The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 230

XXXVIII.

The

Ministry of the

Word.

"He

shall lead

—John

Let us now

you

into all truth."

xvi. 13.

consider the second activity of the Holy Spirit in

we prefer to we distinguish

the Church, which

designate as His care-taking of the

Word.

three parts, viz.

In this

:

the Sealing, the

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 Interpretatio7i,

Word

of God.

The Word

He

He

ity.

thus

it

we may

is, if

has brought is its

it

forth.

owe

Auctor Primarius,

fulfil its

And

destiny.

by the

own

it

its

is,

whereby He enables

;

it

to

in the first place, to be believed

elect; secondly, to be understood

be lived by them

And

Principal Author.

should exercise that motherly

travail

this destiny

a child of the Holy Spirit.

it,

entirely to His peculiar activ-

i.e.,

He

can not seem strange that

care over the child of His

in

so express

We

by them; and

lastly, to

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 interpretation imparts the " right understanding " and the application effects ;

the "living" of

it.

We

mention the sealing of the Word first, for without faith in it can not be God's Word to us. The question is How do we come in real contact and fellowship

divine authority

its

:

with the Holy Scripture, which, as a mere external object,

lies

before

us?

We our

are told that

own

it is

firm conviction?

the It

Word

of

God but how can this become ;

can never be obtained by investigation.

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