Otto, " Die An-
schauung vom heiligen Geiste bei Luther" (1898).
BY PROFESSOR WARFIELD xxxi
book. And, indeed, it was greeted in theological circles at the
time with something like amused amazement that any one could
devote so much time and labor to this theme, or expect others to find
time and energy to read such a treatise. We are told that a well-
known th eologian remarked caustically of it that if things were to
be carried out on that scale, no one could expect to live long enough
to read the literature of his subject; and the similar remark made
by C. Hase in the preface to the fifth edition of his " Dogmatic," tho
it names no names, is said to have had Kahnis s book in view.*
The significance of Kahnis s unique and unsuccessful attempt to
provide for German Protestantism some worthy treatment of the
doctrine of the Holy Spirit is so great that it will repay us to fix
the facts concerning it well in our minds. And to this end we ex
tract the following account of it from the introduction of the work
of von Lechler which we have just mentioned (p. 22 sqq.~] :
"We have to indicate, in conclusion, another circumstance in the his
tory of our doctrine, which is in its way just as significant for the attitude
of present-day science toward this topic as was the silence of the first Ecu
menical Council concerning it for the end of the first theological age. It
is the extraordinary poverty of monographs on the Holy Spirit. Altho
there do exist some, and in some instances important, studies dealing
with the subject, yet their number is out of all proportion to the greatness
and the extent of the problems. We doubtless should not err in assu
ming that vital interest in a scientific question will express itself not
merely in comprehensive handbooks and encyclopedic compendiums, the
latter of which are especially forced to see to the completeness of the list
of subjects treated, but of necessity also in those separate investigations in
which especially the fresh vigor of youth is accustomed to make proof of its
fitness for higher studies. What lacuna; we should have to regret in other
branches of theological science if a rich development of monographic litera
ture did not range itself by the side of the compendiums, breaking out here
and there new paths, laying deeper foundations, supplying valuable mate
rial for the constructive or decorative completion of the scientific structure !
All this, in the present instance, however, has scarcely made a beginning.
The sole separate treatise which has been projected on a really profound
and broad basis of investigation the " Lehre vom heiligen Geiste " of K.
A. Kahnis (then at Breslau), 1847 came to a standstill with its first part.
This celebrated theologian, who had certainly in his possession in surpri
sing measure the qualities and acquisitions that fitted him to come for
ward as a preparer of the way in this uncertain and little worthily studied
subject, had set before himself the purpose of investigating this, as he him
self called it, extraordinarily neglected topic, at once on its Biblical, ec-
* See Holtzmann in the Theolog. Liter aturzeitung of 1896, xxv., p. 646.
xxxii INTRODUCTORY NOTE
clesiastical, historical, and dogmatic sides. The history of his book
is exceedingly instructive and suggestive with respect to the topic itself.
He found the subject, as he approached it more closely, in a very
special degree a difficult one, chiefly on account of the manifoldness of the
conception. At first his results became ever more and more negative. A
controversy with the friends of light of the time helped him forward.
Testium mtbes viagis jui ant, quani luciferorum viroriim importuna ln-
mina. But God, he says, led him to greater clearness ; the doctrine of the
Church approved itself to him. Nevertheless it was not his purpose to es
tablish the Scriptural doctrine in all its points, but only to exhibit the place
which the Holy Spirit occupies in the development of the Word of God m the
Old and New Testaments. There was a feeling that came to him that we
were standing upon the eve of a new outpouring of the Spirit. But the
wished-for dawn, he says, still held back. -His wide survey, beyond his
special subject, of the whole domain of science in the corporate life of the
Church, is characteristic no less of the subject than of the man. It was not
given to him, however, to see the longed-for flood poured over the parched
fields. His exegetical foundation (chaps, i.-iii.) moves in the old tracks.
Since he shared essentially the subjective point of view of Schleiermacher
and committed the final decision in the determining conceptions to philoso
phy, in spite of many remarkable flashes of insight into the Scriptures he
remained fixed in the intellectualistic and ethical mode of conceiving the
Holy Ghost, tho this was accompanied by many attempts to transcend
Schleiermacher, but without the attaining of any unitary conception and
without any effort to bring to a Scriptural solution the burning question of
the personality or impersonality of the Spirit. The fourth chapter insti
tutes a comparison between the Spirit of Christianity and that of heathen
ism. The second book deals first with the relation of the Church to the
Holy Spirit in general, and then enters upon a history of the doctrine,
which is carried, however, only through the earliest fathers, and breaks off
with a survey of the scanty harvest which the first age supplied to the suc
ceeding epochs, in which the richest development of the doctrine took
place. Here the book closes. . . . " *
Thus the only worthy attempt German theology has made to pro
duce a comprehensive treatise on the work of the Holy Ghost re
mains a neglected torso till to-day.
If we will gather up the facts to which we have thus somewhat de
sultorily called attention into a prepositional statement, we shall
find ourselves compelled to recognize that the doctrine of the Holy
Spirit was only slowly brought to the explicit consciousness of the
Church, and has even yet taken a firm hold on the mind and con
sciousness of only a small section of the Church. To be more spe
cific, we shall need to note that the early Church busied itself with
the investigation within the limits of this locus of only the doctrine
* Compare the remarks of Dr. Smeaton, op. cit., ed. 2, p. 396.
BY PROFESSOR WARFIELD xxxiii
of the person of the Holy Ghost His deity and personality and of
His one function of inspirer of the prophets and apostles, while the
whole doctrine of the work of the Spirit at large is a gift to the
Church from the Reformation ; * and we shall need to note further
that since its formulation by the Reformers this doctrine has taken
deep root and borne its full fruits only in the Reformed churches, and
among them in exact proportion to the loyalty of their adherence
to, and the richness of their development of, the fundamental prin
ciples of the Reformed theology. Stated in its sharpest form this
is as much as to say that the developed doctrine of the work of the
Holy Spirit is an exclusively Reformation doctrine, and more
particularly a Reformed doctrine, and more particularly still
a Puritan doctrine. Wherever the fundamental principles of
the Reformation have gone, it has gone ; but it has come to its
full rights only among the Reformed churches, and among them
only where what we have been accustomed to call " the Second
Reformation " has deepened the spiritual life of the churches and
cast back the Christian with special poignancy of feeling upon the
grace of God alone as his sole dependence for salvation and all
the goods of this life and the life to come. Indeed, it is possible to
be more precise still. The doctrine of the work of the Holy
spirit is a gift from John Calvin to the Church of Christ. He did
not, of course, invent it. The whole of it lay spread out on the
pages of Scripture with a clearness and fulness of utterance which
one would think would secure that even he who ran should read it ;
and doubtless he who ran did read it, and it has fed the soul of the
true believer in all ages. Accordingly hints of its apprehension are
found widely scattered in all Christian literature, and in particular
the germs of the doctrine are spread broadcast over the pages
of Augustine. Luther did not fail to lay hold upon them;
Zwingli shows time and again that he had them richly in his
mind ; they constituted, in very fact, one of the foundations of the
* For the epoch-making character of the Reformation in the history of
this doctrine cf. also Nosgen, op. cit, p. 2. "For its development, a divi
sion-line is provided simply and solely by the Reformation, and this merely
because at that time only was attention intensely directed to the right
mode of the application of salvation. Thus were the problems of the
specially saving operation of the Holy Spirit, of the manner of His work
ing in the congregation of believers cast into the foreground, and the theo
logical treatment of this doctrine made of ever-increasing importance to
the Church of Christ, " etc.
xxxiv INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Reformation movement, or rather they provided its vital breath.
But it was Calvin who first gave them anything like systematic or
adequate expression ; and it is through him and from him that they
have come to be the assured possession of the Church of Christ.
There is no phenomenon in doctrinal history more astonishing than
the commonly entertained views as to the contribution made by
John Calvin to the development of Christian doctrine. He is thought
of currently as the father of doctrines, such as that of predestination
and reprobation, of which he was the mere heir, taking them as
wholes over from the hands of his great master Augustine. Mean
while his real personal contributions to Christian doctrine are utterly
forgotten. These are of the richest kind and can not be enumer
ated here. But it is germane to our present topic to note that
at their head stand three gifts of the first value to the Church s
thought and life, which we should by no means allow to pass from
our grateful memory. It is to John Calvin that we owe that broad
conception of the work of Christ which is expressed in the doc
trine of His threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King; he was
the first who presented the work of Christ under this schema, and
from him it was that it has passed into a Christian commonplace.
It is to John Calvin that w r e owe the whole conception of a science
of " Christian Ethics " ; he was the first to outline its idea and de
velop its principles and contents, and it remained a peculium of
his followers for a century. And it is to John Calvin that we owe
the first formulation of the doctrine of the work of the Holy Ghost;
he himself gave it a very rich statement, developing it especially
in the broad departments of "Common Grace" "Regeneration,"
and " the Witness of the Spirit"; and it is, as we have seen, among
his spiritual descendants only that it has to this day received any
adequate attention in the churches. We must guard ourselves, of
course, from exaggeration in such a matter; the bare facts, when
put forth without pausing to allow for the unimportant shadings,
sound of themselves sufficiently like an exaggeration.* But it is
simply true that these great topics received their first formulation
at the hands of John Calvin ; and it is from him that the Church has
derived them, and to him that it owes its thanks for them.
*So, for example, a careless reading of pp. 65-77 of Pannier s " Le
Temoignage du Saint-Esprit " gives the impression of exaggeration, where
as it is merely the suppression of all minor matters to emphasize the salient
facts that is responsible for this effect.
BY PROFESSOR WARFIELD xxxv
And if we pause to ask why the formulation of the doctrine of
the work of the Spirit waited for the Reformation and for Calvin,
and why the further working out of the details of this doctrine and its
enrichment by the profound study of Christian minds and medita
tion of Christian hearts has come down from Calvin only to the Puri
tans, and from the Puritans to their spiritual descendants like the
Free Church teachers of the Disruption era and the Dutch contest
ants for the treasures of the Reformed religion of our own day, the
reasons are not far to seek. There is, in the first place, a regular
order in the acquisition of doctrinal truth, inherent in the nature of
the case, which therefore the Church was bound to follow in its grad
ual realization of the deposit of truth given it in the Scriptures ; and
by virtue of this the Church could not successfully attack the task of
assimilating and formulating the doctrine of the work of the Spirit
until the foundations had been laid firmly in a clear grasp on yet
more fundamental doctrines. And there are, in the next place,
certain forms of doctrinal construction which leave no or only a
meager place for the work of the personal Holy Spirit in the heart;
and in the presence of these constructions this doctrine, even where
in part apprehended and acknowledged, languishes and falls out of
the interest of men. The operation of the former cause postponed
the development of the doctrine of the work of the Spirit until the
way was prepared for it ; and this preparation was complete only
at the Reformation. The operation of the second cause has re
tarded where it has not stifled the proper assimilation of the doctrine
in many parts of the Church until to-day.
To be more specific. The development of the doctrinal system
of Christianity in the apprehension of the Church has actually run
through as it theoretically should have run through a regular
and logical course. First, attention was absorbed in the contem
plation of the objective elements of the Christian deposit, and
only afterward were the subjective elements taken into fuller con
sideration. First of all it was the Christian doctrine of God that
forced itself on the attention of men, and it was not until the
doctrine of the Trinity had been thoroughly assimilated that at
tention was vigorously attracted to the Christian doctrine of the
God-man ; and again, it was not until the doctrine of the Person
of Christ was thoroughly assimilated that attention was poignantly
attracted to the Christian doctrine of sin man s need and helpless
ness ; and only after that had been wrought fully out again could
xxxvi INTRODUCTORY NOTE
attention turn to the objective provision to meet man s needs in
the work of Christ; and again, only after that to the subjective pro
vision to meet his needs in the work of the Spirit. This is the log
ical order of development, and it is the actual order in which the
Church has slowly and amid the throes of all sorts of conflicts
with the world and with its own slowness to believe all that the
prophets have written worked its way into the whole truth re
vealed to it in the Word. The order is, it will be observed, The
ology, Christology, Anthropology (Hamartialogy), Impetration of
Redemption, Application of Redemption ; and in the nature of the
case the topics that fall under the rubric of the application of
redemption could not be solidly investigated until the basis had
been laid for them in the assimilation of the preceding topics. We
have connected the great names of Athanasius and his worthy
successors who fought out the Christological disputes, of Augustine
and of Anselm, with the precedent stages of this development. It
was the leaders of the Reformation w T ho were called on to add the
capstone to the structure by working out the facts as to the applica
tion of redemption to the soul of man through the Holy Spirit.
Some elements of the doctrine of the Spirit are indeed implicated
in earlier discussions. For example, the deity and personality of the
Spirit the whole doctrine of His person was a part of the doctrine
of the Trinity, and this accordingly became a topic for early debate,
and patristic literature is rich in discussions of it. The authority of
Scripture was fundamental to the whole doctrinal discussion, and
the doctrine of the inspiration of the prophets and apostles by the
Spirit was therefore asserted from the beginning with great empha
sis. In the determination of man s need in the Pelagian controversy
much was necessarily determined about " Grace," its necessity, its
prevenience, its efficacy, its indefectibility, and in this much was
anticipated of what was afterward to be more orderly developed
in the doctrine of the interior work of the Spirit; and accordingly
there is much in Augustine which preadumbrates the determination
of later times. But even in Augustine there is a vagueness and
tentativeness in the treatment of these topics which advises us that
while the facts relatively to man and his needs and the methods of
God s working upon him to salvation are firmly grasped, these same
facts relatively to the personal activities of the Spirit as yet await
their full assimilation. Another step had yet to be taken: the
Church needed to wait yet for Anselm to set on foot the final de-
BY PROFESSOR WARFIELD xxxvii
termination of the doctrine of a vicarious atonement; and only
when time had been given for its assimilation, at length men s
minds were able to take the final step. Then Luther rose to pro
claim justification by faith, and Calvin to set forth with his marvel
ous balance the whole doctrine of the work of the Spirit in applying
salvation to the soul. In this matter, too, the fulness of the times
needed to be waited for; and when the fulness of the times came
the men were ready for their task and the Church was ready for
their work. And in this collocation we find a portion of the secret
of the immense upheaval of the Reformation.
Unfortunately, however, the Church was not ready in all its parts
alike for the new step in doctrinal development. This was, of
course, in the nature of the case : for the development of doctrine
takes place naturally in a matrix of old and hardened partial concep
tions, and can make its way only by means of a conflict of opinion.
All Arians did not disappear immediately after the Council of Nice;
on the contrary, for an age they seemed destined to rule the Church.
The decree of Chalcedon did not at once quiet all Christological de
bate, or do away with all Christological error. There were remain
ders of Pelagianism that outlived Augustine ; and indeed that after
the Synod of Orange began to make headway against the truth.
Anselm s construction of the atonement only slowly worked its way
into the hearts of men. And so, when Calvin had for the first time for
mulated the fuller and more precise doctrine of the work of the Spirit,
there were antagonistic forces in the world which crowded upon it
and curtailed its influence and clogged its advance in the apprehen
sion of men. In general, these may be said to be two : the sacerdotal
tendency on the one hand and the libertarian tendency on the other.
The sacerdotal tendency was entrenched in the old Church ; from
which the Reformers were extruded indeed by the very force of the
new leaven of their individualism of spiritual life. That Church was
therefore impervious to the newly formulated doctrine of the work
of the Spirit. To it the Church was the depository of grace, the sac
raments were its indispensable vehicle, and the administration of it
lay in the hands of human agents. Wherever this sacramentarian-
ism went, in however small a measure, it tended so far to distract
men s attention from the Spirit of God and to focus it on the media of
His working; and wherever it has entrenched itself, there the study
of the work of the Spirit has accordingly more or less languished.
It is easy indeed to say that the Spirit stands behind the sacraments
xxxviii INTRODUCTORY NOTE
and is operative in the sacraments ; as a matter of fact, the sacra
ments tend, in all such cases, to absorb the attention, and the theo
retical explanations of their efficacy as vested in the Spirit s energy
tend to pass out of the vivid interest of men. The libertarian
tendency, on the other hand, was the nerve of the old semi-Pelagi-
anism which in Thomism and Tridentinism became in a modified
form the formal doctrine of the Church of Rome ; and in various
forms it soon began to seep also into and to trouble the churches
of the Reformation first the Lutheran and after that also the Re
formed. To it, the will of man was in greater or less measure the
decisive factor in the subjective reception of salvation ; and in pro
portion as it was more or less developed or more or less fully ap
plied, interest in the doctrine of the subjective work of the Spirit
languished, and in these circles too men s minds were to that degree
distracted from the study of the doctrine of the work of the Spirit,
and tended to focus themselves on the autocracy of the human will
and its native or renewed ability to obey God and seek and find com
munion with Him. No doubt here too it is easy to point to the func
tion which is still allowed the Spirit, in most at least of the theo
logical constructions on this basis. But the practical effect has been
that just in proportion as the autocracy of the human will in salva
tion has been emphasized, the interest in the internal work of the
Spirit has declined. When we take into consideration the wide
spread influence that has been attained even in the Protestant
world by these two antagonistic tendencies, we shall cease to wonder
at the widespread neglect that has befallen the doctrine of the work of
the Spirit. And we shall have prosecuted our inquiry but a little
way before we become aware how entirely these facts account for
the phenomena before us : how completely it is true that interest in
the doctrine of the work of the Spirit has failed just in those regions
and just in those epochs in which either sacramentarian or libertarian
opinions have ruled ; and how true it is that engagement with this
doctrine has been intense only along the banks of that narrow
stream of religious life and thought the keynote of which has been
the soli Deo gloria in all its fulness of meaning. With this key
in hand the mysteries of the history of this doctrine in the Church
are at once solved for us.
One of the chief claims to our attention which Dr. Kuyper s
book makes, therefore, is rooted in the fact that it is a product of a
great religious movement in the Dutch churches. This is not the
BY PROFESSOR WARFIELD xxxix
place to give a history of that movement. We have all watched it
with the intensest interest, from the rise of the Free Churches to
the union with them of the new element from the Doleantie. We
have lacked no proof that it was a movement of exceptional spir
itual depth; but had there lacked any such proof, it would be
supplied by the appearance of this book out of its heart. Wher
ever men are busying themselves with holy and happy meditations
on the Holy Ghost and His work, it is safe to say the foundations
of a true spiritual life are laid, and the structure of a rich spiritual
life is rising. The mere fact that a book of this character offers it
self as one of the products of this movement attracts us to it ; and
the nature of the work itself its solidity of thought and its depth
of spiritual apprehension brightens our hopes for the future of
the churches in which it has had its birth. Only a spiritually
minded Church provides a soil in which a literature of the Spirit
can grow. There are some who will miss in the book what they
are accustomed to call "scientific" character;* it has no lack cer
tainly of scientific exactitude of conception, and if it seems to any
to lack " scientific" form, it assuredly has a quality which is better
than anything that even a "scientific" form could give it it is a
religious book. It is the product of a religious heart, and it leads
the reader to a religious contemplation of the great facts of the
Spirit s working. May it bring to all, into whose hands it finds its
way in this fresh vehicle of a new language, an abiding and happy
sense of rest on and in God the Holy Ghost, the Author and Lord
of all life, to whom in our heart of hearts we may pray :
" Veni, Creator Spiritus,
Spiritus recreator,
Tu deus, tu datus ccelitus,
Tu donum, tu donator."
PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
April 23, i goo.
*Thus Beversluis, op. cit, speaks of it as Dr. Kuyper s bulky book,
which "has no scientific value," tho it is full of fine passages and
treats the subject in a many-sided way.
ERRATA.
Page 20 Col. i. 7, read Col. i. 17.
" 102 Heb. ix. 4, rea Heb. ix. 14.
" 108 i Peter i. iS. read i Peter iii. 18.
" 114 Chap, xxxiv. 25, read chap, xxxvi. 25.
u 144 Rev. xxi. 24, read Rev. xxi. 14.
154 John xiv. 16, read John xiv. 26.
164 John xxix. 31, read John xx. 31.
180 Ephes. xiv. 17, read Ephes. iv. 7.
190 John xiii. 13, read John xvi. 13.
273 " OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, " read " OUR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
273 Gen. iii. 6, read Gen. vi. 3.
3 2 3 John iii. 15, read John xv. 3.
" 349 2 Tim. ii. 5, read 2 Tim. ii. 25.
351 Jer. Iv. 7, read Isa. Iv. 7.
" 391 Rom. xix. 19, read Rom. x. 10.
" 392 Acts xiii. 31, read Acts xvi. 31.
4071 Peter ii. 16, read i Peter ii. 6.
408 Phil. i. 23, read Phil. i. 29.
457 Matt. vi. 10, read Matt. v. 16.
592 2 Sam. xiv. i, read 2 Sam. xxiv. i.
636 Rom. iii. 26, read Rom. viii. 26.
THE
WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
VOLUME ONE
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Church
as a Whole
fftrst Gbapter,
INTRODUCTION.
I.
Careful Treatment Required.
" Who hath also given unto us His Holy
Spirit." i Thess. iv. 8.
THE need of divine guidance is never more deeply felt than when
one undertakes to give instruction in the work of the Holy Spirit
so unspeakably tender is the subject, touching the inmost secrets of
God and the soul s deepest mysteries.
We shield instinctively the intimacies of kindred and friends
from intrusive observation, and nothing hurts the sensitive heart
more than the rude exposure of that which should not be unveiled,
being beautiful only in the retirement of the home circle. Greater
delicacy befits our approach to the holy mystery of our soul s inti
macy with the living God. Indeed, we can scarcely find words to
express it, for it touches a domain far below the social life where
language is formed and usage determines the meaning of words.
Glimpses of this life have been revealed, but the greater part
has been withheld. It is like the life of Him who did not cry, nor
lift up nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. And that
which was heard was whispered rather than spoken a soul-breath,
soft but voiceless, or rather a radiating of the soul s own blessed
warmth. Sometimes the stillness has been broken by a cry or a
raptured shout ; but there has been mainly a silent working, a min
istering of stern rebuke or of sweet comfort by that wonderful
Being in the Holy Trinity whom with stammering tongue we adore
as the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual experience can furnish no basis for instruction; for
such experience rests on that which took place in our own soul.
4 INTRODUCTION
Certainly this has value, influence, voice in the matter. But what
guarantees correctness and fidelity in interpreting such experience?
And again, how can we distinguish its various sources from our
selves, from without, or from the Holy Spirit? The twofold ques
tion will ever hold: Is our experience shared by others, and may
it not be vitiated by what is in us sinful and spiritually abnormal :>
Altho there is no subject in whose treatment the soul inclines
more to draw upon its own experience, there is none that demands
more that our sole source of knowledge be the Word given us by
the Holy Spirit. After that, human experience may be heard, at
testing what the lips have confessed ; even affording glimpses into
the Spirit s blessed mysteries, which are unspeakable and of which
the Scripture therefore does not speak. But this can not be the
ground of instruction to others.
The Church of Christ assuredly presents abundant spiritual utter
ance in hymn and spiritual song ; in homilies hortatory and conso
ling ; in sober confession or outbursts of souls wellnigh overwhelmed
by the floods of persecution and martyrdom. But even this can not
be the foundation of knowledge concerning the work of the Holy
Spirit.
The following reasons will make this apparent :
First, The difficulty of discriminating between the men and
women whose experience we consider pure and healthy, and those
whose testimony we put aside as strained and unhealthful. Luther
frequently spoke of his experience, and so did Caspar Schwenkfeld,
the dangerous fanatic. But what is our warrant for approving the
utterances of the great Reformer and warning against those of the
Silesian nobleman? For evidently the testimony of the two men
can not be equally true. Luther condemned as a lie what Schwenk
feld commended as a highly spiritual attainment.
Second, The testimony of believers presents only the dim out
lines of the work of the Holy Spirit. Their voices are faint as com
ing from an unknown realm, and their broken speech is intelligible
only when we, initiated by the Holy Spirit, can interpret it from
our own experience. Otherwise we hear, but fail to understand ;
we listen, but receive no information. Only he that hath ears can
hear what the Spirit has spoken secretly to these children of God.
Third, Among those Christian heroes whose testimony we receive,
some speak clearly, truthfully, forcibly, others confusedly as tho
they were groping in the dark. Whence the difference? Closer
CAREFUL TREATMENT REQUIRED 5
examination shows that the former have borrowed all their speech
from the Word of God, while the others tried to add to it something
novel that promised to be great, but proved only bubbles, quickly
dissolved, leaving no trace.
Last, When, on the other hand, in this treasury of Christian testi
mony we find some truth better developed, more clearly expressed,
more aptly illustrated than in Scripture ; or, in other words, when
the ore of the Sacred Scripture has been melted in the crucible of
the mortal anguish of the Church of God, and cast into more per
manent forms, then we always discover in such forms certain fixed
types. Spiritual life expresses itself otherwise among the earnest-
souled Lapps and Finns than among the light-hearted French. The
rugged Scotchman pours out his overflowing heart in a different way
from that of the emotional German.
Yea, more striking still, some preacher has obtained a marked
influence upon the souls of men of a certain locality ; an exhorter
has got hold of the hearts of the people ; or some mother in Israel
has sent forth her word among her neighbors ; and what do we dis
cover? That in that whole region we meet no other expressions of
spiritual life than those coined by that preacher, that exhorter, that
mother in Israel. This shows that the language, the very words and
forms in which the soul expresses itself, are largely borrowed, and
spring but rarely from one s own spiritual consciousness; and so do
not insure the correctness of their interpretation of the soul s ex
perience.
And when such heroes as Augustine, Thomas, Luther, Calvin,
and others present us something strikingly original, then we en
counter difficulty in understanding their strong and vigorous testi
mony. For the individuality of these choice vessels is so marked
that, unless sifted and tested, we can not fully comprehend them.
All this shows that the supply of knowledge concerning the work
of the Holy Spirit, which, judging superficially, was to gush forth
from the deep wells of Christian experience, yields but a few drops.
Hence for the knowledge of the subject we must return to that
wondrous Word of God which as a mystery of mysteries lies still
uncomprehended in the Church, seemingly dead as a stone, but a
stone that strikes fire. Who has not seen its scintillating sparks?
Where is the child of God whose heart has not been kindled by the
fire of that Word?
6 INTRODUCTION
But Scripture sheds scant light on the work of the Holy Spirit.
For proof, see how much the Old Testament says of the Messiah
and how comparatively little of the Holy Spirit. The little circle
of saints, Mary, Simeon, Anna, John, who, standing in the vesti
bule of the New Testament, could scan the horizon of the Old
Testament revelation with a glance how much they knew of the
Person of the Promised Deliverer, and how little of the Holy
Spirit! Even including all the New Testament teachings, how
scanty is the light upon the work of the Holy Spirit compared with
that upon the work of Christ !
And this is quite natural, and could not be otherwise, for Christ
is the Word made Flesh, having visible, well-defined form, in which
we recognize our own, that of a man, whose outlines follow the di
rection of our own being. Christ can be seen and heard; once men s
hands could even handle the Word of Life. But the Holy Spirit is
entirely different. Of Him nothing appears in visible form; He
never steps out from the intangible void. Hovering, undefined,
incomprehensible, He remains a mystery. He is as the wind! We
hear its sound, but can not tell whence it cometh and whither it
goeth. Eye can not see Him, ear can not hear Him, much less the
hand handle Him. There are, indeed, symbolic signs and appear
ances: a dove, tongues of fire, the sound of a rushing, mighty
wind, a breathing from the holy lips of Jesus, a laying on of hands,
a speaking with foreign tongues. But of all this nothing remains ;
nothing lingers behind, not even the trace of a footprint. And
after the signs have disappeared, His being remains just as puz
zling, mysterious, and distant as ever. So almost all the divine in
struction concerning the Holy Spirit is likewise obscure, intelligible
only so far as He makes it clear to the eye of the favored soul.
We know that the same may be said of Christ s work, whose
real import is apprehended solely by the spiritually enlightened,
who behold the eternal wonders of the Cross. And yet what won
derful fascination is there even for a little child in the story of the
manger in Bethlehem, of the Transfiguration, of Gabbatha and
Golgotha. How easily can we interest him by telling of the
heavenly Father who numbereth the hairs of his head, arrayeth the
lilies of the field, feedeth the sparrows on the house-top. But is it
possible so to engage his attention for the Person of the Holy
Spirit? The same is true of the unregenerate : they are not unwill
ing to speak of the heavenly Father ; many speak feelingly of the
CAREFUL TREATMENT REQUIRED 7
Manger and of the Cross. But do they ever speak of the Holy
Spirit? They can not; the subject has no hold upon them. The
Spirit of God is so holily sensitive that naturally He withdraws from
the irreverent gaze of the uninitiated.
Christ has fully revealed Himself. It was the love and divine
compassion of the Son. But the Holy Spirit has not done so. It
is His saving faithfulness to meet us only in the secret place of His
love.
This causes another difficulty. Because of His unrevealed char
acter the Church has taught and studied the Spirit s work much
less than Christ s, and has attained much less clearness in its theo
logical discussion. We might say, since He gave the Word and
illuminated the Church, He spoke much more of the Father and the
Son than of Himself; not as tho it had been selfish to speak more
of Himself for sinful selfishness is inconceivable in regard to Him
but He must reveal the Father and the Son before He could lead us
into the more intimate fellowship with Himself.
This is the reason that there is so little preaching on the subject;
that text-books on Systematic Theology rarely treat it separately ;
that Pentecost (the feast of the Holy Spirit) appeals to the churches
and animates them much less than Christmas or Easter ; that un
happily many ministers, otherwise faithful, advance many erro
neous views upon this subject a fact .of which they and the
churches seem unconscious.
Hence special discussion of the theme deserves attention.
That it requires great caution and delicate treatment need not
be said. It is our prayer that the discussion may evince such great
care and caution as is required, and that our Christian readers may
receive our feeble efforts with that love which suffereth long.
n.
Two Standpoints.
" By the word of the Lord were the heavens
made ; and all the host of them by the
breath of His mouth." Psalm xxxiii. 6.
THE work of the Holy Spirit that most concerns us is the renew
ing of the elect after the image of God. And this is not all. It even
savors of selfishness and irreverence to make this so prominent, as
tho it were His only work.
The redeemed are not sanctified without Christ, who is made to
them sanctification ; hence the work of the Spirit must embrace the
Incarnation of the Word and the work of the Messiah. But the work
of Messiah involves preparatory working in the Patriarchs and
Prophets of Israel, and later activity in the Apostles, i.e., the fore
shadowing of the Eternal Word in Scripture. Likewise this revela
tion involves the conditions of man s nature and the historical de
velopment of the race ; hence the Holy Spirit is concerned in the
formation of the human mind and the unfolding of the spirit of
humanity. Lastly, man s condition depends on that of the earth ;
the influences of sun, moon, and stars; the elemental motions; and
no less on the actions of spirits, be they angels or demons from
other spheres. Wherefore the Spirit s work must touch the entire
host of heaven and earth.
To avoid a mechanical idea of His work as tho it began and
ended at random, like piece-work in a factory, it must not be deter
mined nor limited till it extends to all the influences that affect the
sanctification of the Church. The Holy Spirit is God, therefore
sovereign ; hence He can not depend on these influences, but com
pletely controls them. For this He must be able to operate them ;
so His work must be honored in all the host of heaven, in man and in
his history, in the preparation of Scripture, in the Incarnation of the
Word, in the salvation of the elect.
But this is not all. The final salvation of the elect is not the
TWO STANDPOINTS 9
last link in the chain of events. The hour that completes their re
demption will be the hour of reckoning for all creation. The Bib
lical revelation of Christ s return is not a mere pageant closing this
preliminary dispensation, but the great and notable event, the con
summation of all before, the catastrophe whereby all that is shall
receive its due.
In that great and notable day the elements with commotion and
awful change shall be combined into a new heaven and earth, i.e.,
out of these burning elements shall emerge the real beauty and
glory of God s original purpose. Then all ill, misery, plague,
every thing unholy, every demon, every spirit turned against God
shall become truly hellish ; that is, every "thing ungodly shall re
ceive its due, i.e., a world in which sin has absolute sway, For
what is hell other than a realm in which unholiness works without
restraint in body and soul? Then man s personality will recover
the unity destroyed by death, and God will grant His redeemed the
fruition of that blest hope confessed on earth amid conflict and
affliction in the words " I believe in the resurrection of the body.
Then shall Christ triumph over every power of Satan, sin, and
death, and thus receive His due as the Christ. Then wheat and
tares shall be separated ; the mingling shall cease, and the hope of
God s people become sight , the martyr shall be in rapture and his
executioner in torment. Then, too, shall the veil be drawn from
the Jerusalem that is above. The clouds shall be dispelled that
kept us from seeing that God was righteous in all His judgments;
then the wisdom and glory of all His counsels shall be vindicated
both by Satan and his own in the pit, and by Christ and His re
deemed in the city of our God, and the Lord be glorious in all His
works.
Thus radiating from the sanctification of the redeemed, we see
the work of the Spirit embracing in past ages the Incarnation, the
preparation of Scripture, the forming of man and the universe ; and,
extending into the ages, the Lord s return, the final judgment, and
that last cataclysm that shall separate heaven from hell forever.
This standpoint precludes our viewing the work of the Spirit
from that of the salvation of the redeemed. Our spiritual horizon
widens ; for the chief thing is not that the elect be fully saved, but
that God be justified in all His works and glorified through judgment.
To all who acknowledge that " He that believeth not on the Son
10 INTRODUCTION
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abiding on him," this must
be the only true standpoint.
If we subscribe this awful statement, not having lost our way in
the labyrinth of a so-called conditional immortality, which actually
annihilates man, then how can we dream of a state of perfect bliss
for the elect as long as the lost ones are being tormented by the
worm that dieth not? Is there no more love or compassion in our
hearts? Can we fancy ourselves for a single moment enjoying
heaven s bliss while the fire is not quenched and no lighted torch is
carried into the outer darkness?
To make the bliss of the elect the final end of all things while
Satan still roars in the bottomless pit is to annihilate the very
thought of such bliss. Love suffers not only when a human being
is in pain, but even when an animal is in distress; how much more
when an angel gnashes his teeth in torture, and that angel beautiful
and glorious as Satan was before his fall. And yet the very men
tion of Satan unconsciously lifts from our hearts the burden of
fellow pain, suffering, and compassion, for we feel immediately
that the knowledge of Satan s suffering in the pit does not in the
least appeal to our compassion. On the contrary, to believe that
Satan exists but not in utter misery were a wound to our profound
sense of justice.
And this is the point : to conceive of the blessedness of a soul
not in absolute union with Christ is unholy madness. No one but
Christ is blessed, and no man can be blessed but he who is vitally-
one with Christ Christ in him and he in Christ. Equally it is un
holy madness to conceive of man or angel lost in hell unless he has
identified himself with Satan, having become morally one with him.
The conception of a soul in hell not morally one with Satan is the
most appalling cruelty from which every noble heart recoils with
horror.
Every child of God is furious at Satan. Satan is simply unbear
able to him. In his inward man (however unfaithful his nature
may be) there is bitter enmity, implacable hatred against Satan.
Hence it satisfies our holiest conscience to know that Satan is in the
bottomless pit. To encourage a plea for him in the heart were
treason against God. Sharp agony may pierce his soul like a dag
ger for the unspeakable depth of his fall, yet as Satan, author of all
that is demoniac and fiendish, who has bruised the heel of the Son
of God, he can never move our hearts.
TWO STANDPOINTS n
Why? What is the sole, deep reason why as regards Satan com
passion is dead, hatred is right, and love would be blameworthy?
Is it not that we never can look upon Satan without remembering
that he is the adversary of our God, the mortal enemy of our
Christ? Were it not for that we might weep for him. But now
our allegiance to God tells us that such weeping would be treason
against our King.
Only by measuring the end of things by what belongs to God
can we stand right in this matter. We can view the matter of the
redeemed and the lost from the right standpoint only when we
subordinate both to that which is highest, i.e., the glory of God.
Measured by Him, we can conceive of the redeemed in a state of
bliss, enthroned, yet not in danger of pride ; since it was and is and
ever shall be by His sovereign grace alone. But also measured by
Him, we can think of those identified with Satan, joyless and mis
erable, without once hurting the sense of justice in the heart of the
upright ; for to be mercifully inclined toward Satan is impossible to
him who loves God with love deep and everlasting. And such is
the love of the redeemed.
Considered from this far superior standpoint, the work of the
Holy Spirit necessarily assumes a different aspect. Now we can
no more say that His work is the sanctification of the elect, with all
that precedes and follows; but we confess that it is the vindication
of the counsel of God with all that pertains thereto, from the creation
and throughout the ages, unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and onward throughout eternity, both in heaven and in hell.
The difference between these two viewpoints can easily be ap
preciated. According to the first, the work of the Holy Spirit is
only subordinate. Unfortunately man is fallen; hence he is dis
eased. Since he is impure and unholy, even subject to death it
self, the Holy Spirit must purify and sanctify him. This implies,
first, that had man not sinned the Holy Spirit would have had no
work. Second, that when the work of sanctification is finished, His
activity will cease. According to the correct viewpoint, the work
of the Spirit is continuous and perpetual, beginning with the crea
tion, continuing throughout eternity, begun even before sin first
appeared.
It may be objected that some time ago the author emphatically
opposed the idea that Christ would have come into the world even
12 INTRODUCTION
if sin had not entered in ; and that now he affirms with equal em
phasis that the Holy Spirit would have wrought in the world and
in man if the latter had remained sinless.
The answer is very simple. If Christ had not appeared in His
capacity of Messiah, He would have had, as the Son, the Second
Person in the Godhead, His own divine sphere of action, seeing
that all things consist through Him. On the contrary, if the work
of the Holy Spirit were confined to the sanctification of the re
deemed, He would be absolutely inactive if sin had not entered
into the world. And since this would be equal to a denial of His
Godhead, it can not for a moment be tolerated.
By occupying this superior viewpoint, we apply to the work
of the Holy Spirit the fundamental principle of the Reformed
churches : " That all things must be measured by the glory of
God."
III.
The Indwelling and Outgoing Works of God.
"And all the host of them by the breath
of His mouth." Psalm xxxiii. 6.
THE thorough and clear-headed theologians of the most flourish
ing periods of the Church used to distinguish between the indwell
ing and outgoing works of God.
The same distinction exists to some extent in nature. The lion
watching his prey differs widely from the lion resting among his
whelps. See the blazing eye, the lifted head, the strained muscles
and panting breath. One can see that the crouching lion is labor
ing intensely. Yet the act is now only in contemplation. The
heat and the ferment, the nerve-tension are all within. A terrible
deed is about to be done, but it is still under restraint, until he
pounces with thundering roar upon his unsuspecting victim, bury
ing his fangs deep into the quivering flesh.
We find the same distinction in finer form among men; When a
storm has raged at sea, and the fate of the absent fishing-smacks
that are expected to return with the tide is uncertain, a fisher
man s awe-stricken wife sits on the brow of the sand-hill watching
and waiting in speechless suspense. As she waits, her heart and
soul labor in prayer ; the nerves are tense, the blood runs fast, and
breathing is almost suspended. Yet there is no outward act ; only
labor within. But on the safe return of the smacks, when she sees
her own, her burdened heart finds relief in a cry of joy.
Or, taking examples from the more ordinary walks of life, com
pare the student, the scholar, the inventor thinking out his new
invention, the architect forming his plans, the general studying his
opportunities, the sturdy sailor nimbly climbing the mast of his
ship, or yonder blacksmith raising the sledge to strike the glowing
iron upon the anvil with concentrated muscular force. Judging
superficially, one would say the blacksmith and sailor work, but
the men of learning are idle. Yet he that looks beneath the sur-
I 4 INTRODUCTION
face knows better than this. For if those men perform no apparent
manual labor, they work with brain, nerve, and blood; yet since
those organs are more delicate than hand or foot, their invisible,
indwelling work is much more exhausting. With all their labor
the blacksmith and sailor are pictures of health, while the men of
mental force, apparently idle among their folios, are pale from ex
haustion, their vitality being almost consumed by their intense
application.
Applying this distinction without its human limitations to the
works of the Lord, we find that the outgoing works of God had
their beginning when God created the heavens and the earth; and
that before that moment which marks the birth of time, nothing
existed but God working within Himself. Hence this twofold
operation : The first, externally manifest, known to us in the acts
of creating, upholding, and directing all things acts that, compared
to those of eternity, seem to have begun but yesterday ; for what are
thousands of years in the presence of the eternal ages? The second,
behind and underneath the first an operation not begun nor ended,
but eternal like Himself; deeper, richer, fuller, yet not manifested,
hidden within Him, which we therefore designate indwelling.
Altho these two operations can scarcely be separated for there
never was one manifest without which was not first completed with
in yet the difference is strongly marked and easily recognized.
The indwelling works of God are from eternity, the outgoing belong
to time. The former precede, the latter follow. The foundation of
that which becomes visible lies in that which remains invisible. The
light itself is hidden, it is the radiation only that appears.
The Scripture, speaking of the indwelling works of God, says:
" The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, and the thoughts of
His heart to all generations" (Psalm xxiii. 1 1). Since in God heart
and thought have no separate existence, but His undivided Essence
thinks, feels, and wills, we learn from this significant passage that
the Being of God works in Himself from all eternity. This answers
the oft-repeated and foolish question, " What did God do before
He created the universe?" which is as unreason-ing as to ask
what the thinker did before he expressed his thoughts, or the
architect before he built the house !
God s indwelling works, which are from everlasting to everlast
ing, are not insignificant, but surpass His outgoing works in depth
and strength as the student s thinking and the sufferer s anguish
INDWELLING AND OUTGOING WORKS OF GOD 1 5
surpass their strongest utterances in intensity. " Could I but
weep," says the afflicted one, " how much more easily could I bear
my sorrow ! " And what are tears but the outward expression of
grief, relieving the pain and strain of the heart? Or think of the
child-tearing of the mother before delivery. It is said of the de
cree that it hath " brought forth" (Zeph. ii. 2), which signifies that
the phenomenon is only the result of preparation hidden from the
eye, but more real than the production, and without which there
would be nothing to bring forth.
Thus the expression of our earlier theologians is justified, and
the difference between the indwelling and the outgoing works is
patent.
Accordingly the indwelling works of God are the activities of His
Being, without the distinction of Persons; while His outgoing
works admit and to some extent demand this distinction: e.g.,
the common and well-known distinguishing of the Father s work
as that of creation, the Son s as that of redemption, and the Holy
Spirit s as that of sanctification relates only to God s outgoing
works. While these operations creation, redemption, and sanctifi
cation are hidden in the thoughts of His heart, His counsel, and His
Being, it is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost who creates, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost who redeems, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost who
sanctifies, without any division or distinction of activities. The
rays of light hidden in the sun are indivisible and indistinguishable
until they radiate ; so in the Being of God the indwelling working
is one and undivided ; His personal glories remain invisible until
revealed in His outgoing works. A stream is one until it falls over
the precipice and divides into many drops. So is the life of God
one and undivided while hidden within Himself; but when it is
poured out into created things its colors stand revealed. As, there
fore, the indwelling works of the Holy Spirit are common to the
three Persons of the Godhead, we do not discuss them, but treat
only those operations that bear the personal marks of His outgoing
works.
s
But we do not mean to teach that the distinction of the personal
attributes of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost did not exist in the divine
Being, but originated only in His outward activities.
The distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the divine
16 INTRODUCTION
characteristic of the Eternal Being, His mode of subsistence, His
deepest foundation ; to think of Him without that distinction would
be absurd. Indeed, in the divine and eternal economy of Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, each of the divine Persons lives and loves and
lauds according to His own personal characteristics, so that the
Father remains Father toward the Son, and the Son remains Son
toward the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both.
It is right to ask how this agrees with the statement made above,
that the indwelling works of God belong, without distinction of
Persons, to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and are therefore the
works of the divine Being. The answer is found in the careful dis
tinction of the twofold nature of the indwelling works of God.
Some operations in the divine Being are destined to be revealed
in time ; others will remain forever unrevealed. The former con
cern the creation ; the latter, only the relations of Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Take, for instance, election and eternal generation.
Both are indwelling operations of God, but with marked difference.
The Father s eternal generation of the Son can never be revealed,
but must ever be the mystery of the Godhead; while election
belongs as decree to the indwelling works of God, yet is destined
in the fulness of time to become manifest in the call of the elect.
Regarding the permanently indwelling works of God that do not
relate to the creature, but flow from the mutual relation of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the distinctive characteristics
of the three Persons must be kept in view. But with those that
are to become manifest, relating to the creature, this distinction
disappears. Here the rule applies that all indwelling works are
activities of the divine Being without distinction of Persons. To
illustrate: In the home there are two kinds of activities one flow
ing from the mutual relation of parents and children, another per
taining to the social life. In the former the distinction between
parents and children is never ignored ; in the latter, if the relation
be normal, neither the father nor the children act alone, but the
family as a whole. Even so in the holy, mysterious economy of the
divine Being, every operation of the Father upon the Son and of
both upon the Holy Spirit is distinct ; but in every outgoing act it
is always the one divine Being, the thoughts of whose heart are
for all His creatures. On that account the natural man knows no
more than that he has to do with a God.
The Unitarians, denying the Holy Trinity, have never reached
INDWELLING AND OUTGOING WORKS OF GOD 17
anything higher than that which can be seen by the light of the
darkened human understanding. We often discover that many
baptized with water but not with the Holy Spirit speak of the
Triune God because others do. For themselves they know only
that He is God. This is why the discriminating knowledge of the
Triune God can not illuminate the soul until the light of redemp
tion shines within, and the Day-star arises in man s heart. Our
Confession correctly expresses this, saying: "All this we know as
well from the testimony of Holy Writ as from their operations, and
chiefly by those we feel in ourselves" Cart. ix.).
2
IV.
The Work of the Holy Spirit Distinguished.
" And the Spirit of God moved upon thd!
face of the waters." Gen. i. 2.
WHAT, in general, is the work of the Holy Spirit as distinguished
from that of the Father and of the Son?
Not that every believer needs to know these distinctions in all^
particulars. The existence of faith does not depend upon intellec
tual distinctions. The main question is not whether we can dis
tinguish the work of the Father from that of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, but whether we have experienced their gracious opera
tions. The root of the matter, not the name, decides.
Must we then slightly value a clear understanding of sacred,
things? Shall we deem it superfluous and call its great matters
hair-splitting questions? By no means. The human mind searches
every department of life. Scientists deem it an honor to spend
their lives in analyzing the minutest plants and insects, describing
every particular, naming every member of the dissected organism.
Their work is never called "hair-splittings," but is distinguished
as " scientific research." And rightly so, for without differentiation
there can be no insight, and without insight there can be no
thorough acquaintance with the subject. Why, then, call this same
desire unprofitable when it directs the attention not to the creature,
but to the Lord God our Creator?
Can there be any worthier object of mental application than the
eternal God? Is it right and proper to insist upon correct discrimi
nation in every other sphere of knowledge, and yet regarding the
knowledge of God to be satisfied with generalities and confused
views? Has God not invited us to share the intellectual knowledge
of His Being? Has He not given us His Word? And does not the
Word illumine the mysteries of His Being, His attributes, His per
fections, His virtues, and the mode of His subsistence? If we
aspired to penetrate into things too high for us, or to unveil the
WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT DISTINGUISHED 19
unrevealed, reverence would require us to resist such audacity.
But since we aim in godly fear to listen to Scripture, and to receive
the proffered knowledge of the deep things of God, there can be
no room for objection. We would say rather to those who frown
upon such effort : " Ye can discern the face of the sky, but ye can
not discern the face of your Father in heaven."
Hence the question concerning the work of the Holy Spirit as
distinguished from that of the Father and of the Son is quite legiti
mate and necessary.
It is deplorable that many of God s children have confused con
ceptions in this respect. They can not distinguish the works of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Even in prayer
they use the divine names indiscriminately. Altho the Holy Spirit
is explicitly called the Comforter, yet they seek comfort mostly
from the Father or the Son, unable to say why and what in sense
the Holy Spirit is especially called Comforter.
The early Church already felt the need of clear and exact dis
tinctions in this matter ; and the great thinkers and Christian phi
losophers whom God gave to the Church, especially the Eastern
Fathers, expended their best powers largely upon this subject.
They saw very clearly that unless the Church learned to distinguish
the works of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, its confession of the
Holy Trinity could be but a dead sound. Compelled not by love
of subtleties, but by the necessity of the Church, they undertook to
study these distinctions. And God let heretics vex His Church so
as to arouse the mind by conflict, and to lead it to search God s
Word.
So we are not pioneers exploring a new field. The writing of
these articles can so impress those alone who are ignorant of the
historical treasures of the Church. We propose simply to cause
the light, which for so many ages shed its clear and comforting
rays upon the Church, to reenter the windows, and thus by deeper
knowledge to increase its inward strength.
We begin with the general distinction : That in every work
effected by Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in common, the power to
bring forth proceeds from the Father; the power to arrange from
the Son ; the power to perfect from the Holy Spirit.
In i Cor. viii. 6, St. Paul teaches that : " There, is but one God
the Father, of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ by
20 INTRODUCTION
whom are all things." Here we have two prepositions: of whom,
and by whom. But in Rom. xi. 38 he adds another: " For of Him
and through Him and to Him are all things."
The operation here spoken of is threefold : first, that by which
all things are originated (of Him) ; second, that by which all things
consist (through Him) ; third, that by which all things attain their
final destiny (to Him). In connection with this clear, apostolic
distinction the great teachers of the Church, after the fifth century,
used to distinguish the operations of the Persons of the Trinity by
saying that the operation whereby all things originated proceeds
from the Father; that whereby they received consistency from the
Son; and that whereby they were led to their destiny from the
Holy Spirit.
These clear thinkers taught that this distinction was in line with
that of the Persons. Thus the Father is father. He generates the
Son. And the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Hence the peculiar feature of the First Person is evidently that He
is the Source and Fountain not only of the material creation, but
of its very conception ; of all that was and is and ever shall be.
The peculiarity of the Second Person lies evidently not in genera
ting, but in being generated. One is a son by being generated.
Hence since all things proceed from the Father, nothing can
proceed from the Son. The source of all things is not in the Son.
Yet He adds a work of creation to that which is coming into exist
ence; for the Holy Spirit proceeds also from Him; but not from
Him alone, but from the Father and the Son, and that in such a
way that the procession of the Son is due to His sameness of
essence with the Father.
The Scripture agrees with this in teaching that the Father cre
ated all things by the Son, and that without Him was nothing made
that was made. For the difference between " created by" and
" created from," we refer to Col. i. 7 : " By Him all things consist,"
i.e., by Him they hold together. Heb. i. 3 is even clearer, saying
that the Son upholds all things by the Word of His power. This
shows that as the essentials of the creature s existence proceed
from the Father as Fountain of all, so the forming, putting together,
and arranging of its constituents are the proper work of the Son.
If we were reverently to compare God s work to that of man we
would say : A king proposes to build a palace. This requires not
only material, labor, and plans, but also putting together and
WORK OF THE.HOLY SPIRIT DISTINGUISHED 21
arranging of the materials according to the plans. The king fur
nishes the materials and plans, the builder constructs the palace.
Who, then, built it? Neither the king nor the builder alone ; but
the builder erects it out of the royal treasure.
This expresses the relation between Father and Son in this
respect as far as human relations can illustrate the divine. In the
construction of the universe two operations appear: first, the
causative, which produces the materials, forces, and plans ; second,
the constructive, which with these forces forms and orders the mate
rials according to the plan. And as the first proceeds from the
Father, so does the second from the Son. The Father is the Royal
Source of the necessary materials and powers ; and the Son as the
Builder constructs all things with them according to the counsel
of God. If the Father and the Son existed independently, such
cooperation would be impossible. But since the Father generates
the Son, and by virtue of that generation the Son contains the
entire Being of the Father, there can be no division of Being, and
only the distinction of Persons remains. For the entire wisdom
and power whereby the Son gives consistency to all is generated in
Him by the Father; while the counsel which designed all is a
determination by the Father of that divine wisdom which He as
Father generates in the Son. For the Son is forever the effulgence
of the Father s glory, and the express image of His Person Heb.
i- 3-
This does not complete the work of creation. The creature is
made not simply to exist or to adorn some niche in the universe
like a statue. Rather was everything created with a purpose and
a destiny ; and our creation will be complete only when we have
become what God designed. Hence Gen. ii. 3 says: "God rested
from all His work which He had created to make it perfect" (Dutch
translation). Thus to lead the creature to its destiny, to cause it
to develop according to its nature, to make it perfect, is the proper
work of the Holy Spirit.
Seconb Cbapter.
THE CREATION.
V.
The Principle of Life in the Creature.
" By His Spirit He hath garnished the
heavens; His hand hath formed the
crooked serpent." Job xx vi. 13.
WE have seen that the work of the Holy Spirit consists in lead
ing all creation to its destiny, the final purpose of which is the glory
of God. However, God s glory in creation appears in various
degrees and ways. An insect and a star, the mildew on the wall
and the cedar on Lebanon, a common laborer and a man like
Augustine, are all the creatures of God; yet how dissimilar they
are, and how varied their ways and degrees of glorifying God.
Let us therefore illustrate the statement that the glory of God is
the ultimate end of every creature. Comparing the glory of God
to that of an earthly king, it is evident that nothing can be indiffer
ent to that glory. The building material of his palace, its furni
ture, even the pavement before its gate, either enhance or diminish
the royal splendor. Much more, however, is the king honored by
the persons of his household, each in his degree, from the master
of ceremonies to his prime minister. Yet his highest glory is his
family of sons and daughters, begotten of his own blood, trained
by his wisdom, animated by his ideals, one with him in the plans,
purposes, and spirit of his life. Applying this in all reverence to
the court of the King of heaven, it is evident that while every
flower and star enhance His glory, the lives of angels and men are
of much greater significance to His Kingdom; and again, while
among the latter they are most closely related to His glory whom
He has placed in positions of authority, nearest of all are the
children begotten by His Spirit, and admitted to the secret of His
THE PRINCIPLE OF LIFE IN THE CREATURE 23
pavilion. We conclude, then, that God s glory is reflected most in
His children ; and since no man can be His child unless he is begot
ten of Him, we confess that His glory is most apparent in His elect
or in His Church.
His glory is not, however, confined to these ; for they are related
to the whole race, and live among all nations and peoples with
whom they share the common lot. We neither may nor can sepa
rate their spiritual life from their national, social, and domestic life.
And since all differences of national, social, and domestic life are
caused by climate and atmosphere, meat and drink, rain and
drought, plant and insect in a word, by the whole economy of this
material world, including comet and meteor, it is evident that all
these affect the outcome of things and are related to the glory of
God. Hence as connected with the task of leading creation to its
destiny, the whole universe confronts the mind as a mighty unit
organically related to the Church as the shell to the kernel.
In the accomplishment of this task the question arises in what
way the fairest, noblest, and holiest part of the creation is to attain
its destiny ; for to this all other parts must be made subservient.
Hence the question, How are the multitude of the elect to attain
their final perfection? The answer to this will indicate what is the
Holy Spirit s action upon all other creatures.
The answer can not be doubtful. God s children can never
accomplish their glorious end unless God dwell in them as in His
temple. It is the love of God that constrains Him to live in His
children, by their love for Him to love Himself, and to see the
reflection of His glory in the consciousness of His own handiwork.
This glorious purpose will be realized only when the elect know as
they are known, behold their God face to face, and enjoy the felicity
of closest communion with the Lord.
Since all this can be wrought in them only by His indwelling in
their hearts, and since it is the Third Person in the Holy Trinity
who enters the spirits of men and of angels, it is evident that God s
highest purposes are realized when the Holy Spirit makes man s
heart His dwelling-place. Who or what ever we are by education
or position, we can not attain our highest destiny unless the Holy
Spirit dwell in us and operate upon the inward organism of our
being.
If this His highest work had no bearing upon anything else, we
24 THE CREATION
might say that it consists merely in finishing the perfection of the
creature. But this is not so. Every believer knows that there is a
most intimate connection between his life before and after conver
sion ; not as tho the former determined the latter, but in such a way
that the life in sin and the life in the beauty of holiness are both
conditioned by the same character and disposition, by similar circum
stances and influences. Wherefore, to bring about our final perfec
tion the Holy Spirit must influence the previous development, the
formation of character, and the disposition of the whole person.
And this operation, altho less marked in the natural life, must
also be traced. However, since our personal life is only a manifes
tation of human life in general, it follows that the Holy Spirit
must have been active also in the creation of man, altho in a less
marked degree. And finally, as the disposition of man as such is
connected with the host of heaven and earth, His work must touch
the formation of this also, tho to a much less extent. Hence
the Spirit s work reaches as far as the influences that affect man
in the attaining of his destiny or in the failure to attain it. And
the measure of the influence is the degree in which they affect
his perfecting. In the departure of the redeemed soul every one
acknowledges a work of the Holy Spirit ; but who can trace His
work in the star-movements? Yet the Scripture teaches not only
that we are born again by the power of the Spirit of God, but that
" by the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host
of them by the breath [Spirit] of His mouth"
Wherefore the Spirit s work leading the creature to its destiny
includes an influence upon all creation from the beginning. And,
if sin had not come in, we might say that this work is done in three
successive steps : first, impregnating inanimate matter ; second,
animating the rational soul ; third, taking up His abode in the elect
child of God.
But sin entered in, i.e., a power appeared to keep man and
nature from their destiny. Hence the Holy Spirit must antagonize
sin ; His calling is to annihilate it, and despite its opposition to cause
the elect children of God and the entire creation to reach their
end. Redemption is therefore not a new work added to that of the
Holy Spirit, but it is identical with it. He undertook to bring all
things to their destiny either without the disturbance of sin or in
spite of it / first, by saving the elect, and then by restoring all things
in heaven and on earth at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE PRINCIPLE OF LIFE IN THE CREATURE 25
Things incidental t,o this, such as the inspiration of Scripture,
the preparation of the Body of Christ, the extraordinary ministration
of grace to the Church, are only connecting-links, connecting the
beginning with its own predetermined end; that in spite of sin s
disturbance the destiny of the universe to glorify God might be
secured.
Condensing all into one statement, we might say: Sin having
once entered, a factor which must be taken into account, the Holy
Spirit s work shines most gloriously in gathering and saving the
elect ; prior to which are His operations in the work of redemption
and in the economy of the natural life. The same Spirit who in
the beginning moved upon the waters has in the dispensation of
grace given us the Holy Scripture, the Person of Christ, and the
Christian Church ; and it is He who, in connection with the original
creation and by these means of grace, now regenerates and sanctifies
us as the children of God.
Regarding these mighty and comprehensive operations, it is of
first importance to keep in view the fact that in each He effects
only that which is invisible and imperceptible. This marks all the
Holy Spirit s operations. Behind the visible world lies one invisi
ble and spiritual, with outer courts and inner recesses ; and under
neath the latter are the unfathomable depths of the soul, which the
Holy Spirit chooses as the scene of His labors His temple wherein
He sets up His altar.
Christ s redemptive work also has visible and invisible parts.
Reconciliation in His blood was visible. The sanctification of His
Body and the adorning of His human nature with manifold graces
were invisible. Whenever this hidden and inward work is specified
the Scripture always connects it with the Holy Spirit. Gabriel says
to Mary: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee." It is said of
Christ: " That He had the Spirit without measure."
We observe also in the host of heaven a life material, outward,
tangible which in thought we never associate with the Holy Spirit.
But, however weak and impalpable, the visible and tangible has
an invisible background. How intangible are the forces of nature,
how full of majesty the forces of magnetism! But life underlies
all. Even through the apparently dead trunk sighs an impercept
ible breath. From the unfathomable depths of all an inward,
hidden principle works upward and outward. It shows in nature,
much more in man and angel. And what is this quickening and
26 THE CREATION
animating principle but the Holy Spirit? " Thou sendest forth Thy
Spirit, they are created; Thou takest away Thy breath, they die."
This inward, invisible something is God s direct touch. There
is in us and in every creature a point where the living God touches
us to uphold us; for nothing exists without being upheld by Al
mighty God from moment to moment. In the elect this point is
their spiritual life ; in the rational creature his rational conscious
ness; and in all creatures, whether rational or not, their life-prin
ciple. And as the Holy Spirit is the Person in the Holy Trinity
whose office it is to effect this direct touch and fellowship with the
creature in his inmost being, it is He who dwells in the hearts of
the elect ; who animates every rational being , who sustains the
principle of life in very creature.
VI.
The Host of Heaven and of Earth.
" The Spirit of God hath made
me." yc0 xxxiii. 4.
UNDERSTANDING somewhat the characteristic note of the work of
the Holy Spirit, let us see what this work was and is and shall be.
The Father brings forth, the Son disposes and arranges, the
Holy Spirit perfects. There is one God and Father of whom are
all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things;
but what does the Scripture say of the special work the Holy Spirit
did in creation and is still doing?
For the sake of order we examine first the account of the crea
tion. God says in Gen. i. 2 : " The earth was without form and
void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit
of God moved upon the waters." See also Job xxvi. 13: " By His
Spirit He hath garnished the heavens ; His hand hath formed the
crooked serpent [the constellation of the Dragon, or, according to
others, the Milky Way]." And also Job xxxiii. 4: "The Spirit of
God hath made me ; and the breath of the Almighty hath given me
life." And again Psalm xxxiii. 6: " By the Word of the Lord were
the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His
mouth." So also Psalm civ. 30: "Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit,
they are created, and Thou renewest the face of the earth." And
with different import, in Isa. xl. 13: "Who hath directed the Spirit
of the Lord [in creation], or being His counselor hath taught Him?"
These statements show that the Holy Spirit did a work of His
own in creation.
They show, too, that His activities are ^closely connected with
those of the Father and the Son. Psalm xxxiii. 6 presents them
as almost identical. The first clause reads : " By the Word of the
Lord were the heavens" made"; the second: "And all the host of
them by the breath [Spirit] of His mouth." It is well known that
in Hebrew poetry parallel clauses express the same thought in
28 THE CREATION
different ways ; so that from this passage it appears that the work
of the Word and that of the Spirit are the same, the latter adding
only that which is peculiarly His own.
It should be noticed that hardly any of these passages mention
the Holy Spirit by His own name. It is not the Holy Spirit, but the
" Spirit of His mouth," " His Spirit," " the Spirit of the Lord." On
account of this, many hold that these passages do not refer to the
Holy Spirit as the Third Person in the Holy Trinity, but speak of
God as One, without personal distinction ; and that the representa
tion of God as creating anything by His hand, fingers, word, breath,
or Spirit is merely a human way of speaking, signifying only that
God was thus engaged.
The Church has always opposed this interpretation, and rightly
so, on the ground that even the Old Testament, not merely in a few
places but throughout its entire economy, bears undoubted testi
mony to the three divine Persons, coequal yet of one essence. It
is true that this too has been denied, but by a wrong interpretation.
And to the reply, " But our interpretation is as good as yours," we
answer that Jesus and the apostles are our authorities; the Church
received its confession from their lips.
Secondly, we deny that " His Spirit" does not refer to the Holy
Ghost, for the reason that in the New Testament similar expres
sions occur that undoubtedly do refer to Him, e.g., God hath sent
forth the Spirit of His Son" (Gal. iv. 6); "Whom the Lord shall
consume by the Spirit of His mouth" (2 Thess. ii. 8); etc.
Thirdly, judging from the following passages, " By the Word ot
the Lord were the heavens made " (Psalm xxxiii. 6) ; " And God said,
Let there be light" (Gen. i. 3) ; and " All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John i.
3), there can be no doubt that Psalm xxxiii. 6 refers to the Second
Person in the Godhead. Hence also the second clause of the same
verse, " And all their host by the Spirit of His mouth," must refer
to the Third Person.
Finally, to speak of a Spirit of God that is not the Holy Spirit is
to transfer to the Holy Scripture a purely Western and human idea.
We as men often speak of a wrong spirit which controls a nation, an
army, or a school, meaning a certain tendency, inclination, or per
suasion a spirit that proceeds from a man distinct horn his person
and being. But this may not and can not apply to God. Speak
ing of Christ in His humiliation, one may rightly say, " To have
THE HOST OF HEAVEN AND OF EARTH 29
the mind of Christ," or " to have the spirit of Jesus," which indi
cates His disposition. But to distinguish the divine Being from
a spirit of that Being is to conceive of the Godhead in a human
way. The divine consciousness differs wholly from the human.
While in us there is a difference between our persons and our con
sciousness, with reference to God such distinctions disappear, and
the distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit takes their place.
Even in those passages where "the breath of His mouth" is
added to explain " His Spirit," the same interpretation must be
maintained. For all languages show that our breathing, even as
the " breathing of the elements "in the wind which blows before
God s face, corresponds to the being of spirit. Nearly all express
the ideas of spirit, breath, and wind by cognate terms. Blowing or
breathing is in all the Scripture the symbol of spirit-communica
tion. Jesus breathed on them and said : " Receive ye the Holy
Ghost" (John xx. 22). Thus the breath of His mouth must signify
the Holy Spirit.
The ancient interpretation of the Scripture should not be hastily
abandoned. Accept the dictum of modern theology that the dis
tinction of the three divine Persons is not found in the Old Testa
ment, and allusions to the work of the Holy Spirit in Genesis, Job,
Psalms, or Isaiah are out of the question. Consequently nothing is
more natural for the supporters of this modern theology than to
deny the Holy Spirit altogether in the passages referred to.
But if from inward conviction we still confess that the distinc
tion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is clearly seen in the Old
Testament, then let us examine these passages concerning the
Spirit of the Lord with discrimination, and gratefully maintain the
traditional interpretation, which finds at least in many of these
statements references to the work of the Holy Spirit.
These passages show that His peculiar work in creation was :
ist, hovering over chaos; 2d, creation of the host of heaven and of
earth ; 3d, ordening the heavens ; 4th, animating the brute creation,
and calling man into existence; and last, the operation whereby
every creature is made to exist according to God s counsel concern
ing it.
Hence the material forces of the universe do not proceed from
the Holy Spirit/ nor did He deposit in matter the dormant seeds and
germs of life. His special task begins only after the creation of
matter with the germs of life in it.
30 THE CREATION
The Hebrew text shows that the work of the Holy Spirit moving
upon the face of the waters was similar to that of the parent bird
which with outspread wings hovers over its young to cherish and
cover them. The figure implies that not only the earth existed,
but also the germs of life within it ; and that the Holy Spirit im
pregnating these germs caused the life to come forth in order to
lead it to its destiny.
Not by the Holy Spirit, but by the Word were the heavens
created. And when the created heavens were to receive their
host, then only did the moment come for the exercise of the Holy
Spirit s peculiar functions. What " the host of heaven" means is
not easily decided. It may refer to sun, moon, and stars, or to the
host of angels. Perhaps the passage means not the creation of the
heavenly bodies, but their reception of heavenly glory and celestial
fire. But Psalm xxxiii. 6 refers certainly not to the creation of the
matter of which the heavenly host are composed, but to the produc
tion of their glory.
Gen. i. 2 reveals first the creation of matter and its germs,
then their quickening; so Psalm xxxiii. 6 teaches first the prepara
tion of the- being and nature of the heavens, then the bringing forth
of their host by the Holy Spirit. Job xxvi. 13 leads to a similar
conclusion. Here is the same distinction between the heavens and
their ordening, the latter being represented as the special work of
the Holy Spirit. This ordening is the same as the brooding in
Gen. i. 2, by which the formless took form, the hidden life emerged,
and the things created were led to their destiny. Psalm civ. 30 and
Job xxxiii. 4 illustrate the work of the Holy Spirit in creation still
more clearly. Job informs us that the Holy Spirit had a special
part in the making of man ; and Psalm civ. that He performed a
similar work in the creation of the animals, of the fowls and the
fishes; for the two preceding verses imply that verse 27 "Thou
sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created " refers not to man, but
to the monsters that play in the deep.
Grant that the matter out of which God made man was already
present in the dust of the earth, that the type of his body was
largely present in the animal, and that the idea of man and the
image after which he was to be created existed already ; yet from
Job xxxiii. 4 it is evident that he did not come to be without a
special work of the Holy Spirit. So Psalm civ. 30 proves that,
altho the matter existed out of which whale and unicorn were to be
THE HOST OF HEAVEN AND OF EARTH 31
made, and the plan or model was in the divine counsel, yet a special
act of the Holy Spirit was needed to cause them to be. This is still
plainer in view of the fact that neither passage refers to ihejftrst
creation, but to a man and animals formed later. For Job speaks
not of Adam and Eve, but of himself. He says: "The spirit of
God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me
life." In- Psalm civ. David means not the monsters of the deep
created in the beginning, but those that were walking the paths of
the sea while he was singing this psalm. If, therefore, the bodies
of existing man and of mammals are not immediate creations, but
are taken from the flesh and blood, the nature and kind of existent
beings, then it is more evident that the hovering of the Holy Spirit
over the unformed is a present act ; and that therefore His creative
work was to bring out the life already hidden in chaos, i.e., in the
germs of life.
This agrees with what was said at first of the general character
of His work. " To lead to its destiny " is to bring forth the hidden
life, to cause the hidden beauty to reveal itself, to rouse into activity
the slumbering energies.
Only let us not represent it as a work performed in successive
stages first by the Father, whose finished work was taken up by
the Son, after which the Holy Spirit completed the work thus pre
pared. Such representations are unworthy of God. There is distri
bution, no division, in the divine activities ; wherefore Isaiah declares
that the Spirit of the Lord, i.e., the Holy Spirit, throughout the
entire work of creation, from the beginning yea, from before the
beginning directed all that was to come.
,t moving
*ent bird
; sh and
: sted,
VII.
The Creaturely Man.
"The Spirit of God hath made me, and
the breath of the Almighty hath
given me life." Job xxxiii. 4.
THE Eternal and Ever-blessed God comes into vital touch with
the creature by an act proceeding not from the Father nor from
the Son, but from the Holy Spirit.
Translated by sovereign grace from death unto life, God s chil
dren are conscious of this divine fellowship; they know that it con
sists not in inward agreement of disposition or inclination, but in
the mysterious touch of God upon their spiritual being. But they
also know that neither the Father nor the Son, but the Holy Spirit,
has made their hearts His temple. It is true Christ comes to us
through the Holy Spirit, and through the Son we have fellowship
with the Father, according to His word, " I and the Father will
come unto you, and make Our abode with you"; yet every intelli
gent Bible student knows that it is more especially the Holy Spirit
who enters into his person and touches his innermost being.
That the Son incarnate came into closer contact with us proves
nothing to the contrary. Christ never entered into a human person.
He took upon Himself our human nature, with which He united
Himself much more closely than the Holy Spirit does; but He did
not touch the inward man and his hidden personality. On the con
trary, He said that it was expedient for the disciples that He should
go away ; " for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you; but if I depart I will send Him unto you." Moreover, the In
carnation was not accomplished without the Holy Spirit, who over
shadowed Mary; and the blessings that Christ imparted to all
around Him were largely owing to the gift of the Holy Spirit,
which was given Him without measure.
Hence the principal thought remains intact: When God comes
into direct contact with the creature it is the work of the Holy
THE CREATURELY MAN 33
such contact. In the visible world this action con-
.ie kindling and fanning of the spark of life ; hence it is
ei ltural and in full harmony with the general tenor of the
e Lng of Scripture that the Spirit of God moves upon the face
of the waters, that He brings forth the host of heaven and earth,
ordened, animated, and resplendent.
Besides this visible creation there is also an invisible, which, so
far as our world is concerned, concentrates itself in the heart of man ;
hence, in the second place, we must see how far the work of the
Holy Spirit may be traced in man s creation.
Of the animal world we do not speak. Not as tho the Holy
Spirit had nothing to do with their creation. From Psalm civ. 30
we have proven the contrary. Moreover, no one can deny the
admirable traits of cunning, love, fidelity, and thankfulness in many
of the animals. Not that we would be foolish on that ground to
call the dog half human; for these higher animal properties are
evidently but instinctive preformations, sketches of the Holy
Spirit, carried to their proper destiny in man alone. And yet,
however striking these traits may be, it is not a person that meets
us in the animal. The animaj. proceeds from the world of matter,
and returns to it; in man alone appears that which is new, invisible,
and spiritual, justifying us in looking for a special work of the Holy
Spirit in his creation.
Of himself, i.e., of a man, Job declares: " The Spirit of God hath
made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." The
Spirit of God hath made me. That which I am as a human person
ality is the work of the Holy Spirit. To Him I owe the human and
personal that constitute me the being that I am. He adds : " The
breath of the Almighty hath given me life"; which evidently
echoes the words : " The Lord God breathed into His nostrils the
breath of life."
Like Job, we ought to feel and to acknowledge that in Adam
you and I are created; when God created Adam He created us ; in
Adam s nature He called forth the nature wherein we now live.
Gen. i. and ii. is not the record of aliens, but of ourselves concern
ing the flesh and blood which we carry with us, the human nature in
which we sit down to read the Word of God.
He that reads his Bible without this personal application reads
amiss. It leaves him cold and indifferent. It may charm him in
the days of his childhood, when one is fond of tales and stories, but
3
34 THE CREATION
has no hold of him in the days of conflict, when he meets the stern
facts and realities of life. But if we accustom ourselves to see
in this record the history of our own flesh and blood, of our own
human nature and life, and acknowledge that by human generation
we spring from Adam, and therefore were in Adam when he was
created then we shall also know that when God formed Adam out
of the dust He also formed us ; that we also were in Paradise ; that
Adam s fall ^was also ours. In a word, the first page of Genesis
relates the history not of an alien, but of our own real selves. The
breath of the Almighty gave us life, when the Lord formed man of
the dust, and breathed into his nostrils and made him a living soul.
The root of our life lies in our parents ; but through and beyond
them the tender fiber of that root goes back through the long line
of generations, and received its earliest beginning when Adam first
breathed God s pure air in Paradise.
And yet, tho in Paradise we received the first inception of our
being, there is also a second beginning of our life, viz., when from
the race, by conception and birth, each of us was called into being
individually. And of this also Job testifies : " The Spirit of the Lord
hath given me life."
And again, in the life of sinful man there comes a third begin
ning, when it pleases God to convert the wicked; and of this also
the soul testifies within us ; " The Spirit of the Lord hath given me
life/
Leaving this new birth out of the question, the testimony of Job
shows us that he was conscious of the fact that he owed his exist
ence as a man, as a person, as an ego, hence his creation in Adam
as well as his personal being, to God.
And what does the Scripture teach us concerning the creation
of man? This : that the dust of the ground out of which Adam was
formed was so wrought upon that it became a living soul, which
indicates the human being. The result was not merely a moving,
creeping, eating, drinking, and sleeping creature, but a living soul
that came into existence at the moment when the breath of life was
breathed into the dust. It was not first the dust, and then human
life within the dust, and after that the soul with all its higher facul
ties in that human life ; nay, as soon as life went forth into Adam,
he was a man, and all his precious gifts were natural endowments.
Sinful man being born from above receives gifts that are above
nature. For this reason the Holy Spirit merely dwells in the quick-
THE CREATURELY MAN 35
ened sinner. But in heaven this will not be so ; for in death the
human nature is so completely changed that the impulse to sin
disappears entirely ; wherefore in heaven the Holy Spirit will work
in the human nature itself for ever and ever. In the present state
of humiliation the nature of the regenerate is still the Adam-nature.
The great mystery of the work of the Holy Spirit in him is this:
that in and by that broken and corrupt nature He works the holy works
of God. It is as light shining through our window-panes, but in no
wise identical with the glass.
In Paradise, however, man s nature was whole, intact; every
thing about him was holy. We must avoid the dangerous error
that the newly created man had an inferior degree of holiness.
God made man upright, with nothing crooked in or about him. All
his inclinations and powers with all their workings were pure and
holy. God delighted in Adam, saw that he was good, surely noth
ing more can be desired. In this respect Adam differed from the
child of. God by grace in not having eternal life; he was to attain
this as the reward for holy works. On the other hand, Abraham,
the father of the faithful, begins with eternal life, from which holy
works were to proceed.
Hence a perfect contrast. Adam must attain eternal life by
works. Abraham has eternal life through which he obtains holy
works. Hence for Adam there can be no indwelling of the Holy
Spirit. There was no antagonism between him and the Spirit. So
the Spirit could pervade him, not merely dwell in him. The nature
of sinful man repels the Holy Spirit, but Adam s nature attracted
Him, freely received Him, and let Him inspire his being.
Our faculties and inclinations are impaired, our powers are ener
vated, the passions of our hearts corrupt; hence the Holy Spirit
must come to us from without. But since Adam s faculties were all
intact, and the whole expression of his inward life undisturbed,
therefore could the Holy Spirit work through the common powers
and operations of his nature. To Adam spiritual things were not a
fjtematural, but a natural good except eternal life, which he must
earn by fulfilling the law. Scripture expresses this unity between
Adam s natural life and spiritual powers by identifying the two
expressions " To breathe into the breath of life," and " to become
a living soul."
Other passages show that this divine "inbreathing" indicates
especially the Spirit s work. Jesus breathed upon His disciples
36 THE CREATION
and said: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." He compares the Holy
Spirit to the wind. In both the Biblical languages, Hebrew and
Greek, the word spirit means wind, breathing or blowing. And as
the Church confesses that the Son is eternally generated by the
Father, so it confesses that the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the
Father and the Son as by breathing. Hence we conclude that the
passage, "And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" in
connection with, "The Spirit of God moved on the face of the
waters," and the word of Job, " The Spirit of God hath given me
life " points to a special work of the Holy Spirit.
Before God breathed the breath of life in the lifeless dust, there
was a conference in the economy of the divine Being : " Let Us
make man in Our image, after Our likeness." This shows-
First, that each divine Person had a distinct work in the creation
of man " Let Us make man." Before this the singular is used of
God " He spake," " He saw"; but now the plural is used, " Let Us
make man," which implies that, here specially and more clearly
than in any preceding passage, the activities of the Persons are to
be distinguished.
Secondly, that man was not created empty, afterward to be en
dowed with higher spiritual faculties and powers, but that the very
act of creation made him after God s image, without any subse
quent addition to his being. For we read : " Let Us create man in
Our image and after Our likeness" This assures us that by immediate
creation man received the impress of the divine image ; that in the
creation the divine Persons each performed a distinct work ; and,
lastly, that man s creation with reference to his higher destiny was
effected by a going forth of the breath of God.
This is the basis of our statement that the Spirit s creative work
was making all man s powers and gifts instruments for His own
use, connecting them vitally and immediately with the powers of
God. This agrees with Biblical teachings regarding the Holy
Spirit s regenerating work, which also, tho differently, brings the
power and holiness of God in immediate contact with human
powers.
We deny, therefore, the frequent assertion of ethical theolo
gians, that the Holy Spirit created \.}\o, personality of man, since this
opposes the entire economy of Scripture. For what is our person
ality but the realization of God s plan concerning us? Such as God
from eternity has thought each of us, as distinct from other men,
THE , CREATURELY MAN 37
with our own stamp, life-history, calling, and destiny as such each
must develop and show himself to become a person. Thus alone
each obtains character ; anything else so called is pride and arbi
trariness.
If our personality result directly from God s plan, then it and
what we have in common with all other creatures can not be from
the Holy Spirit, but from the Father ; like all other things, it re
ceives its disposition from the Son ; and the Holy Spirit acts upon
it as upon every other creature, by kindling the spark, imparting
the glow of life.
VIII.
Gifts and Talents.
" And the Spirit of the Lord came
upon him. Judges iii. 10.
WE now consider the Holy Spirit s work in bestowing gifts,
talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scrip
ture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons
for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit.
The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen,
skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the
arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses with
them? The Holy Spirit. For we read in Exod. xxxi. 2, 3 : " I have
called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, . . . and I have filled him
with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in
knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning
works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting
of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all
manner of workmanship." Verse 6 shows that this activity of the
Holy Spirit included others : " In the hearts of all that are wise-
hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have
commanded them." And to give clearest light on this subject,
Scripture says also: " Then hath He filled with wisdom of heart, to
work all manner of work of the engraver and of the cunning work
man, and of the embroiderer in blue and in purple and in scarlet
and in fine linen of the weaver, even of them that do any work and
of these that devise cunning work."
The Spirit s working shows not only in ordinary skilled labor,
but also in the higher spheres of human knowledge and mental
activity; for military genius, legal acumen, statemanship, and
power to inspire the masses with enthusiasm are equally ascribed
to it. This is generally expressed in the words, " And the Spirit
of the Lord came upon " such a hero, judge, statesman, or tribune
of the people, especially in the days of the Judges, when it is said
GIFTS AND TALENTS
39
of Joshua, Othniel, Barak, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, and others
that the Spirit of the Lord came upon them. Also of Zerubbabel
rebuilding the temple, it is said : " Not by might nor by power, but
by My Spirit, saith the Lord." Even of the heathen king, Cyrus,
we read that Jehovah had called him to His work and anointed him
with the Spirit of the Lord Isa. xlv.
This last instance introduces another aspect of the case, viz., the
operation of the Holy Spirit in qualifying men for official functions.
For altho this operation upon and through the office receives its
fullest significance only in the dispensation of grace, yet the case
of Cyrus shows that the Holy Spirit has originally a work to per
form in this respect which is not only a result of grace, but belongs
essentially to the nature of the work, even tho it is obvious only
in the history of God s special dealings with His own people.
It is especially noticeable in the struggle between Saul and
David. There is no reason to consider Saul one of God s elect.
After his anointing the Holy Spirit comes upon him, abides with
him, and works upon him as long as he remains the Lord s chosen
king over His people. But as soon as by wilful disobedience he
forfeits that favor, the Holy Spirit departs from him and an evil
spirit from the Lord troubles him. Evidently this work of the
Holy Spirit has nothing to do with regeneration. For a time it
may operate upon a man and then forever depart from him ; while
the Spirit s saving operation, even tho suspended for a time, can
never be wholly lost. David s touching prayer, " Take not Thy
Holy Spirit from me," must therefore refer to gifts qualifying him
for the kingly office. David had the terrible example of Saul
before him. He had seen what becomes of a man whom the Holy
Spirit leaves to himself; and his heart trembled at the possibility
of an evil spirit coming upon him, and an end as sad as Saul s.
Like Judas, Saul dies a suicide.
From the whole Scripture teaching we therefore conclude that
the Holy Spirit has a work in connection with mechanical arts and
official functions in every special talent whereby some men excel
in such art or office. This teaching is not simply that such gifts
and talents are not of man but from God Hke all other blessings,
but that they are not the work of the Father, nor of the Son, but of
the Holy Spirit.
The distinction discovered in creation may be observed here :
gifts and talents come from the Father ; are disposed for each per-
40 THE CREATION
sonality by the Son ; and kindled in each by the Holy Spirit as by
a spark from above.
Let us distinguish art itself, personal talent to practise it, and
the vocation thereto.
Art is not man s invention, but God s creation. In all nations
and ages men have pursued the arts of weaving, embroidering,
skilful dressmaking, casting and chasing noble metals, cutting and
polishing diamonds, molding iron and brass ; and in all these coun
tries and ages, without knowing of each other s efforts, have applied
the same arts to all these materials. Of course there is a difference.
Oriental work bears a stamp quite different from that of the West.
Even French and German work differ. But under the differences,
the endeavor, the art applied, the material, the ideal pursued are
the same. So, too, art did not attain perfection all at once ; among
the nations forms at first crude and awkward gradually developed
into forms chaste, refined, and beautiful. Successive generations
improved upon previous achievements, until among the various
nations comparative perfection of art and skill was attained.
Hence art is not the result of man s thought and purpose; but God
has placed in various materials certain possibilities of workman
ship, and by applying this workmanship man must make out of
each what there is in it, and not whatever he chooses.
Two things must cooperate to effect this. In the creation of
gold, silver, wood, iron, God must have placed in them certain
possibilities, and have created inventive power in man s mind, per
severance in his will, strength in his muscle, accurate vision in his
eye, delicacy of touch and action in his fingers, thus qualifying
him to evolve what is latent in the materials. Since this labor has
the same nature among all nations, the perpetual progress of the
same great work being accomplished according to the same majestic
plan, through successive generations, all artistic skill and executive
ability must be wrought in man by a higher power and according to
a higher command. Viewing the treasures of an industrial exposi
tion in the light of the revealed Word, we shall see in their gradual
development and genetic unity the downfall of human pride, and
exclaim : " What is all this art and skill but the manifestation of the
possibilities which God has placed in these materials, and of the
powers of mind and eye and finger which He has given the children
of men ! "
Consider, now, personal talent as utterly distinct from art.
GIFTS AND TALENTS 41
The goldsmith in his craft and the judge in his office enter upon
a work of God. Each labors in his divine vocation, and all the skill
and judgment that he may develop therein come from the treasures
of the Lord.
Still, workman differs from workman, general from general.
The one copies the product of the generation before him and be
queaths it without increasing the artistic skill. He began as an
apprentice, and imparts this skill to other apprentices; but the
artistic proficiency is the same. The other manifests something
akin to genius. He quickly surpasses his master; sees, touches,
discovers something new. In his hand art is enriched. It is given
him to transfer from the treasures of divine artistic skill new beau
ties into human skill.
So also of men in office and profession. Thousands of officers
trained in our military schools become good teachers of the science
of tactics as practised heretofore, but add nothing to it ; while among
these thousands there may be two or three possessed of military
genius who in the event of war will astonish the world by their
brilliant exploits.
This talent, this individual genius so intimately connected with
man s personality, is a gift. No power in the world can create it in
the man that possesses it not. The child is born with or without it
if without it, no education nor severity not even ambition can call
it forth. But as the gift of grace is freely bestowed by the sover
eign God, so is also the gift of genius. When the people pray, let
them not forget to ask the Lord to raise up among them men of
talent, heroes of art and of office.
When in 1870 Germany had victory only, and France defeat onty,
it was God s sovereignty that gave the former talented generals,
and in displeasure denied them to the latter.
Consider the vocation.
Official and mechanical men have a high call. All have not the
same ability. One is adapted for the sea, another for the plow.
One is a bungler in the foundry, but a master at wood-carving,
while another is the reverse. This depends upon the personality,
nature, and inclination. And since the Holy Spirit lights the
personality, He also determines every man s calling to trade or
profession. The same applies to the life of nations. The French
excel in taste as well as in artistic workmanship ; while the English
seem created for the sea, our masters in all the markets of the
42 THE CREATION
world. The Holy Spirit even bestows artistic skill and talent upon
a nation at one time and withdraws it at another. Three centuries
ago Holland surpassed all Europe in weaving, making porcelain,
printing, painting, and engraving. But how great the subsequent
decline in this respect altho now progress again appears.
What we find in Israel is related to this. This very thirst and
capacity for knowledge had caused man to fall. The first impetus
was given to artistic skill among Cain s descendants; the Jubals
and the Jabals and the Tubal-Cains were the first artists. And yet
this whole development, altho feeding upon the treasures of God,
departed more and more from Him, while His own people utterly
lacked it. In the days of Samuel there was no smith found in all
the land of Canaan. Hence the Spirit s coming upon Bezaleel and
Aholiab, upon Othniel and Samson, upon Saul and David, signifies
something more than a mere imparting of artistic skill and talent ;
namely, the restoration of what sin had corrupted and defiled. And
thus the illumination of a Bezaleel links the Holy Spirit s work in
the material creation and that in the dispensation of grace.
ITbfrfc Gbapter,
RE-CREATION.
IX.
Creation and Re-Creation.
" Behold, I will pour out My Spirit
unto you." Prov. i. 23.
WE approach the special work of the Holy Spirit in Re-creation.
We have seen that the Holy Spirit had a part in the creation of
all things, particularly in creating man, and most particularly in
endowing him with gifts and talents ; also that His creative work
affects the upholding of "things," of "man," and of "talents,"
through the providence of God ; and that in this double series of
threefold activity the Spirit s work is intimately connected with
that of the Father and that of the Son, so that every thing, every
man, every talent springs from the Father, is given disposition in
their respective natures and being through the Son, and receives
the spark of life by the Holy Spirit.
The old church hymn, " Veni, Creator Spiritus," and the ancient
confession of the Holy Spirit as the " Vivificans " agree with this
perfectly. For the latter signifies that Person in the Trinity who
imparts the spark of life ; and the former means, " Seeing that the
things which are to live and shall live are ready, come Holy Spirit
and quicken them."
There is always the same deep thought: the Father remains
outside of the creature; the Son touches him outwardly; by the
Holy Spirit tlje divine life touches him directly in his inward
being.
However, let us not be understood to say that God comes into
contact with the creature only in the regeneration of His children,
44 RE-CREATION
which would be untrue. To the Gentiles at Athens, St. Paul says:
"In Him we live and move and have our being." And again:
" For of His offspring we are." To say nothing of plant or ani
mal, there is on earth no life, energy, law, atom, or element but
the Almighty and Omnipresent God quickens and supports that
life from moment to moment, causes that energy to work, and
enforces that law. Suppose that for an instant God should cease to
sustain and animate this life, these forces, and that law ; in that same
instant they would cease to be. The energy that proceeds from
God must therefore touch the creature in the very center of its
being, whence, its whole existence must spring. Hence there is no
sun, moon, nor star, no material, plant, or animal, and, in much
higher sense, no man, skill, gift, or talent unless God touch and
support them all.
It is this act of coming into immediate contact with every crea
ture, animate or inanimate, organic or inorganic, rational or irra
tional, that, according to the profound conception of the Word of
God, is performed not by the Father, nor by the Son, but by the
Holy Spirit.
And this puts the work of the Holy Spirit in a light quite differ
ent from that in which for many years the Church has looked upon
it. The general impression is that His work refers to the life of
grace -only, and is confined to regeneration and sanctification. This
is due more or less to the well-known division of the Apostolic
Creed by the Heidelberg Catechism, question 29, " How are these
articles divided?" which is answered : " Into three parts of God the
Father and our creation, of God the Son and our redemption, and
of God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification." And this, too, altho
Ursinus, one of the authors of this catechism, had already declared,
in his " Thesaurus," that: " All the three Persons create and redeem
and sanctify. But in these operations they observe this order that
the Father creates of Himself by means of the Son; the Son creates
by means of the Father; and the Holy Spirit by means of both."
But since the deeper insight into the mystery of the adorable
Trinity was gradually lost, and the pulpit s touch upon it became
both rare and superficial, the Sabellian error naturally crept into
the Church again, viz., that there were three successive periods in
the activities of the divine Persons: First, that of the Father alone
creating the world and upholding the natural life of all things. This
was followed by a period of activity for the Son, when nature had
CREATION AND RE-CREATION 45
become unnatural and fallen man a subject for redemption. Lastly,
came that of the Holy Spirit regenerating and sanctifying the
redeemed on the ground of the work of Christ.
According to this view, in childhood, when eating, drinking, and
playing occupied all our time, we had to do with the Father. Later,
when the conviction of sin dawned upon us, we felt the need of the
Son. And not until the life of sanctification had begun in us did
the Holy Spirit begin to take notice of us. Hence while the Father
wrought, the Son and the Holy Spirit were inactive ; when the Son
undertook His work, the Father and the Holy Spirit were inactive ;
and now since the Holy Spirit alone performs the work, the Father
and the Son are idle. But since this view of God is wholly unten
able, Sabellius, who elaborated it philosophically, came to the con
clusion that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were after all but one
Person; who first wrought in creation as Father, then having
become the Son wrought out our redemption, and now as the Holy
Spirit perfects our sanctification.
And yet, inadmissible as this view may be, it is more reverent
and God-fearing than the crude superficialities of the current views
that confine the Spirit s operations entirely to the elect, beginning
only at their regeneration.
True, sermons on creation referred, in passing, to the moving of
the Holy Spirit on the face of the waters, and His coming upon
Bezaleel and Aholiab is treated in the catechet^ , ; but the
two are not connected, and the hearer is never ir co understand
what the Author of our regeneration had to do with the moving
upon the waters ; they were merely isolated facts. Regeneration
was the principal work of the Holy Spirit.
Our Reformed theologians have always warned against such
representations, which are only the result of making man the start
ing-point in the contemplation of divine things. They always
made God Himself the starting-point, and were not satisfied until
the work of the Holy Spirit was clearly seen in all its stages,
throughout the ages, and in the heart of every creature. Without
this the Holy Spirit could not be God, the object of their adoration.
They felt that such superficial treatment would lead to a denial of
His personality, reducing Him to a TQS.TZ force.
Hence we have spared no pain, and omitted no detail, in order,
by the grace of God, to place before the Church two .distinct
thoughts, viz. :
46 RE-CREATION
First, The work of the Holy Spirit is not confined to the elect, and does
not begin with their regeneration ; but it touches every creature, animate
and inanimate, and begins its operations in the elect at the very moment
of their origin.
Second, The proper work of the Holy Spirit in every creature consists
in the quickening and sustaining of life with reference to his being and
talents, and, in its highest sense, with reference to eternal life, whic/i is
his salvation.
Thus we have regained the true standpoint requisite for consid
ering the work of the Holy Spirit in the re-creation. For thus it
appears :
First, that this work of re-creation is not performed in fallen
man independently of his original creation ; but that the Holy
Spirit, who in regeneration kindles the spark of eternal life, has
already kindled and sustained the spark of natural life. And,
again, that the Holy Spirit, who imparts unto man born from
above gifts necessary to sanctification and to his calling in the
new sphere of life, has in the first creation endowed him with
natural gifts and talents.
From this follows that fruitful confession of the unity of man s
life before and after the new birth which nips every form of
Methodism* in its very root, and which characterizes the doctrine
of the Reformed churches.
Second, it is evident that the work of the Holy Spirit bears the
same character in creation and re-creation. If we admit that He
quickens life in that which is created by the Father and by the Son,
what does He do in the re-creation but once more quicken life in
him that is called of the Father and redeemed by the Son? Again,
if the Spirit s work is God s touching the creature s being by Him,
what is re-creation but the Spirit entering man s heart, making it
His temple, comforting, animating, and sanctifying it?
Thus following the Sacred Scripture and the superior theolo
gians, we reach a confession that maintains the unity of the Spirit s
work, and makes it unite organically the natural and the spiritual
life, the realm of nature and that of grace.
Of course His work in the latter surpasses that in the former :
First, since it is His work to touch the inward being of the crea-
* For the sense in which the author takes Methodism, see section 5 in
the Preface.
CREATION AND RE-CREATION 47
ture, the more tender and natural the contact the more glorious the
work. Hence it appears more beautiful in man than in the animal ;
and more lustrous in the spiritual man than in the natural, since the
contact with the former is more intimate, the fellowship sweeter,
the union complete.
Secondly, since creation lies so far behind us and re-creation
touches us personally and daily, the Word of God directs more
attention to the latter, claiming for it more prominence in our con
fession. But, however different the measures of operation and of
energy, the Holy Spirit remains in creation and re-creation the one
omnipotent Worker of all life and quickening, and is therefore
worthy of all praise and adoration.
X.
Organic and Individual.
" Where is He that put His Holy Spirit
among them ? " ha. Ixiii. u.
THE subsequent activity of the Holy Spirit lies in the realm of
grace.
In nature the Spirit of God appears as creating, in grace as
re-creating. We call it recreation, because God s grace creates not
something inherently new, but a new life in an old and degraded
nature.
But this must not be understood as tho grace restored only what
sin had destroyed. For then the child of God, born anew and sancti
fied, must be as Adam was in Paradise before the fall. Many under
stand it so, and present it as follows : In Paradise Adam became
diseased; the poison of eternal corruption entered his soul and
penetrated his whole being. Now comes the Holy Spirit as the
physician, carrying the remedy of grace to heal him. He pours
the balm into his wounds, He heals his bruises and renews his
youth; and thus man, born again, healed, and renewed, is, according
to their view, precisely what the first man was in the state of recti
tude. Once more the provisions of the covenant of works are laid
upon him. By his good works he is again to inherit eternal life.
Again he may fall like Adam and become a prey of eternal death.
But this whole view is wrong. Grace does not place the ungodly
in a state of rectitude, but justifies him two very different things.
He that stands in a state of rectitude has certainly an original
righteousness, but this he may lose; he maybe tried and fail as
Adam failed. He must vindicate his righteousness. Its inward
consistency must discover itself. He who is righteous to-day may
be unrighteous to-morrow.
