Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part forty-two of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume Two: The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Individual," First Chapter "Introduction," titled "Analysis Necessary."
III.
Analysis Necessary.
“Let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation.” —Heb. vi. 1.
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part forty-one of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume Two: The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Individual," First Chapter "Introduction," titled "The Work of Grace a Unit."
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.
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part forty of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume Two: The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Individual," First Chapter "Introduction," titled "The Man to be Wrought upon."
I.
The Man to be Wrought upon.
202Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part thirty-nine of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume One: The Work of the Holy Spirit As A Whole," Tenth Chapter "The Church of Christ," titled "The Government of the Church."
XXXIX.
The Government of the Church.
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part thirty-eight of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume One: The Work of the Holy Spirit As A Whole," Tenth Chapter "The Church of Christ," titled "The Ministry of the Word."
XXXVIII.
The Ministry of the Word.
"He shall lead you into all truth." —John xvi. 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 activity. 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 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 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. 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 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 interrogation-points.
We can not in this way examine the contents of the Scripture without destroying it for ourselves. If one wishes to examine the 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 sealing 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 conviction, 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 192 not upon his scholarship, but upon his pretended spiritual illumination. Hence the Roman Catholic priests do not contradict one another. Neither is their teaching the fancy of a defective learning, but the result of a mental development that Rome attained in its most excellent men, and that in connection with the spiritual labor of many centuries.
Of all clericalism, that of the intellectual stamp is the most unbearable; for one is always silenced with the remark, "You don't know Greek," or, "You don't read Hebrew"; while the child of God feels irresistibly that in the matters that concern eternity, Greek and Hebrew can not have the last word. And this apart from the fact that to a number of these scholars Professor Cobet might say in turn: "Dear sir, do you still know Greek yourself?" Of the shallow knowledge of Hebrew in the largest number of cases, it is better not to speak.
No, in that way we never get there. To make the divine authority of the Holy Scripture real to us, we need not a human, but a divine testimony, equally convincing to the simplest and to the most learned—a testimony that must not be cast as pearls before swine, but be limited to those who can gather from it noblest fruit viz., to them that are born again.
And this testimony is not derived from the Pope and his priests, nor from the theological faculty with its ministers, but comes with the sealing from the Holy Spirit alone. Hence it is a divine testimony, and as such stops all contradiction and silences all doubt. It is a testimony the same to all, belonging to the peasant in the field and to the theologian in his study. Finally, it is a testimony which they alone receive who have open eyes, so that they can see spiritually.
However, this testimony does not work by magic. It does not cause the confused mind of unbelief suddenly to cry out: "Surely the Scripture is the Word of God!" If this were the case, the way of enthusiasts would be open, and our salvation would depend again upon a pretended spiritual insight. No, the testimony of the Holy Spirit works in an entirely different way. He begins to bring us into contact with the Word, either by our own reading or by the communication of others. Then He shows us the picture of the sinner according to the Scripture, and the salvation which mercifully saved him; and lastly, He makes us hear the song of praise upon his lips. And after we have seen this objectively, with the 193 eye of the understanding, He then so works upon our feeling that we begin to see ourselves in that sinner, and to feel that the truth of the Scripture directly concerns us. Finally. He takes hold of the will, causing the very power seen in the Scripture to work in us. And when thus the whole man, mind, heart, and will, has experienced the power of the Word, then He adds to this the comprehensive operation of assurance, whereby the Holy Scripture in divine splendor commences to scintillate before our eyes.
Our experience is like that of a person who, from his brightly lighted room, looks out in the dusk. At first, owing to the brightness within, he sees nothing. But blowing out his light and looking out once more, he gradually distinguishes forms and figures, and after a while he enjoys the soft twilight. Let us apply this to the Word of God. So long as the light of our own insight flashes through the soul, we, looking through the window of eternity, fail to perceive anything. It is all wrapped in cloudy darkness. But when at last we prevail upon ourselves to extinguish that light, and look out again, then we see a divine world gradually coming up out of the gloom, and, to our surprise, where at first we saw nothing we now see a glorious realm bathed in divine light.
