CHAPTER V.—Some observations and inferences from discourses foregoing concerning the Spirit
Spirit, but certain other considerations necessitate their inclusion at this point.
CHAPTER V
Some observations and inferences from discourses foregoing concerning the Spirit—The contempt of the whole administration of the Spirit by some—The vain pretence of the Spirit by others—The false spirit discovered.
Having established the preceding points, I will now immediately show how we engage in the communion proposed with the Holy
Spirit through the things that encompass His unique work towards us. However, there are some misinterpretations in the world concerning this dispensation of the Holy Spirit that I cannot ignore.
These misinterpretations involve both the contempt of His true work and the pretense of that which is not His. Addressing these issues will be the focus of this chapter.
Let us first consider the state and condition of those who profess to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ but hold contempt and disdain for His Spirit, including all its operations, gifts, graces, and dispensations to His churches and saints. When Christ was in the world with His disciples, He made no greater promise to them, both for their own benefit and for the advancement of the work entrusted to them, than the promise of giving them the Holy Spirit. He instructed them to pray to the Father for the Holy Spirit, considering it as necessary for them as bread is for children (Luke 11:13). He
assured them that the Holy Spirit would be like a wellspring of water springing up within them for their refreshment, strength, and eternal consolation (John 7:37-39). He also affirmed that the Holy Spirit would continue and fulfill the entire work of the ministry entrusted to them (John 16:8-11), along with all the remarkable works and privileges mentioned earlier. After His ascension, the abundant outpouring of gifts and graces mentioned in Ephesians 4:8, 11, 12 is founded on the fact that Christ had received the promise of the Holy
Spirit from the Father (Acts 2:33). This outpouring of the Holy Spirit marks the most glorious distinction between the administration of the new covenant and the old. The entire work of the ministry is closely connected to the Holy Spirit, although that is not my current objective to demonstrate. He calls individuals to this work and sets them apart for it (Acts 13:2), and He equips them with gifts and abilities for the task (1 Corinthians 12:7-10). Therefore, without this administration of the Spirit, the religion we profess is empty, and there can be no fruit of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
Given this reality, that the Spirit is the principle, life, soul, and everything in our worship of and obedience to God, in our personal consolation, sanctification, and ministerial duties, it is astonishing how Satan's malice and human wickedness have strived to completely exclude the Holy Spirit from all gospel administrations.
Firstly, the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit were not only disparaged but also nearly excluded from public worship by imposing a burdensome form of service for ministers to read.
However, reading a prescribed form is neither a special gift of the Holy Spirit nor an essential function of the ministry. It is remarkable to consider the arguments and justifications invented and employed by learned men to defend and maintain this practice, citing its antiquity, composition, approval by martyrs, the beauty of
uniformity in the worship of God, and so on. But their main argument, on which they lavished their eloquence, centered around ridiculing and condemning the supposed babbling and foolishness of praying by the Spirit. Once they attacked this aspect, they believed they had won the argument, and their opponents were rendered utterly ridiculous. Such is the cunning of Satan, and the depths of human folly are unfathomable. In essence, their reasoning boiled down to this: "Although the Lord Jesus Christ promised to be with His church to the end of the world, providing men with the gifts and abilities necessary for the worship He requires and accepts from us, the work is not effectively accomplished. The gifts He bestows are insufficient for the purpose of invocation and doctrine. Therefore, we will not only guide men through our prescribed directions but also exclude them from exercising their own gifts." This, as I can undeniably demonstrate if it were my current task, was the essence of their arguments. The numerous evils that follow from this principle are evident: the formal ordination of men to the ministry who have never experienced the powers of the world to come or received any gifts from the Holy Spirit for that purpose, the promotion and growth of an externally pompous worship that deviates entirely from the power and simplicity of the gospel, and the silencing, destroying, and banishing of men whose ministry is accompanied by the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit. I do not need to elaborate further on these matters. My intention is to highlight the public contempt for the Holy Spirit, His gifts, graces, and their administration in the Church of God, even in places where the gospel has been professed.
Furthermore, it is deeply distressing to reflect on how this attitude of contempt for the Spirit has infiltrated private individuals and their practices. The very name of the Spirit has become a term of reproach.