But when God justifies a sinner He puts Him in a totally differ
ent state. The righteousness of Christ becomes his. And what is
this righteousness? - Was Jesus in a state of rectitude only? In no
ORGANIC AND INDIVIDUAL 49
wise. His righteousness was tested, tried, and sifted; it was even
tested by the consuming fire of God s wrath. And this righteous
ness converted from " original rectitude " into " righteousness vindicated"
was imputed to the ungodly.
Therefore the ungodly, when justified by grace, has nothing to
do with Adam s state before the fall, but occupies the position of
Jesus after the resurrection. He possesses a good that can not be
lost. He works no more for wages, but the inheritance is his own.
His works, zeal, love, and praise flow not from his own poverty,
but from the overflowing fulness of the life that was obtained for
him. As it is often expressed: For Adam in Paradise there was
first work and then the Sabbath of rest; but for the ungodly justi
fied by grace the Sabbath rest comes first, and then the labor which
iows from the energies of that Sabbath. In the beginning the
week closed with the Sabbath ; for us the day of the resurrection of
hrist opens the week which feeds upon the powers of that resur-
ection.
Hence the great and glorious work of re-creation has two parts :
First, the removing of corruption, the healing of the breach, the
death to sin, the atonement for guilt.
Second, the reversing of the first order, the changing of the
entire state, the bringing in and establishing of a new order.
The last is of greatest importance. For many teach differently.
Altho they grant that a new-born child of God is not precisely what
Adam was before the fall, yet they see the difference only in the
eception of a higher nature. The state is the same, differing only
n degree. This is the current theory. This nature of higher
degree is called the "divine-human" which Christ bears in His Per
son, which being consolidated by His Passion and Resurrection is
now imparted to the new-born soul, raising the lower and degraded
nature to this higher life.
This theory directly conflicts with the Scripture, which never
speaks of conditions similar yet differing in degree and power, but
of a condition sometimes far inferior in power and degree to that of
Adam, but transferred into an entirely different order.
For this reason the Scripture and the Confession of our fathers
emphasize the doctrine of the Covenants; for the difference be
tween the Covenant of Works and of Grace shows the difference
between the two orders of spiritual things. They who teach that
the new birth merely imparts a higher nature remain under the
4
50 RE-CREATION
Covenant of Works. Theirs is the wearisome toil of rolling the
Sisyphus stone up the mountain, even tho it be with the greater
energy of the higher life. The Scriptural doctrine of Grace ends
this impossible Sisyphus task ; it transfers the Covenant of Works
from our shoulders to Christ s, and opens unto us a new order in
the Covenant of Grace in which there can be no more uncertainty
or fear, loss or forfeit of the benefits of Christ, but of which
Wisdom doth cry, "and Understanding putteth forth her voice,
standing in the top of high places," saying that all things are now
ready.
The work of re-creation has this peculiarity, that it places the
elect at once at the end of the road. They are not like the traveler
still half way from home, but like one who has finished his journey ;
the long, dreary, and dangerous road is entirely behind him. Of
course, he did not run that road ; he could never have reached the
goal. His Mediator and Daysman traveled it for him and in his
stead. And by mystic union with his Savior it is as tho he had
traveled the whole distance; not as we reckon, but as God reckons.
This will show why the work of the Holy Spirit appears more
powerful in re-creation than in creation. For what is the road
spoken of, but that which leads from the center of our degenerate
hearts to the center of the loving heart of God? All godliness aims
to bring man into communion with God ; hence to make him travel
the road between him and God. Man is the only being on earth in
whom contact with God means conscious fellowship. Since this
fellowship is broken by the alienation of sin, at the end of the road
the contact and fellowship must be perfect, so far as concerns,
man s state and principle. If fellowship is the terminus and God s
grace puts His child there at once, at least so far as his state is con
cerned, there is an obvious difference between him and the unre-
generate ; for the latter is infinitely distant from God, while the
former has sweetest fellowship with Him. Since it is the inward
operation of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes this, His hand must
appear more powerful and glorious in re-creation than in creation.
If we could see His work in re-creation all at once as an accom
plished fact, we should understand it more thoroughly, and escape
the difficulties that we now meet in comparing the Old Testament
with the New regarding it.
Re-creation brings to us that which is eternal, finished, perfected,
ORGANIC AND INDIVIDUAL 51
completed; far above the succession of moments, the course of
years, and the development of circumstances. Here lies the diffi
culty. This eternal work must be brought to a temporal world, to a
race which is in process of development; hence that work must
make history, increasing like a plant, growing, blossoming, and
bearing fruit. And this history must include a time of preparation,
revelation, and lastly of filling the earth with the streams of grace,
salvation, and blessing.
If it did not relate to man but to irrational beings, there would
be no difficulty ; but when it began its course man was already in
the world, and as the ages passed the stream of humanity broad
ened. Hence the important question: Whether the generations
that lived during the long period of preparation before Christ, in
whom the work of re-creation was finally revealed, were partakers
of its blessings?
The Scripture answers affirmatively. In the ages before Christ
God s elect shared the blessings of the work of re-creation. Abel
and Enoch, Noah and Abraham, Moses and David, Isaiah and
Daniel were saved by the same faith as Peter, Paul, Luther, and
Calvin. The Covenant of Grace, altho made with Abraham and for
a time connected with the national life of Israel, existed already in
Paradise. The theologians of the Reformed churches have clearly
unfolded the truth, that God s elect of both Dispensations entered
the same gate of righteousness and walked the same way of salva
tion which they still walk to the marriage-supper of the Lamb.
But how could Abraham, living so many years before Christ, in
whom alone grace and truth have been revealed, have his faith
accounted unto him for righteousness, so that he saw the day of
Jesus and was glad?
This difficulty has confused many minds regarding the Old and
New Dispensations, and causes many vainly to ask : How could there
be any saving operation of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament if
He were poured out only on Pentecost? The answer is found in
the almost unsearchable work of the Holy Spirit, whereby, on the
one hand, He brought into the history of our race that eternal sal
vation already finished and complete which must run through the
periods of preparation, revelation, and fruit-bearing; and whereby,
on the other hand, during the preparatory period, this very prepa
ration was made the means, through wondrous grace, of saving
souls even before the Incarnation of the Word.
XI.
The Church Before and After Christ.
"All these having obtained a good
report through faith, received not
the promise." Heb. xi. 39.
CLEARNESS requires to distinguish two operations of the Holy
Spirit in the work of re-creation before the Advent, viz., (i) pre
paring redemption for the whole Church, and (2) regenerating and
sanctifying the saints then living.
If there had been no elect before Christ, so that He had no
church until Pentecost ; and if, like Balaam and Saul, the bearers
of the Old Testament revelation had been without personal interest
in Messiah, then it is self-evident that, before the Advent, the Holy
Spirit could have had but one work of re-creation, viz. , the prepara
tion of the coming salvation. But since God had a church from the
beginning of the world, and nearly all the bearers of the revelation
were partakers of His salvation, the Spirit s re-creative work must
consist of two parts : first, of the preparation of redemption for the
whole Church ; and, secondly, of the sanctification and consolation
of the Old Testament saints.
However, these two operations are not independent, like two
separate water-courses, but are like drops of rain falling in the
same stream of revelation. They are not even like two streams of
different colors mingling in the same river-bed ; for neither did the
one contain anything for the Church of the future which had not
meaning also for the saints of the Old Covenant; nor did the latter
receive any revelation or commandment without significance also
for the Church of the New Covenant. The Holy Spirit so inter
wove and interlaced this twofold work that what was the preparing
of redemption for us, was at the same time revelation and exercise
of faith for the Old Testament saints; while, on the other hand, He
used their personal life, conflict, suffering, and hope as the canvas
upon which He embroidered the revelation of redemption for us.
THE CHURCH BEFORE AND AFTER CHRIST 53
Not that the revelation of old did not contain a large element
that had a different sense and purpose for them from what it has
for us. Before Christ, the entire service of types and shadows had
significance which it lost immediately after the Advent. To con
tinue it after the Advent would be equivalent to a denial and repu
diation of His coming. One s shadow goes before him; when he
steps into the light the shadow disappears. Hence the Holy Spirit
performed a special work for the saints of God by giving them a
temporary service of types and shadows.
That this service overshadowed all their life made its impres
sion all the stronger. This shadow lay upon Israel s entire history ;
was outlined in .all their men from Abraham to John the Baptist;
fell upon the judicial and political systems, and more heavily upon
the social and domestic life ; and in purest images lay upon the serv
ice of worship. Hence the Old Testament passages which refer to
this service have not the meaning for us which they had for them,
Every feature of it had a binding force for them. On the contrary,
we do not circumcise our boys, but baptize our children ; we do not
eat the Passover, nor observe the Feast of Tabernacles, nor sacrifice
the blood of bulls or heifers, as every discriminating reader of the
Old Testament understands. And they who in the New Testament
Dispensation seek to reintroduce tithing, or to restore the kingdom
and the judiciary of the days of the Old Testament, undertake, ac
cording to past experience, a hopeless task: their efforts show poor
success, and their whole attitude proves that they do not enjoy the
full measure of the liberty of the children of God. Actually all
Christians agree in this, acknowledging that the relation which we
sustain toward the law of Moses is altogether different from that
of ancient Israel.
The Decalogue alone is occasionally cause of contention, espe
cially the Fourth Commandment. There are still Christians who
allow no difference between that which has a passing, ceremonial
character and that which is perpetually ethical, and who seek to
substitute the last day of the week for the Day of the Lord.
However, leaving these serious differences alone, we repeat that
the Holy Spirit had a special work in the days before Christ, which
was intended for the saints of those days, but which has lost for us
all its former significance.
Not, however, that we may therefore discard this work of the
Holy Spirit, and that the books containing these things may be left
54 RE-CREATION
unread. This view has obtained currency especially in Germany,
where the Old Testament is less read than even the books of the
Apocrypha, with the exception of the Psalms and a few selected
pericopes. On the contrary, this service of shadows has even in
the smallest details a special significance to the New Testament
Church ; only the significance is different.
This service in the history of the Old Covenant witnesses to us
the wonderful deeds of God, whereby of infinite mercy He has
delivered us from the power of death and hell. In the personalities
of the Old Covenant it reveals the wonderful work of God in im
planting and preserving faith in spite of human depravity and Sa
tanic opposition. The service of ceremonies in the sanctuary shows
us the image of Christ and of His glorious redemption in the minu
test details. And finally, the service of shadows in Israel s political,
social, and domestic life reveals to us those divine, eternal, and un
changeable principles that, set free from their transient and tem
poral forms, ought to govern the political and social life of the
Christian nations throughout all ages.
And yet this does not exhaust the significance that this service
always had, and still has, for the Christian Church.
Not only does it reveal to us the outlines of the spiritual house
of God, but it actually operated in our salvation :
First, it prepared and preserved amid heathen idolatry a people
which, as bearers of the divine oracles, offered the Christ at His
coming a place for the sole of His foot and a base of operations.*
He could no more have come to Athens or Rome than to China or
India. No one there could have understood Him, or have furnished
instrument or material to build the Church of the New Covenant.
The salvation which was cast like a ripe fruit into the lap of the
Christian Church had grown upon a tree deeply rooted in this serv
ice of shadows. Hence the history of that period is part of our
own, as the life of our childhood and youth remains ours, even tho
as men we have put away childish things.
Secondly, the knowledge of this service and history, being parts
of the Word of God, were instrumental in translating God s children
from nature s darkness into His marvelous light.
However, as the Holy Spirit performed special work for the
saints of those days that has a different tho not less important
* In Dutch, " life-center. "
THE CHURCH BEFORE AND AFTER CHRIST 55
significance for us, so also He performed a work in those days that
was intended more directly for the Church of the New Testament,
which also had a different but not less important significance for
the saints of the Old Covenant This was the work of Prophecy.
As Christ declares, the purpose of prophecy is to predict future
things so that, the events predicted having come to pass, the Church
may believe and confess that it was the Lord s work. The Old Testa
ment often states this, and the Lord Jesus declared it to His disci
ples, saying : " And now I have told you, before it come to pass
that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe" (John xiv. 29).
And again : " Now I tell you before it come to pass, that when it is
come to pass ye may believe that I am He" (John xiii. 19). And
still more clearly: "But these things have I told you, that when
the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them."
These statements, compared with the words of Isa. xli. 23, xlii-
9, and xliii. 19, leave no doubt as to the design of prophecy.
Not that this exhausts prophecy, or that it has no other aims; but
its chief and final end is reached only when, on the ground of its
fulfilment, the Church believes its God and Savior and magnifies
Him in His mighty acts.
But while its center of gravity is the fulfilment, /.<?., in the
Church of the New Testament, it was equally intended for contem
porary saints. For, apart from the prophetic activities that re
ferred solely to the people of Israel living at that time, and the
prophecies fulfilled in Israel s national life, prophecy even as boldly
outlining Christ yielded precious fruit for the Old Testament saints.
Connected with theophanies it produced in their minds such a fixed
and tangible form of the Messiah that fellowship with Him, which
alone is essential to salvation, was made possible to them by antici
pation, as to us by memory. Not only did this fellowship become
possible at the end of the Dispensation, in Isaiah and Zacharias;
Christ testifies that Abraham desired to see His day, saw it, and
was glad.
jpourtb Cbapter.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTA
MENT.
XII.
The Holy Scripture.
" All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness; that the man of God
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works." 2 Tim. iii.
16, 17.
AMONG the divine works of art produced by the Holy Spirit, the
Sacred Scripture stands first. It may seem incredible that the
printed pages of a book should excel His spiritual work in human
hearts, yet we assign to the Sacred Scripture the most conspicuous
place without hesitation.
Objectors can never have considered what this holy Book is, or
any other book, writing, or language is, or what the putting down of
a world of thought in a collection of Sacred Scripture means. We
deny that a book, especially such as the Sacred Scripture, opposes
a world of divine thought, the current of life, and spiritual experi
ence. A book is not merely paper printed in ink, but is like a
portrait a collection of lines and features in which we see the like
ness of a person. Standing near, we see not the person, but spots
and lines of paint ; but at the right distance these disappear and we
see the likeness of a person. Even now it does not speak to us, for
it is the face of a stranger; we may be able to judge the man s
character, yet he fails to interest us. But let his child look, and
instantly the image which left us cold appeals to him with warmth
THE HOLY SCRIPTURE 57
and life, which were invisible to us because our hearts lacked the
essentials. What appeals to the child is not in the picture, but in
his memory and imagination; the cooperation of the features in
the painting and the father s image in his heart makes the likeness
speak.
This comparison will explain the mysterious effect of the Scrip
ture. Guido de Bres spoke of it in his debates with the Baptists :
" That which we call Holy Scripture is not paper with black im
pressions, but that which addresses our spirits by means of those
impressions." Those letters are but tokens of recognition; those
words are only the clicks of the telegraph-key signaling thoughts
to our spirits along the lines of our visual and auditory nerves.
And the thoughts so signaled are not isolated and incoherent, but
parts of a complete system that is directly antagonistic to man s
thoughts, yet enters their sphere.
Reading the Scripture brings to our minds the sphere of divine
thoughts so far as needful for us as sinners, in order to glorify God,
love our neighbor, and save the soul. This is not a mere collection
of beautiful and glttering ideas, but the reflection of the divine life.
In God life and thought are united : there can be no life without
thought, no thought not the product of life. Not so with us.
Falsehood entered us, i.e., we can sever thought from life. Or
rather, they are always severed, unless we have voluntarily estab
lished the former unity. Hence our cold abstractions ; our speak
ing without doing; our words without power; our thoughts without
working; our books that, like plants cut off from their roots, wither
before they can blossom, much less bear fruit.
The difference between divine and human life gives Scripture
its uniqueness and precludes antagonism between its letter and its
spirit, such as a false exegesis of 2 Cor. iii. 6 might suggest. If
the Word of God were dominated. by the falsehood that has crept
into our hearts, and in the midst of our misery continues to place
word and life in opposition as well as separation, then we would
take refuge in the standpoint of our dissenting brethren, with their
exaltation of the life above the Word. But we need not do so, for
the opposition and separation are not in the Scripture. For this
reason it is the Holy Scripture ; for it was not lost in the unholy
tearing asunder of thought and life, and is therefore distinct from
writings in which yawns the gulf between the words and the reality
of life. What other writings lack is in this Book ; perfect agree-
58 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
ment between the life reflected in the divine thought and the
thoughts which the Word begets in our minds.
The Holy Scripture is like a diamond : in the dark it is like a
piece of glass, but as soon as the light strikes it the water begins
to sparkle, and the scintillation of life greets us. So the Word
of God apart from the divine life is valueless, unworthy even of the
name of Sacred Scripture. It exists only in connection with this
divine life, from which it imparts life-giving thoughts to our minds.
It is like the fragrance of a flower-bed that refreshes us only when
the flowers and our organs of smell correspond. Hence the illus
tration of the child and his father s picture is exact.
While the Bible always flashes thoughts born of the divine life,
yet the effects are not the same in all. As a whole, it is the portrait
of Him who is the brightness of God s glory and the express image
of His Person, aiming either to show us His likeness or to serve as
its background.
Notice the difference when a child of God and an alien face that
image. Not as tho it has nothing to say to the unregenerate this
is a mistake of Methodism which should be corrected.* It addresses
itself to all men as the King s Word, and every one must receive
its impress in his own way. But while the alien sees only a strange
face, which annoys him, contradicts his world, and so repels him, the
child of God understands and recognizes it. He is in holiest sym
pathy with the life of the world from which that image greets him.
Thus reading what the stranger could not read, he feels that God
is speaking to him, whispering peace to his soul.
Not as tho the Scripture were only a system of signals to flash
thought into the soul ; rather it is the instrument of God to awaken
and increase spiritual life, not as by magic, giving a sort of attes
tation of the genuineness of our experience a fanatical view al
ways opposed and rejected by the Church but by the Holy Spirit
through the use of the Word of God.
He regenerates us by the Word. The mode of this operation
will be discussed later on ; let it suffice here to say that the opera
tions of the Word and the Holy Spirit never oppose each other,
but, as St. Paul declares emphatically, that the Holy Scripture is
prepared by the Spirit of God and given to the Church as an instru
ment to perfect God s work in man; as he expresses it: " That the
* For the author s sense of Methodism, see section 5 in the Preface.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURE 59
man of God may be perfect" i.e., a man formerly of the world, made
a man of God^by divine act, to be perfected by the Holy Spirit ;
wherefore he is already perfect in Christ through the Word. To
this end, as St. Paul declares, the Scripture was inspired of God.
Hence this work of art was prepared by the Holy Spirit to lead the
new-born man to this high ideal. And to emphasize the thought
he adds : * That he may be thoroughly furnished unto all good
works."
Hence Scripture serves this twofold purpose :
First, as an instrument of the Holy Spirit in His work upon
man s heart.
Secondly, to qualify man perfectly and to equip him for every
good work.
Consequently the working of Scripture embraces not only the
quickening of faith, but also the exercise of faith. Therefore instead
of being a dead-letter, unspiritual, mechanically opposing the
spiritual life, it is the very fountain of living water, which, being
opened, springs up to eternal life.
Hence the Spirit s preparation and preservation of Scripture is
not subordinate, but prominent with reference to the life of the
entire Church. Or to put it more clearly: if prophecy, e.g., aims
first to benefit contemporary generations, and secondly to be part
of the Holy Scripture that is to minister comfort to the Church of
all ages, the latter is of infinitely higher importance. Hence the
chief aim of prophecy was not to benefit the people living at that
time, and through Scripture to yield fruit for us only indirectly,
but through Scripture to yield fruit for the Church of all ages, and
indirectly to benefit the Church of old.
XIII.
The Scripture a Necessity.
" For whatsoever things were written
aforetime wore written for our learn
ing, that we through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might
have hope." Rom. xv. 4.
THAT the Bible is the product of the Chief Artist, the Holy
Spirit ; that He gave it to the Church and that in the Church He
uses it as His instrument, can not be over-emphasized.
Not as tho He had lived in the Church of all ages, and given us
in Scripture the record of that life, its origin and history, so that
the life was the real substance and the Scripture the accident;
rather the Scripture was the end of all that preceded and the in
strument of all that followed.
With the dawn of the Day of days the Sacred Volume will un
doubtedly disappear. As the New Jerusalem will need no sun,
moon, or temple, but the Lord God will be its light, so will there
be no need of Scripture, for the revelation of God shall reach His
elect directly through the unveiled Word. But so long as the
Church is on earth, face-to-face communion withheld, and our
hearts accessible only by the avenues of this imperfect existence,
Scripture must remain the indispensable instrument by which the
Triune God prepares men s souls for higher glory.
The cause of this lies in our personality. We think, we are self-
conscious, and the threefold world about and above and within us is
reflected in our thoughts. The man of confused or unformed con
sciousness or one insane can not act as a man. True, there are
depths in our hearts which the plummet of our thinking has not
sounded ; but the influence that is to affect us deeply, clearly, with
outlasting effect upon our personality, must be wrought through
our self-consciousness.
The history of sin proves it. How did sin enter the world? Did
Satan infuse its poison into man s soul while he slept? By no means.
THE SCRIPTURE A NECESSITY 61
While Eve was fully herself, Satan began to discuss the matter
with her. He wrought upon her consciousness with words and
representations, and she, allowing this, drank the poison, fell, and
dragged her husband with her. Had not God thus foretold it?
Man s fall was to be known neither by his recognized nor by his
unrecognized emotions, but by the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The knowledge that caused his fall was not merely abstract, intel
lectual, but vital. Of course the operating cause was external, but
it wrought upon his consciousness and bore the form of knowledge.
And as his fall, so also must be his restoration. Redemption
must come from without, act upon our consciousness, and bear the
form of knowledge. To affect and win us in our personality we
must be touched in the very spot where sin first wounded us, viz.,
in our proud and haughty self-consciousness. And since our con
sciousness mirrors itself in a world of thought thoughts expressed
in words so intimately connected as to form, as it were, but one
word therefore it was of the highest necessity that a new, divine
world of thought should speak to our consciousness in a Word, i.e.,
in a Scripture. And this is the work of Holy Scripture.
Our thought-world is full of falsehood, and so is the outer world.
But one thought-world is absolutely true, and that is the world of
God s thoughts. Into this world we must be brought, and it into
us with the life that belongs to it, as brightness to light. There
fore redemption depends upon faith. To believe is to acknowledge
that the entire world of thought within and around us is false, and
that only God s world of thought is true and abiding, and as such to
accept and confess it. So it is still the Tree of knowledge. But the
fruit now taken and enjoyed grows upon the inward plant of self-
emptying and self-denial, whereby we renounce our own entire
world of thought, no longer judging between good and evil, but
faithfully repeating what God teaches, as ever little children in
His school.
But this would not avail us if God s thoughts came in unintelli
gible words, which would have been the case if the Holy Spirit had
used mere words. We know how hopeless it is to try to describe
the felicities of )ieaven. Every effort has been so far a failure.
That bliss passes our imagination. And the Scripture revelation
concerning it is couched in earthly imagery as a Paradise, a Jeru
salem, or a wedding-feast which, beautiful as it may be, leaves no
62 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
clear impressions. We know heaven must be beautiful and en
trancing, but a concrete conception of it is out of the question.
Nor can we have clear ideas of the relation of the glorified Son of
man to the Trinity, His sitting at the right hand of God, the life of
the redeemed, and their condition when, passing from the cham
bers of death, they enter the palace of the great King.
Hence if the Holy Spirit had presented the world of divine
thoughts concerning our salvation in writing directly from heaven,
a clear conception of the subject would have been impossible. Our
conception would have been vague and figurative as that concern
ing heaven. Hence these thoughts were not directly written, but
translated into the life of this world, which gave them form and shape;
and thus they came down to us in human language, in the pages of
a book. Without this there could not even be a language to em
body such sacred and glorious realities. St. Paul had visions, i.e.,
he was freed from the limitations of consciousness and enabled to
contemplate heavenly things; but having returned to his limita
tions, could not speak of what he had seen, as he said : " They are
unspeakable."
And that the equally unspeakable things of salvation may be
rendered expressible in human words, it pleased God to bring to this
world the life which originated them ; to accustom our human con
sciousness to them, from it to draw words for them, and thus to
exhibit them to every man.
God s thoughts are inseparable from His life; hence His life
must enter the world before His thoughts, at least at first ; after
ward the thoughts became the vehicle of the life.
This appears in the creation of Adam. The first man is created;
after him men are born. At first human life appeared at once in
full stature ; from that life once introduced, new life will be born.
First, new life originated by forming Eve from Adam s rib; then,
by the union of man and woman. So also here. At first God
introduced spiritual life into the world, finished, perfect, by a mir
acle; afterward differently, since the thought introduced as life into
this world is pictured to our view. Henceforth the Holy Spirit will
use the product of this life to awaken new life.
So redemption can not begin with the gift of Holy Scripture to
the Church of the Old Covenant. Such Scripture could not be pro
duced until its content is wrought out in life, and redemption is
objectively accomplished.
THE SCRIPTURE A NECESSITY 63
But the two should not be separated. Redemption was not first
completed and then recorded in Scripture. Such conception would
be mechanical and unspiritual, directly contradicted by the nature
of Scripture, which is living and life-giving. Scripture was pro
duced spontaneously and gradually by and from redemption. The
promise in Paradise already foreshadowed it. For tho redemption
precedes Scripture, yet in the regeneration of the first men the
Word was not idle ; the Holy Spirit began with speaking to man,
acting upon his consciousness. Even in Paradise, and subsequently
when the stream of revelation proceeds, a divine Word always pre
cedes the life and is life s instrument, and a divine thought intro
duces redemptive work. And when redemption is fulfilled in
Christ He appears first as the Speaker, then as the Worker. The
Word that was from the beginning reveals Himself to Israel as the
Seal of Prophecy, saying : " This day is this Scripture fulfilled in
your ears."
Hence the work of the Holy Spirit is never purely magical nor
mechanical. Even in the preparatory period He always acted
through the Word in translating a soul from death unto life. How
ever, between then and now there is a decided difference :
First, then, the Word came to the soul directly by inspiration or
by a prophet s address. Now, both these have ceased, and in their
stead comes the Word sealed in the Sacred Scripture, interpreted
by the Holy Spirit in preaching in the Church.
Secondly, then, the bringing in of life was confined to Israel,
expressed itself in words and originated relations that strictly sepa
rated the servants of the only true God from the life of the world.
Now, this extraordinary, preparatory dispensation is closed; the
Israel of God are no more the natural descendants of Abraham, but
the spiritual ; the stream of the Church flows through all nations
and peoples; it stands no more outside the world s life and develop
ment, but rather governs them.
Thirdly, altho in the Old Dispensation redemption existed
partly already in Scripture, and the Psalmist shows everywhere his
devotion thereto, yet Scripture could be used so to a small extent
only, and needed constant supplementing by direct revelations
and prophecies. But now, Scripture reveals the whole counsel of
God, and nothing can be added to it. Wo to him who dares dimin
ish or increase this Book of Life which discloses the world of divine
thought !
64 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
But notwithstanding differences, the fact remains that the Holy
Spirit mastered the problem of bringing to man lost in sin, by
human language intelligible to all nations and ages, the world of
divine thoughts, so as to use them as the instrument of man s
quickening.
It does not alter the case that the Holy Scripture shows so many
seams and uneven places, and looks different from what we should
expect. The chief virtue of this masterpiece was so to enfold
God s thoughts in our sinful life that out of our language they could
form a speech in which to proclaim through the ages, to all nations,
the mighty words of God. This masterpiece is finished and lies
before us in the Holy Scripture. And instead of losing itself in
criticizing these apparent defects, the Church of all ages has
received it with adoration and thanksgiving; has preserved it,
tasted it, enjoyed it, and always believed to find eternal life in it.
Not as tho critical and historical examination were prohibited.
Such endeavor for the glory of God is highly commendable. But
as the physiologist s search for the genesis of human life becomes
sinful if immodest or dangerous to unborn life, so does every criti
cism of Holy Scripture become sinful and culpable if irreverent or
seeking to destroy the life of God s Word in the consciousness of
the Church.
XIV.
The Revelation ,to Which the Scripture of the Old
Testament Owes Its Existence.
" O Lord, . . . Thou art stronger than I,
and hast prevailed." -Jer. xx. 7.
THE understanding of the Holy Spirit s work in- Scripture
requires us to distinguish the preparation, and the formation that
was the outcome of the preparation. We will discuss these two
separately.
The Holy Spirit prepared for Scripture by the operations which
from Paradise to Patmos supernaturally apprehended the sinful life
3f this world, and thus raised up believing men who formed the
developing Church.
This will seem very foolish if we consider the Scripture a mere
paper-book, a lifeless object, but not if we hear God speaking
;herein directly to the soul. Severed from the divine life, the
scripture is unprofitable, a letter that killeth. But when we real-
.ze that it radiates God s love and mercy in such form as to trans-
:orm our life and address our consciousness, we see that the super-
mtural revelation of the life of God must precede the radiation. The
evelation of God s tender mercies must precede their scintillation
n the human consciousness. First, the revelation of the mystery
)f Godliness ; then, its radiation in the Sacred Scripture, and thence
nto the heart of God s Church, is the natural and ordained way.
For this purpose the Holy Spirit first chose individuals, then a
ew families, and lastly a whole nation, to be the sphere of His
tctivities; and in each stage He began His work with the Word,
ilways following the Word of Salvation with the Facts of Salvation.
He began this work in Paradise. After the fall, death and con-
emnation reigned over the first pair, and in them entombed the
ace. Had the Spirit left them to themselves, with the germ of
eath ever developing in them, no star of hope would ever have
risen for the human race.
5
66 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE- OLD TESTAMEN1
Therefore the Holy Spirit introduces His work at the very begii
ning of the development of the race. The first germ of the myster
of Godliness was already implanted in Adam, and the first mothe:
word of which the Holy Scripture was to be born was whispere
into his ear.
This word was followed by the deed. God s word does nc
return void; it is not a sound, but a power. It is a plowshai
subsoiling the soul. Behind the word stands the propelling powc
of the Holy Spirit, and thus it becomes effectual, and changes th
whole condition of things. We see it in Adam and Eve ; especially i
Enoch ; and " By faith Abel obtained witness that he was righteous
After these operations in individuals the Spirit s work in th
family begins, partly in Noah, more especially in Abraham.
The judgment of the flood had completely changed former reli
tions, had caused a new generation to arise, and perhaps ha
changed the physical relations between the earth and its atmoi
phere. And then, for the first time, the Holy Spirit begins to wor
in the family. Our Ritual of Baptism points emphatically to Noa
and his eight, which has often been a stumbling-block to a though
less unspirituality. And yet needlessly, for by pointing to Noa
our fathers meant to indicate, in that sacramental prayer, that it :
not the baptism of individuals, but of the people of God, i.e., of th
Church and its seed. And since the salvation of families emerge
first in the history of Noah and his family after the flood, it wa
perfectly correct to point to the salvation of Noah and his famil
as God s first revelation of salvation for us and our seed.
But the work of the Holy Spirit in Noah s family is only pre
liminary. Noah and his sons still belong to the old world. The
formed a transition. After Noah the holy line disappears, and froi
Shem to Terah the Holy Spirit s work remains invisible. But wit
Terah it appears in clearest light; for now Abraham goes oat, nc
with sons, but alone. The promised son was still resting in th
hand of God. And he could not beget him but by faith; so thf
God could truly say, "I am the Almighty God,"/>., a God " wh
quickeneth the dead and calleth the things that are not as tho thej
were." Hence Abraham s family is almost in literal sense the prod
uct of the Holy s Spirit s work in that there is nothing in his \\\
without faith. The product of art in Abraham s history is not trj
image of a pious shepherd-king or virtuous patriarch, but the woij
REVELATION AS TO THE OLD TESTAMENT 67
derful work of the Holy Spirit operating in an old man who again
and again "kicks against the pricks," who brings forth out of his
own heart nothing but unbelief working in him a stedfast and
immovable faith, bringing that faith into direct connection with his
family life. Abraham is called " the Father of the Faithful," not in
the superficial sense of a spiritual connection between our faith and
Abraham s history, but because the faith of Abraham was inter
woven with the fact of Isaac s birth, whom he obtained by faith,
and of whom there was given him a seed as the stars of the heaven
and as the sand of the seashore.
From the individual the Holy Spirit s work passes into the
family, and thence into the nation. Thus Israel receives his being.
It was Israel, i.e., not one of the nations, but a people newly cre
ated, added to the nations, received among their number, perpetu
ally distinct from all other nations in origin and significance. And
this people is also born of faith. To this end God casts it into death :
on Moriah ; in Jacob s flight; in the distresses of Joseph, and in the
fears of Moses; alongside the fiery furnaces of Pithon and Ramses;
when the infants of the Hebrews floated on the Nile. And from this
leath it is again and again faith that saves and delivers, and there-
pore the Holy Spirit who continues His glorious work in the gene
ration and regeneration of this coming people. After this people
s born it is again thrown into death: first, in the wilderness; then,
luring the time of the Judges; finally, in the Exile. Yet it can not
lie, for it carries in its bosom the hope of the promise. However
aimed, plagued, and decimated, it multiplies again and again ; for
ie Lord s promise fails not, and in spite of shameful backslidings
nd apostasy, Israel manifests the glory of a people born, living,
nd dying by faith.
Thus the work of the Holy Spirit passes through these three
ages: Abel, Abraham, Moses; the individual, the family, the
ition. In each of these three the work of the Holy Spirit is visi-
.e, inasmuch as everything is wrought by faith. Is faith not
rought by the Holy Spirit? Very well; by faith Abel obtained
itness; by faith Abraham received the son of the promise; and
y faith Israel passed through the Red Sea.
And what is the relation between life and the word of life dur-
g these three stages? Is it, as according to current representa-
68 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
tions, first life, and then the word springing therefrom as token o
the conscious life?
Evidently history proves the very opposite. In Paradise the
\v r ot -d precedes and the lif e follows. To Abraham in Ur of the Chal
dees, first the word ; " Get thee out from thy country, and I wil
bless thee, and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
In the case of Moses it is first the word in the burning bush anc
then the passage through the Red Sea. This is the Lord s ap
pointed way. He first speaks, then works. Or more correctly, H<
speaks, and by speaking He quickens. These two stand in closes
connection. Not as tho the word causes life ; for the Eternal anc
Triune God is the only Cause, Source, and Fountain of life. Bu
the word is the instrument with which He wills to complete Hi:
work in our hearts.
We can not stop here to consider the work of the Father and th<
Son, which either preceded or followed that of the Holy Spirit, anc
which is interwoven with it. Of the miracles we speak only be
cause we discover in them a special twofold work of the Hoi]
Spirit. The working of the miracle is of the Father and of the Son
and not so much of the Holy Spirit. But often as it pleased Goc
to use men as instruments in the performance of miracles, it is th(
Spirit s special work to qualify them by working faith in thei:
hearts. Moses smiting the rock believed not, but he imagined tha
by smiting he himself could produce water from the rock ; whicl
God alone can do. To him that believes it is the same whether ht
speaks or smites the rock. Stick nor tongue can in the least affecj
it. The power proceeds from God alone. Hence the greatness o
the sin of Moses. He thought that he was to be the worker, an<|
not God. And this is the very work of sin in God s people.
Hence we see that when Moses cast down his rod, when h|
cursed the Nile, when Elias and other men of God wrought miral
cles, they did nothing, they only believed. And by virtue of thei]
faith they became to the bystanders the interpreters of God s test*
mony, showing them the works of God and not their own. This i
what St. Peter exclaimed: " Why look ye so earnestly on us as thj
by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?"
To work this faith in the hearts of men who were to perforrj
these miracles was the Holy Spirit s first task. His second was tl
quicken faith in the hearts of those upon whom the miracle was tin
be wrought. Of Christ it is written, that in Capernaum He coull
REVELATION AS TO THE OLD TESTAMENT 69
not do many powerful works because of their unbelief; and we read
repeatedly : " Thy faith hath made thee whole."
But the miracle alone has no convincing power. The unbeliever
begins with denying it. He explains it from natural causes. He
neither will nor can see God s hand in it. And when it is so con
vincing that he can not deny it, he says : " It is of the devil." But
he will not acknowledge that it is the power of God. Therefore to
make the miracle effectual, the Holy Spirit must also open the eyes
of them that witness it to see the power of God therein. All our
reading of the miracles in our Bible is unprofitable unless the Holy
Spirit opens our eyes, and then we see them live, hear their testi
mony, experience their power, and glorify God for His mighty
works.
XV.
The Revelation of the Old Testament in Writing.
" Then I said, I will not speak any more in
His Name. But His word was in my
heart as a burning fire, shut up in my
bones : and I was weary with forbearing,
but I could not." -Jer. xx. 9.
ALTHO the miracles performed for and in the midst of Israel
created a glorious life-center in the midst of the heathen world, yet
they did not constitute a Holy Scripture ; for this can not be created
except God speak to man, even to His people Israel. " God, who at
sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by
His Son."
This divine speaking is not limited to prophecy. God spoke
also to others than prophets, e.g., to Eve, Cain, Hagar, etc. To
receive a revelation or a vision does not make one a prophet, unless
it be accompanied by the command to communicate the revelation
to others. The word "nabi," the Scriptural term for prophet, does!
not indicate a person who receives something of God, but one whoj
brings something to the people. Hence it is a mistake to confine
the divine revelation to the prophetic office. In fact, it extends to]
the whole race in general ; prophecy is only one of its special f ea-J
tures. As to the divine revelation in its widest scope, it is evident!
from the Scripture that God spoke to men from Adam to the lasl
of the apostles. From Paradise to Patmos revelation runs like A
golden thread through every part of Sacred History.
As a rule, the Scripture does not treat this divine speaking meta-i
phorically. There are exceptions, e.g., "God spake to the fish 1
(Jonah ii. 10); "The heavens declare the glory of God, and dajjJ
unto day uttereth speech " (Psalm xix. 2, 3). However, it can b<|
proven, from a thousand passages against one to the contrary, thaj 1
the ordinary speaking of the Lord may not be taken in other thai
the literal sense. This is evident from the call of God to Samuel t
OLD TESTAMENT REVELATION IN WRITING 71
which the child mistook for that of Eli. It is evident also from the
names, numbers, and localities that are mentioned in this divine
speaking ; especially from the dialogues between God and man, as
in the history of Abraham in the conflict of his faith concerning the
promised seed, and in his intercession for Sodom.
And therefore we can not agree with those who would per
suade us that the Lord did not really speak; that if it reads so, it
must not be so understood; and that a clearer insight shows that " a
certain influence from God affected the inner life of the person
addressed. In connection with the person s peculiar character and
the influences of his past and present this working gave special
clearness to his consciousness, and wrought in him such a convic
tion that, without hesitation, he declared: Since I will as God
wills, I know that the Lord has thus spoken to me. " This repre
sentation we reject as exceedingly pernicious and hurtful to the life
of the Church. We call it false, since it dishonors the truth of God ;
and we refuse to tolerate a theology that starts from such premises.
It annihilates the authority of the Scripture. Altho commended by
the Ethical wing it is exceedingly -ethical, inasmuch as it directly
opposes the clearly expressed truth of the Word of God. Nay, this
divine speaking, whose record the Scripture offers, must be under
stood as real speaking.
And what is speaking ? Speaking presupposes a person who has
a thought that he wishes to transfer directly to the consciousness
of another, without the intervention of a third person or of writing
or of gesture. Hence when God speaks to man three things are
implied :
First, that God has a thought which He wills to communicate
to man.
Second, that He executes His design in a direct way.
Third, that the person addressed now possesses the divine
thought with this result, that he is conscious of the same idea which
a moment ago existed only in God.
With every explanation doing full justice to these three points
we will agree; every other we reject.
As to the question whether speech is possible without sound, we
answer: "No, not among men." Surely the Lord can speak and
has spoken at times by means of air-vibrations ; but He can speak
to man without the use of either sound or ear. As men we have
access to each other s consciousness only by means of the organs of
72 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
sense. We can not communicate with our neighbor except he hear
or see or feel our touch. The unfortunate who is devoid of these
senses can not receive the slightest information from without.
But the Lord our God is not thus limited. He has access to man s
heart and consciousness from within. He can impart to our con
sciousness whatever He will in a direct way, without the use of ear
drum, auditory nerve, and vibration of air. Tho a man be stone-
deaf, God can make him hear, inwardly speaking to his soul.
However, to accomplish this God must condescend to our limita
tions. For the consciousness is subject to the mental conditions of
the world in which it lives. A negro, e.g., can have no other con
sciousness than that developed by his environment and acquired
by his language. Speaking to a foreigner unacquainted with our
tongue, we must adapt ourselves to his limitations and address him
in his own language. Hence in order to make Himself intelligible
to man, God must clothe His thoughts in human language and thus
convey them to the human consciousness.
To the person thus addressed it must seem therefore as tho he
had been spoken to in the ordinary way. He received the im
pression that he heard words of human language conveying to him
divine thoughts. Hence the divine speaking is always adapted to
the capacities of the person addressed. Because in condescension
the Lord adapts Himself to every man s consciousness, His speak
ing assumes the form peculiar to every man s condition. What a
difference, for instance, between God s word to Cain and that to
Ezekiel ! This explains how God could mention names, dates, and
various other details ; how He could make use of the dialect of a
certain period ; of derivation of words, as in the changing of names,
as in the case of Abraham and Sarah.
This also shows that God s speaking is not limited to godly and
susceptible persons prepared to receive a revelation. Adam was
wholly unprepared, hiding himself from the presence of God. And
so were Cain and Balaam. Even Jeremiah said: " I will not speak
any more in His Name. But His word was in my heart as a burn
ing fire, shut up in my bones : and I was weary with forbearing, but
I could not" (chap. xx. 9). Hence the divine omnipotence is un
limited. The Lord can impart the knowledge of His will to whom
soever He pleases. The question why He has not spoken for eigh
teen centuries must not be answered, " Because He has lost the
power " ; but, " Because it seemeth not good to Him." Having once
OLD TESTAMENT REVELATION IN WRITING 73
spoken and in the Scripture brought His word to our souls, He is
silent now that we may honor the Scripture.
However, it should be noticed that in this divine speaking from
Paradise to Patmos there is a certain order, unity, and regularity ;
wherefore we add :
First, the divine speaking was not confined to individuals, but,
having a message for all the people, God spoke through His chosen
prophets. That God can speak to a whole nation at once is proven
by the events of Sinai. But it pleased Him not always to do this.
On the contrary, He never spoke to them in that way afterward,
but introduced prophetism instead. Hence the peculiar mission of
prophetism is to receive the words of God and immediately to com
municate them to the people. God speaks to Abraham what is for
Abraham alone; but to Joel, Amos, etc., a message not for them
selves, but for others to whom it must be conveyed. In connection
with this we notice the fact that the prophet stands not alone, but
in relation with a class of men among whom his mind was gradually
prepared to speak to the people, and to receive the divine Oracle.
For the peculiar feature of prophecy was the condition of ecstasy,
which differed greatly from the way by which God spoke to
Moses.
Secondly, these divine revelations are mutually related and,
taken together, constitute a whole. There is first the foundation,
then the superstructure, until finally the illustrious palace of the
divine truth and knowledge is completed. Revelation as a whole
shows therefore a glorious plan, into which are dovetailed the
special revelations to individuals.
Thirdly, the speaking of the Lord, especially of the inward
word, is peculiarly the work of the Holy Spirit, which, as we have
found before, appears most strikingly when God comes into closest
contact with the creature. And the consciousness is the most inti
mate part of man s being. Wherefore, as often as the Lord our
God enters human consciousness to communicate His thoughts,
clothed in human thoughts and speech, the Scripture and the
believer honor and adore therein the comforting operation of the
Holy Spirit.
XVI.
Inspiration.
" And unto the angel of the church in Sardis
write, These things saith He that hath
the seven Spirits of God." Rev. iii. i.
WE do not speak here of the New Testament. Nothing has con
tributed more to falsify and undermine faith in the Scripture and
the orthodox view concerning it than the unhistoric and unnatural,
practise of considering the Scripture of the Old and the New Testa
ment at the same time.
The Old Testament appears first; then came the Word in the
flesh ; and only after that the Scripture of the New Testament. In
the study of the work of the Holy Spirit the same order ought to be
observed. Before we speak of His work in the Incarnation, the
inspiration of the New Testament may not even be mentioned.
And until the Incarnation, there existed no other Scripture than the
Old Testament.
The question is now : How is the work of the Holy Spirit to be
traced in the construction of that Scripture?
We have considered the question how it was prepared. By
wonderful works God created a new life in this world ; and, in order
to make men believe in these works, He spoke to man either direct
ly or indirectly, i.e., by the prophets. But this did not create a
Sacred Scripture. If nothing more had been done there would
never have been such a Scripture ; for events take place and
belong to the past; the word once spoken passes away with the
emotion in the consciousness.
Human writing is the wonderful gift which God bestowed on
man to perpetuate what otherwise would have been forgotten and
utterly lost. Tradition falsifies the report. Among holy men this
would not be so. But we are sinful men. By sin a lie can be told.
Sin is also the cause of our lack of earnestness, and the root of all
forgetfulness, carelessness, and thoughtlessness. These are the
two factors, lying and carelessness, that rob tradition of its value.
INSPIRATION 75
P or this reason God gave our race the gift of writing. Whether on
wax, on metal, on the face of the rock, on parchment, on papyrus,
or on paper, is of no importance ; but that God enabled man to find
the art of committing to posterity a thought, a promise, an event,
independent from his person, attaching it to something material,
so that it could endure and be read by others even after his death
this is of greatest importance.
For us, men, reading and writing are means of fellowship. It
begins with speaking, which is essential to fellowship. But mere
speaking confines it to narrow limits, while reading and writing
give it wider scope, extending it to persons far away and to genera
tions yet -unborn. Through writing past generations actually live
together. Even now we can meet with Moses and David, Isaiah
and John, Plato and Cicero; we can hear them speak and receive
their mental utterances. Writing is therefore no contemptible
thing as some, who are overspiritual and sneer at the written
Word, consider it. On the contrary, it is great and glorious one
of the mighty factors whereby God keeps men and generations in
living communication and exercise of love. Its discovery was a won
derful grace, God s gift to man, more than doubling his treasures.
The gift has often been abused ; yet even in its rightful use there
is ascending glory. How much more glorious appears the art of
writing when Dante, Shakespeare, and Schiller write their poetry,
than when the pedagogue compiles his spelling-books or the notary
public scribbles the lease of a house !
Since writing may be used or abused, may serve low or high
purposes, the question arises: "What is its highest end?" And
without the least hesitation we answer: "The writing of the Holy
Scripture." As human speech and language are of the Holy Spirit,
so is writing also taught us of Him. But while man uses the art to
record human thoughts, the Holy Spirit employs it to give fixed
and lasting form to the thoughts of God. Hence there is a human
employment of it and a divine. The highest and wholly unique is
that in the Holy Scripture.
Actually there is no other book which sustains communication
among men and generations as does the Sacred Scripture. To
honor His own work the Holy Spirit has caused the universal dis
tribution of this book alone, thereby putting men of all stations
and classes into communication with the oldest generations of the
race.
76 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From this standpoint the Holy Scripture must be considered,
being in fact " the Scripture par excellence." Hence the divine and
oft-repeated command: " Write." God did not only speak and act,
leaving it to man whether His deeds and the tenor of His words
were to be forgotten or remembered; but He also commanded that
they should be recorded in writing. And when just before the
announcement and close of the divine revelation to John on Patmos,
the Lord commanded him, " Write to the church" of Ephesus, Per-
gamos, etc., He repeated in a summary what was the design of all
preceding revelations, viz., that they should be written and in the
form of a Scripture, a gift of the Holy Spirit, and be deposited in
the Church, which for that reason is called the " pillar and ground
of the truth." Not, according to a later interpretation, as tho the
truth were concealed in the Church ; but, according to the ancient
rendering, that Holy Scripture was entrusted to the Church for
preservation.
However, we do not mean to say that with reference to every
verse and chapter the Holy Spirit commanded, " Write," as tho the
Scripture as we possess it had come into existence page after page.
Assuredly the Scripture is divinely inspired: a statement dis
torted and perverted beyond recognition by our Ethical theolo
gians, if they understand by it that " prophets and apostles were
personally animated by the Holy Spirit." This confounds illumina
tion with revelation, and revelation with inspiration. " Illumination "
is the clearing up of the spiritual consciousness which in His own
time the Holy Spirit gives more or less to every child of God.
" Revelation " is a communication of the thoughts of God given in
extraordinary manner, by a miracle, to prophets and apostles.
But " inspiration," wholly distinct from these, is that special and
unique operation of the Holy Spirit whereby He directed the minds
of the writers of the Scripture in the act of writing. " All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God"; and this has no reference to ordi
nary illumination, nor extraordinary revelation, but to an operation
that stands entirely alone and which the Church has always
confessed under the name of Inspiration. Hence inspiration is
the name of that all-comprehensive operation of the Holy Spirit
whereby He has bestowed on the Church a complete and infallible
Scripture. We call this operation all-comprehensive, for it was
organic, not mechanical.
The practise of writing dates back to remote antiquity; pre-
INSPIRATION 77
ceded, however, by the preservation of the verbal tradition by the
Holy Spirit. This is evident from the narrative of the Creation.
Noted physicists like Agassiz, Dana, Guyot, and others have openly
declared that the narrative of the Creation recorded many cen
turies ago what so far no man could know of himself, and what at
the present time is only partly revealed by the study of geology.
Hence the narrative of the Creation is not myth, but history. The
events took place as recorded in the opening chapters of Genesis.
The Creator Himself must have communicated them to man.
From Adam to the time when writing was invented the remem
brance of this communication must have been preserved correctly.
That there are two narratives of the Creation proves nothing to the
contrary. Creation is considered from the natural and from the
spiritual points of view ; hence it is perfectly proper that the image
of Creation should be completed in a twofold sketch.
If Adam did not receive the special charge, yet from the revela
tion itself he obtained the powerful impression that such informa
tion was not designed for himself alone, but for all men. Realizing
its importance and the obligation it imposed, succeeding generations
have perpetuated the remembrance of God s wonderful words and
deeds, first orally, afterward by writing. In this way there grad
ually arose a collection of documents which through Egyptian
influence were put in book form by the great men of Israel. These
documents being collected, sifted, compiled, and expanded by
Moses, formed in his day the beginning of a Holy Scripture prop
erly so called.
Whether Moses and those earlier writers were conscious of their
inspiration is immaterial ; the Holy Spirit directed them, brought
to their knowledge what they were to know, sharpened their judg
ment in the choice of documents and records, so that they should
decide aright, and gave them a superior maturity of mind that
enabled them always to choose the right word.
Altho the Holy Spirit spoke directly to men, human speech and
language being no human inventions, yet in writing He employed
human agencies. But whether He dictates directly, as in the
Revelation of St. John, or governs the writing indirectly, as with
historians and. evangelists, the result is the same : the product is
such in form and content as the Holy Spirit designed, an infallible
document for the Church of God.
Hence the confession of inspiration does not exclude ordinary
;8 HOLY SCRIPTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
numbering, collecting of documents, sifting, recording, etc. It
recognizes all these matters which are plainly discernible in Scrip
ture. Style, diction, repetitions, all retain their value. But it must
be insisted that the Scripture as a whole, as finally presented to
the Church, as to content, selection, and arrangement of docu
ments, structure, and even words, owes its existence to the Holy
Spirit, i.e., that the men employed in this work were consciously or
unconsciously so controlled and directed by the Spirit, in all their
thinking, selecting, sifting, choice of words, and writing, that their
final product, delivered to posterity, possessed a perfect warrant of
divine and absolute authority.
That the Scriptures themselves present a number of objections
and in many aspects do not make the impression of absolute inspi
ration does not militate against the other fact that all this spiritual
labor was controlled and directed by the Holy Spirit. For the
Scripture had to be constructed so as to leave room for the exercise
tot faith. It was not intended to be approved by the critical judg
ment and accepted on this ground. This would eliminate faith.
Faith takes hold directly with the fulness of our personality. To
have faith in the Word, Scripture must not grasp us in our critical
thought, but in the life of the soul. To believe in the Scripture is
an act of life of which thou, O lifeless man ! art not capable, except
the Quickener, the Holy Ghost, enable thee. He that caused Holy
Scripture to be written is the same that must teach thee to read it.
Without Him this product of divine art can not affect thee. Hence
we believe :
First, that the Holy Spirit chose this human construction of the
Scripture purposely, that we as men might more readily live in it.
Secondly, that these stumbling-blocks were introduced. that it
might be impossible for us to lay hold of its content with mere
intellectual grasp, without the exercise of faith.
jf iftb Cbapter.
THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD.*
XVII.
Like One of Us.
" But a body Thou hast prepared
UQ."Ifet>. x. 5.
THE completion of the Old Testament did not finish the work
that the Holy Spirit undertook for the whole Church. The Scrip
ture may be the instrument whereby to act upon the consciousness
of the sinner and to open his eyes to the beauty of the divine life,
but it can not impart that life to the Church. Hence it is followed
by another work of the Holy Spirit, viz., the preparation of the body
of Christ.
The well-known words of Psalm xl. 6, 7 : " Sacrifice and offering
Thou didst not desire ; mine ears Thou hast pierced ; burnt-offering
and sin-offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come:
in the volume of the book it is written of me," are rendered by St.
Paul : " Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, but a body Thou
hast prepared me ; in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings Thou hast no
pleasure : lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me."
We do not discuss how the words, " Mine ears hast Thou pierced,"
can mean also, " A body Thou hast prepared me." For our present
purpose it is immaterial whether one says with Junius: " The ear is
a member of the body; by the piercing of the ear hearing becomes
possible ; and only by the hearing does the body become an instru
ment of obedience"; or with another: " As the body of the slave
became an instrument of obedience by the piercing of the ear, so
* Owing to the recent publication of the author s work, "The Incarna
tion of the Word," this subject is presented here in an abbreviated form.
8o THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD
did the body of Christ become an instrument of obedience by the
conception of the Holy Spirit " ; or finally : " As the Israelite became
a servant by having his ear pierced, so has the Eternal Son adopted
the form of a servant by becoming partaker of our flesh and blood."
St. Paul s infallible exposition of Psalm xl. 7 does not raise any seri
ous objection to any of these renderings. It suffices our present
purpose if it be only acknowledged that, according to Heb. x. 5,
the Church must confess that there was a preparation of the body of
Christ.
This being conceded and taken in connection with what the
Gospel relates concerning the conception, it can not be denied that
in the preparing of the body of the Lord there is a peculiar work of
the Holy Spirit. For the angel said to Mary : " The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall over
shadow thee ; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke i. 35). And again:
"Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" (Matt,
i. 20). Both passages, apart from their proper meanings, evidently
seek to produce the impression that the conception and birth of
Jesus are extraordinary ; that they did not occur after the will of
man, but result from an operation of the Holy Spirit.
Like all other outgoing works of God, the preparation of the
body of Christ is a divine work common to the three Persons.
It is erroneous to say that the Holy Spirit is the Creator of the
body of Jesus, or, as some have expressed it, " That the Holy Spirit
was the Father of Christ, according to His human nature." Such
representations must be rejected, since they destroy the confession
of the Holy Trinity. This confession can not be maintained when
any of the outgoing works of God are represented as not common
to the three Persons.
We wish to emphasize, therefore, that not the Holy Spirit alone,
but the Triune God, prepared the body of the Mediator. The
Father and even the Son cooperated in this divine act.
However, as we have seen in Creation and Providence, in this
cooperation the work of each Person bears its own distinctive mark.
From the Father, of whom are all things, proceeded the material
of the body of Christ, the creation of the human soul, and of all His
gifts and powers, together with the whole plan of the Incarnation.
From the Son, who is the wisdom of the Father, disposing ancl
LIKE ONE OF US 81
arranging all things in Creation, proceeded the holy disposition and
arrangement with reference to the Incarnation. And as the corre
lated acts of the Father and the Son in Creation and Providence
receive animation and perfection through the Holy Spirit, so there
is in the Incarnation a peculiar act of the Holy Spirit through which
the acts of Father and Son in this mystery receive completion and
manifestation. Therefore it is said in Heb. x. 7 of the Triune God :
"A body Thou hast prepared Me"; while it is also declared that
: that which is conceived in Mary is of the Holy Ghost.
This, however, may not be explained in the ordinary sense. It
might be said that there is nothing wonderful in this, for Job
i declares (chap, xxxiii. 4), " The Spirit of the Lord hath given me
I life," and of Christ we read that He was born of Mary, being con
ceived by the Holy Ghost. These two cover the same ground.
! Both instances connect the birth of a child with an act of the Holy
| Spirit. While, as regards the birth of Christ, we do not deny this
ordinary act of the Holy Spirit, which is essential to the quickening
of all life, especially that of a human being, yet we do deny that the
conception by the Holy Spirit was the ordinary act. The ancient
confession, " I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only-Begotton Son our
ord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost" refers to a divine miracle
and a deep mystery, in which the work of the Holy Spirit must be
glorified.
Accordingly a complete analysis of this work is impossible. If
not, it would cease to be a miracle. Wherefore let us look into
this matter only with deepest reverence, and not advance theories
contrary to the Word of God. What God has been pleased to
reveal we know; what His Word only hints we can know only in
:aint outlines; and what is advanced outside of the Word is only
the effort of a meddlesome spirit or unhallowed curiosity.
In this work of the Holy Spirit two things must be distinguished:
First, the creation of the human nature of Jesus.
Secondly, His separation from sinners.
On the first point, the Scripture teaches that no man ever could
claim paternal connection with Jesus. Joseph appears and acts as
the stepfather of Christ; but of a fellowship of life and origin
between him and Jesus the Scripture never speaks. Indeed, Jo
seph s neighbors regarded Jesus as the Son of the carpenter, but the
Scripture always treats this as an error. St. John, declaring that
6
82 THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD
the children of God are born not of the will of man, nor of the wil
of the flesh, but of God, undoubtedly borrowed this glorious descrip
tion of our higher birth from the extraordinary act of God whicl
scintillates in the conception and birth of Christ. The fact tha
Mary was called a virgin ; that Joseph was troubled at the discover]
of his bride s condition; that he intended secretly to leave her, an<
that an angel appeared to him in a dream in a word, the wliol<
Gospel narrative, as well as the unbroken tradition of the Church
allows no other confession than that the conception and birth o
Christ were of Mary the virgin, but not of Joseph her betrothec
husband.
Excluding the man, the Scripture thrice puts the Holy Spirit ii
the foreground as the Author of the conception. St. Matthew say:
(chap. i. 1 8): "When Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, befor<
they came together, she was found with child by the Holy Ghost/
And again, in ver. 20: " For that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost." Lastly, Luke says (chap. i. 35): "The Holy Ghos
shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall over
shadow thee ; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born o:
thee shall be called the Son of God." These clear statements d(
not receive full recognition unless it be plainly confessed that the
conception of the germ of a human nature in the womb of the vir
gin was an act of the Holy Spirit.
It is not expedient nor lawful to enter more deeply into this
matter. How human life originates after conception, whether the
embryo immediately contains a human person or whether he ii
created therein afterward, and other similar questions, must remair
unanswered, perhaps forever. We may advance theories, but the
Omnipotent God allows no man to discover His workings in the
hidden laboratories of His creative power. Wherefore all thai
may be said according to Scripture is contained in the following
four particulars :
First, in the conception of Christ not a new being was called
into life as in all other cases, but One who had existed from eter
nity, and who then entered into vital relation with the human nature.
The Scripture clearly reveals this. Christ existed from before the
foundation of the world. His goings forth were of old, from the days
of eternity. He took upon Himself the form of a servant. Even the
the biologist should discover the mystery of the human birth, it
could not reveal anything regarding the conception of the Mediator,
LIKE ONE OF US 83
Second, it is not the conception of a human person, but of a
human nature. Where a new being is conceived, a human person
comes into existence. But when the Person of the Son, who was
with the Father from eternity, partakes of our flesh and blood, He
adopts our human nature in the unity of His Person, thus becoming
a true man; but it is not the creation of a new person. The Scrip
ture clearly shows this. In Christ appears but one ego, being in
the same Person at once the Son of God and the Son of man.
Third, from this it follows not that a new flesh was created in
Mary as the Mennonites used to teach, but that the fruit in Mary s
womb, from which Jesus was born, was taken from and nourished
with her own blood the very blood which through her parents she
had received from fallen Adam.
Last, the Mediator born of Mary not only partook of our flesh
and blood, such as it existed in Adam and as we have inherited it
from Adam, but He was born a true man, thinking, willing, and
feeling like other men, susceptible to all the human emotions and
sensations that cause the countless thrills and throbs of Tiuman life.
And yet He was separate from sinners. Of this we speak in the
next article.
Let this suffice for the fact of the conception, from which fact
we derive the precious comfort: " That it coiners in the sight of God
my sin and guilt wherein 1 was conceived and brought forth" (Heidel
berg Catechism, quest. 36).
XVIII.
Guiltless and Without Sin.
" For such an High Priest became us, who
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the
heavens." Heb. vii. 26.
THROUGHOUT the ages the Church has confessed that Christ took
upon Himself real human nature from the virgin Mary, not as it
was before the fall, but such as it had become by and after the fall.
This is clearly stated in Heb. ii. 14, 17 : " Forasmuch as the chil
dren are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself took part of
the same. . . . Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be
made like unto His brethren, to make reconciliation for the sins of
the people." It was even such a partaking of our nature as would
make Him feel Satan s goad, for there follows: " In that He Him
self hath suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor them that are
tempted." Upon the authority of the divine Word we can not
doubt then that the Son of God became man in our fallen nature.
It is our misery, by virtue of the inherited guilt of Adam, that we
can not live and act but as partakers of the flesh and blood corrupted
by the fall. And since we as children are partakers of flesh and
blood, so is He also become partaker of the same. Hence it can
not be too strongly emphasized that the Son of God, walking among
men, bore the same nature in which we spend our lives ; that His
flesh had the same origin as our flesh ; that the blood which ran
through His veins is the same as our blood, and came to Him as
well as to us from the same fountain in Adam. We must feel, and
dare confess, that in Gethsemane our Savior agonized in our flesh
and blood ; that it was our flesh and blood that were nailed to the
cross. The " blood of reconciliation " is taken from the very blood
which thirsts after reconciliation.
With equal assurance, however, bowing to the authority of the
Scripture, we confess that this intimate union of the Son of God
with the fallen human nature does not imply the least participation
GUILTLESS AND WITHOUT SIN 85
of our sin and guilt. In the same epistle in which the apostle sets
forth distinctly the fellowship of Jesus with the human flesh and
blood, he bears equally clear testimony to the fact of His sinless-
ness, so that every misunderstanding may be obviated. As by vir
tue of our conception and birth we are unholy, guilty, and defiled,
one with sinners, and therefore burdened with the condemnation of
hell, so is the Mediator conceived and born holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens. And with equal
emphasis the apostle declares that sin did not enter into His temp
tations, for, altho tempted in all things, like as we are, yet He was
ever without sin.
Therefore the mystery of the Incarnation lies in the apparent
contradiction of Christ s union with our fallen nature, which on the
one hand is so intimate as to make Him susceptible to its tempta
tions, while on the other hand He is completely cut off from all
fellowship with its sin. The confession which weakens or elimi
nates either of these factors must, when logically developed, de
generate into serious heresy. By saying, " The Mediator is con
ceived and born in our nature, as it was before the fall," we sever
the fellowship between Him and us ; and by allowing that He had
the least personal part of our guilt and sin, we sever His fellowship
with the divine nature.
Does the Scripture not teach then that the Mediator was made
sin and bore the curse for us, and " as a worm and no man " suffered
deepest distress?
We answer: Yea, verily, without this we could have no redemp
tion. But in all this He acted as our Substitute. His own person
ality was not in the least affected by it. His burdening Himself
with our sins was a High- Priestly act, performed vicariously. He
was made sin, but never a sinner. Sinner means one who is person
ally affected by sin ; Christ s person never was. He never had any
fellowship with sin other than that of love and compassion, to bear
it as our High Priest and Substitute. Yet, tho He was exceedingly
sorrowful even unto death, tho He was sorely tempted so that He
cried out, " Let this cup pass from Me," in the center of His personal
being He remained absolutely free from the least contact with sin.
A close examination of the way by which we become partakers
of sin will shed more light on this subject.
Every individual sin is not of our own begetting only, but a par
ticipation in the common sin, the one mighty sin of the whole
86 THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD
race against which the anger of God is kindled. Not only do we
partake of this sin by an act of the will as we grow up ; it was ours
already in the cradle, in our mother s womb yea, even in our con
ception. " Conceived and born in sin " is the awful confession which
the Church of God s redeemed can never deny.
For this reason the Church has always laid such stress upon the
doctrine of inherited guilt, as declared by St. Paul in Rom. v. Our
inherited guilt does not spring from inherited sin ; on the contrary,
we are conceived and born in sin because we stand in inherited guilt.
Adam s guilt is imputed to all that were in his loins. Adam lived
and fell as our natural and federal head. Our moral life stands in
root-relation to his moral life. We were in him. He carried us in
himself. His state determined our state. Hence by the righteous
judgment of God his guilt was imputed to all his posterity, for as
much as, by the will of man, they should successively be born of
his loins. By virtue of this inherited guilt we are conceived in sin
and born in the participation of sin.
God is our Creator, and from His hands we came forth pure and
undefiled. To teach otherwise is to make Him the Author of indi
vidual sin, and to destroy the sense of guilt in the soul. Hence sin,
especially original sin, does not originate in our creation by the
hand of God, but by our vital relation with the sinful race. Our
person does not proceed from our parents. This is in direct con
flict with the indivisibility of spirit, with the Word of God, and its
confession that God is our Creator, " who has also made ;;/<?."
However, all creation is not the same. There is mediate and
immediate creation. God created light by immediate creation, but
grass and herbs mediately, for they spring from the ground. The
same difference exists between the creation of Adam and that of
his posterity. The creation of Adam was immediate : not of his
body, which was taken from the dust, but of his person, the human
being called Adam. His posterity, however, is a mediate creation,
for every conception is made to depend upon the will of man.
Hence while we come from the hand of God pure and undefiled,
we become at the same time partakers of the inherited and imputed
guilt of Adam ; and by virtue of this inherited guilt, through our
conception and birth, God brings us into fellowship with the sin of
the race. How this is brought about is an unfathomable mystery;
but this is a fact, that we become partakers of the sin of the race by
generation, which begins with conception and ends with birth.
GUILTLESS AND WITHOUT SIN 87
And now, with reference to the Person of Christ, everything
depends upon the question whether the original guilt of Adam
"was imputed also to the man Jesus Christ.
If so, then, like all other men, Christ was conceived and born in
sin by virtue of this original guilt. Where imputed original guilt
is, there must be sinful defilement. But, on the other hand, where
it is not, sinful defilement can not be ; hence He that is called holy
and harmless must be undefiled. Adam s guilt was not imputed to
the man Jesus Christ. If it were, then He was also conceived and
born in sin; then He did not suffer vicariously, but for Himself
personally; then there can be no blood of reconciliation. If the
original guilt of Adam was imputed to the man Jesus Christ, then
by virtue of His sinful conception and birth He was also subject to
death and condemnation, and He could not have received life but
by regeneration. Then it also follows that either this Man is Him
self in need of a Mediator, or that we, like Him, can enter into life
without a Go-between.
But this whole representation is without foundation, and is to be
rejected without qualification. The whole Scripture opposes it.
Adam s guilt is imputed to his posterity. But Christ is not a
descendant of Adam. He existed before Adam. He was not born
passively as we, but Himself took upon Him the human flesh. He
does not stand under Adam as His head, but is Himself a new
Head, having others under Him, of whom He saith : " Behold Me
and the children whom Thou hast given Me" (Heb. ii. 13). True,
Luke iii. 23, 28 contains the genealogy of Joseph, which closes
with the words, "The son of Adam, the son of God"; but the
Evangelist adds emphatically, " as was supposed " ; hence Jesus
was not the son of Joseph. And in Matthew His genealogy stops
at Abraham. Altho on Pentecost St. Peter says that David knew
that God would raise up Christ out of the fruit of his loins, yet he
adds this limitation, "according to the flesh." Moreover, realizing
that the Son did not assume a human person, but the human nature,
so that His Ego is that of the Person of the Son of God, it neces
sarily follows that Jesus can not be a descendant of Adam ; hence
the imputation of Adam s guilt to Christ would annihilate the
divine Person/ Such imputation is utterly out of the question.
To Him nothing is imputed. The sins He bore He took upon Him
self voluntarily, vicariously, as our High Priest and Mediator.
XIX.
The Holy Spirit in the Mystery of the Incarnation.
"The Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory." -John i. 14.
THERE is one more question in the treatment of this subject:
What was the extraordinary operation of the Holy Spirit that
enabled the Son of God to assume our fallen nature without being
defiled by sin?
Altho we concede it to be unlawful to pry into that behind the
veil which God does not freely open to us, yet we may seek the
meaning of the words that embody the mystery ; and this we intend
to do in the discussion of this question.
The Incarnation of Christ, with reference to His sinlessness, is
connected with the being of sin, the character of original sin, the
relation between body and soul, regeneration, and the working of
the Holy Spirit in believers. Hence it is necessary for a clear
understanding to have a correct view of the relation of Christ s
human nature to these important matters.
Sin is not a spiritual bacillus hiding in the blood of the mother
and received into the veins of the child. Sin is not material and
tangible ; its nature is moral and spiritual, belonging to the invisi
ble things whose results we can perceive but whose real being
escapes detection. Wherefore in opposition to Manicheism and
kindred heresies, the Church has always confessed that sin is not a
material substance in our flesh and blood, but that it consists in the
loss of the original righteousness in which Adam and Eve bloomed
and prospered in Paradise. Nor do believers differ on this point,
for all acknowledge that sin is the loss of original righteousness.
However, tracing the next step in the course of sin, we meet a
serious difference between the Church of Rome and our own. The
former teaches that Adam came forth perfect from the hand of his
Maker, even before he was endowed with original righteousness.
HOLY SPIRIT IN MYSTERY OF INCARNATION 89
This implies that the human nature is finished without original
righteousness, which is put on him like a robe or ornament. As
our present nature is complete without dress or ornament, which
are needed only to appear respectable in the world, so was the
human nature, according to Rome, complete and perfect in itself
without righteousness, which serves only as dress and jewel. But
the Reformed churches have always opposed this view, maintain
ing that original righteousness is an essential part of the human
: nature ; hence that the human nature in Adam was not complete
; without it; that it was not merely added to Adam s nature, but that
i Adam was created in the possession of it as the direct manifestation
\ of his life.
If Adam s nature was perfect before he possessed original right
eousness, it follows that it remains perfect after the loss of it; in
which case we describe sin simply as " carentia justitia3 originalis,"
i.e., the want of original righteousness. This used to be expressed
thus : Is original righteousness a natural or supernatural good? If
natural, then its loss caused the human nature to be wholly cor
rupt ; if supernatural, then its loss might take away the glory and
honor of that nature, but as a human nature it retained nearly all
of its original power.
Bellarniinus said that desire, disease, conflict, etc., naturally be
long to human nature; and original righteousness was a golden
bridle laid upon this nature, to check and control this desire, dis
ease, conflict, etc. Hence when the golden bridle was lost, disease,
desire, conflict, and death broke loose from restraint (torn, iv.,
chap, v., col. 15, 17, 1 8). Thomas Aquinas, to whom Calvin was
greatly indebted, and whom the present Pope has earnestly com
mended to his priests, had a more correct view. This is evident
from his definition of sin. If disease, desire, etc., existed in man
when he came from the hand of God, and only supernatural grace
can restrain them, then sin is merely the loss of original righteous
ness, hence purely negative. But if original righteousness belongs
to human nature and was not simply added to it supernaturally,
then sin is twofold: first, the loss of original righteousness;
second, the ruin and corruption of human nature itself, disorganizing
and disjointing it. Thomas Aquinas acknowledges this last aspect,
for he teaches (" Summa Theologiae," prima secundae, ix., sect.
2, art. i) that sin is not only deprivation and loss, but also a state of
corruption, wherein must be distinguished the lack of what ought
9 o THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD
to be present, i.e., original righteousness, and the presence of what
ought to be absent, viz., an abnormal derangement of the parts and
powers of the soul.
Our fathers held almost the same view. They judged that sin
is not material, but the loss of original righteousness. But since
original righteousness belongs to the sound human nature, the loss
did not leave that nature intact, but damaged, disjointed, and cor
rupted it.
To illustrate: A beautiful geranium that adorned the window
was killed by the frost. Leaves and flowers withered, leaving only
a mass of mildew and decay. What was the cause? Merely the
loss of the sun s light and heat. But that was enough; for these
belong to the nature of the plant, and are essential to its life and
beauty. Deprived of them it remains not what it is, but its nature
loses its soundness, and this causes decay, mildew, and poisonous
gases, which soon destroy it. So of human nature : In Paradise
Adam was like the blooming plant, flourishing in the warmth and
brightness of the Lord s presence. By sin he fled from that pres
ence. The result was not merely the loss of light and heat, but
since these were essential to his nature, that nature languished,
drooped, and withered. The mildew of corruption formed upon it;
and the positive process of dissolution was begun, to end only in
eternal death.
Facts and history prove even now that the human body hasj
weakened since the days of the Reformation ; that bad habits of aj
certain character sometimes pass from father to child even wherel
the early death of the former precludes propagation by education
and example. Hence the difference between Adam, body and soul,
before the fall and his descendants after the fall is not merely the 1
loss of the Sun of Righteousness, which by nature shines no longerj
upon them, but the damage caused by this loss to the human nature,
in body and soul, which thereby are weakened, diseased, corrupted,
and thrown out of balance.
This corrupt nature passes from the father to the child, as th
Confession of Faith expresses it in article xv. : " That original sin is|
a corruption of the whole nature, and an hereditary disease, where-)
with infants themselves are infected in their mother s womb, and)
which produces in man all sorts of sin, being in him as a roolj
thereof."
However, the relation between a person and his ego must be
HOLY SPIRIT IN MYSTERY OF INCARNATION 91
taken into account. The disordered condition of our flesh and
blood inclines and incites to sin, a fact that has been observed in
the victims of certain terrible diseases as their effect. But this
could not result in sin if there were no personal ego to allow itself
to be excited. Again, tho the unbalanced powers of the soul which
cause the darkening of the understanding, the blunting of the sensi
bilities, and the weakening of the will arouse the passions, yet
even this could not result in sin if no personal ego were affected
by this working. Hence sin puts its own mark upon this corrup
tion only when the personal ego turns away from God, and in that
disordered soul and diseased body stands condemned before Him.
If according to established law the unclean brings forth the
unclean, and if God has made our birth to depend upon generation
by sinful men, it must follow that by nature we are born first,
without original righteousness; secondly, with an impaired body;
thirdly, with a soul out of harmony with itself, lastly, with a
personal ego which is turned away from God.
All of which would apply to the Person of the Mediator if, like
one of us, He had been born a human person by the will of man
and not of God. But since He was not born a human person, but
took our human nature upon Himself, and was conceived not by the
will of man, but by an operation of the Holy Spirit, there could not
be in Him an ego turned away from God, nor could the weakness
of His human nature for a moment be a sinful weakness. Or to
put it in the concrete : Altho there was in that fallen nature some
thing to incite Him to desire, yet it never became desire. There
is a difference between the temptations and conflicts of Jesus and
those of ourselves ; while our ego and nature desire against God,
His holy Ego opposed the incitement of His adopted nature and
was never overcome.
Hence the proper work of the Holy Spirit consisted in this :
First, the creation not of a new person, but of a human nature,
which the Son assumed into union with His divine nature in one
Person.
Second, that the divine-human Ego of the Mediator, who,
according to His human nature, also possessed spiritual life, was
kept from the inward defilement which by virtue of our birth
affected our ego and personality.
Hence regeneration, which affects not our nature but our person,
is out of the question with reference to Christ. But what Christ
92 THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD
needed was the gifts of the Holy Ghost to enable His weakened
nature, in increasing measure, to be His instrument in the working!
out of His holy design; and finally to transform His weakened
nature not by regeneration, but by resurrection into a glorious
nature, divested of the last trace of weakness and prepared to!
unfold its highest glory.
Gbapter,
THE MEDIATOR.
XX.
The Holy Spirit in the Mediator.
" Who through the Eternal Spirit
offered Himself without spot to
God." Heb. ix. 14.
THE work of the Holy Spirit in the Person of Christ is not
exhausted in the Incarnation, but appears conspicuously in the
work of the Mediator. We consider this work in the development of
His human nature ; in the consecration to His office ; in His humiliation
unto death j in His resurrection, exaltation, and return in glory.
First The work of the Holy Spirit in the development of the human
nature in Jesus.
We have said before, and now repeat, that we consider the effort
to write the " Life of Jesus " either unlawful or its title a misnomer :
a misnomer when, pretending to write a biography of Jesus, the
writer simply omits to explain the psychological facts of His life ;
unlawful when he explains these facts from the human nature of
Jesus.
There never was a life of Jesus in the sense of a human, personal
existence ; and the tendency to substitute the various biographies
of Jesus of Nazareth for the simple Gospel narratives aims really at
nothing else than to place the unique Person of the God-man on the
same level with the geniuses and great men of the world , to hu
manize Him, and thus to annihilate the Messiah in Him in other
words, to secularize Him. And against this we solemnly protest with
all the power that is in us.
The God-human Person of the Lord Jesus did not live a life, but
94 THE MEDIATOR
rendered one mighty act of obedience by humbling Himself untcj
death; and out of that humbling He ascended not by powera
developed from His human nature, but by a mighty and extraordij
nary act of the power of God. Any one who successfully under]
took to write the life of Christ could do no more than draw thJ
picture of His human nature. For the divine nature has no history!
does not run through a process of time, but remains the same for!
evermore.
However, this does not prevent us from inquiring, according tc
the need of our limitations, in what manner the human nattire o.
Christ was developed. And then the Scripture teaches us thai
there was indeed growth in His human nature. St. Luke relates
that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God
and men. Hence there was in His human nature a growth anc
development from the less unto the greater. This would have beei
impossible if in the Messiah the divine nature had taken the plac<
of the human ego; for then the majesty of the Godhead would
always and completely have filled the human nature. But this wa:|
not the case. The human nature in the Mediator was real, i.e., iif
body and soul it existed as it exists in us, and all inworking o|
divine life, light, and power could manifest itself only by adapting
itself to the peculiarities and limitations of the human nature.
When maintaining the mistaken view that the development ol
sinless Adam would have been accomplished without the aid of th<
Holy Spirit, it is natural to suppose that the sinless nature of Chrisl
did equally develop itself without the assistance of the Spirit o
God. But knowing from the Scripture that not only man s gifts
powers, and faculties, but also their working and exercise are ;
result of the work of the Holy Spirit, we see the development o]
the human nature of Jesus in a different light and understand th<
meaning of the words that He received the Holy Spirit withem
measure. For this indicates that His human nature also receivec
the Holy Ghost; and not this only after He had lived for year
without Him, but every moment of His existence according to thj
measure of His capacities. Even in His conception and birth thJ
Holy Spirit effected not only a separation from sin, but He alJ
endowed His human nature with the glorious gifts, powers, an<i
faculties of which that nature is susceptible. Hence His humaif
nature received these gifts, powers, and faculties not from the So>\
by communication from the divine nature, but from the Holy Ghos\
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE MEDIATOR 95
by communication to the human nature; and this should be
thoroughly understood.
However, His human nature did not receive these gifts, powers,
and faculties in full operation, but wholly inoperative. As there
are in every infant powers and faculties that will remain dormant,
some of them for many years, so there were in the human nature of
Christ powers and faculties which for a time remained slumbering.
The Holy Spirit imparted these endowments to His human nature
without measure John iii. 34. This has reference to a contrast
between others, whom the Holy Spirit endowed not without measure,
but in limited degree according to their individual calling or des
tiny ; and Christ, in whom there is no such distinction or individual
ity to whom, therefore, gifts, powers, and faculties are imparted in
such a measure that He never could feel the lack of any gift of the
Holy Spirit. He lacked nothing, possessed all; not by virtue of
His divine nature, which can not receive anything, being the eternal
fulness itself, but by virtue of His human nature, which was endowed
with such glorious gifts by the Holy Spirit.
However, this was not all. Not only did the Holy Spirit adorn
the human nature of Christ with these endowments, but He also
caused them to be exercised, gradually to enter into full activity.
This depended upon the succession of the days and years of the
time of His humiliation. Altho His heart contained the germ of
all wisdom, yet as a child of one year, e.g., He could not know the
Scripture by means of His human understanding. As the Eternal
Son He knew it, for He Himself had given it to His Church. But
His human knowledge had no free access to His divine knowledge.
On the contrary, while the latter never increased, knowing all
things from eternity, the former was to learn everything; it had
nothing of itself. This is the increase in wisdom of which St. Luke
speaks an increase not of the faculty, but of its exercise. And
this affords us a glimpse into the extent of His humiliation. He
that knew all things by virtue of His divine nature began as man
with knowing nothing ; and that which He knew as a man He
acquired by learning it under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
And the same applies to His increase in stature and in favor
with God and men. Stature refers to His physical growth, inclu
ding all that in the human nature depends upon it. Not created an
adult like Adam, but born a child like each of us, Jesus had to grow
and develop physically; not by magic, but in reality. When He
9 6 THE MEDIATOR
lay in Mary s lap, or as a boy looked around in his stepfather s
shop, He was a child not only in appearance with the wisdom of a
venerable, hoary head, but a real child, whose impressions, feelings,
sensations, and thoughts kept step with His years. No doubt His
development was quick and beautiful, surpassing anything ever
seen in other children, so that the aged rabbis in the Temple were
astonished when they looked upon the Boy only twelve years old;
yet it always remained the development of a child that first lay
upon His mother s lap, then learned to walk, gradually became a
boy and youth, until He attained the fulness of man s stature.
And as the Holy Spirit with every increase of His human nature
enlarged the exercise of its powers and faculties, so He did also
with reference to the relation of the human nature to God and men,
for He increased in favor with God and men. Favor has reference
to the unfolding and development of the inward life, and may
manifest itself in a twofold way, either pleasing or displeasing to
God and men. Of Jesus it is said that in His development such
gifts and faculties, dispositions and attributes, powers and qualifi
cations manifested themselves from the inward life of His human
nature that God s favor rested upon them, while they affected those
around Him in a refreshing and helpful way.
Even apart from His Messiahship Jesus stood, with reference to
His human nature, during all the days of His humiliation, under the
constant and penetrating operation of the Holy Spirit. The Son,
who lacked nothing, but as God in union with the Father and the
Holy Spirit possessed all things, compassionately adopted our
human nature. And inasmuch as it is the peculiarity of that nature
to derive its gifts, powers, and faculties not from itself, but from the
Holy Spirit, by whose constant operation alone they can be exer
cised, so did the Son not violate this peculiarity, but, altho He was
the Son, He did not take its preparation, enriching, and operation
into His own hand, but was willing to receive them from the hand
of the Holy Spirit.
The fact that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His Bap
tism, altho He had received Him without measure at His concep
tion, can only be explained by keeping in view the difference
between \he personal and official life of Jesus,
XXI.
Not Like unto Us.
"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit
into the wilderness." Matt. iv. i.
THE representation that Christ s human nature received anima
ting and qualifying influences and impulses directly from His divine
nature, altho on the whole incorrect, contains also some truth.
We often distinguish between our ego and nature. We say : " I
have my nature against me, "or " My nature is in my favor"; hence
it follows that our person animates and actuates our nature. Ap
plying this to the Person of the Mediator, we must distinguish
between His human nature and His Person. The latter existed
from eternity, the former He adopted in time. And since in the
Son the divine Person and the divine nature are nearly one, it must
be acknowledged that the Godhead of our Lord directly controlled
His human nature. This is the meaning of the confession of God s
children that His Godhead supported His human nature.
But it is wrong to suppose that the divine Person accomplished
in His human nature what in us is effected by the Holy Spirit.
This would endanger His true and real humanity. The Scripture
positively denies it.
Second The work of the Holy Spirit in the consecration of
Jesus to His office (see " First," on p. 93).
This ought to be carefully noticed, especially since the Church
has never sufficiently confessed the influence of the Holy Spirit
exerted upon the work of Christ. The general impression is that
the work of the Holy Spirit begins when the work of the Mediator
on earth is finished, as tho until that time the Holy Spirit cele
brated His divine day of rest. Yet the Scripture teaches us again
and again that Christ performed His mediatorial work controlled
and impelled by the Holy Spirit. We consider this influence now
with reference to His consecration to His office.
By the spirit of the prophets already Christ testified of this say-
7
9 8 THE MEDIATOR
ing by the mouth of Isaiah : " The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is
upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good til,
dings unto the meek." But the great fact which could not be learned
from prophecy is that of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Jordan!
Surely Isaiah referred partly to this event, but principally to the!
anointing in the counsel of peace. However, when Jesus went upl
out of Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove,
and a voice was heard from heaven saying, " This is My beloved!
Son," then only the anointing became actual.
In regard to the event itself, only a few words. That Christ s)
Baptism was not a mere form, but the fulfilling of all righteousness
proves that He descended into the water burdened with our sinsJ
Hence St. John makes the words, " Behold the Lamb of God," pre
cede the account of His Baptism. Wherefore it is incorrect to say
that Christ was installed into His Messianic office only at His BapJ
tism. On the contrary, He was anointed from eternity. Wliere-j
fore He may not be represented as being for a moment unconscious,]
according to the measure of His development, of the Messiah task
that rested upon Him. This lay in His holy Person ; it was not!
added to Him at a later period, but was His before Adam fell.
And as in His human consciousness His Person gradually attained!
stature, it was always the stature of the Messiah. This is evident
from His answer when, at the age of twelve, He spoke of the things
of His Father which were to occupy Him ; and still more clearly
from His words to John the Baptist commandingly saying : " Suffer
it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."
And yet it is only at His Baptism that Jesus receives the actual!
consecration to His office. This is proven from the fact that imme
diately after this He entered publicly upon His office as a Teacher;!
and also from the event itself, and the voice from heaven pointing}
to Him as the Messiah ; and especially from the descent of the Holy
Spirit, which can not be interpreted in any other way than as His;
consecration to His holy office.
What we have said with reference to the communication of the
Holy Spirit qualifying one for office, as in the case of Saul, David,!
and others, is of direct application here. Altho in His human
nature Jesus was personally in constant fellowship with the Holy
Spirit, yet the official communication was established only at the!
time of His Baptism. Yet with this difference, that while in others]
the person and his office are separated at death, in the Messiah the|
NOT LIKE UNTO US 99
.
two remain united even in and after death, to continue so until the
moment that He shall deliver the Kingdom unto God the Father,
gj j that God may be all in all. Hence the descriptive remark of John :
"I saw the Spirit descending from heaven, and it abode on Him "
j, (John i. 32).
And finally, to the question why the Person of the Mediator
1 needed this remarkable event and the three signs that accompany
i it, we answer :
First, Christ must be a true man even in His office, wherefore
He must be installed according to the human custom. He enters
; upon His public ministry at thirty ; He is publicly installed ; and
1 He is anointed with the Holy Spirit.
Second, for His human consciousness this striking revelation
from heaven was of the utmost necessity. The conflict of the
temptation was to be absolute, i.e., indescribable ; hence the impres
sion of His consecration must be indestructible.
Third, for the apostles and the Church it was necessary to dis
tinguish unmistakably the true Messiah from all the pseudo-mes-
siahs and antichrists. This is the reason of St. John s strong
appeal to this event.
If the work of the Holy Spirit with reference to the consecration
is conspicuous and clearly indicated, the fact that the official influ
ence of the Holy Spirit accompanied the Mediator throughout the
entire administration of His office is not less clearly set forth in the
Holy Scripture. This appears from the events immediately follow
ing the Baptism. St. Luke relates that Jesus being full of the Holy
Spirit, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. St. Matthew
adds: " To be tempted of the devil." Of Elias, Ezekiel, and others
it is said that the Spirit took them up and transferred them to some
other place. This stands in evident connection with what we read
here concerning Jesus. With this difference, however, that while
the propelling power came to them from without, Jesus, being full
of the Holy Spirit, felt its pressure in the very depths of His soul.
And yet, altho operating in His soul, this action of the Holy Spirit
was not identical with the impulses of Christ s human nature. Of
Himself Jesus would not have gone into the desert; His going
there was the result of the Holy Spirit s leading. Only in this way
this passage receives its full explanation.
That this leading of the Holy Spirit was not limited to this one
act appears from St. Luke, who relates (chap. iv. 14) that after the
I00 THE MEDIATOR
temptation He returned in the power of the Holy Spirit into GaliJ
lee, thus entering upon the public ministry of His prophetic office.
It is evidently the purpose of the Scripture to emphasize the fact!
of the inability of the human nature which Christ had adopted, to
accomplish the work of the Messiah without the constant opera
tion and powerful leading of the Holy Spirit, whereby it was so
strengthened that it could be the instrument of the Son of God forj
the performance of His wonderful work.
Jesus was conscious of this, and at the beginning of His ministry
expressly indicated it. In their synagogue He turned to Isa. Ixi. I
i, and read to them: " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because!
the Lord hath anointed me"; then added: " This day is this Scrip-!
ture fulfilled in your ears."
The Holy Spirit did not support His human nature in the temp
tation and in the opening ministry only, but in all His mighty deeds,
as Christ Himself testified: "If I cast out devils by the Spirit ot
God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you" (Matt. xii. 28).
Moreover, St. Paul teaches that the gifts of healing and miracles:
proceed from the Holy Spirit, and this, in connection with the state
ment that these powers worked in Jesus (Mark vi. 14), convinces us
that these were the very powers of the Holy Spirit. Again, it is
frequently said He rejoiced in the Spirit or was troubled in the
Spirit, which may be interpreted as a rejoicing or being troubled in
His own spirit; but this is not a complete explanation. When it
refers to His own spirit it reads: " And He sighed deeply in His
spirit" (Mark viii. 12). But in the other cases we interpret the ex-l
pressions as pointing to those deeper and more glorious emotions
of which our human nature is susceptible only when abiding in the!
Holy Spirit. For altho St. John states that Jesus groaned in Him
self (chap. xi. 38), this is not contradictory, especially with refer
ence to Jesus. If the Holy Spirit always abode in Him, the same
emotion may be attributed both to Him and to the Holy Spirit.
Apart, however, from these passages and their interpretations,
we have said enough to prove that that part of Christ s work of
mediation, beginning with His Baptism and closing in the upper
chamber, was marked by the operation, influence, and support of
the Holy Spirit.
According to the divine counsel, human nature is adapted in
creation to the inworking of the Holy Spirit, without which it can
not unfold itself any more than the rosebud without the light and
NOT LIKE UNTO US 101
influence of the sun. As the ear can not hear without sound, and
the eye can not see without light, so is our human nature incom-
| plete without the light and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Where-
fore, when the Son assumed human nature He took it just as it
is, i.e., incapable of any holy action without the power of the
Holy Spirit. Hence He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that
i from the beginning His human nature should be richly endowed
i with powers. The Holy Spirit developed these powers; and He
was consecrated to His office by the communication to His human
nature of the Messianic gifts by which He still intercedes for us as
; our High Priest, and rules us as our King. And for this reason He
j was guided, impelled, animated, and supported by the Holy Spirit
at every step of His Messianic ministry.
There are three differences between this communication of the
Holy Spirit to the human nature of Jesus and that in us :
First, the Holy Spirit always meets with the resistance of evil
in our hearts. Jesus s heart was without sin and unrighteousness.
Hence in His human nature the Holy Spirit met no resistance.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit s operation, influence, support, and
guidance in our human nature is always individual, i.e., in part,
imperfect; in the human nature of Jesus it was central, perfect,
leaving no void.
Thirdly, in our nature the Holy Spirit meets with an ego which
in union with that nature opposes God; while the Person which He
met in the human nature of Christ, partaking of the divine nature,
was absolutely holy. For the Son having adopted the human
nature in union with His Person, was cooperating with the Holy
Spirit.
XXII.
The Holy Spirit in the Passion of Christ.
"Who through the Eternal Spirit;
offered Himself." Heb. ix. 4.
THIRDLY Let us now trace the work of the Holy Spirit in the
suffering, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ (see "First"!
and " Second," pp. 93 and 97).
In the Epistle to the Hebrews the apostle asks: " If the blood ofj
goats and calves and the ashes of the heifer sprinkling the unclean,!
sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh, how much more shall!
the blood of Christ purge your conscience from dead works?" add-j
ing the words : " Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself!
without spot to God." The meaning of these words has been much!
disputed. Beza and Gomarus understood the Eternal Spirit tcj
signify Christ s divine nature. Calvin and the majority of reformers
made it to refer to the Holy Spirit. Expositors of the present dayj
especially those of rationalistic tendencies, understand by it merel>i
the tension of Christ s human nature.
With the majority of orthodox expositors we adopt the view o:|
Calvin. The difference between Beza and Calvin is that already"
referred to. The question is, whether as regards His human nature
Christ substituted the inworking of the Son for that of the Hoi}!
Spirit; or did He have the ordinary operation of the Holy Spirit? j
At the present time many have adopted the former view withou 1
clearly understanding the difference. They reason thus: " Are the
two natures not united in the Person of Jesus? Why, then, shouki
the Holy Spirit be added to qualify the human nature? Could tin
Son Himself not do this?" And so they reach the conclusion tha
since the Mediator is God, there could be no need of a work of the
Holy Spirit in the human nature of Christ. And yet this view mus
be rejected, for
First, God has so created human nature that without the Holj,
Spirit it can not have any virtue or holiness. Adam s origina
i
HOLY SPIRIT IN THE PASSION OF CHRIST 103
righteousness was the work and fruit of the Holy Spirit as truly as
the new life in the regenerate is to-day. The shining-in of the
j Holy Spirit is as essential to holiness as the shining of light into
i the eye is essential to seeing.
Second, the work of the Son according to the distinction of
: three divine Persons is other than the work of the Holy Spirit with
I reference to the human nature. The Holy Spirit could not become
i flesh; this the Son alone could do. The Father has not delivered
I all things to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works from the Son ;
I but the Son depends upon the Holy Spirit for the application of
redemption to individuals. The Son adopts our nature, thus rela
ting Himself with the whole race ; but the Holy Spirit alone can so
enter into individual souls as to glorify the Son in the children
of God.
Applying these two principles to the Person of Christ, we see
that His human nature could not dispense with the constant in-
shining of the Holy Spirit. For which reason Scripture declares :
" He gave Him the Spirit without measure." Nor could the Son ac
cording to His own nature take the place of the Holy Spirit; but in
the divine economy, by virtue of His union with the human nature,
ever depended upon the Holy Spirit.
As to the question, whether the Godhead of Christ did not sup
port His humanity, we answer : Undoubtedly ; but never independ
ently of the Holy Spirit. We faint because we resist, grieve, and
repel the Holy Spirit. Christ was always victorious because His
divinity never relaxed His hold upon the Holy Spirit in His hu
manity, but embraced Him and clave unto Him with all the love
and energy of the Son of God.
Human nature is limited. It is susceptible of receiving the Holy
Spirit so as to be His temple. But that susceptibility has its limits.
Opposed by eternal death, it loses its tension and falls away from
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Hence we have no unlosable
good in ourselves, but only as members of the body of Christ.
Apart from Him, eternal death would have power over us, would
separate us from the Holy Spirit and destroy us. Wherefore all
our salvation lies in Christ. He is our anchor cast within the veil.
As to the human nature of Christ, it encountered and passed through
eternal death. This could not be otherwise. If He had passed only
through temporal death, eternal death would still be unvanquished.
To the question how His human nature could pass through
104 THE MEDIATOR
eternal death and not perish, having no Mediator to support it, we
answer: The human nature of Christ would have been overwhelmed
by it, the in-shining of the Holy Spirit would have ceased if His
divine nature, i.e., the infinite might of His Godhead, had not been
underneath it. Hence the apostle declares : " Who through the
Eternal Spirit offered Himself"; not through the Holy Spirit. The
two expressions are not identical. There is a difference between
the Holy Spirit, the third Person in the Godhead, apart from me,
and the Holy Spirit working within me.
