The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 59

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

Holy

of the

distinguished from that of the Father and of the Son

is

Spirit as

quite legiti-

mate and necessary.

many

deplorable that

It is

the Father and of the Son and of the

distinguish the works of

Holy

Even in prayer Altho the Holy Spirit

Spirit.

they use the divine names indiscriminately. is

have confused con-

of God's children

They can not

ceptions in this respect.

explicitly called the Comforter, yet they seek comfort mostly

from the Father or the Son, unable the

Holy

The

to say

why and what

in sense

Spirit is especially called Comforter.

early Church already felt the need of clear and exact dis-

and the great thinkers and Christian phigave 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 tinctions in this matter;

losophers

whom God

of subtleties, but

by the necessity

as to arouse the

of the Church, they undertook to

And God

study these distinctions.

mind by

conflict,

let heretics

and

to lead

Word. So we are not pioneers exploring a new historical treasures of the Church.

the light, which for so

many

We

ages shed

field.

who

these articles can so impress those alone

vex His Church so to search God's

it

The writing

of

are ignorant of the

propose simply to cause 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 /^ arrange from the Son In

I

;

the power to perfect from the Holy Spirit.

Cor.

viii. 6, St.

the Father, of

wJwm

" There is but one God and one Lord Jesus Christ l^

Paul teaches that

are all things,

:

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