And thus God's elect obtain a firm assurance concerning the Word of God that nothing can shake, of which no learning can rob them. They stand firm as a wall. They are founded upon a rock. The winds may howl and the floods descend, but they fear not. They stay upon their indestructible faith, not only as a result of the Holy Spirit's first operation, but because He supports the conviction continually. Jesus said, "He abideth with you forever"; and this has primary reference to this testimony concerning the Word of God. In the believing heart He testifies continually: "Fear not, the Scripture is the Word of your God."
However, this is not all of the Holy Spirit's work in regard to the Word. It must also be interpreted.
And He, the Inspirer, alone can give the right interpretation. If among men each is the best interpreter of his own word, how much more here where no man shall ever have the boldness to say that he understands the Spirit's full and proper meaning as well as He Himself, if not better? Even if the authors of both Testaments should rise from the dead and tell us the meaning of their respective Scriptures—even that would not be the full and deep interpretation. 194 For they wrote things the comprehensive meaning of which they did not understand. E g., when Moses wrote about the serpent’s seed, it is obvious that he did not begin to see all that 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 translation as the Vulgate; an official interpretation of every word and sentence; and an official condemnation of every other explanation?, By no means. This would be very easy, but also very unspiritual. Death would cleave to it. The full, boundless ocean of truth would be confined within the narrow limits of a formula. And the refreshing 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, irresponsible 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, under the seal of their approval, the churches should publish expository marginal readings. But neither the one nor the other should ever replace the Scripture itself. Scriptural research must ever be free. 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 interpretation is indirect, and the means employed are: (1) scientific study; (2) the ministry of the Word; and (3) the spiritual experience of the Church. And it is by the cooperation of these three factors that, in the course of ages, the Holy Spirit indicates which interpretation deviates from the truth, and which is the correct understanding 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 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 ministry, which attains its highest end when standing before his congregation 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 application 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.
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part thirty-seven of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume One: The Work of the Holy Spirit As A Whole," Tenth Chapter "The Church of Christ," titled "Spiritual Gifts."
XXXVII.
Spiritual Gifts.
"But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And a still more excellent way show I unto you." —1 Cor. xii. 31 (R.V.).
The charismata or spiritual gifts are the divinely ordained means and powers whereby the King enables His Church to perform 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 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 authority and kingship of Jesus in His Church. Altho he will never succeed entirely, he does succeed to some extent. The history of the Church in every country shows it; it proves that a satisfactory condition of the Church is highly exceptional and of short duration, and that for eight out of ten centuries its state is sad and deplorable, cause for shame and grief on the part of God’s people.
And yet in all this warfare it has a calling to fulfill, 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 cannot be destroyed in its bosom. But whatever the form of the task, the Church always needs spiritual power to perform it; a power not in itself, but which the King must supply.
Every means afforded by the King for the doing of His work is 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 manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal," (1 Cor. xii. 7) i.e., for the general good (ðñïò 185 ro avpotpov) (1 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 the edifying of the Church" (1 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 submit 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 devised against Thy Holy Word, till the full perfection of the Kingdom takes place, wherein Thou shall 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 Catechism confesses the communion of saints: "First, that all and every one who believes, being members of Christ, are in common partakers 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 intended for the Church.
St. John writing, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 John ii. 20), and "Ye need not that any man teach you" (1 John ii. 27), does not mean to say that every individual 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 qualifies teachers appointed by Jesus Himself? Not the individual believer, 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 ages. The Church of to-day is the same as in the, day of the apostles. 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 glorious 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 giving 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 capital accumulated during eighteen centuries.
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 wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the 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 miracles, and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; and to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as He will" (1 Cor. xviii. 8-11). 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 diligence; 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 ordinary 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 ruleth" 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 saving grace, and those distinct from the grace of salvation.