The word of Scripture, " He was full of the Holy Ghost," refers
not only to the Person of the Holy Spirit, but also to His work in
man s soul. So with reference to Christ, there is a difference
between: "He was conceived by the Holy Ghost," "The Holy
Ghost descended upon Him," " Being full of the Holy Spirit," " Who
offered Himself by the Eternal Spirit." The last two passages indi
cate the fact that the spirit of Jesus had taken in the Holy Spirit
and identified itself with Him, in almost the same sense as Acts xv.
28: "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us" The term
" Eternal Spirit " was chosen to indicate that the divine-human Per
son of Christ entered into such indissoluble fellowship with the
Holy Spirit as even eternal death could not break.
A closer examination of the sufferings of Christ will make this
clear.
Christ did not redeem us by His sufferings alone, being spit
upon, scourged, crowned w r ith thorns, crucified, and slain ; but this
passion was made effectual to our redemption by His love and volun
tary obedience. These are generally called His passive and active
satisfaction. By the first we understand His actual bearing of pain,
anguish, and death; by the second, His zeal for the honor of God,
the love, faithfulness, and divine pity by which He became obedient
even unto death yea, the death of the cross. And these two are
essentially distinct. Satan, e.g., bears punishment also and shall
bear it forever; but he lacks the willingness. This, however, does
not affect the validity of the punishment. A murderer on the gal
lows may curse God and men to the end ; but this does not invali
date his punishment. Whether he curses or prays, it is equally
valid.
Hence there was in Christ s sufferings much more than mere
passive, penal satisfaction. Nobody compelled Jesus. He, par
taker of the divine nature, could not be compelled, but offered
HOLY SPIRIT IN THE PASSION OF CHRIST 105
Himself quite voluntarily: " Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God; in
the volume of the book it is written of Me." To render that volun
tary sacrifice He had with equal willingness adopted the prepared
body : " Who being in the form of God thought it no robbery to be
equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation and being
found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obe
dient unto death, even the death of the cross"; "Who, tho He
were a Son, yet learned He obedience." And to give highest proof
of this obedience unto death, He inwardly consecrated Himself to
death, as He Himself testified: " I sanctify Myself for them."
This leads to the important question, whether Jesus rendered
this obedience and consecration outside of His human nature, or in
it, so that it manifested itself in His human nature. Undoubtedly
the latter. The divine nature can not learn, or be tempted; the
Son could not love the Father with other than eternal love. In the
divine nature there is no more or less. To suppose this is to anni
hilate the divine nature. The statement that, " tho He were the
Son, yet learned He obedience," does not mean that as God He
learned obedience ; for God can not obey. God rules, governs,
commands, but never obeys. As King He can serve us only in
the form of a slave, hiding His princely majesty, having emptied
Himself, standing before us as one despised among men. " Tho He
were the Son "means, therefore: altho in His inward Being He is
God the Son, yet He stood before us in such lowliness that noth
ing betrayed His divinity; yea, so lowly that He even learned
obedience.
Wherefore if the Mediator as man showed in His human nature
such zeal for God and such pity for sinners that He willingly gave
Himself in self-sacrifice unto death, then it is evident that His human
nature could not exercise such consecration without the inworking
of the Holy Spirit; and again that the Holy Spirit could not have
effected such inworking unless the Son willed and desired it. The
cry of the Messiah is heard in the words of the psalmist : " I delight
to do Thy will, O God." The Son was willing so to empty Him
self that it would be possible for His human nature to pass through
eternal death; and to this end He let it be filled with all the mighti
ness of the Spirit of God. Thus the Son offered Himself " through
the Eternal Spirit that we might serve the living God."
Hence the work of the Holy Spirit in the work of redemption
did not begin only at Pentecost, but the same Holy Spirit who in
I0 6 THE MEDIATOR
creation animates all life, upholds and qualifies our human nature,
and in Israel and the prophets wrought the work of revelation, also
prepared the body of Christ, adorned His human nature withj
gracious gifts, put these gifts into operation, installed Him into
His office, led Him into temptation, qualified Him to cast out
devils, and finally enabled Him to finish that eternal work of satis
faction whereby our souls are redeemed.
This explains why Beza and Gomarus could not be fully satisfied
with Calvin s exposition. Calvin said that it was the working- of
the Holy Spirit apart from the divinity of the Son. And they felt
that there was something lacking. For the Son made Himself of
no reputation and became obedient; but if all this is the work of
the Holy Spirit, then nothing is left of the work of the Son. And
to escape from this, they adopted the other extreme, and declared ;
that the Eternal Spirit had reference only to the Son according to
His divine nature an exposition that can not be accepted, for the I
divine nature is never designated as spirit.
Yet they were not altogether wrong. The reconciliation of
these contrary views must be looked for in the difference between
the existence of the Holy Spirit without us, and His working within
us as received by our nature and identified with its own working. And
inasmuch as the Son, by His Godhead, enabled His human nature, !
in the awful conflict with eternal death, to effect this union, there-
fore the apostle confesses that the sacrifice of the Mediator was !
rendered by the working of the Eternal Spirit.
XXIII.
The Holy Spirit in the Glorified Christ.
" Declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the Spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from
the dead." Rom. i. 4.
FROM the foregoing studies it appears that the Holy Spirit per
formed a work in the human nature of Christ as He descended the
several steps of His humiliation to the death of the cross.
The question now arises, whether He had also a work in the
several steps of Christ s exaltation to the excellent glory, i.e., in
His resurrection, ascension, royal dignity, and second coming.
Before we answer this question, let us first consider the nature
of this work in the exaltation. For it is evident that it must greatly
differ from that in His humiliation. In the latter His human nature
suffered violence. His sufferings antagonized not only His divine
nature, but also His human nature. To suffer pain, insult, and
mockery, to be scourged and crucified, goes against human nature.
The effort to resist such sufferings and to escape from them is per
fectly natural. Christ s groaning in Gethsemane is the natural
utterance of the human feeling. He was burdened with the curse
and wrath of God against the sin of the race. Then human nature
struggled against the burden, and the cry, " Father, let this cup
pass from Me," was the sincere and natural cry of horror which
human nature could not repress.
And not in Gethsemane alone ; through His whole humiliation
He experienced the same, tho in less degree. His self-emptying
was not a single loss or bereavement, but a growing poorer and
poorer, until at last nothing was left Him but a piece of ground
where He could weep and a cross whereon He could die. He
renounced all that heart and flesh hold dear, until, without friend
or brother, without one tone of love, amid the mocking laughter
of His slanderers, He gave up the ghost. Surely He trod the wine
press alone.
io8 THE MEDIATOR
His humiliation being so deep and real, it is not surprising that
the Holy Spirit succored and comforted His human nature so that
it was not overwhelmed. For it is the proper work of the Holy
Spirit by gifts of grace to enable human nature, tempted by sor
row to sin, to stand firm and overcome. He animated Adam before
the fall; He comforts and supports all the children of God to-day;
and He did the same in the human nature of Jesus. What air is to
man s physical nature, the Holy Spirit is to his spiritual nature.
Without air there is death in our bodies; without the Holy Spirit
there is death in our souls. And as Jesus had to die, tho He was
the Son, when breath failed Him, so He could not live according to
His human nature, tho He was the Son, except the Holy Spirit
dwelt in that nature. Since, according to the spiritual side of His
human nature, He was not dead as we are, but was born possessed
of the life of God, so it was impossible for His human nature for a
single moment to be without the Holy Spirit.
But how different in the state of His exaltation ! Honor and
glory are not against human nature, but satisfy it. It covets them
and longs for them with all its energy of desire. Hence this exal
tation created no conflict in the soul of Jesus. His human nature
needed no support to bear it. Hence the question: What, then,
could the Holy Spirit do for the human nature in the state of glory?
Regarding the resurrection, the Scripture teaches more than
once that it was connected with a work of the Holy Spirit. St.
Paul says (Rom. i. 4) that Jesus was " declared to be the Son of God,
by the Spirit of holiness with power, by the resurrection from the
dead." And St. Peter says (i Peter i. 18) that Christ " being put to
death in the flesh, was quickened by the Spirit," which evidently
refers to the resurrection, as the context shows: " For Christ once
suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us to God." His death points to the crucifixion, and His quicken
ing, being the opposite of the latter, undoubtedly refers to His
resurrection.
In Rom. viii. n, speaking of our resurrection, St. Paul explains
these more or less puzzling utterances, affirming that " if the Spirit
of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." This passage tells
three things concerning our resurrection :
First, that the Triune God shall raise us up.
HOLY SPIRIT IN THE GLORIFIED CHRIST 109
Second, that this shall be wrought by a special work of the
Holy Spirit.
Third, that it shall be effected by the Spirit that dwelleth in us.
St. Paul induces us to apply these three to Christ; for He com
pares our resurrection with His, not only as regards the fact, but
also as regards the working whereby it was effected. Hence with
reference to the latter it must be confessed :
First, that the Triune God raised Him from the dead. St. Peter
stated this clearly on the day of Pentecost : " Whom God has raised
up, having loosed the pains of death"; St. Paul repeated it in
Ephes. i. 20, where he speaks of "His mighty power" which He
wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.
Second, that God the Holy Spirit performed a peculiar work in
the resurrection.
Third, that He wrought this work in Christ from within, dwell
ing in Him : " Which dwelleth in you."
The nature of this work is apparent from the Holy Spirit s part
in Adam s creation and in our birth. If the Spirit kindles and
brings forth all life, especially in man, then it was He who re
kindled the spark quenched by sin and death. He did so in Jesus;
He will do so in- us.
The only remaining difficulty is on the third point : " Which
dwelleth in you." The work of the Holy Spirit in our creation, and
therefore in that of Christ s human nature, came from without ; in
the resurrection it works from within. Of course persons dying
without being temples of the Holy Spirit are excluded. St. Paul
speaks exclusively of men whose hearts are His temples. Hence
representing Him as dwelling in them, he speaks of Him as the
Spirit of holiness, and Peter as the " Spirit" indicating that they do
not refer to a work of the Holy Spirit in opposition to the spirit of
Jesus, but in which His spirit agreed and cooperated. And this
harmonizes with Christ s own words, that in the resurrection He
would not be passive, but active : " I have power to lay down life
and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have
received of My Father." The apostles declare again and again not
only that Jesus was raised from the dead, but that He has risen.
He had thus foretold it, and the angels said: " Behold, He is risen."
Hence we reach this conclusion, that the work of the Holy Spirit
in the resurrection was different from that in the humiliation ; was
similar to that in the creation ; and was performed from within by
no THE MEDIATOR
the Spirit who dwelt in Him without measure, who continued with
Him through His death, and in whose work His own spirit fully
concurred.
The work of the Holy Spirit in the exaltation of Christ is not so
easily denned. The Scripture never speaks of it in connection with
His ascension, His sitting at the right hand of the Father, nor with
the Lord s second coming. Its connection with the descent at
Pentecost will be treated in its proper place. Light upon these
points can be obtained only from the scattered statements concern
ing the work of the Holy Spirit upon human nature in general.
According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit belongs to our nature as the
light to the eye ; not only in its sinful condition, but also in the sin
less state. From this we infer that Adam before he fell was not
without His inworking; hence that in the heavenly Jerusalem our
human nature will possess Him in richer, fuller, more glorious
measure. For our sanctified nature is a habitation of God through
the Spirit Ephes. ii. 22.
If, therefore, our blessedness in heaven consists in the enjoy
ment of the pleasures of God, and it is the Holy Spirit who comes
into contact with our innermost being, it follows that in heaven He
can not leave us. And upon this ground we confess, that not only
the elect, but the glorified Christ also, who continues to be a true
man in heaven, must therefore forever continue to be filled with the
Holy Spirit. This our churches have always confessed in the Lit
urgy : " The same Spirit which dwelleth in Christ as the Head and
in us as His members."
The same Holy Spirit who performed His work in the concep
tion of our Lord, who attended the unfolding of His human nature,
who brought into activity every gift and power in Him, who conse
crated Him to His office as the Messiah, who qualified Him for
every conflict and temptation, who enabled Him to cast out devils,
and who supported Him in His humiliation, passion, and bitter
death, was the same Spirit who performed His work in His resur
rection, so that Jesus was justified in the Spirit (i Tim. iii. 16), and
who dwells now in the glorified human nature of the Redeemer in
the heavenly Jerusalem.
In this connection it should be noticed that Jesus said of His
body: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
The Temple was God s habitation on Zion ; hence it was a symbol
of that habitation of God that was to be set up in our hearts.
HOLY SPIRIT IN THE GLORIFIED CHRIST in
Hence this saying refers not to the indwelling of the Son in our
flesh, but to that of the Holy Spirit in the human nature of Jesus.
Wherefore St. Paul writes to the Corinthians : " Know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you?" If
the apostle calls our bodies temples of the Holy Ghost, why should
we take it in another sense with reference to Jesus?
If Christ dwelt in our flesh, i.e., in our human nature, body and
soul, and if the Holy Ghost dwells, on the contrary, in the temple of
our body, we see that Jesus Himself considered His death and resur
rection an awful process of suffering through which He must enter
into glory, but without being for a single moment separated from
the Holy Spirit.
Seventb Cbapter.
THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
XXIV.
The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
"The Holy Spirit was not yet j^iven
because that Jesus was not yet
glorified." -John vii. 39.
WE have come to the most difficult part in the discussion of the
work of the Holy Spirit, viz., the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on
the tenth day after the ascension.
In the treatment of this subject it is not our aim to create a new
interest in the celebration of Pentecost. We consider this almost
impossible. Man s nature is too unspiritual for this. But we shall
reverently endeavor to give a clearer insight into this event to
those in whose hearts the Holy Spirit has already begun His work.
For, however simple the account of the second chapter of the
Acts may seem, it is very intricate and hard to explain; and he
who earnestly tries to understand and explain the event will meet
more and more serious difficulties as he penetrates more deeply
into the inward connection of the Holy Scripture. For this reason
we claim not that our exposition will entirely solve this mystery.
We shall endeavor only to fix the sanctified mind of the people of
God more earnestly upon it, and convince them that on the vrhole
this subject is treated too superficially.
Four difficulties meet us in the examination of this event :
First, How shall we explain the fact that while the Holy Spirit
was poured out only on Pentecost, the saints of the Old Covenant
were already partakers of His gifts?
Second, How shall we distinguish the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit nineteen centuries ago from His entering into the soul of the
unconverted to-day?
THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 113
Third, How could the apostles having already confessed the
good confession, forsaking all, following Jesus, and upon whom He
had breathed, saying, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost " receive the
Holy Spirit only on the tenth day after the ascension?
Fourth, How are we to explain the mysterious signs that accom
pany the outpouring? There are no angels praising God, but a
sound is heard like that of a rushing, mighty wind; the glory of the
{Lord does not appear, but tongues of fire hover over their heads;
there is no theophany, but a speaking in peculiar and uncommon
| sounds, understood, however, by those present.
With reference to the first difficulty : How to explain the fact that,
while the Holy Spirit was poured out only on Pentecost, the saints
of the Old Covenant were already partakers of His gifts. Let us
put this in the concrete : How are the following passages to be
reconciled? " I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts, and My Spirit
jremaineth among you, fear ye not" (Hag. ii. 4, 5) ; and " This spake
He of the Holy Spirit which they that believe should receive , for
the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet
glorified" (John vii. 39).
Scripture evidently seeks to impress us with the two facts, that
the Holy Spirit came only on the day of Pentecost, and that the
same Spirit had wrought already for centuries in the Church of
the Old Covenant. Not only does St. John declare definitely that the
Holy Spirit was not yet given, but the predictions of the prophets
and of Jesus and the whole attitude of the apostles show that this
fact may not in the least be weakened.
Let us first examine the prophecies. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Joel
Dear undeniable witness to the fact that this was the expectation of
the prophets.
Isaiah says : " The palaces shall be forsaken, the multitudes of
the city shall be left until the Spirit shall be poured upon us from on
high ; then the wilderness shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful
field shall be counted for a forest; then judgment shall dwell in the
wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field." This
prophecy evidently refers to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit
that shall effect a work of salvation on a large scale, for it closes
with the promise :, " And the work of righteousness shall be peace,
and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever"
(Isa. xxxii. 14-17).
In like manner did Ezekiel prophesy : " Then will I sprinkle
8
n 4 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; a new heart also will
I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will put My
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes ; and ye
shall keep My judgments, and do them ; and I will save you from all
youruncleanness. Not for yourselves will I do this, saiththe Lord,
be it known unto you" (chap, xxxiv. 25). Ezek. xi. 19 gives the
prelude of this prophecy : " Thus saith the Lord -God, I will give
them one heart, and I will give a new Spirit within them ; and I will
take the stony heart out of their flesh, that they may walk in My
statutes."
Joel uttered his well-known prophecy : " And it shall come to
pass afterward that I will pour My Spirit upon all flesh, and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions ; and also upon thy serv
ants and upon thy handmaidens i*i those days will I pour out My
Spirit" (Joel ii. 30, 31) ; a prophecy which, according to the author
itative exposition of St. Peter, refers directly to the day of Pentecost.
Zechariah adds a beautiful prophecy (xii. 10) : " I will pour out
the Spirit of grace and of supplication."
It is true that these prophecies were given to Israel during its
later period, when the vigorous spiritual life of the nation had
already departed. But Moses expressed the same thought in his
prophetic prayer: "Would God that all the Lord s people were
prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them " (Num.
xi. 29). But these prophecies are evidence of the Old Testament
prophetic conviction that the dispensation of the Holy Spirit in
those days was exceedingly imperfect; that the real dispensation
of the Holy Spirit was still tarrying; and that only in the days of
the Messiah was it to come in all its fulness and glory.
Regarding the second difficulty, our Lord repeatedly put the stamp
of His divine authority upon this prophetic conviction, announcing
to His disciples the still future coming of the Holy Spirit : " I will
pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He
may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the
world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth
Him, for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you" (John xiv. 16,
17); "When the Comforter is come whom I will send from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father,
He shall testify of Me " (John xv. 26) ; " Behold, I send the promise
of the Father upon you, and ye shall be endued with power from
THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 115
on high" (Luke xxiv. 49) ; " It is expedient for you that I go away;
for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will
reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment " (John
xvi. 7, 8). And lastly: He commanded them not to depart from
Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, " which, saith
He, ye have heard of Me ; for John truly baptized with water, but
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you" (Acts i. 4, 5, 8).
The third difficulty is met by the fact that the communications
of the apostles agree with the teaching of Scripture. They actually
tarried in Jerusalem, without even attempting to preach during the
days between the ascension and Pentecost. And they explain the
Pentecost miracle as the fulfilment of the prophecies of Joel and
Jesus. They see in it something new and extraordinary ; and show
us clearly that in their day it was considered that a man who stood
outside the Pentecost miracle knew nothing of the Holy Ghost.
For the disciples of Ephesus being asked, " Have ye received the
Holy Ghost?" answered naively: "We have not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost."
Wherefore it can not be doubted that the Holy Scripture means
to teach and convince us that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on
Pentecost was His first and real coming into the Church.
But how can this be reconciled with Old Testament passages
such as these?" Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord;
and be strong, O Joshua, the High Priest; . . . for I am with you,
. . . and My Spirit remaineth among you : fear ye not" (Hag. ii. 4, 5);
and again : " Then He remembered the days of old, Moses, and His
people, saying, Where is He that brought them up out of the sea
with the Shepherd of His flock? where is He that put His Holy
Spirit within them?" (Isa. Ixiii. 1 1). David is conscious that he had
received the Holy Spirit, for after his fall he prays : " Take not Thy
Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm li. 13). There was a sending forth of
the Spirit, for we read : " Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, and they
| are created ; and Thou renewest the face of the earth " (Psalm civ. 30).
There seems to have been an actual descending of the Holy Spirit,
for Ezekiel says : " The Spirit of the Lord fell upon me " (chap. xi.
5). Micah testified : " Truly I am full of the power by the Spirit of
the Lord" (chap. iii. 8). Of John the Baptist it is written, that he
n6 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
should be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother s womb Luke
i. 15. Even the Lord Himself was filled with the Holy Spirit,
whom He received without measure. That Spirit came upon Him
at Jordan, how then could He be spoken of as still to come? a
question all the more puzzling since we read that in the evening
of the resurrection Jesus breathed upon His disciples, saying:
"Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John xx. 22).
It has been necessary to present this large series of testimonies
to show our readers the difficulty of the problem which we will
endeavor to solve in the next article.
XXV.
The Holy Spirit in the New Testament Other than in
the Old.
" By His Spirit which dwelleth in
you." Rom. viii. n.
IN order to understand the change inaugurated on Pentecost we
must distinguish between the various ways in which the Holy Ghost
enters into relationship with the creature.
With the Christian Church we confess that the Holy Spirit is
true and eternal God, and therefore omnipresent; hence no crea
ture, stone or animal, man or angel, is excluded from His presence.
With reference to His omniscience and omnipresence, David
sings : " Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee
from Thy presence? If I ascend up to heaven, Thou art there; if I
make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings
of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even
there shall Thy hand lead me and Thy right hand shall hold me."
These words state positively that omnipresence belongs to the Holy
Spirit; that neither in heaven nor in hell, in the east nor in the
west, is there a spot or point from which He is excluded.
This simple consideration is, for the matter under discussion, of
the greatest importance ; for it follows that the Holy Spirit can not
be said ever to have moved from one place to another: to have
been among Israel, but not among the nations ; to have been pres
ent after the day of Pentecost where He was not before. All such
representations directly oppose the confession of His omnipresence,
eternity, and immutability. The Omnipresent One can not go trom
one place to another, for He can not come where He is already.
And to suppose that He is omnipresent at one time and not at
another is inconsistent with His eternal Godhead. The testimony
of John the Baptist, " I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like
a dove, and it abode on Him," and that of St. Luke, "The Holy
Spirit fell on all them which heard the Word," may not therefore
n8 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
be understood as tho the Holy Spirit came to a place where He was
not before, which is impossible.
However and this is the first distinction which will throw light I
upon the matter David s description of omnipresence applies to
local presence in space, but not to the world of spirits.
We know not what spirits are, nor what our own spirit is. In
the body we can distinguish between nerves and blood, bones and
muscles, and we know something of their functions in the organism ;
but how a spirit exists, moves, and works, we can not tell. We
only know that it exists, moves, and works in an entirely different ;
way from that of the body. When a brother dies nobody opens a j
door or window for the exit of the soul ; for we know that neither j
wall nor ceiling can hinder it in its heavenward flight. In prayer |
we whisper so as not to be overheard ; yet we believe that the man j
Jesus Christ hears every word. The swiftness of a thought exceeds |
that of electricity. In a word, the limitations of the material world i
seem to disappear in the realm of spirits.
Even the working of spirit on matter is wonderful. The average
weight of an adult is about one hundred and sixty pounds. It takes
three or four men to carry a dead body of that weight to the top of
a high building; yet when the man was alive his spirit had the
power to carry this weight up and down those flights of stairs easily
and quickly. But where the spirit takes hold of the body, how it
moves it, and where it obtains that swiftness, is for us a perfect
mystery. Yet this shows that spirit is subject to laws wholly
different from those that govern matter.
We emphasize the word law. According to the analogy of faith,
there must be laws that govern the spiritual world as there are in
the natural ; yet owing to our limitations we can not know them.
But in heaven we shall know them, and all the glories and particu
lars of the spiritual world, as our physicians know the nerves and
tissues of the body.
This we know, however, that that which applies to matter does
not therefore apply to spirit. God s omnipresence has reference
to all space, but not to every spirit. Since God is omnipresent, it
does not follow that He also dwells in the spirit of Satan. Hence
it is clear that the Holy Spirit can be omnipresent without dwelling
in every human soul ; and that He can descend without changing
place, and yet enter a soul hitherto unoccupied by Him ; and that
He was present among Israel and among the Gentiles, and yet
HOLY SPIRIT IN OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 119
manifested Himself among the former and not among the latter.
From this it follows that in the spiritual world He can come where
He was not ; that He came among Israel, not having been among
them before; and that then He manifested Himself among them
less powerfully and in another way than on and before the day of
Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit seems to act upon a human being in a twofold
manner from without, or from within. The difference is similar to
that in the treatment of the human body by the physician and the
surgeon : the former acts upon it by medicines taken inwardly ; the
latter by incisions and outward applications. A very defective
comparison, indeed, but it may illustrate faintly the twofold opera
tion of the Holy Spirit upon the souls of men.
In the beginning we discover only an outward imparting of cer
tain gifts. On Samson He bestows great physical strength. Aho-
liab and Bezaleel are endowed with artistic talent to build the
tabernacle. Joshua is enriched with military genius. These
operations did not touch the center of the soul, and were not
saving, but merely external. They become more enduring when
they assume an official character as in Saul ; altho in him we find the
best evidence of the fact that they are only outward and temporal.
They assume a higher character when they receive the prophetic
stamp ; altho Balaam s example shows us that even thus they pene
trate not to the center of the soul, but affect man only outwardly.
But in the Old Testament there was also an inward operation in
believers. Believing Israelites were saved. Hence they must have
received saving grace. And since saving grace is out of the ques
tion without an inward working of the Holy Spirit, it follows that
He was the Worker of faith in Abraham as well as in ourselves.
The difference between the two operations is apparent. A per
son outwardly wrought upon may become enriched with outward
gifts, while spiritually he remains as poor as ever. Or, having
received the inward gift of regeneration, he may be devoid of every
talent that adorns man outwardly.
Hence we have these three aspects :
First, there is the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit in space, the
same in heaven and in hell, among Israel and among the nations.
Second, there is a spiritual operation of the Holy Spirit accord
ing to choice, which is not omnipresent; active in heaven, but not
in hell; among Israel, but not among the nations.
120 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Third, this spiritual operation works either from without, im
parting losable gifts, or from within, imparting the unlosable gift
of salvation.
We have spoken so far of the work of the Holy Spirit upon indi
vidual persons, which was sufficient to explain that work in the
days of the Old Testament. But when we come to the day of Pen
tecost, this no longer suffices. For His particular operation, on
and after that day, consists in the extending of His operation to a
company of men organically united.
God did not create humanity as a string of isolated souls, but as
a race. Hence in Adam the souls of all men are fallen and defiled.
In like manner the new creation in the realm of grace has not
wrought the generation of isolated individuals, but the resurrection
of a new race, a peculiar people, a holy priesthood. And this favored
race, this peculiar people, this holy priesthood is also organically
one and partaking of the same spiritual blessing.
The Word of God expresses this by teaching that the elect con
stitute one body, of which all are members, one being a foot, another
an eye, and another an ear, etc. a representation that conveys the
idea that the elect mutually sustain the relation of a vital, organic,
and spiritual union. And this is not merely outwardly, by mutual
love, but much more through a vital communion which is theirs by
virtue of their spiritual origin. As our Liturgy beautifully ex
presses it: " For as out of many grains one meal is ground and one
bread baked, and out of many berries, being pressed together, one
wine floweth and mixeth itself together, so shall we all, who by a
true faith are ingrafted into Christ, be altogether one body."
This spiritual union of the elect did not exist among Israel, nor
could it exist during their time. There was a union of love, but
not a spiritual and vital fellowship that sprang from the root of life.
This spiritual union of the elect was made possible only by the
incarnation of the Son of God. The elect are men consisting of
body and soul ; therefore it is partly at least a visible body. And
only when in Christ the perfect man was given, who could be the
temple of the Holy Spirit body and soul, did the inflowing and out
pouring of the Holy Spirit become established in and through the
body thus created.
However, this did not occur directly after the birth of Christ,
but after His ascension; for His human nature did not unfold its
fullest perfection until after He had ascended, when, as the glori-
HOLY SPIRIT IN OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS 121
fied Son of God, He sat. down at the right hand of the Father.
Only then the perfect Man was given, who on the one hand could
be the temple of the Holy Ghost without hindrance, and on the
other unite the spirits of the elect into one body. And when, by
His ascension and sitting down at the right hand of God, this had
become a fact, when thus the elect had become one body, it was
perfectly natural that from the Head the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit was imparted to the whole body. And thus the Holy Spirit
was poured out into the body of the Lord, His elect, the Church.
In this way everything becomes plain and clear: clear why the
saints of the Old Testament did not receive the promise, that with
out us they should not be made perfect, waiting for that perfection
until the formation of the body of Christ, into which they also were
to be incorporated ; clear that the tarrying of the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit did not prevent saving grace from operating upon the
individual souls of the saints of the Old Covenant ; clear the word
of John, that the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was
not yet glorified; clear that the apostles were born again long
before Pentecost and received official gifts on the evening of the
day of the resurrection, altho the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in
the body thus formed did not take place until Pentecost. It becomes
clear how Jesus could say, " If I go not away the Comforter will not
come unto you," and again, " But if I go I will send Him unto you";
for the Holy Spirit was to flow into His body from Himself, who is
the Head. It becomes clear also that He would not send Him from
Himself, but from the Father; clear why this outpouring of the
Spirit into the body of Christ is never repeated, and could occur
but once ; and lastly, clear that the Holy Spirit was indeed stand
ing in the midst of Israel (Isa. Ixiii. 12), working upon the saints
from without, while in the New Testament He is said to be within
them.
We arrive, therefore, at the following conclusions:
First, the elect must constitute one body.
Second, they were not so constituted during the days of the
Old Covenant, of John the Baptist, and of Christ while on earth.
Third, this body did not exist until Christ ascended to heaven
and, sitting at the right hand of God, bestowed upon this body its
unity, in that God gave Him to be Head over all things to the
Church Ephes. iv. 12.
Lastly, Christ as the glorified Head, having formed His spiritual
122 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
body by the vital union of the elect, on the day of Pentecost poured
out His Holy Spirit into the whole body, never more to let Him depart
from it.
That these conclusions contain nothing but what the Church of
all ages has confessed appears from the fact that the Reformed
churches have always maintained :
First, that our communion with the Holy Spirit depends upon
our mystic union with the body of which Christ is the Head, which
is the underlying thought of the Lord s Supper.
Second, that the elect form one body under Christ their Head.
Third, that this body began to exist when it received its Head;
and that, according to Ephes. i. 22, Christ was given to be the Head
after His resurrection and ascension.
XXVI.
Israel and the Nations.
"Because that on the Gentiles also
was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost." Acts x. 45.
THE question that arises with reference to Pentecost is : Since
the Holy Spirit imparted saving grace to men before and after
Pentecost, what is the difference caused by that descent of the
Holy Spirit?
An illustration may explain the difference. The rain descends
from heaven and man gathers it to quench his thirst. When house
holders collect it each in his own cistern, it comes down for every
family separately ; but when, as in modern city life, every house is
supplied from the city reservoir, by means of mains and water-pipes,
there is no more need of pumps and private cisterns. Suppose that
a city whose citizens for ages have been drinking each from his
own cistern proposes to construct a reservoir that will supply
every home. When the work is completed the water is allowed to
run through the system of mains and pipes into every house. It
might then be said that on that day the water was poured out into
the city. Hitherto it fell upon every man s roof; now it streams
through the organized system into every man s house.
Apply this to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and the differ
ence before and after Pentecost will be apparent. The mild show
ers of the Holy Spirit descended upon Israel of old in drops of saving
grace ; but in such a manner only that each gathered of the heavenly
rain for himself, to quench the thirst of each heart separately. So it
continued until the coming of Christ. Then there came a change ;
for He gathered the full stream of the Holy Spirit for us all, in His
own Person. With Him all saints are connected by the channels of
faith. And when, after His ascension, this connection with His
saints was completed, and He had received the Holy Spirit from
His Father, then the last obstacle was removed and the full stream
i2 4 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
of the Holy Spirit came rushing through the connecting channels
into the heart of every believer.
Formerly isolation, every man for himself; now organic union
of all the members under their one Head: this is the difference
between the days before and after Pentecost. The essential fact of
Pentecost consisted in this, that on that day the Holy Spirit entered
for the first time into the organic body of the Church, and individ
uals came to drink, not each by himself, but all together in organic
union.
To the question where that system of connecting channels uni
ting us in one body under our Head may be found, we can give
no answer. This belongs to things invisible and spiritual which
escape our observation, of which we can have no other representa
tion than that by an image.
Yet this does not alter the fact that the organic union really
exists. The Word of God is to us its undeniable witness. Organic
life appears in nature in two forms : in the plant, and in the body
of man and animal. These are the very types that Christ uses to
illustrate the spiritual union between Himself and His people. He
said: "I am the Yine, ye are the branches." And St. Paul speaks
of having become one plant with Christ. And he frequently uses
the image of the body and its members.
Hence there can be no doubt that there exists a mystic union
between Christ and believers which works by means of an organic
connection, uniting the Head and the members in a for us invisible
and incomprehensible manner. By means of this organic union I
the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost from Christ the Head i
into us, the members of His body.
If it were possible to construct the city s water-works in the air I
above the city, the chief engineer could properly say : " When I turn
on the water for the first time I will baptize the city with water."
In similar sense Christ may be said to have baptized His Church
with the Holy Spirit. For the word of John the Baptist, " I indeed :
baptize you with water, but He that cometh after me is mightier
than I; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost," is explained by
Christ Himself as referring to the day of Pentecost (Acts i. 5) : !
And being assembled together with Him, He commanded them
that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the
promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For j
John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the j
ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS 125
Holy Ghost not many days hence"; a promise that undoubtedly
referred to the Pentecost miracle. This agrees with the fact that
Jesus during His ministry allowed His disciples to continue the
Baptism of John. And this shows that even before the crucifixion,
John and Peter, Philip and Zaccheus, and many others received
saving grace of the Holy Spirit, each for himself, but none of them
was baptized with the Holy Spirit before the day of Pentecost.
With reference to the apostles, we must therefore distinguish a
threefold giving of the Holy Spirit :
First, that of saving grace in regeneration and subsequent illu
mination Matt. xvi. 17.
Secondly, official gifts qualifying them for the apostolic office
John xx. 22.
Thirdly, the Baptism with the Holy Ghost Acts i. 5 in connec
tion with Acts ii. i ff.
One more difficulty remains. We often read of outpourings of
the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. How can this be reconciled with
our explanation? In Acts x. 44, 45 we read: "While Peter yet
spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all who heard the word.
And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished,
as many as came with Peter, because on the Gentiles also was
poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." And Peter confirms this
by saying : " Can any man forbid water that these should not be
baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?"
From this it is evident that the outpouring on the house of Cor
nelius was of the same nature as that on Pentecost. Moreover, we
hear of a descent of the Holy Ghost in Samaria (Acts viii.), and of
another in Ephesus (Acts xix. 6). This descent took place in both
instances after the laying on of hands by the apostles; and at
Caesarea and Corinth it was followed by a speaking with foreign
tongues as in Jerusalem.
It is evident, therefore, that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
was not limited to Pentecost in Jerusalem, but was afterward re
peated in a weaker and modified form, but still extraordinarily, as
on Pentecost.
And who would deny that there is an outpouring of the Holy
Spirit to-day in the churches? Without it there can be no regen
eration, no salvation. Yet the Pentecost signs are lacking, e.g.,
there is no more speaking with tongues. Hence it is necessary to
126 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
distinguish between the ordinary outpouring which occurs now, and
the extraordinary at Corinth, Caesarea, Samaria, and Jerusalem.
Hence the question stands as follows : If on the day of Pentecost
the Holy Spirit was poured out once for all and forever, how do we
account for the ordinary and extraordinary outpourings?
Allow us once more to recur to our former illustration. Suppose
that the city above referred to consisted of a lower and an upper
part, both to be supplied from the same reservoir. Upon the com
pletion of its system the lower city may receive the water first, and
the upper part receive it only after the system shall have been ex
tended. Here we notice two things : the distribution of the water
took place but once, which was the formal opening of the water
works, and could take place but once ; while the distribution of the
water in the upper city, altho extraordinary, was but an after-effect
of the former event. This is a fair illustration of what took place
in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Church consisted of two
parts sharply defined, viz., the Jewish and the Gentile world. Yet
both are to constitute one body, one people, one Church ; both are
to live one life in the Holy Ghost. On Pentecost He is poured out
into the body, but only to quench the thirst of one part, i.e., the
Jewish; the other part is still excluded. But now apostles and
evangelists start from Jerusalem and come into contact with the
Gentiles, and the hour has come for the stream of the Holy Ghost
to pour forth into the Gentile part of the Church, and the whole
body is refreshed by the same Holy Spirit. Hence there is an
original outpouring in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and a
supplementary outpouring in Caesarea for the Gentile part of the
Church; both of the same nature, but each bearing its own special
character.
Besides these there are some isolated outpourings of the Holy
Spirit, attended by the laying on of the apostles* hands, as in the
case of Simon Magus. We explain this as follows : as from time
to time new connections are made between individual houses and
the city reservoir, so new parts of the body of Christ were added to
the Church from without, into whom the Holy Spirit was poured
forth from the body as into new members. It is perfectly natural
that in these cases the apostles appear as instruments ; and that,
receiving into the Church persons that come from a part of the
world not yet connected with the Church, they extend to them by
ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS 127
the laying on of hands the fellowship of the Holy Ghost who dwells
in the body.
This also explains why to-day newly converted persons receive
the Holy Spirit only in the ordinary way. For they who are con
verted among us stand already ,in the covenant, belong already to the
seed of the Church and to the body of Christ* Hence no new con
nection is formed, but a work of the Holy Spirit is wrought in a
soul with which He was already related by means of the body.
And thus every objection is met and every detail is put in its
own place, and the lines of the domain which had become vague
and confused are once more clearly drawn.
It is evident also that the prayer for another outpouring or bap
tism of the Holy Spirit is incorrect and empty of real meaning.
Such prayer actually denies the Pentecost miracle. For He that
came and abides with us can no more come to us.
*The author refers either to persons baptized in infancy, instructed by
the ministers of the Word in the doctrines of the Church and at suitable age
received into the Church on confession of their faith, or to persons not so
received into the Church, and then on the ground that Holland belongs to
the baptized nations. TRANS.
XXVII.
The Signs of Pentecost.
"Signs in the earth beneath. 1
Acts ii. 19.
LET us now consider the signs that accompanied the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit the sound of a rushing, mighty wind ; tongues
of fire ; and the speaking with other tongues which constitute the
fourth difficulty that meets us in the investigation of the events of
Pentecost (see p. 113). The first and second precede, the third
follows the outpouring.
These signs are not merely symbolic. The speaking with other
tongues, at least, appears as part of the narrative. Symbols are
intended to represent or indicate something or to call the attention
to it; hence it may be omitted without affecting the matter itself.
A symbol is like a finger-post on the road: it may be removed
without affecting the road. If the Pentecost signs were purely
symbolic, the event would have been the same without them ; but
the absence of the sign of other tongues would have modified the
character of the subsequent history completely.
This justifies the supposition that the two preceding signs were
also constituent parts of the miracle. The fact that neither of them
is an apt symbol strengthens the supposition; for a symbol must
speak. The finger-post that leaves the traveler in doubt concern
ing the direction he is to take is no finger-post. Considering the
fact that for eighteen centuries theologians have been unable to
ascertain the significance of the so-called symbols with any degree
of certainty, it must be acknowledged that it is difficult to believe
that the apostles or the multitude understood their significance at
once and in the same way. The issue proves the contrary. They
did not understand the signs. The multitude, confounded and per
plexed, said one to another: "What meaneth this?" And when
Peter arose as an apostle, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, to inter
pret the miracle, he made no effort to attach any symbolic signifi-
THE SIGNS OF PENTECOST 129
cance to the signs, but simply declared that an event had taken
place by which the prophecy of Joel was fulfilled.
Did the event of Pentecost then exhaust the prophecy of Joel?
By no means ; for the sun was not turned into darkness, nor the
moon into blood; and we hear nothing of the dreams of old men.
Nor could it ; the notable day that will exhaust this and so many
other prophecies can not come until the return of the Lord. But
the holy apostle meant to say, that the day of the Lord s return
was brought so much nearer by this event. The outpouring of the
Holy Spirit is one of the great events which pledge the coming of
that great and notable day. Without it that day can not come.
Looking back from heaven, the day of Pentecost will appear to us
as the last great miracle immediately preceding the day of the
Lord. And since that day shall be attended by awful signs, as was
the preparatory day of Pentecost, the apostle puts them together
and makes them appear as one, showing that in Joel s prophecy
God points to both events.
If it be certain that the signs attending the Lord s return blood,
fire, and vapor of smoke shall not be symbolic, but constituent ele
ments of that last part of the world s history, viz., its last conflagra
tion, then it is certain that Peter did not understand the signs of
Pentecost to be symbolic.
Neither can the still more unsatisfactory explanation be enter
tained that these signs were intended to draw and fix the attention
of the multitude.
The senses of sight and hearing are the most effectual means by
which the outside world can act upon our consciousness. In order
suddenly to arouse and excite a person, one need only startle him
by an explosion or by the flash of a dazzling light. Acting upon
this, some of the earlier Methodists used to fire pistols at their re
vival meetings, hoping that the report and flash would create the
desired state of mind. The subsequent excitement of the people
would tend to make them more susceptible to the operation of the
Holy Spirit. Similar experiments are those of the Salvation Army.
According to this notion, the signs of Pentecost bore a similar char
acter. It is supposed by some that the disciples, still unconverted
men, were sitting together in the upper chamber on the day of Pen
tecost. To render them susceptible to the inflowing of the Holy
Spirit they must be aroused by a noise and fire. It must seem as
tho a violent thunder-storm had burst upon the city; flashes of light-
9
130 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
ning and peals of thunder were seen and heard. And when th
multitude were startled and terrified, then the desired condition foil
receiving the Holy Spirit prevailed and the outpouring took place.
Such extravagances only hurt the tender sense of the children ofl
God ; while it is almost sacrilege to compare the signs of Pentecosti
to the report of a pistol.
Hence there remains only one other explanation, i.e., to consider]
the Pentecost signs as actual and real constituents of the event ; in-j
dispensable links in the chain of occurrences.
When a ship enters the harbor we see the foaming spray under!
the bow and hear the waters dashing against the sides. When aj
horse runs through the street we hear the noise of his hoofs against
the pavement and see the clouds of dust. But who will say that!
these things seen and heard are symbolic? They necessarily belong
to those actions and are parts of them, impossible without them.
Therefore we do not believe that the Pentecost signs were symbolic,
or intended to create a sensation, but that they belonged insep-j
arably to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and were caused by
it. The outpouring could not take place without creating these
signs. When the mountain-stream dashes down the steep sides of \
the rocks we must hear the sound of rushing waters, we must see
the flying spray; so when the Holy Spirit flows down from the
mountains of God s holiness, the sound of a rushing, mighty windi
must be heard, and glorious brightness must be seen, and a speak-j
ing with foreign tongues must follow.
This will sufficiently explain our meaning. Not that we denyj
that these signs had also a significance for the multitude. The!
noise of the horse s hoofs warns travelers on the road. And we
concede that the purpose of the signs was realized in the. perplexity
and consternation which they caused in the hearts of those present. I
But this we maintain, that even in the absence of the multitude and]
their consternation the sound of a rushing, mighty wind would have!
been heard and the fiery tongues would have been seen. As the |
horse s hoofs cause the ground to vibrate tho there be no traveler
in sight, so the Holy Spirit could not come down without* that sound
and that brightness, even tho not a single Jew were to be found in i
all Jerusalem.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was real, not apparent. Hav
ing found His temple in the glorified Head, He must necessarily j
flow down into the body and descend from heaven, And thisj
THE SIGNS OF PENTECOST 131
lescent from heaven and this flowing into the body could not take
ce without causing these signs.
To penetrate more deeply into this matter is not lawful. On
irloreb Elijah heard the Lord pass by in a gentle breeze; Isaiah
\ieard the moving of the door-posts in the Temple. This seems to
indicate that the* approach of the divine majesty causes a commo-
j.ion in the elements perceptible to the auditory nerve. But how,
ive can not tell. We observe, however :
First, that spirit can act upon matter is evident, for our spirits
(ict upon the body every moment, and by that action are able to
produce sounds. Speaking, crying, singing are nothing but our
pirit acting upon the currents of air. And if our spirit is capable
f such action, why not the Spirit of the Lord? Why, then, call it
nysterious when the Holy Spirit in His descent so wrought upon
he elements that the effects vibrated in the ears of those present?
Secondly, in making the covenant with Israel upon Sinai, the
d God spoke in peals of thunder so terrible that even Moses
aid, "I am exceedingly fearful and quaking"; yet not with the
ntention of terrifying the people, but because a holy and angry
can not speak otherwise to a sinful generation. It is not
ierefore surprising that the coming of God to His New Covenant
eople is attended by similar signs, not in order to draw men s
ttention, but because it could not be otherwise.
The same applies to the tongues of fire. Supernatural manifes-
ations are always attended by light and brightness, especially when
he Lord Jehovah or His angel appears. Recall, e.g., God s cove-
ant-making with Abraham, or the occurrences at the burning bush.
Vhy, then, should it surprise us that the descent of the Holy Spirit
/as attended by phenomena such as those seen by Elijah on Horeb,
loses in the bush, St. Paul on the way to Damascus, and St. John
n Patmos? That the cloven tongues sat upon each of them proves
othing to the contrary; for He proceeded to each of them and
ntered their hearts, and in each going He left a trace of light
ehind.
The question, whether the fire seen by these men on those occa-
ions belonged to a higher sphere, or was the effect of God s action
ipon the elements of the earth, can not be answered.
Both views have much in their favor. There is no darkness in
leaven ; and the heavenly light must be of a higher nature than
urs, even above the brightness of the sun, according to St. Paul s
132 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
description of the light on the way to Damascus. It is very prot
able, therefore, that in these great events the boundary of heave
overlapped the earth, and a higher glory shone in upon our atmoj
phere.
But, on the other hand, it is possible that the Holy Spiri
wrought this mysterious brightness directly by a miracle. An
this seems to be confirmed by the fact that the signs attending th
law-giving on Sinai, which event was parallel to this, were no
from higher spheres, but wrought from earthly elements.
Finally, let it be noticed, that the outpouring of the Holy Spiri
on the house of Cornelius and on the disciples of Apollos was at
tended by a speaking with other tongues, but not by the other signst
This confirms our theory; for it was not a coming to the house 9
Cornelius, but a conducting of the Holy Spirit into another part ol
the body of Christ. If symbolism had been intended, the sign)
would have been repeated; not being symbols, they did not appear
XXVIII.
The Miracle of Tongues.
"If any man speak in an {unknown)
tongue, . . . let one interpret. But
if there be no interpreter, let him
speak to himself, and to God." i
Cor. xiv. 27, 28.
THE third sign following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit con
sisted in extraordinary sounds that proceeded from the lips of the
japostles sounds foreign to the Aramaic tongue, never before heard
jfrom their lips.
These sounds affected the multitude in different ways: some
palled them babblings of inebriated men ; others heard in them the
*g;reat works of God proclaimed. To the latter, it seemed as tho
;hey heard them speaking in their own tongues. To the Parthian
t sounded like the Parthian, to the Arabian like the Arabic, etc. ;
.vhile St. Peter declared that this sign belonged to the realm of rev-
ilation, for it was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel that all the
)eople should become partakers of the operation of the Holy Spirit.
The question how to interpret this wonderful sign has occupied
he thinking minds of all times. Allow us to offer a solution, which
ve present in the following observations :
In the first place This phenomenon of spiritual speaking in ex-
\ raordinary sounds is not confined to Pentecost nor to the second
hapter of the Acts.
On the contrary, the Lord told His disciples, even before the
scension, that they should speak with new tongues Mark xvi. 18.
^.nd from the epistles of St. Paul it is evident that this prophecy
iid not refer to Pentecost alone; for we read in i Cor. xii. 10 that in
he apostolic Church, spiritual gifts included that of tongues ; that
jome spoke in .yev^y^wrrwv, i.e., in kinds of tongues or sounds. In
rer. 28 the apostle declares that God has set this spiritual phenome-
lion in the Church. It is noteworthy that in i Cor. xiv. 1-33 the
Lpostle gives special attention to this extraordinary sign, showing
i 3 4 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
that then it was quite ordinary. That the gift of tongues mentione
by St. Paul and the sign of which St. Luke speaks in Acts ii. ail
substantially one and the same can not be doubted. In the fird
place, Christ s prophecy is general: " They shall speak with nej
tongues." Secondly, both phenomena are said to have made irrd
sistible impressions upon unbelievers. Thirdly, both are treated a
spiritual gifts. And lastly, to both is applied the same name.
Yet there was a very perceptible difference between the two: th
miracle of tongues on the day of Pentecost was intelligible to I
large number of hearers of different nationalities; while in th|
apostolic churches it was understood only by a few who were calle
interpreters. Connected with this is the fact that the miracle o
Pentecost made the impression of speaking at once to differer!
hearers in different tongues so that they were edified. Howeve:
this is no fundamental difference. Altho in the apostolic churche
there were but few interpreters, yet there were some who unde:
stood the wonderful speech.
There was, moreover, a marked difference between the men thtj
endowed: some understood what they were saying; others did no
For St. Paul admonishes them, saying : " Let him that speaketh i
an unknown tongue, pray that he may interpret" (i Cor. xiv. 13
Yet even without this ability, the speaking with tongues had a
edifying effect upon the speaker himself; but it was an edificatior
not understood, the effect of an unknown operation in the soul.
From this we gather that the miracle of tongues consisted in th
uttering of extraordinary sounds which from existing data could blj
explained neither by the speaker nor by the hearer ; and to whiq
another grace was sometimes added, viz., that of interpretatiotj
Hence three things were possible : that the speaker alone understock
what he said; or, that others understood it and not himself ; or, thzl \
both speaker and hearers understood it. This understanding hd ]
reference to one or more persons.
On the ground of this we comprise these miracles of tongues i
one class; with this distinction, however, that on the day of Pent(|{
cost the miracle appeared perfect, but later on incomplete. As then
is in the miracles of Christ in raising the dead a perceptible iricreas
of power: first, the raising up of one just dead (the daughter (
Jairus), then, of one about to be buried (the young man of Nain), an
lastly, of one already decomposing (Lazarus) ; so there is also in th I
miracle of tongues a difference of power not increasing, but Jccrea\ >
THE MIRACLE OF TONGUES 135
ing. The mightiest operation of the Holy Spirit is seen first, then
those less powerful. It is precisely the same as in our own heart :
first, the mighty fact of regeneration ; after that, the less marked
manifestations of spiritual power. Hence on Pentecost there was
the miracle of tongues in its perfection ; later on in the churches,
in weaker measure.
Secondly There is no evidence that the miracle of tongues con
sisted in the speaking of one of the known languages not previously
I acquired.
If this had been the case, St. Paul could not have said : " If I
i pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understand
ing is unfruitful " (i Cor. xiv. 14). The word " unknown " appears
in italics, not being found in the Greek. Moreover, he says that
tongues are for a sign not to them that believe, but to them that
believe not ver. 22. If it had been a question of foreign but
ordinary languages, the matter of understanding them could not
depend upon faith, but simply upon the fact whether the language
was acquired by study or was one s native tongue.
Finally, the notion that these tongues refer to foreign languages
not acquired by study is contradicted by St. Paul : " I thank my
God that I speak with tongues more than ye all." By which he can
not mean that he had mastered more languages than others, but
that he possessed the gift of tongues in greater degree than other
men. The following verse is evidence : " Yet in the Church I had
rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach
others also, than ten thousand words in an (unknown) tongue."
According to the other view, this ought to have been : " I wish to
speak in one language, so that the Church may understand me,
rather than in ten or twenty languages which the Church under
stands not." But the apostle does not say this. He speaks not of
many languages in opposition to one, but of five sounds or words
against ten thousand words. From this it follows that St. Paul s
" I speak with glottal (languages or sounds) more than ye all," must
refer to the miracle of sounds.
For altho it is objected very naturally that on Pentecost the
apostles spoke the Arabic, Hebrew, and Parthian tongues besides
many others, yet the fact appealed to is not proven to be a fact.
Surely we learn from Acts ii. that these Parthians, Elamites, etc.,
received the impression that they were addressed each in his own
1 36 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
tongue ; yet the narrative itself proves rather the contrary. Let the
experiment be tried. Let fifteen men (the number of languages
mentioned in Acts ii.) speak in fifteen different languages at once
and together, and the result will be not that every one hears his
own language, but that no one can hear anything. But the nar
rative of Acts ii. is fully explained in that the apostles uttered
sounds intelligible to Parthians, Medes, Cretans, etc., because they
understood them, receiving the impression that these sounds agreed
with their own mother-tongues. As a Dutch child seeing a problem
on the blackboard worked out by an English or German child
naturally receives the impression that it was done by a Dutch child,
simply because figures are signs not affected by the difference of
language, so must the Elamite have received the impression that
he heard the Elamitian, and the Egyptian that he was addressed in
the Egyptian tongue, when on Pentecost they heard sounds uttered
by a miracle, which, being independent from the difference of lan
guage, were intelligible to man as man.
We must not forget that speaking is nothing else than to pro
duce impressions upon the soul of the hearer by means of vibrations
in the air. But if the same impressions can be produced without
the aid of air-vibrations, the effect upon the hearer must be the
same. Try the experiment upon the eye. The sight of twinkling
stars or dissolving figures excites the retina. The same effect can
be produced by rubbing the eye with the finger when reclining
on a couch in a dark room. And this applies here. The air- I
vibrations are not the principal thing, but the emotion produced in |
the mind by the speaking. The Pamphylian, accustomed to re- |
ceive emotions by hearing his mother-tongue, and receiving the
same impression in another way, must think that he is addressed in
the Pamphylian tongue.
Thirdly According to St. Paul s interesting information, the
miracle of tongues consisted in this, that the vocal organs produced
sounds not by a working of the mind, but by an operation of the
Holy Spirit upon those organs.
St. Luke writes : " They began to speak with other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts ii. 4); and St. Paul proves
exhaustively that the person speaking with tongues spoke not with
his understanding, i.e., as a result of his own thinking, but in con
sequence of an entirely different operation. That this is possible,
THE MIRACLE OF TONGUES 137
we see, first, in delirious persons, who say things outside of their
own personal thinking; second, in the insane, whose incoherent
talk has no sense ; third, in persons possessed, whose vocal organs
are used by demons; fourth, in Balaam, whose vocal organs ut
tered words of blessing upon Israel against his will.
Hence it must be conceded that in man three things are possible :
First, that for a time he may be deprived of the use of his vocal
organs.
Second, that the use of these organs may be appropriated by a
spirit who has overcome him.
Third, that the Holy Spirit, appropriating his vocal organs, can
produce sounds from his lips which are "new," and " other" than
the language which ordinarily he speaks.
Fourthly In the Greek these sounds invariably are designated by
the word yAtiTTai, i.e., tongues, hence language. In the Greek world,
from which this word is taken, the word "glotta" always stands in
strong opposition to the " logos," reason.
A man s thinking is the hidden, invisible, imperceptible process
of his mind. Thought has a soul, but no body. But when the
thought manifests itself and adopts a body, then there is a word.
And the tongue being the movable organ of speech, it was said that
the tongue gives a body to the thought. Hence the contrast be
tween the logos, i.e., that which a man thinks with the mind, and
the glotta, i.e., that which he utters with the vocal organs.
Ordinarily the glotta comes only through and after the logos.
But in the miracle of tongues we discover the extraordinary phe
nomenon that while the logos remained inactive, the glotta uttered
sounds. And since it was a phenomenon of sounds which proceeded
not from the thinking mind, but from the tongue, the Holy Scripture
calls it very appropriately a gift of the glottai, i.e., a gift of tongue
or sound-phenomena.
Lastly In answer to the question, How must this be understood?
we offer the following representation : Speech in man is the result
of his thinking; and this thinking in a sinless state is an in-shining
of the Holy Spirit. Speech in a sinless state is therefore the result
of inspiration, in-breathing of the Holy Spirit.
Hence in a sinless state man s language would have been the
pure and perfect product of an operation of the Holy Spirit. He
138 THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
is the Creator of human language; and without the injury and de
basing influence of sin the connection between the Holy Ghost and
our speech would have been complete. But sin has broken the
connection. Human language is damaged : damaged by the weak
ening of the organs of speech; by the separation of tribes and
nations; by the passions of the soul; by the darkening of the
understanding; and principally by the lie which has entered in.
Hence that infinite distance between this pure and genuine human
language which, as the direct operation of the Holy Spirit upon the
human mind, should have manifested itself, and the empirically
existing languages that now separate the nations a difference like
unto that between the glorious Adam and the deformed Hottentot.
But the difference is not intended to remain. Sin will disappear.
What sin destroyed will be restored. In the day of the Lord, at the
wedding-feast of the Lamb, all the redeemed will understand one
another. In what way? By the restoration of the pure and original
language upon the lips of the redeemed, which is born from the
operation of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind. And of that
great, still-tarrying event the Pentecost miracle is the germ and
the beginning; hence it bore its distinctive marks. In the midst of
the Babeldom of the nations, on the day of Pentecost, the one pure
and mighty human language was revealed which one day all will
speak, and all the brethren and sisters from all nations and tongues
will understand.
And this was wrought by the Holy Spirit. They spake as the
Holy Spirit gave them utterance. They spoke a heavenly language
to praise God not of angels, but a language above the influence
of sin.
Hence the understanding of this language was also a work of
the Holy Spirit. At Jerusalem, only they understood it who were
specially wrought upon by the Holy Spirit. The others understood
it not. And at Corinth it was not comprehended by the masses,
but by him alone to whom it was given of the Holy Ghost.
Jigbtb Gbapter.
THE APOSTOLATE.
XXIX.
The Apostolate.
"That ye also may have fellowship
with us: and truly our fellowship
is with the Father, and with His
Son Jesus Christ." i John i. 3.
THE apostolate bears the character of an extraordinary manifesta
tion, not seen before or after it, in which we discover a proper work
of the Holy Spirit. The apostles were ambassadors extraordinary
different from the prophets, different from the present ministers of
the Word. In the history of the Church and the world they occupy
a unique position and have a peculiar significance. Hence the
apostolate is entitled to a special discussion.
Moreover, the apostolate belongs to the great things which the
Holy Spirit has wrought. All that the Holy Scripture declares
concerning the apostles compels us to look for an explanation of
their persons and mission in a special work of the Holy Spirit.
Before His ascension Jesus predicted repeatedly that they should be
His witnesses only after they shall have received the Holy Spirit
in an extraordinary manner. Until this promise is fulfilled they
remain hiding in Jerusalem. And when they raise the banner of
the cross in Jerusalem and in the ends of the earth, they appeal to
the power of the Holy Spirit as the secret of their appearance.
The apostolate was holy, and we call them holy apostles, not be
cause they had, attained a higher degree of perfection, but " holy "
in the Scriptural sense of being separated, set apart, like the Temple
and its furniture, for the service of a holy God.
By sin many things have become unholy. Before sin entered
I 4 o THE APOSTOLATE
into the world all things were holy. That part of creation which
became unholy stands in opposition to that which remained holy.
The latter is called Heaven ; that which was made holy is called
Church. And all that belongs to the Church, to its being and or
ganism, is called holy.
Hence Jesus could say to the disciples who were about to deny
Him : " Ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto
you." In like manner the members of the Church and their children
are called " sanctified"; and in his epistles St. Paul addresses them
as holy and beloved : not because they were sinless, but because God
had set them as called saints in the realm of His holiness, which by
His grace He had separated from the realm of sin. In like manner
the Scripture is called holy : not to indicate that it is the record of
holy things only, but that its origin is not in man s sinful life, but
in the holy realm of the life of God.
We confess, therefore, that the apostles of Jesus were set apart
for the service of God s holy Kingdom, and that they were qualified
for their calling by the power of the Holy Spirit.
By omitting the word " holy," as many do, we make the apostles
common; we consider them as ordinary preachers ; in degree above
us undoubtedly, being more richly developed, especially by their
intercourse with Christ, and as His witnesses very dear to us, but
still occupying the same level with other teachers and ministers of
the Church of all ages. And so the conviction will be lost that the
apostles are men different in kind from all other men; lost the
realization that in them appeared a peculiar and unique ministry ;
lost also the grateful confession that the Lord our God gave us in
these men extraordinary grace.
And this explains why some ministers, at the special occasion
of installation, departure, or jubilee, apply to themselves apostolic
utterances that are not applicable to their persons, but exclusively
to the men who occupy a peculiar and unique position in the Church
of all ages and all lands. For this reason we repeat purposely the
title of honor, " holy apostles," in order that the peculiar significance
of the apostolate may again receive honorable recognition in our
churches.
This peculiar significance of the apostolate appears in the Holy
Scripture in various ways.
We begin with referring to the prologue of the First Epistle of St.
THE APOSTOLATE 141
John, in which, from the fulness of the apostolic sense, the holy
apostle solemnly addresses us. He opens his epistle by declaring
that they, the apostles of the Lord, occupy an exceptional position
regarding the miracle of the incarnation of the Word. He says :
" The Word became flesh, and in that incarnate Word, Life was
manifested ; and that that manifested Life was heard and seen and
handled with hands." By whom? By everybody? No, by the
apostles; for he adds emphatically : " That which we have seen and
heard declare we unto you, and shew you that eternal life which
was with the Father and was manifested unto us."
And what was the aim of this declaration? To save souls?
Surely this also, but not this in the first place. The purpose of this
apostolic declaration is to bring the members of the Church into
connection with the apostolate. For, clearly and emphatically, he
adds: " This we declare unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us." And only after this link is closed, and the fellowship
with the apostolate an accomplished fact, he says: " And truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."
The apostle s reasoning is as transparent as glass. Life was
manifested in such a way that it could be seen andliandled. They
who saw and handled it were the apostles; and they were also to
declare this life unto the elect. By this declaration the required
fellowship between the elect and the apostolate is established.
And in consequence of this, there is fellowship also for the elect
with the Father and the Son.
This may not be understood as referring only to the people then
living; and, regarding Rome, one s position, Bible in hand, is ex
ceedingly weak if he maintain that this higher significance of the
apostolate had reference only to the then living, and not in the
same measure to us. Indeed, we, upon whom the end of the ages
has come, must maintain the vital fellowship with the holy aposto
late of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rome errs by making its bishops
the successors of the apostles, teaching that fellowship with the
apostolate depends upon fellowship with Rome : an error which is
obvious from the fact that St. John expressly and emphatically
connects the fellowship of the apostolate with men who have seen
and heard and handled that which was manifested of the Word of
Life something to which no Roman bishop can appeal in the
present day. Moreover, St. John says distinctly that this fellowship
with the apostolate must be the result of the declaration of the Word
i 4 2 THE APOSTOLATE
of Life by the apostles themselves. And inasmuch as Rome established
this fellowship not by the preaching of the Word, but by the sacra
mental sign, it is in direct opposition to the apostolic doctrine.
However, from this it follows not that Rome errs in the funda
mental thought, viz., that every child of God must exercise com
munion with the Father and the Son through the apostolate ; on the
contrary, this is St. John s positive claim. The solution of this
apparent conflict lies in the fact that they have not only spoken, but
also written: i.e., their declaration of the Word of Life was not
limited to the little circle of the men that happened to hear them ;
on the contrary, by writing they have put their preaching into real
and enduring fprms; they have sent it out to all lands and nations;
that, as the genuine, ecumenic apostles they might bring the testi
mony of the Life which was manifested to all the elect of God in
all lands and throughout the ages.
Hence even now the apostles are preaching the living Christ in
the churches. Their persons have departed, but their personal
testimony remains. And that personal testimony, which as an
apostolic document has come to every soul in every land and in
every age, is the very testimony which even now is the instrument
in the hand of the Holy Spirit to translate souls into the fellowship
of the Life Eternal.
And if one says, " Surely in this sense their word is still effec
tive; however, it results no longer in fellowship with the apostles,
and by means of this fellowship with Christ, but it points us directly
to the Savior of our souls, which is a more simple way," then we
oppose this unscriptural notion most energetically.
Such reasoning ignores the body of Christ and overlooks the
great fact of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There is not the
saving of a few individual souls, but a bringing together of the body
of Christ; and into that body every one that is called must be incor
porated. And inasmuch as the King of the Church gives His Spirit
now not to separate persons, but exclusively to them that are in
corporated, and the inflowing of the Holy Spirit into this body,
and principally in the persons of the apostles, took place on Pente
cost, therefore no one can receive at the present time any spiritual
gift or influence of the Holy Spirit unless he stands in vital con
nection with the body of the Lord; and that body is unthinkable
without the apostles.
THE APOSTOLATE 143
In fact, the apostolic Word comes to the soul to-day as the testi
mony of what they have seen and heard and handled of the Word
of Life. By virtue of this testimony souls are inwardly wrought
upon, and by their being incorporated into the body of Christ they
become manifest. And this fellowship becomes manifest as a fel
lowship with the very body of which the apostles are the leaders,
in whose persons and in the persons of whose associates the Holy
Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost.
We know that this view, or this confession rather, is in direct
opposition to the view of Methodism,* which has pervaded all classes
and conditions of men. And the deplorable results have become
apparent in various ways. Methodism has killed the conscious ap
preciation of the sacrament; it is cold and indifferent toward
church fellowship ; it has cultivated an unlimited disregard for truth
in the confession.! And while the Lord our God has deemed it
necessary to give us a voluminous Holy Scripture, consisting of
six-and-sixty books, Methodism has boasted that it could write its
Gospel upon a dime.
This error can not be overcome except the Word of God become
again our Teacher and we its docile scholars. And then we shall
learn
(1) Not that a few isolated persons are being rescued from the
floods of iniquity, but that a body will be redeemed.
(2) That all that are to be saved will be incorporated into that
body.
(3) That this body has Christ as its Head and the apostles as its
permanent leaders.
(4) That on Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out into that
body.
(5) That even now each of us experiences the gracious opera
tions of the Holy Spirit only through fellowship with this body.
Only when these things are clear to the soul, the glorious word
of Christ, " Father, I pray not for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on Me through their word" will be well under-
* See section 5 in the Preface. TRANS.
f The truth of this is apparent in the Salvation Army, the latest expo
nent of Methodism. It denies the sacraments, stands isolated from the
churches, and does not seem to care for truth in the confession, for it has
no confession. TRANS,
i 4 4 THE APOSTOLATE
stood. Taken in the current sense, this word has not the least
comfort for us; for then the Lord has prayed only for these then
living, who had the privilege of personally hearing the apostles,
and who were converted by their verbal testimony. We are entirely j
excluded. But if this petition be taken in the sense indicated above,
as tho Christ would say, " I pray not for My apostles alone, but also
for them who through their testimony shall believe on Me, now and
in all ages and lands and nations," then it acquires widest scope,
and contains a prayer for every child of God called even now and
from our own households.
This unique significance of the apostolate is so deeply embedded
in the heart of the Kingdom, that when in the Revelation of St.
John we get a glimpse of the New Jerusalem, we see that the city
has twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles
of the Lamb Rev. xxi. 24. Hence their significance is not tran
sient and temporary, but permanent and including the whole
Church. And when its warfare shall be ended and the glory ofj
the New Jerusalem shall be revealed, even then, in its heavenly
bliss, the Church shall rest upon the very foundation on which it
was built here, and therefore bear, engraven on its twelve founda
tions, the names of the holy apostles of the Lord.
The apostle Paul considers the apostolate so glorious and ex
alted that in his Epistle to the Hebrews he applies the name of
Apostle to the Lord Jesus Christ. " Wherefore, holy brethren, par
takers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest
of our profession, Christ Jesus." The meaning is perfectly clear.
Properly speaking, it is Christ Himself calling and testifying in His
Church. But as the white ray of light divides itself into many
colors, so does Christ impart Himself to His twelve apostles, whom
He has set as the instruments through whom He has fellowship
with His Church. Hence the apostles stand not each by himself,
but together they constitute the apostolate, the unity of which is
found not in St. Peter nor in St. Paul, but in Christ. If we should
wish to comprehend the whole apostolate in one, it must be He in
whom is contained the fulness of the twelve the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession, Christ the Lord.
Not until we fully grasp these thoughts and live in them shall
we be able to understand the epistles of St. Paul, and appreciate
his spiritual conflict to maintain the honor of the apostolate for his
divine mission. Especially in his epistles to the Corinthians and !
THE APOSTOLATE 145
Galatians he sustains this conflict bravely and effectually ; but in
such a way that the Methodist can not have eye or ear for it. He
rather feels like deploring the apostle s zeal, saying: "If Paul had
| insisted less on his title and more humbly applied himself to the
I conversion of souls, his memory would have been much more
: precious." And from his standpoint he is quite right. If the apos-
| tolate has no higher significance than to be the first teachers and
! ministers of the Church, then there can be no reason why St. Paul
| should waste his strength contending for a meaningless title.
But the undeniable fact that St. Paul s energetic contending
i agrees not with the current opinions of the present time ought to
I make us oppose the notion that, since his contention does not com
port with our opinions, he must be wrong ! and acknowledge that
the standpoint which we can not occupy without condemning the
apostle must be abandoned the sooner the better. St. Paul must
not conform himself to our opinions, but our opinions must be
modified or altered according to St. Paul s.
10
XXX.
The Apostolic Scriptures.
" And I think that I also have the
Spirit of God." i Cor. vii. 40
WE have seen that the apostolate has an extraordinary signifi-i
cance and occupies a unique position. This position is twofold]
viz., temporary, with reference to the founding of the first churches]
and permanent, with regard to the churches of all ages.
The first must necessarily be temporary, for what was then ae
complished can not be repeated. A tree can be planted only once
an organism can be born only once ; the planting or founding of thi
Church could take place only once. However, this founding waj
not unprepared for. On the contrary, God has had a Church in tbi
world from the beginning. That Church was even a ftwr/^-Churchj
But it went down in idolatry; and only a small Church remained
among an almost unknown people the Church in Israel. When thi|
particular Church was to become again a world-Church, two thingj
were required :
First, that the Church in Israel lay aside its national dress.
vSecondly, that in the midst of the heathen world the Church oj
Christ appear, so that the two might become manifest as the on
Christian Church.
By these two things the apostolic labor is almost exhausted. I|i
St. Paul the two are united. No apostle labored more zealously t|
divest the Church of Israel of its Jewish attire, and no one was mor (
abundant in the planting of new churches in all parts of the world;
The apostolate had, however, a much more extensive and higheH
calling, not only for those days, but also for the Church of the age;;
It was the task of the apostles for which they were ordained: b
giving to the churches fixed forms of government to determinj
their character ; and by the written documentation of the reveUJ
tion of Christ Jesus to secure to them purity and perpetuity.
This is evident from the character of their labors: for they n
THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES. 147
only founded churches, but also gave them ordinances. St. Paul
writes to the Corinthians: " As I have given order to the churches
of Galatia, even so do ye" (i Cor. xvi. i). Hence they were con
scious of possessing power, of being clothed with authority. " And
so ordain I in all the churches," says the same apostle (i Cor. vii.
17). This ordaining is not like that of our official church boards
which have power to make rules ; or as a minister in the name of
the consistory announces from the pulpit certain regulations. Nay,
the apostles exercised authority by virtue of a power they consciously
possessed in themselves, independent of any church or church
council. For St. Paul writes, after having given ordinances in the
matter of marriages : " And I think that I also have the Spirit of
God." Hence the power and authority to command, to ordain and
to judge in the churches, they derived not from the Church, nor
from church council, nor from the apostolate, but directly from the
Holy Spirit. This is true even of the power to judge; for, concern
ing an incestuous person in the church of Corinth, St. Paul judged
that he should be delivered to Satan ; the execution of which sen
tence he left to the elders of that church, but upon which he had
determined by virtue of his apostolic authority i Cor. v. 3.
In this connection it is remarkable that St. Paul was conscious
of a twofold current running through his word : (i) that of tradition,
touching the things ordained by the Lord Jesus during His min
istry ; and (2) that of the Holy Spirit, touching the things to be de
cided by the apostolate. For he writes: " Now concerning virgins,
I have no commandment of the Lord; yet I give my judgment as
one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful" (i Cor.
vii. 25). And again he saith: " Unto the married I command, yet
not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband"
(ver. i o) . And in verse 1 2 he saith : " But to the rest speak I, not the
Lord." Many have received the impression that St. Paul meant to
say : " What the Lard commanded, you must keep ; but the things
by me enjoined are of less account and not binding"; a view de
stroying the authority of the apostolic word, and therefore to be re
jected. The apostle has not the least intention of undermining his
own authority ; for having delivered the message, he adds expressly :
" And I think that I also have the Spirit of God " ; which, in connec
tion with the commandment of the Lord, can not mean anything
| else than this: "That which I have enjoined rests upon the same
authority as the Lord s own words 1 ; a declaration which was al-
148 THE APOSTOLATE
ready contained in the word: "I have received mercy to be faith
ful," i.e., in my work of regulating the churches.
By these ordinances and regulations the apostles not only gave
to the churches of those days a fixed form of life, but they also pre
pared the channel that was to determine the future course of the life
of the Church. They did this in two ways :
First, partly by the impressions they made upon the life of the
churches, and which were never wholly obliterated.
Secondly, partly also and more particularly by leaving us in
writing the image of that Church, and by sealing the principal
features of these ordinances in their apostolic epistles.
Both these influences, that directly on the life of the churches,
and that of the apostolic Scriptures, have taken care that the image
of the Church should not be lost, and that, where it was in danger
of such loss, by the grace of God it should be fully restored.
This leads us to consider the second activity of the apostles,
whereby they operated upon the Church of all ages, viz., the in
heritance of their writings.
Our writings are the richest and maturest products of the mind ;
and the mind of the Holy Spirit received its richest, fullest, and
most perfect expression when His meaning was put into documental
form. The literary labor of the apostles deserves, therefore, careful
attention.
When the apostles Peter and Paul preached the Gospel, healed
the sick, judged the unruly, and founded churches, giving them
ordinances, they performed in each of these a great and glorious
work. And yet the significance of St. Paul s labor when he wrote,
e.g., the Epistle to the Romans so far surpassed the value of preach
ing and healing that the two can not be compared. When he wrote
that one little book, which in ordinary pamphlet form would make
no more than three sheets of printed matter, he performed the
greatest work of his life. From this little book the most far-reach
ing influences have gone forth. By this one little book St. Paul
became a historic person.
We know, indeed, that many of our present theologians reverse
this order, and say : " These apostles were profoundly spiritual men ;
they lived near the Lord and had entered deeply into the mind of
Christ ; they labored and preached and occasionally wrote a few ;
letters, some of which have come down to us; yet this letter-wri-
THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES. 149
ting was of little significance to their persons ; but against this
whole representation we protest with all our might. Nay, these
men were not such excellent personalities that the few occasional
letters from their hands could scarcely have any significance in
their Iives On the contrary, their epistolary labor was the most
important of all their lifework ; small in compass, but rich in con
tent; apparently of less, but by virtue of its comprehensive and
far-reaching influence of much higher significance. And since the
apostles may not be considered half-idiots, knowing scarcely any
thing of the future of the Church, and without any realization of
what they were doing, we maintain that a man like St. Paul, hav
ing finished his Epistle to the Romans, was indeed conscious of the
fact that this work would occupy a prominent place among his
apostolic labors.
Even tho it be granted that the apostle was unconscious of it,
yet this alters not the fact. To-day, when the churches founded
eighteen centuries ago have all past away, and the church of Rome
can scarcely be recognized ; when the people who by his wonderful
power were healed or saved have all crumbled to dust, and not a
single memory remains of all his other toil ; to-day his epistolary
inheritance still governs the Church of Christ.
We can not conceive what the condition of the Church would be
without St. Paul s epistles; if we were to lose the inheritance of the
great apostle that has come to us through our fathers. What is it
that controls our confession, if not the truths developed by him ;
what is it that governs our lives, if not the ideals so highly exalted
by him? We can safely say, with reference to our own Church, that
without the Pauline epistles its whole form and appearance would
be totally different.
This being so, we are also justified in saying that the objectify
ing of Christian truth in the apostolic epistles is the most important
of all their labors. Instead of calling it a " dead-letter," we confess
that in it their activity reached its very zenith.
However, the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit in the apostolate
being the subject of our present inquiry, and not the apostolate
itself, we will consider now the serious question : What is the nature
of this work?
Our choice lies between the theory of the mechanical, and that of
the natural, process.
1 5 o THE APOSTOLATE
The supporters of the first say : " Nothing can be more simple
than the work of the Holy Spirit in the apostles. They had only to
sit down, take pen and ink, and write at His dictation." The ad
vocates of the natural process state its case as follows : " The apos
tles had entered more deeply into the mind of Christ; they were
holier, purer, and more godly than others ; hence they were better
fitted to be the instruments of the Holy Spirit, who after all ani
mates every child of God." These are the extreme views. On the
one hand, the work of the Holy Spirit is considered as a foreign ele
ment introduced into the life of the Church and that of the apostles.
Any schoolboy competent to write a dictation might have written
the Epistle to the Romans just as well as St. Paul. The obvious
difference of style and manner of presentation between his epistles
and those of St. John does not spring from the difference of person
alities, but from the fact that the Holy Spirit purposely adopted the
style and way of speaking of His chosen scribe, be he St. Paul or St.
John.
The other extreme considers that the persons of the apostles ac
count for the whole matter; so that to speak of a work of the Holy
Spirit is only to repeat a pious term. According to this view, the
influence of Christ s personal intercourse had an educating effect
upon His disciples, which left such impress of His life upon them
that they could understand His Person and aims much better than
others ; hence being the best-developed minds of the Christian cir
cle of those days, they adopted in their writings a certain apostolic
authority.
Besides these two extremes, we must mention the view of cer
tain friendly theologians who turn this natural into a supernatural,
but still self-developed, process. They acknowledge, with us, that
there is a work of the Holy Spirit which they also call regeneration,
and allow that to this the gift of illumination is often added. And
from this they argue : " Among the regenerated there are some in
whom this divine work is only superficial, and others in whom He
operates more deeply. In the former, the gift of illumination is
undeveloped; in the latter, it attains great luster; and it is to this
class that the apostles belonged, who were partakers of this gift in
its highest degree. Owing to these two gifts, the work of the Holy
Spirit attained in them such clearness and transparency that, in
speaking or writing concerning the things of the Kingdom of God,
they struck almost invariably the right note, chose the right word,
THE APOSTOLIC SCRIPTURES 151
and continued in the right direction. Hence the power of their
writings, and the almost binding authority of their word."
Over against these three opponents we wish to present the view
of the best theologians of the Christian Church, which, altho fully
appreciating the effects of regeneration and illumination in the
apostles, still maintain that from these the infallible, apostolic
authority can not be explained ; and that the authority of their word
is recognized only by the unconditional confession that these oper
ations of grace were but the means used by the Holy Spirit when,
through the apostles, He cast His own testimony into documental
forms for the Church of all ages.
XXXI.
Apostolic Inspiration.
"When He, the Spirit of truth, is
come, He will guide you into all
truth. 1 -JohnxvL 13.
WHAT is the nature of the work of the Holy Spirit in the inspi
ration of the apostles?
Apart from the mechanical and natural theories, which are vul
gar and profane, there are two others, viz., the Ethical and the Re
formed,
According to the former the inspiration of the apostles differs
from the animation of believers only in degree, not in nature.
They represent the matter as tho, by the incarnation of the Word,
a new sphere of life was created which they call the " God-human
They that have received the life of this higher sphere are called
believers; others are unbelievers. In these believers the conscious
ness is gradually changed, illuminated, and sanctified. Hence
they see things in a different light, i.e., their eyes are opened so
that they see much of the spiritual world of which unbelievers see
nothing. However, this result is not the same in all believers.
The more favored see more correctly and distinctly than the less
favored. And the most excellent among them, who possess this
God-human life most abundantly, and look into the things of the
Kingdom with greatest clearness and distinctness, are the men
called apostles. Hence the inspiration of the apostles and the
illumination of believers are in principle the same ; differing only |
in degree.
The Reformed churches can not agree with this view. In their |
judgment the very effort to identify apostolic inspiration with the
illumination of believers actually annihilates the former. They
hold that the inspiration of the apostles was wholly unique in nature
and kind, totally different from what the Scripture calls illumina- i
tion of believers. The apostles possessed this latter gift even in its i
APOSTOLIC INSPIRATION 153
highest degree, and we heartily indorse all that the Ethical theolo
gians say in this respect. But, when all is said, we hold that apos
tolic inspiration is not even touched upon ; that it lies entirely out
side of it; is not contained in, but added to, it; and that the Church
must reverence it as an extraordinary, peculiar, and unique work
of the Holy Spirit, which was wrought exclusively in the holy apos
tles.
Hence both sides concede that the apostles were born again, that
they had received illumination in a peculiarly high degree. But
while the Ethical theorists maintain that this extraordinary illumi
nation includes inspiration, the Reformed hold that illumination in
its highest degree has nothing to do with inspiration; which was
unique in its kind, without equal, given to the apostles alone, never
to other believers.
The difference between the two views is obvious.
According to the Ethical view, the epistles are the writings of
very worthy, godly, and sanctified men ; the thoughtful utterances
of highly enlightened believers. And yet, having said all this,
they are after all only fallible ; they may contain ninety per cent,
of truth, well expressed and accurately defined ; but the possibility
remains that the other ten per cent, is full of errors and mistakes.
Even tho there be one or more infallible epistles, how can this
avail us, since we do not know it? In fact, we are without the least
certainty in this matter. And for this reason it is actually conceded
that the apostles have made mistakes.
Hence the Reformed churches can not accept this fascinating
representation ; and the conscience of believers will always protest
against it. What we expect in " holy apostles" is this very certainty,
reliability, and decision. Reading their testimony, we want to rely
upon it. This certainty alone has been the strength of the Church
of all ages. This conviction alone has given her rest. And the
Church of to-day feels as instinctively that the reliability of the
Word that is its Bible is being taken away from it, inasmuch as
these beautifully sounding theories strip the apostolic word of its
infallibility.
The holy apostles appear in their writings as such, and not other
wise. St. John, the most beloved among the twelve, testifies that
the Lord Jesus gave them as apostles a rare promise, saying, " He
shall guide you into all truth," a word that may not be applied to
I 5 4 THE APOSTOLATE
others, but to the apostles exclusively. And again : " The Com
forter which is the Holy Ghost shall teach you all things, and bring
to your remembrance all things whatsoever I have said unto you"
(John xiv. 1 6) ; which promise was not intended for all, but for the
apostles only, securing them a gift evidently distinct from illumi
nation. In fact, this promise was nothing else than the permanent
endowment with the gift received only temporarily when they went
forth on their first mission among Israel : " For it is not you that
speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
Moreover, the Lord Jesus did not only promise them that the
word proceeding from their mouth would be a word of the Holy
Spirit, but He granted them such personal power and authority
that it would be as tho God Himself spoke through them. St. Paul
testified of this to the church of Thessalonica, saying: "For this
cause we thank God that ye received it not as the word of men, but,
as it is in truth, the Word of God" (i Thess. ii. 13). And St. John
tells us that, both before and after the resurrection, the Lord Jesus
gave His disciples power to bind on earth in the sense that their word
would have binding power forever : " Whosesoever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them ; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they
are retained"; words that are horrible and untenable except they
be understood as implying perfect agreement between the minds of
the apostles and the mind of God. Of similar import are the words
of Christ to Peter : " Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on -earth shall be
loosed in heaven."
However, reading and pondering these remarkable and weighty
words, let us be careful not to fall into the error of Rome, or, in
order to escape from this, make the Word of God of no effect, which
is equally dangerous. For the Church of Rome applies these words
of Jesus to His disciples, to the whole Church as an institution ;
especially the word to Peter, making it to refer to all Peter s suc
cessors (so-called) in the government of the Church of Rome. If
that be indeed the meaning of these words, then Rome is perfectly
right ; then to the Pope is granted power to bind, and the priests of
Rome have still the power to absolve. Our reason for denying
that Rome has this power is not the impossibility for men to have
it, for it was given to the apostles ; Peter was infallible in his sen
tences ex cathedra, and the apostles could grant absolution. But we (
APOSTOLIC INSPIRATION 155
deny that Rome has the slightest authority to confer this power of
Peter upon the Pope, or that of the apostles upon its priests. Nei
ther Matt. xvi. 19 nor John xx. 23 contains the least proof for such
claim. And inasmuch as no man has the liberty to exercise such
I extraordinary power except he can show the credentials of his mis-
jsion, so we deny Rome s qualifications to exercise it in pope or
j priest, not because this is impossible, but because Rome can not
| substantiate its claims.
At the same time, let us, in our contending with Rome, not fall
linto the opposite error of disparaging the plain and clear meaning
iof the word. This is done by the Ethical theologians; for the
! words of Jesus referred to do not receive justice so long as we re-
jfuse to recognize in the apostles a working of the Holy Spirit en
tirely peculiar, unique, and extraordinary. We dilute the words of
Jesus and violate their sense so long as we do not acknowledge
Ithat, if the apostles were still living, they would have the power to
[forgive us our sins ; and that Peter, if he were still living, would
have power and authority to issue ordinances binding upon the
whole Church. The words are so plain, the qualification was
jgranted in such definite terms, that it can not be denied that John
could forgive sin, and that Peter had power to issue an infallible
decree. The Lord said to the disciples : " Whosesoever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them"; and to Peter: " Whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven."
Thus acknowledging the unique position and extraordinary
power of the apostles, we immediately add that this power was
granted to them alone and to no one else.
We emphasize this in opposition to Rome and to those who apply
he words of Christ, spoken to His disciples exclusively, to minis-
cers and other believers. Neither Rome nor the Ethical theologians
lave the right to do this, unless they can show that the Lord Jesus
jave them such right. But they never can. Care should be taken,
:herefore, in the choice of texts, proofs, and quotations from the
Scripture, to ascertain not only what is said, but also to whom
t was said. And thus the error concerning the apostolate will
>oon be overcome; and believers will see that the apostles oc-
iupy a different position from other Christians, that the promises
quoted bear an exceptional character, and that the Word of the Lord
s misunderstood when inspiration is confounded with illumina-
ion.
156 THE APQSTOLATE
In opposition to these wrong views, which are Romish, clerical
in principle, and at the same time strongly tending to rationalism]
we maintain the ancient confession of the Christian Church whicH
declares that, as the ambassadors extraordinary of Christ, the apos-l
ties occupied a unique position in the race, in the Church, and irj
the history of the world, and were clothed with extraordinary powJ
ers that required an extraordinary operation of the Holy Spirit.
But we do not deny that these men were born again and parta-l
kers of the heavenly illumination ; so that the man of sin was driven)
back, and the new man was powerfully revealed in them. Buti
their personal state and condition was the cause of their contin-|
ued sinfulness until the hour of their death ; hence their infallible
authority could never spring from the fallible condition of thein
hearts. Even tho they had been less sinful, such power could nod
be thus accounted for. And if they had fallen more deeply into]
sin, it would not have hindered the Holy Spirit s operation wita
reference to the exercise of this authority. It is remarkable thati
Peter, who was clothed with the highest power, fell again and again
into great sin. They were saints because they were hid in Christ
like other Christians ; but they were holy apostles not on the ground
of their spiritual state and condition, but only by virtue of their
holy calling and the working of the Holy Spirit that was prom
ised and given unto them.
Finally, the question arises, whether there was a difference be
tween the operation of the Holy Spirit in the prophets and in the
apostles. We answer in the affirmative. Ezekiel s oracles arej
different from St. John s Gospel. The Epistle to the Romans bears]
witness to a different inspiration from that of the prophecies ofj
Zacharias. Undoubtedly the book of Revelation proves that the)
apostles were also susceptible to inspiration by visions; the book
of the Acts is evidence that in those days there were also wonder
ful signs; and St. Paul speaks of visions and ecstasies. And yet the
collective treasure that came down to us under the apostles namei
bears evidence that the inspiration of the New Testament has an
other character than that of the Old. And the principal difference
consists in the mighty fact of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The prophets were inspired before Pentecost, and the apostles
after it. This fact is so strongly marked in the history of their
mission that before it the apostles sit still, while immediately
after it they appear in their apostolic character before the world.
APOSTOLIC INSPIRATION 157
And since in the outpouring the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the
body of Christ, which before He had been preparing, it is obvious
I that the difference of inspiration in the Old and the New Testa-
ment consists in the fact that the former was wrought upon the
! prophets from without, while the latter wrought upon the apostles
! from within, proceeding from the body of Christ.
And this is the reason that the prophets give us more or less the
! impression of an inspiration independent of their personal, spiritual
I life, while the inspiration of the apostles acts almost always through
i the life of the soul. It is this very fact that offers to the error of
I the Ethical view its starting-point. Surely the person and his con-
i dition appear in the apostles much more in the foregrotmd than in
the prophets. And yet in both prophet and apostle inspiration is
that wholly extraordinary operation of the Holy Spirit whereby, in
a manner for us incomprehensible and to them not always con
scious, they were kept from the possibility ot error.
XXXII.
Apostles To-Day?
" Am I not an apostle ? am I not free ijl
have I not seen Jesus Christ oui I
Lord ? are ye not my work in the! !
Lord?" i Cor. ix. i.
WE may not take leave of the apostolate without a last look at! i
the circle of its members. It is a closed circle ; and every effort toU
reopen it tends to efface a characteristic of the New Covenant.
And yet the effort is being made again and again. We see it injij
Rome s apostolic succession; in the Ethical view gradually effacing!
the boundary-line between the apostles and believers; and in its
boldest and most concrete form among the Irvingites.*
The latter assert not only that the Lord gave to His Church a
college of apostles in the beginning, but that He has now called!
a body of apostles in His Church to prepare His people for th.e>
coming.
However, this position can not be very successfully supported.
Neither in the discourses of Christ, nor in the epistles of the apos
tles, nor in the Apocalypse, do we find the least intimation of such <
an event. The end of all things is repeatedly spoken of. Thej
New Testament frequently rehearses the events and signs that!
must precede the Lord s return. They are recorded so minutely j
that some even say that the exact date can be fixed. And yet, 1
among all these prophecies, we fail to discover the slightest sign of
a subsequent apostolate. In the panorama of the things to come
there is literally no room for it.
Nor have the results realized the expectations of these brethren.
Their apostolate has been a great disappointment. It has accom
plished almost nothing. It has come and gone without leaving a
trace. We do not deny that some of these men have done wonder-
* The Irvingites are known in England and America as the Catholic j
Apostolic Church. TRANS.
APOSTLES TO-DAY? 159
ful things; but be it noticed, in the first place, that the signs
wrought were far below those performed by the apostles; second,
that a man like Pastor Blumhardt has also wrought signs that
greatly deserve to be noticed; third, that the Roman Catholic
Church sometimes offers signs that are not pretended nor artificial ;
lastly, that the Lord has warned us in His Word that signs shall be
wrought by men who are not His own.
Moreover, let us not forget that the apostles of the Irvingites
completely lack the marks of the apostolate. These were: (i) a
call directly from the King of the Church ; (2) a peculiar qualifica
tion of the Holy Spirit making them infallible in the service of the
Church. These men lack both marks. They tell us, indeed, of a
call come to them by the mouth of prophets, but this is to little or
no purpose, for a call from a prophet is not equal to one directly
from Christ, and again the name "prophet" is exceedingly mis
leading. The word prophet has, on the sacred page, a wide appli
cation, and occurs in both a limited and a general sense. The former
involves the revelation of a knowledge that mere illumination does
not afford ; while the latter applies to men speaking in holy ecstasy
to the praise of God. We concede that prophesying, in the general
sense, is an enduring charisma of the Church ; for which reason the
reformers of the sixteenth century attempted to revive this office.
If the Irvingites, therefore, believe that in their circles the pro
phetic activity has been revived, we will not dispute it; altho we
can not say that the reports of their prophesying have had a very
overwhelming effect upon us. However, let it be granted that the
gift has been restored ; but even then we ask : What do you gain by
it? For there is not the slightest proof that these prophets and
prophetesses are like their predecessors in the Old Testament.
The unrevealed will of God has not been revealed to them. If
prophets at all, then their prophesying is merely a speaking to the
praise of God in a state of spiritual ecstasy.
The uselessness of an appeal to such prophets for the support
of this new apostolate is evident. It is merely the effort to sup
port an unsupported apostolate by an equally unsupported proph-
etism.
Nor should it be forgotten that the labors of these so-called
apostles have not carried out their own program. They have failed
to exert any perceptible influence upon the course of events. The
institutions founded by them have in no respect surpassed the many
160 THE APOSTOLATE
new church organizations witnessed by this century. They have
established no new principle ; their labors have manifested no new
power. Whatever they have done lacks the stamp of a heavenly
origin. And nearly all these new apostles have died not like the
genuine twelve on cross or stake, but on their own beds surrounded
by their friends and admirers.
However, this is not all. The name of apostle may be taken (i)
in the sense of being called directly by Jesus as an ambassador for
God, or (2) in a general sense, denoting every man sent by Jesus
into His vineyard ; for the word apostle means one that is sent. In
Acts xiv. 14 Barnabas is called an apostle; not because he belonged
to their number, but merely to indicate that he was sent out by the
Lord as His missionary or ambassador. In Acts xiii. i, 2 Barnabas
is mentioned before Saul, who is not even called by his apostolic
name; which shows that this call of the Holy Spirit bore only a
temporary character, having in view only this special mission.
For this reason the Lord Jesus Christ, as the One sent of the Fa
ther, the great Missionary come to this world, the Ambassador of
God to His Church, is called Apostle : " Wherefore, holy brethren,
. . . consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ
Jesus" (Heb. iii. i).
If the Irvingites had called the great reformers of the sixteenth
century, or some prominent church leaders of the present time,
apostles, there could have been no great objection. But they did
not mean this. They claim that these new apostles shall stand
before the Church in a peculiar character, on the same plane with
the first apostles, altho differently employed. And this can not be
conceded. It would be in direct opposition to the apostolic declara
tion of i Cor, iv. 9: " For I think that God hath set us forth as the
last apostles, as it were appointed unto death " (see Dutch trans
lation). How could St. Paul speak of the last apostles, if it were
God s plan after eighteen centuries to send other twelve apostles
into the world?
In view of this positive word of the Holy Spirit, we direct all
those that come into contact with the Irvingites to what the Scrip
ture says concerning them that call themselves apostles, and are
not : For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning
themselves into apostles of Christ." And the Lord Jesus testifies
to the church at Ephesus : " I know that thou hast tried them which
say they are apostles, and are not."
APOSTLES TO-DAY ? 161
The notion that false apostles must be a sort of incarnate devils
applies in no wise to the calm, respectable, and venerable men fre
quently seen in the circles of the Irvingites. But apart from this
absurd notion, and considering that the false prophets of the Old
Testament so closely resembled the true ones that at times even
the people of God were deceived by them, we can understand that
the false apostles of St. John s day could be detected only by a
higher spiritual discernment; and that the pretended apostles of
the nineteenth century, who by their similarity to the genuine
twelve blinded the eyes of the superficial, could be detected only
by the touchstone of the Word of God. And that Word declares
that the twelve of St. Paul s day were the last apostles, which set
tles the matter of this pretended apostolate.
This error of the Irvingites is therefore not so very innocent.
It is easy to explain how it originated. The wretched and deplor
able state of the Church must necessarily give rise to a number of
sects. And we heartily acknowledge that the Irvingites have sent
forth many warnings and well-deserved rebukes to our superficial
and divided Church. But these good offices by no means justify
the doing of things condemned by the Word of God; and those who
lave allowed themselves to be carried away by their teachings
will sooner or later experience their fatal result. It is already man-
fest that this movement, which started among us under the pretext
)f uniting a divided church by gathering together the Lord s peo-
ile, has accomplished little more than to- add another to the already
arge number of sects, thus robbing the Church of Christ of excel-
ent powers that now are being wasted.
That the apostolate was a closed circle, and not a flexible theory,
s evident from Acts i. 25 : " Lord, show of these two, the one whom
Thou hast chosen to take the place of this ministry and apostleship ;
and again from St. Paul s word (Rom. i. 5): "By whom we have
eceived grace and apostleship"; and again (i Cor. ix. 2) : " For the
eal of my apostleship are ye in the Lord"; and lastly from Gal.
i. 8 : " For He that wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of the
ircumcision, wrought for me also unto the Gentiles." And again
t is evident from the fact that the apostles always appear as the
welve ; and from their being specially appointed and installed by
esus breathing upon them the official gift of the Holy Spirit; and
rorn the exceptional power and gifts that were connected with the
ipostolate. And it is especially from its conspicuous place in the
ii
1 62 THE APOSTOLATE
coming Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ that the apostolate ob
tains its definite character. For the Holy Scripture teaches that
the apostles shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes
of Israel; and also that the New Jerusalem has " twelve foundations
upon which are written the twelve names of the apostles of the
Lamb."
St. Paul offers us in his own person the most convincing proof
that the apostolate was a closed college. If it had not been, the
question whether he was an apostle or not could never have caused
contention. Yet a large part of the Church refused to acknowledge
his apostleship. He did not belong to the twelve; he had not
walked with Jesus; how could he be a witness? It was against
this seriously meant contention that St. Paul repeatedly lifted
up his voice with such energy and animation. This fact is the
key to the right understanding of his epistles to the Corinthians
and Galatians. They glow with holy jealousy for the reality of his
apostleship , for he was deeply convinced that he was an apostle as
well as St. Peter and the others. Not by virtue of personal merit;
in himself he was not worthy to be called an apostle i Cor. xv. 9;
but no sooner is his office assailed than he arouses himself like a
lion, for this touched the honor of his Master, who had appeared
unto him in the way to Damascus, not, as is commonly said, to
convert him for this is not Chrisfs work, but that of the Holy\
Spirit but to appoint him an apostle in that Church which he was
persecuting.
As to the question, how the addition of St. Paul to the twelve is
consistent with that number, we are convinced that not the namej
of Matthias, but that of St. Paul is written upon the foundations ofj
the New Jerusalem with those of the others; and that not Matthias,
but St. Paul shall sit down to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Asi
one of the tribes of Israel was replaced by two others, so in regard)
to the apostolate ; for Simeon, who fell out, Manasseh and Ephraiml
were substituted, and Judas was replaced by Matthias and Paul.
We would not imply that the apostles erred in electing Matthias!
to fill the vacancy occasioned by the suicide of Judas. On the con-|
trary, the completion of the apostolic number could not be delayed]
until the conversion of St. Paul. The vacancy had to be filled im
mediately. But it may be said that when the disciples chose Mat
thias they had too small a conception of the goodness of their Lord.
They supposed that for Judas they would receive a Matthias, and,
APOSTLES TO-DAY ? 163
behold, Jesus gave them a Paul. As to the former, the Scripture
mentions his election and no more. Yet even tho to the Church of
later times the apostolate without St. Paul is unthinkable, and tho
it allowed his person the first place among the apostles and his
writings highest in authority among the Scriptures of the New Tes
tament, to the person of Matthias the election to the apostolate
must have brought highest honor. The apostolate stands so high
that the fact of having been identified with it, even temporarily,
imparts greater luster to a man s name than a royal crown.
IRintb Cbapter,
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES IN THE NEW TESTA
MENT.
XXXIII.
The Holy Scriptures in the New Testament.
" But these are written that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God ; and that believing
ye might have life through His
name." -John xxix. 31.
HAVING considered the apostolate, we are now to discuss God s
gift to the Church, viz., the New Testament Scripture.
The apostolate placed a new power in the Church.
Surely all power is in heaven ; but it has pleased God to let this
power descend in the Church by means of organs and instruments,
chief among which is the apostolate. This organ was a consolation
of the Comforter, given to the Church after Jesus had ascended to
heaven and was provisionally not to govern His Church in person.
Hence it was a forsaken Church, not yet planted, and soon to be
scattered, to which the Holy Spirit gave the apostolate as a bond of
union, as an organ for self-extension, and as an instrument for its
own enrichment with the full knowledge of the life of grace. Com
missioned by the King of the Church, the apostles were animated
by the Holy Spirit. As the King works for His Church only by the
Spirit, so He caused the apostolate to work also by the higher pow
ers of the Holy Spirit.
It was not the Lord s intention that His Church should set out
in ignorance, to wander about in manifold error, finall) 7 , the long
journey ended, to arrive at a clearer perception of the truth ; but that
from the beginning it should stand in the light of complete knowl
edge. Hence He gave it the apostolate, that from the cradle of
HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT 165
its existence it should receive the full sunshine of grace, and that
no subsequent development of Christendom should ever surpass
that of the apostles.
This is a very significant fact.
Indeed, in the course of history there is development, especially
in doctrine, which has not yet ceased, and which will continue until
the end. The King has cast His Church into the midst of warfare
and trouble ; He has not permitted it to confess His name in an un
manly and indolent manner, but from age to age He has compelled
it to defend that confession against error, misunderstanding, and
hostility. It is only in this warfare that it has learned gradually to
exhibit every part of its glorious inheritance of truth. God shall
judge heretics ; but, besides much mischief, they have rendered the
Church this excellent service of compelling it to wake up from
slumbering upon its gold-mines, to explore them, and to open the
hidden treasure.
Hence our conscious insight into the truth is deeper than that
of the preceding centuries. Semper excelsior! Ever higher! Re
search into holy things may never cease ; even now the Lord ful
fils His promise to every true theologian : " Ask, and it shall be
given you; seek, and ye shall find." And in the development of
the consciousness of the Church concerning its treasure of truth, the
Holy Spirit has a special work, and he who denies it leaves the
Church to petrify and is blind for the word of the Lord.
Yet, however great its present and future progress, it will never
possess a grain of truth more than when the apostolate passed away.
Afterward the gold-mine might be explored ; but when the apostles
died the mine itself existed already. Nothing can be added to it or
ever will ; it is complete in itself. For this reason the great men of
God, who, in the course of ages, by brave words have animated the
Church, have always pointed back to the treasures of the apostles,
and without exception told the churches : " Your treasure lies not
before, but behind you, and dates from the days of the apostles."
And herein was mercy ; any other disposition would have been
unmerciful. The people of one or eighteen centuries ago had the
same spiritual needs as we have ; nothing less than we have could
suffice for them. Their wounds are ours; the balm of Gilead that
has healed us, healed them also. Consequently the remedy for
souls must be ready for immediate use. Delay would be cruel.
Hence it is not strange and problematic, but perfectly in accord
1 66 HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT
with God s mercy, that the whole treasure of saving truth was given
to the Church directly in the first century.
To accomplish this was the mission of the apostolate. It is like
medical science in this respect, which makes constant progress in
the knowledge of herbs. But however great that progress, no new
herb has been produced. Those that exist now, existed always,
having the same medicinal properties. The only difference is, that
we know better than our ancestors how to apply them. In like
manner, since the days of the apostolate no new remedy for the
healing of souls has been created or invented. Indeed, some of the
powers then at work are lost to us, e.g., the charisma of tongues.
All the difference between the Church then and now is, that we,
according to this thinking and emotional age, understand more pro
foundly the connection between the effect of the remedy and the
healing of our wounds.
This difference does not make us richer or poorer. For the sim
ple peasant it is sufficient to receive the prescribed medicine, altho
he is ignorant of its ingredients and effects upon blood and nerves.
In his world this need does not exist. But the man of thought, un
derstanding the connection between cause and effect, has no confi
dence in any medicine unless he knows something of its working.
To him, this knowledge is a positive need, and to the psychological
effect it is even indispensable.
This is likewise true of the Church of Christ; it has not been
always the same, neither have its needs. The development of our j
knowledge has been such that every age has received an insight j
adapted to satisfy its necessity. More than this : the very fermen
tation of the age has created the modified need, and has been used
of God to give a clearer understanding of the truth.
And yet, whatever the increased clearness and maturity of the|
knowledge concerning the secret of the Lord during the ages, thej
secret itself has remained the same. Nothing has been added to it. \
And the mystery of the apostolate is, that by the labors of its mem
bers the whole secret of the Lord was made known to the Church,
under the infallible authorship of the divine Inspirer, the Holyj
Spirit.
This is the great fact accomplished by the apostolate : the pub
lication of the whole secret of the Lord, by which the revelation in j
the Old Testament, to John the Baptist and Christ was enlarged and
worked out. For to complete a thing means to add that which be-j
HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT 167
fore was lacking; after which nothing more can be added. And
this is the second point that we emphasize.
Through the apostles the Church received something not pos
sessed by Israel nor imparted by Christ. Christ Himself declares:
" I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them
now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide
you into all truth ; for He shall not speak from Himself; but whatso
ever He shall hear, that shall He speak ; and He will shew you things
-to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and
shall shew it unto you" (John xvi. 12-14). St. Paul spoke not
less clearly, saying : " That the mystery which was kept secret since
the world began was now made manifest" (Rom. xvi. 25). And
again : " To make men see what is the dispensation of the mystery
which from all ages was hid in God." And again: " The mystery
which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is
made manifest to his saints" (Col. i. 16). Finally, St. John de
clares that the apostles testify of what they had looked upon with
their eyes, and their hands had handled of the Word of Life, which
was with the Father, and which is manifested.
Altho we do not deny that the germ of saving knowledge was
given in Paradise, to the Patriarchs, and to Israel ; yet the Scrip
ture teaches distinctly that truth was revealed to the Patriarchs,
unknown in Paradise ; to Israel, of which the Patriarchs were igno
rant; and by Jesus, truth that was hidden from Israel. In like
manner, truth not declared by Jesus was revealed to the Church by
the holy apostolate.
Against this last statement, however, objections are raised.
Many unbelieving writers of the present century have frequently
asserted that not Jesus, but Paul was the real founder of Christian
ity ; while others have frequently exhorted us to abandon the ortho
dox theology of St. Paul, and to return to the simple teachings of
Jesus; especially to His Sermon on the Mount.
And really, the more the Scripture is studied the more obvious
the difference between the Sermon on the Mount and the Epistle to
the Romans will appear. Not as tho the two contradict each other,
but in this way, that the latter contains elements of truth, new rays
of light, not found in the former.
If one objects to the doctrines of the apostles, as does the
Groninger School.it is natural to place the gospels above the epistles.
Hence the fact that many half-believers still receive the Parables and
1 68 HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT
the Sermon on the Mount, but reject the doctrine of justification as
taught by St. Paul ; while those who wish to break with Christianity
entirely are inclined to consider the Pauline epistles as its real ex
ponent, but only to reject them with the entire Pauline Christianity.
For the Church of the living God, which receives both, there is in
this unholy tendency an exhortation to have an open eye for the dif
ference between the gospels and the epistles, and to acknowledge
that our opponents are right when they call it a marked difference.
Yet while our opponents use the difference to attack either the
authority of the apostolic doctrine or that of Christendom itself,
the Church confesses that there is nothing surprising in this differ
ence. Both are parts of the same doctrine of Jesus, with this dis
tinction, that the first part was revealed directly by Christ, while
the other He gave to His Church indirectly by the apostles.
Of course, so long as the apostles are considered as independent
persons, teaching a new doctrine on their own authority, our solution
does not solve the difficulty. But confessing that they are holy
apostles, i.e., organs of the Holy Spirit through whom Jesus Him
self taught His people from heaven, then every objection is met,
and there is npt even a shadow of conflict.
For Jesus simply acted like an earthly father in the training of
his children, who teaches them according to their comprehension ;
and in case of his death, his task still unfinished, he will leave them
written instructions to be opened after his departure. But Jesus
died to rise again, and even after His Ascension He continued to
be in living contact with His Church through the apostolate. And
what we would write before our decease, Jesus caused to be written
by His apostles under the special direction of the Holy Spirit. Thus
the Scriptures of the New Testament originate a New Testament
in a sense now easily understood.
The correctness of this representation is proven by Christ s own
words, which teach us
First, that there were things declared to the apostles before His
departure, and there were things not declared, because they could
not bear them then.
Secondly, that Jesus would declare the latter also, but by the
Holy Spirit.
Thirdly, that the Holy Spirit would reveal these things to them,
not apart from Jesus, but by taking them from Christ and declaring
them unto them.
XXXIV.
The Need of the New Testament Scripture.
"For I testify unto every man that
heareth the words of the prophecy
of this book, If any man shall add
unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues that are writ
ten in this book." Rev. xxii. 18.
IF the Church after the Ascension of Christ had been destined to
live only one lifetime, and had been confined only to the land of
the Jews, the holy apostles could have accomplished their task by
verbal teaching. But since it was to live at least for eighteen cen
turies, and to be extended over the whole world, the apostles were
compelled to resort to the written communication of the revelation
which they had received.
If they had not written, the churches of Africa and Gaul could
never have received trustworthy information; and the tradition
would have lost its reliable character ages ago. The written reve
lation has, therefore, been the indispensable means whereby the
Church, during its long and ever-extending career, has been pre
served from complete degeneration and falsification.
However, from their epistles it does not appear that the apostles
clearly understood this. Surely, that the Church would sojourn in
this world for eighteen centuries, they did not expect ; and almost
all their epistles bear a local character, as tho not intended for the
Church in general, but only for particular churches. And yet, al-
tho they understood it not, the Lord Jesus knew it ; He had thus
planned it ; hence the epistle written exclusively for the church of
Rome was intended and ordained by Him, and without Paul s
knowledge, to edify the Church of all ages.
Hence two things had to be done for the Church of the future :
First, the image of Christ must be received from the lips of the
apostles and be committed to writing.
Secondly, the things of which Jesus had said, " Ye can not bear
i/o HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT
them now, but the Holy Spirit will declare them unto you," must
be recorded. This is the postulate of the whole matter. The con
dition of the churches, their long duration in the future, and their
world-wide extension demanded it.
And the facts show that the provision was made; but not imme
diately. So long as the Church was confined to a small circle, and
the remembrance of Christ remained fresh and powerful, the apos
tles spoken word was sufficient. The decree of the Synod of Jeru
salem was probably the first written document that proceeded from
them. But when the churches began to extend across the sea to
Corinth and Rome, and northward to Ephesus and Galatia, then
Paul began to substitute written for verbal instructions. Gradually
this epistolary labor was extended and Paul s example followed.
Perhaps each wrote in turn. And to these epistles were added the
narratives of the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ and the
Acts of the Apostles. At last the King commanded John from
heaven to write in a book the extraordinary revelation given him
on Patmos.
The result was a gradually increasing number of apostolic and
non-apostolic writings, probably far exceeding that contained in
the New Testament. At least Paul s epistles show that he wrote
many more than we now possess. But even if he had not thus in
formed us, the fact would have been sufficiently well established;
for it is improbable that such excellent writers as Paul and John
should not have written more than a dozen letters during their long
and eventful lives, Even in one year they must have written more
than that The controversy of former days over the assertion that I
no apostolic writings could have been lost was most foolish, and
showed little reckoning with real life.
It is remarkable that from this great mass a small number cf
writings was gradually separated. A few were collected first, then
more were added, and arranged in certain order. It took a long
time before there was uniformity and agreement ; indeed, some wri- I
tings were not universally recognized until after three centuries.
But in spite of time and controversy, the sifting took place, and the
result was, that the Church distinguished in this great mass of liter
ature two distinct parts: on the one hand, this arranged set of
twenty-seven books; and on the other, the remaining writings of
early origin.
And when the process of sifting and separating was ended, and i
NEED OF NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE 171
the Holy Spirit had borne witness in the churches that this set of
writings constituted a whole, and was, indeed, the Testament of
the Lord Jesus to His Church, then the Church became conscious
that it possessed a second collection of sacred books of equal author
ity with the first collection given to Israel , then it put the Old and
the New Testament together, which unitedly form the Holy Scrip
ture, our Bible, the Word of God.
To the question, How did the New Testament Scripture origi
nate? we answer without hesitation, By the Holy Spirit.
How? Did He say to Paul or John : " Sit down and write >: ?
The gospels and the epistles do not so impress us. It does
indeed apply to the Revelation of St. John, but not to the other
New Testament Scriptures. They rather impress us as being writ
ten without the slightest idea of being intended for the Church of
all ages. Their authors impress us as writing to certain churches
of their own definite time, and that after a hundred years perhaps
not a single fragment of their writings would be in existence. They
were indeed conscious of the Holy Spirit s aid in writing the truth
even as they enjoyed it in speaking; but that they were writing parts
of the Holy Scripture, they surely knew not.
When St. Paul had finished his Epistle to the Romans, it never
occurred to him that in future ages his letter would possess for mil
lions of God s children an authority equal to, or even higher than
that of the prophecies of Isaiah and the Psalms of David. Nor could
the first readers of his epistle, in the church of Rome, have imag
ined that after eighteen centuries the names of their principal men
would still be household words in all parts of the Christian world.
But if St. Paul knew it not, surely the Holy Spirit did. As by
education the Lord frequently prepares a maiden for her still un
known, future husband, so did the Holy Spirit prepare Paul, John,
and Peter for their work. He directed their lives, circumstances,
and conditions; He caused such thoughts, meditations, and even
words to arise in their hearts as the writing of the New Testament
Scripture required. And while they were writing these portions
of the Holy Scripture, that one day would be the treasure of the
universal Church in all ages, a fact not understood by them, but by
the Holy Spirit,, He so directed their thoughts as to guard them
against mistakes and lead them into all truth. He foreknew what
the complete New Testament Scripture ought to be, and what parts
would belong to it. As an architect, by his mechanics, prepares the
i;2 HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT
various parts of the building, afterward to fit them in their places,
so did the Holy Spirit by different workers prepare the different
parts of the New Testament, which afterward He united in a whole.
For the Lord, who by His Holy Spirit caused the preparation of
these parts, is also King of the Church; He saw these parts scat
tered abroad ; He led men to care for them, and believers to have
faith in them. And, finally, by means of the men interested, He
united these loose fragments, so that gradually, according to His
royal decree, the New Testament originated.
Hence it was not necessary that the New Testament Scripture
should contain only apostolic writings. Mark and Luke were no
apostles ; and the notion that these men must have written tinder
the direction of Paul or Peter has no proof nor force. What is the
benefit of writing under the direction of an apostle? That which
gives divine authority to the writings of Luke is not the influence
of an apostle, but that he wrote under the absolute inspiration of
the Holy Spirit.
Believing in the authority of the New Testament, we must
acknowledge the authority of the four evangelists to be perfectly
equal. As to the contents, Matthew s gospel may surpass that of
Luke, and John s may excel the gospel of Mark; but their author
ity is equally unquestionable. The Epistle to the Romans has
higher value than that to Philemon ; but their authority is the same.
As to their persons, John stood above Mark, and Paul above Jude;
but since we depend not upon the authority of their persons, but
only upon that of the Holy Spirit, these personal differences are
of no account.
Hence the question is not whether the New Testament writers
were apostles, but whether they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Assuredly, it has pleased the King to connect His testimony with
the apostolate; for He said: "Ye are My witnesses. " Hence we
know that Luke and Mark obtained their information concerning ;
Christ from the apostles ; but our guaranty for the accuracy and i
reliability of their statements is not the apostolic origin of the same,
but the authority of the Holy Spirit. Hence the apostles are the
channels through which the knowledge of these things flows to us
from Christ ; but whether this knowledge reaches us through their
writings or through those of others makes no difference. The vital
question is, whether the bearers of the apostolic tradition were in
fallibly inspired or not.
NEED OF NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE 173
Even tho a writing were indorsed by the twelve apostles, this
would not be positive proof of its credibility or divine authority.
i For altho they had the promise that the Holy Spirit would lead
them into all truth, this does not exclude the possibility of their
I falling into mistakes or even untruths. The promise did not imply
I absolute infallibility, at all times, but merely when they should act
as the witnesses of Jesus. Hence the information that a document
comes from the hand of an apostle is insufficient. It requires the
i additional information that it belongs to the things which the apos
tle wrote as a witness of Jesus.
If, therefore, the divine authority of any writing does not depend
upon its apostolic character, but solely upon the authority of the
Holy Spirit, it follows, as a matter of course, that the Holy Spirit
is entirely free to have the apostolic testimony recorded by the
apostles themselves, or by any one else ; in both cases the authority
of these writings is exactly the same. Personal preferences are out
of the question. So far as form, content, wealth, and attractive
ness are concerned, we may distinguish between John and Mark,
Paul and Jude. But when it touches the question of the divine
authority before which we must bow, then we no longer take ac
count of any such distinctions, and we ask only: Is this or that
gospel inspired by the Holy Spirit ?
XXXV.
The Character of the New Testament Scripture.
1 And these things write we unto you,
that your joy may be full. 1 i
John i. 4.
FROM the two preceding articles it is evident that the New
Testament Scripture was not intended to bear the character of a
notarial document. If this had been the Lord s intention we should
have received something entirely different. It would have required
a twofold legal evidence :
In the first place, the proof that the events narrated in the New
Testament actually occurred as related.
Secondly, that the revelations received by the apostles are cor
rectly communicated.
Both certifications should be furnished by witnesses, e.g., to
prove the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand would re
quire :
1. A declaration of a number of persons, stating that they were
eye-w T itnesses of the miracle.
2. An authentic declaration of the magistrates of the surround
ing places certifying to their signatures.
3. A declaration of competent persons to prove that these wit
nesses were known as honest and trustworthy people, disinterested
and competent to judge. Moreover, it would be necessary by
proper testimony to prove that, among the five thousand, there
were only seven loaves and two fishes.
4. That the increase of bread took place while Jesus broke it.
In the presence of a number of such documents, each duly au
thenticated and sealed, persons not too skeptical might find it pos
sible to believe that the event had occurred as narrated in the
Gospel.
To prove this one miracle would require a number of documents
as voluminous as the whole of St, Matthew. If it were possible
CHARACTER OF NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE 175
thus to prove all the events recorded in the gospels and the Acts
of the Apostles, then the credibility of these narratives would be
properly established.
And even this would be far from satisfactory. For the difficulty
would remain to prove that the epistles contain correct communi
cations of the revelations received by the apostles. Such proof
would be impossible. It would require eye- and ear-witnesses to
these revelations; and a number of stenographers to report them.
If this had been possible, then, we concede, there would have been,
if not mathematical certainty for every expression, yet sufficient
ground for accepting the general tenor of the epistles.
But when the apostles wrote them there was no audible voice.
And when a voice was heard, it could not be understood, as in the
case of Paul s revelation on the way to Damascus. The same may
be said of what occurred on Patmos: St. John actually heard a
voice, but the hearing and the understanding of the words which it
uttered required a peculiar, spiritual operation that was lacking in
the people at the same time on the island.
The fact is, that the revelation of the Holy Spirit granted to
the apostles was of such a nature that it could not be perceived by
others. Hence the impossibility to prove its genuineness by nota
rial evidence. He that insists upon it ought to know that the Church
can not furnish it, either for the historical narratives of the gospels,
or for the spiritual contents of the epistles.
Hence it is evident that every effort to prove the truth of the
contents of. the New Testament by external evidence only con
demns itself, and must result in the absolute rejection of the au
thority of the Holy Scripture. If a judge of the present day should
condemn or acquit an accused person on the ground of the insig
nificant evidence which satisfies many honest people with reference
to the Scripture, what a storm of indignation would it raise ! The
whole list of the so-called evidences as to the credibility of the New
Testament writers, that they were competent to judge, willing to
testify, disinterested, etc., proves nothing indeed.
Such externals may suffice when it concerns ordinary events, of
which one might say : :< I believe that it has really happened ; I have
no reason to doubt it ; but if to-morrow it should prove not to be so,
I will lose nothing by it." But how can such superficial methods be
applied when it concerns the extraordinary events related by the
Holy Scripture, upon the positive certainty of which my own and
i;6 HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT
my children s highest interests depend; so that, if they proved to
be untrue, e.g., the report of the resurrection of Christ, we should
suffer the priceless and irreparable loss of an eternal salvation?
This can not be ; it is absolutely unthinkable. And experience
proves that the efforts of foolish people to prop their faith by such
proofs has always ended with the loss of all faith. Nay, such kind
of proof is by its very insignificance either unworthy to be men
tioned with reference to such serious matters, or, if it be worth
anything, it can not be furnished, nor ought it to be.
Notarial or mathematical proof neither can nor may be fur
nished, because the character and nature of the contents of Scrip
ture are inconsistent with or repellent to such demonstration.
No man may demand legal proofs for the fact that the man
whom he loves and honors as father is his father indeed, God has
made such proof impossible by the very nature of the case. The
delicacy which ennobles all family life cuts off the very appearance
of such investigation; and, if it were possible, the son, furnished
with such proof, would ipso facto have lost his father and mother";
they would be his parents no more; and beneath the pile of evi
dence his child-life would be buried.
The same principle applies to the Holy Scripture. The nature
and character of the revelation has been so ordered that it allows
no notarial demonstration. The revelation to the apostles is un
thinkable, if other persons could have heard, recorded, and pub
lished it as well as they. It was an operation of holy energies, not
intended to compel doubters to a mere outward faith, but simply to
accomplish that for which God had sent it, without caring much for
the contradiction of the skeptics. It concerns a work of God \\hich
legal or mathematical investigation can not fathom ; which mani
fests itself upon the spiritual domain where certainty obtains not by
outward demonstration, but by personal faith of the one in the other.
As faith in father and mother springs not from mathematical
demonstration, but from the contact of love, the fellowship of life,
and personal trust in each other, even so here. A life of love un-!
folded itself. The mercies of God came bending down to us in
tender compassion. And every man touched by this divine life was
affected by its influence, taken up by it, lived in it, felt himself in
sympathetic fellowship with it; and, in a way imperceptible and
not understood, obtained a certainty, far above any other, that he
was in the presence of facts, and that they were divinely revealed.
CHARACTER OF NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE 177
And such is the origin of faith ; not supported by scientific
proof, for then it would be no faith ; which has mastered the reader
of the Holy Scripture in an entirely different way. The existence
of the Scripture is owing to an act of the unfathomable mercies of
God, and for this reason man s acceptance must equally be an act
of absolute self-denial and gratitude. It is only the broken and
contrite heart, filled with thankfulness to God for His excellent
mercy, that can cast itself into the Scripture as into its life-element,
I and feel that here is found real assurance, casting out all doubt.
Hence we must distinguish a threefold operation of the Holy
: Spirit with reference to faith in the New Testament Scripture :
First, a divine working giving a revelation to the apostles.
Second, a working called inspiration.
Third, a working, active to-day, creating faith in the Scripture
in the heart at first unwilling to believe.
First comes revelation proper.
E.g., when St. Paul wrote his treatise on the resurrection (i
Cor. xv.), he did not develop that truth for the first time. Prob
ably he had apprehended it previously, and in his sermons and
jprivate correspondence expounded it. Hence the revelation ante-
|dates the epistle. It belonged to the things of which Jesus had
said . " When the Holy Spirit has come He shall guide you into all
truth, and He will show you things to come." And he received
that revelation in such a way that he had the positive conviction
that thus the Holy Spirit had revealed it to him, and that thus he
would see it in the Judgment day.
But the epistle was not yet written. This required a second act
of the Holy Spirit that of inspiration.
Without this the knowledge that St. Paul had received a revela
tion would be useless. What warrant should we have that he had
:orrectly understood and faithfully recorded it? He might have
nade a mistake in the communication, adding to it or taking from
t, thus making it an unreliable report. Hence inspiration was in-
[ispensable ; for by it the apostle was kept from error while he re-
orded the revelation previously received.
Lastly, the spiritual bond must be created connecting the soul
md the consciousness with the spiritual realities of the infallible
liVord of God positive conviction of spiritual things.
The Holy Spirit accomplishes this by the implanting of faith,
vith the various preparations that ordinarily precede the breaking
12
i;8 HOLY SCRIPTURES IN NEW TESTAMENT
forth of the act of believing. The result is inward conviction. Thi:
is not wrought by referring us to Josephus or Tacitus, but in
spiritual way. The content of the Scripture is brought to the soul
The conflict between the Word and the soul is felt. The convictior
thus wrought causes us to see not that the Scripture must make
room for us, but we for the Scripture.
In the discussion of regeneration we shall refer to this point more
largely. For the present we shall be satisfied if we have succeeded
in showing that the existence of the New Testament Scripture and
our faith in it are not the work of man, but a work in which the
Holy Spirit alone must be honored.
Uentb Cbapter,
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
XXXVI.
The Church of Christ.
" It is the Spirit that beareth wit
ness, because the Spirit is
truth." i John v. 6.
WE now proceed to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit wrought
in the Church of Christ.
Altho the Son of God has had a Church in the earth from the
beginning, yet the Scripture distinguishes between its manifesta
tion before and after Christ. As the acorn, planted in the ground,
exists, altho it passes through the two periods of germinating and
rooting, and of growing upward and forming trunk and branches,
even so the Church. At first hidden in the soil of Israel, wrapped in
the swaddling-clothes of its national existence, it was only on the
day of Pentecost that it was manifested in the world.
Not that the Church was founded only on Pentecost; this would
be a denial of the Old Covenant revelation, a falsification of the
idea of Church, and an annihilation of God s election. We only
say that on that day it became the Church for the world.
Arid in it the Holy Spirit has wrought a very comprehensive
work.
Not its formation, however, for that is the work of the Triune
od in the divine decree ; or, speaking more definitely, of Jesus the
ing when He bought His people with His own blood.
Indeed, the Spirit of God regenerates the elect, whom He does
not find in the world, but already in the Church. Every represen
tation as tho the Holy Spirit gathers the elect out of a lost world,
and so brings them into the Church, opposes the Scripture s repre-
1 8o THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
sentation of the Church as an organism. Christ s Church is a
body, and as the members grow out of the body and are not added
to it from without, so must the seed of the Church be looked for in
the Church and not in the world. The Holy Spirit works that only
which is already sanctified in Christ. Hence our form of Baptism
reads : " Do you acknowledge that altho our children are conceived
and born in sin, and therefore are subject to all miseries, yea to con
demnation itself ; yet that they are sanctified in Christ?"
However, since regeneration belongs to His work in the individ
ual, and we are considering now His work in the Church as a whole,
as a community, we direct our attention, in the first place, to His
work of imparting spiritual gifts, particularly those called " cJiaris-
mata" Some New Testament passages speak of gifts like those
offered to God (Matt. v. 23): "If thou bring thy gift to the altar";
or gifts communicated to others (2 Cor. viii. 9 and Phil. iv. 17);
and the gift of salvation ; but those we do not consider.
A gift offered to God is called in the Greek " doron" ; imparted*
to others, it is commonly called " char is" ; while the gift of grace
is usually called " doma." Hence these gifts are distinct from those
that now occupy our attention. And this distinction appears
strongest when we compare the gift of the Holy Spirit with spiritual
gifts. The Holy Spirit Himself is a gift of grace. But when He
imparts spiritual gifts He adorns us with holy ornaments. The
first refers to our salvation ; the last to our talents.
Referring to our salvation, the Scripture calls it a free and gra
cious gift, generally doma in the Greek, which, being derived from
a root meaning to give, denotes that we were not entitled to it, hav
ing neither merited nor bought it, but that it is a given good. St.
Paul exclaims: "Thanks unto God for His unspeakable gift/ /.^.,
of salvation (2 Cor. ix. 15). And again: " Much more the grace of |
God and the gift of grace, which is by one man Jesus Christ, hath
abounded unto many." " Much more they which receive abundance
of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus I
Christ" (Rom. v. 15, 17). And lastly: " But unto every one of us is
given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Ephcs.
iv. 17).*
*It should be noticed that in Rom. v. 15, 16; vi. 23; xi. 29, the word
"charisma" is found in the Greek text, referring to salvation. The rea- i
son is that these passages refer not to the graciousness of the gift, but to)
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 181
The same expression is used invariably for the imparting of the
Holy Spirit : " Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost " (Acts ii.
38). And: " Because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the
gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts x. 45). Hence it should be carefully
noticed that this has nothing to do with the subject under consid
eration. When St. Paul speaks of faith as the gift of God, he refers
to our salvation and God s saving work in the soul. But the gifts of
which we now speak are wholly different. They are not unto sal
vation, but to the glory of God. They are lent to us as ornaments,
that we should show their beauty as talents to gain other talents
therewith. They are additional operations of grace, which can not
take the place of the proper work of the grace of salvation, nor con
firm it, having an entirely different purpose. The work of grace is
for our own salvation, joy, and upbuilding; the charismata are
given us for others. The first implies that we have received the
Holy Spirit ; the latter that He imparts gifts unto us.
Properly speaking, the charismata are given to the churches, not
to individual persons. When a ruler selects and trains men for
officers in the army, it is evident that he does this not for their
personal enjoyment, honor, and aggrandizement, but for the effi
ciency and honor of the army. He can search for men with talents
for the military service, and train and instruct them ; but he can
not create such talents. If this were possible, every king would
endow his generals with the genius of a Von Moltke, and every ad
miral would be a De Ruyter.
But Jesus is not thus limited. He is independent ; unto Him all
power is given in heaven and on earth. He can create talents, and
freely impart them to whomsoever He will. Hence, knowing what
the Church requires for its protection and upbuilding, He can fully
supply all its need. His purpose is not merely to please or enrich
individuals, much less to give to some what He withholds from
others; but with the persons thus endowed to adorn and favor the
whole Church. We do not put a lamp upon the table to show it a
special favor or because it is more excellent than chair or stove ;
but simply because thus it serves its purpose, and the whole room
is lighted. To consider the charismata as intended merely to adorn
and benefit the person endowed would be just as absurd as to say :
its scintillating brightness, in contrast with corruption and death. "The
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. "
i8 2 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
" I light the fire to warm not the room, but the stove " j and to be
jealous of the charismata given to others in the Church would be
just as foolish as for the table to be jealous of the stove because it
gets all the fire.
The charismata must therefore be considered in an economical
sense. The Church is a large household with many wants ; an in
stitution to be made efficient by the means of many things. They
are to the Church what light and fuel are to the household; not
existing for themselves, but for the family, and to be laid aside
when the days are long and warm. This applies directly to the
charismata, many of which, given to the apostolic Church, are not
of service to the Church of the present day.
These charismata have undoubtedly more or less an official
character. God has instituted offices in the Church; not in a me
chanical way, or depending upon robe or gown; such unspiritual
conception is foreign to the Scripture. But as there is division of
labor in the army or in the human body, so there is in the Church.
Take, e.g., the body. It must be protected against injury;
blood must be carried to muscles and nerves; venous blood must
be converted into arterial; the lungs must inhale fresh air, etc.
All these activities are laid upon the various members of the body.
Eye and ear keep watch; the heart propels the blood; the lungs
supply the oxygen, etc. And this can not be changed arbitrarily.
The lungs can not watch ; the eye can not supply oxygen ; the skin
can not propel the blood. Hence this division of labor is neither
arbitrary, by mutual consent, nor a matter of pleasure; but it is j
divinely ordained, and this ordinance must not be ignored. Hence I
the eye has the office and gift of watching over the body; the heart j
of circulating the blood; the lungs of supplying fresh air, etc.
And this applies to the Church in every respect. That great
body requires the doing of many and various things for the com
mon weal. There is need of guidance, of prophesying, of heroism;
mercy must be exercised, the sick must be healed, etc. And this |
great, mutual task the Lord has divided among many members, j
He has given to His body, the Church, eyes, ears, hands, and feet;
and to each of these organic members a peculiar task, calling, and j
office.
Hence to be called to an office simply means to be charged by i
Jesus, the King, with a definite task. You have done some work.
Very well, but how? From impulse, or in obedience to the
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 183
charge of your Sender? This makes all the difference. The King
may send us in the ordinary or in an extraordinary way. Zacharias
was a priest of the course of Abijah ; but his son John was the her
ald of Christ by extraordinary revelation. The Levite served by
right of succession ; the prophet because he was chosen of God.
But this makes no difference ; called in the one way or the other,
the office remains the same, eo long as we have the assurance that
King Jesus has called and ordained us.
For this reason our fathers devoutly spoke of an office of all be
lievers. In Christ s Church there are not merely a few officials and
a mass of idle, unworthy subjects, but every believer has a calling,
a task, a vital charge. And inasmuch as we are convinced that we
perform the task because the King has laid it upon us not for our
selves, nor even from the motive of philanthropy, but to serve the
Church, to this extent has our work an official character, altho the
world denies us the honor.
XXXVII.
Spiritual Gifts.
" But desire earnestly the greater
gifts. And a still more excel
lent way show I unto you."
i Cor. xii. 31 (R. V.).
THE charismata or spiritual gifts are the divinely ordained
means and powers whereby the King enables His Church to per
form its task on the earth.
The Church has a calling in the world. It is being violently
attacked not only by the powers of this world, but much more by
the invisible powers of Satan. No rest is allowed. Denying that
Christ has conquered, Satan believes that the time left him may yet i
bring him victories. Hence his restless rage and fury, his incessant
attacks upon the ordinances of the Church, his constant endeavor
to divide and corrupt it, and his ever-repeated denial of the author
ity and kingship of Jesus in His Church. Altho he will never suc
ceed entirely, he does succeed to some extent. The history of the)
Church in every country shows it ; it proves that a satisfactory con
dition of the Church is highly exceptional and of short duration,
and that for eight out of ten centuries its state is sad and deplor
able, cause for shame and grief on the part of God s people.
And yet in all this warfare it has a calling to fulfil, an appointed)
task to accomplish. It may sometimes consist in being sifted like)
wheat, as in Job s case, to show that by virtue of Christ s prayer?
faith can not be destroyed in its bosom. But whatever the form of j
the task, the Church always needs spiritual power to perform it; a L
power not in itself, but which the King must supply.
Every means afforded by the King for the doing of His work isj:
a charisma, a gift of grace. Hence the internal connection between!
work, office, and gift.
Wherefore St. Paul says: " To each one is given the manifesta- 1
tion of the Spirit to profit withal, i.e., for the general good (Trpfcli
SPIRITUAL GIFTS 185
(i Cor. xii. 7). And, again, still more clearly: " Even so
ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may
excel, to ihQ* edifying of the Church" (i Cor. xiv. 12). Hence the
petition, " Thy Kingdom come," which the Heidelberg Catechism
interprets : " Rule us so by Thy Word and Spirit that we may sub
mit ourselves more and more to Thee ; preserve and increase Thy
Church; destroy the works of the devil, and all violence which
would exalt itself against Thee, and also all wicked counsels de
vised against Thy Holy Word, till the full perfection of the King
dom takes place, wherein Thou shalt be all in all.
It is wrong, therefore, to consider the life of individual believers
too much by itself, separating it from the life of the Church. They
exist not but in connection with the body, and thus they become
partakers of the spiritual gifts. In this sense the Heidelberg Cate
chism confesses the communion of saints : " First, that all and every
one who believes,- being members of Christ, are in common par
takers of Him and of all His riches and gifts ; secondly, that every
one must know it to be his duty readily and cheerfully to employ
his gifts for the advantage and salvation of other members." The
parable of the talents has the same aim ; for the servant who with
his talent failed to benefit others receives a terrible judgment.
Even the hidden gift must be stirred up, as St. Paul says; not to
boast of it or to feed our pride, but because it is the Lord s and in
tended for the Church.
St. John writing, " Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and
ye know all things" (i John ii. 20), and " Ye need not that any man
teach you" (i John ii. 27), does not mean to say that every indi
vidual believer possesses the full anointing, and in virtue of this
knoweth all things. For if this were so, who would not despair of
salvation, nor dare say : " I have the faith" ? Moreover, how could
the statement, " Ye need not that any man teach you," be reconciled
with the testimony of the same apostle, that the Holy Spirit quali
fies teachers appointed by Jesus Himself? Not the individual be
liever, but the whole Church as a body possesses the full anointing
of the Holy One and knows all things. The Church as a body
needs not that any come to teach it from without; for it possesses
all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge, being united with the
Head, who is the reflection of the glory of God, in whom dwelleth
all wisdom.
And this applies not to the Church of one period, but of all
186 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
ages. The Church of to-day is the same as in the day of the apos
tles. The life lived then is the life that animates it now. The
gains of two centuries ago belong to its treasury, as well as those
received to-day. The past is its capital. The wonderful and glo
rious revelation received by the Church of the first century was
given, through it, to the Church of all ages, and is still effectual.
And all the spiritual strength and insight, the inward grace, the
clearer consciousness, received during the course of the ages are
not lost, but form an accumulated treasure, increasing still by the
ever-renewed additions of spiritual gifts.
He who realizes and acknowledges this fact feels himself rich
and blessed indeed. For this apostolic view of the matter causes
us to be thankful for our brother s gift, which otherwise we might
envy; inasmuch as those gifts do not impoverish, but enrich us.
In one city there may be twelve ministers of the Word, all gifted
in various directions. According to the natural man, each will be
jealous of his brother s gifts and fear that his talents will excel his
own. But not so among the Lord s own servants. They feel that
together they serve one Lord and one flock, and bless God for giv
ing them together what the leading and feeding require. In an
army the artillerist is not jealous of the cavalryman, for he knows
that the latter is for his protection in the hour of danger.
Moreover, this apostolic standpoint excludes isolation; for it
creates the longing for fellowship with distant brethren, even tho
they walk in more or less deviating paths. It is impossible, Bible
in hand, to limit Christ s Church to one s own little community. It
is everywhere, in all parts of the world ; and whatever its external
form, frequently changing, often impure, yet the gifts wherever;
received increase our riches.
This apostolic standpoint is also against the foolish notion that
for eighteen centuries the Church has received no gifts whatever;
and hence that, like the early Church, each of us must take his
Bible to formulate his own confession. That standpoint makes one
so intensely conscious of the communion of spiritual gifts that he
can not but appreciate the Church s treasure accumulated during;
the centuries. In fact, Christ s Church has received greatest
abundance of spiritual gifts; and to-day we have the disposition
not only of the gifts of the churches in our own city, but of all
those imparted to the churches elsewhere, and of the historic capi-l
tal accumulated during eighteen centuries.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS 187
Hence the treasure of every particular church is threefold:
First, the charismata in its own circle ; secondly, those given to other
churches ; and lastly, those received since the days of the apostles.
According to their nature these spiritual gifts may be divided
into three classes : the official, the extraordinary, and the ordinary.
St. Paul says : " To one is given through the Spirit the word of
j wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the
i same Spirit, and to another faith by the same Spirit ; and to another
gifts of healing in the one Spirit ; and to another workings of mira-
! cles, and to another prophecy ; and to another discerning of spirits ;
and to another divers kinds of tongues ; and to another the inter
pretation of tongues. But all these worketh the one and the same
Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as He will" (i Cor. xviii.
8-1 1). In like manner the apostle speaks to the Church of Rome:
" Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to
us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion
of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that
teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation; he
that giveth let him do it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with dili
gence; he that showeth-mercy, with cheerfulness " (Rom. xii. 6-8).
From these passages it is evident that among these charismata
St. Paul assigns the first place to the gifts pertaining to the ordi
nary service of the Church by its ministers, elders, and deacons.
For by prophecy St. Paul designates animated preaching, wherein
the preacher feels himself cheered and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
By " teaching * he means ordinary catechizing. " Ministry" refers to
| the management of the temporalities of the Church. " Giving " has
reference to the care for the poor and the miserable. " He that rul
eth" refers to the officers in charge of the government of the Church.
These are the ordinary offices embracing the care of the spiritual
and temporal affairs of the Church.
Then follows a different series of charismata, viz., tongues,
healing, discernment of spirits, etc. These non-official gifts divide
themselves into two classes those that strengthen the gifts of sa
ving grace, and those distinct from the grace of salvation.
The former afe, e.g., faith and love. Without faith no one can
be saved. It is therefore the portion of all God s children, and as
such not a " charisma but a " dor on." But while all have faith, God
is free to let it manifest itself more strongly in the one than in an-
i88 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
other. Of one degree Scripture says : " Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved"; and of another: "If ye have
faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove." The first]
works internally, the other externally. For this reason St. Paul;
speaks not only of ministries and gifts, but also of " workings" which
consist in a more vigorous exercise of the grace which the believer
as such possesses already. Where the faith of many languishes,
the Lord frequently grants extraordinary workings of faith to some,
thus to refresh and comfort others. The same is true of love, which
also is the portion of all, but not in the same effectual degree. And
where the love of many waxes cold, the Lord sometimes quickens
it in the few to such extent that others see it and are provoked toi
holy jealousy.
Besides these ordinary charismata, which are only more energetic
manifestations of what every believer possesses in the germ, the Lord
has also given to His church extraordinary gifts, working partly upon]
the spiritual and partly upon the physical domain. Of the latter
are the charismata of self-restraint and healing of the sick. Of the
former Christ speaks in Matt. xix. 12, where he calls such persons
" eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom." St. Paul says that for the
sake of the weak brother he will abstain from meat; and again,
that he keeps under the body, bringing it into subjection, etc. The
charisma of healing refers to the glorious gift of healing the sick :
not only those who suffer from nervous diseases and psychological
ailments, who are more susceptible to spiritual influences, but alsoj
those whose diseases are wholly outside the spiritual realm.
Of an entirely different nature are the extraordinary, purely!
spiritual charismata, of which St. Paul mentions five: wisdom,]
knowledge, discernment of spirits, tongues and their interpreta-^
tion. These may also be divided in two classes, inasmuch as the
first three mentioned are also found, altho in a different form, out
side of the Kingdom of God; and the last two, which present a|
wholly peculiar phenomenon, within the Kingdom. Wisdom,!
knowledge, and discernment of spirits exist even among- the!
heathen, and are much admired by those who reject the Christ.
But those natural gifts appear in the Church in a different way.
The charisma of wisdom enables one without much investigation,;
with great tact and clearness, to understand conditions and to offer
judicious advice. Knowledge is a charisma whereby the Holy
SPIRITUAL GIFTS 189
Spirit enables one to acquire an unusually deep insight into the
mysteries of the Kingdom. Discernment of spirits is a charisma
whereby one can discern between the genuine spirits raised up of
God and those that only pretend to be such. The charisma of
tongues we have discussed at length in the twenty-eighth article.
The charismata now existing in the Church are those pertaining
to the ministry of the Word ; the ordinary charismata of increased
exercise of faith and love; those of wisdom, knowledge, and dis-
, j cernment of spirits ; that of self-restraint ; and lastly, that of healing
I the sick suffering from nervous and psychological diseases. The
1; others for the present are inactive.
188 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
other. Of one degree Scripture says : " Believe on the Lord Jesus]
Christ, and thou shalt be saved"; and of another: "If ye havej
faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain!
Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove." The first!
works internally, the other externally. For this reason St. Paul!
speaks not only of ministries and gifts, but also of " workings" which!
consist in a more vigorous exercise of the grace which the believer!
as such possesses already. Where the faith of many languishes,!
the Lord frequently grants extraordinary workings of faith to some,!
thus to refresh and comfort others. The same is true of love, which!
also is the portion of all, but not in the same effectual degree. And!
where the love of many waxes cold, the Lord sometimes quickens
it in the few to such extent that others see it and are provoked tol
holy jealousy.
Besides these ordinary charismata, which are only more energetic
manifestations of what every believer possesses in the germ, the Lord!
has also given to His church extraordinary gifts, working partly upon)
the spiritual and partly upon the physical domain. Of the latteri
are the charismata of self-restraint and healing of the sick. Of the
former Christ speaks in Matt. xix. 12, where he calls such persons
" eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom." St. Paul says that for the
sake of the weak brother he will abstain from meat; and again,
that he keeps under the body, bringing it into subjection, etc. The)
charisma of healing refers to the glorious gift of healing the sick :!
not only those who suffer from nervous diseases and psychological
ailments, who are more susceptible to spiritual influences, but also
those whose diseases are wholly outside the spiritual realm.
Of an entirely different nature are the extraordinary, purely]
spiritual charismata, of which St. Paul mentions five: wisdom,
knowledge, discernment of spirits, tongues and their interpreta
tion. These may also be divided in two classes, inasmuch as the
first three mentioned are also found, altho in a different form, out-,
side of the Kingdom of God; and the last two, which present a
wholly peculiar phenomenon, within the Kingdom. Wisdom,
knowledge, and discernment of spirits exist even among the
heathen, and are much admired by those who reject the Christ.
But those natural gifts appear in the Church in a different way.
The charisma of wisdom enables one without much investigation,
with great tact and clearness, to understand conditions and to offer
judicious advice. Knowledge is a charisma whereby the Holy
SPIRITUAL GIFTS 189
Spirit enables one to acquire an unusually deep insight into the
mysteries of the Kingdom. Discernment of spirits is a charisma
whereby one can discern between the genuine spirits raised up of
God and those that only pretend to be such. The charisma of
tongues we have discussed at length in the twenty-eighth article.
The charismata now existing in the Church are those pertaining
to the ministry of the Word ; the ordinary charismata of increased
5, exercise of faith and love; those of wisdom, knowledge, and dis-
;. cernment of spirits; that of self-restraint; and lastly, that of healing
: the sick suffering from nervous and psychological diseases. The
c others for the present are inactive.
I!
XXXVIII.
The Ministry of the Word.
14 He shall lead you into all truth."
John xiii. 13.
LET us now consider the second activity of the Holy Spirit in
the Church, which we prefer to designate as His care-taking of the
Word. In this we distinguish three parts, viz. : the Sealing, the
Interpretation, and the Application of the Word.
In the first place, it is the Holy Spirit who seals the Word. This
has reference to the " testimonium Spiritus Sancti," of which our
fathers used to speak and by which they understood the operation
whereby He creates in the hearts of believers the firm and lasting)
conviction concerning the divine and absolute authority of the|
Word of God.
The Word is, if we may so express it, a child of the Holy Spirit.
He has brought it forth. We owe it entirely to His peculiar activ
ity. He is its Auctor Primarius, i.e., its Principal Author. And
thus it can not seem strange that He should exercise that motherly |
care over the child of His own travail whereby He enables it to|
fulfil its destiny. And this destiny is, in the first place, to be believed\
in by the elect; secondly, to be understood by them; and lastly, to|
be lived by them; three operations that are successively effected in|
them by the sealing, the interpretation, and the application of the
Word. The sealing of the Word quickens the " faith"; the intcrpre-\
tation imparts the "right understanding"; and the application effects
the " living" of it.
We mention the sealing of the Word first, for without faith in
its divine authority it can not be God s Word to us.
The question is : How do we come in real contact and fellowship
with the Holy Scripture, which, as a mere external object, lies before
us?
We are told that it is the Word of God; but how can this become
our own firm conviction? It can never be obtained by investigation
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD 191
In fact, it ought to be acknowledged that the more one investigates
the Word the more he loses his simple and childlike faith in it. It
i can not even be said that the doubt created by superficial inquiry
will be dispelled by deeper research ; for even the profound scrutiny
of earnest men has had but one result, viz., the increase of interro-
! gation-points.
We can not in this way examine the contents of the Scripture
i without destroying it for ourselves. If one wishes to examine the
j contents of an egg, he must not break it, for then he disturbs it and
: it is an egg no more ; but he should ask them that know about it.
. In like manner we can learn the truth of the Scripture only by seal-
I ing and external communication.
For suppose that the final verdict of science will eventually
confirm the divine authority of the Scripture, as we firmly believe
it will, what would that avail us in our present spiritual need, since
during our short life science will not reach that final verdict? And
even if after thirty or forty years we should see it, would that avail
my present distress? And if this difficulty could also be removed,
we would still ask : Is it not cruel to give spiritual assurance only
to Greek and Hebrew scholars? Do not men see and understand,
then, that the evidence of the divine authority of the Scripture must
come to us in such a manner that the simplest old woman in the
poorhouse can see it just as well as I can?
Hence all learned investigation, as the basis for spiritual convic
tion, is out of the question. He who denies this maltreats souls and
introduces an offensive clericalism. For what is the result? The
notion that the unscholarly can have no assurance of themselves;
that is what ministers are for; they have studied the matter; they
ought to know, and the simple folk must believe upon their authority.
The absurdity of this notion is obvious. In the first place, the
learned gentlemen are frequently the greatest doubters. Secondly,
one minister almost always contradicts what another has laid down
as the truth. And, thirdly, the congregation, treated as a minor, is
delivered again into the power of men ; a yoke is laid upon it which
our fathers could not bear ; and the mistake is made of trying to
prove the testimony of God by that of men.
If we must bear a yoke, then give us that of Rome ten times
rather than that of the scholars; for altho Rome puts men between
us and the Scripture, they speak at least with one mouth. They all
repeat what the Pope has settled for them, and his authority rests
I 9 4 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
terpretation. For they wrote things the comprehensive meaningj
of which they did not understand. E.g., when Moses wrote abouti
the serpent s seed, it is obvious that he did not begin to see all thai
is contained in the " bruising of his heel."
Hence the Holy Spirit alone can interpret the Scripture. And
how? After the manner of Rome, by means of an official trarislai
tion as the Vulgate ; an official interpretation of every word and
sentence ; and an official condemnation of every other explanations
By no means. This would be very easy, but also very unspiritual.i
Death would cleave to it. The full, boundless ocean of truth would|
be confined within the narrow limits of a formula. And the re
freshing fragrance of life, which always meets us from the sacred
page, would at once be lost.
Surely the churches may not be given over to an arbitrary, irre-j
sponsible translation of the Word ; and we greatly appreciate the
mutual care of the churches in providing a correct translation in
the vernacular. We consider it even highly desirable that, undei
the seal of their approval, the churches should publish expository
marginal readings. But neither the one nor the other should eveij
replace the Scripture itself. Scriptural research must ever be freeJ
And when there is spiritual courage, then let the churches revise
their translation and see whether their expository readings need
modification. Not, however, to unsettle things every three years,
but that in every period of vigorous, animated, spiritual life the
light of the Holy Spirit may be shed in larger measure upon the
things that always need more light.
Hence the work of the Holy Spirit with reference to interpreta
tion is indirect, and the means employed are: (i) scientific study
(2) the ministry of the Word; and (3) the spiritual experience oil
the Church. And it is by the cooperation of these three factors
that, in the course of ages, the Holy Spirit indicates which inter-!
pretation deviates from the truth, and which is the correct under-i
standing of the Word.
This interpretation is followed by the application.
The Holy Scripture is a wonderful mystery, which is intended
to meet the needs and conflicts of every age, nation, and saint.
When preparing it He foreknew those ages, nations, and saints, and
with an eye to their necessities He so planned and arranged it as it
is now offered to us. And only then will the Holy Scripture attain]
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD 195
the end in view, when to every age, nation, church, and individual
it shall be applied in such a way that every saint shall receive at
last whatever portion was reserved for him in the Scripture.
Hence this work of application belongs to the Holy Spirit alone, for
only He knows the relation which the Scripture must sustain at last
to every one of God s elect.
As to the manner in which the work is performed, it is either
direct or indirect.
The indirect application comes most generally through the min
istry, which attains its highest end when standing before his con
gregation the minister can say : " This is the message of the Word
which at this time the Holy Spirit intends for you." An awful claim,
indeed, and only attainable when one lives as deeply in the Word
as in the Church. Besides this there is also an application of the
Word brought about by the spoken or written word of a brother,
which sometimes is as effectual as a long sermon. The quiet
perusal of some exposition of the truth has sometimes stirred the
soul more effectually than a service in the house of prayer.
The direct application of the Word the Holy Spirit effects by
the reading of the Scripture or by remembered passages. Then He
brings to remembrance words deeply affecting us by their singular
power. And, altho the world smiles and even brethren profess
ignorance concerning it, it is our conviction that the special appli
cation of that moment was for us and not for them, and that in our
inward souls the Holy Spirit performed a work peculiar to Himself.
XXXIX.
The Government of the Church.
No man can say that Jesus is
the Lord, but by the Holy
Ghost." i Cor. xii. 3.
THE last work of the Holy Spirit in the Church has reference to
government.
The Church is a divine institution. It is the body of Christ,
even tho manifesting itself in a most defective way; for as the man
whose speech is affected by a stroke of paralysis is the same friend
ly person as before, in spite of the defect, so is the Church, whose
speech is impaired, still the same holy body of Christ. The visible j
and invisible Church are one.
We have written elsewhere : " The Church of Christ on earth is
at once visible and invisible. Even as a man is at once a percept
ible and imperceptible being without being therefore two beings,
so does the distinction between the Church visible and invisible in
no wise impair its unity. It is one and the same Church, which
according to its spiritual being is hidden in the spiritual world,
manifest only to the spiritual eye, and which according to its visi
ble form manifests itself externally to believers and the world.
" According to its spiritual and invisible being the Church is one |
in all the earth, one also with the Church in heaven. In like man- j
ner it is also a holy Church, not only because it is skilfully wrought j
of God, dependent entirely upon His divine influences and work
ings, but also because the spiritual defilement and indwelling sin
of believers belong not to it, but war against it. According to its
visible form, however, it manifests itself only in fragments. Hence
it is local, i.e., widely distributed; and the national churches origi
nate because these local churches form such connection as their
own character and their national relations demand. More exten
sive combinations of churches can only be temporal or exceedingly!
loose and flexible. And these churches, as manifestations of the!
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 197
invisible church, are not one, neither are they holy ; for they par
take of the imperfections of all earthly life, and are constantly de
filed by the power of sin which internally and externally under
mines their well-being."
Hence the subject may not be presented as tho the spiritual,
invisible, and mystical Church were the object of Christ s care and
government, while the affairs and oversight of the visible Church
are left to the pleasure of men. This is in direct opposition to the
Word of God. There is not one visible Church and another invis
ible; but one Church, invisible in the spiritual, and visible in the
material world. And as God cares both for body and soul, so does
Christ govern the external affairs of the Church just as certainly
as with His grace He nourishes it internally.
Christ is the Lord ; Lord not only of the soul, but before He can
be that He must be Lord of the Church as a whole.
It should be noticed that the preaching of the Word and the ad
ministration of the sacraments belong not to the internal economy
of the Church, but to the external; and that church government
serves almost exclusively to keep the preaching pure and the sacra
ments from being profaned. Hence it is not expedient to say : " If
the Word of God be only preached in its purity and the sacraments
rightly administered, the church order is of minor importance " ; elim
inate these two from the church order and very little remains of it.
The question is, therefore, whether these means of grace are to
be arranged according to our pleasure, or according to the will of
Jesus. Does He allow us to trifle with them according to our own
notions, or does He rebuke and abhor all self-willed religion? If
the last, then also He must from heaven direct, govern, and care for
His Church.
However, He does not compel us in this matter; He has left us
the awful liberty of acting against His Word and of substituting
our form of government for His own. And that is the very thing
which misguided Christendom has done again and again. Through
unbelief, not seeing the King, it has frequently ignored, forgotten,
deposed Him ; it has established its own self-willed regime in His
Church, until at last the very remembrance of the lawful Sovereign
has been lost. ,
The individual church, still mindful of the kingship of Jesus,
professes to bow unconditionally to His kingly Word as contained
in the Scripture. Therefore, we say that in the state church of the
198 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Netherlands, whose church order not only lacks such profession,
but lays the supreme legislative power exclusively upon men,
Christ s Kingship is mocked; that a pretender has usurped His
place, who must be removed as surely as it is written : " Yet have I
set My King upon My holy hill of Zion."
Hence it must be maintained firmly and fearlessly that Jesus is
not only the King of souls, but also King in His Church ; whose
absolute prerogative it is to be the Lawgiver in His Church ; and
that the power which contests that right must be opposed for con
science sake.
To the question, why the Church is so apt to forget the Kingship
of Christ, so that many a godly minister has not the slightest feeling
for it, often saying : " Surely Jesus is King in the realm of truth,
but what does He care for the external church? I, at least, a
spiritual man, never attend the meetings of the official board"; we
answer : " If Jesus had an earthly throne and thence reigned person
ally over His Church, all men would bow before Him ; but being {
enthroned in heaven at the right hand of the Father, the King is
forgotten ; out of sight, out of mind. Hence ignorance concerning the
work of the Holy Spirit is the cause. Since Jesus governs His Church
not directly, but by His Word and Spirit, there is no respect for the
majesty of His sovereign government.
The spiritual eye of the believer must therefore be reopened
for the work of the Holy Spirit in the churches. The unspiritual
man has no eye for it. A consistory, classis, or synod is to him |
merely a body of men convened to transact business according to
their own light, the same as a meeting of the directors of a board of
trade, or some other secular organization. One is a shareholder
and a committeeman, and as such assists in the administration of <
affairs to the best of his ability. But to the child of God, with an
eye for the work of the Holy Spirit, these church assemblies assume
an entirely different aspect. He acknowledges that this consistory
is no consistory, this classis no classis, this synod only apparently]
so, except the Holy Spirit preside and decide matters together with
the members.
The opening prayer of consistory, classis, or synod is therefore!
not the same as that of the Y. M. C. A., or of a missionary conven
tion, simply a prayer for light and help, but an entirely different!
thing. It is the petition that the Holy Spirit stand in the midst of
the assembly. For without Him no ecclesiastical meeting is com-i
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH 199
plete. It can not be held except He be present. Hence in the
liturgical prayer at the opening of consistory, there is first a peti
tion for the Holy Spirit s presence and leadership; secondly, the
confession that the members can do nothing without His presence ;
and thirdly, a pleading of the promises to office-bearers.
The prayer reads: " Since we are at present assembled in Thy
Holy Name, after the example of the apostolic churches, to consult,
as our office requires, about those things which may come before
us, for the welfare and edification of Thy churches, for which we
acknowledge ourselves unfit and incapable, as we are by nature un
able of ourselves to think any good, much less to put it into practise,
therefore we beseech Thee, O Faithful God and Father, that Thou
wilt be pleased to be present with Thy Spirit according to Thy prom
ise, in the midst of our present assembly, to guide us in all truth."
In the prayer at the close of the consistory there follows the ex
press giving of thanks that the Holy Spirit was present in the
meeting :
" Moreover, we thank Thee that Thou now hast been present
with Thy Holy Spirit in the midst of our assembly, directing our
determinations according to Thy will, uniting our hearts in mutual
peace and concord. We beseech Thee, O faithful God and Father,
that Thou wilt graciously be pleased to bless our intended labor
and effectually to execute Thy begun work ; always gathering unto
Thyself a true church and preserving the same in the pure doctrine
and in the right use of Thy holy sacraments, and in a diligent exer
cise of discipline,"
Hence church government signifies :
First, that King Jesus institutes the offices and appoints the in
cumbents.
Secondly, that the churches submit themselves unconditionally
to the fundamental law of His Word.
Thirdly, that the Holy Spirit come in the assembly to direct the
deliberations ; as Walasus expressed it : " That the Holy Spirit per
sonally -may stand behind the president to preside in every meet
ing." And this saying is so rich in meaning that we would seri
ously ask, whether it is not yet plain that a mere change of officers
avails not, so long as the organization itself is not agreeable to the
Word of God. The question is not whether better men come in power,
but whether the Holy Spirit preside in the assembly ; which He can
not do except the Word of God be the only rule and authority.
THE
WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
VOLUME TWO
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Individual
jftrst Gbapter.
INTRODUCTION.
I.
The Man to be Wrought upon.
Behold, I will pour out My Spirit
unto you, I will make known
My words unto you." Prov.
THE discussion so far has been confined to the Holy Spirit s
work as a whole. We now consider His work in individual persons.
There is a distinction between the Church as a whole and its
individual members. There is a Body of Christ, and there are mem
bers which constitute a part of that Body. And the character of
the Holy Spirit s work in the one is necessarily different from that
in the other.
The Church, born of the divine pleasure, is complete in the
eternal counsel, and sovereign choice has prepared all its course.
The same God who has numbered the hairs of our head has also
numbered the members of Christ s Body. As every natural birth
is foreordained, so is every Christian birth in the Church divinely
predestinated.
The origin and awakening of eternal life are from above ; not
from the creature, but from the Creator, and are rooted in His free
and sovereign choice. And it remains not merely a choice, but is
followed by a divine act equally decisive that enforces and realizes
that choice.
That is God s spiritual omnipotence. He is not as a man who ex
periments, but He is God who, never forsaking the work of His hands,
is persistent and irresistible in the doing of all His pleasure. Hence
His counsel becomes history ; and the Church, whose form is outlined
204 INTRODUCTION
in that counsel, must in the course of ages be born, increase, and
perfect itself according to that counsel; and since that counsel is
indestructible the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church.
This is the ground of the security and consolation of the saints.
They have no other ground of trust. From the fact that God is
God, and that therefore His pleasure shall stand, they draw the
sure conviction with which they prophesy against all that is visible
and phenomenal.
In the work of grace there is no trace of chance or fatalism ; God
has determined not only the final issue, leaving the way by which
it is to be attained undecided, but in His counsel He has prepared
every means to realize His choice. And in that counsel ways dis
close themselves which human eye can not trace nor fathom. The
divine omnipotence adapts itself to the nature of the creature. It
causes the cedars of Lebanon to grow and the bulls of Bashan to
increase ; but it feeds and strengthens each according to its nature.
The cedar eats no grass, and the ox does not burrow in the ground
for food.
The divine ordinance requires that by its roots the tree shall ab
sorb the juices from the ground, and that by the mouth the ox shall
take his food and convert it into blood. And He honors His own
ordinance by providing food in the soil for the one, and grass in the
field for the other.
The same principle prevails in the Kingdom of Grace. To man
as a subject of that Kingdom, and of the moral world belonging to
it, God has given another organism than to the ox, cedar, wind, or
stream. The movements of the latter are purely mechanical ; from
the steep mountain the stream must fall. In a different way He acts
upon ox and tree ; and in still another way upon man. In the hu
man body chemical forces work mechanically, and other forces like
those in the ox and cedar. And besides these there are in man
moral forces which God operates also according to their nature.
Upon this ground our fathers rejected as unworthy of God the
fanatical view that in the work of grace man is a stock or block ;
not because it attributes something to man, but because it repre
sents God as denying His own work and ordinance. Creating an ox
or a tree or stone each different from the other, giving each a na
ture of its own, it follows that He can not violate this, but must |
adapt Himself to it. Hence all His spiritual operations are subject!
to the divinely ordained dispositions in man as a spiritual being;
THE MAN TO BE WROUGHT UPON 205
and this feature makes the work of grace exceedingly beautiful,
glorious, and adorable.
For let us not deceive ourselves and speak any longer of a glo
rious work of grace if the omnipotent God treats man mechanically,
as a stock or block. Then there is no mystery for angels to look
into, but an immediate work of omnipotence breaking down and
creating anew. To admire the work of grace we should take it as
it is revealed, i.e., as a complicated, unsearchable work by which,
violating nothing, God adapts Himself to the delicate and manifold
needs of man s spiritual being; and reveals His divine omnipotence
in the victory over the endless and gigantic obstacles which human
nature puts in His way.
Even the heart of God thirsts after love. His entire counsel
may be reduced to one thought, viz., that in the end of the ages
He may have a Church which shall understand His love and return
it. But love can not be ordered, neither can it be forced in an un-
spiritual way. It can not be poured out in a man s heart mechani
cally. To be warm, refreshing, and satisfying, love must be quick
ened, cultivated, and cherished. Hence God does not instil an
ounce of love into His people s hearts, in consequence of which
they love Him, but He exhibits love to such an extent that He, who
was from the beginning with God and was God, in unfathomable
love dies for men on the cross.
This would have been superfluous if man were a stock or block.
Then God would only have had to create love in his heart, and men
would have loved Him from sheer necessity, as a stove emits heat
when the fire is lighted. But the love so warmly portrayed in
Scripture is not superfluous, when God deals with spiritual crea
tures spiritually. Then the cross of Christ is a manifestation of
divine love far surpassing all human conceptions ; hence exercising
such irresistible power upon all God s elect.
And that which is preeminently true and apparent in love is
equally true of every part of the work of grace in all its stages. In
it God never denies Himself, nor the ordinance and plan after which
man was created. Hence it is its glory that, while on the one hand
God granted man the strongest means of resistance, on the other
He overcame that resistance in a divine and kingly way by the om
nipotence of redeeming grace.
When the apostle testifies, " We pray you in Christ s stead, as
tho God did beseech you by us, be ye reconciled to God," he reveals
206 INTRODUCTION
such a depth of the mystery of love that finally the relations are
literally reversed, and the holy God beseeches His rebellious crea
ture, who instead should cry to Him for mercy.
Tradition speaks of the fascination of mysterious beings exerted!
upon travelers and mariners so irresistibly that the latter cast
themselves willingly and yet against their will into destruction.)
In love s revelation this tradition in a reversed and holy manner
has become a reality. Here also is an almighty power of fascina
tion, in the end irresistible to the condemned sinner; but allowing!
himself to be drawn unwillingly and yet willingly, eternal pity!
draws him not into destruction, but otit of it.
However, the wonderful workings of love can scarcely be ana
lyzed. Lovers never know who has attracted and who has been
attracted, nor how in the struggle of the affections love performed
its drawings. Love s being is too mysterious to reveal its various
workings and how they succeed one another. And this applies in
far greater measure to the love of God. Every saint knows by ex
perience that at last it became irresistible, and prevailed. But how
the victory was achieved can not be told. This divine work comes
to us from such infinite heights and depths, it affects us so myste
riously, and in the beginning there was such utter lack of spiritual
light that one can scarcely more than stammer of these things.
Who comprehends the mystery of the natural birth? Who had
knowledge when he was being curiously embroidered in the lowest
parts of the earth? And if this took place without our conscious-l
ness, how can we understand our spiritual birth? Indeed, subjec-i
tively, i.e., depending upon our own experience, we know absolute-!
ly nothing of it ; and all that ever was or can be said about it is
taken exclusively from Scripture. It has pleased the Lord to lift
only a corner of the veil covering this mystery no more than the
Holy Spirit deemed necessary for the support of our faith, for the j
glory of God and the benefit of others in the hour of their spiritual
birth.
Wherefore in this series of articles we will try only to systema
tize and explain what God has revealed for the spiritual direction
of His children.
Nothing is further from our minds than to exercise ourselves in
things too high for us, or to penetrate into mysteries hid from our
view. Where Scripture stops we shall stop ; to the difficulties left
unexplained, we shall not add what must be only the result of hu-
THE MAN TO BE WROUGHT UPON 207
man folly. But where Scripture proclaims unmistakably Jehovah s
sovereign power in the work of grace, there neither the criticism
nor the mockery of men will prevent us from demanding absolute
submission to the divine sovereignty and giving glory to His Name.
II.
The Work of Grace a Unit.
" Because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost, which is given
unto us." Rom. v. 5.
THE final end of all God s ways is that He may be all in all. He
can not cease from working until He has entered the souls of indi
vidual men. He thirsts after the creature s love. In man s love
for God He desires to see the virtues of His own love glorified.
And love must spring from man s personal being, which has its seat
in the heart.
The work of grace exhibited in the eternal counsel can never be
sufficiently praised. From Paradise to Patmos, revealed to prophets
and apostles, it is transcendently rich and glorious. Prepared in
Immanuel, who ascended on high, who has received gifts for men,
yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among
them, it exceeds the praise of men and angels. And yet its highest
glory and majesty appear only when, overcoming the rebellious,
operating in the soul, it causes its light so to shine that men, see
ing it, glorify the Father which is in heaven.
Hence the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the crowning event
of all the great events of salvation, because it reveals subjectively,
i.e., in individual persons, the grace revealed hitherto objectively.
Assuredly in the days of the Old Covenant saving grace wrought 1
in individuals, but it always bore a preliminary and special charac
ter. Old-Covenant believers "received not the promise, that they)
without us should not be made perfect." And the dispensation of
personal salvation, in its normal character, began only when, the
work of reconciliation being finished, Immanuel risen, the other
Comforter had come inwardly to enrich the members of the Body
of Christ.
Hence the purpose of the Triune God steadily urges to this
THE WORK OF GRACE A UNIT 209
glorious consummation. The divine compassion can not cease
from working so long as the work of saving the individual soul is
not begun. In all the preparatory work God aims persistently at
His elect; not only after the fall, but even before creation, His wis
dom rejoiced in His earthly world, and " His delights were with the
sons of men." From eternity He foreknows all in whom His glo
rious light shall once be kindled. They are no strangers to Him,
discovered only after the lapse of ages, upon examination either to
be passed by as unprofitable, or to be wrought upon as proper and
useful subjects, according to their respective merits; no, our faith
ful Covenant God never stands as a stranger before any of His crea
tures. He created them all and ordained how they should be cre
ated; they are not first created, then ordained; but ordained, then
created. Even then the creature is not independent of the Lord,
but before there is a word upon his tongue He knoweth it alto
gether; not by information of what already existed, but by divine
knowledge of what was to come. Even the relations of cause and
effect connecting the various parts of his life lie naked and open
before Him; nothing is hid from Him; and much more intimately
than man knows himself, God knows him.
The waters of salvation descending from the mountain-tops of
God s holiness do not flow toward unknown fields, but their channel
is prepared, and leaping over the mountain-sides they greet the
acres below which they are to water.
Hence, altho clearness demands divisions and subdivisions in the
work of grace, yet they do not actually exist ; the work of grace is
a unit, it is one eternal, uninterrupted act, proceeding from the
womb of eternity, unceasingly moving toward the consummation of
the glory of the children of God which shall be revealed in the great
and notable Day of the Lord. For instance, altho in the moment
of regeneration God calleth the things that are not, with all that
they contain as in a germ, yet it should not be represented as tho
He had neglected that soul for twenty or thirty years. For even
this apparent neglect is a divine work. Constrained by His love
He would rather have turned to His chosen but lost creature imme
diately, to seek and save it. But He refrained Himself, if we may
so express it; for .this very neglect, this hiding of His countenance
works together as a means of grace, in the hour of love, to make
grace efficient in that soul.
Hence the salvation of a soul in its personal being is an eternal,
210 INTRODUCTION
uninterrupted, continuous act, whose starting-point lies in the de
cree whose end is in the glorification before the throne. It con
tains nothing formal or mechanical. There is not a period of
eighteen centuries first, during which God is occupied with the prep
aration of objective grace, without a single gracious work in indi
vidual souls. Neither is there salvation prepared only for possible
souls whose salvation was still uncertain. Nay, the love of God
never works toward the unknown. He is perfect, and His way is
perfect ; hence His love always bears the high and holy mark of
proceeding from heart to heart, from person to person, knowing
and reading one w r ith perfect knowledge. During all the day
while Cain was being judged ; while Noah and his eight were safe
in the ark ; while Abraham was called, and Moses talked with Jeho
vah face to face ; while the seers were prophesying, the Baptist ap
peared in public, Jesus ascended Calvary, and St. John was seeing
visions throughout all those ages God foreknew us (if we are
His own), the pressure of His love went out steadily toward us, He
called us before we were, in order that we might come into being;
and when we had come into being, He led us all our days. Even
when we rebelled against Him and He turned His face from us,
even then He led us as our true and faithful Shepherd. Surely all
things must work together for good to them that love God, even the
lives and characters of their ancestors -for they are the called
according to His purpose.
Instead of being cold and formal, it is rather one act of love,
energizing, pouring forth, shedding itself abroad. From its foun
tain-head on the highest mountains, traversing many highlands be
fore it can reach you, divine love flows on, ever restless, until it j
pours itself forth into your soul. Hence the apostle boasts that at
last love had attained this blessed end in his person and in Rome s j
beloved church. "Now we have peace with God, because the love!
of God (moving toward us from eternity) at last has reached us, and
is now shed abroad in our heart"
And this does not mean that now we possess a pure love of our
own, but that the love of God for His elect, having descended
from on high and overcome every obstacle, has poured itself into
the deep bed of our regenerated hearts. And to this He adds the
grace of making the soul understand, drink, and taste of that love.
And when in contrition and shamefacedness the soul loses itself iri!
love s delights and in the adorations of its eternal compassion, then
THE WORK OF GRACE A UNIT 211
His glory shines with greater brightness, and His rejoicings with
the children of men are complete.
However, while the Triune God anticipates from before the
foundation of the world the ingathering and glorification of the
saints, Scripture clearly reveals that this ingathering and glorifica
tion is the adorable work of the Holy Spirit. God s love is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us.
The Scripture gives this work of the Spirit a prominent place ;
not to the exclusion of the Father and the Son, yet so that this
personal work is always effected by the Holy Spirit. And the
Scripture puts this so strongly that the Catechism speaks, not in
correctly, of three things in our most holy faith : of God the Father
and our Creation, of God the Son and our Redemption, and then
only of God the Holy Ghost and our Sanctification. And this is not
surprising. For
First, as we have seen already, in the economy of the Triune
God it is the Holy Spirit who comes in closest contact with the
creature and fills him. Hence it is His peculiar work to enter
man s heart, and in its recesses to proclaim God s grace until he
believes.
Second, He brings every work of the Triune God to its consum
mation. Hence He perfects the work of objective grace by the
saving of souls, thus realizing its final purpose.
Third, He quickens life. He hovers over the waters of chaos,
and breathes into man the breath of life. In perfect harmony with
this, the sinner dead in trespasses and sin can not live except he
be quickened by the Spirit of all quickening, whom the Church has
always invoked, saying: " Veni, Creator Spiritus."
Fourth, He takes the things of Christ and glorifies Him. The
Son does not distribute His treasures, but the Holy Spirit. And
since the entire salvation of the redeemed consists in the fact that
their dead and withered hearts are joined to Christ, the Source of
salvation, we must praise the Holy Spirit for doing it.
Hence in the constraining desire of divine love for the individual
salvation of chosen but lost creatures, the work of the Holy Spirit
evidently occupies the most conspicuous place. Our knowledge of
God is not complete except we know Him as the Blessed Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. But as "no man cometh to the
Father but by Me," and " no man knoweth the Father save the
212 INTRODUCTION
Son, and he to whomsover the Son will reveal Him," so no man
can come to the Son but by the Holy Spirit, and no man can know
the Son if the Holy Spirit does not reveal Him unto him.
But this does not imply any separation, even in thought, between
the Persons of the Godhead. This would destroy the confession of
the Trinity, substituting for it the false confession of tri-theism.
Nay, it is eternally the same God subsisting in three Persons. The
truth of our confession shines in the very acknowledgment of the
unity in the Trinity. The Father is never without the Son, nor
the Son without the Father. And the Holy Spirit can never come
to us nor work in us except the Father and the Son cooperate with
Him.
III.
Analysis Necessary.
1 Let us go on unto perfection ; not
laying again the foundation."
Heb. vi. i.
To systematize the work of the Holy Spirit in individuals, we
must first consider their spiritual condition before conversion.
Misunderstanding concerning this leads to error and confusion.
It causes the various operations of the Holy Spirit to be confounded,
so that the same terms are used to designate different things. And
this confuses one s own thought, and leads others astray. This is
most seriously apparent in ministers who discuss this subject in
general terms, artlessly avoid definiteness, and consequently reiter
ate the same platitudes.
Such preaching makes little or no impression ; its monotone is
wearisome; it accustoms the ear to repetitions; it lacks stimulus
for the inward ear. And the mind, which can not remain inactive
with impunity, seeks relief in its own way, often in unbelief, apart
from the work of the Holy Spirit. The words " heart," "mind,"
"soul," "conscience," "inward man" are used indiscriminately.
There are frequent calls for conversion, regeneration, renewing of
life, justification, sanctification, and redemption ; while the ear has
not been accustomed to understand in each of these a special thing
and a peculiar revelation of the work of the Holy Spirit. And in
the end this chaotic preaching makes it impossible to discuss divine
things intelligently, since one initiated and more thoroughly in
structed can not be understood.
We solemnly protest especially against the pious appearance
that conceals the inward hollowness of this preaching by saying :
" My simple Gospel has no room for these hair-splitting distinctions ;
they savor of the dry scholasticism with which quibbling minds
terrify God s dear children, and bring them under the bondage of
the letter. Nay, the Gospel of my Lord must remain to me full of
life and spirit; therefore spare me these subtleties."
214 INTRODUCTION
And no doubt there is some truth in this. By a dry analysis of
soul-refreshing truth, abstract minds often rob simple souls of much
comfort and joy. They discuss spiritual things in the mongrel
terms of Anglicized Latin, as tho souls could have no part with
Christ unless they be experts in the use of these bastard words.
Such terrifying of the weak betrays pride and self-exaltation. And
a very foolish pride it is, for the boasted knowledge is readily ac
quired by mere effort of the memory. Such externalizing of the
Christian faith is offensive. It substitutes glibness of tongue for
genuine piety, and mental justification for that of faith. Thus piety
of the heart moves to the head, and instead of the Lord Jesus
Christ, Aristotle, the master teacher of dialectics, becomes the
savior of souls.
To plead for such a caricature is far from our purpose. We be
lieve that our salvation depends solely upon God s work in us, and
not upon our testimony; and the little child with stammering lips,
but wrought upon by the Holy Spirit, will precede these vain scribes
into the Kingdom of Heaven. Let no one dare impose the yoke of his
own thoughts upon others. Christ s yoke alone fits the souls of men.
And yet the Gospel does not condone shallowness, neither does
it approve mere twaddle.
Of course there is a difference. We do not require our children
to know the names of all the nerves and muscles of the human
body, of the diseases to which it is subject, and of the contents
of the pharmacopoeia. It would be a burden to the little fellows,
who are happiest so long as they are unconscious of the curious
organism they carry with them. But the physician who is not quite
certain as to the locality of these vital organs; who, careless of de
tails, is satisfied with the generalities of his profession ; who, unable
to diagnose the case correctly, fails to administer the proper reme
dies, is promptly dismissed and a more discriminating one is called
in. And to some extent the same is required of all intelligent peo
ple. Well-informed men should not be ignorant of the vital organs
of the human body and their principal functions; mothers and
nurses should be still better informed.
The same applies to the life of the Church. The least gifted
among the brethren can not understand the distinctions of the spir
itual life ; unable to bear strong meat, they should be fed with milk
alone. Neither should young children be wearied and blunted
ANALYSIS NECESSARY 215
with phrases far above their comprehension. Both should be taught
according to " the tenor of their way." A child talking on religious
matters in discriminating terms unpleasantly affects the spiritual
feeling. But not so the spiritual physician, i.e., the minister of the
Word. If the unskilled veterinarian be dismissed, how much more
they who, pretending to treat and cure souls, betray their own igno
rance of the conditions and activities of the spiritual life. Where
fore we insist that every minister of the Word be a specialist in this
spiritual anatomy and physiology ; familiar with the various forms
of spiritual disease, and always able out of Christ s fulness to select
the spiritual remedies required.
And the same knowledge we claim, if not in the same degree,
of every intelligent man or woman. The physician or lawyer who
smiles at our ignorance of the first principles of his profession ought
to be equally ashamed when betraying his own lamentable igno-
ranee of the condition of his soul. In the spiritual life each talent
should bear interest. Every man ought to be symmetrically devel
oped. According to his range of vision, strength of powers, and
depth of penetration, he should be able to distinguish spiritual
things and his own soul s need. And that this knowledge is largely
found only among our plain, God-fearing people, and not among the
higher classes, is a serious and deplorable sign of the times.
The knowledge which is power in the spiritual sphere, and able
to heal, does not come in foreign terms, does not exhaust itself in
the various criticism of Scripture, fond only of philosophic reason
ings, starving souls by giving them stones for bread ; but it searches
the Word and work of God in the souls of men systematically, and
proves that a man has studied the things in which he is to minister
to the Church.
Our spiritual leaders, therefore, who at the university and in the
catechetical class have replaced this spiritual knowledge by various
criticism and apologetics, have much to answer for. For the last
thirty years this knowledge has been neglected in both these insti
tutions. And so knowledge was lost, the preaching became monot
onous, and a great part of the Church perished. There was still eye
and ear for the objective work of the Son, but the work of the Holy
Spirit is slighted and neglected. Consequently spiritual life has
sunk to such a degree that, while scarcely one third of the fulness
of grace which is in Christ Jesus is being known and honored, men
dare to assert that they preach Christ and Him crucified.
216 INTRODUCTION
Hence the discussion of the Holy Spirit s work in individuals
demands that, while risking the danger of being called " scholastic
drivers," we leave the paths of shallowness and generalities and
proceed to careful analysis. The Holy Spirit s operations upon the
various parts of our being in their several conditions inust be distin
guished and treated separately ; not only in the elect, but also in the
non-elect, for they are not the same. It is true the Scripture
teaches that God causes His sun to shine upon the good and the
evil, and His rain to come down upon the just and the unjust, so
that in nature every good gift coming down from the Father of
lights is common to all ; but in the kingdom of grace this is not so.
The Sun of righteousness often shines upon one, leaving another in
darkness ; and the drops of grace often water one soul, while others
remain utterly deprived of them.
Hence, altho the Spirit s work in the elect is of primary impor
tance, yet it does not exhaust His work in individuals. Christ was
set also for a fall to many in Israel ; and even this is wrought by
the witness of the Holy Spirit. Not only the savor of life, but the
savor of death also reaches the soul by Him ; as the apostle declares
regarding those who, having received the gift of the Holy Ghost,
had fallen away. His activity in them, and their condition when
He begins His saving or hardening operations, must be carefully
noticed.
Of course, this is not the place to discuss the condition of fallen
man exhaustively. This would require special inquiry. Many
things which perhaps elsewhere will be explained more in detail
can here receive but passing notice. But it will serve our purpose
if we succeed in giving the reader such a clear view of the sinner s
condition that he can understand us when we discuss the Holy
Spirit s work upon the sinner.
By a sinner we understand man as he is, lives, and moves by
nature, i.e., without grace. And in that state he is dead in tres
passes and sin ; alienated from the life of God ; wholly depraved
and without strength; .a sinner, and therefore guilty and con
demned. And not only dead, but lying in the midst of death, ever
sinking more deeply into death, which if not checked in its course
opens underneath ever more widely, until eternal death stands re
vealed.
This is the fundamental thought, the mother-idea, the principal
conception, of his state. " By one man sin entered into the world,
ANALYSIS NECESSARY 217
and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men." And "the
wages of sin is death." " Sin being finished bringeth forth death."
To be translated into another state, one must pass from death into
life.
But this general idea of death must be analyzed in its several re
lations, and to this end it must be determined what man was before,
and what he has become after, this spiritual death.
IV.
Image and Likeness.
" Let Us make man in Our image
after Our likeness." Gen. i. 26
GLORIOUS is the divine utterance that introduces the origin anc
creation of man : " And God created man after His own image anc
after His own likeness; after the image of God created He him
(Dutch translation).
The significance of these important words was recently discussed
by the well-known professor, Dr. Edward Bohl, of Vienna. Accord
ing to him it should read: Man is created "z#" not " after \God j
image, i.e., the image is not found in man s nature or being, but out
side of him in God. Man was merely set in the radiance of thai
image. Hence, remaining in its light, he would live in that image.
But stepping out of it, he would fall and retain but his own nature,
which before and after the fall is the same.*
In the discussion of the corruption of the human nature we wil
consider this opinion of the highly esteemed professor of Vienna
Let us state here simply that we reject this opinion, in which we
see a return to Rome s errors. Dr. Bohl s negative character o
sin, which is the basis of this representation, we can not entertain
Moreover, it opposes the doctrine of the Incarnation, and of Sancti
fication as held by the Reformed Church. Hence we believe it td
be safest, first to explain the confession of the fathers concerning
this, and then to show that this representation is inconsistent wit]
the Word.
*In the Dutch the preposition "in " has not the meaning of " conform)
ably to," as in the English, but denotes rest, or motion within limits ,
whether of place, time, or circumstances. With nouns or* adjectives th
word governed by "in " indicates the sphere, the domain where a propert
manifests itself. Hence the Dutch expression, "Geschapen in het beel
God s" (created in the divine image), indicates the sphere in which Adar
moved before he fell. TRANS.
IMAGE AND LIKENESS 219
Accepting the account of Creation as the Holy Spirit s direct
revelation, we acknowledge its absolute credibility in every part.
They who do not so accept it, or who, like many Ethical theolo
gians, deny the literal interpretation, can have no voice in the dis
cussion. If in the exposition of the account we are in earnest, and
do not trifle with words, we must be thoroughly convinced that God
actually said : " Let Us make men after Our image and after Our like
ness." But denying this and holding that these words merely rep
resent the form in which somebody, animated by the Holy Spirit,
presented man s creation to himself, we can deduce nothing from
them. Then we have no security that they are divine ; we know
only that a pious man attributed these thoughts to God and laid them
upon His lips while they were but his own account of man s creation.
Hence the infallibility of Sacred Scripture is our starting-point.
We see in Gen. i. 27 a direct testimony of the Holy Spirit ; and with
fullest assurance we believe that these are the words of the Almighty
spoken before He created man. With this conviction, they have
decisive authority ; and bowing before it, we confess that man was
created after God s likeness and after His image.
This statement, in connection with the whole account, shows
that the Holy Spirit sharply distinguishes man s creation and that
of all other creatures. They were all manifestations of God s
glory, for He saw that they were good ; an effect of His counsel,
for they embodied a divine thought. But man s creation was spe
cial, more exalted, more glorious ; for God said : " Let Us make men
after Our image and after Our likeness."
Hence the general sense of these words is that man is totally
different from all other beings; that his kind is nobler, richer, more
glorious ; and especially that this higher glory consists in the more
intimate bond and closer relation to his Creator.
This appears from the words image and likeness. In all His other
creative acts the Lord speaks, and it is done ; He commanded, and it
stood fast. There is a thought in His counsel, a will to execute it,
and an omnipotent act to realize it, but no more ; beings are created
wholly outside and apart from Him. But man s creation is totally
different. Of course, there is a divine thought proceeding from
the eternal counsel, and by omnipotent power this thought is real
ized; but that new creature is connected with the image of God.
According to the universal significance of the word, a per
son s image is such a concentration of his essential features as to
220 INTRODUCTION
make it the very impress of his being. Whether it be in pencil,
painting, or by photography, a symbol, an idea, or statue, it is
always the concentration of the essential features of man or thing.
An idea is an image which concentrates those features upon the field
of the mind j a statue in marble or bronze, etc., but regardless of
form or manner of expression, the essential image is such a concen
tration of the several features of the object that it represents the
object to the mind. This fixed and definite significance of an image
must not be lost sight of. The image may be imperfect, yet as long
as the object is recognized in it, even tho the memory must supply
the possible lack, it remains an image.
And this leads to an important observation : The fact that we
can recognize a person from a fragmentary picture proves the exist
ence of a soul-picture of that person, i.e., an image photographed
through the eye upon the soul. This image, occupying the imag
ination, enables us mentally to see him even in his absence and
without his picture.
How is such image obtained? We do not make it, but the personj
himself, who while we look at him draws it upon the retina, thus!
putting it into our soul. In photography it is not the artist, nor his
apparatus, but the features of our own countenance which as by
witchery draw our image upon the negative plate. In the same
manner the person receiving our image is passive, while we put
ting it into his soul are active. Hence in deepest sense each of us
carries his own image in or upon his face, and puts it into the human
soul or upon the artist s plate. This image consists of features
which, concentrated, form that peculiar expression which showa
one s individuality. A man forms his own shadow upon a wall]
after his own image and likeness. As often as we cause the impress
of our being to appear externally, we make it after our own imaged
and likeness.
Returning, after these preliminary remarks, to Gen. i. 27, we no
tice the difference between (i) the divine image after which we arqj
created, and (2) the image which consequently became visible inj
us. The image after which God made man is one, and ihatflxedim
us quite another. The first is God s image. after which we are ere j
ated, the other the image created in us. To prevent confusion, thai
two must be kept distinct. The former existed before the latter
else how could God have created man after it?
It is not strange that many have thought that this image am
IMAGE AND LIKENESS 221
likeness referred to Christ, who is said to be " the Image of the
invisible God," and " the express Image of His Substance." Not a
[few have accepted this as settled. Yet, with our best ministers and
.teachers, we believe this incorrect. It conflicts with the words,
I" Let Us make men after Our image and after Our likeness," which
must mean that the Father thus addressed the Son and the Holy
[Spirit. Some say that these words are addressed to the angels, but
this can not be so, since man is not created after the image of an-
igels. Others maintain that God addressed Himself, arousing Him
self to execute His design, using " We " as a plural of majesty. But
ithis does not agree with the immediately following singular: " And
[Grod created man after His image." Hence we maintain the tried
explanation of the Church s wisest and godliest ministers, that by
.hese words the Father addressed the Son and the Holy Spirit. And
:hen the unity of the Three Persons expresses itself in the words:
And God created man after His image." Hence this image can
aot be the Son. How could the Father say to the Son and to the
Holy Spirit : " Let Us make men after the image of the Son " ?
That image must be, therefore, a concentration of the features of
God s Being, by which He expresses Himself. And since God
alone can represent His own Being to Himself, it follows that by
the image of God we must understand the representation of His
Being as it eternally exists in the divine consciousness.
" Image " and " likeness " we take to be synonyms ; not because a
difference could not be invented, but because in ver. 27 the word
likeness " is not even mentioned. Hence we oppose the explana-
:ion that image refers to the soul, and likeness to the body. Allow
ing that by the indissoluble union of body and soul the features of
:he divine image must have an after-effect in the latter, which is
His temple, yet there is no reason nor suggestion why we should
(support such a precarious distinction between image and likeness.
Hence the image after which we are created is the expression of
Good s Being as it exists in His own consciousness.
The next question is : What was or is there in man that caused
aim to be created after that image?
V.
Original Righteousness.
" For in Him we live and move, and
have our being: as certain also
of your own poets have said,
For we are also His offspring."
Acts xvii. 28.
IT is the peculiar characteristic of the Reformed Confession that
more than any other it humbles the sinner and exalts the sinless
man.
To disparage man is unscriptural. Being a sinner, fallen and no
longer a real man, he must be humbled, rebuked, and inwardly
broken. But the divinely created man, realizing the divine purpose
or restored by omnipotent grace in the elect, is worthy of all praise,
for God has made him after His own image.
Because he stood so high, he fell so low. He was such an excel
lent being, hence he became such a detestable sinner. The excel
lency of the former is the source of the damnableness of the latter.
It is said that while the present age properly appreciates and!
exalts man, our doctrine only disparages him ; but with all its eulogy
and praise this present age has never conceived a more exalted tes-j
timony than that of Scripture, saying: " God created man in Hisj
own image." We protest against the cry of the age, not because it
makes of man too much, but too little, asserting that he is glorious
even now in his fallen state.
What would you think of the man who, walking through yourj
flower-garden, laid waste by a violent thunder-storm, called the stem- 1
broken and mud-covered flowers, lying upon their disordered beds,
magnificent? And this the present age is doing. Walking through
the garden of this world, withered and disordered by sin s thunder
storms, it cries in proud ecstasy : " What glorious beings these men !
How fair and excellent ! " And as the botanist would say regard
ing his disordered garden : " Do you call this beautiful? You should!
ORIGINAL RIGHTEOUSNESS 223
have seen it before the storm destroyed it"; so say we to this age:
" Do you call this fallen man glorious? Compared to what he ought
to be he is utterly worthless. But he was glorious before sin ruined
him, shining in all the beauty of the divine image."
Hence our doctrine exalts him to highest glory. Next to the
glory of being created after the image of God comes the glory of being
God Himself. As soon as man presumes to this he thrusts at once
all his glory from him ; it is his detestable sin that he aspires to be
j like God. If it be said that even in Paradise the law prevailed that
God alone is great, and the creature nothing before Him ; we an
swer, that he that is created after the divine image has no higher
j ambition than to be a reflection of God ; excluding the idea of being
above or against God. Hence it is certain that the original man
was most glorious and excellent; wherefore fallen man is most
despicable and miserable.
Has fallen man then lost the image of God?
This vital question controls our view of man in every respect,
and hence requires closest examination ; especially since the opin
ions of believers concerning this are diametrically opposed. Some
maintain that after the fall man retained a few remains of it, and
others that he has entirely lost it.
To avoid all misunderstanding, we must first decide whether to
be created after the image of God (i) refers only to the original
righteousness, or (2) included also man s nature which was clothed
with this original righteousness. If the divine image consisted only
in the original righteousness, then, of course, it was completely and
absolutely lost ; for by his fall man lost this original righteousness
once for all. But if it was also impressed upon his being, his nature,
and upon his human existence, then it can not disappear entirely ; for,
however deeply sunk, fallen man remains man.