The former are, 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 "doron."But while all have faith, God is free to let it manifest itself more strongly in the one than in another. 188 Of one degree Scripture says: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shaft be saved" (Acts xvi. 31); 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." (Matt. xvii. 20) 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 to 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 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 interpretation. These may also be divided in two classes, inasmuch as the first three mentioned are also found, altho in a different form, outside 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 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 discernment of spirits; that of self-restraint; and lastly, that of healing the sick suffering from nervous and psychological diseases. The others for the present are inactive.
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part thirty-six of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume One: The Work of the Holy Spirit As A Whole," Tenth Chapter "The Church of Christ," titled "The Church of Christ."
XXXVI.
The Church of Christ.
"It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is ruth."—1 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 manifestation 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.
And in it the Holy Spirit has wrought a very comprehensive work.
Not its formation, however, for that is the work of the Triune God in the divine decree; or, speaking more definitely, of Jesus the King 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 representation as tho the Holy Spirit gathers the elect out of a lost world, and so brings them into the Church, opposes the Scripture’s representation 180 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 condemnation itself; yet that they are sanctified in Christ?"
However, since regeneration belongs to His work in the individual, 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 "charismata." 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 "charis"; while the gift of grace is usually called "dorea." 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 gracious gift, generally "dorea" in the Greek, which, being derived from a root meaning to give, denotes that we were not entitled to it, having neither merited nor bought it, but that it is a given good. St. Paul exclaims: "Thanks unto God for His unspeakable gift," i.e., 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 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." (Ephes. iv. 7).1717 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 reason is that these passages refer not to the graciousness of the gift, but to its scintillating brightness, in contrast with corruption and death. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life."
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 consideration. 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 salvation, 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 confirm 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 efficiency 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 admiral 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: 182 "I light the fire to warm not the room, but the stove"; 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 institution 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 mechanical 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 divinely ordained, and this ordinance must not be ignored. Hence the eye has the office and gift of watching over the body; the heart 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 common 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. He has given to His body, the Church, eyes, ears, hands, and feet; and each of these organic members a peculiar task, calling, and office.
Hence to be called to an office simply means to be charged by Jesus, the King, with a definite task. You have done some work. Very well, but how? From impulse, or in obedience to the 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 herald 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, so 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 believers. 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 ourselves, 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.
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part thirty-five of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit
by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume One: The Work
of
the Holy Spirit As A Whole," Ninth Chapter "The Holy Scriptures in the
New Testament," titled "The Character of the New Testament Scripture."
XXXV.
The Character of the New Testament Scripture.
"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full."—1 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 correctly communicated.
Both certifications should be furnished by witnesses, e.g., to prove the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand would require:
1. A declaration of a number of persons, stating that they were eye-witnesses of the miracle.
2. An authentic declaration of the magistrates of the surrounding places certifying to their signatures.
3. A declaration of competent persons to prove that these witnesses 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 authenticated and sealed, persons not too skeptical might find it possible 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 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 communications 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 base 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 notarial 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 condemns itself, and must result in the absolute rejection of the authority of the Holy Scripture. If a judge of the present day should condemn or acquit an accused person on the ground of the insignificant 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 176 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 mentioned 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 furnished, because the character and nature of the contents of Scripture 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 evidence 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 unthinkable, if other persons could have heard, recorded, and published 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 which legal or mathematical investigation can not fathom; which manifests 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 unfolded 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.
177And 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, 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 (1 Cor. xv.), he did not develop that truth for the first time. Probably he had apprehended it previously, and in his sermons and private correspondence expounded it. Hence the revelation antedates 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.” (John xvi. 13) 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 revelation would be useless. What warrant should we have that he had correctly understood and faithfully recorded it? He might have made a mistake in the communication, adding to it or taking from it, thus making it an unreliable report. Hence inspiration was indispensable; for by it the apostle was kept from error while he recorded the revelation previously received.
Lastly, the spiritual bond must be created connecting the soul and the consciousness with the spiritual realities of the infallible Word of God—positive conviction of spiritual things.