By this we do not imply that something spiritually good was left
in man ; among the finally lost even the deepest fallen will retain
some evidence that he was created after the divine image. We do
not even hesitate to subscribe to the opinion of the fathers that if
the angels, Satan included, were originally created after God s im
age (which Scripture does not teach positively), then even the devil
in his deep fiendishness must show some features of that image.
We do not mean that after the fall man had any willingness,
knowledge, or anything good ; and they who in pulpit or writing in
fer this from " the few remains " of article xiv, of the Confession
224 INTRODUCTION
of Faith pervert its plain teaching. Altho it acknowledges that a
few remains are retained, yet it follows that " all the light which is
in us is changed into darkness "; and it says before that " man is
become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways," and " that he
has corrupted his whole nature." Hence these " few remains " may
never be understood to imply that there remained in man any
strength, willingness, or desire for good. No, a sinner in his fallen
nature is altogether condemnable. And there is, as the same arti
cle confesses, " no will nor understanding conformable to the divine
will and understanding, but what Christ has wrought in man, which
He teacheth us when He said, " Without Me ye can do nothing."
And thus we disarm any suspicion that we look for something-
good in the sinner.
With Scripture we confess : " There is none righteous, no not one.
There.is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofit
able; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
But how is this to be reconciled? How can these two go to
gether? On the one hand the sinner has nothing, absolutely noth
ing good or praiseworthy; and on the other, this same sinner
always retains features of the image of God!
Let us illustrate. Two horses become mad; the one is a com
mon truck horse, the other a noble Arabian stallion. Which is the
more dangerous? The latter, of course. His noble blood will break
loose into more uncontrollable rage and violence. Or, two clerks
work in an office ; the one a mere drudge of slow understanding,
the other a youth with brains and piercing eye. Which could do
his master the greater injury? The latter, of course, and all his
schemes would show his superiority working in the wrong direc
tion. This is always the case. There is no more dangerous ene
my of the truth than an unbeliever religiously instructed. In all
his impious rage he shows his superior training and knowledge.
Satan is so mighty because before his fall he was so exceedingly
glorious. Hence in his fall man did not put off the original na
ture, but he retained it. Only its action was reversed, corrupted,
and turned against God.
When the captain of a man-of-war in a naval engagement betrays
his king and raises the enemy s flag, he does not first damage or
sink his ship, but he keeps it as efficient for service as possible, and
with all its armament intact he does the very reverse of what he
ORIGINAL RIGHTEOUSNESS 225
ought to do. " Optimi coruptio pessima ! " says the proverb of the
, wise i.e., the greater the excellency of a thing, the more danger-
; ous its defection. If the admiral of the fleet were to choose which
of his ships should betray him, he would say : " Let it be the weak-
: est, for defection of the strongest is the most dangerous." It is true
, in every sphere of life that the excellent qualities of a thing or be-
j ing do not disappear in reversed action, but become most excellently
j bad,
In this way we understand man s fall. Before it he possessed
I the most exquisite organism which by holy impulse was directed
toward the most exalted aim. Tho reversed by the fall, this pre
cious human instrument remained, but, directed by unholy impulse,
it aims at a deeply unholy object.
Comparing man to a steamship, his fall did not remove the
engine. But as before the fall he moved in righteousness, so he
moves now in unrighteousness. In fact, as fast as he steamed then
toward felicity, so fast he steams now toward perdition, i.e., away
from God. Hence the retaining of the engine made his fall all the
more terrible and his destruction more certain. And thus we recon
cile the two : that man retained his former features of excellency,
and that his destruction is sure except he be born again.
But in the divine image we must carefully distinguish :
First, the wonderful and artistic organism called Jiinnan nature.
Second, the direction in which it moved, i.e., toward the holiest
end, in that God created man in original righteousness.
That God created man good and after His own image does not
mean that Adam was in a state of innocence, in that he had not sinned ;
nor that he was perfectly equipped to become holy, gradually to as
cend to greater development ; but that he was created in true right
eousness and holiness, indicating not the degree of his development,
but his status. This was his original righteousness. Hence all the
inclinations and outgoings of his heart were perfect. He lacked
nothing. Only in one respect his blessedness differed from that of
God s children, viz., his good was losable and theirs not.
Of these two parts constituting the divine image first, the in
ward, artistic organism of man s being, and, second, the original
righteousness in which the organism moved naturally the latter is
completely lost, and the former is reversed; but the being of the
instrument, tho terribly marred, remained the same, to work in the
wrong direction, i.e., in unrighteousness. Hence the features or
22 6 INTRODUCTION
after-effects of the divine image are not found in the few god
things that remain in the sinner, " but in all that he docs. " Man cou 1
not sin so terribly if God had not created him after His own image.
Scripture teaches, therefore, that they are all gone aside, tha
they are altogether become filthy, and that all come short of tin
glory of God ; while it also declares that even this fallen man i
created after God s image Gen. ix. 6, and after His likeness-
James iii. 9.
VI.
Rome. Socinus, Arminius, Calvin.
" And- that ye put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness." EpJics. iv. 24.
IT is not surprising that believers entertain different views con
cerning the significance of the image of God. It is a starting-point
determining the direction of four different roads. The slightest
deviation at starting must lead to a totally different representation
of the truth. Hence every thinking believer must deliberately
choose which road he will follow :
First, the path of Rome, represented by Bellarminus.
Second, that of Arminius and Socinus, walking arm-in-arm.
Third, that of the majority of the Lutherans, led by Melanch-
thon.
Lastly, the direction mapped out by Calvin, i.e., that of the Re
formed.
Rome teaches that the original righteousness does not belong to
the divine image, but to the human nature as a superadded grace.
Quoting Bellarminus, first, man is created consisting of two parts,
flesh and spirit ; second, the divine image is stamped partly on the
flesh, but chiefly on the human spirit, the seat of the moral and
rational consciousness ; third, there is a conflict between flesh and
spirit, the flesh lusting against the spirit ; fourth, hence man has a
natural inclination and desire for sin, which as desire alone is no
sin as long as it is not yielded to ; fifth, in His grace and compas
sion God gave man, independently of his nature, the original right
eousness for a defense and safety-valve to control the flesh ; sixth,
by his fall man has willingly thrust this superadded righteousness
from him : hence as sinner he stands again in his naked nature
(in pur is naturalibus), which, as a matter of course, is inclined to
sin, inasmuch as. his desires are sinful.
We believe that the Romish theologians will allow that this is
the current view among them. According to Catechismus Romamis,
228 INTRODUCTION
question 38 : " God gave to man from the dust of the earth a body,
in such a way that he was partaker of immortality not by virtue
of his nature, but by a superadded grace. As to his soul, God
formed him in His image and after His likeness, and gave him a
free will; moreover [praterea, besides, hence not belonging to his
nature], He so tempered his desires that they continually obey the
dictates of reason. Besides this He has poured into him the origi
nal righteousness, and gave him dominion over all other creatures."
The view of Socinus, and of Arminius who followed him close
ly, is totally different. It is a well-known fact that the Socinians
denied the Godhead of Christ, who, as they taught, was born a
mere man. But (and by this they misled the Poles and Hunga
rians) they acknowledged that He had become God. Hence after
His Resurrection He could be worshiped as God. But in what
sense? That the divine nature was given Him? Not at all. In
Scripture, magistrates, being clothed with the divine majesty which
enabled them to exercise authority, are called "gods. " This applies
to Jesus, who, after His Resurrection, received of the Father power
over all creatures in an eminent degree. Hence He is absolutely
clothed with divine majesty. If a sinner, as a magistrate, is called
god, how much more can we conceive of Christ as being called
God, simply to express that He was clothed with divine authority?
In order to support this false view of Christ s Godhead, the
Socinians falsified the doctrine of the image of God, and made it
equivalent to man s dominion over the animals. This was in their
opinion also a kind of higher majesty, containing something divine,
which was the image of God. Hence the first Adam, being clothed
with majesty and dominion over a portion of creation, was there
fore of God s offspring and created in His image. And the second
Adam, Christ, also clothed with majesty and dominion over crea
tion, the Scripture therefore calls God.
That the Remonstrants also adopted this doubly false represen
tation appears conclusively from what the moderate professor
A Limborch wrote in the beginning of the eighteenth century : " This
image consisted in the power and exalted position which God gave
to man above all creation. By this dominion he shows most clearly
the image of God in the earth." He adds: " That in order to exer
cise this power, he was endowed with glorious talents. But these
are only means. Dominion over the animals is the principal thing."
Hence we infer that the bravest and coarsest tamer of animals,
ROME, SOCINUS, ARMINIUS, CALVIN 229
playing with lions and tigers as if pet dogs, is the tenderest child
of God. We say this in all seriousness and without a thought of
mockery, to show the foolishness of the Socinian system.
The Lutheran view, as will be seen, occupies the middle ground
between the Roman Catholic and the Reformed.
Its most prominent part (readily recognized in the representa
tion of Dr. Bohl) is that the divine image is merely the original
righteousness. They do not deny that man, as man, in his nature
and being shows something beautiful and excellent, reminding one
of the image of God; but the real image itself is not in man s na
ture, nor in his spiritual being, but only in the original wisdom and
righteousness in which God created him. Gerhardt writes : " The
real similarity with God lay in the soul of man, partly in his intelli
gence, partly in his moral and rational inclinations, which three
excellencies together constitute his original righteousness." And
Bauer: " Properly speaking, this image of God consists of some
perfections of will, intellect, and feeling which God created to
gether with man (concreatas}, which is the original righteousness."
Hence the Lutheran doctrine teaches that the proper image of
God is now totally lost, and that the sinner is as helpless before the
work of grace as a stock or block, as one fettered and unable even
to rattle his chain.
The Reformed, on the contrary, have always denied this, and
taught that the image of God, being one with His likeness, did not
consist only in the original righteousness, but included also man s
being and personality ; not only his state, but also his being. Hence
the original righteousness was not something additional, but his
being, nature, and state were originally in the most beautiful har
mony and causal relation. Ursinus says: "The image of God has
reference : (i) to the immaterial substance of the soul with its gifts
of knowledge and will; (2) to all in-created knowledge of God and
of His will ; (3) to the holy and righteous inclination of the will,
and moving of the heart, i.e., the perfect righteousness; (4) to the
bliss, holy peace, and abundance of all enjoyment; and (5) to the
dominion over the creatures. In all these our moral nature reflects
the image of G9d, tho imperfectly. St. Paul explains the image of
God from the true righteousness and holiness, without excluding,
however, the wisdom and in-created knowledge of God. He rather
presupposes them."
These four views concerning the divine image present four
23 o INTRODUCTION
opposing opinions that are clearly drawn and sharply outlined.
The Socinian conceives of the image of God as entirely outside
of man and his moral being, and consisting in the exercise of
something resembling divine authority. The Roman Catholic does
indeed look for the divine image in man, but severs him from the
divine ideal, i.e., the original righteousness which is put upon him
as a garment. The Lutheran, like the Socinian, puts the divine
image outside of man, exclusively in the divine ideal, which he con
siders not as foreign to man, but calculated for him and originally
created in his nature (however distinct from it). Lastly, the Re
formed confesses that man s whole personality is the impress of
God s image in his being and attributes ; to which belongs naturally
that ideal perfection expressed in the confession of original right
eousness.
Undoubtedly the Reformed confession is the purest and most
excellent expression of the Bible revelation ; hence we maintain
it from deepest conviction. It maintains that God created man iti
His image, and not his nature only, like Rome ; nor his authority
only, like the Socinians; nor his righteousness only, like the Lu
therans.
His divine image does not belong merely to an attribute, state,
or quality of man, but to the whole man ; for He created man in His
image; and the confession which subtracts from this detracts from
the positive Scriptural statement, i.e., from the Spirit s direct testi
mony: " Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness,"
and not : " Let Us re-form man in Our image."
Neither is the divine image only in man s personality, as the
Vermitteltmgs (Mediation) theologians, following Fichte, hold.
Man s personality certainly belongs to it, but it is not all, nor even
the principal thing. Personality is contrast to our equals, and con
trast can not be after the image of God, for God is One. Person
ality is a very feeble feature of the divine image. True personality
is no contrast, but glorious completeness, like that in God. One
person is something defective; three persons in one being, com
pleteness.
Wherefore we protest against these loud and emphatic asser
tions that the image is our imperfect personality, as leading the
Church away from the Scripture. No ; man himself is the image of
God, his whole being as man in his spiritual existence, in the be
ing and nature of his soul, in the attributes and workings that adorn
ROME, SOCINUS, ARMINIUS, CALVIN 231
and express his being; not as tho this human being were a locomo
tive without steam, posing as a model, but a living and active
organism exerting influence and power.
As a being man is not defective, but perfect ; not in a state of
becoming, but of being i.e., he was not to become righteous, but ivas
righteous. This is his original righteousness. Hence, that God
created man in His image signifies:
1. That man s being is infinite form the impress of the infinite
Being of God.
2. His attributes are in finite form the impress of God s attri
butes.
3. His state was the impress of the felicity of God.
4. The dominion which he exercised was image and impress of
God s dominion and authority.
To which may be added that, since man s body is calculated for
the spirit, it also must contain some shadows of that image.
This confession the Reformed churches must maintain in the
pulpit, in the catechetical classes, and above all in the recitation-
halls of theology.
VII.
The Neo-Kohlbruggians.
"And Adam lived a hundred and thirty j
years, and begat a son in his cnvn
likeness, and after his image; and
called his name Seth." Gen. v. 3.
MANY are the efforts made to alter the meaning of the word,
" Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness," by a dif
ferent translation; especially by making it to read " ///" instead -of
" after " our likeness. This new reading is Dr. Bohl s main support.
With this translation his system stands or falls.
According to him, man is not the bearer of the divine image,
but by a divine act he was set in it, as a plant is set in the sun. As
long as the plant stood in the dark, its shape and flowers are invisi
ble ; carried into the light its beauty becomes apparent. In like
manner, man was without luster until God put him in the shining
glory of His image, and then he appeared beautiful. Of course,
this idea requires the translation : " Let Us create man /// Our im
age."
Let us explain the difference : Gen. i. 26 in the Hebrew has two
different prepositions. The one standing before "likeness" (?.) is
invariably used in comparisons; while the other before " image" is
mostly used to denote that one thing is found in another. Hence
the translation, "in our image and after our likeness," has appar
ently much in its favor. This translation (altho we believe it to
be incorrect ; for our reasons see the next article) does not alter
the meaning, if rightly interpreted.
And what is that right interpretation? Not that of Dr. Bohl;
for, according to him, the newly created man did not stand in the
midst of that image, but only in its reflection and radiation. The
plant is not set in the sun, but in the sun-rays. No ; if Adam stood
in the midst of God s image, then he was wholly encompassed by it.
Let us illustrate. There are wooden images covered with paper
on which is printed a head or bust, colored to imitate marble or
THE NEO-KOHLBRUGGIANS 233
bronze. The wood may be said to be in the image, covered by it
from all sides. Again, the sculptor actually chisels the image, in
his mind, or posing as a model, about the marble until it encloses the
whole block. In like manner it may be said that Adam, upon his
first awakening to consciousness, was enclosed by God s image ; not
externally, and he only its reflection, but its ectype penetrating his
whole being.
The correctness of this exegesis appears from Gen. v. 1-3, the
contents of which, tho often overlooked, settle this matter. Here
Scripture brings Adam s creation in direct connection with his own
begetting a son after his own likeness. We read : " In the day that
God created man, in the likeness of God made He him ; male and
female created He them ; and blessed them, and called their name
Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived a
hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after
his image; and called his name Seth."
In both instances the Hebrew word zclem, image, is used.
Hence to obtain a clear and correct understanding of the statement,
" to be created in the image and after the likeness of God," Scripture
invites us to let the child s resemblance to the father assist us.
And the father s likeness lies in the child s being, is part of it, and
does not merely beam from the father upon the child externally.
Even in his absence or after his death the resemblance of features
continues.
Hence to beget a child in our image and after our likeness
means to give existence to a being bearing our image and resem
blance, altho as a person distinct from us. From which it must fol
low that when Scripture says, regarding Adam, that God created
him in His image and after His likeness, using the same words
" image" (zeleni) and " likeness" (dcmoeth), it can not mean that the
divine image shone upon him, so that he stood and walked in its
light; but that God so created him that his whole being, person,
and state reflected the divine image, since he carried it in himself .
It is remarkable that the prepositions used in Gen. i. 26 appear
also in this passage, but in a reversed order. Rendering the preposi
tion " a" " /," as in Gen. i. 26, it reads: " He begat a son in his like
ness and after his image." And this is conclusive. It shows how
utterly unfair it is to deduce a different meaning from the use of
different prepositions. Even if we translate " ?" by " in"- -" in the
image of God" the sense is the same; in both, the image is not a
234 INTRODUCTION
reflection falling upon man, indicating his state only, but also his
form, both state and being.
However, before we proceed, let Dr. Bohl speak for himself.
For we might possibly have wrongly understood him ; it is therefore I
reasonable that his own words be laid before our readers.
We take these citations from his work, entitled, "Von der In
carnation des Gottlichen Wortes"; a dogmatic, highly important
book, wherein he deals the Vermittellungs theologians blows that
have filled our hearts with joy, partly because God is honored
thereby, and also because of the consolation offered to broken
hearts. Hence it does not enter our minds to belittle the labor of
Dr. Bohl. We only contend that his presentation of the image of
God is not the true one. We point, therefore, to the important and
exceedingly clear sentences of pages 28 and 29:
"Gott nun veranstaltete es so, dass der Mensch gleich anfangs unter
den Einfluss des Guten zu stehen kam und somit das Gute that. Er sclmf
ihn im Bilde Gottes, nach seiner Gleichheit (Gen. i. 26). Was dies
heisst, wird dann erst recht deutlich, wenn wir die Wieclerherstel-
lung des gefallenen Menschen (nach Ephes. iv. 24 ; Col. iii. 9) in Betracht
ziehen. Paulus blickt hier auf den anfanglichen Zustand hin, wenn er
redet von dem neuen Menschen, den wir nach Ausziehung des alien
anzuziehen hatten. Er bezeichnet nun diesen neuen Menschen als einen
Gott gemass geschaffen (KTtaOlvra) in Gerechtigkeit und Heiligkeit, wie
sie nach Wahrheit ist. Diese apostolischen Ausdriicke enthalten eine
Umschreibung jener Ausstattung, welche Mose mit den Worten : Im
Bilde Gottes, nach seiner Gleichheit kennzeichnet. Die Wiedergeburt ist
eine neue Schopfung, die aber nach der Vorschrift der alten bestellt ist,
ohne etwas davon- noch dazuzuthun. Der Stand im Bilde Gottes, in dem
der Mensch nach der Gleichheit Gottes war, ist also etivas, was man i on
dem Menschen hinivegnehmen kann, ohne die Creatur Gottes selbst a uf-
zuheben. Es ist dem Apostel weiter eigenthiimlich, die Bewegungen des I
neuen Menschen unter dem Bilde von verschiedenen Gewandern darzu- j
stellen, die man anzuziehen habe (Col. iii. 12^.) . Grund und Veranlassung
fur solche Umwandlungist Christus, der Geist, den Christus vom Vater her |
sendet, oder der Stand in Christo oder in der Gnade (z. B. 2 Cor, v. 17;
Gal. v. 16, 18, 25 ; Rom. v. 2) . Und ganz ebenso ist nach Gen. i. 26 Grund
fur die Gleichheit mit Gott der Stand im Bilde Gottes."*
* " God ordered it so that immediately, from the beginning, man came to I
stand under the influence of that which is good, and consequently did that
which is good. He created him in the image of God, after His likeness. !
THE NEO-KOHLBRUGGIANS
235
The words in italics dispel, alas! all doubt. It is possible to
conceive of the image of God as having completely disappeared,
and yet man remaining man.
Dr. Bohl repeats this clearly in the following words (p. 29) :
" Wenn wir nun die Creatur aus jenem Stande hinausgetreten denken,
so bleibt diese Creatur intact. " *
This goes so far that Dr. Bohl himself felt how closely he thus
returned to the boundaries of Rome, for which reason he continues,
saying :
"Nur freilich, dass diese Creatur nicht, wie die romische Kirche lehrt,
immer noch genug iibrig behalt, um sich wieder mit Hilfe des Gnadenge-
schenkes Christi selbst zu rehabilitiren. Sondern nach dem Falle ist der
Mensch und zwar sein Ich mit den dem Menschen anerschaffenen hb chsten
Gaben (siehe Calvin, Inst., ii., i, 9) aus der rechten Stellung herausge-
reten und dem Tode als Herscher, dem Gesetz als unbarmherziger Treibert
preisgegeben." f
The significance of this is made clear when we consider the restoration of
fallen man (according to Ephes. iv. 24 ; Col. iii. 9) . Paul, speaking of the
new man that we must put on, after having put off the old man, has refer
ence to the original state. And now he describes this new man as one
that is created after God in righteousness and holiness, as he truly is.
These apostolic expressions contain a description of the same equipment
that Moses characterizes with the words : In the image of God, after His
likeness. Regeneration is a new creation, which, however, is ordered
after the model of the old, without taking anything from, or adding any
thing to it. Hence man s standing in the image of God, wherein he was
after the likeness of God, is something that can be taken away from man
without removing God s creature itself. Furthermore, the apostle de
scribes the movements of the new man tinder the image of various gar
ments which must be put on (Col. iii. 12^".). The ground and occasion of
such being clothed upon is Christ, the Spirit whom Christ sends from the
Father ; or the standing in Christ, or in grace (e.g. 2 Cor. v. 17 ; Gal. v. 16,
18, 25 ; Rom. v. 2). And in just the same way is the ground for likeness
with God, the standing in the image of God, according to Gen. i. 26."
*"If we now think of the creature to have left this standing, yet this
creature remains intact. "
f With this understanding, however, that the creature has not retained
enough strength, with the help of the gracious gift of Christ, to restore
himself, as Rome teaches. But after the fall, man s ego, with the highest
gifts received in his creation, has left his true standing and is delivered to
Death as his ruler, and to the Law as his unmerciful driver."
23 6 INTRODUCTION
But stronger still: Dr. Bohl is so firmly attached to this presort- 1
tation that he says even of Christ, that He, before His Resurrection, j
lacked the divine image. See page 45: " Our Lord and SavioA
stood outside the image of God." " Ausserhalb des Bildes Goties
stand unser Herr." Which is all the more serious since in conse-i
quence of this presentation, the passions and desires toward the sin-!
ful are, considered by themselves, sinless, just as Rome teaches it.
So we read on page 73 :
"DasderMensch Begierden hat, dass ihn Leidenschaften (TTO^) treiben,
wie Zorn, Furcht, Muth, Eifersucht, Freude, Liebe, Hass, Sehnsucht,
Mitleid, dies. Alles constituirt noch keine Siinde, denn das Vermogen, urn
Zorn, Unlust, oder Mitleid und dergl. m. zu empfinden, 1st von Gott ge-
schaffen. Ohne dem ware kein Leben und keine Bewegung im Menschen.
Also die Begierde und iiberhaupt die Leidenschaften sind an sich nicht
Siinde. Sie werden es und sind es im actuellen Zustand des Menschen,
weil durch ein dazwischentretendes Gebot und durch jene verkehrte Lebens-
richtung, die Paulus einen vo/j.o T//C a/napria^ nennt, das menschliche Ich
bewogen wird, zu den Leidenschaften und Begierden Stellung zu nehmen,
d. h. sich richtig oder unrichtig zu ihnen zu verhalten." *
Let each judge for himself whether we said too much when we;
spoke of the necessity of protesting, in the name of our Reformed
Confession, against the creeping in of this Platonic presentation,
which later on was defended partly by the Romish, partly by the
Lutheran theologians.
I
Dr. Bohl is excellent when he shows that the original righteous- j
ness was not simply a germ, which had still to be developed, but I
that Adam s righteousness was complete, lacking nothing. Equally
excellent is his proof against Rome, showing that man, in his naked j
nature, absolutely lacks the power to holiness. But he errs in rep-
The fact that man has desires, that he is led by passions, such as
anger, fear, courage, jealousy, joy, love, hate, longing, pity, all this does
not constitute sin , for the power to experience anger, displeasure, or pity,
and the like passions, is created of God. Without these there would be
no life nor stir in man. Hence desires and passions in general are no sin
in themselves. They become and are sin in man s present condition, be
cause, by an intervening law. and by that perverted tendency of life which
Paul calls a law of sin, the human Ego is compelled to determine its rela
tion to the passions and desires, i.e., to adopt a good or bad attitude
toward them."
THE NEO-KOHLBRUGGIANS 237
resenting the image of God as something without which man re
mains man. This places righteousness and holiness mechanically
outside of us, while the organic connection between that image and
our own being, which once existed and ought to exist, is the very
thing that must be maintained.
And yet, let it not be thought that Dr. Bohl has any inclination
toward Rome. If we see aright, his deviation, psychologically ex
plained, springs from an entirely different motive.
It is a well-known fact that Dr. Kohlbrugge has contended,
with a glorious ardor of faith, against the reestablishing of the Cov
enant of Works in the midst of the Covenant of Grace ; and has re-
introduced us with stress and emphasis to the completely finished
work of our Savior, to which nothing can be added. Hence this
preacher of righteousness was compelled to make the child of God
remember what he was outside of Christ. Of course, outside of
Christ, there is no difference between a child of God and a godless
person. Then all lie in one heap; as the ritual of the Lord s Sup
per so beautifully confesses : " That we seek our life out of our
selves, in Jesus Christ, and thereby acknowledge that we lie in the
midst of death"; as also the Heidelberg Catechism confesses:
" That I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God,
and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil."
If we see aright, Dr. Bohl has tried to reduce this part of the
truth to a dogmatic system. He has reasoned it out as follows :
" If a child of God has his life outside of himself, then Adam, who
was a child of God, must also have had his life outside of himself.
Hence the image of God was not in, but outside of, man."
And what is the mistake of this reasoning? This, that the
child of God remains a sinner until his death, and is only fully re
stored after his death. Then only complete redemption is his.
While in Adam, before his fall, there was no sin ; hence Adam
could never say that in himself he lay in the midst of death.
With all the earnestness of our hearts we beseech all those who
with us possess the treasure of Dr. Kohlbrugge s preaching care
fully to notice this deviation. If the younger Kohlbruggians
should be tempted to misunderstand their teacher in this respect,
the loss would be incalculable, and the breach in the Reformed
Confession would be lasting ; since it touches a point which affects
the whole confession of the truth.
VIII.
After the Scripture.
" In the day that God created man]
in the likeness of God create
He him." Gen. v. i.
IN the preceding pages we have shown that the translation, " />fl
Our image," actually means, " after Our image." To make any thin J
in an image is no language ; it is unthinkable, logically untrue!
We now proceed to show how it should be translated, and give DUffl
reason for it.
We begin with citing some passages from the Old Testament in]
which occurs the preposition " B " which, in Gen. i. 27, stands be-l
fore image, where it can not be translated " in," but requires a prep-l
osition of comparison such as " like " or " after."
Isa. xlviii. 10 reads: " Behold I have refined thee, but not withl"
silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." Here the!
preposition " B " stands before silver, as in Gen. i. 27 before image. I
It is obvious that it can not be translated " in silver," but " as sil-j
ver." Surely the Lord would not cast the Jews in a pot of melted]
silver. The preposition is one of comparison ; as in i Peter i. 17 the!
refining of Israel is compared to that of a noble metal. It ma) bel
translated : " I have refined thee, but not according to the nature of
silver"; or simply ; "as silver."
Psalm cii. reads : " My days are consumed like smoke, and m)^
bones are burned as an hearth." In the Hebrew the same preposi-j
tion " B " occurs before smoke, and almost all exegetes translate it,
" as smoke."
Again, Psalm xxxv. 2 reads : " Take hold of shield and buckler and I
stand up for mine help." " Stand up in my help " makes no sense.
The thought allows no other translation than this : " Stand up so |
that Thou be my help ; " or, " Stand up as my nelp " ; or, as the
Authorized Version has it: " Stand \\^ for my help."
We find the same result in Lev. xvii. n : " The life of the flesh
AFTER THE SCRIPTURE 239
is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make
an atonement for your souls ; for it is the blood that maketh an
atonement for the soul. Here the same preposition " B " occurs.
In the Hebrew it reads: " Banefesh" ( ^?), which was translated
"for the soul." It would be absurd to render it: " in the soul "; for
the blood does not come in the soul, nor does the atonement take
place in the soul, but on the altar. Here we have also a compari
son (substitution). The blood is as the soul, represents the soul in
the atonement, takes the place of the soul.
We notice the same in Prov. iii. 26, where the wisdom of Solo
mon wrote : " The Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy
foot from being taken." The same preposition occurs here. The
Hebrew text reads "Bkisleka" (I,.???), literally, "for a loin to
thee." And because the loins are a man s strength, it is used
metaphorically to indicate the ground of confidence and hope in
distress. The sense is therefore perfectly clear. Says Solomon :
" The Lord shall be to thee as a ground of confidence, thy refuge,
and thy hope." For if we should read here : " The Lord shall be ///
your hope," it might be inferred that, among other things, the Lord
was also in the hope of the godly; which would be unscriptural
and savor of Pelagianism. In the Scripture, the Lord alone is the
hope of His people. Hence the preposition does not mean "in,"
but it indicates a comparison.
To add one more example, Exod. xviii. 4 reads : " The God of my
father was my help, and delivered me from the word of Pharaoh."
Translate this, " The God of my father was in my help," and how
unscriptural and illogical the thought !
From these passages, to which others might be added, it appears :
(1) That this preposition can not always be translated by " in."
(2) That its use as a preposition of comparison, in the sense of
" like," " for," " after," is far from being rare.
Armed with this information, let us now return to Gen. i. 26;
and in our opinion, it does not offer us now any difficulty at all.
As in Isa. xlviii. 10, the preposition and noun are translated " as
silver", in Psalm cii. 4, "as smoke"; in Psalm xxxv. 2, "as" or
"to my help"; in Lev. xvii. 11, "as" or "in the place of my
soul"; in Prov. iii. 16, "as," or "to my confidence," the German
Version of the Vienna Hebrew Bible translates, " Let Us make men
to, or as Our image," i.e., let Us make men, who shall be Our image
on the earth. Or nore freely : " Let Us make a sort of being who
24 o INTRODUCTION
will bear Our image on earth, who will be as Our image on earth, or
be to Us on earth for an image."
Then it follows, in Gen. i. 27 : " And God created man for His
image, to be an image of God created He him."
It is, of course, exactly the same whether I say, " God created
man after His image," i.e., so that man became bearer of His im
age, or " God created man for an image of Himself." In both in
stances, and in similar manner, it is expressed that man should ex
hibit an image of God. Thus far the image of God was lacking in
the earth. When God had created man, the lack was supplied: for
that image was man, upon whose being the Lord God had stamped
His own image. Hence we see no difference in the two transla
tions.
Speaking of the image stamped on sealing-wax by a seal, I can
say, " I have stamped the wax after the image of the seal, "referring
to the concave image of the seal ; or, " The image is stamped on ike
wax" referring to the convex image on the wax.
We add three remarks:
First, the word " man" in Gen. i. 26 does not refer to one per
son, but to the whole race. Adam was not merely a person, but
our progenitor and federal head. The whole race was in his loins.
Humanity consists at any given moment of the aggregate of those
who live or will live in this world, whether many or few. Adam
alone was humanity ; when Eve was given him he and she were hu
manity. " Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness,"
is equal to : " Let Us create humanity, which will bear Our image."
But it refers also to the individual in that he is a member of the I
human family. Hence Adam begat children in his image and after
his own likeness. Yet there is a difference. Men have different!
gifts, talents, and qualifications; the complete impress of the divine
image could appear not in individual endowments, but in the full!
manifestation of the race, if it had remained sinless.
Hence the Dutch Version uses the plural, altho the Hebrew has
the singular "man": not Adam alone, but the genus man, human
ity, was created in the divine image.
Hence when the original man fell, the second Adam came in
Christ, who, as the second federal Head, contained in Himself the
whole Church of God. In His meditorial capacity Christ appeared
as God s image in Adam s place. Wherefore every member of
the Church must be transformed after His image i Cor. xv. 49;
AFTER THE SCRIPTURE 241
Rom. viii. 29. And the Church, representing regenerated human
ity, is the pleroma of the Lord; for it is called "the fulness of
Him that filleth all in all."
Secondly, since man is created to be God s image on earth, he
must be willing to remain image, and never presume or imagine to
be being. Being and image are opposites. God is God, and man
is not God, but only the image of God. Hence it is the essence of
sin when man refuses to remain image, reflection, shadow, exalting
himself to be something real in himself. Conversion depends,
therefore, solely upon his willingness to become image again, i.e., to
believe. He that becomes an image is nothing in himself, and ex
hibits all that he is in absolute dependence upon Him whose image
he bears; and this is at once man s highest honor and completest
dependence.
Lastly, God must have His image in the earth. For this pur
pose He created Adam. Having denied it beyond recognition, man
denies the existence of the divine image in the earth. And thus
image-worship originated. Image-worship means that man says:
" I will undertake to make an image of God." And this diametri
cally opposes God s work. It is His holy prerogative to make an
image of Himself; and the creature should never dare undertake it.
Hence it is presumption when, aspiring to be God, man refuses to
remain His image, defiles it in himself, and undertakes to repre
sent God in gold or silver.
Image-worship is an awful sin. God saith : " Thou shalt not
make unto thee any graven image." This sin is from Satan. He
always imitates God s work. He will not be less than God. When
at last the Great Beast appears, the Dragon proclaims : " They that
dwell in the earth should make an image of the Beast!" God has
decreed to make His own image to be the object of His eternal
pleasure. But Satan, opposing this, defiles that image and makes an
image for himself; not of man, for he is defiled and ruined, but of a
beast. And thus in his supreme manifestation he judges himself.
God s Son became a man, Satan s creation is a beast.
When finally the Beast and its image are overthrown, by One
who is like a son of man, it is the Lord s triumph over His enemies.
Then the divine image is restored, nevermore to be defiled. And
the Almighty God rejoices forever and ever in His own reflection.
IX.
The Image of God in Man.
" ^LS we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly." i Cor. xv. 49.
ONE more point remains to be discussed, viz., whether the
divine image refers to the image of Christ.
This singular opinion has found many warm defenders in the
Church from the beginning. It originated with Origen, who with
his brilliant, fascinating, and seducing heresies has unsettled many
things in the Church ; and his heresy in this respect has found many
defenders both East and West. Even Tertullian and Ambrose sup
ported it, as well as Basil and Chrysostom; and it took no less a!
person than Augustine to uproot it.
Our Reformed theologians, closely following Augustine, have
strongly opposed it. Junius, Zanchius and Calvin, Voetius and
Coccejus condemned it as error. We can safely say that in our
Reformed inheritance this error never had a place.
But in the last century it has crept again into the Church. The
pantheistic philosophy occasioned it; and its after-effects have
tempted our German and Dutch mediation theologians to return to
this ancient error.
The great philosophers who enthralled the minds of men at the?
beginning of this century fell in love with the idea that God became
man. They taught not that the Word became flesh, but God be
came man ; and that in the fatal sense that God is ever becoming,
and that He becomes a better and a purer God as He becomes more
purely man. This pernicious system, which subverts the founda
tions of the Christian faith, and under a Christian form annihilates
essential Christianity, has led to the doctrine that in Christ Jesus
this incarnation had become a fact ; and from it was deduced that
God would have become man even if man had not sinned.
We have often spoken of the danger of teaching this doctrine,
THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN 243
The Scripture repudiates it, teaching that Christ is a Redeemer
from and an atonement for sin. But a mere passing contradiction
will not stop this evil ; this poisonous thread, running through the
warp and woof of the Ethical theology, will not be pulled from the
preaching until the conviction prevails that it is philosophic and
pantheistic, leading away from the simplicity of Scripture.
But for the present nothing can be done. Almost all the Ger
man manuals now used by our rising ministers feed this error;
hence the widespread prevalence of the idea that the image in
which man was created was the Christ.
And this is natural. So long as it is maintained that, even
without sin, man was destined for Christ and Christ for man, it
must follow that the original man was calculated for Christ, and
hence was created after the image of Christ.
For evidence that this deviates from the truth, we refer theolo
gians to the writings of Augustine, Calvin, and Voetius on this
point, and to our lay-readers we offer a short explanation why we
and all Reformed churches reject this interpretation.
We begin with referring to the many passages in Scripture,
teaching that the redeemed sinner must be .renewed and trans
formed after the image of Christ.
In 2 Cor. iii. 18 we read: "We all are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord"; and
in Rom. viii. 29: " That we are predestinated to be conformed to
the image of His Son " ; and in i Cor. xv. 49 : " As we have borne the
image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."
To this category belong all such passages in which the Holy Spirit
admonishes us to conform ourselves to the example of Jesus, which
may not be understood as mere imitation, but which decidedly
means a transformation into His image. And lastly, here belong
those passages that teach that we must increase to a perfect man,
" to the stature of the fulness of Christ " ; and that " we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is."
Hence believers are called to transform themselves after Christ s
image, which is the final aim of their redemption. But this image
is not the Eternal Word, the Second Person in the Trinity, but the
Messiah, the Incarnate Word, i Cor. xv. 44 furnishes the undeniable
proof. St. Paul declares there that the first man Adam was of the
earth earthy, i.e., not only after the fall, but by creation. Then he
says that as believers have borne the image of the earthy, so they
244 INTRODUCTION
will also bear the image of the heavenly, i.e., Christ. This shows
clearly that in his original state man did not possess the image of
Christ, but that afterward he will possess it. What Adam received
in creation is clearly distinguished from what a redeemed sinrer
possesses in Christ; distinguished in this particular, that it was not
according to his nature to be formed after Christ s image, which
image he could receive only by grace after the fall.
This is evident also from what St. Paul teaches in i Cor. xi.
In the third verse, speaking of the various degrees of ascending
glory, he says that the man is the head of the woman, and the head
of every man is Christ, and the head of Christ is God. And yet,
having spoken of these four, woman, man, Christ, God, he says
emphatically, in ver. 7, not as might be expected, " The woman is the
glory of the man, the man the glory of Christ," but, omitting the link
Christ, he writes : " For the man is the glory of God, and the woman
the glory of the man. 9 If this theory under consideration were
correct, he should have said: " The man is the image of Christ."
Hence it is plain that according to Scripture the image after
which we are to be renewed is not that after which we are created ;
the two must be distinguished. The latter is that of the Triune
God whose image penetrated into the being of the race. The
former is that of the holy and perfect Man Christ Jesus, our federal
Head, and as such the Example [Dutch, Voorbeeld ; literally, an
image placed before one. TRANS.], after which every child of God
is to be renewed, and which at last he shall resemble.
Hence Scripture offers two different representations : first, the!
Son who is the image of the Fattier as the Second Person in the]
Trinity ; second, the Mediator our Example [ Voorbceld, image putt
before one], hence our image after which we are to be renewed!
and between the two there is almost no connection. The Scripture!
teaching that the Son of God is the express image of His Person anil
the image of the Invisible, refers to the relation between the FatheJ
and the Son in the hidden mystery of the Divine Being. Bui
speaking of our calling to be renewed after the image of Christ, il
refers to the Incarnate Word, our Savior, tempted like as we are id:
all things, yet without sin.
Mere similarity of sound should not lead us to make this mill
take. Every effort to translate Gen. i. 26, " Let Us make man irjj
or after the image of the Son," is confusing. Then " Let Us" must]
refer to the Father speaking to the Holy Spirit ; and this can n
THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN 245
be. Scripture never places the Father and the Holy Spirit in such
relation. Moreover, it would put the Son outside the greatest act
of creation, viz., the creation of man. And Scripture says: " With
out Him was not anything made that was made"; and again:
" Through Him are created all things in heaven and on earth."
Hence this " Let Us " must be taken either as a plural of maj
esty, of which the Hebrew has not a single instance in the first per
son; or as spoken by the Triune God, the Three Persons mutually
addressing each other; or the Father addressing the two other Per
sons. A third is impossible.
Supposing that the Three Persons address each other ; the image
can not refer to the Son, because, speaking of His own, He can not
say, " Our image," without including the other Persons. Or sup
pose that the Father speaks to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
even then it can not refer to the image of the Son, since He is the
Father s image and not that of the Holy Spirit. In whatever sense
it be taken, this view is untenable, outside the analogy of Scrip
ture, and inconsistent with the correct interpretation of Gen. i. 26.
To put it comprehensively : If the divine image refers to the
Christ, it must be that of the Eternal Son, or of the Mediator, or of
Christ in the flesh. These three are equally impossible. First, the
Son is Himself engaged in the creative work. Second, without sin
there is no need of a Mediator. Third, Scripture teaches that the
Son became flesh after our image, but never that in the creation we
became flesh after His image.
The notion that the divine image refers to Christ s righteousness
and holiness, implying that Adam was created in extraneous right
eousness, confounds the righteousness of Christ which we embrace
by faith and which did not exist when Adam was created, and the
original, eternal righteousness of God the Son. It is true that David
embraced the imputed righteousness, altho it existed not vn. his day,
but David was a sinner and Adam before the fall was not. He was
created without sin ; hence the divine image can not refer to the
righteousness of Christ, revealed only in relation to sin.
In our present sad condition, we confess unconditionally that
even now we lie in the midst of death, and have our life outside of
ourselves in Christ alone. But we add : Blessed be God, it shall
not always be so. With our last breath we die wholly to sin, and in
the resurrection morning we shall be like Him ; hence in the eternal
felicity our life shall be no more without us, but in us.
246 INTRODUCTION
Wherefore, to put the separation which was caused only by sin,
and which in the saint continues only on account of sin, in Adam
before the fall, is nothing else than to carry something sinful into
Creation itself, and to annihilate the divine statement that man was
created good.
Wherefore we admonish preachers of the truth to return to the
old, tried paths in this respect, and teach in recitation-hall, pulpit,
and catechetical class that man was created after the image of the
Triune God.
X.
Adam Not Innocent, but Holy.
" Created in righteousness and true
holiness." Ephes. iv. 24.
IT remains, therefore, as of old, that " God created man good and
after His own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness,
that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love Him,
and live with Him in eternal happiness, and glorify and praise
Him." Or, as the Confession of Faith has it : " We believe that God
created man, out of the dust of the earth, and made him and
formed him after His own image and likeness, good and righteous
and wholly capable in all things to will, agreeably to the will of
God."
Every representation which depreciates in the least this orig
inal righteousness must be opposed.
Adam s righteousness lacked nothing. The idea that he was
holy inasmuch as he had not sinned, and by constant development
could increase his holiness, so that if he had not fallen he would
have attained a still holier state, is incorrect, and betrays ignorance
in this respect.
The difference between man in his original state and in the
state of sin is similar to that between a healthy child and a sick
man. Both must increase in strength. If the child remains what
he is, he is not healthy. Health includes growth and increase of
strength and development until maturity be attained. The same
is true of the sick man; he can not remain the same. He must re
cover or grow worse. If he is to recover, he must gain in strength.
So far both are the same.
But here the similarity ceases. Increase the strength of the sick
at once, and he will be well, and what he should be. But add the
full strength of the man to the child, and he will be unnatural and
abnormal. For the present the child needs no more than he has. He
lacks nothing at any given moment. To be a normal child in perfect
248 INTRODUCTION
health, he must be just what he is. But the sick person needs a
great deal. In order to be healthy and normal he must not be what
he is. The child, so far as health and strength are concerned, is
perfect j but the sick person is very imperfect as regards health
and strength. The condition of the child is good ; that of the sick
man is not good. And the former s healthy growth is something
entirely different from the latter s improvement in health and
strength.
This shows how wrong it is to apply sanctification to Adam be
fore the fall. Sanctification is inconceivable with reference to sin
less man; foreign to the conception of a creature whom God calls
good.
" Excellent," says one ; hence Adam was born in childlike inno
cence gradually to attain a higher moral development without
sin ; hence sanctification after all !
Certainly not. A believer s sanctification ceases when he dies.
In death he dies to all sin. Sanctification is merely the process
which partly or wholly eliminates sin from man. Wholly freed
from sin he is holy, and it is impossible to make him holier than
holy. Even for this reason it is absurd to apply sanctification to
holy Adam. What need of washing that which is clean? Sanctifi
cation presupposes unholiness, and Adam was not unholy. Sin
being absolutely absent, holiness lacks nothing, but is complete.
Adam possessed the same complete holiness now possessed by the
child of God in which he stands by faith, and by and by in actual
ity when through death he has absolutely died unto sin.
Yet in heaven God s children will not stand still their joy and
glory will ever increase , but not their holiness, which lacks noth
ing. And to be more holy than perfectly holy is impossible.
Their development will consist in drinking ever more copiously
from the life of God.
The same is true of sinless Adam ; he could not be sanctified.
Sanctification is healing, and a healthy person can not be healed;
Sanctification is to rid one of poison, but poison can not be drawn
from the hand that is not bitten. The idea of holy, holier, holiest
is absurd. That which is broken is not whole, and that which is
whole is not broken. Sanctification is to make whole, and since in
Adam not king was broken, there was nothing to be made whole.
More whole than whole is unthinkable.
ADAM NOT INNOCENT, BUT HOLY 249
Yet altho holy, Adam did not remain what he was, he did not
stand still without an aim in life. Take, e.g., the difference be
tween him and God s child. The latter possesses an unlosable
treasure, but Adam s was losable, for he lost it. Not that he was
less holy than the saint; for this has nothing to do with it.
Let us illustrate. Of two dishes, one is fine cut glass, hence
breakable ; the other coarse glass, but unbreakable. Is the latter
now more whole than the former? Or can the former be made
more whole? Of course not; its wholeness has nothing to do with
its being breakable or not. Hence the fact that Adam s treasure
was losable does not touch the question of holiness at all. Wheth
er one is holy, or yet to be made holy, does not depend upon the
losableness of the treasure, but upon its being lost or not.
How this holy development of Adam was to be effected we do
not know. We may not inquire after things God has kept from us.
As sinners we can no more conceive of such sinless development
than of the unfolding of the heavenly glory of God s children.
Confining ourselves closely to Scripture, we know, first, that
sinless man would not have died ; second, that as a reward for his
work he would have received eternal life, i.e., being perfectly able
from moment to moment to do God s will, he would always have
desired and loved to do it ; and for this he would have been rewarded
continually with larger measures of the life and glory of God.
We compare the contrast between Adam s condition and ours
to that between the royal child born possessor of vast treasures,
and a child of poverty that must earn everything or have another
to earn it for him. The former lacks nothing, altho he has only
toys to dispose of; for his father s whole estate is his. Growing
up, he does not become richer, for his treasures remain the same ;
but he becomes more conscious of them. So Adam s treasures
would never have increased, for all things were his, only as his life
gradually unfolded would he have had more conscious enjoyment
of his riches.
Hence original righteousness does not refer to Adam s degree of
development, nor to his condition, but to his state ; and that was per
fectly good.
All those unscriptural notions of Adam s increase in holiness
spring from the unscriptural ideas which men, tempted by panthe
istic heresies, have formed of holiness.
25 o INTRODUCTION
" Be ye then perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect, "does not mean that you, boastful man, puffed up by philo
sophic madness, must become like God. A creature you will re
main even in your highest glory. And in that glory the conscious
ness that you are nothing and God is all will be cause of your most
fervent adoration and deepest delight. No, Christ s word simply
means, "Be whole" even as your Father in heaven is whole and
complete. Saying that an earthen vessel must be as whole and
sound as a porcelain vase does not mean that it must become like
that vase. The former costs but a few cents; the latter is paid for
with gold. It only means that as the vase is whole as a vase, so
must the earthen vessel be whole as an earthen vessel.
Hence Christ s word means: There are rents in your being;
the edges are chipped; you are injured and damaged by sin. This
must not be so. There may be no break in your being, nor should
defect mar your completeness. Behold, as your Father in heaven
is unbroken, so must you be wholly sound, unbroken, and perfect.
That is, as God remained perfect as God, so must you remain whole
and complete as man, a creature in the hand of your Creator.
But generally it is not so understood. The current view is as
follows : The first step in holiness is conflict with sin. Second, sin
becomes weak. Third, sin is almost overcome. Fourth, sin is en
tirely cast out. Then only, the higher sanctification sets in, and the
whole ladder is being climbed; higher and higher, ever more holy,
until holiness reaches the clouds.
Of course, those who accept these fancies can not think of Adam
otherwise than as created on a low plane of holiness and called to
attain higher sanctification. But if there is but one sanctification,
i.e., dying to sin and making the broken nature whole, then higher
sanctification regarding Adanris out of the question. To Adam s
holiness nothing can be added. He would have known his Crea
tor, heartily loved Him, and lived with Him in eternal happiness
to glorify and praise Him, in ever-increasing consciousness ; but all
this would not have added anything to his righteousness and holi
ness. To suppose this would betray a lack of understanding con
cerning holiness. Thus love is confounded with holiness; right
eousness with life; state with condition; word with being; and the
very foundations are wrenched from their place.
Yea, worse. Souls are severed from Jesus. For he that fails
to understand original righteousness can //^/understand how Christ
ADAM NOT INNOCENT, BUT HOLY 251
is given us of God for righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
I He desires Jesus most assuredly. But how? " Jesus finds the sin-
. ner sick and perishing by the wayside. He puts him on His ani
mal, and takes him to the inn, where He pays for him until he is
! restored." Hence always the same representation as tho, after
, being redeemed, one must still seek for a righteousness and holi-
i ness which by constant progress will only gradually be attained.
If this is correct then Christ is not our righteousness, sanctifica-
! tion, nor redemption ; at the most, He is a Friend supporting and
strengthening us in our efforts to attain righteousness and holiness.
; No ; if the Church is to glory once more in the comforting and
blessed confession that in Christ it Assesses now absolute righteous
ness, holiness, and redemption, it must first begin by understanding
original righteousness, i.e., that Adam can not love, can not live in
blessed fellowship with God, except he be first perfectly righteous
and completely holy.
Seconfc Gbapter.
THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON.
XL
Sin Not Material.
11 Sin is lawlessness." i John
iii. 4 (R. V.).
WHAT did sin blunt, corrupt, and destroy in God s image-bearer
Adam?
Altho we can touch this question but lightly, yet it may not be
slighted. It is evident that, for the right understanding of the ,
Spirit s work regenerating and restoring the sinner, the knowledge
of his condition is absolutely necessary. The mend must fit the
rend. The wall must be rebuilt where the breach is made. The
healing balm must suit the nature of the wound. As the disease
is, so must also be the cure. Or stronger still, as is the death so
must be the resurrection. The fall and the rising again are inter
dependent.
Generalities are useless in this respect. Ministers who seek tot
uncover and expose the man of sin by simply saying that men are!
wholly lost, dead in trespasses and sin, lack the cutting force which]
alone can lay open the putrefying sores of the heart. These serious]
matters have been treated too lightly. Hence by ignoring general)
and shallow statements we simply return to the tried and proven!
ways of the fathers.
We begin with pointing to one of the principal errors of thej
present time, viz., that of a resuscitated Manicheism.
It would be very interesting to present in a condensed form this!
sparkling and fascinating heresy to the Church of to-day. The!
immediate effect would be the discovery of the origin or the fam-j
ily likeness of much pernicious teaching that is brought into thej
SIN NOT MATERIAL 253
Church under a Christian name, and by believing men. But this is
impossible. We confine ourselves to a few features.
The mission of divine truth in this world is not to wanton with
its wisdom, but to expose it as a lie. Divine Wisdom does not
compromise with the speculations and delusions of worldly wisdom,
but calls them folly and demands their surrender. In the Kingdom
of truth, light and darkness are pronounced opposites. Hence the
Church, in coming in contact with the learning and philosophy of
the Gentile world, came into direct and open conflict with it.
Compared to Israel, the heathen world was wonderfully wise,
learned, and scientific; and from her scientific standpoint, she
looked down with deep contempt and infinite condescension upon
the foolishness of Christianity. That foolish, ignorant, and un
lettered Christianity was not only false, but beneath their notice,
unworthy to be discussed. In Athens the good-natured people had
for these unthinking men and their absurd babbling a Homeric
smile, and the sinister ridicule them with bitter satire. But nei
ther the one nor the other ever seriously considered the matter, for
it was unscientific.
And yet, after all, that stupid Christianity carried the day. It
made progress. It obtained influence, even power. At last the
great minds and geniuses of those days began to feel attracted to it ;
until, after a conflict of nearly a century, the hour came when the
heathen world was compelled to come down from its proud self-con
ceit, and acknowledge that ignorant, unlettered, and unscientific
Christianity. The lively preaching of these Nazarenes had drowned
the disputations of those dry philosophers. Soon the stream of the
world s life passed by their schools, and flowed into the channel of
the wonderful and inexplicable Jesus. Even before the Church
was two centuries old, proud heathendom discovered that, mortally
wounded, its life was in jeopardy.
Then under the appearance of honoring Christianity, with cun
ning craftiness Satan vitally injured it, injecting poison into its
heart. In the second century three learned and complicated sys
tems, viz., Gnosticism, Manicheism, and Neo-Platonism, tried
with one gigantic effort to smother it in the mortal embrace of their
heathen philosophies.
When the cross was planted on Calvary, two empires existed in
heathendom: one in the West, containing Rome and Greece, and
the other in the East, with its centers in Babylon and Egypt. In
254 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
each of these centers, Babylon and Athens, there were men of rare
mental powers, comprehensive learning, and profound wisdom.
Both centers were swayed by a worldly and heathen philosophy;
altho its character in both was different. And from these centers
the effort proceeded to drown Christianity in the waters of their
philosophy. Neo-Platonism tried to accomplish this in the West ;
Manicheism in the East ; and Gnosticism in the center.
Manes was the man who conceived that magni fie ant, fascinating,
and seducing system which bears his name. He was a profound
thinker, and died about the year 270. He was a genial, pious, and
seriously minded man ; he confessed Christ. It was even the aim
and object of his zeal to extend the Lord s Kingdom. But one
thing annoyed him : the endless conflict between Christianity and
his own science and philosophy. He thought there were points of
agreement and contact between the two, and their reconciliation
was not impossible. To bridge the chasm seemed beautiful to
him. One might walk to the heathen world, and in its brilliant
philosophies discover many elements of divine origin ; and return
ing to Christianity lead some serious heathens to the cross of
Christ. The profound glory of the Christian faith filled him with
enthusiasm ; yet he remained almost blind for the inherent false
hood of heathen philosophy. And as both lay mingled in his soul,
so it was his aim to devise a system wherein both should be inter
woven, and transformed into a brilliant whole.
It is impossible here to introduce his system, which shows that
Manes had thought out every deep question of vital importance,
and with comprehensive eye had measured all the dimensions of
his cosmology. All that we can do is to show how this system led
to false ideas of sin.
This was caused by his mistaken notion that the word "flesh"
refers only to the body ; while Scripture uses it as referring to sin,
signifying the whole human nature, which does not love the things
that are above, but the things of the flesh. Flesh in this sense refers
more directly to the soul than to the body. The works of the flesh
are twofold: one class, touching the body, are the sins related to
fornication and lust; the other, touching the soul, consist of sins
connected with pride, envy, and hatred. In the sphere of visible
things it finishes its image with shameless fornication ; in the realm
of invisible things it ends with stiffnecked pride.
Scripture teaches that sin does not originate in the flesh, but in
SIN NOT MATERIAL 255
Satan, a being without a body. Coming from him it crept first into
man s soul, then manifested itself in the body. Hence it is un-
scriptural to oppose "flesh" and "spirit" as "body " and "soul."
This Manes did; and this is the object of his system in all its fea
tures. He taught that sin is inherent in matter, in the flesh, in all
that is tangible and visible. " The soul," he says, " is your friend,
but the body your enemy. The successful resistance of the excite
ment of the blood and the palate would free you from sin." In his
own Eastern environment he saw much more carnal sin than spir
itual; and deceived by this he closed his eyes for the latter, or
accounted for it as caused by the excitement from evil matter.
And yet Manes was quite consistent, which, giant-thinker that
he was, could not be otherwise. He arrived at this singular con
clusion, essential to his system of inventions, that Satan was not
a fallen angel, not a spiritual, incorporeal being, but matter itself.
Hid in matter was a power tempting the soul, and that power was
Satan. This explains how Manes could offer the Church such a
singular and anti-scriptural doctrine.
Manes s system bordered on materialism. The materialist says
that our thinking is the burning of phosphorus in the brain ; and
that lust, envy, and hatred are the result of a discharge of certain
glands in the body. Virtue and vice are only the result of chemi
cal processes. In order to make a man better, freer, and nobler,
we should send him to the laboratory of a chemist, rather than to
school or church. And if it were possible for the chemist to lift
the man s skull, and subject his cells and nerves to the necessary
chemical process, then vice would be conquered, and virtue and
higher wisdom would effectually sway him.
In a similar way Manes taught that as an inherent and insep
arable power sin dwells in the blood and muscles, and is transmitted
by them. He exhorted to eat certain herbs, as a means to overcome
sin. There were, so he taught, animals, but chiefly plants, into
which had penetrated a few redeeming and liberating particles of
light from the kingdom of light which opposed evil ; by eating
these herbs the blood would absorb these saving particles of light,
and thus the power of sin would be broken. In fact, the church of
Manes was a chemical laboratory, in which sin was opposed by
material agencies.
This shows the logical consistency of the system, and the weak
ness of the men who, having adopted the false notion of material
256 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
sin, try to escape from its tight hold upon them. But they can not,
for, altho discarding the draperies belonging to the system as un
suitable to our Western mode of thinking, they adopt his whole
line of theories, and thus falsify not only the doctrine of sin, but
almost every other part of the Christian doctrine.
And yet it is only in the doctrine of inherited sin that this error is
so conspicuous that it can not escape detection.
It is argued: By virtue of his birth man is a sinner. Hence
every child must inherit sin from his parents. And since an infant
in the cradle is ignorant of spiritual sin, and without spiritual de
velopment, the inherited sin must hide in his being, transmitted
with the blood from the parents. And this is pure Manicheism, in
that it makes sin to be transmitted as a power inherent in matter.
The Confession of the Reformed churches, speaking of inherited
sin, says, in article xv. :
"We believe that, through the disobedience of Adam, original sin is
extended to all mankind ; which is a corruption of the whole nature, and
an hereditary disease, wherewith infants themselves are infected even in
their mother s womb, and which produceth in man all sorts of sin, being
in him as a root thereof; and therefore is so vile and abominable in the
sight of God, that it is sufficient to condemn all mankind. Nor is it by
any means abolished or done away by baptism ; since sin always issues
forth from this woful source, as water from a fountain : notwithstanding
it is not imputed to the children of God unto condemnation, but by His
grace and mercy is forgiven them. Not that they should rest securely ID
sin, but that a sense of this corruption should make believers often to sigh,|
desiring to be delivered from the body of this death. Wherefore we rejedi
the error of the Pelagians, who assert that sin only proceeds from imita
tion."
It is apparent, therefore, that the Reformed churches positively
acknowledge inherited sin ; acknowledge also that the child inherit^
sin from the parents ; even calls this sin an infection, which adhere
even to the unborn child. But and this is the principal thing
they never say that this inherited sin is something material, or is
transmitted as something material. The word infection ^ used ;;
aphorically, and therefore is not the proper expression for the thing
which they wish to confess. Sin is not a drop of poison which, like
a contagious disease, passes from father to child. No; the trans
mission of sin remains in our confession an unexplained mystery^
only symbolically expressed.
SIN NOT MATERIAL 257
But this does not satisfy the spirits of the present day. Hence
i the new school of Manicheists which has arisen among us.
Entangled in the meshes of this heresy are they who deny the
i doctrine of inherited guilt ; who entertain false views of the sacra-
) merits, holding that in Baptism the poison of sin is at least partly
j removed from the soul, and that in the communion of the Holy
i Supper the sinful flesh absorbs a few particles of the glorified body ;
j and lastly, who advocate the ridiculous efforts to banish demoniac
! influences from rooms and vacant lots. All this is foolish, unscrip-
tural, and yet defended by believing men in our own land. O
Church of Christ, whither art thou straying?
XII.
Sin Not a Mere Negation.
" I see another law in my members.!
warring against the law of my|
mind." Rom. vii. 23.
DR. BOHL S theory, that sin is a mere loss, default, or lack, is anj
error almost as critical as Manicheism.
This should not be misunderstood. This theory does not deny!
that the sinner is unholy, nor that he ought to be holy. It says
two things: (i) that there is no holiness in the sinner; but and!
this indicates the real character of sin (2) that there ought to be
holiness in him. A stone does not hear, nor a book see; yet thel;
one is not deaf, nor the other blind. But the man who lost both)
hearing and seeing is both ; for to his being as a man both are es-|
sential. A chair can not walk; yet it is not lame, for it is not ex-|
pected to walk. But the cripple is lame, for walking belongs to his
being. A horse is not holy, neither is it a sinner. But man is d
sinner, for he is unholy, and holiness belongs to his being ; an un
holy man is defective and unnatural. Sin, says St. John, " is un-|
righteousness," non-conformity to the law, or, literally, lawlessness]!
anomy. Hence sin appears only in beings subject to the divtneJA
moral law, and consists in non-conformity to that law.
Thus far this view presents only clear, pure truth; and every
effort to give sin positive, independent entity contradicts the AVordl
and leads to Manicheism, as may be seen in the otherwise ferventa
and conscientious Moravian Brethren.
Scripture denies that sin has a positive character implying thai) ;
it has independent being. Independent being is either created onl
uncreated. If uncreated, it must be eternal, and this is God aloneJj
If created, God must be its Creator; which can not be, for He isjj
not sin s Author. Hence Scripture does not teach that the poweijl
of evil inheres in matter, but in Satan. And what is Satan? Notll
SIN NOT A MERE NEGATION 259
an evil substance, but a being intended for, and endued with holi
ness ; who abandoned himself to unholiness, in which he entangled
himself hopelessly, becoming absolutely unholy. The doctrine of
Satan opposes the false notion that sin has entity. The idea that
sin is a power, in the sense of a faculty exercised by an independ
ent being, is inconsistent with Scripture.
So far we heartily agree with Dr. Bohl, and acknowledge that
he has maintained the old and tried conviction of believers, and the
positive confession of the Church.
But from this he infers that, before and after the fall, Adam re
mained the same, with this difference only, that after the fall he
lost the splendor of righteousness in which he had walked hitherto.
So far as his powers and being were concerned, he remained the
same. And this we do not accept. It would make man like a lamp
brightly burning but soon extinguished, when it became a dark
body. Or like a fireplace radiant with the glow and heat of fire
this moment, cold and dark the next. Or like a piece of iron mag
netized by the electric current, which gives it power to attract;
but the current withdrawn it ceases to be a magnet. When the
light was blown out, the lamp remained uninjured. When the fire
died, the hearth remained what it was before. And when the elec
tric fluid left the iron, it was iron still.
And so says Dr. Bohl regarding man. As the current passes
through the iron and magnetizes it, so did the divine righteousness
pass through "Adam and make him holy. As the lamp shines when
lighted by the spark, so did Adam shine when touched by the spark
of righteousness. And as the hearth is aglow with the fire, so was
Adam radiant with the righteousness created in him. But now sin
comes in. That is, the lamp goes out, the hearth becomes cold,
the magnet is mere iron again. And man stands robbed of his
splendor, dark and unable to attract. But for the rest he remained
what he was. Dr. Bohl says distinctly that man remained the
same before and after the fall.
And with this we do not agree. As a sinner he was still man,
undoubtedly, but man as the fathers confessed at Dordt (3d and 4th,
Head of Doctrine, art. xvi.) : " That man by the fall did not cease to
be a creature endowed with understanding and will, nor did sin,
which pervaded the whole race of mankind, deprive him of the hu
man nature, but brought upon him depravity and spiritual death."
Dr. Bohl s statement, " Wenn wir die Creatur aus jenem Stande
260 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
bin ausgetreten denken, so bleibt diese Creatur intact, "* directly
contradicts this pure confession of the Reformed churches.
No, the creature did not remain intact, but sin so seriously in
jured him that he became corrupt even unto death. And tho we
acknowledge that sin has no real being in itself, yet with equal de
cision we confess, with our church, that its workings are by no
means merely negative, nor exclusively privative, but most assur
edly very positive.
Scripture and our best theologians (Rivet, Wallaeus, and Poly-
ander by name, in their Synopsis) teach this so positively that it is
almost unimaginable how Dr. Bohl could reach any other conclu
sion. Wherefore we are inclined to believe that on this point he
agrees with the confession of the orthodox churches, but that he
represents this matter in such a strange manner for the sake of
something else and for an entirely different reason.
If we may be frank, we would represent Dr. Bohl s course of
reasoning as follows: "My teacher, Dr. Kohlbrugge, used to op
pose strenuously the men that proudly say to the unconverted:
Touch me not, for I am holier than thou. He used to emphasize
the fact that the child of God, considered for a moment out of
Christ, lies in the midst of death, just as much as the unconverted.
Hence regeneration does not change man in the least. Before and
after regeneration he is exactly the same, with this difference only,
that the converted man believes and by his faith walks in reflected
righteousness. And if this be so, then regarding the fall the re
verse is true ; that is, before and after the fall man as such [re
mained the same ; the only change was that in the fall he left the
righteousness in which he stood before."
Of course we may be mistaken, but we dare surmise that in this
way Dr. Bohl was tempted to this strange represen^fcion, and even
to declare, as Rome teaches, that desire in itself is no sin ; some
thing which the Reformed Church on the ground of the Tenth Com
mandment has always opposed.
In fact, the question regarding the fall and the restoration is the
same. If the restoration does not affect our being, then neither
can the fall have affected it. If redemption means only that a sin
ner is set in the light of Christ s righteousness, then the fall can
mean no more than that man stepped out of that light. The two
*" Removed by sin from this state [of righteousness], man remains
intact."
SIN NOT A MERE NEGATION 261
belong together. As it was in the fall, so it must be in the restora
tion. A man s confession regarding redemption will, if he be con
sistent, tell what his confession is regarding the fall.
Hence if Dr. Kohlbrugge had confessed that the restoration
leaves our being unchanged and only translates us into a sphere of
righteousness, then it should be conceded that he also represented
the fall as leaving man and his nature intact. And this is the very
thing which we can not concede. Dr. Kohlbrugge has uncovered
the actual corruption of our nature so forcibly and positively that
we will never believe that according to his confession the fall left
our being and nature intact. Neither can we concede that, accord
ing to his confession, in the restoration our being is left unchanged,
even tho he connected that change, very rightly, with the mystic
union and with the dying to sin in death.
If he had actually intended to teach what many of his followers
allege that he did teach, then we would call his tendency very defi
nitely erroneous. But since we can not interpret him without taking
into account the misrepresentations which he so strongly opposed,
and especially since his confession concerning the corruption of our
nature was so complete, we maintain that he did not teach what
] many of his followers offer in his name.
Hence our way is in the very opposite direction. Dr. Bohl says
in other words : " Dr. Kohlbrugge, in his doctrine of redemption,
starts from the idea that redemption leaves the sinner essentially
unchanged; hence neither can sin have affected him essentially."
While, on the contrary, we say : " The confession of Kohlbrugge re
garding the corruption of our nature is so complete that he could
not but confess that in the fall, and therefore in the restoration, our
nature was changed.
But be that as it may, this is sure, that, according to the word
and the constant doctrine of our Church, sin, altho it is essentially
and exclusively privative and lacking independent existence, is
yet in its consequences positive and in its workings destructive.
Our nature did not remain unchanged, but it became cor
rupt ; and corruption is the significant word which indicates the
fatal, positive effects which resulted from this loss of life and
light.
A plant needs light to flourish ; light excluded, it not only lan
guishes, but soon withers, decays, and at last mildews; and this is,
corruption. Cancer and smallpox are not merely loss of health ;
262 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
but have a positive action, which destroys the tissues, creates
morbid growth, and corrupts the body. A corpse is not merely a
lifeless body, but the seat of dissolution and corruption. In like
manner we are conscious that sin is not merely the deprivation of
holiness, but we feel its fearful activity, corruption, and dissolution
which destroy. Strongest proof is the fact that we do not joyfully
welcome God s grace entering the heart, but with our whole na
ture oppose it. There is conflict which would be impossible ii
that deprivation and loss had not developed evil which opposes
God.
This corruption does not stop until the body is dissolved into
its original constituents. We do not know what became of the
bodies of Moses, Enoch, and Elijah. The Scripture makes excep
tions. Christ did not see corruption, and believers living at the
Lord s return will escape bodily dissolution. But all others, mtl-ii
lions upon millions, will sicken and die, and return to the dust.j:
Physical disease and death are types of soul-corruption which mere!
words fail to express.
Scripture and experience show clearly that Satan is not merel))*
bereaved, emptied, and lacking, but that he causes a positive, cor|
rupting activity to proceed from him. And so, tho in less degree I
the soul has become corrupt; not only in the sense of being darlj
instead of light, chilled instead of warm, but that this deprivation
has resulted in positive destruction and corruption. Cold is loss oj
heat, which on reaching the freezing-point causes positive injury!
to the body. And such is sin. As to its being, it is loss, depriva!
tion, and nakedness. And these cause in body and soul a destruc j
tive working which affects man s whole nature, binding him witll
the fetters of corruption, altho he ceases not to be man.
We reconcile sin s privative being with \\^> positive working as fol
lows: depriving the ceaseless activity of man s nature of correct!
guidance, it runs in the wrong direction, and wrests and destroy)!
itself.
XIII.
Sin a Power in Reversed Action.
" If ye live after the flesh ye shall
die." Rom. viii. 13.
ALTHO sin is originally and essentially a loss, a lack, and a depri
vation, in its working it is a positive evil and a malignant power.
This is shown by the apostolic injunction not only to put on
the new man, but also to put off the old man with his works. The
well-known theologian Maccovius, commenting on this, aptly re
marks: " This could not be enjoined if sin were merely a loss of
light and life ; for a mere lack ceases as soon as it is supplied."
If sin were merely a loss of righteousness, nothing more would
be needed than its restoration, and sin would disappear. The put
ting off of the old man, or the laying down of the yoke of sin, etc.,
would be out of the question. The light has only to dispel the
soul s darkness, and its health will be restored. But experience
shows that after we are enlightened, and the Holy Spirit has entered
our heart, there is still a fearful power of evil in us ; and this to
gether with the oft-repeated command not only to accept the right
eousness of God which is by f,aith, but also to put off, to lay aside,
to be separate from all that is evil, proves sin s positive character
and evil power in individuals and in society, in spite of its priva
tive character.
Hence the Church confesses that our nature has become corrupt,
which of course refers us back to the divine image. Our nature
did not disappear, nor cease to be our nature, but in its orignal fea
tures and organs it remained the same ; the divine image was not
lost, not even partly lost, but remained stamped upon every man,
and will remain even in the place of eternal destruction, simply
because he can not divest himself of his nature except by annihila
tion. But this being impossible, he must retain it as man and in
man s nature. Wherefore Scripture teaches long after the fall that
the sinner is created after the image of God. But concerning the
264 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
effects of its features in the fallen human nature, the very opposite is
true: these features have totally disappeared; the ruins which re
main speak at the most only of the glory and beauty which have
perished.
Hence the two meanings of the divine image should no longer
be confounded. Forasmuch as it lies in our nature it will remain
evermore ; so far as its effects upon the quality, i.e., the condition,
of our nature are concerned, it is lost. The human nature can be
corrupted, but not annihilated. It can exist as nature, even tho its
former attributes be lost, and replaced by opposite workings.
Our fathers discriminated between our nature s being and its
well-being. It its being it remained uninjured and unharmed, i.e.,
it is still the real, human nature. But in its condition, i.e., in its
attributes, workings, and influences, in its well-being it is wholly
changed, and corrupt. Tho a poisoned insect-sting destroys 1he
sight, yet the eye remains. So is the human nature ; deprived of
its luster, checked in its normal activity, internally sore and foul,
yet it is the human nature.
But it is corrupted by sin. It is true man has retained the power
to think, will, and feel, besides many glorious talents and faculties,
even genius sometimes ; but this does not touch the corruption of
his nature. Its corruption is this, that the life which should be de
voted to God and animated by Him is devoted with downward
tendencies to earthly things. And this reversed action has changed
the whole organism of our being.
If the divine righteousness were essential to human life, this
could not be so ; but it is not. According to Scripture, death is not
annihilation. The sinner is dead to God, but in this very death
throbs and thrills his life to Satan, to sin, and to the world. If the
sinner had no sinful life, Scripture could never say, " Mortify there
fore your members which are upon the earth," for it is impossible
to mortify that which is dead already.
Let not similarity of sound deceive us. Human life is inde
structible. When the soul is active in conformity to the divine
law, Scripture says that the soul lives; if not, it is dead. This
death is the wages of sin. But for this reason man s nature does
not cease to work, to use its organs, to exert its influence. This is
the life of our members which are in the earth our sinful life, the
inward festering of evil in our corrupt nature; for this reason it
must be mortified. Hence since sin does not stop our nature from
SIN A POWER IN REVERSED ACTION 265
breathing, working, feeding, but it causes these activities, which
under the sway of the divine law did run well and were full of
blessing, to go wrong and be corrupt.
The mainspring of a watch when detached from its pivot does
not stop it immediately; but, being uncontrolled, it turns the
wheels so rapidly as to ruin the mechanism. In some respects
human nature resembles that watch. God has endowed it with
power, life, and activity. Controlled by His law it worked well,
and in harmony with His will. But sin deprived it of that control,
and, while these powers and faculties remain, they run the wrong
way, and destroy the delicate organism. If this condition lasted
only for a moment, and the sinner were immediately restored
to his original state, it could not lead to a positive evil. But sin
lasts a long time ; sixty centuries already. Its pernicious influence
has its effects ; a secondary disease after the primary ; accumulations
of sinful dregs, and increase of festering sores. The threads of our
nature s woof pull awry. Everything wrenches itself out of joint.
And, since this secondary activity continues unchecked, its perni
cious working becomes more and more critical.
What causes a felon? A sliver in the finger slightly checks the
circulation. But the blood continues to circulate, trying to over
come the obstacle. The additional pressure against the walls of
the capillaries produces more friction, and raises the temperature.
The surrounding tissue swells, the delicate blood-vessels contract,
the friction increases, and the boil throbs. Altho this is but the
continued normal action of the circulation, yet it causes positive
evil. There is a local congestion ; poisonous matter inflames the
healthy tissue, and the parts are thoroughly diseased.
And such is sin s course. The action of our powers continues,
but in the wrong direction. This causes disorder and irregulari
ties, which inflame our nature toward evil. This sinful inflamma
tion creates unnatural and wicked deformations, which excite the
tissues of the soul to a morbid growth, compared by Scripture to
foul matter. And from this unholy marsh poisonous gases rise
continually throughout our entire nature. Thus the whole economy
is disordered. Having run away from the divine law without dis
cipline, body and soul become unruly. Hence, incited by its own
inherent action, it involves itself more deeply and runs farther
away from God. As a train that is derailed destroys itself by its
very speed, so does man, having left the track of the divine law,
266 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
compass his own ruin by the inherent impetus and working. Noth
ing more is needed. Destruction results necessarily from the very
life of our nature.
Hence the sinner is without knowledge, the feelings are per
verted, the will is paralyzed, the imagination polluted, the desires
are impure, and all his ways, tendencies, and outgoings are at once
evil ; not in our eyes, perhaps, but because everything fails to meet
the demands of God, who wills that everything should meet Him
at the terminus of the road, i.e., to be with Him and in Him, ma
king His glory the final end of all things.
And this makes many things sinful, unrighteous, and wicked
that we consider fair and beautiful. Not our taste, but God s, de
cides what is right or wrong. He that wishes to know what that
taste is, let him learn it from the law of God. That law is standard
and plummet. But whatever the sinner seeks or desires to please
God, he will not do this; e.g., he may be perfectly willing to hang
his coat on the wall and do it gracefully, but not on the nail that
God has struck in the wall of our life ; everywhere else, but not
there. Thus everything in him becomes evil, his entire nature cor
rupt, incapable of any good, inclined to all evil, yea, prone to hate
God and his neighbor. The deed may not be born, but the very
inclination and desire are sin.
Like the Romish and some Lutheran theologians, Dr. Bohl de
nies this. He teaches that there was this desire in holy Adam and
even in Christ; not indulged, but held in with bit and bridle as
tho God had created man with this ravenous animal of desire in his
heart, while He endowed him at the same time with the power to
restrain it. To keep this desire in constant check would have been
man s greatest excellence.
But this is not according to Scripture. Nothing shows that holy
Adam had any desire for the things he saw. The possibility of
desire was created only by the prohibition : " Of the tree of knowl
edge of good and evil thou shalt not eat." And even after that we
do not discover a trace of desire in him. Such eager looking at the
fruit was not witnessed until Satan had inwardly incited Eve not to
eat of the fruit, but through it to become like God. This is the first
desire awakened in man s heart, and that only after his eye was
opened to see that the tree was good for food and pleasant to the
eye.
In the righteous state Adam was filled with peace, harmony, and
SIN A POWER IN REVERSED ACTION 267
divine success ; without a trace of the anxiety necessarily springing
from the task of restraining a dangerous monster. And in the
heavenly glory it will not be an endless desire to restrain desire,
but a complete deliverance from desire ; not the suction of a great
deep in our bottomless heart, but all its depths filled with the love
of God.
The commandment " Thou shalt not covet" is absolute. The
Lord Jesus was a total stranger to covetousness. He never desired
what God withheld. In Gethsemane s terrible denouement He de
sired, yet not to receive a gift, but to retain His own, i.e., when
tinder the curse not to be forsaken of His God.
XIV.
Our Guilt.*
"Wherefore as by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin ; and
so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned." Rom. v. 12.
SIN and guilt belong together, but may not be confounded or
considered synonymous, any more than sanctification and righteous
ness. It is true guilt rests upon every sin, and in every sin there is
guilt, yet the two must be kept distinct. There is a difference be
tween the blaze and the blackened spot upon the wall caused by it ;
long after the blaze is out the spot remains. Even so with sin and
guilt. Sin s red blaze blackens the soul, but long after sin is left
behind, the black mark upon the soul continues.
Hence it is of the greatest importance that the difference between
the two be clearly understood, especially since confounding sin and
guilt must lead to confounding justification and sanctification, much
to the injury of the earnestness of the Christian life.
If there were but one man on earth, he might sin against him
self, but he could not be in debt to others. And if, in accordance
with modern theology, there were no living God, but only an idea
of good, he might sin against the idea of good, and be exceedingly
bad, but he could not owe God anything.
Men owe God because He lives, exists, never departs, forever
abides; and because from moment to moment they must transact
business with Him. With men we open accounts at will; and the
firms in town with which we do so we will owe, but those with
which we do not deal we will never owe. Many apply this to God,
under the mistaken notion that if they have no dealings with God
they can not owe Him anything and have nothing to do with Him.
To them He is non-existing , how, then, could they be in debt to
Him?
*The Dutch word " schuld, " literally "debt " includes the ideas of g" uilt
and of indebtedness in general. TRANS.
OUR GUILT 269
But He does exist. It is not left to our choice to have dealings
with Him or not. No ; in all our affairs, at all times and under all
circumstances, we must deal and do deal with Him. There is no
business transacted from which He is excluded. In all things what
ever we do, He is the most interested. In all our dealings and en
terprises He is the Preferred Creditor and Senior Partner, with
whom we must settle the final account, We may bury ourselves in
Sahara, or go down to the bottom of the ocean, but our account
with Him never ceases. We can never get away from Him. Work
ing with head, heart, or hand, we open an account with God , and
while we can deceive other partners and withhold part of the ac
counts from them, He is omniscient, He knows the most secret
items, He keeps account of the smallest fraction, charging it to us ;
and before we have begun our reckoning, He has already finished it
and laid it before us.
Considering this, we realize what it is to be debtors to God ; for
while at every moment, under all circumstances, and in all transac
tions we are obliged to pay Him the whole profit, we never do it,
at least not in full. Hence every act of head, heart, or hand creates
an item of debt, which we withhold from Him through being either
unwilling or unable to pay.
If God were not, or we were not related to Him, we would be
sinners, but not debtors. If a few years ago the floods at Krakatoa
had engulfed all Java, as was feared, would it not have canceled
all our debts to Java firms? Or suppose that the Patriotic Party in
China once more came into power, and the Emperor decreed to
close the empire against all nations, so that during a whole life
time it was impossible to settle business with Chinese firms. Would
this not cancel all the debts owing to China? Hence if God should
cease to be or dissolve every tie binding us to Him, all our debts
would at once be obliterated. But this is impossible ; the tie that
binds us to Him can not be broken. Our debt to Him remains ; we
can not cancel it ; and our thinking that we can cancel it does not
alter the fact.
God created us for Himself, and that creates our indebtedness
to Him. If He had simply created us for the pleasure of creating
us, as a boy blows soap bubbles for his entertainment, and for the
rest did not care what became of us, there could be no debt. But
He did create us for Himself, with the absolute charge, in all things,
at every moment, and under all circumstances, to lay life s gain
2;o THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
upon the altar of His name and glory. He does not allow us to
live three days out of every ten for Him, and the rest for ourselves;
in fact, He does not release us for a single day or moment. He de
mands the gain of our existence for His glory, unconditionally,
always and evermore. He planned and created us for this. Thus He
claims us. Hence, being our Lord and Ruler, He can not forego the
last farthing of life s gain; and since we never have rendered Him
the tribute, we are absolutely His debtors.
What money is among men, love is to God. He says to you and
me and every man : " As you thirst for gold, so do I thirst for love.
I, your God, want your love, your whole heart s love. This is My
due. This I claim. This debt I can not cancel. Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength." The fact that we do not render Him this love,
or render it unholily and fraudulently, makes us His debtors perpet
ually.
We know that this is called the juridical conception , and that in
these effeminate days men desire to escape from the tension of the
right ; wherefore the ethical conception is lauded to the skies. But
this whole sentiment springs directly from a lie. This opposition
against the juridical conception sets God at naught or ignores Him.
Even without believing in God, one can dream of an ideal of holi
ness, according to the ethical conception, and strive against sin
with inward thirst after holiness. But with only an ideal to incite
him, there can be no room for right, no debt to God ; for one can
not owe an ideal, but only a living person. But when I acknowledge
the living God, and that always and in all things I have to do with
Him, then He has righteous claims upon me which I have violated,
and which must be satisfied. Hence the juridical conception comes
first.
The ethical idea is: "I am sick; how can I become well?" The
juridical idea is . " How can God s violated right be restored?" The
latter is therefore of primary importance. The Christian must not
first consider himself, but God. It wounds the very heart of the Re
formed confession when the pulpit aims at sanctification without
zeal for justification. Dr. Kohlbrugge s chief merit lay in this, that
for God s sake he grieved over this neglect, and with powerful hand
stemmed the tide of despising God s right, saying to church and
individual: "Brethren, justification first."
To say, " Oh, if I were only holy, my indebtedness to God would
OUR GUILT 271
not much trouble me," sounds very nice, but is deeply sinful. God s
children desire to be holy as the children of vanity desire riches,
honor, and glory I.e.. it is always a desire for ourselves, our own
ego, in ourselves to be what we are not. And the Lord God is left
out. It is the Pelagian regulating his relation to God according to
his own satisfaction. In fact it is sin, tho gilded, against the first
and highest commandment.
Surely the soul s deep longing after holiness is good and right,
but only after the question is settled ; " How can I be restored to my
right position before God, whose rights I have violated?" If this is
our chief concern, then and then only do we love the Lord our God
more than ourselves. Then the prayer for holiness will follow as
a matter of course; not from the selfish desire to be spiritually en
riched, but from the soul s deep longing nevermore to violate the
divine right.
This is deep and far-reaching, and many will deem it harsh. Yet
we may not hold it back. The unmanly and sickly Christianity
now vaunted is not that of the fathers and of the godly of all ages
and of the apostles and prophets. The Lord must be First and
Highest ; instead of being honored, His law is dishonored when, in
the pursuit of holiness, God" s right is forgotten. Even among men
it is called dishonest when, with debts unpaid, a man goes to Amer
ica only to make his fortune ; and we would say to him : " Honestly
to pay your debts is more honorable than merely to be successful."
And this applies here. God s child does not enter the kingdom
with a cry for success, but to balance his accounts with God.
And this explains the difference between sin and guilt. A burg
lar repents and returns the stolen treasure. Is he now entitled to
freedom? Surely not; but if he fall into the hands of the law, he
shall be tried, sentenced, and suffer in prison the penalty of the vio
lated right. Let us apply this to sin. There is a law and God is
its Author. Measured by it, transgressions of omission and com
mission are called sin. But that is not all. The law is not a fetish,
nor the formula of a moral ideal, but God s commandment ; "God
spake all these words." God stands behind that law, maintains it,
and lays it before us. Hence it is not enough to measure our act
by the law and call it sin, but it must also be accounted for to the
Lawgiver and acknowledged to be guilt.
Sin is non-conformity of an act, person, or condition to the divine
law , guilt, encroachment by act, person, or condition upon the di-
2/2 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
vine right. Sin creates guilt, because God has a claim upon all OUT
acts. If it were possible to act independently of God, such acts,
tho deviating from the moral ideal, would not create guilt. But
since every man s act in every condition stands in account with
God, every sin creates guilt. Yet they are not identical. Sin
always lies in us and leaves our relation to God untouched; but
guilt does not lie in us, but always refers to our relation to God.
Sin shows what we are in our antagonism to the moral ideal; but
guilt refers to God s claim upon us and to our denial of that claim.
If God were like a man, this guilt would be compromised. But
He is not. His claims are as pure gold, perfectly right ; not arbi
trary, but based invariably upon a firm and unchangeable founda
tion. Hence nothing can be deducted from that guilt. According
to the strictest measure the whole remains forever charged to us.
Hence the punishment. For punishment is but God s act of re
sisting the encroachment upon His rights. Such encroachments
rob God, and would, if persisted in, detract from His divinity. And
this can not be if He be God indeed. Hence His majesty operates
directly against this encroachment. And this constitutes punish
ment. Sin, guilt, and punishment are inseparable. Only because
guilt pursues sin, and punishment prosecutes guilt, can sin exist in
God s universe.
XV.
Our Righteousness.
* My Spirit shall not always strive
with man." Gen. iii. 6.
BEFORE discussing the work of the Holy Spirit in the sinner s
restoration, let us consider the interesting but much-neglected ques
tion whether man stood in fellowship with the Holy Spirit before
the/all.
If it is true that the original Adam returns in the regenerated
man, it follows that the Holy Spirit must have dwelt in Adam as
He now dwells in God s children. But this is not so. God s word
teaches the following differences between the two :
1. Adam s treasure was losable, and that of God s children un-
losable.
2. The former was to obtain eternal life, while the latter al
ready possess it.
3. Adam stood under the Covenant of Works, and the regene
rated under the Covenant of Grace.
These differences are essential, and indicate a difference of
status. Adam did not belong to the ungodly that are justified, but
was sinlessly just. He did not live by an extraneous righteousness
which is by faith, as the regenerated, but shone with an original
righteousness truly his own. He lived under the law which says :
" Do this and thou shalt live ; if not, thou shalt die."
Hence Adam had no other faith than that which comes by " nat
ural disposition." He did not live out of a righteousness which is
by faith, but out of an original righteousness. The cloud of wit
nesses in Heb. xi. does not begin with sinless Adam, but with Abel
before he was slain.
If every right relation of the soul is one of faith, then original
righteousness necessarily included faith. But this is not Scriptu
ral. St. Paul teaches that faith is a temporary grace, which finally
enters that higher and more intimate fellowship called "sight."
Faith as a means of salvation is in Scripture always faith in Christ
274 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
not as the Son of God, the Second Person in the Trinity, but as Re
deemer, Savior, and Surety in short, faith in Christ and Him critci-
fied. And since "Christ and Him crucified" does not belong to
unf alien man, it is incorrect to place Adam in line with the justified
sinner as regards faith. Even in the state of righteousness Adam
did not live in Christ , for Christ is only a sinner s Savior, and not
a sphere or element in which man lives as man. In the absence of
sin, Scripture knows no Christ ; and St. Paul teaches that, when all
the consequences of sin shall have ceased, Christ shall deliver the
kingdom to the Father, that God may be all in all.
Hence Adam and the regenerate are not the same. The differ
ence between their status is most obvious in the fact that out of
Christ the latter lies in the midst of death, having no life in him
self, as St. Paul says, " Yet not I, but Christ who liveth in me, who
loved me and gave Himself for me " ; while Adam had a natural
righteousness in himself.
The fathers have always strongly emphasized this point. They
taught that Adam s original righteousness was not accidental, su
pernatural, added to his nature, but inherent in his nature , not
another s righteousness imputed to him and appropriated by faith,
but a righteousness naturally his own.- Wherefore Adam needed
no substitute ; he stood for himself in the nature of his own being.
Hence his status was the opposite of that which constitutes for the
child of God the glory of his faith.
Teachers of another doctrine are moved, consciously or un
consciously, by philosophic motives. The Ethical theory says:
" Properly speaking, our salvation is not in the cross, but in Christ s
Person. He was God and Man, hence divine-human ; and this divine-
human nature is communicable. This being imparted to us, our
nature becomes superior in kind, and thus we become the children
of God." This is a denial of the way of faith, and a rejection of the
cross and of the whole doctrine of Scripture a fearful error indeed.
Its conclusion is: "First, even in sin s absence the Son of God
would have become man ; second, of course sinless Adam lived in
the God-man."
Without assenting to these errors, others imprudently teach that
sinless Adam lived by the righteousness of Christ. Let them be
careful of the consequences. Scripture allows no theories which
obliterate the difference between the Covenant of Works and that 1
of Grace.
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS 275
But maintaining the approved doctrine of Adam s original right
eousness as inherent in his nature, and of the divine image as being
in-created, the important question arises : Was the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit enjoyed by Adam the same as that now possessed by
the new-born soul?
The answer depends upon one s opinion concerning the nature
of the original righteousness. Adam s righteousness was intrinsic.
He stood before God as man ought to stand. He lacked nothing
but debt. He rendered the Lord all that he owed momentarily ;
for how long is unimportant. One second is long enough to lose
one s soul forever, and equally long enough to get into the right
position before God. Hence Adam possessed a perfect good ; for
righteousness implies holiness, and both were perfect. Even the
least unholiness would have created an immediate deficiency in
Adam s returns to God. And when that unholiness became a fact,
that righteousness was immediately damaged, rent, and broken;
the least unholiness causes all at once the loss of all righteousness.
Righteousness has no degrees. That which is not perfectly straight
is crooked. Right and perfectly right are exactly the same. Not
perfectly right is not right.
The question "How Adam was perfectly good" received clearest
light from the conflict of the Lutherans Flacius Illiricus and Victo-
rinus Strigel. The former maintained that man was essentially
righteous.
One s opinion of sin necessarily depends upon his view of good
ness, and vice versa: A realistic nature is inclined to conceive of
sin and goodness as material ; sin in his opinion is a sort of invisi
ble bacterium, almost perceptible by a powerful microscope. And
virtue, goodness, and holiness have equally a tangible, independent
existence, measurable and apportionable. This is not so. We may
compare the spiritual to the material. What else is symbolism?
The Scripture sets the example, comparing sin to a running sore, to
a fire, etc. ; and goodness to drops of water quenching thirst, becom
ing a fountain of living water in the soul. Let symbolism retain
its honorable place in this respect. But symbolism is the compari
son of things dissimilar, hence their identity is excluded. Sin is not
something substantial, hence virtue and goodness are not essen
tially independent.
And yet Flacius Illiricus felt that in this res-pect there was a
difference between sin and virtue. Evil is unsubstantial, because it
276 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
is the lack, the default of goodness. But goodness is not the lack,
the default of evil. Loss indicates that which ought to be, but
which is lacking. Evil never ought to be, hence never can be a
lack. But regarding goodness the question is different, viz., wheth
er goodness as an extraneous and independent element was added
to the soul, so that it might be said, " Here is the soul, and there is
goodness." And this can not be. As a ray is unthinkable without
light, so is goodness without a person from whom it proceeds.
And this tempted Flacius Illiricus to teach that originally man
was essentially righteous. Of course he was wrong. What he
wanted to attribute to man can be attributed to God alone. Good
ness is goodness. God is goodness. Goodness is God. In God
being and goodness are one. There is and can be no difference
between the two, for God is perfectly good in all respects; hence
the faintest separation between God and goodness is utterly un
thinkable.
God alone is a simple Being; not as Professor Doedes interprets
in his criticism on the Confession, as tho in God there can be no
distinction in persons, but that in God there can be no distinction
of essence, as between Himself and His attributes. But this is not
so in man. We are not simple, and can not be, in the same sense.
On the contrary, our being remains, tho all our attributes are
changed or modified. A man can be good and ought to be, but
without goodness he remains a man ; his nature becomes corrupt,
but his being remains the same.
Man s being is either deceitful or truthful, not because his soul
is inoculated with the matter of falsehood or of truth, but by a
modification of tlie quality of his being. Inherent goodness has no
reference to our being, but only to the manner of its existence. As
a joyous or sorrowful expression of countenance is not the result of
an external application, but of inward joy or sorrow, so is the soul
either good or bad according to the manner of its standing before
God.
And this goodness was Adam s direct inheritance from God.
God alone is the overflowing Fountain of all grace ; Adam never
wrought a particle of good of himself on the ground of which he
might have claimed a reward. Eternal life was promised him not
as a prize or inherent element, but by virtue of the conditions of
the covenant of works. Just as strongly as we oppose the applica
tion to sinless Adam of the conditions of the Covenant of Grace, as
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS 277
tho he lived in Christ, so strongly do we oppose the representation
that any virtue, holiness, or righteousness proceeded from Adam not
wrought by God in him. To deny this would make sinless Adam
a little fountain of some good, and oppose the confession that God
alone is the Fountain of all good.
Hence we arrive at this conclusion, that in Adam all goodness
was wrought by the Holy Spirit, according to the holy ordinance
which assigns to the Third Person in the Trinity the inward oper
ation of all rational beings.
However, this does not imply that before the fall the Holy Spirit
dwelt in Adam as in His temple, as He does in the regenerated child
of God. In the latter He can only dwell, since the human nature is
corrupt and unfit to be His vehicle. But not so with Adam. His
nature was created and calculated to be a vehicle of the Holy Spirit s
operations. Hence Adam and the regenerated are similar in this
respect, that in both there is no goodness not wrought by the Holy
Spirit ; but dissimilar, in that the latter can offer only his sinful
heart for the Holy Spirit s indwelling, while Adam s being un
derwent His operations without His indwelling, organically and
naturally.
XVI.
Our Death.
"You who were dead in trespasses
and sin." Ephes. ii. i.
NEXT in order comes the discussion of death.
There is sin, which is deviation from and resistance against the
law. There is guilt, which is withholding from God that which, as
the Giver and Upholder of that law, is due to Him. But there is
&\&Q punishment, which is the Lawgiver s act of upholding His law
against the lawbreaker. The Sacred Scripture calls this punish
ment " death."
To understand what death is, we must first ask: " What is life?"
And the answer in its most general form is : "A thing lives if it
moves from within." A man found in the street, leaning against a
wall, perfectly motionless, is supposed to be dead ; but if he turns
his head, or moves his hand, we know that he is alive. The mo
tion, tho almost imperceptible and so feeble that it requires the
practised fingers of the physician to detect it, is always the sign of
life. The muscles may be paralyzed, tendons and sinews rigid, yet
so long as the pulse beats, the heart throbs, and the lungs inhale
the air, life is not extinct. In the doubtful cases of drowning,
trance, or paralysis, the doubt is not removed, if removed at all,
until motion has been observed. Hence we may safely say a body
lives if it moves from within.
This can not be said of a clock, for its mechanism lacks inher
ent, self-moving power. By winding, energy may be stored in its
mainspring, but when this is spent the clock stops. But life is not
a force added to a prepared organism, mechanically and temporar
ily, but an energy that inheres in the organism as an organic prin
ciple.
Hence it is plain that the human body has no vital principle in
itself, but receives it from the soul. The arm is motionless until
moved by the soul, Even the functions of circulation, breathing,
OUR DEATH 279
and digesting are animated by the soul ; for when the soul leaves
the body all these functions stop. A body without a soul is a
corpse. As physical life depends upon the union of body and soul,
so is physical death the result of the dissolution of that bond. As
in the beginning God formed the human body out of the dust of the
earth and breathed into its nostrils the breath of life, so that it be
came a living being, so is the dissolving of that bond, which is
death to the body, an act of God. Death is therefore the removal
of that wonderful gift, the bond of life. God withdraws the for
feited blessing, and the soul departs in separate disembodiment ;
while the body, freed as a corpse, is delivered unto corruption.
But this does not finish the process of death. Life and death are
awful opposites, embracing body and soul. " Dying thou shalt die "
is the divine sentence, which includes the entire person, and not the
body only. That which possesses creaturely life can also die as a
creature. Hence the soul, being a creature, can be dispossessed of
its creaturely life.
We admit that in another aspect the soul is immortal ; but to pre
vent confusion, we beg the reader to put this fact for a moment out
of his mind. Presently we will return to it.
Applying our definition of life to the soul as a living creature, it
follows that the soul lives only when it moves, when acts proceed
from it, and energies work in it. But its vital principle is not inher
ent any more than in the body, but comes from without. Origi
nally it was not self-existing, but God gave it an increated vital
principle and moving power which He sustained and qualified for
work from moment to moment. In this respect Adam differed from
us. It is true that in the soul of the regenerated there is a vital
principle, but the source of its energy is outside of ourselves in
Christ. There is indwelling, but not interpermeation. The dweller
and his house are distinct. Hence in the regenerated man life is
extraneous, its seat is not in himself. But not so in Adam. Altho
the life-principle energizing the soul proceeded from God, yet it
was deposited in Adam himself.
To obtain gas from the city s gas-works is one thing ; to manufac
ture it at one s own cost, in one s own establishment, is quite an
other. The regenerated child of God receives life directly from
Christ, who is outside of Him at the right hand of God, through the
channels of faith ; but Adam had the principle of life within him
from the Fountain of all Good. The Holy Spirit had placed it in
28o THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
his soul, and kept it in active operation, not as something extrane
ous, but as inherent in and peculiar to his nature.
If Adam s life originated in the union which God had established
between his soul and the life-principle of the Holy Spirit, it follows
that Adam s death resulted from God s act of dissolving that union
whereby his soul became a corpse.
But this is not all. When the body dies it does not disappear;
the process of death does not stop there. As a unit it becomes in
capable of organic action, but its constituent parts become capable
of producing terrible and corrupting effects. Left unburied in a
house, the poisonous gases of dissolution breed malignant fevers
and cause death to the inhabitants and the community. After this
dissolution of flesh and blood, which can not inherit the kingdom of
God, the body as such continues to exist, with the possibility of
being reanimated and refashioned into a more glorious body, and
of being reunited with the soul.
All this can almost literally be applied to the soul. When a
soul dies, i.e., is severed from its life-principle, which is the Holy
Spirit, it becomes perfectly motionless and unable to perform any
good work. Some things may remain, like loveliness upon the
face of the dead ; yet, however lovely, it is useless and unprofitable.
And as a dead body is incapable of any act and inclined to all dis
solution, so is a dead soul incapable of any good and inclined to all
evil.
But this does not imply that a dead soul is devoid of all activity,
any more than a dead body. As the latter contains blood, carbon,
and lime, so does the former possess will, feeling, intelligence, and
imagination. And these elements of a dead soul become equally
active with still more terrible effects, which are sometimes fearful
to behold. But as the dead body by all its activities can never pro
duce anything to restore its organism, so can the dead soul by all
its workings accomplish nothing to restore a harmonious utterance
before God. All its utterances are sinful, even as the dead body
emits only offensive odors.
Yea, the parallel goes still further. A corpse may "be embalmed,
stuffed with herbs, and encased as a mummy. Its corruption is
invisible, all unsightliness carefully concealed. So do many men
embalm the dead soul, fill it with fragrant herbs, and wrap it like a
mummy in a shroud of self-righteousness, so that of the indwelling
corruption scarcely anything appears. But as the Egyptians by
OUR DEATH 281
their embalming never could restore life unto their dead, so can
these soul-mummies with all their Egyptian arts never kindle one
spark of life in their dead souls.
A dead soul is not annihilated, but continues to exist, and by
divine grace can be reanimated to a new life. It continues to exist
even more powerfully than the body. The latter is divisible, but
the soul is not. Being a unit it can not be divided. Hence soul-
death is not followed by soul-dissolution. It is the poisonous work
ing of the soul-elements after death that causes a terrible strain,
creating in the indivisible soul a vehement desire for dissolution ;
friction and confusion of elements that cry for harmony and peace ;
violent excitement kindling unholy fires ; but there is no dissolution.
Therefore the soul is called immortal, i.e., it can not be divided nor
annihilated. It becomes a corpse insusceptible of dissolution, in
which the poisonous gases will continue their pestilential work in
hell forever.
But the soul is also susceptible of new quickening and anima
tion ; dead in trespasses and sin, severed from the life-principle, its
organism motionless, incapable, and unprofitable, corrupt and un
done, but still a human soul. And God, who is merciful and
gracious, can reestablish the broken bond. The interrupted com
munion with the Holy Spirit can be restored, like the broken
fellowship of body and soul.
And this quickening of the dead soul is regeneration.
We close this section with one more remark : The breaking of
the bond which causes death is not always sudden. Death from
paralysis is almost instantaneous, from consumption slow. When
Adam had sinned, death came at once ; but so far as the body was
concerned, its complete severing from the soul required more than
nine hundred years. But the soul died at once, died suddenly; the
bond with the Holy Spirit was severed, and only its raveling
threads remain active in the feelings of shame.
When we say that soul-death may be less pronounced in one case
than in another, we do not mean to imply that while the one is
dead the other is only dying. Nay, both are dead, the soul of each
is a corpse ; but the one is embalmed as a mummy, and the other is
in the process of dissolution; or, the conflicting, poisonous, and
destructive workings in the soul of the one have just commenced,
while in the other they were stimulated and developed by educa-
282 THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON
tion and other agencies. These differences among different persons
depend upon the divine grace.
Dissolution in a body at the North Pole is checked ; in a body
under the Equator it is rapidly accomplished. In like manner dead
souls are placed in different atmospheres. Hence the differences.
Cbapter.
PREPARATORY GRACE.
XVII.
What Is It ?
" We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not
his brother abideth in death."
T. John Hi. 14.
IT is unnecessary to say that the scope of these discussions does
not include the redemptive work as a whole, which in its choicest
sense is not of the Holy Spirit alone, but of the Triune God whose
royal majesty shines and sparkles in it with excellent glory. It
includes not only the work of the Holy Spirit, but even more that
of the Father and of the Son. And in these three we see the triune
activity of the tender mercies of the Triune God.
These discussions treat only that part of the work which reveals
the operation of the Holy Spirit.
The first question in order is that of the so-called " preparatory
grace." This is a question of surpassing importance, since Method
ism * neglects it and modern orthodoxy abuses it, in order to make
the determining choice in the work of grace once more to depend
upon man s free will.
Regarding the principal point, it must be conceded that there is
a gratia prceparans" as our old theologians used to call it, i.e.,
a preparatory grace ; not a preparation of grace, but a grace which
prepares, which is in its preparatory workings real grace, undoubted
and unadulterated. The Church has always maintained this con
fession by its soundest interpreters and noblest confessors. It could
. *See the author s explanation of Methodism, section 5 of the Preface.
284 PREPARATORY GRACE
not surrender it as long as God is indeed eternal, unchangeable,
and omnipresent ; but by it must forcibly protest against the untrue
representation that God lets a man be born and live for years un
noticed and independent of Himself, suddenly to convert him at the
moment of His pleasure, from that hour to make him the object of
His care and keeping.
Tho it can not be denied that the sinner shared this delusion
because as he cared not for God, why then should God care for him ?
yet the Church may not encourage him in this ungodly idea. For
it belittles the divine virtues, glories, and attributes. Heretics of
every name and origin have made the soul s salvation their chief
study, but almost always have neglected the knowledge of God.
And yet every creed begins with : " I believe in God the Father
Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth"; and the value of all that
follows concerning Christ and our redemption depends only upon
the correct interpretation of that first article. Hence the Church
has always insisted upon a pure and correct knowledge of God in
every confession and in every part of the redemptive work ; and has
considered it its principal duty and privilege to guard the purity of
this knowledge. Even a soul s salvation should not be desired at
the expense of the slightest injury to the purity of that confession.
Regarding the work of preparatory grace, it was before all
.things necessary to examine whether the knowledge of God had
been retained in its purity, or whether to favor the sinner it had
been distorted and twisted. And tested by this, it can not be de
nied that God s care for His elect does not begin at an arbitrary
moment, but is interwoven with their whole existence, including
their conception, and even before their conception, with the mys
teries of that redeeming love which declares : " I have loved thee
with an everlasting love." Hence it is unthinkable that God should
have left a sinner to himself for years, to arrest him at a certain
moment in the midst of his life.
Nay, if God is to remain Gad and His omnipresent power unlim
ited, a sinner s salvation must be an eternal work, embracing his
entire existence a work whose roots are hidden in the unseen foun
dations of the wondrous mercies which extend far beyond his con
ception. It can not be denied that a man, converted at twenty-five,
was during his godless life the subject of the divine labor, care, and
protection; that in his conception and before his birth God s hand
held him and brought him forth ; yea, that even in the divine coun-
WHAT IS IT ? 285
sel the work must be traced which God has wrought for him long
before his conversion.
The confession of election and foreordination is essentially the
recognition of a grace active long before the hour of conversion.
The idea that from eternity God had recorded a mere arbitrary
name or figure, to quicken it only after many centuries, is truly un
godly. Nay, God s elect never stood before His eternal vision as
mere names or figures ; but every soul elect is also foreordained to
stand before Him in his complete development, the object in Christ
of God s eternal pleasure.
Christ s sacrifice on Calvary, which satisfies for the elect, justi
fying them by His Resurrection, was not accomplished independ
ently of the elect, but included them all. The resurrection is a
work of the divine Omnipotence, in which God brings back from
the dead not only Christ without His own, but Christ with His own.
Hence every saint with clear spiritual vision confesses that his
heavenly Father performs in him an eternal work, not begun only
in his conversion, but wrought in the eternal counsel through the
periods of old and new covenants; in his person all the days of his
life, and which will work in him throughout eternity. Even in
this general sense the Church may not neglect to confess prepara
tory grace.
However, the question is narrowed when, excluding what pre
cedes our birth, we consider only our sinful life before conversion,
or the years intervening between the age of discretion and the hour
when the scales fell from our eyes.
During those years we departed from God, instead of coming
more closely to Him. Sin broke out more violently in one than in
another, but there was iniquity in us all. As often as the plummet
was let down beside our souls, they appeared out of the perpendic
ular. And during this sinful period, many hold that preparatory
grace is out of the question. They say, " Where sin is, there can be
no grace"; hence during those years the Lord leaves the sinner to
himself, to return to him when sin s bitter fruit shall be ripe enough
to move him to faith and repentance. They deny not God s gra
cious election and foreordination, neither His care for His elect in
their birth ; but they do deny His preparatory grace during the years
of alienation, and believe that His grace begins to operate only
when it breaks forth in their conversion.
Of course there is some truth in this; there is such a thing as
286 PREPARATORY GRACE
the abandoning of the sinner to iniquity, when God lets a man walk
in his own ways, giving him up unto vile passions to do things that
are unseemly. But instead of interrupting God s labor upon such
a soul, the very words of Scripture, "to give them up," "to give
them over" (Rom. i. 24, 28), show that this drifting away upon the
current of sin is not without God s notice. Men have confessed
that, if inward sin had not revealed itself, breaking forth in its
fury, they would never have discovered the inward corruption nor
have cried to God for mercy. The realization of their guilt and
the remembrance of their fearful past have been to many saints
powerful incitements to labor with strong hands and pitying hearts
for the rescue of those hopelessly lost in the same deadly waters
from which they had been saved. The remembrance of the deep
corruption from which they are now delivered has been to many
the most potent safeguard from fancied self-righteousness, proud
bearing, and the conceit of being holier than others. Many depths
of reconciliation and grace have been discovered and sounded only
by hearts so deeply wounded that, for the covering of their guilt, a
mere superficial confession of the atoning blood could not suffice.
How deeply did David fall; and who ever shouted from mercy s
depths more jubilantly than he? Who impressed the Church s pure
confession more profoundly than Augustine, incomparable among
the Church fathers, who from the abyss of his own guilt and in
ward brokenness had learned to gaze upon the firmament of God s
eternal mercies. Even from this extreme view of man s sinful way
it can not be affirmed that in that way God s grace was suspended.
Light and shadow are here necessarily blended.
And this is not all. Even tho by sin we have forfeited all, and
the sinful ego, however virtuous outwardly, has tinctured every
action of life with sin, yet this is not all of life. In the midst of it
all, life was shaped and developed. The sinner of five-and-twenty
differs from the child of three, who by his ugly temper plainly
showed his sinful nature. During all those years the child has be
come a man. That which slumbered in him has gradually mani
fested itself. Influences have wrought upon him. Knowledge has
been mastered and increased. Talents have been awakened and
developed. Memory and remembrance have accumulated treasures
of experience. However sinful the form, the character has be
come settled and some of its traits have adopted definite lines. The
child has become a man a person, living, existing, and thinking
WHAT IS IT? 287
differently from other persons. And in all this, so confesses the
Church, was the hand of the Omnipresent and Almighty God. It
is He who during all these years of resistance has guided and di
rected His creature according to His own purpose.
Sooner or later the Sun of Grace will rise upon him, and, since
much depends upon the condition in which grace shall find him, it
is the Lord God Himself who prepares that condition. He prepares
it by graciously restraining his character from adopting traits which
would prevent him later on from running his course in the kingdom
of God, and, on the other hand, by graciously developing in him
such character and such features as will appear after his conversion
adapted to the task which God intended for him.
And so it is evident that even during the time of alienation
God bestows grace upon His elect. Afterward he will perceive
how evidently all things have worked together for good, not because
he intended it so, but in spite of his sinful intentions, and only
because the protecting grace of God was working in and by and
through it all. His course might have been altogether different.
That it is as it is, and not much worse, he owes not to himself, but
to higher favor. Hence, reviewing his life s dark background, the
saint thinks at first that it contains but a night of Satanic darkness ;
later on, being better instructed, he perceives through that dark
ness a faint glimmer of divine love.
In fact, in his life there are three distinct periods of thankful
ness:
First, immediately after his conversion, when he can think of
no other reason of thankfulness than the newly found grace.
Second, when he learns to render thanks also for the grace of his
eternal election, extending far behind the first grace.
Lastly, when the darkness between election and conversion be
ing dispelled, he thanks God for the preparatory grace which in the
midst of that darkness watched over his soul.
XVIII.
What It Is Not.
" We are His workmanship.
Ephes. 11. 10.
IN the preceding article we contended that there is preparatory
grace. In opposition to the contemporary deism of the Methodists,*
the Reformed churches ought to confess this excellent truth in all
its length and breadth. But it should not be abused to reestablish
the sinner s free will, as the Pelagians did, and the Arminians after
them, and as the Ethicals do now, tho differently.
The Methodist * errs in saying that God does not care for the
sinner until He suddenly arrests him in his sinful way. Nor may
we tolerate the opposite error, the denial of regeneration, the new
starting-point in the life of the sinner, which would make the whole
work of conversion but an awakening of dormant and suppressed
energies. There is no gradual transition ; conversion is not merely
the healing of disease, or an uprising of what had been suppressed;
least of all, the arousing of dormant energies.
As regards his first birth, the child of God was dead, and can be
brought to life only by a second birth as real as the first. Gener
ally the person so favored is not conscious of it. In the nature of
the case, man is unconscious of his first birth. Consciousness comes
only with the years. And the same applies to regeneration, of
which he was unconscious until the time of his conversion; and
that may be ten or twenty years.
The grounds upon which the Church confesses that a large ma
jority of men are born again before holy Baptism are many indeed;
wherefore, in Baptism, it addresses the infants of believers as being
regenerate.
And what do the Semi-Pelagians of all times and shades, and
the Ethicals of the present time, teach concerning this? They lower
the first act of God in the sinners to a sort of preparatory grace,
* See section 5 in Preface.
WHAT IT IS NOT 289
imparted not only to the elect, but to all baptized persons. They
represent it as follows :
First, all men are conceived and born in sin; and if God did
not take the first step, all would perish.
Second, He imparts to the children born in the Christian Church
a sort of assisting grace, relieving inability.
Third, hence every baptized person has the power to choose or
reject the offered grace.
Fourth, wherefore, out of the many who received preparatory
grace, some choose life and others perish.
And this is the confession not of Augustine, but of Pelagius ; not
of Calvin, but of Castellio ; not of Gomarus, but of Arminius ; not
of the Reformed churches, but of the sects which they have con
demned as heretical.
This impious lie, which pervades this whole representation,
must be eradicated ; and the Methodist brethren deserve our strong
est support when with holy enthusiasm they oppose this false sys
tem. If this representation be true, then the counsel of God has
lost its certainty and stedfastness; then the Mediator s redemp
tive work is uncertain in its application; then our passing from
death unto life depends in the end upon our own will ; and the child
of God is robbed of all his comfort in life and death, since his new
life may be lost.
It does not avail the Ethical theologians when under many beau
tiful forms they confess their belief in an eternal election, and that
grace can not be lost, and in the perseverance of saints. As long
as they do not purge themselves of their principal error viz., that
in Baptism God so relieves the inability of the sinner that he can
choose life of himself they do not stand on the basis of the Re
formed churches, but are directly opposed to it. Nor will they be
counted as children of the Reformed household of faith until, with
out any subterfuge, they confess definitely that preparatory grace
does not operate at all, except upon persons who will surely come
to life, and who will never be lost again. To suppose that this
grace can work in a man without saving him to the uttermost is to
break with the doctrine of Scripture and to turn the back upon a
vital feature of the Reformed churches. We do not deny that many
persons are lost in whom many excellent powers have wrought. The
apostle teaches this very clearly in Heb. vi. : " They may have
tasted of the heavenly gift." But between God s work upon them
9
290 PREPARATORY GRACE
and that in His elect is a great gulf. The workings in these non-
elect have nothing in common with saving grace ; hence prepara
tory grace, as well as saving grace, is altogether out of the ques
tion. Surely there is preparatory grace, but only for the elect who
will certainly come to life, and who being once quickened will re
main so. The fatal doctrine of three conditions viz., that (i) of
the spiritually dead, (2) of the spiritually living, and (3) of men
hovering between life and death must be abandoned. The spread
of this doctrine in our churches will surely destroy their spiritual
character, as it has done in the ancient Huguenot churches of
France. Life and death are absolute opposites, and a third state
between them is unthinkable. He that is scarcely alive belongs to
the living; and he that has just died belongs to the dead. One
apparently dead is living, and he that is apparently living is dead.
The boundary-line is a hair s breadth, and a state between does not
exist. This applies to the spiritual condition. One lives, altho he
has received no more than the vital germ, and still wanders uncon
verted in the ways of sin. And he is dead, tho tasting the heavenly
gift, so long as life is not rekindled in his soul. Every other repre
sentation is false.
Others advance the view that preparatory grace prepares not
for the reception of life, but for conversion. And this is just as
pernicious. For then the soul s salvation depends not upon re
generation, but upon conversion; and this makes the salvation of
our deceased infants impossible. Nay, standing by the graves of
our baptized young children, confident of their salvation through
the one Name given under heaven, we reject the teaching that sal
vation depends upon conversion ; but confess that it is effected by
the divine act of creating in us a new life, which sooner or later
manifests itself in conversion.
Preparatory grace always precedes the new life ; hence it ceases
even before holy Baptism, in infants quickened before being bap
tized. Hence in a more limited sense, preparatory grace operates
only in persons quickened later on in life, shortly before conversion.
For the sinner once quickened has received grace, i.e., the germ of
all grace ; and that which exists can not be prepared.
A third error, on this point, is the representation that certain
moods and dispositions must be prepared in the sinner before God
WHAT IT IS NOT 291
can quicken him ; as tho quickening grace were conditioned upon
preparatory grace. The salvation of our deceased infants opposes
this also. There were no moods or dispositions in them ; yet no
theologian will say that they are lost, or that they are saved by an
other name than the One in whom adults find salvation. No; the
sinner needs nothing whatever to predispose him for the implanting
of the new life ; and, tho he were the most hardened sinner, devoid
of every predisposition, God is able at His own time to quicken
him. The omnipotence of divine grace is unlimited.
The implanting of the new life is not a moral, but a metaphysical
act of God i.e., He does not effect it by admonishing the sinner,
but independently of his will and consciousness ; yet despite his
will, He plants something in him whereby his nature obtains an
other quality.
Even the representation, still maintained by some of our best
theologians, that preparatory grace is like the drying of wet wood,
so that the spark can more readily ignite it, we can not adopt.
Wet wood will not take the spark. It must be dried before it can be
kindled. And this does not apply to the work of grace. The dis
position of our souls is immaterial. Whatever it may be, omnipo
tent grace can kindle it. And, tho we do not undervalue disposi
tions, yet we do not concede to them the potentiality of kindling.
For this reason the theologians of the flourishing period of our
churches insisted that preparatory grace should not be treated
loosely, but in the following order : " The grace of God first pre
cedes, then prepare s, and lastly performs {proeveniens, prczparans, ope-
rans) i.e., grace is always first, never waits for anything in us, but
begins its work before there is anything in us. Second, the time
before our quickening is not wasted, but during it grace prepares
us for our lifework in the kingdom. Third, at the appointed time
grace alone quickens us unaided ; hence, grace is the operans, the
real worker. Hence preparatory grace must never be under
stood as a means to prepare for the impartation of life. Nothing
prepares for such quickening. Life is enkindled, wholly unpre
pared, not from anything in us, but entirely by the working of God.
All that preparatory grace accomplishes is this, that God by it so
disposes our life, arranges its course, and directs our development
that being quickened by His exclusive act, we shall possess the dis
position required for the task assigned to us in the kingdom.
292 PREPARATORY GRACE
Our person is like the field wherein the sower is to scatter the
seed. Suppose there are two fields in which the seed must be
sown; the one has been plowed, fertilized, harrowed, and cleared
of stones, while the other lies fallow, uncared for. What is the
result? Does the former produce wheat of itself? By no means;
tho the furrows were never so deep and the ground never so rich
and smooth, if it receives no seed-grain it will never yield a single
ear. And the other, not cultivated, will surely germinate the seed
scattered therein. The origin of the wheat sown has no connection
with the cultivation of the field, since the seed-grain is conveyed
thither from elsewhere. But to the growth of the wheat, cultivation
is of greatest importance. And so it is in the spiritual kingdom.
Whether great or small, preparatory grace contributes nothing to
the origin of life, which springs from the " incorruptible seed " sown
in the heart. But to its development it is of greatest importance.
This is why the Reformed churches so strongly insist upon the
careful training of our children. For, altho we confess that all our
training can not create the least spark of heavenly fire, yet we know
that when God puts that spark into their hearts, kindling the new
life, much will depend upon the condition in which it finds them.
3fourtb Cbapter.
REGENERATION.
XIX.
Old and New Terminology.
" That which is born of the flesh is
flesh. " John iii. 6.
BEFORE we examine the work of the Holy Spirit in this impor
tant matter, we must first define the use of words.
The word " regeneration " is used in a limited sense, and in a more
extended sense.
It is used in the limited sense when it denotes exclusively God s
act of quickening, which is the first divine act whereby God trans
lates us from death into life, from the kingdom of darkness into the
kingdom of His dear Son. In this sense regeneration is the start
ing-point. God comes to one born in iniquity and dead in trespasses
and sins, and plants the principle of a new spiritual life in his soul.
Hence he is born again.
But this is not the interpretation of the Confession of Faith,
for article 24 reads : " We believe that this true faith, being
wrought in man by the hearing of the Word of God and the opera
tion of the Holy Ghost, doth regenerate and make him a new man,
causing him to live a new -life, and freeing him from the bondage of
sin." Here the word " regeneration" used in its wider sense, denotes
the entire change by grace effected in our persons, ending in our
dying to sin in death and our being born for heaven. While for
merly this was the usual sense of the word, we are accustomed now
to the limited sense, which we therefore adopt in this discussion.
Respecting the difference between the two formerly the work
of grace was generally represented as the soul consciously observed
it ; while now the work itself is described apart from the conscious
ness.
294 REGENERATION
Of course, a child knows nothing of the genesis of his own exist
ence, nor of the first period of his life, from his own observation. If
he were to tell his history from his own recollections, he would be
gin with the time that he sat in his high chair, and proceed until
as a man he went out into the world. But, being informed by oth
ers of his antecedents, he goes back of his recollections and speaks
of his parents, family, time, and place of birth, how he grew up,
etc. Hence there is quite a difference between the two accounts.
The same difference we observe in the subject before us. For
merly it was customary, after the manner of Romish scholastics, to
describe one s experience from one s own recollections. Being per
sonally ignorant of the implanting of the new life, and remember
ing only the great spiritual disturbance, which led one to faith and
repentance, it was natural to date the beginning of the work of
grace not from regeneration, but from the conviction of sin and
faith, thence proceeding to sanctification, and so on.
But this subjective representation, more or less incomplete, can
not satisfy us now. It was to be expected that the supporters of
" free will " would abuse it, by inferring that the origin and first
activities of the work of salvation spring from man himself. A
sinner, hearing the Word, is deeply impressed; persuaded by its
threats and promises, he repents, arises, and accepts the Savior.
Hence there is nothing more than a mere moral persuasion, obscur
ing the glorious origin of the new life. To resist this repulsive
deforming of the truth, Maccovius, already in the days of the Synod
of Dort, abandoned this more or less critical method to make re
generation the starting-point. He followed this order: "Knowl
edge of sin, redemption in Christ, regeneration, and only then faith."
And this was consistent with the development of the Reformed doc
trine. For as soon as the subjective method was abandoned, it be
came necessary in answer to the question, " What has God wrought
in the soul?" to return to \h& first implanting of life. And then it
became evident that God did not begin by leading the sinner to re
pentance, for repentance must be preceded by conviction of sin ;
nor by bringing him under the hearing of the word, for this re
quires an opened ear. Hence the first conscious and comparatively
cooperative act of man is always preceded by the original act of God,
planting in him the first principle of a new life, under which act
man is wholly passive and unconscious.
This led to the distinction of ihefirsf and second grace. The;
OLD AND NEW TERMINOLOGY 295
former denoted God s work in the sinner, creating a new life with
out his knowledge ; while the latter denoted the work wrought in
regenerate man with his full knowledge and consent.
The first grace was naturally called regeneration. And yet
there was no perfect unanimity in this respect. Some Scottish
theologians put it in this way : " God began the work of grace with
the implanting of the faith-faculty (fides potentialis*}, followed by
the new grace of the faith-exercise (fides actualis}, and of the faith-
power (fides habitualis} . Yet it is only an apparent difference.
Whether I call the first activity of grace, the implanting of the
" faith- faculty ," or the "new principle of life" in both instances it
means that the work of grace does not begin with faith or with re
pentance or contrition, but that these are preceded by God s act of
giving power to the powerless, hearing to the deaf, and life to the
dead.
For a correct idea of the entire work of grace in its different
phases let us notice the following successive stages or milestones :
1. The implanting of the new life-principle, commonly called re
generation in the limited sense, or the implanting of the faith-/ar-
ulty. This divine act is wrought in man at different ages; when,
no one can tell. We know from the instance of John the Baptist
that it can be wrought even in the mother s womb. And the salva
tion of deceased infants constrains us, with Voetius and all profound
theologians, to believe that this original act may occur very early
in life.
2. The keeping of the implanted principle of life, while the sinner
still continues in sin, so far as his consciousness is concerned. Per
sons who received the life-principle early in life arc no more dead,
but live. Dying before actual conversion, they are not lost, but
saved. In early life they often manifest holy inclinations, some
times truly marvelous. However, they have no conscious faith,
nor knowledge of the treasure possessed. The new life is present,
but dormant; kept not by the recipient, but by the Giver like
seed-grain in the ground in winter; like the spark glowing under
the ashes, but not kindling the wood; like a subterranean stream
coming at last to the surface.
3. The call by the Word and the Spirit, internal and external.
Even this is a divine act, commonly performed through the service
of the Church. It addresses itself not to the deaf but to the hear-
296 REGENERATION
ing, not to the dead but to the living, altho still slumbering. It
proceeds from the Word and the Spirit, because not only the faith-
faculty, but faith itself /. e. , the power and exercise of the faculty
are gifts of grace. The faith-faculty can not exercise faith of it
self. It avails us no more than the faculty of breathing when air
and the power to breathe are withheld. Hence the preaching of
the Word and the inward working of the Holy Spirit are divine,
correspondent operations. Under the preaching of the Word the
Spirit energizes the faith-/ acuity, and thus the call becomes effec
tual, for the sleeper arises.
4. This call of God produces conviction of sin and justification,
two acts of the same exercise of faith. In this, God s work may be
represented again either subjectively or objectively. Subjectively,
it seems to the saint that conviction of sin and heart-brokenness
came first, and that then he obtained the sense of being justified by
faith. Objectively, this is not so. The realization of his lost con
dition was already a bold act of faith. And by every subsequent
act of faith he becomes more deeply convinced of his misery and
receives more abundantly from the fulness which is in Christ, his
Surety.
Concerning the question, whether conviction of sin must not
precede faith, there need be no difference. Both representations
amount to the same thing. When a man can say for the first time
in his life " I believe," he is at the same moment completely lost and
completely saved, being justified in his Lord.
5. This exercise of faith results in conversion ; at this stage in
the way of grace the child of God becomes clearly conscious of the
implanted life. When a man says and feels " I believe," and does
not recall it, but God confirms it, faith is at once followed by con
version. The implanting of the new life precedes the first act of
faith, but conversion follows it. Conversion does not become a fact
so long as the sinner only sees his lost condition, but when he acts
upon this principle ; for then the old man begins to die and the new
man begins to rise, and these are the two parts of all real conver
sion.
In principle man is converted but once, viz., the moment of yield
ing himself to Immanuel. After that he converts himself daily, i.e.,
as often as he discovers conflict between his will and that of the
Holy Spirit. And ^ven this is not man s work, but the work of
God in him. "Turn Thou me, O Lord, and I shall be turned."
OLD AND NEW TERMINOLOGY 297
There is this difference, however, that in regeneration and faith s
first exercise he was passive, while in conversion grace enabled him
to be active. One is converted and one converts himself; the one is
incomplete without the other.
6. Hence conversion merges itself in sanctification. This is also
a divine act, and not human ; not a growing toward Christ, but an
absorbing of His life through the roots of faith. In children of
twelve or thirteen deceased soon after conversion, sanctification
does not appear. Yet they partake of it just as much as adults.
Sanctification has a twofold meaning : first, sanctification which as
Christ s finished work is given and imputed to all the elect; and
second, sanctification which from Christ is gradually wrought in the
converted and manifested according to times and circumstances.
These are not two sanctifications, but one j just as we speak some
times of the rain that accumulates in the clouds above and then
comes down in drops on the thirsty fields below.
7. Sanctification is finished and closed in the complete redemp
tion at the time of death. In the severing of body and soul divine
grace completes the dying to sin. Hence in death a work of grace
is performed which imparts to the work of regeneration its fullest
unfolding. If until then, considering ourselves out of Christ, we
are still lost in ourselves and lying in the midst of death, the arti
cle of death ends all this. Then faith is turned into sight, sin s
excitement is disarmed, and we are forever beyond its reach.
Lastly, our glorification in the last day, when the inward bliss
will be manifest in outward glory, and by an act of omnipotent
grace the soul will be reunited with its glorified body, and be
placed in such heavenly glory as becomes the state of perfect
felicity.
This shows how the operations of grace are riveted together as
the links of a chain. The work of grace must begin with quickening
the dead. Once implanted, the still slumbering life must be awa
kened by the call. Thus awakened, man finds himself in a new life,
i.e., he knows himself justified. Being justified, he lets the new life
result in conversion. Conversion flows into sanctification. Sanctifi
cation receives its keystone through the severing of sin in death.
And in the last day, glorification completes the work of divine grace
in our entire person.
Hence it follows that that which succeeds is contained in that
298 REGENERATION
which precedes. A regenerate deceased infant died to sin in death
just as surely as the man with hoary head and fourscore years.
There can be no first without including the second and last. Hence
the entire work of grace might be represented as one birth for
heaven, one continued regeneration to be completed in the last day.
Wherefore there may be persons ignorant of these stages,
which are as indispensable as milestones to the surveyor ; but they
may never be made to oppress the souls of the simple. He who
breathes deeply unconscious of his lungs is often the healthiest.
Touching the question whether the Scripture gives reference to
this arrangement over the old, we refer to the word of Jesus: " Ex
cept a man be born of water and the Spirit he can not see the king
dom of God"; from which we infer that Jesus dates every operation
of grace from regeneration. First life, and then the activity of life.
XX.
Its Course.
" No man can come unto Me, ex
cept the Father draw him."
Jo/in vi. 44.
FROM the preceding it is evident that preparatory grace is differ
ent in different persons ; and that distinction must be made between
the many regenerated in the first days of life, and the few born
again at a more advanced age.
Of course, we refer only to the elect. In the non-elect saving
grace does not operate ; hence preparatory grace is altogether out
of the question. The former are born, with few exceptions, in the
Church. They do not enter the covenant of grace later on in life,
but they belong to it from the first moment of their existence.
They spring from the seed of the Church, and in turn contain in
themselves the seed of the future Church. And for this reason,
the first germ of the new life is imparted to the seed of the Church
(which is, alas ! always mixed with much chaff) of tenest either be
fore or soon after birth.
The Reformed Church was so firmly settled in this doctrine that
she dared establish it as the prevailing rule, believing that the seed
of the Church (not the chaff of course) received the germ of life
even before Baptism , wherefore it is actually sanctified in Christ
already; and receives in Baptism the seal not upon something that
is yet to come, but upon that which is already present. Hence the
liturgical question to the parents : " Do you acknowledge that, altho
your children are conceived and born in sin, and therefore are sub
ject to condemnation itself, yet that they are sanctified in Christ,
and therefore as members of His Church ought to be baptized?"
In subsequent periods, less stedfast in the faith, men have
shunned this doctrine, not knowing what to make of the words " are
sanctified." This they interpreted to mean that as children of
members of the covenant they were counted as belonging to the cov
enant, and as such were entitled to baptism. But the earnest and
300 REGENERATION
sound common sense of our people has always felt that this mere
" counting in " did not do justice to the full and rich meaning of the
liturgy.
And if you should inquire into the meaning of these words of the
office of Baptism, " are sanctified," not of the weaker epigones, but
of the energetic generation of heroes who have victoriously fought
the Lord s battles against Arminius and his followers, then you
would discover that those godly and learned theologians, such as
Gysbrecht Voetius for instance, never for a moment hesitated to
break with these half-way explanations, but spoke out plainly, say
ing : " They are entitled to Baptism not because they are counted as
members of the covenant, but because as a rule they actually already
possess the first grace ; and for this reason, and this reason alone, it
reads : That our children are sanctified in Christ, and therefore as
members of His body ought to be baptized. "
By this confession the Reformed Church proved to be in accord
with God s Word and not less with the actual facts. With few ex
ceptions, persons who afterward prove to belong to the regenerate
do not begin life with riotous outbreaks of sin, It is rather the rule
that children of Christian parents manifest from early childhood a
desire and taste for holy things, warm zeal for the name of God,
and inward emotions that can not be attributed to an evil nature.
Moreover, this glorious confession gave the right direction to the
education of children in our Reformed families, largely retained to
the present time. Our people did not see in their children off
shoots of the wild vine, to be grafted perhaps later on, with whom
little could be done until converted after the manner of Method
ism ; * but they lived in the quiet expectation and holy confidence
that the child to be trained was already grafted, and therefore
worthy to be nursed with tenderest care. We admit that, latterly,
since the Reformed character of our churches has been impaired
by the National Church as a church for the masses, this gold has
been sadly dimmed; but its original, vital thought was beautiful
and animating. It made God s work of regeneration precede man s
work ; to Baptism it gave its rich development ; and it made the
work of education, not dependent on chance, cooperate with God.
* For the sense in which the author takes Methodism, see section 5 in the
Preface.
ITS COURSE 301
Hence we recognize among the rising generation in the Church
four classes :
1. All elect persons regenerated before Baptism, in whom the im
planted life remains hidden until they are converted at a later age.
2. Elect persons, not only regenerated in infancy, but in whom
the implanted life was early manifested and ripened imperceptibly
into conversion.
3. Elect persons born again, and converted in later life.
4. The non-elect, or the chaff.
Examining each of these four, with special reference to prepara
tory grace, we arrive at the following conclusions :
Regarding the elect of the first class, from the very nature of
the case preparatory grace has scarcely room here, in its limited
sense. In its direct form, it is unthinkable with reference to an un
born or new-born child. In such it is only indirect i.e., frequently
it pleases God to give such child parents whose persons and natures
practise a form of sin less outspoken in its war upon grace than
other forms of sin. Not as tho such parents had anything from
which the child could be grafted, for that which is born of the flesh
is flesh; nothing clean from the unclean; it is always the wild vine
waiting for the grafting of the Lord. Nay, the preparatory grace
in this case appears from the fact that the child receives from its
parents a form of life adapted to its heavenly calling.
The same applies to the elect of the second class. Altho we con
cede that the divine call works upon such during their tender years,
yet, while it prepares for conversion, it does not prepare for regen
eration, which it follows. The call is ineffectual unless the faculty
of hearing be first implanted. Only he that has an ear can hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches and to his own soul.
Hence, in this case, preparatory grace is scarcely perceptible.
Surely there are many agencies that imperceptibly prepare for his
conversion; but this is different from a preparing for regeneration,
and we speak now only of the latter.
Properly speaking, preparatory grace in its limited sense is ap
plied only to the third class of elect persons. It comprehends their
whole life with all its turns and changes, relations and connections,
heights and depths, events and adversities. Not as tho all these
could produce the slightest germ of life or possibility of quicken
ing. No ; the germ of life can never spring from preparatory grace,
302 REGENERATION
any more than the preparation of ten cradles, of a dozen of clothes-
baskets, and of closets full of expensive infant-garments can ever
juggle a single infant into any of those cradles. The vital spark is
produced only by an act of the mighty God, independent of all
preparation. But, from its birth, God guards that wild vine and
controls the growth of its wild shoots, so that in the hour of His
pleasure, when He shall graft upon it the true vine, it may be all
that it ought to be.
And this ends the discussion, for regarding ike fourth class, by
and by they will be separated from the wheat and blown away by
the fan which is in His hand ; hence preparatory grace is out of the
question.
And from this it is evident that the proper work of the Holy
Spirit regarding preparatory grace is scarcely perceptible.
Every feature of this work, so far presented, points directly not
to the operation of the Holy Spirit, nor to that of the Son, but al
most exclusively to that of the F.ather. For the circumstances of
the child s birth i.e., the hereditary character of his family and
more especially of his parents, and the future course of his life until
the moment of his conversion belong to the realm of the divine
Providence. The appointed place of our habitation, our gene
ration and family, the formation of our immediate environment,
the influences previously determined to affect us all belong to the
leadings of God s providence, ascribed by Scripture to the work of
the Father. The Lord Jesus said : " No man can come unto Me,
except the Father draw him." And altho this drawing of the Father
has a higher aim and must be spiritually understood, yet it indi
cates generally that the determining of those things, which after
ward regulates their direction and course, is attributed particularly
to the First Person.
We notice a work of the Holy Spirit in this matter only as far
as He animates all personal life, since He is the Spirit of Life ; and
as He cooperates with the Father in that special providence which
refers to the elect. For, altho in our mind we can analyze the work
of grace, yet we may never forget that the eternal reality does not
fully correspond to this part of our analysis.
Hence, in the elect, the work of providence and that of grace
often flow together, being one and the same. Our Church has tried
to express this, in her confession of a general providence which in-
ITS COURSE 303
eludes all things and all persons, and a special providence which
works only in the lives of God s elect. When thus the operations
of Providence adopt a special character regarding the elect but not
yet regenerate persons, the Holy Spirit cooperates with the Father
and the Son to carry out the counsels of God s will concerning
them.
And this closes the discussion of preparatory grace, and we now
proceed to discuss regeneration proper. We might speak of the
grace that flows from regeneration and prepares the way for con
version, but this would improperly be called preparatory grace.
All that which aims at the awakening of the life still slumbering
in the regenerate soul is not preparatory grace, but belongs to
the " call." And altho we would not absolutely condemn the use of
the word in that sense, yet neither would we encourage it by our
own example.
Let us recapitulate. Physical life is the result of the union of
body and soul; the dissolution of this union is physical death,
which will be abolished only when body and soul are reunited.
The same applies to things spiritual. Spiritual life results from a
union between the soul and the life-principle of the Holy Spirit.
Hence sin which annihilates this union causes death. This death
can not be overcome until it please the Lord to reunite the soul
with the Spirit s life-principle.
Everything that precedes this reunion is preparatory grace. That
which effects it is the first grace- i.e., working grace, saving grace,
but no longer preparatory grace. When the Holy Spirit begins His
work of effecting this union, preparatory grace ceases; hence it
does not belong to the proper work of the Holy Spirit.
XXI.
Regeneration the Work of God.
"The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
the Lord hath even made both of
them." Prov, xx. 12.
" THE hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath even made
both of them." This testimony of the Holy Spirit contains the
whole mystery of regeneration.
An unregenerate person is deaf and blind ; not only as a stock
or block, but worse. For neither stock nor block is corrupt or
ruined, but an unregenerate person is wholly dead and a prey to
the most fearful dissolution.
This rigid, uncompromising, and absolute confession must be
our starting-point in this discussion, else we shall fail to understand
the claims of regeneration. This is the reason why every heresy
that has conceded in one way or other that man has a share, most
generally a lion s share, in the work of redemption, has always be
gun by calling in question the nature of sin. " Undoubtedly," they
said, " sin is very bad -a. terrible and abominable evil ; but there is
surely some remnant of good in man. That noble, virtuous, and
amiable being, man, can not be dead in trespasses and sin. That
may be true of some scoundrel or knave behind the bars, or of
robbers and unscrupulous murderers ; but really, it can not be ap
plied to our honorable ladies and gentlemen, to our lovely girls,
roguish boys, and attractive children. These are not prone to hate
God and their neighbors, but disposed, with all their heart, to love
all men, and render unto God the reverence due unto Him."
Therefore away with all ambiguity in this matter! This meth
od of smoothing over unpalatable truths, now so much in vogue
among the affable people, we can not indorse. Our confession is,
and ever shall be, that by nature man is dead in trespasses and sin,
lying under the curse, ripe for the just judgment of God, and still
ripening for an eternal condemnation. Surely his being, as man,
is unimpaired; wherefore we protest against the presentation that
REGENERATION THE WORK OF GOD 305
the sinner is in this respect as a stock or block. No ; as man he is
unimpaired, his being is intact; but his nature is corrupt, and in
that corrupt nature he is dead.
We compare him to the body of a person who has died of an
ordinary disease. Such a body retains all the members of the hu
man organism intact. There is the eye with its muscles, and the
ear with its organs of hearing; in the post-mortem examination
heart, spleen, liver, and kidneys appear to be perfectly normal. A
dead body may sometimes appear so natural that one is tempted to
say : " He is not dead, but sleeping." And yet, however perfect and
natural, its nature is corrupt with the corruption of death. And
the same is true of the sinner. His being remains intact and whole,
containing all that which constitutes a man ; but his nature is cor
rupt, yea, so corrupt that he is dead; not only apparently, but actu
ally dead ; dead in all the variations which can be played upon the
term " dead."
Hence without regeneration the sinner is utterly unprofitable.
What is the use of an ear except it hear, or of an eye except it see?
Therefore the Holy Ghost testifies : " The hearing ear and the see
ing eye, the Lord has made even both of them." And since in the
world of spiritual things deaf ears and blind eyes do not avail any
thing, the Church of Christ confesses that every operation of sa
ving grace must be preceded by a quickening of the sinner, by an
opening of blind eyes, an unstopping of deaf ears in short, by the
implanting of the faculty of faith.
And as the man that sat in darkness can see as soon as his eyes
are opened, so we, without moving a hair s breadth, are translated
from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. " Trans
lated" does not denote here an actual going, nor does " to be trans
lated " denote an actual change of place, but simply life entering
into the dead, so that he that was blind can now see.
This wonderful act of regeneration may be examined in two
classes of persons : in the infant and in the adult.
It is the safest way to examine it in the infant: not because this
work of grace is different in an infant from what it is in an adult,
for it is the same in all persons thus favored; but to the conscious
observation of an adult the workings of regeneration are so mingled
with those of conversion that it is difficult to distinguish the two.
But this difficulty does not exist in the case of an unconscious
20
306 REGENERATION
child, as, e.g., in John the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth. Such in
fant has no consciousness to create confusion. The matter appears in
a pure and unmixed form. And thus we are enabled to distinguish
between regeneration and conversion in an adult. It is evident
that in the case of an infant which, like John, is still unborn, there
can be nothing but mere passivity i.e., the child underwent some
thing, but himself did nothing ; something was done to him, and in
him, but not by him ; and every idea of cooperation is absolutely
excluded.
Hence, in regeneration, man is neither worker nor coworker ; he
is merely wrought upon; and the only Worker in this matter is
God. And, for this very reason, because God is the sole Worker in
regeneration, it must be thoroughly understood that His work does
not begin only with regeneration.
No ; while the sinner is still dead in trespasses and sins, before
the work of God has begun in him, he is already chosen and or
dained, justified and sanctified, adopted as God s child and glori
fied. This is what filled St. Paul with such ecstasy of joy when he
said: " For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate ; and
whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He
called, them He also justified ; and whom He justified, them He also
glorified" (Rom. viii. 29, 30). And this is not the recital of what
took place in the regenerate, but the glad summing up of the
things which God accomplished for us before we existed. Hence
our election, foreordination, justification, and glorification precede
the new birth. It is truo that, in the hour of love when regenera
tion was to be effected in us, the things accomplished outside of our
consciousness were to be revealed to the consciousness of faith;
but so far as God was concerned all things were ready and pre
pared. The dead sinner whom God regenerates is to the divine
consciousness a beloved, elect, justified, and adopted child already.
God quickens only His dear children.
Of course, God justifies the ungodly and not the righteous ; He
calls sinners to repentance and not just persons ; but it should be
remembered that this is spoken from the point of view of our own
consciousness of sin. The still unregenerate does not feel himself
God s child, nor that he is justified; does not believe his own elec
tion, yea, often gainsays it; yet he can not alter the things divinely
wrought in his behalf, viz., that before the supreme bar of justice
God declared him just and free, long before he was so declared
REGENERATION THE WORK OF GOD 307
before the bar of his own conscience. Long before he believed, he
was justified before God s tribunal, by and by to be justified by
faith before his own consciousness.
But, however wonderful and unfathomable the mystery of elec
tion may be and none of us shall ever be able to answer the ques
tion why one was chosen to be a vessel of honor, and another was
left as a vessel of wrath in the matter of regeneration we do not
face that mystery at all. That God regenerates one and not anoth
er is according to a fixed and unalterable rule. He comes with
regeneration to all the elect; and the non-elect He passes by.
Hence this act of God is irresistible. No man has the power to say,
" I will not be born again," or to prevent God s work or to put obsta
cles in His way, or to make it so difficult that it can not be per
formed.
God effects this gracious work in His own way, i.e., He so roy
ally perseveres that all creatures together could not rob Him of one
of His elect. If all men and devils should conspire to pluck a bru
tal man, belonging to the elect, from His saving power, all their
efforts would be mere vanity. As we brush away a spider s web,
so would God laugh at all their commotion. The powerful steam
borer pierces the iron plate not more noiselessly and with less effort
than silently and majestically God penetrates the heart of whomso
ever He will, and changes the nature of His chosen. Isaiah s word
concerning the starry heavens " Lift up your eyes on high, and be
hold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their hosts by
number; He calleth them all by name, by the greatness of His
might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth" may be ap
plied to the firmament in which God s elect shine as stars : " Because
of the greatness of His might, and that He is strong in power, not
one faileth." All that are ordained to eternal life are quickened at
the divinely appointed hour.
And this implies that the work of regeneration is not a moral
work; that is, it is not accomplished by means of advice or exhor
tation. Even taken in its wider sense, including conversion, as,
e.g., the canons of Dort use it now and then, regeneration is not a
moral working in the soul.
It is not simply a case of misunderstanding, the sinner s will
being still uncorrupt, so that it requires only instruction and ad
vice to induce it to choose rightly. No ; such advice and admoni-
308 REGENERATION
tion are wholly out of the question regarding the unborn son of
Zacharias; and the thousands of infants of believing parents, of
whom at Dort it was correctly confessed that they may be sup
posed to have died in the Lord, i.e., being born again; and regard
ing those regenerated before Baptism but converted later in life.
For this reason it is so necessary to examine regeneration (in its
limited sense) in an infant, and not in an adult, in whom it neces
sarily includes conversion.
The following reasoning can not be disputed :
1. All men, infants included, are born dead in trespasses and
sins.
2. Of these infants many die before they come to self-conscious
ness.
3. Of these gathered flowers the Church confesses that many
are saved.
4. Being dead in sin, they can not be saved without being born
again.
5. Hence regeneration does actually take place in persons that
are not self-conscious.
These statements being indisputable, it is evident, therefore,
that the nature and character of regeneration can be determined
most correctly by examining it in these still unconscious persons.
Such an unborn infant is totally ignorant of human language ; it
has no ideas, has never heard the Gospel preached, can not receive
instruction, warning, or exhortation. Hence moral influence is
out of the question ; and this convinces us that regeneration is not
a moral, but a metaphysical act of God, just as much as the crea
tion of the soul of an unborn child, which is effected independently
of the mother. God regenerates a man wholly without his fore
knowledge.
What it is that constitutes the act of regeneration can not be told.
Jesus Himself tells us so, for He says: "The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell
whence it cometh and whither it goeth ; so is every one that is born
of the Spirit." And, therefore, it is befitting to investigate this
mystery with the utmost discretion. Even in the natural kingdom
the mystery of life and its origin is almost entirely beyond our
knowledge. The most learned physician is entirely ignorant con
cerning the manner in which a human life comes into existence,
REGENERATION THE WORK OF GOD 309
Once existing, he can explain its development, but of the inception
that precedes all else he knows absolutely nothing. In this respect
he is just as ignorant as the most innocent peasant boy. The mys
tery can not be penetrated, simply because it lies beyond our obser
vation ; it is perceptible only that life exists.
And this applies in stronger sense to the mystery of our second
birth. Post-mortem examination can detect the embryo and its
locality, but spiritually even this is impossible. Subsequent mani
festations are instructive to a certain extent, but even then much is
uncertain and unsettled. By what infallible standard can it be de
termined how much of the old nature enters into the expressions
of the new life? Is there no hypocrisy? Are there no conditions
unexplained? Are there no obstacles to spiritual development?
Hence experience in this respect can not avail; tho pure and sim
ple, it can reveal only the development of that which is, and not
the origin of life unborn.
The only source of truth on this subject is the Word of God;
and in that Word the mystery remains not only unrevealed, but
veiled. And for good reasons. If we were to effect regeneration,
f we could add to or take from it, if we could advance or hinder it,
hen Scripture would surely have sufficiently instructed us concern-
ng it. But since God has reserved this work altogether to Him
self, man need not solve this mystery any more than that of his first
creation, or that of the creation of his soul.
XXII.
The Work of Regeneration.
" Therefore if any man be in Christ, he
is a new creature ; old things are
passed away ; behold all things are
become new." 2 Cor. v. 17.
IN our former article we contended that regeneration is a real
act of God in which man is absolutely passive and unable, accord
ing to the ancient confession of the Church. Let us now reverently
examine this matter more closely ; not to penetrate into things too
high for us, but to cut off error and to clear the consciousness.
Regeneration is not sacramentally effected by holy Baptism,
relieving the sinner s inability, offering him another opportunity to
choose for or against God, as the Ethicals maintain.
Nor is it a mere rectifying of the understanding; nor a simple
change of disposition and inclination, making the unwilling willing
to conform to the holy will of God.
Neither is it a change of ego ; nor, as many maintain, a leaving
the ego undisturbed, the personality unchanged, simply putting
the evil ego in the light and reflection of the righteousness of
Christ.
The last two errors must be refuted and rejected as positively
as the first two.
In regeneration a man does not receive another ego; i.e., our
being as man is not changed nor modified, but before and after re
generation it is the same ego, the same person, the same human
being. Altho sin has terribly corrupted man, his being remained <
intact. Nothing is lacking. All its constituent parts, that distin
guish it from all other beings, are present in the sinner. Not his
being, but his nature became totally corrupt.
Nature and being are not the same. Applied to a steam-engine,
being is the engine itself, with its cylinders, pipes, wheels, and!
screws; but its nature is the action manifest as soon as steam enters)
THE WORK OF REGENERATION 311
the cylinder. Applied to man, being is that which makes him
man, and nature that which manifests the character of his being
and working.
If sin had ruined man s being, he would be no more man, and
regeneration would be impossible. But since his being, his ego,
his person remained intact and the deep corruption affected only
his nature, regeneration, i.e., restoration of his nature, is possible;
and this restoration is effected by the new birth. Let this be
firmly maintained. In regeneration we do not receive a new being,
ego, or person, but our nature is reborn.
The best and most satisfactory illustration of the manner of re
generation is furnished by the curious art of grafting. The suc
cessful grafting of a budding shoot of the cultivated grape upon
the wild vine results in a good tree growing upon the wild trunk.
This applies to all fruit-trees and flowering plants. The cultivated
can be grafted upon the wild. Left to itself, the wild will never
yield anything good. The wild pear and the wild rose remain
stunted and chary of fruit and blossom. But let the gardener graft
a finely flavored pear upon the wild pear, or a beautiful double tea-
rose upon the wild rose, and the former will yield luscious fruit and
the latter magnificent flowers.
This miracle of grafting has always been a wonder to thinking
men. And it is a wonder. The trunk to be grafted is absolutely
wild ; with its wild roots it sucks the saps and forces them into its
wild cells. But that little graft has the wonderful power of con
verting the sap and vital forces into something good, causing that
wild trunk to bear noble fruit and rich flowers. It is true the wild
trunk vigorously resists the reformation of its nature by its wild
shoots below the graft, and if successful its wild nature will forci
bly assert itself and prevent the sap from passing through the bud.
But by keeping down those wild shoots the sap can be forced to the
bud with excellent results. Forcing down the wild trunk, the graft
will gradually reach almost to the roots, and we nearly forget that
the tree was ever wild.
This clearly represents regeneration so far as this divine mys
tery can be represented objectively. For in regeneration some
thing is planted in man which by nature he lacks. The fall did not
merely remove him from the sphere of divine righteousness, into
which regeneration brings him back, but regeneration effects a rad
ical modification in man as man, creating a difference between him
3 i2 REGENERATION
and the unregenerate so great that finally it leads to direct oppo-
sites.
To say that between the regenerate and the unregenerate there
is no difference is equivalent to a denial of the work of the Holy
Spirit. Generally, however, no difference is noticed at first, no
more than in the grafted tree. Twins lie in the same cradle, one
regenerated, the other not, but we can not see the slightest differ
ence between the two. The former may even have a worse temper
than the latter. They are exactly alike. Both spring from the
same wild trunk. Dissecting knife nor microscope could detect the
least difference; for that which God has wrought in the favored
child is wholly spiritual and invisible, discernible to God alone.
This fact must be confessed definitely and emphatically, in op
position to those who say that the seed of regeneration is material.
This error occupies the same ground as the Manichean heresy in
the matter of sin. The latter makes sin a microbe, and this makes
the seed of regeneration a sort of perceptible germ of life and holi
ness. And this falsifies the truth against which, among others, Dr.
Bohl has earnestly protested.
The seed of regeneration is intangible, invisible, purely spirit
ual. It does not create two men in one being, but before and after
regeneration there is but one being, one ego, one personality.
Not an old and a new man, but one man viz., the old man before
regeneration, and the new man after it who is created after God in
perfect righteousness and holiness. For that which is born of God
can not sin. His seed remaineth in him. " Old things are passed
away, behold, all things are become new
Yet the nature of the ego or personality is truly changed, and
in such a way that, putting on the new nature in principle, he
still continues to work through the old nature. The grafted tree is
not two trees, but one. Before the grafting it was a wild rose,
after it a cultivated one. Still the new nature must draw its saps
through the old nature; apart from the graft, tne trunk remains
wild.
Hence before as well as after regeneration we lie in the midst
of death, as soon as we consider ourselves outside of the divine
seed. Wherefore, trying to avoid one false position, we must be
careful not to run into another ; trying to escape the Siamese twin-
ship of the old and the new man, and maintaining the unity of the
ego before and after regeneration, we should not begin to teach that
THE WORK OF REGENERATION 313
regeneration leaves our person unchanged, that it does not affect the
sinner himself, but merely translates him into the sphere of an extra
neous righteousness. No ; the Scripture speaks of a new creature,
another birth, a being changed and renewed. And this can not be
reconciled with the notion that the sinner should remain unchanged.
Regarding the question, what it is in the bud that has the po
tency to regenerate the wild trunk, the best-informed botanist can
not discover the fiber or liquid that might have this power. He
only knows that every bud has its own nature, and possesses the
potency to produce another branch or tree of the same nature by
its own formative power.
And this applies to the work of regeneration. In the center of
our being, ego, personality rules our nature, disposition, form of
being, and existence, imparting its impress, form, character, and
spiritual quality to what we are and work and speak. That all-
controlling center is by nature sinful and wicked. Under its fair
est forms it is but unrighteous. Hence, willingly or unwillingly,
we press upon our being, working, and speaking the stamp of un
righteousness. According to age and development this nature of
the ego chisels out of the marble of our being an evil and sinful
man, corresponding to the image contained in our nature from
which it proceeds. In regeneration God performs in this controlling
center of our being a wonderful act, converting this nature, this
formative force into something entirely different. Consequently
our being, working, and speaking are henceforth controlled by an
other commandment, law of life, and government; and this new
formative force chisels another man in us, new and holy, a child of
God, created in righteousness.
But this change is not completed at once. The tree grafted in
March may remain inactive during that entire month, because there
is as yet no working in its nature. But this is sure : as soon as
there is any action it will be according to the new, ingrafted
nature.
And so it is here. The new, ingrafted life may lie dormant for
a season, like a grain of wheat in the earth ; but when it begins to
work it will be according to the nature of the new life. Hence
regeneration implants the life-germ of the new man, whom it con
tains in all his completeness, and from which it will proceed as
surely as the wheat contained in the seed proceeds from it.
314 REGENERATION
In order to assist us in our representation of this mystery, the
greatest theologian of the Reformed churches has presented the
divine plan in regeneration in the following stages :
(i) In His own mind God conceives the new man ; whom (2) He
modifies according to a particular person, thus creating the new
man ; (3) He brings the germ of this new man into the center of
our being ; (4) in which center He effects the union between our
ego and this germinating life; (5) in that vital germ God supports
the formative power, which at His appointed time He will cause to
come forth, by which our ego will manifest itself as a new man.
XXIII.
Regeneration and Faith.
" Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the
Word of God, which liveth and abi-
deth forever." i Peter i. 23.
THERE is a possible objection to what has been said above con
cerning regeneration. It is evident that God s Word, and therefore
our symbols of faith, offers a modified representation of these
things which, superficially considered, seems to condemn our repre
sentation. This representation, which does not consider children,
but adults, may thus be stated : Among a circle of unconverted per
sons God causes the Word to be preached by His ambassadors of
the cross. By this preaching the call reaches them. If there are
elect persons among them, for whom it is now the time of love, God
accompanies the outward call with the inward. Consequently they
turn from their ways of sin to the way of life. And so they are
begotten of God.
Thus St. Peter presents the matter, saying : " Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God,
which liveth and abideth forever." And also St. Paul when he de
clares, " That faith is by the hearing, and the hearing by the Word
of God" (Rom. x. 17). It fully harmonizes with what St. Paul
writes concerning holy Baptism, which he calls the washing of
"regeneration" for in those days Jew and Gentile were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus, immediately after their conversion, by
the preaching of the apostles.
For this reason our fathers confessed in their Confession (article
24) : " We believe that this true faith, being wrought in man by the
hearing of the word of God, and the operation of the Holy Ghost,
doth regenerate and make him a new man." And likewise teaches
the Heidelberg Catechism (see question 65) : " Such faith proceed-
316 REGENERATION
eth from the Holy Ghost, who works faith in our hearts by the
preaching of the Gospel, and confirms it by the use of the sacra
ments." And also the canons of Dort, Third and Fourth Heads of
doctrine, section 17: "As the almighty operation of God, whereby
He prolongs and supports this our natural life, does not exclude, but
requires the use of means by which God of His infinite mercy and
goodness hath chosen to exert His influence ; so also the before-
mentioned supernatural operation of God, by which we are regen
erated, in no wise excludes or subverts the use of the Gospel, which
the most wise God hath ordained to be the seed of regeneration
and food of the soul. Wherefore, as the apostles and the teachers
who succeeded them piously instructed the people concerning this
grace of God, to His glory and the abasement of all pride, and in
the mean time, however, neglected not to keep them by the sacred
precepts of the Gospel in the exercise of the Word, the sacraments,
and discipline ; so even to this day, be it far from either instructors
or instructed to presume to tempt God in the Church, by separating
what He of His good pleasure hath most intimately joined together.
For grace is conferred by means of admonitions; and the more
readily we perform our duty, the more eminent usually is this bless
ing of God working in us, and the more directly is His work ad
vanced."
And now, in order to eradicate every suspicion that we contend
against this representation, we declare openly and definitely that
we give it our most hearty assent.
We only beg it be considered that in this presentation both
Scripture and the symbols of faith always point to the mysterious
background, to a wonderful work of God hiding back of it, to an in
scrutable mystery without which all this comes to naught.
The canons of Dort describe this mysterious, inscrutable, and
wonderful background most elaborately and most beautifully in arti
cle 1 2, Third and Fourth Heads of Doctrine : " And this is the regen
eration so highly celebrated in Scripture and denominated a new
creation ; a resurrection from the dead, a making alive, which God
works in us without our aid. But this is in no wise effected merely
by the external preaching of the Gospel, by moral suasion, or such
a mode of operation that, after God has performed His part, it still
remains in the power of man to be regenerated or not, to be. con
verted or to continue unconverted ; but it is evidently a supernat
ural work, most powerful and at the same time most delightful,
REGENERATION AND FAITH 317
astonishing, mysterious, and ineffable ; not inferior in efficacy to
creation or the resurrection from the dead, as the Scripture in
spired by the Author of this work declares ; so that all in whose
hearts God works in this marvelous manner are certainly, infalli
bly, and effectually regenerated, and do actually believe. Where
upon the will thus renewed is not only actuated and influenced by
God, but in consequence ot this influence becomes itself active.
Wherefore, also, man is himself rightly said to believe and repent,
by virtue of that grace received." And also in article 1 1 : " But when
God accomplishes His good pleasure in the elect, or works in them
true conversion, He not only causes the Gospel to be externally
preached to them, and powerfully illuminates their minds by His
Holy Spirit, that they may rightly understand and discern the
things of the Spirit of God ; but by the efficacy of the same regenera
ting Spirit, He pervades the inmost recesses of the man ; He opens the
closed and softens the hardened heart, and circumcises that which
was uncircumcised ; infuses new qualities into the will, which, tho
heretofore dead, He quickens; from being evil, disobedient, and
refractory, He renders it good, obedient, and pliable ; actuates and
strengthens it, that like a good tree it may bring forth the fruits of
good actions." The Heidelberg Catechism points to this, in ques
tion 8: "Except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God." And also
the Confession, article 22 : " We believe that to attain the true
knowledge of this great mystery, the Holy Spirit kindleth in our
hearts an upright faith, which embraces Jesus Christ with all His
merits."
This mysterious background, which our fathers at Dort called
" His pervading the inmost recesses of man by the efficacy of the
regenerating Spirit," is evidently the same as what we call "the
divine operation which penetrates the center of our being to im
plant the germ of the new life."
And what is this mysterious working? According to the univer
sal testimony based upon Scripture, it is an operation of the Holy
Spirit in man s innermost being.
Hence the question, whether this regenerating act precedes, ac
companies, or follows the hearing of the Word. And this question
should be well understood, for it involves the solution of this seem
ing disagreement.
We answer: The Holy Spirit may perform this work in the sin
ner s heart before, during, or after the preaching of the Word. The
3i8 REGENERATION
inward call may be associated with the outward call, or it may fol
low it. But that which precedes the inward call, viz., the opening
of the deaf ear, so that it may be heard, is not dependent upon the
preaching of the Word; and therefore may precede the preaching.
Correct discrimination in this respect is of greatest impor
tance.
If I designate the whole conscious work of grace from conversion
until death, " regeneration," without any regard to its mysterious
background, then I may and must say with the Confession (article
24) : " That this faith, being wrought in man by the hearing of the
Word, and the operation of the Holy Spirit, doth regenerate him and
make him a new man."
But if I distinguish in this work of grace, according to the
claims of the sacraments, between the origin of the new life, for
which God gave us the sacrament of holy Baptism, and its support,
for which God gave the sacrament of the holy Supper, then regen
eration ceases immediately after man is born again, and that which
follows is called " sanctification."
And discriminating again between that which the Holy Spirit
wrought in us consciously and unconsciously, then regeneration desig
nates that which was wrought in us unconsciously, while conver
sion is the term we apply to the awakening of this implanted life
in our consciousness.
Hence God s work of grace runs through these three successive
stages :
i st. Regeneration in its first stage, when the Lord plants the
new life in the dead heart.
2d. Regeneration in its second stage, when the new-born man
comes to conversion.
3d. Regeneration in its third stage, when conversion merges into
sanctification.
In each of these three God performs a wonderful and mysterious
work in man s inward being. From God proceed quickening, con
version, and sanctification, and in each God is the Worker": only
with this difference, that in the quickening He works alone, finding
and leaving man inactive ; that in conversion T^t finds us inactive,
but makes us active ; that in sanctification He works in us in such
a manner that we work ourselves through Him.
Describing it still more closely, we say that in the first stage of
regeneration, that of quickening, God works without means ; in the
REGENERATION AND FAITH 319
second stage, that of conversion, He employs means, viz., the preach
ing of the Word; and in the third stage, that of sanctification, He
uses means in addition to ourselves, whom He uses as means.
Condensing the foregoing, there is one great act of God which
re-creates the corrupt sinner into a new man, viz., the comprehen
sive act of regeneration, which contains three parts quickening,
conversion, and sanctification.
For the ministry of the Word it is preferable to consider only
the last two, conversion and sanctification, since this is the ap
pointed means to effect them. The first, regeneration, is preferably
a subject of private meditation, since in it man is passive and God
only active ; and also because in it the majesty of the divine opera
tion is most apparent.
Hence there is no conflict or opposition. Referring, according
to the Confession, article 17, only to conversion and sanctification,
the unstopping of the deaf ear as preceding the hearing of the Word
is not denied. And penetrating into the work which antedates con
version, " in which God works in us without our aid" (article 12 of
the canons of Dort), it is not denied, but confessed, that conversion
and sanctification follow the unstopping of the deaf ear, and that,
in the proper sense, regeneration is completed only at the death of
the sinner.
Do not suppose that we make these two to conflict. In writing
a biography of Napoleon it would be sufficient simply to mention
his birth, but one might also mention, more in particular, the things
that took place before his birth. Just so in this respect : I may refer
either to the two parts of regeneration, conversion and sanctifica
tion, or I may include also that which precedes conversion, and
speak also of the quickening. This implies no antagonism, but a
mere difference of exactness. It is more exhaustive, with reference
to regeneration, to speak of three stages quickening, conversion,
and sanctification; altho it is customary and more practical to
speak only of the last two.
Our purpose, however, calls for greater completeness. The
aim of this work is not to preach the Word, but to uncover the
foundations of the truth, so as to stop the building of crooked walls
upon the foundation-stone, after the manner of Ethicals, Rational
ists, and Supernaturalists.
Exhaustiveness in treatment requires to ask not only, " How and
320 REGENERATION
what does the quickened sinner hear?" but also, "Who has given
him hearing ears? "
And this is all the more to be insisted upon because our chil
dren must not be ignored in this respect. At Dort, in 1618, our
children were taken into account, and we may not deny ourselves
this pleasant obligation.
And herein lies a real danger. For to speak of the little ones
without considering the first stage of regeneration i.e., the quick
ening causes confusion and perplexity from which there is no
escape.
Salvation depends upon faith, and faith upon the hearing of the
Word ; hence our deceased infants must be lost, for they can not
hear the Word. To escape this fearful thought it is often said that
the children are saved by virtue of the parents faith a misunder
standing which greatly confused our entire conception of Baptism,
and made our baptismal form very perplexing. But as soon as we
distinguish quickening, as a stage of regeneration, from conversion
and sanctifcation, the light enters. For since quickening is an un
aided act of God in us, independent of the Word, and frequently
separated from the second stage, conversion, by an interval of many
days, there is nothing to prevent God from performing His work
even in the babe, and the apparent conflict dissolves into beautiful
harmony. Moreover, as soon as I regard my still unconverted chil
dren as not yet regenerate, their training must run in the direction
of a questionable Methodism.* What is the use of the call so long
as I suppose and know : " This ear can not yet hear "?
Touching the question concerning " faith," we are fully prepared
to apply the same distinction to this matter. You have only to dis
criminate between the organ or the faculty of faith, the power to
exercise faith, and the working of faith. The first of these three,
viz., the faculty of faith, is implanted in the first stage of regenera
tion i.e., in quickening; the power of faith is imparted in the sec
ond stage of regeneration i.e., in conversion ; and the working of
faith is wrought in the third stage i.e., in sanctification. Hence
if faith is wrought only by the hearing of the Word, the preaching
of the Word does not create \^ faculty of faith. .
Look only at what our fathers confessed at Dort: "He who
works in man both to will and to do produces both the will to be-
*See the author s explanation of Methodism in section 5 of the Preface,
REGENERATION AND FAITH 321
lieve and the act of believing also " (Third and Fourth Heads of Doc
trine, article 14).
Or to express it still more strongly : when the Word is preached,
I know it ; and when I hear it and believe it, I know whence this
1 working of faith comes. But the implanting of the faith-faculty is
an entirely different thing ; for of this the Lord Jesus says : " Thou
i hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth " ; and as the wind, so is also the regeneration of
man.
21
XXIV.
Implanting in Christ.
" Having become one plant with Him."
Rom. vi. 5.
HAVING discussed regeneration as God s act wrought in a lost,
wicked, and guilty sinner, we now examine the more sacred and
delicate question : How does this divine act affect our relation to
Christ?
We consider this point more important than the first, since every
view of regeneration that does not do full justice to the " mystical
union with Christ " is anti-Scriptural, eradicates brotherly love, and
begets spiritual pride.
The holy apostle declares : " I live, yet not /, but Christ liveth in
me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of
the Son of God." * The idea that a saint can have life outside of the
mystical union with Immanuel is but a fiction of the imagination.
The regenerate can live no life but such as consists in union with
Christ. Let this be firmly and strongly maintained.
The Scriptural expressions, " one plant with Him " t and
" branches of the Vine," which must be taken in their fullest signifi
cance, are metaphors entirely different from those which we use.
We are confined to metaphors which express our meaning by anal-:
ogy ; but they can not be fully applied nor express the being of the!
thing; hence the so-called third term of the comparison. But the
figures used by the Holy Spirit express a real conformity, a unit}
of thought divinely expressed in the spiritual and visible world
Hence Jesus could say: " I am the true Vine," that is, " every othe:
vine is but a figure. The true, the real Vine am I, and I alone."
Being exceedingly sober and choice in His metaphorical speech
the Lord Jesus does not say that a branch is grafted into the vine
* St. Paul does not declare in these words that he received anothe:
ego ; on the contrary, he says emphatically that in his ego, which contiti
ued to be his, it is no more I that live, but Christ.
f At least if the words "with Him " are original.
IMPLANTING IN CHRIST 323
simply because this is not done in nature, i.e., in the creation of
God. In John xv., Jesus does not even touch upon the question of
how one becomes a branch. That is the work of the Father. My
Father is the Husbandman. In John iii. 15 he speaks only of a
person who not abiding in Him withers and will be burned.
Even Rom. vi. 5 does not speak of coming to Jesus, and Rom.
xi. 17-25 only partly. The former calls it to become one plant
with Him, but does not tell "how"; and " grafting " is not even
mentioned. And the latter, speaking of broken olive-branches, and
of wild olive-branches grafted upon a good olive, and lastly of
broken branches restored to the original olive, makes no reference
whatever to the implanting of individuals in Christ, as we will soon
prove.
And yet the figure is only partly applicable. Indeed, in Rom.
xi., St. Paul, with his characteristic boldness of speech and style,
for comparison s sake reverses God s work in nature; for while in
reality the cultivated bud is grafted on the wild trunk, he makes
in this instance the wild bud to be grafted upon the good trunk.
A bold stroke indeed and very profitable fo us, for by it he makes
us see clearly and distinctly the general implanting in Christ. But
that is all.
For, notice it well, the figure is not to be pressed too far. It is
a mistake to make it refer to the regeneration of the individual sin
ner. For a person once implanted in Christ can not be severed
from Him: "No man can pluck them out of My hand"; "Whom
He has justified, them He also glorified."
And yet, reference is made here to branches which are broken
off and which were grafted in again. If this referred to particular
individuals, then the Jews, who during the life of St. Paul denied
the Lord, must have been regenerate persons who fell away and
returned again before they died.
If this had been St. Paul s meaning, subsequent events would
have belied his words, and he would have revoked the whole tenor
of his other teachings. But he plainly means that the tribes of
Israel, who were in the Covenant of Grace, had lost their position
therein by their own fault; yet that even outside of the Covenant
they should be preserved throughout the coming ages, and that in
the course of history the way would be opened even for them to be
reintroduced into the Covenant of Grace. And this shows that
m. xi. 17-25 does not teach the regeneration of individual per-
324 REGENERATION
sons, and that the good olive does not signify Christ, for he that
is implanted in Christ can never be severed from Him, and he that
is severed from Him never belonged to Him. Do we not believe
in the perseverance of saints?
It may be objected that in John xv. reference is made to brandies
that are cast forth from the vine ; to which we answer : first, that
this does not remove the difficulty that the apostate Jews of St.
Paul s time were never grafted in again; and second, that with
Calvin we hold that Jesus, speaking of the branches cast forth, had
reference to persons who, like Judas, seemed to be implanted; other
wise His own word, " No man can pluck them out of My hand," can
not stand for a moment.
We arrive, therefore, at this conclusion, that neither John xv. nor
Rom. xi. has any reference to personal regeneration in its limited
sense; while Rom. vi., which speaks of becoming one plant, does
not introduce the idea of ingrafting, nor make the slightest allusion
to the manner in which this " becoming one plant " had been accom
plished.
It is unnecessary to say that not a few exegetes judge the
translation, " One plant with Him" incorrect, omitting the words
italicized. We do not express here an opinion regarding this ren
dering ; but it shows clearly that Rom. vi. has nothing to say con
cerning the manner in which our union with Christ is effected.
In fact, Scripture never applies the figure of grafting to regene
ration. Rom. xi. treats of the restoration of a people and nation to
the covenant of grace ; Rom. vi. speaks only of a most intimate
union ; and John xv. never alludes to a wild branch which became
good by being planted in Christ. These figures set forth the union
with Christ, but teach nothing concerning the manner in which this
union is effected. Scripture is utterly silent concerning it; and
since there is no other source of information, mere human inven
tions are utterly useless. Even Christian experience does not throw
any light upon it, for it can not teach anything which Scripture has
not taught already ; and again, we can easily perceive the union
with Christ where it exists, but we can not see it where it does not
exist, or where it is just forming.
And yet this union with Christ must be strongly emphasized.
The theologians who represent divine truth most purely lay most i
stress upon this matter. And altho Calvin may have been the most i
IMPLANTING IN CHRIST 325
rigid among the reformers, yet not one of them has presented this
unio mystica, this spiritual union with Christ, so incessantly, so
tenderly, and with such holy fire as he. And as Calvin, so did all
the Reformed theologians, from Beza to Comrie, and from Zanchius
to Kohlbrugge. " Without Christ nothing, by this mystical union
with Christ all," was their motto. And even now a preacher s value
is to be strictly measured by the degree of prominence accorded to
the mystical union with Immanuel, in his presentation of the truth.
The strong utterance of Kohlbrugge, " One may be born again, one
may be a child of God, one may be a sincere believer, yet without
this mystical union with Christ he is nothing in himself, nothing but
a lost and wicked sinner," was always the glorious confession of our
churches. In iact, it is what our form for the administration of
the Lord s Supper so well expresses; "Considering that we seek
our life outside of ourselves in Jesus Christ, we acknowledge that
we lie in the midst of death.
But it is wrong on this ground to teach as some of our younger
ministers are reported to teach and derogatory to the work of the
Holy Spirit, that regeneration^ accomplishes nothing in us, and that
the whole work is performed completely outside of us , as some have
said, " That we need not even be converted, for even that has been
done for us vicariously by the Lord Jesus Christ." To say that
there is no difference between a regenerate person and an unregen-
erate is to contradict Scripture and to deny the work of the Holy
Spirit. Wherefore we strongly oppose this notion. There is in
deed a difference. The former has entered into the union with
Christ, and the latter has not. And upon this union everything de
pends ; it makes a difference in men as between heaven and hell.
Nor may it be said, on the contrary, " That a regenerate person,
even without the union with Christ, is other or better than an unbe
liever " , for this puts asunder what God has joined together. Out
side of Christ there is in man born of a woman nothing but dark
ness, corruption, and death.
Hence we firmly maintain the indissoluble oneness of these
two : " There is no regeneration without establishing the mystical
union with Christ", and again. " There is no mystical union with
Immanuel but in the regenerate." These two may never be sepa
rated ; and on the long way between the first act of regeneration and
completed sanctification, the unio mystica may not for a moment be
lost sight of.
326 REGENERATION
The Ethical theologians will probably assent to all that we have
said on this subject; and yet, according to our deepest conviction,
they have wholly bastardized and misapprehended this precious
article of faith. Assuredly they strongly emphasize the union with
Christ ; they even tell us that they do this more than we, maintain
ing that it is immaterial whether a man is sound in the Scripture or
not so long as he is united with Christ. In that case there is no
more need of any formula, confession, articles of faith, or even
faith in the Scripture. A prominent Ethical professor at the Uni
versity of Utrecht has openly declared : " Altho I should lose the
entire Scripture, yea, tho the truth of not one of the Gospel narra
tives could be verified, I would not be in the least affected, for I
would still possess union with Christ ; and having that, what more
can a man desire?" And this has such a pious ring, and taken in
the abstract is so true, that many a conscience must agree with it,
not having the faintest suspicion of the apostasy from the faith of
the fathers contained in it.
If one should ask us whether we do not believe that the soul
united with Jesus possesses all that can be desired, we would almost
refuse an answer, for he knows better. No, indeed, favored soiil,
having ///#/ you need no more; depart in peace, thrice blessed of
God.
But because the mystical union with the Son of God is so
weighty and precious an article of faith, we desire that every man
should treat it most seriously, and examine whether the union ;
which he says he possesses is actually the same mystical union with
the Lord Jesus Christ which the Scripture promises to the children
of God, and which they have enjoyed throughout the ages.
XXV.
Not a Divine-Human Nature.
u I in them, and they in Me."; -John
xvii. 23.
THE union of believers with the Mediator, of all matters of faith
the most tender, is invisible, imperceptible to the senses, and un
fathomable ; it escapes all inward vision ; it refuses to be dissected
or to be made objective by any representation; in the fullest sense
of the word it is mystical unio mystica, as Calvin, after the example
of the early Church, called it.
And yet, however mysterious, no man is at liberty to interpret
it according to his own notions ; in fact, there is need of great vigi
lance lest under the pious appearance of this mystic love injurious
contraband be smuggled into the divine sanctuary. We have there
fore raised our voice against the false representations of former
mystical sects, and of the Ethical theorists of the present time.
Let us first explain the Ethical teaching on this point.
Their belief starts from the antithesis existing between God and
man. God is the Creator, man is a creature. God is infinite, man
finite. God dwells in the eternal, and man lives in the temporal.
God is holy, and man is unholy ; etc. So long as these contrasts
exist, so they teach, there can be no unity, no reconciliation, no
harmony. And as the pantheistic philosophy used to talk about
three stages through which life must run its course first, that of
proposition (thesis), then that of contrast (antithesis), and lastly
that of reconciliation, combination (synthesis) so the Ethicals
teach that between God and man there exist these three : thesis, an
tithesis, and synthesis.
In the first place, there is God. This is the thesis, the proposi
tion. Opposed to this thesis in God, the antithesis, contrast, ap
pears in man. And this thesis and antithesis find their reconcilia
tion, synthesis, in the Mediator, who is at once finite and infinite,
burdened with our guilt and holy, temporal, and eternal.
It is only recently that we quoted the following sentence from
328 REGENERATION
Professor Gunning s little book, " The Mediator between God and
Man " (page 28) : " Jesus Christ is the Mediator equally between the
Jews and the Gentiles ; and also between all things that need recon
ciliation and mediation; as between God and man, spirit and body,
heaven and earth, time and eternity."
This representation contains the fundamental error of the Ethi
cal theology. It interferes with the boundaries which God has set.
It effaces them. It causes all contrasts finally to disappear. And
by this very thing, without intending it, it becomes the instrument
of spreading the pantheism of the philosophic school. Not under
standing this system, one may be deeply in love with it. This pan
theistic ferment is deeply seated in our sinful hearts. The waters
of pantheism are sweet, their religious flavor is peculiarly pleasant.
There is spiritual intoxication in this cup, and once inebriated the
soul has lost its desire for the sober clearness of the divine Word.
To escape from the witchery of these pantheistic charms, one
needs to be aroused by bitter experience. And once awakened, the
soul is alarmed at the fearful danger to which this siren had ex
posed it.
No ; the contrast between God and man must not cease ; the con
trast between heaven and earth may not be placed upon the same
line with that of Jew and Gentile ; the contrast between the infinite
and finite must not be effaced by the Mediator ; time and eternity
must not be made identical. There must be brought about a recon
ciliation for the sinner. That is all, and no more. " To bring about
reconciliation " is the work assigned to the Mediator, and that
alone. And this reconciliation is not between time and eternity,
the finite and the infinite, but exclusively between a sinful creature
and a holy Creator. It is a reconciliation that could not have oc
curred if man had not fallen, necessitated only by his fall ; a recon
ciliation not essential to the being of Christ, but His per accidens,
i.e., by something independent of His being.
And since the essence of true godliness is based not in the re
moval of the divinely appointed boundaries and contrasts, but in a
deep reverence for the same ; and on this ground the creature as
distinguished from the Creator may not feel himself one with, but
absolutely distinct from Him, it is clear that this error of the Ethi-
cals affects the essence of godliness.
The early Church discovered this same principle in Origen, and
NOT A DIVINE HUMAN NATURE 329
subsequently in Eutychus ; and our fathers of the last century found
it in the Hernhutters and sharply opposed it. And only because
we lack knowledge and penetration have these Ethical doctrines
been able to spread so rapidly here, in Germany, in Switzerland,
and even in Scotland, their pantheistic tendencies undetected.
And how does this evil affect their Christology? It affects it to
such extent that it is entirely different from that of the Reformed
churches. Tho they tell us, " We disagree in our views on the
Scriptures, but agree in our confession of Christ," yet this is abso
lutely untrue. Their Christ is not the Christ of the Reformed
churches. Christ, as the Reformed Church according to the Scrip
ture and the orthodox Church of all ages confesses Him, is the
Son of God, eternal Partaker of the divine nature, who in time, in
addition to the divine nature, adopted the human nature, uniting
these two natures in the unity of one person. He unites them in
such a way, however, that these natures continue each by itself,
do not blend, and do not communicate the attributes of the one to
the other. Hence two natures are united most intimately in the
unity of one person, but continuing to the end, and even now in
heaven, to be tivo natures each with its own peculiar properties.
"He is one not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by ta
king of the manhood into God" (Confession of Athanasius, article
35). And again: " He is one not by mixture of substance, but by
unity of person (article 36).
In like manner do we confess in article 19 of our Confession:
" We believe that by this conception the person of the Son is insepa
rably united and connected with the human nature , so that there are
not two Sons of God, nor two persons, but two natures united in one
single person ; yet each nature retains its own distinct properties. As
then the divine nature has always remained uncreated, without be
ginning of days or end of life, filling heaven and earth ; so also hath
the human nature not lost its properties, but remained a creature,
having beginning of days, being a finite nature, and retaining all
the properties of a real body. And tho He hath by His Resurrec
tion given immortality to the same, nevertheless He hath not
changed the reality of His human nature ; forasmuch as our salva
tion and resurrection also depend on the reality of His body. But
these two natures were so closely united in one person that they
were not separated even by His death."
This clear confession, which the orthodox Church has always
330 REGENERATION
defended against the Eutychians and Monothelites, and which our
Reformed churches in particular have maintained in opposition to
the Lutherans and Mystics, is opposed by the Ethical view all
along the line. The late Prof. Chantepie de la Saussaye said dis
tinctly in his Inaugural that it was impossible to maintain the old
representation on this point, which was also upheld by our Confes
sion , and that his confession of the Mediator was another. Hence
the Ethical wing deviates from the old paths not only in the mat
ter of the Scripture, but also in the confession of the person of the
Redeemer. It teacJics what the Reformed churches have always
denied, and denies what the Reformed churches have always main
tained in opposition to churches less correct in their views.
Under the influence which Schleiermacher s training among the
Moravian brethren, and his pantheistic development and Lutheran
dogmatics, have exerted upon the Ethicals, a Christ is preached by
them who is not the Christ to whom the orthodox Church of all ages
has bowed the knee ; and whose confession has always been pre
served incorrupt by the Reformed^ and especially by our national,
theologians. For their conclusions are as follows .
i st. That the Incarnation of the Son of God would have taken
place even if Adam had not sinned.
2d. That He is Mediator not only between the sinner and the
holy God, but also between the finite and the infinite.
3d. That the two natures mix together, and communicate
their attributes to each other in such a measure that from Him, who
is both ,God and man, there proceeds that which is divine-human.
4th. That this divine-human nature is communicated to believ
ers also.
This error is immediately recognized by the use of the word
divine-human. Not that we condemn its use in every instance.
On the contrary, when it refersnot to the natures, but to fa.Q person,
its use is legitimate, for in the one person the two natures are in
separably united. Still it is better in our days to be chary of the
word. Divine-human has in the present time a pantheistic mean
ing, denoting that the contrast existing between God and man did
not exist in Jesus, but that in Him the antithesis of the divine and
the human was not found.
And this is wholly anti-Scriptural, and results in its final conse
quences in a pure theosophy. For the actual result is a blending
of the two natures: a divine nature in God, a human nature in
NOT A DIVINE-HUMAN NATURE 331
man, and a divine-human nature in the Mediator. So that if man
had not fallen, the Mediator would nevertheless have appeared in
a divine -human nature.
This is a truly abhorrent doctrine. It puts in the place of the
Savior from our sins another and entirely different person , the
contrasts between the Creator and the creature disappear, the di
vine-human nature of the Christ is actually placed above the divine
nature itself. For the Mediator in the divine-human nature pos
sesses something that is lacking in the divine nature, viz., its rec
onciliation with the human.
This shows how much further the Ethicals have departed from the
pure confession of the Lord Jesus Christ than is generally believed.
According to them there is in the Person of the Mediator a kind of
new nature, a kind of third nature, a kind of higher nature, which is
called " human-divine." And the union with Christ is found (not
subjectively, but objectively) in the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ
pours into us that new, third, higher kind, viz., the divine-human
nature. Hence the regenerate are the persons who have received
this new, third, higher kind of nature. This has no connection
with sin, but would have appeared even in the absence of sin. The
reconciliation of sinners is something additional, and does not touch
the root of the matter.
The real and principal thing is, that the Mediator between the
"finite and the infinite" (to use the very words of Professor Gunning)
imparts unto us, who. have the lower, human nature, this new,
third, higher, divine-human nature.
Not that the human nature is to be removed and the divine-
human nature take its place. No, indeed ; but, according to the Eth
ical theologians, the human nature is originally intended and des
tined to be thus ennobled, refined, and exalted. As the slip of a
plant, under the influence of the sun, develops and produces by and
by choice flowers, so does the human nature develop and unfold
itself under the influence of the Sun of Righteousness into this
higher nature.
That this must be accomplished by means of regeneration is on
account of sin. If there had been no fall in Paradise, and no sin
after the fall, there would have been no regeneration, and our na
ture s lower degree would have passed over spontaneously into that
higher, divine-human nature. And this is, in the circles of the Eth
icals, the basis of that much-lauded unio mystica with the Christ.
332 REGENERATION
The invisible church is, according to their view, that circle of
men into whom this higher and nobler tincture of life has been in
stilled, and others not so favored still stand without. Hence their
lack of appreciation of the visible churches; for does not the
divine-human tincture of life determine this circle of itself? Hence
their preference for the "unconscious" ; conscious confession and
expression of thought is immaterial , the principal thing is to be
endowed with this new, higher, more refined, divine-human nature.
This explains their generally lofty bearing toward men not sharing
their opinions. They belong to a sort of spiritual aristocracy ; they
are of nobler descent, acquainted with more refined forms, living
a higher life, from which with pitying eyes they look down upon
those who do not dream their dreams of the higher life-tincture.
Let it suffice here only to say that the Reformed churches can
not indorse this representation of the unio mystica, but must posi
tively reject it.
XXVI.
The Mystical Union with Immanuel.
" Christ in you the hope of glory."
Col. i. 27.
THE union of believers with Christ their Head is not effected by
instilling a divine-human life-tincture into the soul. There is no
divine-human life. There is a most holy Person, who unites in Him
self the divine and the human life; but both natures continue un
mixed, unblended, each retaining its own properties. And since
there is no divine-human life in Jesus, He can not instil it into us.
We do heattily acknowledge that there is a certain conformity
and similarity between the divine nature and the human, for man
was created after the image of God ; wherefore St. Peter could say,
" That we become partakers of the divine nature " (2 Peter i. 4) ; but,
according to all sound expositors, this means only that unto the
sinner are imparted the attributes of goodness and holiness, which
he originally possessed in his own nature in common with the di
vine nature, but which he lost by sin.
Compared with the nature of material things, and with that of
animals and of devils, there is indeed a feature of conformity and
similarity between the divine and human natures. But this may
not be understood as obliterating the boundary between the divine
nature and the human. And, therefore, let this glorious word of
St. Peter no longer be abused in order to justify a philosophic sys
tem which has nothing in common with the soberness and simplic
ity of Holy Scripture.
What St. Peter calls " to become partaker of the divine nature"
is called in another place, to become the children of God. But altho
Christ is the Son of God, and we are called the children of God, this
does not make the Sonship of Christ and our sonship to stand on
the same plane and to be of the same nature. We are but the
adopted children, altho we have another descent, while He is the
actual and eternal Son. While He is essentially the eternal Son,
partaker of the divine nature, which in the unity of His Person He
334 REGENERATION
unites with the human nature, we are merely restored to the likeness
of the divine nature which we had lost by sin.
Hence as " to be adopted as a child" and " to be the Son for ever"
are contrasts, so are also the following : " to have the divine nature in
Himself" and " to be only partakers of the divine nature."
The friend who shares a bereaved mother s mourning is not be
reaved himself, but through love and pity he has become partaker
of that mourning. In like manner, accepting these great and pre
cious promises, believers become partakers of the divine nature,
altho in themselves wholly devoid of that nature. Partaker does
not denote what one possesses in himself, as his own, but a partial
communication of what does not belong to him, but to another.
Hence this glorious, apostolic word should no longer be used in
pantheistic sense. As it is unlawful to say that we are the essential
children of God, but must humbly confess, through Christ, to be
His adopted children, so it is not lawful to say that by faith we
become in ourselves bearers of the divine nature ; but we must be
satisfied with the confession that through the fellowship of love,
God makes us partakers of the vital emotions of the divine nature,
so far as our human capacities are able to experience them.
This brings us back to the unio mystica with Christ, which, altho
a great and impenetrable mystery, ought to be sufficiently defined
to keep us from falling into error. We mention, therefore, its vital
points and thus embody our confession concerning it:
i st. The first point is, that the Lord Jesus does not require us to
be purified and sanctified in order to be united to His Person.
Jesus is a Savior not of the righteous, but of sinners. And for
this reason He has adopted the human nature : not as the Baptist
teaches, by receiving from heaven a newly created body, like the j
Paradise body of Adam, but by becoming partaker, as the little i
children, of our flesh and blood. And the same is true of His :
union with believers. He does not wait until they are pure and I
holy, then to be spiritually betrothed unto them ; but He betroths
Himself unto them that they may become pure and holy. He is
the rich Bridegroom, and the soul the poverty-stricken bride. In
the shining robes of His righteousness He comes and, finding her
black, unsightly, and in her native defilement, He says not, " Get
thyself clean, wise, and rich, and as a rich bride I will betroth thee
unto Me " ; but, " I take thee just as thou art. I say unto thee, in thy
THE MYSTICAL UNION WITH IMMANUEL 335
blood, Live. Tho thou art poor, betrothing thee, I will make thee
partaker of Myself and of My treasure. But a treasure of thine own
thou shalt never possess."
This point should be firmly established. The Lord Jesus unites
unto Himself not the righteous, but sinners. He marries not the
pure and the spotless, but the polluted and the unclean.
When the holy apostle Paul speaks of a bride whom he will pre
sent without spot or wrinkle, he has reference to something entirely
different not to His betrothal with the individual, but to the mar
riage of the Lord Jesus with His Church as a whole. So long as
the Church continues in the earth, separated from Him, she is His
bride, until in the fulness of time, the separation ended, He will
introduce her to the rich and full communion of the united life in
glory.
2d. The second point to which we call attention is the time when
this union begins.
To say that this unio mystica is the result of faith alone is only
partly correct. For Scripture teaches very distinctly that we were
already in the Lord Jesus when He died on Calvary, and when He
arose from the dead ; that we ascended with Him unto heaven ; and
that for eighteen centuries we have been seated with Him at the
right hand of God. Hence we must carefully distinguish between
the five stages in which the union with Immanuel unfolds itself:
The first of these five stages lies in the decree of God. From the
very moment that the Father gave us to the Son, we were really
His own, and a relation was established between Him and us, not
weak and feeble, but so deep and extensive that all subsequent
relations with Immanuel spring from this fundamental root-relation
alone.
The second stage is in the Incarnation, when, adopting our flesh,
entering into our nature, He made that preexisting, essential rela
tion actual ; when the bond of union passed from the divine will,
i.e., from the decree, into actual existence. Christ in the flesh car
ries all believers in the loins of His grace, as Adam carried all the
children of men in the loins of his flesh. Hence, not figuratively
nor metaphorically, but in the proper sense, Scripture teaches that
when Jesus died and arose we died and arose with Him and in
Him.
The third stage begins when we ourselves appear not in our
336 REGENERATION
birth, but in our regeneration; when the Lord God begins to work
supernaturally in our souls; when in love s hour Eternal Love con
ceives in us the child of God. Until then the mystic union was hid
in the decree and in the Mediator ; but in and by regeneration the
person appears with whom the Lord Jesus will establish it. How
ever, not regeneration first and then something new, viz., union
with Christ, but in the very moment of completed regeneration
that union becomes an internally accomplished fact.
This third stage must be carefully distinguished from the fourth,
which begins not with the quickening, but with the first conscious
exercise of faith. For, altho in regeneration the faculty of faith
was implanted, it may for a long time remain inactive ; and only
when the Holy Spirit causes it to act, producing genuine faith and
conversion in us, is the union with Christ established subjectively.