The Holy Spirit accomplishes this by the implanting of faith, with the various preparations that ordinarily precede the breaking 178 forth of the act of believing. The result is inward conviction. This is not wrought by referring us to Josephus or Tacitus, but in a spiritual way. The content of the Scripture is brought to the soul. The conflict between the Word and the soul is felt. The conviction 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.
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part thirty-four of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit
by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume One: The Work
of
the Holy Spirit As A Whole," Ninth Chapter "The Holy Scriptures in the
New Testament," titled "The Need of the New
Testament Scripture."
XXXIV.
The Need of the New Testament Scripture.
"For I testify onto 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 written 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 centuries, 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 revelation has, therefore, been the indispensable means whereby the Church, during its long and ever-extending career, has been preserved 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, altho 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 170 them now, but the Holy Spirit will declare them unto you," must be recorded. This is the postulate of the whole matter. The condition 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 immediately. So long as the Church was confined to a small circle, and the remembrance of Christ remained fresh and powerful, the apostles' spoken word was sufficient. The decree of the Synod of Jerusalem 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 informed 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 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 of 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 writings 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 literature 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 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 authority with the first collection given to Israel; then it put the Old and the New Testament together, which unitedly form the Holy Scripture, our Bible, the Word of God.
To the question, How did the New Testament Scripture originate? 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 written 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 millions 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 imagined 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 unknown, 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 172 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 scattered 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 under 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 authority 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 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 infallibly inspired or not.
173Even tho a writing were indorsed by the twelve apostles, this would not be positive proof of its credibility or divine authority. For altho they had the promise that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all truth, this does not exclude the possibility of their falling into mistakes or even untruths. The promise did not imply 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 additional information that it belongs to the things which the apostle 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 attractiveness 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 account of any such distinctions, and we ask only: Is this or that gospel inspired by the Holy Spirit?
Source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kuyper/holy_spirit.html)
Note: This is part thirty-three of a 123-part series taken from the book Work of the Holy Spirit
by Abraham Kuyper. The following excerpt is from "Volume One: The Work
of
the Holy Spirit As A Whole," Ninth Chapter "The Holy Scriptures in the
New Testament," titled "The Holy Scriptures in the New Testament."
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 xx. 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. Commissioned 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 powers 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, finally 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 knowledge. Hence He
gave it the apostolate, that from the cradle 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 unmanly 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! Research into
holy things may never cease; even now the Lord fulfils His promise to
every true theologian: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find." (Luke xi. 9) 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
166 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 profoundly 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
simple 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,
understanding the connection between cause and effect, has no confidence
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 knowledge has
been such that every age has received an insight adapted to satisfy
its necessity. More than this: the very fermentation 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, the 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 members the whole secret of
the Lord was made known to the Church, under the infallible authorship
of the divine Inspirer, the Holy Spirit.
This is the great fact accomplished by the apostolate: the publication
of the whole secret of the Lord, by which the revelation in the Old
Testament, to John the Baptist and Christ was enlarged and worked out. For
to complete a thing means to add that which before
167 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 possessed
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 whatsoever 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 declares 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 Scripture teaches
distinctly that truth was revealed to the Patriarchs, unknown in Paradise;
to Israel, of which the Patriarchs were ignorant; 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 Christianity; while others
have frequently exhorted us to abandon the orthodox 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
168 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 exponent, 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 difference 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 difference. Both
are parts of the same doctrine of Jesus, with this distinction, 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
Himself taught His people from heaven, then every objection is met,
and there is not 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.
Recent Comments
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The Unofficial Holy Spirit Vox said:
[this is good]Thanks for your comments, Carol. The biblical position is that baptism isn't required for salvation, but rather faith and repentance... read more
on Three Biblical Baptisms -
Carol said:
I grew up in a denomination that believed you had to be baptized to be saved. In fact, the whole... read more
on Three Biblical Baptisms -
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musicchick2 said:
Everything ok?? You seem to have disappeared from Vox read more
on The Holy Spirit Is A Person AND God
Have you ever read any of St. Basil's writings on the Holy Spirit? http://www.ccel.org/b/basil/ - this tells a wee bit... read more
on The Holy Spirit in the Mediator