This union is not the subsequent fruit of a higher degree of holi
ness, but coincides with the first exercise of faith. Faith which
does not live in Christ is no faith, but its counterfeit. Genuine
faith is wrought in us by the Holy Ghost, and all that He imparts
to us He draws from Christ. Hence there may be an apparent or
pretended faith without the union with Christ, but not a real faith.
Wherefore it is an assured fact that the first sigh of the soul, in its
first exercise of faith, is the result of the wonderful union of the
soul with its Surety.
We do not deny, however, that there is a gradual increase of
the conscious realization, of the lively feeling, and of the free en
joyment of this union. A child possesses its mother from the first
moment of its existence ; but the sensible enjoyment of its mother s
love gradually awakens and increases with the years, until he fully
knows what a treasure God has given him in his mother. And thus
the consciousness and enjoyment of what we have in our Savior be
comes gradually clearer and deeper, until there comes a moment
when we fully realize how rich God has made us in Jesus. And by
this many are led to think that their union with Christ dates from
that moment. This is only apparently so. Altho then they be
came fully conscious of their treasure in Christ, the union itself
existed (even subjectively) from the moment of their first cry of
faith.
This leads to the fifth and last stage, viz., death. Rejoicing in
Him with joy unspeakable and full of glory, altho not seeing Him,
much more remains to be desired. Hence our union with Him does
THE MYSTICAL UNION WITH IMMANUEL 337
not attain its fullest unfolding until every lack be supplied and we
see Him as He is ; and in that blissful vision we shall be like Him,
for then He will give us all that He has. Therefore faith makes
us partakers first of Himself and then of all His gifts, as the Hei
delberg Catechism clearly teaches.
3d. The third point to which we call attention is the nature of
this union with Immanuel.
It has a nature peculiar to itself; it may be compared to other
unions, but it can never be fully explained by them. Wonderful is
the bond between body and soul ; more wonderful still the sacra
mental bond of holy Baptism and the Lord s Supper; equally won
derful the vital union between mother and child in her blood, like
that of the vine and its growing branches ; wonderful the bond of
wedlock; and much more wonderful the union with the Holy
Spirit, established by His indwelling. But the union with Imman
uel is distinct from all these.
It is a union invisible and intangible ; the ear fails to perceive
it, and it eludes all investigation ; yet it is very real union and com
munion, by which the life of the Lord Jesus directly affects and
controls us. As the unborn babe lives on the mother-blood, which
has its heart-beat outside of him, so we also live on the Christ-life,
which has its heart-beat not in our soul, but outside of us, in heaven
above, in Christ Jesus.
4th. In the fourth place, altho the union with Christ coincides
with our covenant-relation to Him as the Head, yet it is not identical
with it. Our relations of fellowship to Christ are many. There is
a fellowship of feeling and inclination, of love and attachment; we
are disciples of the Prophet ; we are His blood-bought possession ;
the subjects of the King ; and members of the Covenant of Grace of
which He is the Head. But instead of absorbing the " unio mysti
cal they are all based -wpvn it. Without this real bond all the oth
ers are only imaginary. Hence, while we know, feel, and confess
that it is glorious to be safely hid in our Covenant-Head, it is sweeter,
more precious and delightful to live in the mystical fellowship of
Love.
22
ffiftb Cbapter*
CALLING AND REPENTANCE.
XXVII.
The Calling of the Regenerate.
"Whom He did predestinate, them He
also called." Rom. viii. 30.
IN order to hear, the sinner, deaf by nature, must receive hearing
ears. " He that hath ears let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches."
But by nature the sinner does not belong to these favored ones.
This is a daily experience. Of two clerks in the same office, one
obeys the call and the other rejects it; not because he despises it,
but because he does not hear God s call in it. Hence God s quick
ening act antedates the sinner s hearing, and thus he becomes able
to hear the Word.
The quickening, the implanting of the faith-faculty, and the
uniting of the soul to Christ, apparently three acts, are in reality
but one act, together constituting (objectively) the so-called first
grace. In the operation of this grace the sinner is perfectly passive
and indifferent; the subject of an action which does not involve the
slightest operation, yielding, or even non-resistance on his part.
In fact, the sinner, being dead in trespasses and sins, is under
this first grace like a soulless, motionless body, with all the passive
properties belonging to a corpse. This fact can not be stated with
sufficient force and emphasis. It is an absolute passivity. And
every effort or inclination to claim for the sinner the minutest co
operation in this first grace destroys the Gospel, severs the artery j
of the Christian confession, and is not only heretical, but anti-
Scriptural in the highest sense.
This is the point where the sign-post is erected, where the roads j
THE CALLING OF THE REGENERATE 339
divide, where the men of the purified, that is, the Reformed Con-
jfession, part company with their opponents.
Having stated this fact forcibly and definitely, it is of the utmost
importance to state with equal emphasis that, in all the subsequent
uperations of grace (so-called second grace], this absolute passivity
jis made to cease by the wonderful act of the first grace. Hence in
ill subsequent grace the sinner to some extent cooperates.
In the first grace the sinner is absolutely like a corpse. But the
dinner s first passivity and his subsequent cooperation must not be
confounded. There is a passivity, after the Scripture, which can
jiot be exaggerated, which must be left intact ; but there is also
\ passivity which is pretended, anti-Scriptural, and sinful. The
lifference between the two is not that the former is partially
cooperating, and the latter without any cooperation whatever.
Surely by such temporizing the churches and the souls in them are
lot inspired with energy and enthusiasm. No; the difference be-
;ween the sound and the sickly passivity consists herein, that the
former, which is absolute and unlimited, belongs to the first grace,
o which it is indispensable; while the latter clings to the second grace,
vhere it does not belong.
Let there be clear insight into this truth, which is after all very
imple. The elect but unregenerate sinner can do nothing, and
he work that is to be wrought in him must be wrought by another.
jPhis is the first grace. But after this is accomplished he is no
onger passive, for something was brought into him which in the
econd work of grace will cooperate with God.
But it is not implied that the elect and regenerate sinner is now
.ble to do anything without God ; or that if God should cease work-
jng in him, conversion and sanctification would follow of them-
elves. Both these representations are thoroughly untrue, un-Re-
ormed, and unchristian, because they detract from the work of the
[oly Spirit in the elect. No ; all spiritual good is of grace to the
nd grace not only in regeneration, but at every step of the way
f life. . From the beginning to the end and throughout eternity
ic Holy Spirit is the Worker, of regeneration and conversion, of
istification and every part of sanctification, of glorification, and of
11 the bliss of the redeemed. Nothing may be subtracted from
lis.
But while the Holy Spirit is the only Worker in the first grace,
340 CALLING AND REPENTANCE
in all subsequent operations of grace the regenerate always coope
rates with Him. Hence it is not true, as some say, that the regen
erate is just as passive as the unregenerate ; this only detracts from
the work of the Holy Spirit in the first grace. Neither is it true
that henceforth the regenerate is the principal worker, only assisted
by the Holy Spirit ; for this is equally derogatory to the Spirit s
work in the second grace.
Both these errors should be opposed and rejected. For altho,
on the one hand, it is said that the regenerate, considered out of
Christ, still lies in the midst of death ; yet, tho he be considered a
thousand times out of Christ, he remains in Him, for once in His
hand no one can pluck him out of it. And altho, on the other
hand, the regenerate is constantly admonished to be active and
diligent, yet, tho the horse does the pulling, it is not the horse but
the driver who drives the carriage.
Reserving this last point until we consider sanctification, we
now consider the calling, for this sheds more light upon the confes
sion of the Reformed churches concerning the second grace than
any other part of the work of grace.
After the elect sinner is born again, i.e. , quickened, endowed]
with the faculty of faith, and united with Jesus, the next work of
grace in him is calling, of which Scripture speaks with such empha
sis and so often. " But as He which has called you is holy, so be ye
holy in all manner of conversation " ; " Who hath called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light"; "The God of all grace whoi
hath called us unto His eternal glory " ; " Whereunto He called you
by our Gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesu?
Christ;" "Who hath called you unto His Kingdom and Glory "
" I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye wen
called ; ?> and not to mention more : " Give diligence to make yom ^
calling and election sure ; for if ye do these things ye shall neve
fall."
In the Sacred Scripture calling has, like regeneration, a wide;
sense and a more limited.
In the former sense, it means to be called to the eternal glory
hence this includes all that precedes, i.e., calling to repentance, t
faith, to sanctification, to the performance of duty, to glory, to th
eternal kingdom, etc.
Of this, however, we do not speak now. It is now our intentio
to consider the calling in its limited sense, which signifies exclt
THE CALLING OF THE REGENERATE 341
sively the calling whereby we are called from darkness into light,
i.e., the call unto repentance.
This call unto repentance is by many placed upon the same level
(with the "drawing," of which, e.g., Jesus speaks: "No man can
I come unto Me except the Father draw him." This we find also in
Isome of St. Paul s words: "Who hath delivered [Dutch translation,
\drawn] us from the power of darkness"; "That He might deliver
I [draw] us from this present evil world according to the will of God
(and our Father." However, this seems to me less correct. He that
itnust be drawn seems to be unwilling. He that is called must be
\able to come. The first implies that the sinner is still passive,
(and therefore refers to the operation of the fir st grace ; the second
addresses the sinner himself, and counts him able to come, and
hence belongs to the second grace.
This "calling "is a summons. It is not merely the calling of
jone to tell him something, but a call implying the command to
come ; or a beseeching call, as when St. Paul prays : " As tho God
did beseech you, be ye reconciled to God "; or as in the Proverbs:
" My son, give Me thine heart."
God sends this call forth by the preachers of the Word : not by
the independent preaching of irresponsible men, but by those
whom He Himself sends forth ; men especially endowed, hence
whose calling is not their own, but His. They are the ministers of
the Word, royal ambassadors, in the name of the King of Kings
demanding our heart, life, and person ; yet whose value and honor
depend exclusively upon their divine mission and commission. As
the value of an echo depends upon the correct returning of the
word received, so does their value, honor, and significance depend
solely upon the correctness wherewith they call, as an echo of the
Word of God. He who calls correctly fills the highest conceivable
office on earth; for he calls kings and emperors, standing above
chem. But he who calls incorrectly or not at all is like a sounding
orass; as a minister of the Word he is worthless and without honor,
True to the pure Word, he is all ; without it, he is nothing. Such is
:he responsibility of the preacher.
This should be noticed lest Arminianism creep into the holy
)ffice. The preacher must be but instrument of the Holy Spirit;
Jven the sermon must be the product of the Holy Ghost. To sup
pose that a preacher can have the least authority, honor, or official
significance outside of the Word, is to make the office Arminian ;
342 CALLING AND REPENTANCE
not the Holy Spirit, but the dominie, is the worker ; he works with
all his might, and the Holy Spirit may be the minister s assistant.
To avoid such mistake, our Reformed churches have always purged
themselves of the leaven of clericalism.
And through this office the call goes forth from the pulpit, in
the catechetical class, in the family, in writing, and by personal
exhortation. However, not always to every sinner directly
through the office. On a ship at sea God may use a godly com
mander to call sinners to repentance. In a hospital without spir
itual supervision the Lord may use a pious man or woman, both to j
nurse the sick and call their souls to repentance. In a village
where the quasi-minister neglects his duty, the Lord God may be;
pleased to draw souls to life by printed sermons and books, by a!
newspaper even, or by individual exhortation.
And yet in all these the authority to call reposes in the divine!
embassy of the ministry of the Word. For the instruments of the!
call, whether they were persons or printed books, proceeded fromj
the office. The persons were themselves called through the office,!
and they only transmitted the divine message ; and the printed,
books offered on paper what otherwise is heard in the sanctuary. |
This calling of the Holy Spirit proceeds in and through the 1
preaching of the Word, and calls upon the regenerated sinner tci
arise from death, and to let Christ give him light. It is not a call I
ing of persons still ^regenerate, simply because such have ml
hearing ear.
It is true that the preaching of missionary or minister of thii
Word addresses itself also to others, but this is not at all in conflict
with what we have just said. In the first place, because there i|
also an outward call to the unregenerate, in order to deprive them
of an excuse, and to show that they have no hearing ears. Anj
second, because the minister of the Word does not know whethej;
a man is born again or not, wherefore he may make no difference.
As a rule, every baptized person should be reckoned as belong
ing to the regenerated (but not always converted) ; wherefore thi
preacher must call every baptized person to repentance, as tho h|
were born again. But let no one commit the mistake of applyin
this rule, which applies only to the Church as a whole, to every pe\
son in the Church. This would be either the climax of thouglitlesi
ness or a complete misunderstanding of the reality of the grace <JJ
God.
XXVIII.
The Coming of the Called.
" That the purpose of God according
to election might stand, not of
works, but of Him that calleth."
Rotn. ix. ii.
THE question is, whether the elect cooperate in the call.
We say, Yes; for the call is no call, in the fullest sense of the
word, unless the called one can hear and hears so distinctly that it
impresses him, causes him to rise and to obey God. For this rea
son our fathers, for the sake of clearness, used to distinguish be
tween the ordinary call and the effectual call.
God s call does not go forth to the elect alone. The Lord Jesus
said : " Many are called, few are chosen." And the issue shows that
masses of men die unconverted, altho called by the outward, or
dinary call.
Nor should this outward call be slighted or esteemed unimpor
tant; for by it the judgment of many shall be made the heavier in
the day of judgment : " If the mighty works which have been done
in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Therefore it shall be more toler
able for Tyre and Sidon than for you " ; " And the servant which
knew the Lord s will and did not according to His will shall be
beaten with many stripes." Moreover, the effect of this outward
call reaches sometimes much deeper than is generally supposed,
and brings one sometimes to the very point of real conversion.
The unregenerate are not so insensible to the truth as never to
be touched by it. The decisive words of Heb. vi., concerning the
apparently converted who have even tasted of the heavenly gift,
prove the contrary. St. Peter speaks of sows which were washed
and then returned to the wallowing in the mire. One can be per
suaded to be almost a Christian. But for the selling of his goods
the rich young ruler would have been won for Christ. Wherefore
344 CALLING AND REPENTANCE
the effect of the ordinary call is by no means as weak and meager
as is commonly believed. In the parable of the sower the fourth
class of hearers alone belong to the elect, for they alone bear fruit.
Still there is among two of the remaining classes a considerable
amount of growth. One of them even produces high stalks and
ears ; only there is no fruit.
And for this reason the men that company with the people of
God should earnestly examine their own hearts, whether their fol
lowing of the Word is the result of having the seed sown in " good
ground." Oh, there is so much of illumination and of delight even ;
and yet only to be choked, because it does not contain the genuine
germ of life.
All these unregenerate persons lack saving grace. They hear
only with the carnal understanding. They receive the Word, but
only in the field of their unsanctified imagination. They let it
work upon their natural conscience. It plays merely upon the
waves of their natural emotions. Thus they may be moved to
tears, and they ardently love whatever so affects them. Yea, they
often perform many good works which are truly praiseworthy;
they may even give their goods to the poor, and their bodies to be
burned. Their salvation is therefore considered to be a matter of
fact. But the holy apostle completely destroys their hope, saying:
" Tho you speak with the tongues of men and of angels, tho you
understand all mystery, tho you give all your goods to feed the
poor, and tho you give your body to be burned, and have not love,
it profiteth you nothing."
Hence to be God s child and not a sounding brass, deep insight
into the divine mysteries, an excited imagination, a troubled con
science, and waves of feeling are not required, for all these may be
experienced without any real covenant grace ; but what is needed
is true, deep love operating in the heart, illuminating and vitali
zing all these things.
Adam s sin consisted in this, that he banished all the love of
God from his heart. Now it is impossible to be neutral or indiffer
ent toward God. When Adam ceased to love God, he began to hate
Him. And it is this hatred of God which no wlies at the bottom of
the heart of every child of Adam. Hence conversion means this,
that a man get rid of that hatred and receive love in its place. He
who says from the heart, " I love the Lord," is all right. What
more can he desire !
THE COMING OF THE CALLED 345
But as long as there is no love for God, there is nothing. For
mere willingness to do something for God, even to bear great sacri
fices, and to be very pious and benevolent, except it spring from
the right motive, is in its deepest ground nothing but a despising of
God. However beautiful the veneering, all these apparently good
works are inwardly cankered, sin-eaten, and decayed. Love alone
imparts the real flavor to the sacrifice. Wherefore the holy apostle
declares so sternly and sharply : " Tho you give your body to be
burned, and have not love, it profiteth you nothing"
To perform good works in order to be saved, or to oblige God,
or to make one s own piety lofty and conspicuous, is a growth from
the old root and at the most but a semblance of love. To cherish
true love for God is to be constrained by love to yield one s ego
with all that it is and has, and to let God be God again. And the
ordinary, the general, the outward call never has such effect; it is
incapable of producing it.
Wherefore we leave the ordinary call and return to the call
which is particular, wonderful, inward, and effectual; which ad
dresses itself not to all, but exclusively to the elect.
This call, which is spoken of as" heavenly" (Heb. iii. i), as " holy"
(2 Tim. i. 9), as " being without repentance " (Rom. xi. 29), is " according
to God s purpose" (Rom. viii. 28), is "from above in Christ J esus our
Lord" (Phil. iii. 14), and does not have its starting-point in the
preaching. He that calls by it is God, not the minister. And this
call goes forth by the means of two agencies, one coming to man
from without and the other from within. Both these agencies are
effectual, and the call has accomplished its purpose and the sinner
has come to repentance as soon as their workings meet and unite
in the center of his being.
Hence we deny that the regenerate, hearing the preached
Word, will come of himself. We do not thus understand their co
operation. If the inward call is sufficient, how is it that the regen
erate can sometimes hear the preaching without arising, unrepent
ant, refusing to let Christ give him light? But we confess that
the call of the regenerate is twofold : from without by the preached
Word, and from within by the exhortation and conviction of the
Holy Spirit.
Hence the work of the Holy Spirit in the calling is twofold :
The first work is, as He comes with the Word: the Word which
is inspired, prepared, committed to writing, and preserved by Him-
346 CALLING AND REPENTANCE
self, who is God the Holy Ghost. And He brings that Word to the
sinners by preachers whom He Himself has endowed with talents,
animation, and spiritual insight. And so wonderfully does He
conduct that preaching through the channel of the office and of the
historical development of the confession, that at last it comes to
him in the form and character required to affect and win him.
We see in this a very mysterious leading of the Holy Spirit.
Afterward a preacher will learn that, under his preaching in such
a church and at such an hour, a regenerate person was converted.
And yet he had not specially prepared himself for it. Frequently
he did not even know that person ; much less his spiritual condi
tion. And yet, without knowing it, his thoughts were guided and
his word was prepared in such a way by the Holy Ghost; perhaps
he looked at the man in such a manner that his v/ord, in connection
with the Spirit s inward operation, became to him the real and con
crete Word of God. We hear it often said: "That was directly
preached at me." And so it was. It should be understood, how
ever, that it was not the minister who preached at you, for he did
not even think of you; but it was the Holy Spirit Himself. It was
He who thought of you. It was He who had it all prepared for
you. It was He Himself who wrought in you.
The ministers of the Word should therefore be exceedingly
careful not in the least to boast of the conversions that occur under
their ministry. When after days of failure the fisherman draws his
net full of fishes, is this cause for the net to boast itself? Did it not
come up empty again and again ; and then was it not nearly torn
asunder by the multitude of fishes?
To say that this proves the efficiency of the preacher is against
the Scripture. There may be two ministers, the one well grounded;
in doctrine, the other but lightly furnished ; and yet the former hasl
no conversions in his church, while the latter is being richly blessed.]
In this the Lord God is and remains the Sovereign Lord. He passes,
by the heavily armed champions in Saul s army, and David, with
scarcely any weapons at all, slays the giant Goliath. All that a
preacher has to do is to "consider how, in obedience to his Lord, hef
may minister the Word, leaving results with the Lord. And when
the Lord God gives him conversions, and Satan whispers, " What j
an excellent preacher you are, that it was given you to convert sc I
many men!" then he is to say, " Get thee behind me, Satan," giv
ing the glory to the Holy Spirit alone.
THE COMING OF THE CALLED 347
However, it is not the Holy Spirit s only care in such a way
and focus of life to cause the Word to come to a regenerate person,
but He adds also a second work, viz., that by which the preached
Word effectively enters the very center of his heart and life.
By this second care He so illuminates his natural understand
ing and strengthens his natural ability and imagination that he
receives the general tenor of the preached Word and thoroughly
understands its contents.
But this is not all, for even pretended believers may have this.
The seed of the Word attains this growth also in those who have
received the seed into a rocky ground and among thorns. Hence
to this is added the illumination of his understanding, which wonder
ful gift enables him not only to apprehend the general sense of the
preached Word, but also to perceive and realize that this Word
comes to him directly from God ; that it affects and condemns his
very being, thus causing him to penetrate into its hidden essence
and feel the sharp sting which effects conviction.
Lastly, the Holy Spirit plies this conviction which otherwise
would quickly vanish so long and so severely, that finally the sting,
like the keen edge of a lancet, pierces the thick skin and lays open
the festering sore. This is in the called a very wonderful opera
tion. The general understanding puts the matter before him ; the
illumination reveals to him what it contains; and the conviction puts
the sharp two-edged sword directly upon his heart. Then, how
ever, he is inclined to shrink from that sword ; not to let it pierce
through, but to let it glance harmlessly from the soul. But then
the Holy Spirit, in full activity, continues to press that sword of
conviction, driving it so forcibly into the soul that at last it cuts
through and takes effect.
But this does not end the calling. For after the Holy Spirit has
done all this, He begins to operate upon the will ; not by forcibly
bending it, as an iron rod in the strong hand of the blacksmith, but
by making it, tho stiff and unyielding, pliant and tender from with
in. He could not do this in the unregenerate. But having laid in
regeneration the foundation of all these subsequent operations in
the soul, He proceeds to build upon it; or, to take another figure,
He draws the sprouts from the germ planted in the ground. They
do not start of themselves, but He draws them out of the germ. A
grain of wheat deposited in a desk remains what it is; but warmed
348 CALLING AND REPENTANCE
by the sun in the soil, the heat causes it to sprout. And so it is
here. The vital germ can do nothing of itself; it remains what it
is. But when the Holy Spirit causes the fostering rays of the Sun
of Righteousness to play upon it, then it germinates, and thus He
draws from it the blade and the ear and the corn in the ear.
Hence the yielding of the will is the result of a tenderness and
emotion and affection which sprang from the implanted germ of
life, by which the will, which was at first inflexible, became pliant ;
by which that which was inclined to the left was drawn to the right.
And so, by this last act, conviction, with all that it contains, was
brought into the will ; and this resulted in the yielding of self, giv
ing glory to God.
And in this way love entered the soul love tender, genuine, and
mysterious, the ecstasy of which vibrates in our hearts during all
our after-life.
And this finishes the exposition of the divine work of calling.
It belongs to the elect alone. It is irresistible, and no man can hin
der it. Without it no sinner ever passed from the bitterness of
hatred to the sweetness of love. When the call and regeneration co
incide, they seem to be one; and so they are to our consciousness;
but actually they are distinct. They differ in this respect, that re
generation takes place independently of the will and understanding ;
that it is wrought in us without our aid or cooperation ; while in
calling, the will and understanding begin to act, so that we hear
with both the outward and inward ear, and with the inclined will
are willing to go out to the light.
XXIX.
Conversion of All That Come.
" Turn Thou me and I shall be turned."
Jer. xxxi. 18.
THE elect, born again and effectually called, converts himself.
To remain unconverted is impossible ; but he inclines his ear, he
turns his face to the blessed God, he is converted in the fullest
sense of the word.
In conversion the fact of cooperation on the part of the saved
sinner assumes a clearly defined and perceptible character. In re
generation there was none ; in the calling there was a beginning
of it ; in conversion proper it became a fact. When the Holy Spirit
regenerates a man, it is an " Effatha," i.e., He opens the ear. When
He effectually calls him, He speaks into that opened ear, which
cooperates by receiving the sound, that is, by harkening. But
when the Holy Spirit actually converts the man, then the act of
man coalesces with the act of the Holy Spirit, and it is said : " Let
the wicked forsake his way, and let him return unto the Lord, and
He will have mercy upon him "; and in another place : " The law of
the Lord is perfect, converting the soul."
It is a remarkable fact that the Sacred Scripture refers to con
version almost one hundred and forty times as being an act of man, and
only six times as an act of the Holy Ghost. It is repeated again
and again : "Repent and turn to the Lord your God"; "Turn, O
backsliding children, saith the Lord" (Jer. iii. 22); "Sinners shall
return unto Thee" (Psalm li. 13, Dutch Version) ; " Repent and do
thy first works" (Rev. ii. 5). But conversion as an act of the Holy
Spirit is spoken of only in Psalm xix. 8, " The law of the Lord is per
fect, converting the soul" ; in Jer. xxxi. 18, " Turn Thou me and I
shall be turned"; in Acts xi. 18, "That God also to the Gentiles
granted repentance unto life " ; Rom. ii. 4, " That the goodness of
God leadeth thee to repentance"; in 2 Tim. ii. 5, " If God peradven-
ture will give them repentance "; in Heb. vi. 6, " That it is impossi
ble to renew such (as fall away) to repentance."
350 CALLING AND REPENTANCE
This fact should be carefully considered. When Scripture pre
sents conversion as the Spirit s act but six times, and as man s act one
hundred and forty times, in preaching the same proportion should
be observed. And, therefore, the preachers who, when preaching
on conversion, treat it almost invariably in its passive aspect and
in the abstract ; who apparently lack the courage and boldness to
declare to their hearers that it is their duty to convert themselves
unto God, seriously err. It has a very pious look, but it is against
the Scripture. And yet it is perfectly natural that one should hesi
tate to say, " You must convert yourself" so long as regeneration
and conversion are still confounded. For then the declaration,
" You must convert yourself," ignores the sovereignty of God, and
implies that a dead sinner is still able to do something of himself.
And this is the reason why the preachers who will not surrender
the sovereignty of God, and who will not deduct anything from the
deadness of the sinner, are afraid "to speak to deaf ears." Hence
they pray for the conversion of the hearers, but dare not in the
Name of the Lord demand it of them.
And nothing may be deducted either from the divine sovereign
ty or from the sinner s deadness. Every demand for conversion
which has such tendency is Pelagianism, and must be rejected.
But if the teaching of the Reformed Church in this respect be
thoroughly understood, the whole difficulty disappears.
It should be noticed, however, that Scripture, speaking of con
version, does not always imply that it is saving conversion. The
real work of salvation is always accompanied on its way by a phan
tom. Alongside of saving faith goes temporal faith ; alongside of
the effectual call, the ordinary call ; and alongside of saving conver
sion, ordinary conversion.
Conversion in its saving sense occurs but once in a man s life,
and this act can never be repeated. Once having passed from
death unto life, he is alive and will never return unto death. Per
dition is not a stream spanned by many bridges; nor does the saint,
tossed between endless hopes and fears, cross the bridge leading to
life, by and by to return by another to the shores of death. No;
there is but one bridge, which can be crossed but once ; and he that
has crossed it is kept by the power of God from going back. Tho
all powers should combine to draw him back, God is stronger than
all, and no one shall pluck him out of His hand.
We state this as distinctly and forcibly as possible, for at this
CONVERSION OF ALL THAT COME 351
point souls are often led astray. It is heard repeatedly these days,
" Your conversion is not a momentary act, but an act of life which
1 repeats itself constantly ; and wo to the man who fails for a single
I day to be converted anew." And this is altogether wrong. Lan-
, guage should not be so confounded. Tho the child grows for twenty
years after he is born, and before he attains maturity, yet he is born
! but once, and neither conception nor pregnancy before it, nor growth
; after it, is called " birth"
The fixed boundary should be respected also in this instance. It
is true that conversion is preceded by something else, but that is
! called not " conversion," but " regeneration " and " calling"; and so
there is something following " conversion, "but that is called " sanc-
tification." No doubt the word " conversion" may also be applied
to the return of the converted but backslidden child of God, after
i the example of Scripture ; but then it refers not to the saving
act of conversion, but to the continuance of the work once be
gun, or to a return not from death, but from a temporary going
astray.
In order to discriminate correctly in this matter, it is necessary
to notice the fourfold use of the word conversion in the Scripture.
1. "Conversion," in its widest scope, signifies a forsaking of
wickedness and a disposition to morality. In this sense it is said
of the Ninevites that God saw their works, that they turned from
their evil works. This does not imply, however, that all these
Ninevites belonged to the elect, and that every one of them was
saved.
2. " Conversion," in its limited sense, signifies saving conver
sion, as in Jer. Iv. 7 : " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord,
and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will
bundantly pardon."
3. And again, "conversion" signifies that, even after it has be
come a fact in our hearts, its principles must be applied to every
relation of our life. A converted person may for a long time con-
inue to indulge in bad habits and ungodly practises, but gradually
his eyes are opened for the evil, and then he repents and forsakes
he one after the other. So we read in Ezek. xviii. 30: "Repent
ind turn yourselves from #//your transgressions."
4. Lastly, "conversion" signifies the return of converted per
sons to their first love, after a season of coldness and weakness in
352 CALLING AND REPENTANCE
the faith, e,g. : " Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen,
and repent and do thy first works" (Rev. ii. 5).
But in this connection we speak of saving conversion, of which
we make the following remarks :
First It is not the spontaneous act of the regenerate. Without
the Holy Spirit conversion would not follow regeneration. Even
tho called, he could not come of himself. Hence it is of primary
importance to acknowledge the Holy Spirit, and to honor His work
as the first cause of conversion as well as of regeneration and call
ing. As no one can pray as he ought unless the Holy Spirit prays
in him with groans that can not be uttered, so no regenerate and
called person can convert himself as he ought unless the Holy
Spirit begin and continue the work in him. The redemptive work
is not like the growing plant, increasing of itself. Nay, if the saint
is a temple of God, the Holy Spirit dwells in him. And this in
dwelling indicates that everything accomplished by the saint is
wrought in him in communion with, by the incitement and
through the animation of the Holy Spirit. The implanted life is
not an isolated germ left to root in the soul without the Holy Spirit
and the Mediator, but it is carried, kept, bedewed, and fostered
from moment to moment out of Christ by the Holy Spirit. As men
can not speak without air and the operation of Providence vitalin
zing the organs of respiration and articulation, so it is impossible:
that the regenerated man can live and speak and act from the new
life without being supported, incited, and animated by the Holy
Spirit.
Hence when the Holy Spirit calls that man and he turns him
self, then there is not the slightest part in this act of the will which
is not supported, incited, and animated by the Holy Spirit.
Second This saving conversion is also the conscious and volun
tary choice and act of the person born again and called. While thtj
air and impulse to speak must come from without, and my organ.
of speech must be supported by the providence of God, yet it is j
who speak. And in much stronger sense does the Holy Spirit ir
conversion work upon the wheels and springs of man s regene^
rated personality, so that all His operations must pass through
man s ego.
Many of His operations do not affect the ego, as in Balaam !
case. But not so in conversion. Then the Holy Spirit works onlj.
CONVERSION OF ALL THAT COME 353
through us. Whatever He wills He brings into our will / He causes
all His actions to be effected through the organism of our being.
Hence man must be commanded, " Convert thyself." The teach
er bids the pupil speak, altho he knows that the child can not do so
unaided by Providence. In the new life the ego depends upon the
Holy Spirit who dwells and works in him. But in conversion he
knows nothing of this indwelling, nor that he is born again ; and it
would be useless to speak to him about it. He must be told, " Con
vert thyself." If the Spirit s action accompanies that word, the
man will convert himself; if not, he will continue unconverted.
But tho he convert himself, he will not boast, I have done this my
self, but bow down in thankfulness and glorify that divine work by
which he was converted.
In these two we find the evidence of genuine conversion : first,
the man bidden, converts himself, and then he gratefully gives
glory to the Holy Spirit alone. Not that we fear a man s conver
sion will be hindered by some one s neglect. In all the work of
God s grace His Almightiness sweeps away everything that resists,
so that all opposition melts away like wax, and every mountain of
pride flees from His presence. Neither slothfulness nor neglect
can ever hinder an elect person from passing from death into life
at the appointed time.
But there is a responsibility for the preacher, for the pastor, for
parents and guardians. To be free from a man s blood, we must
| tell every man that conversion is his urgent duty ; and to be without
excuse before God, after his conversion, we must give thanks to God,
who alone has accomplished it in and through His creature.
2 3
Sijtb Cbapter.
JUSTIFICATION.
XXX.
Justification.
" Being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is i
Christ Jesus." Rom. iii. 2^.
THE Heidelberg Catechism teaches that true conversion con
sists of these two parts : the dying of the old man, and the rising
again of the new. This last should be noticed. The Catechisn
says not that the new life originates in conversion, but that i
arises in conversion. That which arises must exist before. Els<
how could it arise? This agrees with our statement that regenera
tion precedes conversion, and that by the effectual calling the new
born child of God is brought to conversion.
We now proceed to consider a matter which, tho belonging t
the same subject and running parallel with it, yet moves along a:
entirely different line, viz., Justification.
In the Sacred Scripture, justification occupies the most conspicj
uous place, and is presented as of greatest importance for the sir
ner : " For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of Gocj
being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption the*
is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. iii. 24). "Therefore, being justifiA
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
(Rom. v. i) ; " Who was delivered for our offenses and raised agaij
for our justification" (Rom. iv. 25) ; " Who of God is made unto t
from God, wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redem]
tion" (i Cor. i. 30).
And not only is this so strongly emphasized by Scripture, but
was also the very kernel of the Reformation, which puts this do
JUSTIFICATION 355
trine of " justification by faith " boldly and clearly in opposition to
the " meritorious works of Rome." "Justification by faith" was in
those days the shibboleth of the heroes of faith, Martin Luther in
the van.
And when, in the present century, a self-wrought sanctification
presented itself again, as the actual power of redemption, it was
the not insignificant merit of Kohlbrugge, that he, tho less compre
hensively than the reformers, fastened this matter of justification,
with penetrating earnestness, upon the conscience of Christendom.
It may have been superfluous for the churches still truly Reformed,
but it was exceedingly opportune for the circles where the garland
of truth was less closely woven, and the sense of justice had been
allowed to become weak, as partially in our own country, but espe
cially beyond our borders. There are in Switzerland and in Bohe
mia groups of men who have heard, for the first time, of the neces
sity of justification by faith, through the labors of Kohlbrugge.
Through the grace of God, our people did not go so far astray ;
and where the Ethicals, largely from principle, surrendered this
point of doctrine, the Reformed did and do oppose them, admon
ishing them with all energy, and as often as possible, not to merge
justification in sanctification.
Regarding the question, how justification differs, on the one
hand, from " regeneration," and, on the other, from " calling and
conversion," we answer that justification emphasizes the idea of
right.
Right regulates the relations between two persons. Where
there is but one there is no right, simply because there are no rela
tions to regulate. Hence by right we understand either the right
of man in relation to man, or the claim of God upon man. It is in
this last sense that we use the word right.
The Lord is our Lawgiver, our Judge, our King. Hence He is
absolutely Sovereign : as Lawgiver determining what is right ; as
Judge judging our being and doing; as King dispensing rewards
and punishments. This sheds light upon the difference between
justification and regeneration. The new birth and the call and
conversion have to do with our being as sinners or as regenerate
men; but justification with the relation which we sustain to God,
either as sinners or as those born again.
Apart from the question of right, the sinner may be considered
356 JUSTIFICATION
as a sick person, who is infected and inoculated with disease.
After being born again he improves, the infection disappears, the
corruption ceases, and he prospers again. But this concerns his
person alone, how he is, and what his prospects are; it does not
touch the question of right.
The question of right arises when I see in the sinner a creature
not his own, but belonging to another.
Herein is all the difference. If man is to me the principal fac
tor, so that I have nothing else in view but his improvement and
deliverance from misery, then the Almighty God is in this whole
matter a mere Physician, called in and affording assistance, who
receives His fee, and is discharged with many thanks. The
question of right does not enter here at all. So long as the
sinner is made more holy, all is well. Of course, if he is made
perfect, all the better. Clearly understanding, however, that man
belongs not to himself, but to another, the matter assumes an en
tirely different aspect. For then he can not be or do as he pleases,
but another has determined what he must be and what he must
do. And if he does or is otherwise, he is guilty as a transgressor:
guilty because he rebelled, guilty because he transgressed.
Hence when I believe in the divine sovereignty, the sinner
appears to me in an entirely different aspect. As infected and
mortally ill, he is to be pitied and kindly treated ; but considered
as belonging to God, standing under God, and as having robbed
God, that same sinner becomes a guilty transgressor.
This is true to some extent of animals. When I lasso a wild
horse on the American prairies for training, it never enters my
mind to punish him for his wildness. But the runaway in the city
streets must be punished. He is vicious; he threw his rider; he
refused to be led and chose his own way. Hence he needs to
be punished.
And man much more so. When I meet him in his wild career
of sin, I know that he is a rebel, that he broke the reins, threw hi3
rider, and now dashes on in mad revolt. Hence such sinner must
be not only healed, but punished. He does not need medical treat
ment alone, but before all things he needs juridical treatment.
Apart from his disease a sinner has done evil ; there is no virtue
in him; he has violated the right; he deserves punishment. Sup
pose, for a moment, that sin had not touched his person, had not
corrupted him, had left him intact as a man, then there would have
JUSTIFICATION 357
been no need of regeneration, of healing, of a rising again, of sanc-
tification ; nevertheless he would have been subject to the ven
geance of justice.
Hence man s case in relation to his God must be considered
juridically. Be not afraid of that word, brother. Rather insist
that it be pronounced with as strong an emphasis as possible. It
must be emphasized, and all the more strongly, because for so
many years it has been scorned, and the churches have been made
to believe that this "juridical" aspect of the case was of no impor
tance ; that it was a representation really unworthy of God ; that
the principal thing was to bring forth fruit meet for repentance.
Beautiful teaching, gradually pushed into the world from the
closet of philosophy: teaching that declares that morality included
the right and stood far above the right; that " right" was chiefly a
notion of the life of less civilized ages and of crude persons, but of
no importance to our ideal age and to the ideal development of
humanity and of individuals ; yea, that in some respects it is even
objectionable, and should never be allowed to enter into that holy
and high and tender relation that exists between God and man.
The fruit of this pestilential philosophy is, that now in Europe
the sense of right is gradually dying of slow consumption. Among
the Asiatic nations this sense of right has greater vitality than
among us. Might is again greater than right. Right is again the
right of the strongest. And the luxurious circles, who in their
atony of spirit at first protested against the "juridical" in theology,
discover now with terror that certain classes in society are losing
more and more respect for the "juridical" in the question of prop
erty. Even in regard to the possession of land and house, and treas
ure and fields, this new conception of life considers the " juridical"
a less noble idea. Bitter satire! You who, in your wantonness,
started the mockery of the " juridical " in connection with God, find
your punishment now in the fact that the lower classes start the
mockery of this "juridical" in connection with your money and
your goods. Yea, more than this. When recently in Paris a wom
an was tried for having shot and killed a man in court, not only did
the jury acquit her, but she was made the heroine of an ovation.
(Here also other motives were deemed more precious, and the " ju-
,ridical " aspect had nothing to do with it.
And, therefore, in the name of God and of the right which He
358 JUSTIFICATION
has ordained, we urgently request that every minister of the Word,
and every man in his place, help and labor, with clear conscious
ness and energy, to stop this dissolution of the right, with all the
means at their disposal; and especially solemnly and effectually to
restore to its own conspicuous place the juridical feature of the sin
ner s relation to his God. When this is done, we shall feel again
the stimulus that will cause the soul s relaxed muscles to con
tract, rousing us from our semi-unconsciousness. Every man, and
especially every member of the Church, must again realize his jurid
ical relation to God now and forever; that he is not merely man or
woman, but a creature belonging to God, absolutely controlled by
God; and guilty and punishable when not acting according to the
will of God.
This being clearly understood, it is evident that regeneration
and calling and conversion, yea, even complete reformation and
sanctification, can not be sufficient; for, altho these are very glori
ous, and deliver you from sin s stain and pollution, and help you
not to violate the law so frequently, yet they do not touch your
juridical relation to God.
When a mutinous battalion gets into serious straits, and the
general, hearing of it, delivers them at the cost of ten killed and
twenty wounded, who had not mutinied, and brings them back and
feeds them, do you think that that will be all? Do you not see
that such battalion is still liable to punishment with decimation?
And when man mutinied against his God, and got himself into
trouble and nearly perished with misery, and the Lord God sentj
him help to save him, and called him back, and he returned, can
that be the end of it? Do you not clearly see that he is still liable
to severe punishment? In case of a burglar who robs and kills, but!
in making his escape breaks his leg, and is sent to the hospital}
where he is treated, and then goes out a cripple unable to repeat)
his crime, do you think that the judge would give him his libertyj
saying: " He is healed now and will never do it again" ? No; he
will be tried, convicted, and incarcerated. Even so here. Because!
by our sins and transgressions we have wounded ourselves, and j
made ourselves wretched, and are in need of medical help, is oui h
guilt forgotten for this reason?
Why, then, are such undermining ideas brought among t he;-
people? Why is it that under the appearance of love a sentimental
Christianity is introduced about the " dear Jesus," and " that we ar
JUSTIFICATION 359
so sick, and " the Physician is passing by," and that " it is, oh! so
glorious to be in fellowship with that holy Mediator" ?
Are our people really ignorant of the fact that this whole repre
sentation stands diametrically opposed to Sacred Scripture opposed
to all that ever animated the Church of Christ and made it strong?
Do they not feel that such a feeble and spongy Christianity is a
clay too soft for the making of heroes in the Kingdom of God?
And do they not see that the number of men who are drawn to the
" dear Jesus " is much smaller now than that of the men who for
merly were drawn to the Mediator of the right, who with His pre
cious blood hath fully satisfied for all our sins?
And when it is answered, " That is just what we teach ; recon
ciliation in His blood, redemption through His death ! It is all
paid for us! Only come and hear our preaching and sing our
hymns!" then we beseech the brethren who thus speak to be seri
ous for a moment. For, behold, our objection is not that you deny
the reconciliation through His blood, but that, by being silent on
the question of God s right, and of our state of condemnation, and
by being satisfied when the people " only come to Jesus," you allow
the consciousness of guilt to wear out, you make genuine repentance
impossible, you substitute a certain discontent with oneself for
brokenness of heart ; and thus you weaken the faculty to feel, to un
derstand, and to realize what the meaning is of reconciliation
through the blood of the cross.
It is quite possible to bring about reconciliation without touch
ing the question of the right at all. By some misunderstanding
two friends have become estranged, separated from, and hostile to
each other. But they may be reconciled. Not necessarily by ma
king one to see that he violated the rights of the other; this was
perhaps never intended. And even if there was some right viola
ted, it would not be expedient to speak of the past, but to cover it
with the mantle of love and to look only to the future. And such
reconciliation, if successful, is very delightful, and may have cost
both the reconciled and the reconciler much of conflict and sacri-
jfice, yea, prayers and tears. And yet, with all this, such reconcil
iation does not touch the question of right.
In this way it appears to us these brethren preach reconcilia
tion. It is true that they preach it with much warmth and anima
tion even; but and this is our complaint they consider and pre
sent it as an enmity caused by whispering, misunderstanding, and
360 JUSTIFICATION
wrong inclination, rather than by violation of the right. And, in con
sequence, their preaching of reconciliation through the blood of the
cross no longer causes the deep chord of the right to vibrate in
men s souls; but it resembles the reconciliation of two friends, who
at an evil hour became estranged from each other.
XXXI.
Our Status.
" And he believed in the Lord : and be
counted it to him for righteousness."
Gen. xv. 6.
THE right touches a man s status. So long as the law has not
proven him guilty, has not convicted and sentenced him, his legal
status is that of a free and law-abiding citizen. But as soon as his
guilt is proven in court and the jury has convicted him, he passes
from that into the status of the bound and law-breaking citizen.
The same applies to our relation to God. Our status before God
is that either of the just or of the unjust. In the former, we are
not condemned or we are released from condemnation. He that is
still under condemnation occupies the status of the unjust.
Hence, and this is noteworthy, a man s status depends not upon
what he is, but upon the decision of the proper authorities regard
ing him ; not upon what he is actually, but upon what he is counted
to be.
A clerk in an office is innocently suspected of embezzlement,
and accused before a court of law. He pleads not guilty ; but the
suspicions against him carry conviction, and the judge condemns
him. Now, tho he did not embezzle, is actually innocent, he is
counted guilty. And since a man does not determine his own
status, but his sovereign or judge determines it for him, the status
of this clerk, altho innocent, is, from the moment of his conviction,
that of a law-breaker. And the contrary may occur just as well.
In the absence of convicting evidence the judge may acquit a dis
honest clerk, who, altho guilty and a law-breaker, still retains his
status of a law-abiding and honest citizen. In this case he is dis
honorable, but he is counted honorable. Hence a man s status de
pends not upon what he actually is, but what he is counted \.Q be.
The reason is, that man s status has no reference to his inward
being, but only to the manner in which he is to be treated. It would
be useless to determine this himself, for his fellow citizens would
362 JUSTIFICATION
not receive it. Tho he asserted a hundred times, " I am an honor
able citizen," they would pay no attention to it. But if the judge
declares him honorable, and then they should dare to call him dis
honorable, there would be a power to maintain his status against
those who attack him. Hence a man s own declaration can not
obtain him a legal status. He may fancy or assume a status of
righteousness, but it has no stability, it is no status.
This explains why, in our own good land, a man s legal status
as a citizen is determined not by himself, but solely by the king,
either as sovereign or as judge. The king is judge, for all judg
ment is pronounced in his name; and, altho the judiciary can not
be denied a certain authority independent of the executive, yet in
every sentence it is the king s judicature which pronounces judg
ment. Hence a man s status depends solely upon the king s de
cision. Now the king has decided, once for all, that every citizen
never convicted of crime is counted honorable. Not because all
are honorable, but that they shall be counted as such. Hence so
long as a man was never sentenced, he passes for honorable, even
tho he is not. And as soon as he is sentenced, he is considered
dishonorable, tho he is perfectly honorable. And thus his status is
determined by his king; and in it he is accounted not according to
what he is, but what his king counts him to be. Even without the
judiciary, it is the king who determines a man s state in society,
not according to what he is, but what the king counts him to be.
A person s sex is determined not by his condition, but by what
the registrar of vital statistics in his register has declared him to be.
If by some mistake a girl were registered as a boy, and therefore
counted as a boy, then at the proper time she would be summoned
to serve in the militia, unless the mistake were corrected, and she
be counted to be what she is. It may be a. pretended, and not the
real, child of the rich nobleman in whose name it is registered.
And yet it makes no difference whose child it really is, for the state
will support it in all its rights of inheritance, because it passes for
the child of that nobleman, and is counted to be his legitimate child.
Hence it is the rule in society that a man s status is determined
not by his actual condition, nor by his own declaration, but by
the sovereign under whom he stands. And this sovereign has the
power, by his decision, to assign to a man the status to which, ac
cording to his condition, he belongs, or to put him in a status where
he does not belong, but to which he is accounted to belong.
OUR STATUS 363
This is the case even in matters where mistakes are out of the
question. At the time of the king s death and of the pregnancy of
his widow, a prince or princess is counted to exist, even before he
or she is born. And, accordingly, while the child is still a nursing
babe, it is counted to be the owner of large possessions, even tho
these possessions may be entirely lost, before the child can hear
of them. And so there are a number of cases where standing and
condition, without anybody s fault or mistake, are entirely different;
simply because it is possible that a man be in a state into which he
has not yet grown.
The king alone can determine his own status , if it pleases him
to register to-morrow incognito, as a count or a baron, he will be
relieved from the usual royal honors.
We have elaborated this po int more largely, because the Ethi-
cals and the Mystics have got our poor people so bitterly out of the
habit of reckoning with this counting of God. The word of Scrip
ture, " Abraham believed, and it was counted to him for righteous
ness," is no longer understood ; or it is made to refer to the merit of
faith, which is Arminian doctrine.
The Holy Spirit often speaks of this counting of God : " I am
counted with them that go down into the pit " ; " The Lord shall
count them when He writeth up the peoples" ; " And it was counted
unto Phineas for righteousness unto all generations, forever-
more." So it is said of Jesus, that " He was counted [numbered]
with the transgressors" ; of Judas that "he was counted with the
eleven " ; of the ^/circumcision which keeps the law, that " it
shall be counted unto him for circumcision" ; of Abraham that
"his faith was counted unto him for righteousness"; of him "that
worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly,"
that "his faith is counted unto him for righteousness"; and of the
children of the promise that " they are counted for the seed."
It is this very counting that appears to the children of this present
age so incomprehensible and problematic. They will not hear of
it. And, as Rome at one time severed the tendon of the Gospel,
by merging justification in sanctification, mixing and identifying
the two, so do people now refuse to listen to anything but an Ethi
cal justification, which is actually only a species of sanctification.
Hence God s counting counts for nothing. It is not heeded. It
has no worth nor significance attached to it. The only question is
364 JUSTIFICATION
what a man is. The measure of worth is nothing else but the worth
of our personality.
And this we oppose most emphatically. It is a denial of justifi
cation in toto j and such denial is essentially mutiny and rebellion
against God, a withdrawing of oneself from the authority of one s
legal sovereign.
All those who consider themselves saved because they have holy
emotions, or because they think themselves less sinful, and profess
to make progress in sanctification all these, however dissimilar
they may be in all other things, have this in common, that they
insist on being counted according to their own declaration, and not
according to what God counts them to be. Instead of leaving, as
dependent creatures, the honor of determining their status to their
sovereign King, whose they are, they sit as judges to determine it
themselves, by their own progress in good works.
And not only this, but they also detract from the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus, and from the reality of the guilt for which
He satisfied. He who maintains that God must count a man ac
cording to what he is, and not according to what God wills to count
him, can never understand how the Lord Jesus could bear our sins,
and be a " curse " and " sin " for us. He must interpret this sin-
bearing in the sense of a physical or Ethical fellowship, and seek
for reconciliation not in the cross of Jesus, but in His manger, as
many actually do in these days.
And as they thus make the actual bearing of our guilt by the
Mediator unthinkable, so they make inherited guilt impossible.
Assuredly, they say, there is inherited stain, taken in a Mani-
chean sense, but no original guilt. For how could the guilt of a
dead man be counted unto us? It is evident, therefore, that by this
thoughtless and bold denial of the right of God, not only is justifi
cation disjointed, but the whole structure of salvation is robbed of
its foundation.
And why is this? Is it because the human consciousness can
not conceive the idea of being counted according to what we are
not? Our illustrations from the social life show that men readily
understand and daily accept such a relation in common affairs.
The deep cause of this unbelief lies in the fact that man will not
rest in God s judgment concerning him, but that he seeks for rest
in his oum estimate of himself; that this estimate is considered a
safer shield than God s judgment concerning him ; and that, instead
OUR STATUS 365
of living with the reformers by faith, he tries to live by the things
found in himself.
And from this men must return. This leads us back to Rome ;
this is to forsake justification by faith ; this is to sever the artery of
grace. Much more than in the political realm must the sacred
principle be applied to the Kingdom of heaven, that to our Sover
eign King and Judge alone belongs the prerogative, by His de
cision, absolutely to determine our state of righteousness or of
unrighteousness.
The sovereignty which reposes in an earthly king is only bor
rowed, derived, and laid upon him; but the sovereignty of the
Lord our God is the source and fountainhead of all authority and
of all binding force.
If it belongs to the very essence of sovereignty, that by the
ruler s decision alone the status of his subjects is determined, then
it must be clear, and it can not be otherwise than that this very
authority belongs originally, absolutely, and supremely to our God.
Whom He judges guilty is guilty, and must be treated as guilty ;
and whom He declares just is just, and must be treated as just.
Before He entered Gethsemane, Jesus our King declared to His
disciples : " Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you." And this is His declaration even now, and it shall for
ever remain so. Our state, our place, our lot for eternity depends
not upon what we are, nor upon what others see in us, nor upon
what we imagine or presume ourselves to be, but only upon what
God thinks of us, what He counts us to be, what He, the Almighty
and Just Judge, declares us to be.
When He declares us just, when He thinks us just, when He
counts us just, then we are by this very thing His children who
shall not lie, and ours is the inheritance of the just, altho we lie in
the midst of sin. And in like manner, when He pronounces us
guilty in Adam, when in Adam He counts us subject to condemna
tion, then we are guilty, fallen, and condemned, even tho we dis
cover in our hearts nothing but sweet and childlike innocence.
In this way alone it must be understood and interpreted that the
Lord Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, altho He was holy ;
that He was made sin, altho He was the living Righteousness ; and
that He was declared a curse in our place, altho He was Immanuel.
In the days of His flesh He was numbered with transgressors and
sinners, He was put in their state, and He was treated accordingly ;
366 JUSTIFICATION
as such the burden of God s wrath came upon Him, and as such
His Father forsook Him, and gave Him over to bitterest death. In
the Resurrection alone He was restored to the status of the right
eous, and thus He was raised for our justification.
Oh, this matter goes so deep ! When to the Lord God is again
ascribed His sovereign prerogative to determine a man s status,
then every mystery of Scripture assumes its rightful place; but
when it is not, then the entire way of salvation must be falsified.
Finally, if one should say : " An earthly sovereign may be mis
taken, but God can not be ; hence God must assign to every man a
status which accords with his work " ; then we answer : " This
would be so, if the omnipotent grace of God were not irresistible. "
But since it is, you are not esteemed by God according to what
you are, but you are what God esteems you to be.
XXXII.
Justification from Eternity.
" The righteousness which is of God
by faith." Phil. iii. 9.
IT has become evident that the question which most closely con
cerns us is, not whether we are more or less holy, but whether our
status is that of the just or of the unjust; and that this is deter
mined not by what we are at any given moment, but by God as our
Sovereign and Judge.
In Adam s creation God put us, without any preceding merits
on our part, in the state of original righteousness. After the fall,
according to the same sovereign prerogative, He put us, as Adam s
descendants, in the state of unrighteousness, imputing Adam s guilt
to each personally. And in exactly the same manner He now jus
tifies the ungodly, i.e., He places him, without any previous merit
on his part, in the state of righteousness according to His own holy
and inviolable prerogative.
In the creation He did not first wait to see whether man would
develop holiness in himself, so as to declare him righteous on the
ground of this holiness ; but He declared him originally righteous,
even before there was a possibility on his part of evincing a desire
for holiness. And after the fall He did not wait to see whether sin
would manifest itself in us, so as to assign us to the state of the
unrighteous on the ground of this sin ; but before our birth, before
there was a possibility of personal sin, He declared us guilty. And
in the same manner God does not wait to see whether a sinner
shows signs of conversion in order to restore him to honor as a
righteous person, but He declares the ungodly just before he has
had the least possibility of doing any good work.
Hence there is a sharp line between our sanetification and our
justification. The former has to do with the quality of our being,
depends upon our faith, and can not be effected outside of us. But
368 JUSTIFICATION
justification is effected outside of us, irrespective of what we are,
dependent only upon the decision of God, our Judge and Sover
eign; in such a way that justification precedes sanctification. the
latter proceeding from the former as a necessary result. God does
not justify us because we are becoming more holy, but when He
has justified us we grow in holiness; " Being now justified by His
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
There should never be the least doubt regarding this matter.
Every effort to reverse this established order of Scripture must
earnestly be resisted. This glorious confession, declared with so
much power to the souls of men in the days of the Reformation,
must continue the precious jewel, to be transmitted intact by us to
our posterity as a sacred inheritance. So long as we ourselves
have not yet entered the New Jerusalem, our comfort should never
be founded upon our sanctification, but exclusively upon our justi
fication. Tho our sanctification were ever so far advanced, so long
as we are not justified we remain in our sin and are lost. And if a
justified sinner die immediately after his justification is sealed to
his soul, he may shout with joy, for, in spite of hell and of Satan,
he is sure of his salvation.
The deep significance of this confession is faintly discernible in
our earthly relations. In order to do business on the floor of the
exchange, a trader must be an honorable citizen. If convicted of
crime, justly or unjustly, he will be expelled from exchange, tho
he be ten times more honest than others whose fraudulent transac
tions have never been discovered. And how will this dishonored
man be restored to his former position? On the ground of future
honest business transactions? That is out of the question ; for as
long as he is counted dishonorable, he is not allowed to do business
on the floor. Hence he can not prove his honesty by any dealings
on exchange or in the market. So in order to start again, he must
first be declared an honorable man. Then, and not before, can he
set up in business once more.
Call this doing of business sanctification, and this declaration of
being a man of honor justification, and the matter will be illus
trated. For as this merchant, being declared dishonorable, can not
do business so long as he continues in that state, and must be de
clared honorable before he can begin anew, so a sinner can not do
any good work so long as he is counted lost. And so he must first
JUSTIFICATION FROM ETERNITY 369
be declared just by his God, in order to transact the honorable
business of sanctification.
To prove that this is effected absolutely without our own merit,
doing or not doing, and entirely without our actual condition, we
refer to the royal prerogative for granting pardon and reinstate
ment. Altho, among us, decisions of the judiciary are rendered in
the name of the king, and yet not by the king himself, a certain
opposition between the king and the judiciary is thinkable. It
might occur that the judiciary declared a man guilty and dishonor
able, whom the king wished not to be so declared. To keep the
majesty of the crown inviolate in such cases, the prerogative of
granting pardon and reinstatement is retained by almost every
crowned head, a prerogative which in the present day is narrowly
circumscribed, but which nevertheless represents still the exalted
idea that the decision of the king, and not our actual condition,
determines our lot. Hence a king can either grant pardon, i.e.,
remit the penalty and release the guilty person from all the conse
quences of his crime, or, stronger still, he can grant reinstatement,
i.e., he can restore the accused and condemned to the condition of
one who had never been declared guilty.
And this exalted royal prerogative, of which on account of sin
there remains in earthly kings but a faint shadow, is the inviolable
right in which God rejoices, Himself being the Source and all-com
prehending Idea of all majesty. Not you, but He determines what
His creature shall be ; hence He sovereignly disposes, by the word
of His mouth, the status wherein you will be set, whether it be of
righteousness or of unrighteousness.
It is also evident that the sinner s justification need not wait
until he is converted, nor until he has become conscious, nor even
until he is born. This could not be so if justification depended
upon something within him. Then he could not be justified before
he existed and had done something. But if justification is not
bound to anything in him, then this whole limitation must disap
pear, and the Lord our God be sovereignly free to render this justi
fication at any moment that He pleases. Hence the Sacred Scrip
ture reveals justification as an eternal act of God, i.e., an act which
is not limited by any moment in the human existence. It is for
this reason that the child of God, seeking to penetrate into that
glorious and delightful reality of his justification, does not feel
24
3/0 JUSTIFICATION
himself limited to the moment of his conversion, but feels that this
blessedness flows to him from the eternal depths of the hidden life
of God.
It should therefore openly be confessed, and without any abbre
viation, that justification does not occur when we become conscious
of it, but that, on the contrary, our justification was decided from
eternity in the holy judgment-seat of our God.
There is undoubtedly a moment in our life when for the first
time justification is published to our consciousness; but let us be
careful to distinguish justification itself from its publication. Our
Christian name was selected for and applied to us long before we,
with clear consciousness, knew it as our name; and altho there
was a moment in which it became a living reality to us and was
called out for the first time in the ear of our consciousness, yet no
man will be so foolish as to imagine that it was then that he actu
ally received that name.
And so it is here. There is a certain moment wherein that jus
tification becomes to our consciousness a living fact ; but in order
to become a living fact, it must have existed before. It does not
spring from our consciousness, but it is mirrored in it, and hence
must have being and stature in itself. Even an elect infant which
dies in the cradle is declared just, tho the knowledge or conscious
ness of its justification never penetrated its soul. And elect per
sons, converted, like the thief on the cross, with their last breath,
can scarcely be sensible of their justification, and yet enter eternal
life exclusively on the ground of their justification. Taking an
analogy from daily life, a man condemned during his absence in
foreign lands was granted pardon through the intercession of his
friends, wholly without his knowledge. Does this pardon take
effect when long afterward the good news reaches him, or when
the king signs his pardon? Of course the latter. Even so does
the justification of God s children take effect, not on the day when
for the first time it is published to their consciousness, but at the mo
ment that God in His holy judgment-seat declares them just.
But and this should not be overlooked this publishing in the
consciousness of the person himself must necessarily follow , and
this brings us back again to the special work of the Holy Spirit.
For if in God s judiciary it is more particularly the Father who
justifies the ungodly, and in the preparing of salvation more par-
JUSTIFICATION FROM ETERNITY 371
ticularly the Son who in His Incarnation and Resurrection brings
about justification, so it is, in more limited sense, the Holy Spirit
particularly who reveals this justification to the persons of the
elect and causes them to appropriate it to themselves. It is by
this act of the Holy Spirit that the elect obtain the blessed knowl
edge of their justification, which only then begins to be a living
reality to them.
For this reason Scripture reveals these two positive, but appar
ently contradictory truths, with equally positive emphasis: (i)
that, on the one hand, He has justified us in His own judgment-seat
from eternity; and (2) that, on the other, only in conversion are we
justified by faith.
And for this reason faith itself is fruit and effect of our justifica
tion; while it is also true that, for us, justification begins to exist
only as a result of our faith.
XXXIII.
Certainty of Our Justification.
" Being justified freely by His grace,
through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus." Rom. iii. 24.
THE foregoing illustrations shed unexpected light upon the fact
that God justifies the ungodly, and not him who is actually just in
himself; and upon the word of Christ: " Now are ye clean through
the word which I have spoken unto you." They illustrate the sig
nificant fact that God does not determine our status according to
what we are, but by the status to which He assigns us He deter
mines what we shall be. The Reformed Confession, which in all
things starts from the workings of God and not of man, became
again clear, eloquent, and transparent. So the divine Word, ordi
narily lowered to a mere announcement of what God finds in us,
becomes once more thejiat of His creative power. He found an
ungodly man and said, " Be righteous," and behold he became
righteous. " I said to thee in thy blood, Live."
In this way the various parts of the redemptive work are ar
ranged chronologically each in its own place.
So long as the false and narrow idea prevailed that a man was
justified after conversion on the ground of his apparent holiness,
justification could not precede sanctification, but must follow it.
Then man becomes first holy, and, as a reward or as a recognition
of his holiness, he is declared righteous. Hence sanctification is
first, and justification second ; a justification, therefore, without any
value, for what is the use of declaring that a ball is round?
The Scripture refuses to acknowledge a posterior justification.
In Scripture, justification is always the starting-point. All other
things spring from it and follow it. " Christ was made unto us wis
dom and righteousness," and only then " sanctification and redemp
tion." " Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we also have access."
CERTAINTY OF OUR JUSTIFICATION 373
" Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus." And, " Whom He called, them He also justified;
and whom He justified, them He also glorified."
For this reason the Reformation made justification by faith the
starting-point for the conscience, and by this confession bravely and
energetically opposed Rome s justification by good works; for in
this justification by good works that priority of sanctification found
its root.
The Church of Christ can not deviate from this straight line of
the Reformation without estranging itself and separating itself from
its Head and Fountain of Life, vitally injuring itself. Sects which,
like the Ethicals and the Methodists,* detract from this truth sever
the faith from its root. If our churches desire once more to be
strong in the doctrine and bold in witness-bearing, they must not
repose in lethargy on the mere form of the doctrine, but must
heartily embrace the doctrine ; for it presents this cardinal point in
a superior and excellent manner. He only who heroically dares
accept justification of the ungodly becomes actual partaker of salva
tion. He only can confess heartily and unreservedly redemption
which is sovereign, unmerited, and free in all its parts and workings.
The last question that remains to be discussed is : How can the
justification of the ungodly be reconciled with the divine Omni
science and Holiness?
It must be acknowledged that, in one respect, this whole repre
sentation seems to fail. It must be objected:
" Your argument is wittily thought out, but it does not stand the
test. When an earthly sovereign decides that a man s state shall
be otherwise than it actually is, he acts from ignorance, mistake, or
arbitrariness. And since these things can not be ascribed to God,
these illustrations can not be applied to Him."
And again : " That an earthly judge sometimes condemns the
innocent and acquits the guilty, and makes the former to occupy
the status of the latter, and vice versa, is possible only because the
judge is a fallible creature. If he had been infallible, if he could
have weighed guilt and innocence with perfect accuracy, the wrong
could not have been committed. Hence if sin had not come in,
that judge could not have acted arbitrarily, but he would have
acted according to the right, and decided for the right because it is
*See section 5 of the author s Preface.
374 JUSTIFICATION
right. And, since the Lord God is a Judge who trieth the reins and
who is acquainted with all our ways, in whom there can be no fail
ure or mistake or ignorance, it is not thinkable, it is impossible, it
is inconsistent with God s Being, that as the just Judge He ever
could pronounce a judgment that is not perfectly in accordance
with the conditions actually existing in man."
Without the slightest hesitation we submit to this criticism. It
is well taken. The mistake whereby a boy can be registered as a
girl; the peasant s child for that of a nobleman ; whereby a law-
abiding citizen can be judged as a law-breaker, and vice versa, is
out of the question with God. And, therefore, when He justifies
the ungodly, as the earthly judge declares the dishonorable to be
honorable, then these two acts, which are apparently similar, are
utterly dissimilar and may not be interpreted in the same way.
And yet the correctness of the objection does not in itself in
validate the comparison. Scripture itself often compares men s
acts, which are necessarily sinful, to the acts of God. When the
unjust judge, weary of the widow s tears and importunity, finally
said, " I will avenge her, lest she come at last and break my head "
(Dutch Translation), the Lord Jesus does not for a moment hesitate
to apply this action, tho it sprang from an unholy motive, to the
Lord God, saying : " And shall not God avenge His own elect, who
cry night and day unto Him?"
It can not be otherwise. For since all acts of men, even the
very best of the most holy among them, are always defiled with
sin, either it would be impossible to compare any deed of man with
the doings of God, or one must necessarily consider such deeds of
men apart from the sinful motive, and apply to God only the third
of the comparison.
And as Jesus could not mean that at last God must answer His
elect, " lest they come and break His head," but without speaking
of the motive, simply pointed to the fact that the inopportune
prayer is finally heard, so did we compare the wrong decision of the
judge, declaring the guilty innocent, to the infallible decision of
God, justifying the ungodly, since, in spite of the difference of mo
tive, it coincides with a third of the comparison.
Moreover, human mistakes are out of the question with reference
to the granting of pardon and reinstatement. Hence this expres
sion of royal sovereignty is indeed a direct type of the sovereignty ,
of the Lord our God.
CERTAINTY OF OUR JUSTIFICATION 375
But this does not settle the question. Altho we concede that
the unholy motive of mistake can not be attributed to God, yet we
must inquire : What is God s motive, and how can the justification
of the ungodly be consistent with His divine nature?
We reply by pointing to the beautiful answer of the Catechism,
question 60 : " How art thou righteous before God? Only by a true
faith in Jesus Christ ; so that, tho my conscience accuse me, that I
have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God, and kept
none of them, and am still inclined to all evil ; notwithstanding, God,
without any merit of mine, but only of mere grace, grants and im
putes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of
Christ ; even so as if I never had had, nor committed any sin : yea,
as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ hath
accomplished forme; inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with a
believing heart."
That the Lord God justifies the ungodly is not because He en
joys fiction, or delights by a terrible paradox to call one righteous
who in reality is wicked ; but this fact runs parallel with the other
fact, that such an ungodly one is really righteous. And that this
ungodly one, who in himself is and remains wicked, at the same
time is and continues righteous, finds its reason and ground in the
fact that God puts this poor and miserable and lost sinner into
partnership with an infinitely rich Mediator, whose treasures are
inexhaustible. By this partnership all his debts are discharged,
and all those treasures flow down to him. So tho he continues, in
himself, "poverty-stricken, he is at the same time immensely rich
in his Partner.
This is the reason why all depends upon faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ ; for that faith is the bond of partnership. If there is no such
faith, there can be no partnership with the wealthy Jesus ; and you
are still in your sin. But if there is faith, then the partnership is
established, then it exists, and you engage in business no longer
on your own account, but in partnership with Him who blots out
all your indebtedness, while He makes you the recipient of all His
treasure.
How is this to be understood? Is it the Person of the Christ
who takes us into partnership? And, since God has no longer to
reckon with our poverty, but can now depend upon the riches of
Christ, does He therefore count us good and righteous? No,
376 JUSTIFICATION
brethren, and again, no! It is not so, and it may not so be pre
sented; for then there would be no justification on God s part.
You have a bill to collect from a man who failed in business, but
who was accepted as the partner of a rich banker, who discharged
all his debts. Is there now the slightest mercy or goodness on your
part, when you indorse that man s check? Doing otherwise, would
you not flatly contradict solid and tangible facts?
No, the Lord God does not act that way. Christ does not blot
out the debt, and obtain us treasure outside of God ; nor does the
ungodly enter, through faith, into partnership with the wealthy
Jesus independently of the Father ; neither does God, being informed
of these transactions, justify the ungodly, who already had become
a believer. For then there would be no honor for God, nor praise
for His grace ; it would be not the ungodly, but, on the contrary, a
believer that was justified.
The matter is not transacted that way. It was the Lord God,
first of all, who, without respect of person, and hence without re
spect to faith in the person, according to His sovereign power,
chose a portion of the ungodly to eternal life; not as Judge, but as
Sovereign. But being Judge as well as Sovereign, and therefore
incapable of violating the right, He who has chosen, that is, the
Triune God, has also created and given all that is necessary and re
quired for salvation ; so that these elect persons, at the proper time
and by appropriate means, may receive and undergo the things by
which in the end it will appear that all God s doing was majesty
and all His decision just.
And, therefore, this whole ordering of the Covenant of Grace;
and in this Covenant of Grace the ordering of the Mediator; and in
the Mediator that of all satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness;
and of that satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness, first the imputa
tion, and after that the gift.
Wherefore God does indeed declare the ungodly just before he
believes, that he may believe, and not after he believes. This
justifying act is the creative act of God, in which is also deposited
the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, and from
which flow also the imputation and granting of all these to the un
godly. Wherefore there is in this act of justification not the slight
est mistake or untruth. He alone is declared just -who, being
ungodly in himself, by this declaration is and becomes righteous in
Christ.
CERTAINTY OF OUR JUSTIFICATION 377
In this way alone it is possible fully to understand the doctrine
of justification in all its wealth and glory. Without this deep con
ception of it, justification is merely the pardon of sin, after which,
being relieved of the burden, we start out with newly animated
zeal to work for God. And this is nothing else than genuine, fatal
Arminianism.
But, with this deeper insight, man acknowledges and confesses :
" Such pardon of sin does not avail me. For I know :
" i st. That I shall be again daily defiled with sin ;
" 2d. That I shall have a sinful heart within me until the day of
my death;
" 3d. That until then, I shall never be able to accomplish the
keeping of the whole law ;
" 4th. That, since I am already condemned and sentenced, I can
not do business in the Kingdom of God as an honorable man."
The answer of justification, such as Scripture reveals and our
Church confesses it, covers these four points most satisfactorily.
It accepts you not as a saint, with a self-assumed holiness, but
as one who confesses : " My conscience accuses me that I have
grossly transgressed all the commandments of God, and have kept
none of them, and that I am still inclined to all evil"; and yet, you
are not cast out. It tells you that you can not depend upon any
merit of your own, but must rely on grace alone. Wherefore it
begins with putting you in the ranks of the law-abiding, of them
that are declared good and righteous, " even so as if you never had
had nor committed any sin." As the ground of godliness it does not
require of you the keeping of the law, but it imputes and imparts
to you Christ s fulfilment of the law; esteeming you as if you had
fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished
for you. And effacing hereby the difference of your past and
future sin, it imputes and grants unto you not only Christ s satis
faction and holiness, but even His original righteousness, in such
a manner that you stand before God once more righteous and
honorable, and as tho the whole history of your sin had been a
dream only.
But tho closing sentence of the Catechism should be noticed:
" Inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with c*. believing heart." And
that "believing heart," and that "embracing" behold, that is the
very work of the Holy Spirit.
Se\>entb Gbapter.
FAITH.
XXXIV.
Faith in General.
" Through faith ; and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God." Ephes. ii. 8.
WHEN the judicial act of the Triune God, justification, is an-
nounced to the conscience, faith begins to be active and expresses
itself in works. This leads us to call the attention of our readers
to the work of the Holy Spirit, which consists in the imparting oj
faith.
We are saved through faith ; and that faith is not of ourselves,
it is the gift of God. It is very specially a gift of the Triune God,
by a peculiar operation of the Holy Ghost : " No man can say thai
Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost" (i Cor. xii. 3). St. Paul
calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of faith (2 Cor. iv. 13). And in Gal.
v. 22 he mentions faith as the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
In salvation nearly everything depends upon faith ; hence a cor
rect conception of faith is essential. It has always been the aim 6:|
error to poison faith s being, and thus to destroy weak souls as wel
as the Church itself. It is therefore the urgent duty of minister, 1
to instruct the churches concerning faith s being and nature; b?
correct definitions to detect prevailing error, and thus to restorn
the joy of a clear and well-founded consciousness of faith.
P or years the people have listened to the poorest and vagues
theories of faith. Every minister has had his own theory anJ
definition, or worse, no definition at all. In a general way the ,
have felt what faith is, and presented it eloquently; but thes
brilliant, metaphorical, often flowery descriptions have frequentlii
been more obscuring than illuminating; they have failed to ii;
struct. The definition of faith being left to the inspiration of th
FAITH IN GENERAL 379
moment, it often occurred that the minister unconsciously offered
to his people one Sunday the very opposite of what he had elo
quently proclaimed the week before. This should not be so. The
Church must increase in knowledge also ; and what sufficed for the
apostolic Church is not sufficient now. The ideas of faith were
confused then; and the earliest writings show that the various
problems regarding faith had not been solved.
But not so in the apostolic writings, whose inspiration is proven
from the fact that they contain a clear and definite answer to nearly
all these questions. But after the apostles had passed away, the
depth of their word not yet understood, there was a childlike con
fusion of ideas in the Church of the first centuries ; until the Lord
allowed various heretical forms of faith to appear, which the Church
was compelled to oppose by the real forms of faith. To do this
successfully it had to emerge from that confusion and to arrive at
clearer distinctions and conceptions.
Hence the many differences, questions, and distinctions which
subsequently arose regarding faith s being and exercise. Owing
to the earnest debates, the real being of faith became gradually
I more defined and clearly distinguished from its false forms and
imitations. That in the present time every path, good and bad, has
its own distinctive sign-post, so that no one can turn in the wrong
direction ignorantly, is the fruit of the long conflict waged with so
I much patience and talent.
Undoubtedly ignorance has caused much misunderstanding.
I But we maintain that a guide who neglects to examine the roads
ftbefore he undertakes to guide travelers is unworthy of his title.
And a minister of the Word is a spiritual guide, appointed by the
Lord Jesus to conduct pilgrims traveling to the heavenly Jerusalem
through the high Alps of faith, where the ordinary communications
of the earthly life have ceased, from one mountain-plateau to an-
lother. Hence he is inexcusable when, merely guessing at the
location of the heavenly city, he advises his pilgrims to try the
bath which seems to lead in that direction. By virtue of his office
he should make it his chief business to know which is the shortest,
Safest, and most certain way, and then tell them that this and none
bther is the way. Formerly, when the various paths had not yet
jpeen examined, it was to some extent praiseworthy to try them all ;
but now, since their misleading character is so well known, it is un
pardonable to try them again.
380 FAITH
And when the easy-going people say, " Above all things let us
retain our simplicity ; what is the use in our Christian faith of all
those wearisome distinctions," we would ask of them whether in
the case of a surgical operation they would prefer a surgeon who in
his simplicity only cuts no matter where or how ; or in case of sick
ness, an apothecary who simply puts a mixture together from his
various jars and bottles, regardless of the names of the drugs; or,
to take another example, in case of a sea-voyage, would they em
bark in a vessel whose captain, chary of the use of charts and in
struments, in sweet simplicity steers his ship, merely trusting in
his luck?
And when they answer, as they must, that in such cases they
demand professionals thoroughly acquainted with the smallest de
tails of their professions, then we ask them in the name of the Lord
and of their accountability unto Him, how they can go to work so
simply, i.e., so carelessly and thoughtlessly, when it concerns spir
itual disease, or the voyage across the unfathomable waters of life,
as tho in these matters thoughtful discrimination were immaterial.
We refuse, therefore, to be influenced by that sickly talk about
simplicity regarding faith, or by the impious cry against a so-called
dogmatism, but shall diligently seek to give an exposition of the
being of faith, which, eradicating error, will point out the only safe
and reliable path.
As a starting-point, let it be plainly understood that there is a
sharp distinction between saving faith and the faith which in the
various spheres of life is called "faith in general"
When Columbus is incited, by internal compulsion, to direct
his restless eye across the western ocean to the world which he
there expects with almost absolute certainty, we call this faith
and yet, with this instinctive inclination in the mind of Columbus
saving faith has nothing to do. And the preacher, using this and
similar examples otherwise than as a faint analogy, does not ex
plain but obscures the matter, and leads the Church in the wrong
direction.
Sometimes we have among our children one whose mind is con
stantly occupied by an unconscious aim or idea, that leaves him no-
rest. In after years it may appear to be his life s aim and purpose.
This is the compulsion of an inward law belonging to his nature;
the mysterious, constraining activity of a ruling idea governing his
FAITH IN GENERAL 381
life and person. People thus constrained conquer every obstacle ;
however opposed, they come ever nearer to that unconscious pur
pose, and at last, owing to this irresistible impulse, they attain
what they have been so long aiming at. And this is also frequently
called faith ; but it has little more than the name in common with
the faith of which we are about to speak. For while such faith
excites human energy, and exalts and glorifies it, saving faith, on
the contrary, casts down all human greatness.
The same is true of the so-called faith in one s ideas. One is
young and enthusiastic; he dreams beautiful dreams of a golden
age of happiness and sees delightful ideals of righteousness and
glory. That beautiful world of his fancy seems to comfort him
for the disappointments of this matter-of-fact world. If that were
the real world, and if it were always to remain so, it would have
broken his youthful heart and prematurely quenched its enthusiasm ;
and, grown old when still young, he would have joined the pessi
mists who perish in despair, or the conservatives who find relief in
the silencing of the higher dictates of the conscience. But fortu
nately their number is small. In this painful experience many
discover a world of ideals, i.e., they have the courage to condemn
this sinful world, full of misery, and to prophesy of the coming of
a better and happier world..
Alas! youthful presumption, chasing after its ideals, often fancies
that the cause of all evils lies in the fathers. " If my fathers had
only seen and planned things as I do now, our progress would have
been much greater." But those fathers did not see it so. They
went wrong; hence our ideals are not yet real. But there is hope ;
a young generation, clearly understanding these things, will soon
be heard; then great changes will occur: much of the existing
misery will disappear, and our ideal world will become real. And
I cruel is the answer of unvarnished experience. For the son acts as
foolishly as the father did before him. Consequently the ideal
world is not realized. He cries aloud, but men will not hear; they
refuse to be delivered from their misery, and the old sadness goes
on forever.
At this point the company of idealistic men is divided. Some
(abandon the effort; call their dreams delusive, and, accepting the
inevitable, increase the broad stream of souls trampled down to the
same level. But a few nobler souls refuse to submit to this debased
382 FAITH
and ignoble wretchedness ; and preferring to run their heads against
the granite wall, with the cry, " Advienne qui pourra," cling to
their ideals. And these men who can not be sufficiently loved and
appreciated are said to believe. But even this faith has nothing in
common with saving faith ; to speak of this as the same is but con
fusion of tongues and a joining together of things dissimilar.
Finally, the same is true of a much lower form, ordinarily called
faith, which is the light-hearted expression of cheerfulness ; or the
lucky guessing at something which accidentally comes to pass.
There are cheery, mirthful souls, who in spite of adversity never
seem to be cast down or harmed, who, however much suppressed,
have always enough of elasticity in their happy spirits to let the
mainspring of their inward life rebound into full activity. Such
people have always an encouraging and hopeful eye for all their
surroundings. They are strangers to gloomy forebodings, and un
acquainted with melancholy fears. Care does not rob them of
sleep, and nervous restlessness does not send the blood to the heart
at quickened pace. However, they are not indifferent, only not
easily affected. Things may go against them, the clouds may
overcast their sky, but behind the clouds they see the sun still
shining, and they prophesy, with cheerful smile, that light will
soon break through the darkness. Therefore it is said that they
have faith in persons and in things.
And this faith, if it be not too superficial, should be appreciated.
With millions of melancholy souls, life in this country would be
unbearable ; and it is cause for gratitude that our national char
acter, otherwise so phlegmatic, cultivates sons and daughters in
whose hearts the faith of the cheerful burns brightly. And some
times their prophecies are really fulfilled ; everybody thought that
the little craft would perish, and, behold, it safely reached and en
tered the harbor; and it appeared that their cheerful faith waSj
actually one of the causes of its happy arrival. And then these!
prophets ask you : Did we not tell you so? Were you not altogether!
too gloomy? Do you not see that it came out all right?
But even this faith has nothing but the name, in common with
saving faith. We must note this especially because, in Christian!
institutions and enterprises, we frequently meet with men and!
women who are upheld by this spirit of cheerfulness and unques-jj
tioning confidence, and who by this hopeful spirit pilot many a|
FAITH IN GENERAL
383
Christian craft, which otherwise might perish, into a safe harbor.
But this spiritual cheerfulness which, in the Christian, is perhaps
fruit of the genuine faith, is by no means the genuine faith itself.
And when it is said, " Do you now see what faith can do?" the sa
ving faith is again confounded with this general faith which is found
sometimes even among the heathen.
XXXV.
Faith and Knowledge.
"He that believeth in the Son hath ever
lasting life; and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see lite." John iii. 36.
IN the discussion of saving faith, faith in general can not afford
us the least assistance. To understand what " faith " is, we must
turn in an entirely different direction, and answer the question:
" What is, among the nations, the universal root-idea and original
significance of faith?"
And then we meet this singular phenomenon, that among all
nations and at all times faith is an expression denoting at one time
something uncertain, and at another something very certain.
It may be said : " I believe that the clock struck three, but I am
not certain"; or, " I believe that his initials are H. T., but I am not
certain"; or, " I believe that you can take a ticket directly for St.
Petersburg, but it would be well first to inquire." In every one of
these sentences, which can be translated literally in every culti
vated language, " to believe" signifies a mere guess, something less
than actual knowledge, a confession of uncertainty.
But when I say, "I believe in the forgiveness of sin"; or, "I
believe in the immortality of the soul"; or lastly, " I believe in the
unquestionable integrity of that statesman"; " to believe" does not
imply doubt or uncertainty about these things, but signifies strong
est conviction concerning them.
From which it follows, that every definition of the being of
faith must be wrong which does not explain how, from one and
the same root-idea, there can be derived a twofold, diametrically
opposed use of the same word.
Of this difficulty there can be but one solution, viz., the differ
ence in the nature of the things in regard to which certainty is
desired ; so that, with reference to one class of things, highest cer
tainty is obtained by faith, and, with reference to another, it is not.
FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE 385
This difference arises from the fact that there are things visible
and invisible, and that certainty regarding things visible is obtained
by knowledge and not by faith ; while certainty in regard to things
invisible is obtained exclusively by faith. When a man says regard
ing visible things, " I believe," and not, " I know," he impresses us
as being uncertain ; but in saying regarding invisible things, " I be
lieve," he gives us the idea of certainty.
It should be observed here that the expressions " visible " and
" invisible " must not be taken in too narrow a sense ; by things
visible must be understood all things that can be perceived by the
senses, as in Scripture ; and by things invisible, the things that can
not be so perceived. Wherefore the things that pertain to the
hidden life of a person must ultimately rest on faith. His deeds
alone belong to the visible things. Certainty in regard, to these
can be obtained by the perception of the senses. But certainty
regarding his inward personality, his thoughts, his affections and
their sincerity, his character and its trustworthiness, and anything
pertaining to his inward life, certainty regarding all these can be
reached by faith only.
If we were to enter more deeply into this matter, we should
maintain that all certainty, even regarding things visible, rests always
|and only upon faith; and we should lay down the following propo
sitions : When you say that you saw a man in the water and heard
him cry for help, your knowledge rests, first, upon your belief that
|you did not dream but was wide awake, and that you did not imagine
[but actually saw it ; second, upon your firm belief that since you saw
nd heard something there must be a corresponding reality which
ccasions that seeing and hearing; third, upon your conviction that
n seeing something, e.g., the form of a man, your senses enable
ou to obtain a correct impression of that form.
And, proceeding in this way, we could demonstrate that in the
nd, all certainty in regard to things visible, as well as to things
nvisible, rests ultimately not upon perception, but upon faith. It
5 impossible for my ego to obtain any knowledge of things out-
ide of myself without a certain bond of faith, which unites me to
lese things. I must always believe either in my own identity, that
i, that I am myself ; or in the clearness of my consciousness ; or in
ie perception of my senses ; or in the actuality of the things out-
ide of myself; or in the axiomata from which I proceed.
Hence it can be stated, without the slightest exaggeration, that
25
3 86 FAITH
no man can ever say, " / know this or that" without its being possi
ble to prove to him that his knowledge, in a deeper sense and upon
closer analysis, depends, so far as its certainty is concerned, upon
faith alone.
But we prefer not to consider this deeper conception of the
matter, because it confuses rather than explains the being of faith ;
for it should be remembered that in Sacred Scripture the Holy Spirit
always uses words as they occur in the ordinary speech of daily
life, simply because otherwise the children of the Kingdom could
not understand them. And, in the daily life, people do not make
that closer distinction, but say, in the case above referred to : "I
know that there is a man in the water, for I saw his head and I
heard him cry." While, on the other hand, it is said, in the ordi
nary speech of daily life : " If you do not believe me, I can not talk]
with you"; indicating the fact that, in regard to a person, faith is
the only means by which certainty can be obtained.
And, keeping this in view, we shall, for the sake of clearness,
present the matter in this way: that the Lord God has created man
in such a way that he can obtain knowledge of two worlds, of the!
world of visible things, and of that of invisible things ; but so tha
he obtains such knowledge concerning each in a special and peculia:
manner. He obtains knowledge of the world of visible things b?
means of the senses, which are instruments designed to bring hii
mind into contact with the outside world. But the senses teaclj
him nothing concerning the world of invisible things, for which h<t
needs altogether different organs.
We have no names for these other organs, as we have for th
five senses ; yet we know that from that invisible world we receiv
impressions, sensations, emotions; we know perfectly well tha
these mutually differ in duration, depth, and power, and we als
know that some of these affect us as real and others as unreal. I
fact the invisible world, as well as the visible world, exerts infltj
ences upon us ; not through the five senses, but by means of urj
namable organs. This influence from the invisible world affectj
the soul, the consciousness, the innermost ego. This workinj
makes impressions upon the soul, excites sensations in the cot
sciousness, and causes emotions in the inward ego.
This is done, however, in such a way that there is always rooi;
for the question : " Are these impressions real? Can I trust tlies
FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE 387
sensations? Is there a reality corresponding to these sensations,
impressions, emotions?" And to this last question faith alone can
answer "yes," in precisely the same manner as the question,
whether I obtain certainty from my own consciousness and from
my senses and from the axiomata, receives its "yes" exclusively
and only by faith.
To obtain certainty regarding the things invisible, such as love,
faithfulness, righteousness, and holiness, the mystic body of the
Lord i n a word, regarding all things that pertain to the mystery of
the personal life in my fellow men, in Immanuel, in the Lord our
God, faith is the proper and only divinely ordained way ; not as
something inferior to knowledge, but equal to it, only much more
certain, and from which all knowledge derives its certainty.
As regards the objection, that the Sacred Scripture declares that
faith shall be turned into sight, we say that this "sight" has noth
ing in common with the sight by means of the senses. God sees
and knows all things, and yet He does not possess any of the senses.
His sight is an immediate act of penetration, with His Spirit, into
the essence and consistence of all things. To Adam in Paradise
something of this immediate wisdom and knowledge was imparted;
but by sin he lost that glorious feature of the image of God. And
Scripture promises that this glorious feature shall be restored to
God s children, in the Kingdom of Glory, in much more glorious
measure than in Paradise.
But, while we still sojourn as pilgrims, not yet possessing the
orified body any more than the glory of our inward status, our
ontact with the invisible world does not yet consist in sight; our
ind still lacks the power to penetrate immediately into the things
nvisible ; and we still depend upon the impressions and sensations
)roduced by them. Wherefore we can have no certainty regard-
g these impressions and sensations, except by direct faith. Still,
xisting and living as pilgrims together, we believe in each other s
ve, good faith, and honesty of character ; we believe in God the Fa-
ler, in our Savior, and in the Holy Spirit ; we believe in the Holy
atholic Church; we believe in the forgiveness of sin, the res-
rrection of the body, and the life everlasting. And we do not be-
eve in all these with the secret after-thought that we would really
refer to know them, instead of believing them; for that would be
ist as absurd as to say, of an organ concert: "Really I would
3 88 FAITH
prefer to see this." Music can not be seen any more than one can
become conscious of things invisible by means of the senses. And
as the sense of hearing is the only proper means of hearing and en
joying music, so faith is the peculiar and only means whereby cer
tainty can be obtained regarding our contact with the world unseen
and invisible.
This being thoroughly understood, it can not be difficult to see
that this faith in reference to things visible is far inferior to knowl
edge ; for the visible things are intended to be ascertained, care
fully and accurately, by means of the senses. Imperfect observa-j
tion renders our knowledge uncertain. Hence, in regard to the!
visible things, no other knowledge than that obtained by the sense
ought to be considered reliable.
But in a number of unimportant cases accurate knowledge
needless; e.g., in the difference concerning the respective heighi
of two steeples. In such cases we use the word "believe," as, "
believe that this steeple is higher than the other." And again
visible things impress their image upon the memory, which in th
course of years becomes dim. Meeting a gentleman I have see
before, and fully recognizing him, I say, " This is Mr. B."; but be
ing uncertain, I say, " I believe that this is Mr. B." In this case w
seem to be dealing with visible things, for a gentleman stands be
fore us; yet the image which recalls him belongs to the inwar
contents of the memory. Hence the difference of speech.
We reach, therefore, this conclusion :
First, that all certainty regarding things visible as well as irivij
ible depends in the deepest sense upon _/#////.
Second, that in ordinary speech certainty regarding things
ible is obtained by means of the senses, and regarding things invii
ible, especially things that pertain to personality, by believing.
For this reason Brakel s effort to interpret the verb to believ
according to the Hebrew and Greek idioms, as meaning to trust, an
not as a means to obtain certainty, was a failure. Such meanings ai
the same in all languages, and there is no difference, because thej
are the direct result of the organism of the human mind, which,
its fundamental features, is the same among all nations. Confident
is the direct result of faith, but is not faith itself.
" To believe " refers, in the first place, to the certainty or mice)
FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE
389
tainty of the consciousness concerning something. If there is no
such certainty, I do not believe; being consciously certain, I be
lieve. When a person introduces himself to me as a man of in
tegrity, the first question is, whether I believe him. If I am not
certain that he is a man of integrity, I do not believe him. But if
I believe him, confidence is the immediate result. Then it is im
possible not to trust him. To believe that he is what he claims to
be, and not trust him, is simply impossible.
Hence " to believe " always retains the primary meaning of " as
suring the consciousness " ; and saving faith requires me " to be certain
that Christ is to me such as He reveals and offers Himself in Sacred
Scripture."
XXXVI.
Brakel and Comrie.*
" If in anything ye be otherwise minded,
God shall reveal even this unto you."
Phil. iii. 15.
WE call the attention of our readers to the two lines which in
the last century were most correctly drawn by Brakel and Comrie
respectively ; and we do not deny that of the two, Comrie was the
more correct.
This is not intended to hurt the friends of Brakel, for then we
should wound ourselves. However, altho the name of " Father
Brakel" is still precious to us; altho we appreciate his courageous
protesting against church tyranny, and heartily acknowledge our
indebtedness to his excellent writings ; yet this does not render him
infallible, neither does it alter the fact that in the matter of faith
Comrie judged more correctly than he.
To do justice to both men, we will cite their respective argu
ments, and then show that Comrie, who did not always see correctly
either, was more strictly Scriptural, and therefore more strictly
Reformed, than Brakel.
In the chapter on Faith (" Rational Religion," ii., 776, ed. 1757)
Brakel writes :
"The question is : What is the essential, fundamental act of faith? Is
it the assent of the mind to the Gospel and its promises, or is it the trust
ing of the heart in Christ for justification, sanctifi cation, and redemp
tion ? Before we answer this question we wish to say :
" First, that by trusting we do not understand a Christian s assurance
and confidence that he is in Christ and a partaker of Christ and of all His
promises ; nor his peace and rest in Christ, for that is & fruit of faitt
which some have more than others ; but by trusting we understand the
act of the soul, whereby a man yields himself to Christ and accepts Him
entrusting Him with body and soul, as, e.g. , one man entrusts his monej
* Brakel and Comrie were celebrated Dutch theologians in the eigh
teenth century. TRANS.
BRAKEL AND COMRIE 391
to another, or as one entrusts himself to and leans on the strong shoulders
of the man that carries him across a stream.
"Second, that such trust necessarily requires a previous knowledge of
evangelical truth and assent to its credibility ; and that, after that, faith
exercises itself on and by its promises.
" We now answer the question already stated as follows : True, saving
faith is not the act of the mind assenting to evangelical truth, but the
trusting of the heart to be saved by Christ on the ground of His voluntary
offering of Himself to sinners and of the promises to them that trust
in Him. And we say also that faith has its seat, not in the under
standing, but in the will ; not being the assent to the truth it can not be
in the understanding, and since it is trust it must have its seat in the
will.
"The truth of what we have said is evident :
First, from the name itself. What we call to believe Scripture calls
to trust, to confide, to entrust. Speaking of divine things revealed
to us in the Word alone, we must not be confined to our own language,
for this would cause many to fall into error ; but we should adapt our
speech and understanding to the nature and character of the original
Hebrew and Greek. For in our language to believe means to accept
promises and the narrative of events on the strength of another man s
word ; but according to the force of the original languages the words, KLGTEVU,
rP?/?., ^P^, na:> 5 -|Qp ? are translated not only to believe, but to trust, to
entrust, to lean upon. They are used, not to denote the nature of trust,
but by trusting yielding oneself to Christ, relying on Him.
"Secondly, the Scripture ascribes the act of faith to the heart: With
the heart man believeth unto righteousness (Rom. xix. 19) ; If thou be-
lievest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he said, I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts viii. 37). Trusting and believing
are both acts of the heart, the will. If it be said that the heart refers also
to the understanding, we answer, very rarely, and even then it refers not
to the understanding alone, but also to the will, or to the soul with all its
workings.
"Thirdly, if the act of faith did consist in the assent of the mind to the
truth, it would be possible to have saving faith without accepting Christ,
without trusting Him ; and you may know and acknowledge Christ as
the Savior as long as you please, but what union and communion with
Christ does that afford? To accept Christ and to trust and lean on Him
would be only an effect of faith, but an effect does not complete the being
of a thing which is complete before the effect ; and saving faith would not
differ from historic faith, but be the same in its nature. For historic faith
is also the assent of the mind to the truth of the Gospel, and even the
devils and the unconverted have this faith. If it be said that the knowl-
392. FAITH
edge of the one is spiritual and that of the other is not, we answer: (i)
While it is true that the knowledge of the converted is different from that
of the unconverted, yet the matter remains the same. Their historical
knowledge, if assented to, is historic faith in the one as well as in the other.
(2) The Scripture never makes the spirituality of historic knowledge the
distinctive feature of saving faith. (3) This is certain that the knowledge
of faith of an unconverted person is not spiritual. And from faith itself
one can never ascertain whether he truly believes ; this he can learn only
from the fruits, and that would be altogether wrong.
"Fourthly, saving faith believes in God, in Christ, and does not stop
at the Word, but through the Word reaches the Person of Christ and trusts
in Him. Neither do I pray for these alone, but for them also who shall
believe on Me, through their word (John xvii. 20) . This alone gives
faith its point, nature, and perfection ; wherefore Scripture says that sa
ving faith is to believe in God, in Christ : Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved (Acts xiii. 31). To believe in Christ is faith
itself and not the fruit of faith, which it must be if faith be mere knowl
edge and assent.
"Fifthly, it is faith itself that unites the soul to Christ, appropriates
the promises, satisfies the conscience, gives access to the throne of grace
and boldness to call Him Father (Ephes. iii. 17 ; John iii. 36 ; Rom. v. i ;
Ephes. iii. 12) . But mere assent to the truth can not do any of these things.
You may assent as long as you please, but that will never make a single
promise your own ; it will not unite the soul to Christ, nor will it give
boldness to call Abba, Father. Hence mere assent is not saving faith.
It may be said that it is the work of the assenting mind to accept Christ
and to trust in Him, and so the above-mentioned results flow from the
assent of the truth. But I answer : (i) That mere assent as such can not
have such results, but that they are its fruits ; that the assent must first
work acceptance and trust in Christ ; hence it is the form of faith, and not
its nature. Moreover, Scripture ascribes all these things to faith itself,
not to its fruits. (2) The same may be said of the knowledge of the mys
teries of the Gospel, that it has the same effect, that this also unites to
Christ, appropriates the promises, etc. ; but since this would be absurd, it
is also absurd to say that mere assent works these things. And therefore
it is certain that saving faith is not assent, but trust.
"Sixthly, the opposite of saving faith is not the rejection of the truth
of the Gospel, but failure to trust in Christ. He that believeth on the
Son : He that obeyeth not the Son (John iii. 36, Dutch Translation) ;
Let not your heart be troubled believe also in me (John xiv. i) ;
Where is thy faith? (Luke viii. 25). In the last text faith is contrasted
with fear. Hence true faith is not assent, but trust. "
Brakel s characteristic is that he considers faith, not as an in-
BRAKEL AND COMRIE 393
herent habit, but as an outgoing act of the heart; and, in connec
tion with this, that the organ of faith and its seat are not in the
understanding, but chiefly in the will.
Comrie, on the other hand, taught that faith is the increated and
inherent habit, the principal moment of which is to be persuaded.
In his " Explanation of the Heidelberg Catechism" (ii., 312) we
read:
"The question, What is true faith? is very important, deserving
most careful consideration ; for they only that have true faith can be
saved. For altho in faith itself there is no inherent saving power, God
has established such a connection between salvation and the imparted
faith, that without the latter no person young or old can be saved. Chil
dren as well as adults must hereby be incorporated into Christ, for there
is no salvation in any other.
"This question is terribly wrested and distorted by those that always
speak of faith as an act or acts. Reading the definition of faith (Heidel
berg Catechism, question 21), they say that this describes, not the natiire
and character of faith, but its perfection and highest degree. We will
see how the Reformers have defined faith as an instrument according
to the true foundation of the divine Word, in harmony with the doctrine
of free grace and in its relation to justification, and not according to the
principle of works of the semi-Pelagians, as many now do ; who also say
that the authors of the twenty-first question did not describe the true
faith of which the preceding answer had shortly spoken, showing that
they only can be saved that are engrafted into Christ and receive all His
benefits by a true faith ; but that they described the works of faith. But
how is it possible that the authors of the Catechism could forget what
they had just stated as the essential condition of salvation for every man,
and speak of a high and perfect degree of faith, w r hich is not attained by
every one of the redeemed, if we take the words of the Catechism in their
actual sense? No, beloved, the question refers to the same faith of which
we have been speaking, the faith essential to all, children as well as
adults; i.e., the imparted faith, which we have defined as an. imparted
faculty and habit, wrought in the elect by the Holy Ghost with re-crea
ting and irresistible power, when they are incorporated into Christ ; by
which they receive all the impressions which God the Holy Ghost imparts
unto them through the Word (regarding children in a manner unknown
to us] , and by which they are active according to the nature and the
contents of the Word, the objects of which are revealed to their souls.
Hence the reality or sincerity of the imparted faith does not depend upon
the acts of faith, but the sincerity of these acts depends upon the reality
394 FAITH
and sincerity of the faculty or habit from which they spring ; so that,
altho no acts spring from it, as in deceased elect children, yet they possess
the true faith, from which acts would have sprung if they had been able
to employ their rational faculties.
"Moreover, the imparted faith develops all its powers, not in an
instant, but gradually ; and altho one act does not appear as strongly
pronounced as another, this is no sign of insincerity ; but it is the sign
that such act or acts are not apparent. E.g., the sense of taste can be per
fect altho one never tasted sweetness, and to form an idea of sweetness is
then impossible ; yet when sweetness is tasted the idea is not produced
by a new faculty to taste sweetness, but by a new object, which excites
the faculty and produces the idea which was not possessed before.
"The same is true of the inwrought faith ; with reference to the habit
of faith it is imparted and perfected by the supernatural operation of the
Holy Spirit in a moment, but it does not act until the soul becomes con
scious of it. And this is why some men, w r ho by reason of the bondage of
fear of death all their lifetime were never assured of their state in Christ,
could still be saved. However, we do not dwell upon this point ; we wish
only to say that the answer describes the real nature and character of im-
parted/tfzV/z as a faculty, whereby we receive the knowledge of all that
God has revealed to us in His Word, and as a confidence that Christ and
His grace are freely given us of God.
"Hence it is evident
"First, that faith consists in a conviction or persuasion. This is the
gemts of faith. Faith, whether human or divine, is impossible without a
conviction of the mind of the reality of the matter which is believed.
When this is lacking there is no faith, but only a guess, a fancy, or a sup
position.
"Secondly, that this conviction or persuasion is the product or act, not
of faith as such, but of the testimony which is so convincing and persua
ding that its truth can not be doubted. This is the nature of all persuasion ;
the soul in order to be persuaded does not act, but merely receives the
proofs of the matter in question, and becomes so deeply convinced that it
is no longer at liberty either to reject or accept that conviction, but must
yield itself with greatest willingness to the truth.
"Thirdly, that according to the degree of clearness wherewith the
divine testimony, as with an argument, impresses the imparted faith
concerning the matters of our lost estate and the way of salvation, the
conviction of the truth or of the contents of the testimony shall be more
or less firm and persitasive.
"Lastly, that as faith is wrought by a testimony,. so it is also 711 ade
active by a testimony of God s Word, rendered by an operation of the
Holy Spirit. Being therefore in the adult, the daughter of the Word
BRAKEL AND COMRIE 395
(BatJikol, fiiia vocis}, it is also from beginning to end subject to the
Word, obeying and in all things following it. For among the Reformed
this is an established rule, that through the operation of the Holy Spirit
we first receive a faculty, from which subsequent activities proceed ; and
that this imparted faculty does not work of its own energy except it be
wrought upon (acti agimus : being enabled we act) by the Word and the
omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit accompanying that Word, in which
and by which it enters and penetrates the soul as its instrument and
organ, to excite the soul to activity and to flow into that activity.
- Concerning faith itself it should be remembered
" First, that nearly all the old and private confessions of various mar
tyrs, since the year 1527, have thus understood the imparted faith, as our
Heidelberg theologians describe it, in the answer of the twentieth question
in general, and in that of the twenty-first more particularly.
"Secondly, we must call your Christian attention to the acts which flow
from the imparted faith. Theologians entertain different opinions regard
ing the number of these acts of faith, and which is the proper act of faith.
Just a word regarding both. In regard to the number, the celebrated
Witzius mentions nine : three preceding, three proper, and three that fol
low. We do not object ; every man is free to express himself as he
pleases. Yet we prefer the ancient method which holds that faith consists
of three things : knowledge, assent, and confidence. We have no doubt
that all that God s Word teaches regarding faith can easily be arranged
under each of these three acts. Concerning the proper act of faith, which
is called the actus formalis fidei, i.e., the formal act of faith, the following
opinions are held: (i) that it is the assent ; (2) that it is the coming to
Christ ; (3) the accepting of Christ ; (4) a certain confidence in Christ ;
and lastly, that it is love. The discussions of the theologians on this point
are violent, and many tracts are written by the various parties either to
establish their own opinions or to refute those of others.
"Beloved, we judge that we could let this matter pass without noticing
it, were it not for the fact that this definition may favor the semi-Pelagians
in this respect, who hold that faith is an act, and that it receives its formal
being by an act : Forma dat esse rei (the form gives existence to the
matter) . And seeing that some begin to deviate, we say -. That no act or
acts can give faith its form or being. For this would imply that the im
parted faith which the Holy Spirit works in the elect is an unformed
faith, lacking that which is essential to its being. And this is absurd,
since by this implied actus formalis there is ascribed to us more than to
the Holy Spirit ; yea, a great deal more, inasmuch as the form is more
excellent than the material. According to this supposition He imparts
to us only the material of faith, without its form ; and by our act or acts
we give form to that formless faith. "
396 FAITH
Our principal aim in citing was that the student might receive
the contrast from the very lips of these two men, and so discover
that the slight deviation of Amesius from Calvin and Beza in
Brakel already inclines too much to the subjective; and that the
objective character of saving grace is sufficiently covered only by the
line of Augustine, Thomas, Calvin, Zanchius, Voetius, Comrie.
Brakel was right in opposing the petrified dogmatism of his day.
But when he systematized his opposition he went too far in that
direction. In exactly the same manner as Kohlbrugge was right
when, in opposition to his contemporaries, he maintained the ob
jective as rigidly as possible, while his followers go wrong when
they systematize his then necessary opposition.
Following the linp of Augustine, Calvin, Voetius, Comrie, one
goes safest.
XXXVII.
Faith in the Sacred Scriptures.
" With the heart man believeth unto
righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salva
tion." Rom. x. 10.
CALVIN says beautifully and comprehensively that the object of
saving faith is none other than the Mediator, and invariably in the
garments of the Sacred Scriptures. This should be accepted un
conditionally. Saving faith is possible, therefore, only in sinful
men and so long as they remain sinful.
To suppose that saving faith existed already in Paradise is to
destroy the order of things. In a sense there was no need of salva
tion in Paradise, because there was pure and undisturbed felicity ;
and for the development of this felicity into still greater glory, not
faith, but works, was the appointed instrument. Faith belongs to
the " Covenant of Grace" and to that covenant alone.
Hence it may not be said that Jesus had saving faith. For
Jesus was no sinner, and therefore could not have " that assured
confidence that not only to others, but to Him also, was given the
righteousness of the Mediator." We have only to connect the name
of Jesus with the clear and transparent description of saving faith
by the Heidelberg Catechism to show how foolish it is for the Ethi
cal theologians to explain the words, " Jesus, the Author and Fin
isher of our faith," as tho He had saving faith like every child
of God.
Hence saving faith is unthinkable in heaven. Faith is saving;
and he that is saved has obtained the end of faith. He no longer
walks by faith, but by sight. It should therefore be thoroughly
understood that saving faith refers only to the sinner, and that Christ
in the garments of the Sacred Scripture is its only object.
Two things must, therefore, be carefully distinguished : faith
in the testimony concerning a person, and faith in that person himself.
Let us illustrate. A ship is ready to sail, but lacks a captain.
398 FAITH
Two men present themselves to the shipowner; both are provided
with excellent testimonials signed by creditable and trustworthy
persons. Of the absolute truth of these testimonials the shipowner
is thoroughly convinced. And yet in spite of this testimony one is
engaged and the other dismissed. Conversing with both, the owner
has found the first a very reasonable fellow, readily allowing him,
as the owner of the ship, to issue orders; in fact, as captain he
would have nothing to say. But the other, a real sailor, demanded
absolute control of the ship, otherwise he would not take the re
sponsibility. And, since the shipowner enjoyed issuing orders, he
preferred the meek and tractable captain and dismissed the rough
sailor. Consequently the tame commander, obeying orders, lost
the ship the first voyage, while the rival ship commanded by that
Jack-tar returned home laden with a rich cargo.
We distinguish here two kinds of faith. First, faith or no faith
in testimony presented ; second, faith or no faith in the persons to
whom this testimony refers. In the illustration, faith of the first
kind was perfect. Those testimonies were accepted as genuine;
the shipowner had perfect faith in the signatures. And yet it did
not follow that he was immediately ready to entrust his property
.to either one of these captains. This required another faith; not
only faith in the contents of those papers, but faith also that these
contents would prove true regarding the command of his ship.
Hence he carefully considered both men, and discovering that the
one left no room for his self-assertion, it was natural that he en
gaged the other, who flattered his egotism. And, influenced by
this egotism, he did not place that second faith in the right person.
His neighbor, not so egotistically inclined, kept the end in view,
had faith in the bold seaman, and his profits were almost fabulous.
Hence both men had unconditional faith in the testimonies ; but the
one, denying himself, had also faith in the excellent captain, and
the other, refusing to deny himself, had not.
Apply this to our relation to Christ. That vessel is our soul.
It is tossing upon the waves and needs a pilot. The voyage is long,
and we ask: "Who will safely pilot it? Then a testimony is laid
before us concerning One wonderfully skilled in the art of safely
guiding souls into the desired haven. That testimony is Sacred
Scripture, which throughout all its pages offers but one, ever-con
tinued, divine testimony concerning the unique excellence of the
Christ as leading souls to the safe haven. With this testimony be-
FAITH IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURES 399
fore us, it is for us to decide whether we will accept it or not. Its
rejection ends the matter, and Jesus will never be the Guide of our
soul. But, accepting it, saying, "We believe all that is written,"
we can proceed. This confession implies: (i) faith in the genuine
ness of the testimony; (2) faith in God who gave it; and (3) faith
in the truth of its contents.
But this is not saving faith, only faith in the testimony. To
believe that it will prove true in our case, in our own persons, is
quite different. This depends, not upon the testimony, but upon
whether we will submit ourselves to Him of whom it speaks. Altho
this Captain pilots souls safely across very deep waters, He does
not pilot all souls. They must be able and willing to submit them
selves to Him according to His demands. The unwilling are left
behind, and, trying to pilot themselves, they miserably perish.
Hence we must submit. And this requires the laying aside of all
our self-conceit, the utter casting out of self. So long as self stands
in the way, we refuse Him as our spiritual Guide ; nor do we be
lieve in His power. But as soon as self is cast out, the ego si
lenced, and the soul abandons itself to Him, the second faith awa
kens, and, upon bended knee, we cry: " My Lord and my God!"
It is exactly as our Catechism beautifully and comprehensively
expresses it : " That true faith consists of two things, first, a certain *
knowledge whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to
us in His Word; but also an assured confidence, which is a firm and
stedfast confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the Gospel in
my heart ; that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin,
everlasting righteousness, and salvation are freely given of God ;
merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ s merits."
Examining more closely what these two points have in common,
we find, not that the one is knowledge and the other confidence, but
that both consist in being persuaded.
With the testimony laid before him, the natural man is inclined
to reject it. He has many objections. " Is it genuine?" " Was it
not affected by various alterations? Can I rely on the truth of its
contents?" For a long time he continues his resistance. He says:
" No man can ever convince me ; I believe a great deal, but not
that impossible Scripture." But the Holy Spirit continues His
work. He shows him that he is wrong ; and, altho still resisting,
*"Certa fudicia." Not a certain knowledge, but certain knowledge.
400 FAITH
it becomes like a fire in his bones until opposition is made impos
sible, and he confesses that God is true and His testimony genuine.
However, this is not all. He still lacks the second faith : whether
this applies to him personally. He begins with denying it. " It
does not mean me," he says; "Jesus does not save a man like my
self." But here the Holy Spirit meets him again. He brings him
back to the Word. He holds the image of the saved sinner before
him until he recognizes himself in that image. And tho he still
objects, "It can not be so; I only deceive myself," yet the Holy
Spirit persists in persuading him until, wholly convinced, he ap
propriates Christ to himself and acknowledges : " Blessed be God,
that saved sinner ami." Wherefore it is not first knowledge and
then confidence, but both are an inward persuasion by the Holy
Ghost. And the man thus persuaded believes. He that is persuaded
of the truth of the divine testimony concerning the Guide of souls
believes all that is revealed in the Scripture. And being also per
suaded that the saved sinner described in Scripture is himself, he
believes in Christ as his Surety.
Hence the peculiar feature of faith in both its stages is to be
persuaded. Saving faith is a persuasion, wrought by the Holy
Spirit, that the Scripture is a true testimony concerning the salva
tion of souls, and that this salvation includes my soul.
Is the Heidelberg Catechism wrong, then, in speaking of knowl
edge and of confidence? No; but it should be noticed that it
speaks, not of faith s origin, but of its fruit and exercise, it being
already established. Being persuaded that the Scripture is true,
and believing the divine testimony concerning Christ, we at once
possess certain and undoubted knowledge regarding these things.
And being persuaded that that salvation includes my soul, I possess
by virtue of this persuasion a firm and assured confidence that the
treasure of Christ s redemption is also my own.
Hence faith has three stages: (i) knowledge of the testimony ;
(2) certainty of the things revealed ; and (3) persuasion that this con
cerns me personally. These used to be called knowledge, assent, and
confidence; and we are willing to adopt them, but they must be used
carefully. By the first must be understood nothing more than the
obtaining of knowledge independently of faith. Hence the Hei
delberg Catechism omits this as not belonging to faith proper, and
mentions only assent and confidence. For that certain knowledge of
which it speaks is not what the scholastics put in the foreground
FAITH IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURES 401
as knowledge, but what they call assent. Knowledge is not the em
phatic word, but certainty* It is not the knowledge, but the cer
tainty of the knowledge that belongs to the true faith.
Wherefore some used to distinguish knowledge and assent, and
treated them separately. For it should be remembered that the
unconverted do not understand the Scripture, nor can they read its
testimony. Not being born of water and of the Spirit, they can not
see the Kingdom of God. The natural man does not understand
spiritual things. Hence we say emphatically, that the knowledge
preceding faith and to which faith must assent implies the illumi
nation of the Holy Spirit. Only in that light can one see the glory
of Scripture and apprehend its beauty; without this it is but a
stumbling-block to him. Yet it is no part of faith, but only part
of the Spirit s work making faith possible.
A truth or a person is not faith, but the object of faith ; faith itself
is to be persuaded when, all opposition ended, the soul has obtained
undoubted assurance. Hence the absolute absurdity of speaking
of faith cut loose from Scripture, or directed upon anything but
Christ; or of calling faith a universal inclination of the soul, crying
after salvation, to quench its thirst. All this robs faith of its char
acter. When I say, " I believe," I mean thereby that this or that
is to me an undoubted fact. In order to believe one must be
assured, convinced, persuaded otherwise there can be no faith ; and
the fruit of this being persuaded is rich knowledge, glorious con
fidence, and access to the Lord.
However, it should be noticed that we have spoken of faith only
as it shows itself above the ground. But that is not sufficient. We
must still examine the root, the fibers of faith in the soul. We
must examine the faculty that enables the soul to believe. Of this
in the next article.
* " Certa fudicia. " Not a certain knowledge, but certain knowledge.
26
XXXVIII.
The Faculty of Faith.
"As many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they are the sons of
God." Rom. viii. 14.
SAVING faith should always be understood as a disposition of
man s spiritual being by which he can become assured that the
Christ after the Scripture, the only Savior, is his Savior.
We write purposely a " disposition " by which he can become as
sured. As water is in the pipes, altho not running just now, or as
gas is in the tubes, altho not burning, so by virtue of regeneration
is faith present as a disposition in man s spiritual being, even tho
he believes not yet, or believes no more. If the house is connected
with the city s water-works the water can run; but for this reason
it does not always run ; nor does the gas always burn. That in
your house the water can flow, and gas can burn, is the difference
between your dwelling and your neighbor s which is not so con
nected.
There is a similar difference between the regenerate and the tin-
regenerate ; that is, between him who is united to Jesus and him
not so united. The difference is not that the former believes and
always believes, but only this, that he can believe. For the unre-
generate can not believe ; he has purposely destroyed the precious
and divine gift whereby he could have joined himself to the life of
God. God gave him eyes to see, but he has purposely blinded him
self. Hence he does not see Jesus. The living Christ does not
exist for him. Not so the regenerate child of God. True, he also
is a sinner; he also has purposely blinded himself; but an opera
tion is performed upon him, restoring his eyesight, so that now he
can see. And this is the implanted faculty of faith. This faculty
touches the consciousness. As soon as the fact that Christ is the
only Savior and my Savior, as an undoubted, firmly established, and
THE FACULTY OF FAITH 403
fundamental truth, is introduced to my consciousness which is the
I clear representation of my whole being, and is perfectly adapted
and joined to it I believe.
But this truth does not suit the consciousness of the natural
man. He may insert it now and then by means of a temporary
or historical faith, but only as a foreign element, and his nature
I immediately reacts against it, in precisely the same manner as the
! blood and tissue react against a sliver in one s finger. For this
! reason a temporary faith . can never save a man, but, on the con-
.trary, it injures him ; for it causes his soul to fester.
The human consciousness as it is by nature, and the Christ after
!the Scripture, are in principle diametrically opposed. The one ex
cludes the other. That which suits and fits the consciousness of the
natural man is the persistent denial of Christ. This natural con-
jsciousness is the representation of his sinful existence; and since
Jan unconverted sinner always asserts himself and thinks himself
savable, and proposes to save himself, he can not tolerate Christ.
Christ is unthinkable to him; therefore he can not acknowledge
|Him. No, there is no need of Him ; he can save, too, with Jesus,
or just as well as Jesus, or after the example of Jesus ; wherefore
this Jesus is by no means the only Savior.
But if the Christ after the Scripture fits his consciousness, that
consciousness must have been changed from what it was by nature ;
:jand being the reflection and representation of his being and all that it
((contains, it follows that to make room for Christ, not to oblige
|Him, but from his own absolute necessity, his being must first be
: (changed. Hence a twofold change :
First, the new birth, changing the position of his inward being.
Second, the change affecting his consciousness, by introducing
Bthe disposition to accept Christ. And this disposition, being the
Morgan of his consciousness whereby he can do this, is the faculty
W faith.
The fathers have correctly observed that this disposition im
parts itself also to the will. And it can not be otherwise. The will
jis like a wheel moving the arms of a windmill. In sinless Adam
Hthis wheel stood squarely upon its shaft, turning with equal ease
to the right and to the left i.e., it moved as freely toward God as
toward Satan. But in the sinner this wheel is partly moved from
Ihe shaft, so that it can turn only to the left. When he wants to
404 FAITH
sin, he can do so. In this direction the shaft is clear ; he has the
power to sin. But the wheel can not turn the other way ; a little
perhaps, with much difficulty and much squeaking, but never suffi
ciently to grind corn. The working of his will can never produce
an,y saving good. He can not make the wheel of his life run with
the energy of the will toward God.
Even after he is inwardly changed, and the faith faculty has en
tered his consciousness, it is useless so long as the powerless will
enters the consciousness to expel his Christian assurance. There
fore the will must be divinely wrought upon to serve the changed
consciousness. Hence the disposition of faith is imparted not only
to the consciousness, but also to the will, to adapt itself to the
Christ of the Scripture. The will of the saint is made to move
again freely toward God. When the ego is turned and the will
changed, then only can the new disposition enter the consciousness,
to be assured that Christ after the Scripture is the only Christ and
his Christ.
The faculty of faith is therefore something complex. It can not
be independent from the consciousness and knowledge ; for it im
plies a change of man s being and the will s liberty to move toward
God. Hence this faculty is not a spontaneous growth from the
implanted life, neither is it independent of it ; but as a disposition
it can enter us only after regeneration, and even then it must be
given us by the grace of God.
Of course, the man in whom the faculty of faith begins to work
believes in Scripture, in Christ, and in his own salvation ; but with
out it he continues to the end to object against Scripture, Christ,
and his own salvation. He may be almost convinced ; wholly con
vinced he will never be. This is temporary faith, historical faith,
faith in ideals, but never saving faith.
But if a man has received this disposition, is it possible for him
immediately and always to believe? Surely not, no more than a
normal infant can read, write, or think logically. And when at six
teen he can do these things, it is owing not to new faculties re
ceived since his birth, but to the development of those born in him.
A new-born child of God possesses the faculty to believe ; but there
is no immediate and actual believing. This requires something
more. As a child can not learn and develop without teachers and
in connection with his own environment, so the faculty of faith can
THE FACULTY OF FAITH 405
not be exercised without the guidance of the Holy Spirit in connec
tion with the contents of Scripture.
How this was effected in deceased infants we can not tell ; not
because the Holy Spirit can not work in them as well as in adults,
but because they do not know the Scripture. However, since the
Scriptures testify only of Christ, He may have a way to bring the
not-thinking child into connection with Christ, as He provided
Scripture for thinking men.
In either case, the faith faculty can not produce anything of
itself, but must be stimulated and developed by the Holy Spirit s
training and exercise, gradually learning to believe a training con
tinued to the end ; for until we die the working of faith increases
in strength, development, and glory.
But this is not all. A man may have the faculty of faith fully
developed and exercised, but it does not follow that therefore he
always believes. On the contrary, faith may be interrupted for a
season. Hence faith should not be called the breath of the soul ;
for when a man ceases to breathe he dies. No ; the faculty of faith
is more like the power of a tree to blossom and bear fruit : appar
ently dead one season, and beautiful with blossoms the next. That
I possess the faculty to think is evident, not from my uninterrupted
thinking, for when asleep I do not think ; but it is evident from my
thinking when I must think. Even so with the faculty of faith,
which occupies the same position as the faculties of thinking, speak
ing, etc.
Regarding these faculties, we distinguish three things: (i) the
faculty itself; (2) its necessary development; (3) and its exercise
when sufficiently stimulated. Hence we notice not only the Spir
it s first operation, implanting the faith faculty ; nor only the sec
ond, qualifying that faculty for exercise ; but also the third, stimu
lating and calling out the act of believing whenever it pleases Him.
There is no man possessed of the faith faculty but the Holy
i Spirit has thus endowed him. There is no man enabled by this fac
ulty to believe but the Holy Spirit has also qualified \ho& faculty.
Nor is there a man using this qualification, actually believing, un
less the Holy Spirit has wrought this in him.
Life has its ups and downs. We see it in our love. You have a
child whom you love tenderly. But in the daily life you do not al
ways feel that love, and sometimes you charge yourself with being
406 FAITH
cold and without warm attachment for the child. But let some
body injure him, or let him be taken ill or worse, let his life be in
danger and your slumbering love will at once be aroused. That
love did not come to you from without, but it dwelt in the depths
of your soul, slumbering until fully awakened by the sharp sting
of sorrow. The same applies to faith. For days and weeks we
may have to reproach ourselves for the faithless condition of our
own heart, when the soul seems dry and dead, as tho there were no
bond of love between us and our Savior. But lo ! the Lord reveals
Himself to us, or distress overwhelms us, or the earnestness of life
suddenly lays hold of us, and at once that apparently dead faith is
aroused and the bond of Jesus s love is strongly felt.
And more than this : inspired by love, you are constantly doing
something for your darling without saying : " I do this or that for
him because I love him so much." So also regarding faith: saving
faith is a disposition whose activity we do not always notice, but
like other faculties it works continually, its functions unnoticed.
Hence we frequently exercise faith without being specially con
scious of it. We prepare ourselves especially to think or vSpeak
when special occasion calls for it; and so we act from faith with
conscious purpose when, peculiarly circumstanced, we must boldly
stand up as witnesses or make some important decision.
But our comfort is this, that faith s saving power depends, not
upon some special believing act; nor upon acts less conscious
nor even upon the acquired ability of faith, but solely upon the
fact that the germ of faith has been planted in the soul. Hence
a child can have saving faith, even tho it never performed a single
act of faith. And so we continue saved, even tho the act of faith
slumbers for a season. The man, once endowed with saving faith,
is saved and blessed. And when by and by the act of faith appears,
he is not saved in higher degree, but it is only the evidence that,
through the infinite mercy of God, the germ of faith has been
planted in him.
XXXIX.
Defective Learning.
" He that believeth on Him shall not
be confounded." i Peter ii. 16.
ST. PAUL declares that faith is the gift of God (Ephes. ii. 8). His
words, " And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God," refer to
the word "faith."
A new generation of youthful expositors confidently assert that
these words refer to " by grace are ye saved." The majority of
them are evidently ignorant of the history of the exegesis of the
text. They only know that the pronoun " that" in the clause " and
that not of yourselves "is a Greek neuter. And without further ex
amination they consider it settled that the neuter pronoun can not
refer to " faith," which is a Greek feminine.
Allow us to put our readers on their guard against the thought
less prattle of shallow school-learning. It should be remembered
that while our exegesis is and always has been the one accepted
almost without exception, the opposite opinion is shared by only a
few expositors of later times. Nearly all the church fathers and
almost all the theologians eminent for Greek scholarship judged
that the words " it is the gift of God" refer to faith.
1. This was the exegesis, according to the ancient tradition, of
the churches in which St. Paul had labored.
2. Of those that spoke the Greek language and were familiar
with the peculiar Greek construction.
3. Of the Latin church fathers, who maintained close contact
with the Greek world.
4. Of such scholars as Erasmus, Grotius, and others, who as
philologists were without peers ; and in them all the more remark
able, since personally they favored the exposition that faith is the
work of man.
5. Of Beza, Zanchius, Piscator, Voetius, Heidegger, and even
of Wolf, Bengel, Estius, Michaelis, Rosenmiiller, Flatt, Meier,
4 o8 FAITH
Baumgarten-Crusius, etc., who to the present day maintain the
original tradition.
And lastly, Calvin, altho he is said to have favored the other
exegesis. But if he had surrendered the original interpretation,
he would have given some reason for it ; for he was thoroughly ac
quainted with it. And this makes it probable that he never in
tended to discuss the question. That he adhered to the traditional
exegesis is proven from his own words, in his " Antidote Against the
Decrees of the Concilium of Trente " (page 190, edition 1547):
" Faith is not of man, but of God."
Even our educated Reformed laymen are acquainted with the
fact, if it were only from the study of the magnificent commentary
on the Ephesians by Petrus Dinant, minister at Rotterdam, who
flourished in the latter part of the seventeenth century. He pub
lished it in 1710, and the book had such a large sale that it was re
issued in 1726; even now it is in great demand. We quote from it
the following (vol. i., p. 451): " And that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God. The word that, rovro, refers either to the preced
ing being saved, or to faith. To the former it can not refer, St.
Paul having stated already that salvation is a gift of God. Hence
it must refer to faith. It is true the Greek rovro is a neuter, while
nioTjfc, faith, is a feminine. But Greek scholars know that the rela
tive pronoun may refer just as well to the following 6&pov, gift,
which is neuter, as to the preceding iriarw, which is feminine, ac
cording to the rule in Greek grammar governing this point. Hence
that, viz., faith, is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
But recent discoveries may have upset this ancient exegesis. If
the modern expositors of Utrecht, Groningen, and Leyden, who
make a hobby of this modern exegesis, will therefore show us this
recent discovery, we will give them an attentive hearing. But they
fail to do this. On the contrary, they say : " The matter is settled,
and so plain that even a tyro in Greek can see it." And by saying
this, they judge themselves. For brains incomparably superior,
such as Erasmus and Hugo Grotius, knew so much of Greek that
they were at least acquainted with the Greek rudiments. And we
may venture to say that all the Greek scholarship now lodged in
the brains of our exegetes at the universities just named would not
half fill the cup which Erasmus and Grotius together filled to the
brim. Wherefore we confidently maintain the traditional exegesis.
The positive assurance wherewith these young expositors make
DEFECTIVE LEARNING 409
their assertions need not surprise us. The explanation is easily
found. They were nearly all prepared at universities whose pro
fessors of New-Testament exegesis seek to estrange their students
from the traditional interpretation of the Scripture by making sur
prising observations; e.g., the students had learned at home that
" the gift of God," in Ephes. ii. 8, refers to faith; but they had never
consulted the original text. Then the professor observed, with
perfect correctness, that it does not read dvnj, but rovro, adding : " The
gentlemen can see for themselves that this can not refer to faith."
And, unacquainted with the subject, his inexperienced hearers sup
pose that nothing more remains to be said. If their Greek scholar
ship had been more thorough and extensive, they would have been
able to judge more independently.
With this conviction they enter the church ; and when a simple
layman repeats the old exegesis, they delight, at least on such oc
casions, to parade the fruit of their academic training ; and the sim
ple layman is made to understand that he knows nothing of Greek,
and that the Greek text plainly reads the other way, and that
therefore he may not support the antiquated exegesis.
When sometimes the Heraut* dares to repeat the old, well-tried
opinion, these youthful savants can not help but think : " The
Heraut does not act in good faith ; the editor knows perfectly well
that it reads TOVTO, and that 7r/ar?/f is feminine." Of course, the
Heraut knows this very well just as well as Erasmus and Gro-
tius knew it and, knowing a little more of Greek than these child
like rudiments, has taken the liberty, supported by the goodly com
pany of the scholars just named, to entertain an opinion different
from that of the Utrecht graduates.
Undoubtedly every man has a right to his own opinion and to
reject the traditional exegesis. Moreover, in Phil. i. 23, it is dis
tinctly stated that faith is gift of God. But we protest against the
shallowness and artlessness of men who in their ignorance pose as
scholars, and make it appear as tho even a tyro in Greek, if he be
only an honest man, could not support the opposite opinion for a
moment. For this is inexcusable in one who presumes to pro
nounce judgment upon another who knows what he is talking
about, as will appear from the postscript of this article.
The reader will kindly bear with us for treating this matter
* A religious weekly publication edited by the author. TRANS.
4 io FAITH
somewhat extensively, for it touches a principle. Our universities
deny our confession of faith. They may still concede that God is
the Author of salvation, but faith (such as they interpret it) is taken
in the sense of a medium which originates from the union of the
breath of the soul and the inworking of the Holy Spirit. Hence
their manifest preference for such novel exegesis, apparent also
from the energetic and persistent effort to popularize it.
And this tendency is manifest in many other directions. For in
dividual, original research there is little opportunity. Hence the
instruction received at Utrecht is the only source of information.
And this is so thoroughly rooted in heart and mind that the student
can not conceive that it can be otherwise. Moreover, the argu
ments have been presented so concisely and incessantly that con
vincing arguments for opposite views seem utterly impossible.
This being the case, our young theologians, honest in and loyal
to their convictions, declare from the pulpit and in private conver
sation that uncertainty regarding various doctrinal points is out of
the question ; so that it must be conceded and acknowledged that
the ancient expositors were decidedly wrong. And this is the cause
of the strong opposition against many established opinions, even
among our best ministers ; not from love of opposition, but because
sincere convictions forbid them to follow any other line of conduct,
at least as long as they are not better informed.
And this may not remain so. There is no earnestness in that
position. It is unworthy of the man scientifically trained ; it is un
worthy of the minister. There is need of individual research and
investigation. These Utrecht novelties should be received with a
considerable grain of salt. It may even be freely surmised that the
learning of the Utrecht faculty, when they oppose the learning of
the whole Church, must be discredited.
And thus our young men will be compelled to return to original i
research. Not only that, but they will be compelled to buy books.
The libraries of nearly all our young theologians contain scarcely
anything but German works, products of the mediation theology ;
hence exceedingly one-sided, not national, foreign to our Church,
in conflict with our history. This lack ought first to be supplied.
And then we hope that the time soon will come when every,
minister in our Reformed churches shall be in the possession of at
least a few solid and better works. And when thus the opportunity
is born for more impartial and more correct study, the rising gen-
DEFECTIVE LEARNING 411
eration of ministers should once more resume their studies, and obtain
the conviction by their own experience, even as others have done,
that the work of study and research, which will bear good fruit for
the Church of God, is not yet finished, but really only just begun.
Then a generation of more earnest and better-trained men will
treat the opinions which we have advanced with a little more ap
preciation, and, what is of much higher importance, they will treat
the being of faith with more thoughtfulness.
It is of vital interest that the exercise of faith and the faculty of
faith be no longer confounded, and that it be acknowledged the
latter may be present without the former. Otherwise there will
be a complete deviation from the line of the Scripture, which is
also that of the Reformed churches. It will make salvation de
pendent upon the exercise of faith, i.e., upon the act of accepting
Christ and all His benefits ; and since this act is an act, not of God,
but of man, we imperceptibly lose our way in the waters of Ar-
minianism.
Hence everything depends upon the correct understanding of
Ephes. ii. 8. For faith is not the act of believing, but the mere pos
session of faith, even of faith in the germ. He that possesses that
germ or faculty of faith, and who at God s time will also exercise
faith, is saved, saved by grace, for -to him was imparted the gift of
God.
Formerly theologians were used to speak of faith s being and
well-being; but this had reference to another distinction, which
must not be confounded with the one thus far treated. Sometimes
the plant of faith seems more vigorous in one than in another, and
its development riper and fuller, bearing branch, twig, leaf, blos
som, and fruit which is evidence of the well-being of faith. It may
also be that, in the same person, faith seems to pass through the
four seasons of the year: there is first a spring-tide, in which it
grows, followed by a summer, when it blossoms ; but there is also
an autumn when it languishes, and a winter when it slumbers.
And this is the transition from the /<?//-being of faith to its mere
being. But as a tree remains a tree in winter, and will possess the
being of a tree even tho it have lost its well-being, so faith may re
main still living faith in us, tho temporarily without leaf and blos
som.
For the comfort of souls, our fathers always pointed to the fact,
and so do we, that salvation does not depend upon the
4 i2 FAITH
of faith, so long as the soul possesses the being of faith. Altho,
after the example of our fathers, we add, that the tree does not live
in winter, except it hastens on toward spring, when it shall bud
again; and that the being of faith gives evidence of its presence
in the soul only by hastening on toward its
POSTSCRIPT.
IT is necessary to point out two things regarding the shallowness
of which we complain.
First, that the construction of a neuter pronoun with a feminine
noun as its antecedent is not a mistake, but excellent Greek.
Second, that the Church had reasons why until now she made
the words " and that not of yourselves " refer to faith.
In regard to the first point, we refer not to a Hellenistic excep
tion, but to the ordinary rule, which is found in every good Greek
syntax, and which every exegete ought to know.
A rule which, among others, was formulated by Kiihner, in his
" Ausfiihrliche Grammatik der Griech. Sprache," vol. ii., i, p. 54
(Han., 1870), and which is as follows: " Besonders hdufig steht das
Neutrum eines demonstrativen Pronomens in Beziehung auf ein mdnn-
liches oder weibliches Substantiv, indem der Begriff desselben ganz
allgemein ah blosses Ding oder Wesen, oder auch ah einganzer Gedanke
aufgefasst wird" Which is in English: A neutral demonstrative
pronoun is frequently used to refer to a preceding masculine or
feminine noun, when the meaning expressed by this word is taken
in a general sense, etc.
The examples cited by Kuhner deal a death-blow to the Utrecht
exegesis. Take, for instance, these from Plato and Xenophon :
Plato, "Protagoras," 357, C. :
dsv elvai /cpeZrrov, d/lAd TOVTO ael Kparelv, OTTOV av fv??,
Plato, "Menon," 73, C. :
Toivvv r) avTr/ apETrj TrdvTuv kcri, 7reipu eiiTelv Kal ava/Ltvrjcdtjvai, T L avr6
Xenophon, "Hiero," ix. , 9.
El e/u7ropia w^e/lZ TL no^iiv^ Tifj.ufj.evof av 6 Tr/leZora TOVTO TTOIUV Kal ifj.rr6pov<; av
ir?iiov<; ayeipoi.
DEFECTIVE LEARNING 413
To which we add three more from Plato, and a fourth from Demos
thenes :
Plato, "Protag.," 352, B. :
IIf %t(; Trpbf eTTiGTr/jUffv ; iroTepov /cat TOVT6 cot donel hairep rotf 7ro/i/iotf dvdpo)7toi^,
Plato, "Phsedo, " 61, A. :
; ... /cat e/j.ol OVTU hv-rrvtov, birep STrparrov, TOVTO
, wf ^ikoco^iag fiev OVGTJC /ueyiGTW [tovaiK-qs, ejitov 6e TOVTO i
Plato, " Theaetetus, " 145, D. :
2o^/a 6e y ol/uai aotyol ol cotyoi ; vai TOVTO 6e vvv diafyipei TL err IGT?/ /*?}.
Demosthenes, " Contra Aphob. ," n:
Eycj yap, u av6peq diKacTal, -rrepl Tijq /uapTvpiaf rfjq ev rcJ
elduf OVTO. fioi TOV ayova, /cat irepl TOVTOV TTJV iffityov vjudf otaovraf eTacra^evof tjfjdrjv
6f.lv K. T. /I.
For the present we postpone the discussion of the second point to
another time.
But it is evident that these citations upset all the quasi-learning
of this defective scholarship ; and that the words, " And that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God," just with the neutral pronoun, in
purest Greek, can refer to faith ; hence that all this fuss about the
difference of gender, not only is without any foundation, but also
leaves a very poor impression regarding the scholarship of the men
who raised the objection.
Moreover, we must also show not only that the ancient rendering
of Ephes. ii. 8 may be correct, but also that it can not be anything
else but correct.
It reads : " For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God ; not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are His workmanship." The principal thought is the
mighty fact that the causative worker of our salvation is God. St.
Paul expresses this in the most forcible and most positive terms by
saying: "You are saved from grace, through grace, and by grace."
If then it should follow, " And that not of yourselves, it is the gift
of God," we would have a dragging sentence of superfluous clauses,
thrice repeating the same thing : " You have received it by grace,
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." And this might do, if it
read, " You are saved by grace, and therefore not of yourselves " ;
but it does not read so. It is simply, " and that not of yourselves."
The conjunction " and" stands in the way.
414 FAITH
Or, if it read, " Ye are saved by grace, not of yourselves, it is
God s work," it would sound better. But first to say, " Ye are saved
by grace," and then without adding anything new to repeat, " and
that not of yourselves," is harsh and halting. And all the more
so, since in the ninth verse it is repeated for the fourth and fifth
time, " not of works j we are His workmanship." And while all
this is stiff and forced, labored and superfluous, by adopting the
exegesis of the ancient expositors of the Christian Church it be
comes all at once smooth and vigorous. For then it reads: " You
are saved by mere grace, by means of faith. (Not as tho by this
means of faith the grace of your salvation would be partly not of
grace ; no indeed not, for even that faith is not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God.} And, therefore, saved through faith, not of works,
lest any man should boast, for we are His workmanship."
But then this creates a parenthesis, which is perfectly true ; but
even this is truly Pauline. St. Paul hears the objection, and refutes
it again and again, even where he does not formulate the contrast.
XL.
Faith in the Saved Sinner Alone.
" And they believed in the Scripture."
John ii. 22.
FAITH is not the working of a faculty inherent in the natural
man; nor a new sense added to the five; nor a new soul-function;
nor a faculty first dormant now active ; but a disposition, mode of
action, implanted by the Holy Spirit in the consciousness and will
of the regenerate person, whereby he is enabled to accept Christ.
From this it follows that this disposition can not be implanted in
sinless man, and that it disappears as soon as the sinner ceases to
be a sinner. The saint believes until he dies, but no longer. Or
I more correctly : faith disappears as soon as he enters heaven, for
I then he lives no more by faith, but by sight.
The importance of this distinction is obvious. The Ethical
theologians, denying that faith is a specially implanted disposition,
but rather a sense or its organ, first dormant then awakened, can
not admit this, but repeat that faith is perpetual, basing their opin-
on upon i Cor. xiii. 13. According to their theory, there is no
absolute difference between the sinner and the sinless ; they do not
believe that to save the sinner the Holy Spirit introduces an extraor
dinary expedient into his spiritual person. Hence their persistent
ffort to make us understand that Adam believed before the fall,
nd that even Jesus, the Captain and Finisher of our faith, walked
)y faith.
But this whole presentation is opposed by the apostolic words :
We walk by faith, and not by sight" (2, Cor. v. 7). And again,
Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am
oiown" (i Cor. xiii. 12), in connection with the preceding: "When
hat which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
iway" (vs. 10). And not less by the word of our Lord, that we
shall see God as soon as we are pure in heart (Matt. v. 8).
And starting from this point, we know positively that faith in
416 FAITH
the sense of saving faith is not perpetual ; that it did not exist in
Paradise, but can only be found in a lost sinner. To be endowed
with saving faith, he must be a sinner, just as much as relief from
pain can be given only to one suffering pain.
" Very well," say the Ethicals, " we accept this. But when the
physician tries to improve the breathing of the asthmatic by ma
king him inhale fresh air, it does not follow that a healthy person
does not inhale. On the contrary, a healthy man inhales strongly
and deeply, and it is the physician s purpose to assist the normal
function of breathing. And the same applies to faith. True the
Holy Spirit can give faith only to the sinner, but a healthy saint,
like Adam before the fall and Christ, did most assuredly believe ;
for faith is but the breath of the soul. In Adam and Christ this
breathing was spontaneous ; in sinners like ourselves it is disturbed.
Hence we need help to be healed. But when our souls once more
freely inhale the breath of faith, we have received only what Adam
and Jesus had before us."
And this we oppose. Saving faith is not the ordinary breath of
the soul, first disturbed, then restored. No ; it is the specific remedy
for one lost in sin ; an expedient extended to him because he became
a sinner ; retained as long as he continues a sinner ; withdrawn as
soon as he ceases from sin. When the expedient is no longer needed,
and the soul redeemed from sin can breathe freely toward God with
out the expedient of faith, wholly restored, entirely redeemed, then
only he receives once more that natural, spontaneous communion
with the Eternal which needs no intervening aid, but which is lik
that of holy Adam and Jesus.
Faith is like a pair of glasses, not only useless, but hurtful tc
good eyes; very helpful for diseased or weak eyes. So long a
eyes are abnormal, glasses are indispensable ; before they becam<
abnormal, glasses were useless (Adam before the fall). Eyes neve
abnormal never needed them (Jesus). As soon as wholly restored
they are laid aside (the redeemed in heaven).
Next in order is faith in connection with Sacred Scripture; an<
here the error of the Ethicals becomes very apparent. Their theory
that sinless Adam and Christ exercised faith, and that the redeeme(
in heaven still believe, leads away from Scripture. In Paradise
sinless Adam had no Scripture ; neither has Christ on the throne
and in death the redeemed forever lose their Bible. Hence it i
FAITH IN THE SAVED SINNER ALONE 417
the logical consequence of this error that the faith of the Ethicals is
possible without Scripture, and is not necessarily intended for Scrip
ture. According to their theory, to believe is the soul s breathing,
but little more than another name for prayer. Indeed, there should
have been no Scripture, and in the absence of sin there would have
been none; hence faith, which is only the restoration of a soul-
function disturbed by sin, is possible without Scripture.
This theory is far-reaching. They believe that even among the
heathen the Lord had His elect, tho they never had heard of the
Scripture. The heathen of classic times were a sort of unbaptized
Christians, entering the Kingdom of heaven under the leadership
of their patriarch Plato. Tho modern rationalists reject Scripture,
yet they are such lovely and devoted people that faith can not
be denied them. Reasoning in this way, they arrive at the follow
ing conclusions :
1. Not the Confession, but the. motive of the heart is the main
thing; and
2. Tho men claim to have discovered intentional frauds in
Scripture, and therefore reject it, they are still " brethren be
loved."
The consistency is evident. Wherefore ministers loyal to the
Word should be careful how they speak of the being of faith, lest
they feed the evil which they seek to restrain. All that vague and
flowery talk about faith as the breath of the soul, as the soul s sweet
trust of love, etc., has a direct tendency toward Ethical error. For
the line is a dividing-line. Do you acknowledge or deny it?
The Ethicals deny it. There is no settled boundary between
God and man, but a certain transition between the finite and infinite
in the God-man ; no absolute separation between the elect and the
lost, but a sort of gradual transition in the presentation of a uni
versal redemption; no absolute separation between sin and holi
ness, but a certain conciliation in the sanctification of the saints;
no absolute separation between life before and after death, but a
bridge across the chasm in the state of believing. Nor is there be
tween the Bible and the books of men, but a kind of affinity in the
legends of Scripture ; and, finally, not between the condition with or
without faith, but a transfer from the one into the other in the pre
paratory workings.
The practical result of this false standpoint is the belief in a
medium between believers and unbelievers, viz., a third state for
27
418 FAITH
troubled souls. Or we may call it philosophy ; but then it is earth-
born, in its pantheistic obstinacy refusing to admit the absolute
contrast between the Creator and the creature, and boldly interpret
ing Scripture s ministry of reconciliation in the sense of an essen
tial system, i.e., the blending of one being with another.
Scripture is diametrically opposed to this : " And God divided
the light from the darkness " ; " And God divided the waters from
the dry land"; " And God divided the day from the night." Hence
all who acknowledge the absolute separation between faith and un
belief must array themselves in direct opposition to the Ethicals.
This explains the cause of our ecclesiastical conflict.
They that deny the contrasts and efface the divinely ordained
boundaries must beirenical; i.e., they must contend that a breach
in the Church can not be allowed. The fatal inference of their
pantheistic tendency is " No breaches, but bridges." Hence our posi
tion antagonizes this standpoint along the whole line of our eccle
siastical and theological life, with definite, stern, and absolute
consistency: particular grace, or Christ pro omnibus ; only two
states, or three; direct regeneration, or universal, preparatory
operations; no divided Church, or a Church loyal to the Word of
God ; a God-man, or a Mediator between God and man ; a Scripture
absolutely inspired, or full of enlightened human opinions ; and re
garding faith, a disposition expressly brought into the sinner, or
the restoration of a soul-function. Hence there is opposition all
along the line.
From this the relation between Scripture and faith is easily as
certained. Both exist for the sake of the sinner by virtue of sin,
and to remove sin ; the one not without the other, both belonging
together. Without Scripture faith is an aimless gazing. Without
faith Scripture is a closed book.
Experience proves it. Persons endowed with the faculty of faith,
but ignorant of Scripture or wrongly instructed, make no progress;
once instructed, they live and gain strength. On the contrary, to
persons familiar with Scripture from their youth, but without faith,
the Bible is a closed book; the Word can not enter them. But
when both Scripture and saving faith bless the soul, then the glory
of the Holy Spirit appears; for it was He who first granted the par
ticular grace of Scripture, and then also that of faith.
This is the reason why the arguments for the truth of the Scrip
ture never avail anything. A person endowed with faith gradually
FAITH IN THE SAVED SINNER ALONE 419
will accept Scripture ; if not so endowed he will never accept it,
tho he should be flooded with apologetics. Surely it is our duty
to assist seeking souls, to explain or remove difficulties, sometimes
even to silence a mocker ; but to make an unbeliever have faith in
Scripture is utterly beyond man s power.
Faith and Scripture belong together ; the Holy Spirit intended the
one for the other. The latter is so arranged as to be accepted by
the sinner endowed with faith. And faith is a disposition, com
pletely reconciling the consciousness and the Scripture. Hence the
." testimonium Spiritus Sancti" should be taken, not in the rational
istic or Ethical sense of being the operation upon a certain universal
disposition, but as a real testimony of the Holy Spirit, who dwells
in the consciousness, and gives us to experience the adaptation
like that of the eye to color of Scripture to faith.
XLI.
Testimonies.
"Without faith it is impossible to
please God." Heb. xi. 6.
IN order to prevent the possibility of being led into paths of error,
faith is directed, not to a Christ of the imagination, but to " the Christ
in the garments of the Sacred Scripture," as Calvin expresses it.
And therefore we must discriminate between (i) faith as a
faculty implanted in the soul without our knowledge ; (2) faith as
a power whereby this implanted faculty begins to act ; and (3) faith
as a result, since with this faith (i) we hold the Sacred Scripture
for truth, (2) take refuge in Christ, and (3) are firmly assured of
our salvation in inseparable love for Immanuel.
To which must finally be added that this is the work of the Holy
Spirit alone, who (i)gave us the Holy Scriptures; (2) implanted the
faculty of faith ; (3) caused this faculty to act; (4) made this faith
to manifest itself in the act; (5) thereby witnessed to our souls con
cerning the Sacred Scriptures ; (6) enabled us to accept Immanue
with all His treasures ; and, lastly, made us find in the love of Im
manuel the pledge of our salvation.
Wholly different from this is the historical faith, which Brake
briefly describes as follows: " Historical faith is thus called because
it knows the history, the narrative, the description of the matters
of faith in the Word, acknowledges them to be the truth, and then
leaves them alone as matters that concern it no more than the his
tories of the world; for one cannot use them in his business, neithei
does it create any emotion in the soul, not even sufficiently to cause
man to make a confession : * Thou believest that there is one God
thou doest well, the devils also believe and tremble (James ii. 19)
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou
believest (Acts xxvi. 27)."
Next comes temporary faith, of which Brakel gives the following
description : " Temporary faith is a knowledge of and a consent tc
TESTIMONIES 421
the truths of the Gospel, acknowledging them as the truth ; which
causes some natural flutterings in the affections and passions of the
soul, a confession of these truths in the Church, and an external
walk in conformity with that confession ; but without a real union
with Christ, to justification, sanctification, and redemption: But
he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that hear-
eth the Word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet, hath he not root
in himself, but dureth for a while ; for when tribulation or persecu
tion ariseth because of the Word, by and by he is offended (Matt,
xiii. 20, 21). For it is impossible for those who were once enlight
ened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made parta
kers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good Word of God, and
the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew
them again unto repentance (Heb. vi. 4, 5). For if, after they
have escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and over
come, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning (2
Peter ii. 20)."
There is also a faith of miracles, which Brakel describes in these
words : " Thefait/i of miracles is a being inwardly persuaded, by an
inward working of God, that this or that work shall be wrought, in
a supernatural manner, upon our word or command, in ourselves
or in others. But the ability to perform miracles is not of man, but
of God, by His almighty power, in answer to faith : If ye have
Faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove ; and nothing
shall be impossible unto you (Matt. xvii. 20). And tho I have
all faith, so that I could remove mountains (i Cor. xiii. 2). The
same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and per
ceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand
upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked (Acts xiv. 9, 10).
This faith was found especially in the days of Christ and of the
apostles, for the confirmation of the truth of the Gospel."
These three kinds of faith do in some respects resemble saving
faith, but they lack its being. Least of all is the faith to perform
miracles, which was found also in Judas. Faith which removes
mountains is not justifying faith. Historical faith comes a little
nearer, unless, by reason of a slothfulness and indifference, it merely
echoes the words of others without accepting their truth, and thus
opens the way to Pharisaism. Temporary faith comes nearest,
422 FAITH
which is indeed wrought by the Holy Spirit, and affords a taste of
the heavenly gifts, but which has not root in itself. It is a bouquet
of flowers, that for a day adorns the breast of the person who wears
it, but which, being cut from its root, is not a plant in him.
Finally, we might speak of faith in its most general sense, which
is the absence of all hesitation, doubt, or obstacle to receiving in
ourselves the immediate and direct in working of the holy majesty
of God, and of the majesty of His truth, in such a penetrating man
ner that spontaneously we believe that the Word and Being of God
are the ground and foundation of all things. In this general sense
St. Paul says that, " Without faith it is impossible to please God";
and in this most general sense faith also belonged to the Lord
Jesus Christ. But this is not a saving faith, for it has nothing to
do with salvation.
Saving faith embraces Christ. How could such Christ-embra
cing faith dwell in Immanuel?
Rather than to spend our strength in proving this clear fact, we
lay before our readers Comrie s beautiful exposition of the saving
knowledge of faith, in which he speaks in the following penetrating
manner :
"We will shortly enumerate the objects of this knowledge of faith :
" First, this knowledge is a divine light of the Holy Ghost, through the
Word, by ivhich I become acquainted, to some extent, with the contents:
of the Gospel of salvation, which hitherto was to me a sealed book ; which J
altho I understood it after the letter and in its connections, I could nod
apply to myself, to direct and support my soul in the great distress, con
flict, and anguish which the knowledge of God and of myself had brough
upon me. But now it became plain and knowable to me. Now 1 learn b
the inshining of the Holy Ghost the contents of the Gospel, so that
can deal and commune with it. And so I suck from these breasts of conso
lation the pure, rational, and unadulterated milk of the everlasting Wor
of God. Truly, the souls that are really humbled by the imparted fait
do not derive any benefit from their own notions and opinions of the trut
of the Gospel ; on the contrary, they tend to fill them with dismay, be
cause their knowledge which is so great is of no use to them whatevei
I have known men of excellent letter-knowledge who, by reason of thei
natural understanding of the truth, in their legal fear almost cried out i
the words of devils : Thou comest to torment us before our time. Onl
remember Spira and others. I believe that the letter-knowledge- of th
Gospel, which was despised here, shall be a hell in hell. For it ofte
occurs that this understanding of the letter, which is only an assent to th
TESTIMONIES 423
truth by itself, when neglected causes the soul to think : This is not for
me, but for others. God knows how many a poor soul sinks away in this
depth, and is kept there by others who speak boastingly. However,
when the Holy Spirit causes the divine Gospel to shine into the dark
prison of the soul, to illuminate the eyes of the inwrought faith with a
heavenly and divine light, the soul receives the Gospel as good news, and
as a word of instruction, encouragement, and direction ; and is led by it,
step by step, as a child, which from its A B C learns to spell and read.
Now it is : Behold, I see a way appear ! And then : Great sinners have
been saved, surely there must be hope for me ! In the distance the
gates of the City of Refuge are seen wide open, and Jesus is waiting be
hind those walls yea, His glory is seen shining through the gates. And
in this way, by means of the heavenly light, which pours in upon the in
wrought faith, the soul obtains knowledge of the secret of the Lord in
Christ, who is revealed to her. How often this knowledge causes the
soul to go out in holy desires, we need not tell. Many seem to attain with
one step or bound the highest degree ; but, like noble exotics, the true
faith grows slowly, step by step, from preceding depths of humiliation,
until it is perfected in actual work and exercise.
"Second, this knowledge is a divine light of the Holy Spirit in, from,
and throitgh the Gospel, by which I know Christ, who is its Alpha and
Omega, as the glorious, precious, excellent, and soul-rejoicing Pearl
and Treasitre hid in this fi eld. Altho I knew all things, and I did not
know Jesus by the light of the Spirit, my soul would be a shop full of mis
eries ; a sepulcher appearing beautiful without, but within full of dead
men s bones. And this knowledge of Christ, imparted to the soul by the
inshining of divine light, through the Gospel, can never from itself
give any light to the soul so long as it is not accompanied by the imme
diate inworking and illumination of the Holy Spirit. For it is not the
letter which is effectually working in the soul, but the direct working of
the Holy Spirit by means of the letter.
"And now you may ask, In what respect must I know Jesus? We will
confine ourselves to the following matters : This knowledge of faith, the
object of which is Christ in the Gospel, is a knowledge by which I know,
through the divine light of the Holy Spirit, my absolute need of Christ.
I see that I owe ten thousand talents, and that I have not a farthing to
pay ; and that I must have a surety to pay my debts. I see that I am a
lost sinner, who is in need of a Savior. I see that I am dead and impo
tent in myself and that I need Him who is able to quicken me and to save
me. I see that before God I can not stand, and that I need Him as a go-
between. I see that I go astray, and that He must seek after me. Oh !
the more this necessity of Christ presses upon me, from this true knowl
edge of faith, the more earnest, intense, heart-melting, and persevering
424 FAITH
the outgoings of my soul are from the inwrought faith, and attended
with greater conflict. Many do not appreciate them because they do not
have them, but, being the effects of the Holy Spirit and the results of the
inwrought faith, they are pleasing to God, to whom they are directed.
For He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their
prayer Psalm cii. 17.
"Third, it is through this knowledge that /, by the light of the Spirit,
know Jesus in the Gospel, as adapted in every respect to my need. It is
the very conviction of the fitness of a thing which persuades the affections
to choose that thing above every other ; which makes one resolute and per
severing in spite of every obstacle, never to abandon the determination
to secure to himself the thing or person chosen for this fitness to his need.
You can see it in the matter of marriage.
"A young man may judge it absolutely necessary for him to marry.
And yet, altho convinced of this necessity, he is groping in the dark.
Now he is fully determined, and to-morrow he is not. Now he wants this
woman, and the next day another. But as soon as he meets a person
whom he considers adapted to him in every respect, he is fully resolved.
This fitness is the arrow that penetrates his soul, and that causes the scale
of his unsettled affections to turn in favor of the congenial object. Hence
nothing can draw him away from her so long as he considers her adapted
to himself ; if need be he will work for her as a slave twice seven years,
which time will seem to him but as so many days by reason of the hope
to call her his own in the end.
"And this can easily be applied to the spiritual. It shows that altho
one may be convinced of his need of Christ as his Savior, yet so long as
he does not see and know Him by faith as wonderfully adapted to his
person in particular, the affections are not drawn to Him. From which it
follows that many, in ordinary soul-trouble, act so undecidedly : to-day
they desire Christ, and to-morrow they do not. This moment they wish
to be converted, and the next they do not. This is the reason that many
who once were touched by Christ s fitness to their need, and therefore
were seekers after Him for a season, go back again and no more ask for
Him, simply because they do not think Him so much adapted to their
need as to be able for His sake to bear the heat of the day and the cold of
the night, or sacrifice all things, to possess Him. And this proves that
they never have known His real fitness, that 1^iey never have seen it with
the eye of faith ; otherwise the seed of God would have remained in them.
But when the divine light of the Holy Spirit, in the Gospel, illuminates
my soul, and I receive this knowledge of faith from Jesus, oh ! then I see
in Him such fitness as a Surety, a Mediator, a Prophet, Priest, and King
that my soul is touched in such a measure that I judge it impossible to
live another happy hour, except this Jesus becomes my Jesus. My affec-
TESTIMONIES 425
tions are inclined, taken up, directed, and settled upon this object, and
my resolution is so great, so determined, so immovable, that if it required
the loss of life and property, of father and mother, sister, brother, wife
and child, right eye or right hand yea, tho I were condemned to die at
the stake, I would lightly esteem all this, and would suffer it with joy, to
have this wonderfully fit Savior to be my Savior and my Jesus. Oh ! my
friends, examine your hearts, for, from the very nature of the case, any
thing less than this will not suffice. If you possess this you will joyfully
part with all your sins, you will bid an eternal and joyful adieu to your
most cherished lusts and bosom passions , it will make you count all your
righteousnesses, which you esteemed a gain, nothing but loss, rejecting
them as unprofitable refuse, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ ;
it will make you take joyfully the spoiling of your goods ; it will make you
count it an honor, with the apostle, to be scourged for Christ s sake; it
will make you say : Tho I have not yet found Him, and am only seeking
after Him, whom my soul loveth, and altho I dare not say, My Beloved is
mine and I am His, yet if I were to labor for Him twice seven years, and
spend them in groaning and weeping, in tears and supplications, I would
count them but as so many days, if only at last I might find Him to be
my own. God Himself must fix your mind upon these things ; these re
sults are the infallible signs of the inward root of the matter.
"Fourth, this knowledge of faith is a divine light of the Holy Spirit
by which I know Christ in the Gospel in all His sufficient f illness. By this
I see not only that He is well disposed toward poor sinners such as my
self for a man might be favorably disposed toward another to assist him
in his misery, but he might lack the power and the means to do so, and
the best that he could do might be to pity the wretch and say, I pity your
misery, but I can not help you but this divine light teaches me that
Christ can save to the uttermost ; that tho my sins are as scarlet and crim
son, heavier than the mountains, greater in number than the hairs of my
head and the sands of the seashore, there is such abundance of satisfaction
and merits in the satisfaction, by virtue of His Person, that, tho I had the
sins of the human race, they would be, compared to the satisfaction of
Christ, which has by virtue of His Person an infinite value, as a drop to a
bucket and as a small dust in the balance. And this convinces my soul
that my sin, instead of being an obstacle, much rather adds to the glory
of the redemption, that sovereign grace was pleased to make me an ever
lasting monument of infinite compassion. Formerly, I always confessed
my sin reluctantly ; it was wrung from my lips against my will only be
cause I was driven to it by my anguish, for I always thought, The more I
confess my sin, the farther I will be from salvation and the nearer my
approach to eternal condemnation ; and, fool that I was, I disguised my
guilt. But, since I know that Jesus is so all-sufficient, now I cry out,
426 FAITH
much more with my heart than with my lips, Tho I were a blasphemer
and a persecutor and all that is wicked, this is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ has come into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief. 1 And, if need be, I am ready to
sign this with my blood : to the glory of sovereign grace. In this way
every believer, if he stands in this attitude, will feel inclined to testify
with me.
" Fifth, it is this knowledge by which I know, in the light of the Holy
Spirit shining into my soul through the Gospel Jesus Christ, as the
most willing and most ready Savior, who not only has the power to save
and to reconcile my soul to God, but who is also exceedingly willing to
save me. My God, what is it that has brought about such a change in
my soul? I am dumb and ashamed, Lord Jesus, to stand before Thee, by
reason of the wrong I have done Thee, and of the hard thoughts which I
entertained concerning Thee, O precious Jesus I thought that Thou
wast unwilling and I willing ; I thought that the fault lay with Thee and
not with me ; I thought that I was a willing sinner and that Thou hadst
to be entreated with much crying and praying and tears to make of Thee,
7/;nvilling Jesus, a willing Christ ; and I could not believe the fault lay
with me.
"This opposition or controversy often lasts a long time between the
sincere soul and Christ, and never ends until by the divine light one sees
the willingness of Jesus. However, it must not be supposed that there
has been no faith in the soul during that time. But it may be said that,
altho there has been faith, there has been no exercise of faith in relation
to this matter. And when this appears, the soul says With great shame
and confusion of soul I now see Thy willingness. Thou hast given me
the evidence of Thy willingness by Thy coming into the \vorld , by Thy
suffering of the penalty ; by Thy invitation to me", and by the perseverance
of Thy work upon my heart. I recall my former unbelieving words,
spoken from the deep unbelief of my heart, and I cry out : Thou art a
willing Christ and I was an unwilling sinner. My God, now I feel that
Thou art too mighty for me, Thou hast persuaded me ; and now in this
day of Thy power I will not and can not hesitate any longer, but with my
hand I write it down that I will be the Lord s.
"The believing knowledge of the willingness of Jesus, in the light of ,
the Holy Spirit through the Gospel, makes me see my former unwilling
ness. But as soon as this light arises in the soul the will is immediately
bent over and submissive. They who say that Jesus is willing; but that I
remain unwilling, speak from mere theory ; but they lack the knowledge
of faith, and have not discovered this truth. For as the shadow follows
the body, and the effect the cause, so is the believing knowledge of the
willingness of Christ toward me immediately followed by my willingness
TESTIMONIES 427
toward Him, with perfect abandonment of myself to Him. Thy people
shall be willing in the day of Thy power (Psalm ex. 3) .
"Lastly, by this knowledge through the promise of the Gospel, and
by the light of the Holy Spirit, I learn to know the Person of the Media
tor in His personal glory, being so near to Him that I can deal ivith
Him. I say, in the promise of the Gospel, to show the difference be
tween a vision of ecstasy like that of Stephen and the conceited knowl
edge of which heretics speak outside of and against the Word. The
Word is the only mirror in which Christ can be seen and known by saving
faith. And herein I see Him in His personal glory with the eye of faith,
so near as I ever have seen any object with the bodily eye. For this in
wrought faith and the light of the Holy Spirit shining thereon brings the
Person Himself in substantial form to the soul, so that she falls in love
with Him, and is so enchanted with Him that she exclaims ; My Beloved
is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. For His love is
stronger than death ; jealousy is more cruel than the grave ; the coals
thereof are coals of fire, flames of the Lord. Many waters can not quench
that love ; if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it
would be utterly contemned (Cant. iii. 10 ; viii. 6, 7) .
"My beloved, faith embraces not only the words and letters of the
Gospel, but Christ Himself in them. Faith converses, not with the let
ter alone, but with Christ in the letter. Faith has two foundations, the
Word and the Substance. It does not build upon the Word alone, which
is the letter of the Gospel ; but also upon the Substance in the Word, viz. ,
Jesus Christ i Cor. iii. n. The Gospel is a mirror, but if Christ does
not appear before the mirror, He can not be seen. And when He presents
Himself, it is not the mirror which is the end of faith, but the Image seen
in the mirror. It is wisdom rightly to discern this. "
Is this not beautifully said? The Lord our God grant to many
of us this rich and pure delight.
THE
WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
VOLUME THREE
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Individual
(Continued).
ffirst Cbapter.
SANCTIFICATION.
I.
Sanctification.
" Of Him ye are in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and Sanctification,
and redemption." i Cor. i. 30.
SANCTIFICATION is one of the most glorious gifts which, by the
Covenant of Grace, the Mediator bestows upon the saint. It
covers his entire mental, spiritual, and physical nature. We
should, therefore, thoroughly understand it, and learn how to ob
tain it, and every believer, whatever the measure of his faith,
should be fully aware of his attitude toward it; for erroneous views
concerning this will surely lead us astray from the living Christ.
It is foolish to think that, altho present-day heresies have af
fected the doctrines of Christ, Sin, and Regeneration, Sanctification
is so simple as not to be affected. Yet even ministers fall into this
sad delusion. Men of spiritual fervor, they strictly oppose heresies
concerning these others, in their catechetical and pulpit instructions,
and in their writings, regarding such as fundamental error; but
somehow they never realize that the doctrine of Sanctification can
be imperiled, and they fail to put the Church on guard.
Such imperiling was impossible; and so, indeed, they hardly
care to have Sanctification distinguished as a dogma at all. " On
the contrary," they say, " it is the beauty of Sanctification that it is
life ; hence utterly independent of the mysteries of a dogma. In
the life of Sanctification believers may be charged with neglect,
careless living, slow progress in brief, with faulty doing and work
ing ; for what is Sanctification but betterment of self and daily
432 SANCTIFICATION
growth in holiness? but never with faulty confessing, with faulty
views of the doctrine; for sanctification is not doctrine, but life."
In this way they have come to deny it the value and dignity of a
dogma or doctrine ; to make it almost synonymous with bettering
of life ; hence to make it the common property of all that try to lead
earnest and pious lives.
Then the idea naturally grew that man} persons of unsound
doctrine might lead more spiritual lives. This supposed fact was
even fortified with the word of Jesus, that publicans and harlots go
into the Kingdom of God before us; and the congregations often
received the impression that rationalism itself might lead to better
results than sometimes flow from an orthodox belief. And the re
sult was that this so-called sanctification led to a weakening of the
faith, to a considering of purity of doctrine as immaterial; until
finally it assumed a hostile attitude toward the mysteries of the
truth. This was the natural effort of confounding self-betterment
with sanctification, and of opposing life to doctrine as gold to tinsel.
The spread of these false ideas of sanctification has not benefited
Christianity in these provinces, but, as in pre-Reformation days, it
has led the people astray from its pure doctrine.
Rome once suffered and suffers still from the same evil. Not
as tho it surrendered or even slighted its doctrine ; but, even in the
flourishing days of its hierarchy, the necessity of reformation of life
was so strongly felt that it resulted in a one-sided urging of sancti
fication. Its favorite motto was: "Good works." They were of
greatest importance: not words, but power; not the confession,
but the earnestness and willingness to do good, not merely in
secret, but openly so that men could see it ! This was carried so far
that finally Rome ceased to be satisfied with good works as fruit of
conversion, and even began to look upon them as a primary and
meritorious cause of salvation ; and thus it broke down the mystery
of faith by a false preaching of sanctification. As now, uninten
tionally, by the cry, " Not doctrine, but life," men are driven, as
by iron necessity, first to underestimate the value of doctrine, then
to disapprove of it, and lastly to pronounce it injurious, yea, even
dangerous ; so did the cry for good works induce Rome gradually to
divorce the mystery of the forgiveness of sin from the cross of Cal
vary, not in the confession, but in the conscience of its members.
For the sake of clearer insight and safer procedure, we must re- )
turn to the definite teaching that sanctification is a doctrine, an in-
SANCTIFICATION 433
tegral part of the confession, a mystery, just as much as the doctrine
of reconciliation, and therefore a dogma. In fact, in the treatment
of sanctification we penetrate the very heart of the confession, the
dogma which scintillates in the doctrine of sanctification.
Of course we are not to divorce sanctification from life. No child
of God denies that the doctrine has its application in life ; there is
no truth whose operation is not felt in his life. To him every doc
trine is instinct with life, a live coal, a radiating fire, a lamp
always burning, a well of living water springing up to eternal life.
The content of every doctrine, of every mystery, is something in
the living God or in His creature ; the confession of a condition, a
power, a working, a person who actually exists, who lives, who
iworks. The blood of atonement means, not those particular drops
(which flowed from the cross, and were lost in the inhospitable
ground of Calvary ; but a treasure in the living Christ, unceasingly
at work in heaven, by which He enriches His children on earth, the
glorious power of which they know and experience.
And this is true of every mystery, as our confession of the Holy
Trinity shows, which says of this deepest and most incomprehen
sible dogma : " That God s children know this as well from the testi
monies of Holy Writ as from the operations of the divine Persons,
and chiefly by those we feel in ourselves" (art. ix.).
And this applies to the doctrine of sanctification as well as to all
other doctrines ; for it is not, any more than the other dogmas, the
confession of a lifeless matter, but the confession of an awful power,
which lives and works effectually in us. Hence sanctification must
be preached once again as a doctrine _, it must be confessed, examined,
and studied as a doctrine ; to be followed by an appropriate applica
tion like the preaching of any other doctrine ; and godliness, spiri
tual life, and good works will be the result. But to obtain this result
la clear exposition of the cause and animating power of sanctifica-
Ition is necessary.
When on a cold morning the fire does not burn, and the family
lifters, it is foolish to say : " Since the fire does not burn remove it,
ind get warm without it." To keep from freezing requires more
iire not the fire, but the cause of its failure, must be removed.
Vnd this applies to sanctification. There is a general and bitter
Complaint of the coldness that has fallen upon the Church ; and it
equires the powerful working of sanctification to save the Church.
But the means employed frequently show poor judgment.
28
434 SANCTIFICATION
Formerly the Church confessed a pure doctrine by which it kept
close to the source of vital heat which is given us in God s Word;
and the powers and workings deposited in the Mediator for the
Church radiated in glorious activity. Then the Church flourished
and faith celebrated its greatest triumphs. It was severely cold
without, but, while the world lay perishing in its cerements, truth
filled the Church with light and heat, and the sacred fire of a pure
doctrine glowed and sparkled. But the light grew dim, and the fire
went out ; and the Church of God became dark and cold. And the
saints, half frozen and stiff, became deeply conscious of the loss
they had suffered, and of the need of light and heat. And now,
instead of advising them to light the lamp of truth and rekindle the
fire of the confession, that their souls may be revived and com
forted, many say : " Dear brethren, there is no salvation in dogma
or confession ; they are utterly unprofitable ; nothing remains but
to kindle light and heat in your souls without them," And thus
the Church is threatened with death and destruction.
In quiet assurance of the blessing of God, we proceed in the oppo
site direction, and advise the brethren to fill the lamp of the divine
mysteries with oil, to put more fuel upon the fire of the confession;
then there shall be light and heat, and the Church shall be saved.
This shall be so, provided and this needs no emphasis that the
doctrine be really confessed. To confess is not merely to say,
" There is a comfortable fire in the house," and then to stay out in
the cold; but to accept its comfort and benefit for others as well as
for ourselves.
The cry, "Not dogma, but life," is folly and unbelief. Let us
rather oppose the shallow and unsound teaching of the day. The
doctrine should be a faithful expression of the mystery ; the mys
tery should stand clearly before the spiritual eye and illuminate the
soul, as it radiates from the living Christ, according to the design
of salvation. Instead of turning the people away from the doc
trine, we should make them see how little they understand it ; how
they have trifled with it, and not confessed it ; that their soul s wel
fare requires its earnest study, that so the act of confessing may
deepen and enrich their spiritual life. And then let us imagine, nol
that the fruit of life must still be imported from elsewhere, but that
the doctrine, rightly confessed, becomes its own instrument to mani
fest its power in us.
Thus sanctification should be treated.
II.
Sanctification Is a Mystery.
Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthi-
ness of flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor.
SANCTIFICATION belongs to the mysteries of faith ; hence it can
not be confessed but as a dogma.
By this statement we intend to cut off at once every representa-
jtion which makes " sanctification " to consist of the human effort to
imake oneself holy or holier.
To become more holy is undoubtedly the duty which rests upon
every man. God has condemned all unholiness as an accursed
thing. Inferior holiness can not exist before Him. Every man
more or less holy is bound to forsake all unholiness, to resign all
esser holiness, and let perfect holiness dwell and be manifest in
lim instantly. The commandment, "Be ye holy as I am holy,"
nay not be weakened. The laxity of the current morale requires
hat God s absolute right to demand absolute holiness of every man
incessantly presented to the conscience, bound as a memorial
ipon the heart, and proclaimed to all with no uncertain sound.
In the innumerable territories of heaven where God gathers His
edeemed, all unholiness is excluded and absolute holiness is the
lever-failing characteristic. And as it is in heaven, so it ought to
on earth. God, the sovereign Ruler of all the kingdoms of this
Arorld, has strictly forbidden the least unholiness in heart or home
>r any other place on earth under the penalty of death. In fact,
here is on earth no unholiness, of whatever name or form, that
loes not exist in defiance of His express will.
It must be conceded, therefore, that it is His revealed will and
ommandment that all this unholiness must cease immediately, and
ic replaced directly by what is holy and good. He is of purer eyes
ban to behold iniquity.
It must be equally conceded that it is every man s duty to re-
436 SANCTIFICATION
move unholiness, and to advance the things that are holy. He that
caused the hurt must also heal it. He that destroyed must also re
store the things destroyed. He that desecrated the holy must also
reconsecrate it. Men still alive to a sense of justice will not con
tradict us.
The obligation to resanctify this world s life rests in its deepest
sense upon Satan. He instilled into our veins the poison which
generates the diseases of our souls. The spark that caused the fire
of sinful passions to break out in human nature was kindled by him.
That Satan is hopelessly lost and condemned, does not annul God s
eternal right. Even Satan himself, according to this right, ought
immediately to repent and stand before God holy as in the begin
ning. And this world of men, which he corrupted, was not his, but
belonged to God. He should never have touched it. Hence the
obligation continues to rest upon him not only to stop his unholy
working in it, but also to reconsecrate perfectly what he has so bit
terly and maliciously profaned.
That Satan neither will nor can do this justifies his fearful judg
ment; but it does not annul God s right and never will. If in Para
dise man had unwillingly fallen a victim to Satan, the obligation to
resanctify the life of this world would have rested upon Satan, but
not upon him. But man fell willingly ; sin owes its existence not
only to the fatherhood of Satan, but also to the motherhood of
man s soul ; hence man himself is involved in the guilt and included
under the judgment of death, and therefore obliged to restore what
he has ruined.
God created man holy, with the power to continue holy ; holy
also by virtue of the increasing development of the implanted germ.
But man ruined God s work in his heart. He soiled the undefiled
raiment of holiness. And doing this he violated the right. If he
had belonged to himself, if God had allowed him to do with him
self as he pleased, the right would not have been violated. But
He did not give man to himself; He retained him for Himself as
His own property. The hand that ruined and desecrated man
destroyed God s property, encroached upon the divine right of
sovereignty yea, upon His very right of ownership, and thus be
came liable (i) to the penalty for this encroachment, and (2) to the
obligation of restoring the ruined property to its original state.
Hence the undeniable and positive obligation of man s self-
sanctification. This obligation rests, not upon God, nor upon the
SANCTIFICATION IS A MYSTERY 437
Mediator, but upon man and Satan. The prayer, " Lord, sanctify
me," upon the lips of the unconverted, not under the Covenant
of Grace, is most unbecoming. First wilfully to destroy God s
property, and then to take the ruined thing to Him demanding that
He heal and restore it, antagonizes the right and reverses the ordi
nances. Nay, outside of the mysteries of the Covenant of Grace,
under the obligations of simple justice, we are not to ask : " Lord,
sanctify Thou us," but God is to enforce His righteous claim:
"Sanctify thyself."
Sanctify thyself does not mean that man should fulfil the law.
The keeping of the law and sanctification are two entirely different
things. Let the sinner first be sanctified, and then he shall also
fulfil the law. First sanctification, then fulfilment of the law.
It is like a harp with broken strings. The harp was made to pro
duce music by the harmonious vibration of the strings. But the
production of music is not the mending of the harp. The broken
strings must be replaced, the new strings must be tuned, and then
is it possible to strike the melodious chords. The human heart
is like that harp : God created it pure that we might keep the law;
which an impure heart can not do. Hence being profaned and
unholy, it must be sanctified ; then it will be able to fulfil the law.
For the sake of clearness, two acknowledged facts should be
noticed :
First, if man had never been profaned by sin, it would never have
entered his mind to sanctify himself ; and yet the law would have
been fulfilled without disturbance. This shows that sanctification
and fulfilment of the law are two entirely different things.
Second, sanctification continues until a man dies and enters
heaven. Then he is holy. Hence there is no sanctification in
heaven. Yet the only occupation of the saints in heaven is the
doing of that which is good. Hence sanctification is a matter by
itself; it does not consist in the doing of good works, but must be
an accomplished fact before a single good work can be done.
Since man profaned himself, he is called of God to resanctify
himself. Hence the claim of sanctification contains not even the
shadow of a mystery. It has nothing to do with the mysteries,
therefore is no dogma. It is the simplest and most natural verdict
of God s right in the conscience. That we speak of unholiness im
plies that we are convinced that we ought to be holy.
438 SANCTIFICATION
Is there contradiction, then, when we say, first, that sanctification
itself is a mystery, and can be confessed only in the dogma; second
that the demand of sanctification has nothing to do with the dogma?
Not in the least. Sinners of whom God demands that they
sanctify themselves are, individually and collectively, totally un
able to satisfy that demand. To a certain extent they can with
draw from sin and worldliness, and often have done so. Many un
converted men have done many praiseworthy works. In many cases
lives have been reformed, the whole tone of existence has been
improved from mere impulse, without a trace of real conversion.
And, conceiving sanctification to consist in the doing of less evil
and of more good, and that from an improved motive, it was
thought that unholy man, tho unable to satisfy this divine claim
perfectly, might satisfy it to some extent. But all this has nothing
in common with sanctification, and can be accomplished wholly
without it. With all his self-betterment he can not effect the least
part of it; tho told a thousand times to sanctify himself, he is both
unwilling and unable.
Hence the question : How, then, is sanctification to be accomplished 1 !
And since the question never received an answer from any of the
sages, but only from God in His Word, therefore not the demand,
but the means, of sanctification is for us incomprehensible and
mysterious. Hence the character of sanctification must be empha
sized as a mystery.
And what is the reason for denying that sanctification is a mys
tery, i.e., the content of a dogma? The supposition that it is of
human origin, that man is not totally unable, and that sanctifica
tion is betterment of character and life. Hence it is tantamount to
(i) a lowering of holiness to the human standpoint; (2) an oppo
sing sanctification as a work of God. And this is a very serious
matter. We should again become clearly conscious of the fact
that the holiness without which no man shall see God is not at
tained by the departing from some evil and the habitual doing of
some good.
The demand of sanctification belongs to the Covenant of Works;
sanctification itself to the Covenant of Grace. This makes the
difference very obvious. Not as tho the Covenant of Works com
manded man to sanctify himself; given to holy men, it excluded 1
sanctification. But God gave the Covenant of Grace to unholy
SANCTIFICATION IS A MYSTERY 439
men. And the only connection between the demand for sanctifica-
tion and the Covenant of Works is, that the latter ever pursues
fallen man with this demand, and with the terror of Horeb. Un-
holiness destroys the foundation of the Covenant of Works and
renders compliance with its conditions impossible. Hence the
absolute contradiction between it and the sinner s personal life.
The one must make room for the other; they can not stand to
gether.
In this painful conflict we are often tempted to ask whether God
is not unjust in His law to demand of us the impossible, and to lay
the blame on Him; for did He not make us so? And from this
difficulty the Arminian in our own heart seeks to escape, either by
denying that there ever was a Covenant of Works, or by substitu
ting the fulfilment of the law for sanctification.
Wherefore it is our aim, especially regarding this doctrine, to
escape from this harmful confusion of ideas, and to arrive at a cor
rect understanding and purity of expression. The preaching must
not add to the chaos, but lead us to clear insight and understanding.
Instead of sweetly cradling ourselves upon the Word, we must
earnestly endeavor to understand it. In city and country church
the Word must be preached persistently, and with ever-increasing
purity, until, convicted of personal unholiness, men begin to see
that by absolute sanctification, not mere self-betterment, they must
restore unto God His right; until, feeling their inability, with
broken hearts they turn to God to receive the Mystery of Sanctifica
from the treasures of the Covenant of Grace.
III.
Sanctification and Justification.
"Yield your members servants to
righteousness unto sanctifica-
tion." Rom. vi. 19.
SANCTIFICATION must remain sanctification. It may not arbi
trarily be robbed of its significance, nor be exchanged for some
thing else. It must always signify the making holy of what is
unholy or less holy.
Care must be taken not to confound sanctification with justifica
tion ; a common mistake, frequently made by thoughtless Scripture
readers. Hence the importance of a thorough understanding of this .
difference. Being left unnoticed, it may lead to. confused preach
ing, which causes one-sidedness; and active and thoughtful men
invariably systematize their one-sidedness.
What, then, is the difference? According to our ancient theolo
gians it is fourfold :
1. Justification works for man; sanctification in man.
2. Justification removes the guilt; sanctification the stain.
3. Justification imputes to us an extraneous righteousness;
sanctification works a righteousness inherent as our own.
4. Justification is at once completed ; sanctification increases
gradually ; hence remains imperfect.
In the main the answer is correct, but insufficient to meet pres
ent error. It is shallow, external, and incomplete ; makes too much
of righteous-mating and "holy-making, while it does not consider
righteousness and "holiness, a correct idea of which is absolutely
necessary for the clear understanding of justification and sanctifica
tion.
Let us examine these fundamental ideas, first, in God Himself.
It becomes evident at once that the words, " Our God is righteous,"
impress us otherwise than, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord ! "
SANCTIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION 441
The latter impresses us with the feeling that the name of Je
hovah is infinitely exalted above the low level of this impure and
sinful life; we discover a distance between Him and ourselves
which, as it widens in more transcendent holiness, casts us back
into ourselves as impure creatures, while it causes His Being to be
resplendent in the light unapproachable. If the angels exalting
His holiness cover their faces with their wings, how much more
ought we sinful men consider it with covered face and in godly
fear! " The Lord is df purer eyes than to behold evil," impresses
us with the deep sense of God s unspeakable sensitiveness, which
is so keen that even the faintest suggestion of sin or. impurity
arouses in Him such antipathy that He can not bear the sight of it.
But guilt is out of the question. In the presence of the divine
holiness we do not feel guilty, but are overwhelmed by the con
sciousness of our utter uncleanness and wickedness. Even among
men we do not always feel quite satisfied with ourselves. Our
brother s warmer zeal and love often make us feel ashamed. Yet
the feeling does not amount to loathing of self. But in the pres
ence of the holiness of God we feel at once with Isaiah our spiritual
impurity, and are inclined to cry for a live coal from thfe altar to
sanctify our lips; and the word "loathing of self" is not too strong
to express our feeling as we prostrate ourselves before the holiness
of the Lord Jehovah.
This establishes the antithesis at once. The divine holiness in
its most exalted aspect affects us, not with fear of punishment,
or with anguish, because we owe a debt that we can not pay ; but
with dissatisfaction with ourselves, with abhorrence of our unclean-
ness, and contempt for our righteousnesses which are as filthy rags.
It makes us feel, not our guilt, but our sin ; not our condemnation,
but our hopeless wickedness ; it does not crush us under the penalty
of the law, but it causes us to be consumed by our impurity; it
does not overwhelm us by righteousness, but it uncovers our un-
holiness and inward corruption.
But the divine righteousness affects us altogether differently.
It does not impress me with the transcendence of His exalted Cove
nant name as the divine holiness; but in God s hand it oppresses
me, pursues me, leaves me no rest, seizes me, and breaks me to
pieces under its weight. His holiness makes the soul thirst after
holiness, and with sorrow we see His majesty depart. But His
442 SANCTIFICATION
righteousness antagonizes the soul, which does not desire it, but
struggles to escape from it.
Sometimes it seems different, but only seemingly so. Godly
men in the Old and New Covenants frequently invoke the divine
righteousness. " Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
This divine upholding of the right is the strength, the prospect, and
the consolation of His oppressed people. This is why in the closing
article of their Confession our fathers cry for the day of judgment,
when as the righteous Judge He shall destroy all His enemies and
ours. Yet the difference is only seeming. In this case the divine
right is directed against others, not ourselves ; but the effect is the
same. It is His people s prayer and hope that the divine right
pursue those enemies, and deal with them according to their de
serts.
Hence God s righteousness impresses us, first, with the fact of
His authority over us; that not we, but He must determine what is
right, and how we ought to be ; that all our opposition is vain, for
His power will enforce the right ; hence that we must suffer the
effects of that righteousness.
But it is not merely the power of the right that impresses us,
neither the consciousness that we are taken and judged, but much
more, that we are taken and judged righteously. And not this arbi
trarily; on the contrary, we feel inwardly that the divine might is
right, and therefore may and must overpower us.
Hence the divine righteousness includes the creature s acknowl
edgment : " The prerogative to determine the right is not mine, but
His." And not only this, but our souls are deeply conscious that
God s decisions are not only right and good, but absolutely righteous
and superlatively good.
The divine righteousness brings us face to face with a direct
working of the divine sovereignty. All earthly sovereignty is but a
feeble reflection of the divine ; but sufficiently clear to show us its
fundamental features. A sovereign is deemed sufficiently wise to
see how things ought to be ; and qualified to determine that so they
shall be ; and powerful to resist him who dares be otherwise. This
applies also to the King of kings; or rather, it applies, not to
Him also, but to Him alone. He alone is the Wisdom with absolute
certainty to choose, and according to this choice to see how every
thing must be to be its best. He alone is the holy Qualified One,
according to this to determine how everything must be. And He
SANCTIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION 443
is the alone- Mighty to condemn and destroy what dares be other
wise.
And this reveals the deepest features of the contrast. The holi
ness of God relates to His Being j the righteousness of God to His
Sovereignty. Or, His righteousness touches His relation and position
to the creature ; His holiness points to His own inward Being.
IV.
Sanctification and Justification (Continued).
" He that is holy, let him be holy still."
Rev. xxii. n.
THE divine Righteousness, having reference to the divine Sover
eignty, in one sense does not manifest itself until God enters into
relationship with the creatures. He was glorious in holiness from
all eternity, for man s creation did not modify His Being; but His
righteousness could not be displayed before creation, because right
presupposes two beings sustaining the jural relation.
An exile on an uninhabited island can not be righteous nor do
righteously; he can not even conceive of the jural relation so
long as there is no man present whose rights he must respect, or
who can deny his rights.- The arrival of other men will necessarily
create the jural relation between him and them. But so long as he
remains alone, he may be holy or unholy, but he can not be said to
be righteous or unrighteous. In like manner it may be said of God
that before creation He was holy, but could not display His right
eousness simply because there were no creatures sustaining toward
Him the jural relation. But immediately after the creation the
display of righteousness became possible.
Still the illustration can be applied to God only to a certain ex
tent. Essentially God is not alone, but Triune in persons; hence
there is between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit a mu
tual relation. This relation, being the highest, tenderest, and most
intimate, contains from eternity the completest expression of right
eousness. And even with reference to the creature, the divine
righteousness did not originate until after the creation, but finds
perfect expression in the eternal counsel. That counsel not only
determines every possible jural relation between the creatures and
the Creator, and the creatures themselves, but indicates also the
means whereby this relation must be restored when broken or dis
turbed.
SANCTIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION 445
Hence His righteousness is as eternal as His Being ; yet, in order
to express clearly the difference between holiness and righteousness,
we may say that as His holiness was glorious from eternity, so is
His righteousness displayed and exercised only in time, i.e., since
the creature began to exist. It did not originate then, but became
perceptible then. Whatever may be said on the subject, the funda
mental difference remains that God is holy even tho considered
alone by Himself; while His righteousness begins to radiate when
He is considered in relation to His creatures.
God is holy essentially ; before the least impurity existed, there
was in Him vital pressure to repel all foreign mingling with His
Being. But only as Sovereign could He determine the right, main
tain the violated right, and execute righteousness upon the violater.
In its fundamental features this applies to us as men. Even in us
righteousness is entirely different from holiness; the former has
exclusive reference to our relation to and position before God, man,
and angel; while holiness refers, not to any relation, but to the
quality of our inner being. We speak of righteousness only when
it concerns our relation to God or man. Noah is said to have been
a righteous man " in his generation," which indicates not his essen
tial quality, but his relation to others.
Righteousness implies right, which is unthinkable but as exist
ing between two persons in connection with the qualification of
either one or of a third to determine that right. Hence man s
righteousness with reference to God has a twofold aspect :
First, it implies the acknowledgment of God s sovereign qualifi
cations to determine man s relation to God and man.
Second, it implies reverence for the divine laws and ordinances
enacted with regard to man s service of God.
A man may keep strictly some of these ordinances, not from the
motive of reverence, but because he is compelled to approve them.
In some respects he gives God His due ; but His position is wrong.
He fails to honor God as his sovereign Ruler, to acknowledge God
as God, and to bow before His majesty.
Or he may reverence the divine authority in the abstract, but in
practise constantly rob God of His right.
Therefore original righteousness, which has reference to man s
status before God as a creature, and derived righteousness, which
refers to the act of honoring the divine ordinances, are two differ-
446 SANCTIFICATION
ent things. Both are righteousness i.e., the act of occupying the
position divinely ordained. But the first refers to our personal
standing in the position determined by God; the second to the
act of conforming our thoughts, words, and deeds to His divine
requirements.
It is unnecessary to speak particularly of righteousness with
reference to men. Whatever we do in relation to them is righteous
or unrighteous according to its conformity or non-conformity to the
divine ordinance, and every transgression against the neighbor be
comes sin only because it is in non-conformity to the righteousness
of God.
Briefly, man s righteousness consists of two parts:
First, that his status be what God has determined.
Second, that his thoughts, words, and deeds be conformed to the
divine ordinances. Hence our righteousness need not be the product
of our own soul s labor. The original righteousness of Adam and
Eve lacked nothing, altho they had not done anything to it person
ally. They simply stood in the right position before God a posi
tion not self-assumed, but divinely determined. And so may the
right, after it is disturbed, be restored independently of the viola
tor, by a third person. The question is not how the right relation
was restored, but whether it agrees again with God s sovereign will.
He that delivers a debtor from imprisonment by paying his debts
restores him to his right relation to his former creditors, even tho
the prisoner himself did not pay a farthing of the debt. Because
righteousness has reference to mutual relations, the right is satis
fied as soon as the disturbed relation is restored and the lost posi
tion recovered. How it was accomplished is immaterial.
This gives us a deeper insight into the profound significance of
the cross, and why it is that our righteousness can not be increased
nor decreased, altho it does not affect our essential character.
Entirely different is the soul s holiness, which touches directly
the quality of person and character; as our ancient theologians
correctly expressed it : " Justification acts for man ; sanctification
inheres in man"
The ungodly is justified, i.e., the very moment that he believes;
before sanctification has begun to operate in him, he knows that he
stands before God perfectly right. He is not merely beginning to
be right ; partly right, to be a little more right to-morrow, and per-
SANCTIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION 447
fectly right when he enters heaven; but perfectly right now,
henceforth, and forevermore. He is righted not only for the pres
ent and for all eternity, but also for the past. He is assured of
standing before God in flawless right, as tho he had never been
wrong, nor ever could be wrong again.
Hence the consciousness of being justified is instantaneous and
at once complete, and can not be increased nor decreased. And
this is possible because this righteousness has nothing to do with
his being, but has exclusive reference to the relation in which he
sees himself placed. This relation was miserable and wholly un
righteous ; but another, outside of himself, has restored that rela
tion and made it what it ought to be. Hence he stands right,
without any reference whatever to his personal being. This is the
deep si 