To advocate for or claim to pray by the Spirit was sufficient to subject
a person to mockery and reproach from all quarters, from the pulpit to the stage. "What! You are full of the Spirit? You will pray by the Spirit? You possess that gift? Let us hear your nonsensical babbling," they would say. Yet, these same individuals would consider it an offense not to be regarded as Christians. Christians! However, have not some who claim to be leaders of the flock—having elevated themselves a few levels above their brethren and asserted authority and governance over them—made it their mission to scoff at and reproach the gifts of the Spirit of God? If such was the disposition of these leaders, what could be expected from those steeped in blatant profanity? The extent of blasphemy resulting from this mindset is unimaginable. May the Lord grant that none of this accursed leaven still lingers among us! Occasionally, we hear murmurs of similar disdain. Is this the fellowship of the Holy Spirit that believers are called to? Is this the proper reception of Him whom our Savior promised to send to compensate for His physical absence, ensuring that we are not deprived? Is it not enough that people content themselves with a stupefying blindness, being called Christians, and yet looking no further for comfort and consolation than what moral considerations shared with heathens would provide? One infinitely holy and blessed person of the Trinity has assumed the role of our
Comforter, yet they oppose and despise Him as well. This reveals how few there truly are in the world who have a genuine interest in that blessed name by which we are all called. However, this is not the place to delve deeper into this discourse. The purpose of this discussion is to expose the folly and madness of people in general who claim to embrace the gospel of Christ, and yet condemn and despise His Spirit whenever and wherever He is revealed. Let us eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, rather than being envious of them.
From what has been discussed, we can also evaluate the spirits that have emerged in the world and have been active since the ascension of Christ. The wickedness of the past and present generations is characterized by their blatant opposition to the Holy Spirit. They have behaved presumptuously, challenging the authority of God who is above them. Satan, as the god of this world, whose desire is to be in a position of power and not remain wholly cast down by the providence of God, has now disguised himself as an angel of light. He will even pretend to be the Spirit. However, there are "deceiving spirits" (1 Timothy 4:1), and we are commanded "not to believe every spirit, but to test the spirits" (1 John 4:1). The reason given for this command is that "many false prophets have gone out into the world."
These are individuals who claim to have received new doctrines through the Spirit. Paul hints at their deceit in the early church (2
Thessalonians 2:2), urging people not to be "shaken in mind by a spirit." The truth is that the spirits of these times are so obvious that even someone with discernment can recognize them, yet their deception is strong enough to mislead many. One thing is clear to all
—Satan, with his delusions, has taken his previous actions to an extreme.
Not long ago, as I explained, his primary objective was to exalt ordinances without the Spirit, casting aspersions on the Spirit. Now, however, he seeks to exalt a spirit without and against ordinances, subjecting them to reproach and contempt. He no longer desires a ministry with the Spirit but a Spirit without a ministry. Previously, reading the Word without preaching or praying by the Spirit was considered sufficient. Now, the Spirit is deemed enough without any reading or study of the Word at all. Before, a literal acceptance of what Christ had done in the flesh was permitted. Now, there is talk only of Christ in the Spirit, denying that He has come in the flesh— the distinguishing mark of the false spirit warned against in 1 John
4:1. It is certain that the Spirit we are to listen to and embrace is the Spirit promised by Christ. This is so evident that even the Montanists' Paraclete, as well as Mohammed, claimed to be the Spirit, and some in our own time make the same claim. Let us briefly evaluate them based on some of the mentioned effects that Christ promised the Holy Spirit would bring:
The first general effect, as previously noted, is that the Spirit would bring to remembrance the things that Christ spoke for our guidance and consolation. This was the work of the Holy Spirit towards the apostles, who were to be the writers of Scripture. This is also the ongoing work of the Spirit towards believers until the end of the world. The things that Christ spoke and did are written down so that we may believe and have life through His name (John 20:31). They are written in the Scriptures. Therefore, the work of the promised
Spirit is to bring to our remembrance and grant us understanding of the words of Christ in the Scriptures for our guidance and consolation. Is this the work of the spirit that is prevalent in the world and leads many astray? Not at all. Its purpose is to denounce the things that Christ spoke and are written in the Word. It claims to receive new revelations of its own and directs people away from the written Word, where the entire work of God and all the promises of Christ are recorded.
Furthermore, the work of the Spirit promised by Christ is to glorify Him. Jesus said, "He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14). The Spirit's task is to make Christ glorious, honorable, and highly esteemed in the hearts of believers by revealing His love, kindness, grace, and redemptive work to them.
This is the work of the Spirit. However, the spirit that is prevalent seeks to glorify itself and belittles and discredits Christ, who entered on our behalf. It does so under the guise of a Christ within, which it
disregards and despises openly. Its sole aim is its own glory and honor, completely distorting the divine order of things. The Father's love is the source of all existence, and the Son came to glorify the Father. Jesus Himself said, "I do not seek my own glory, but the glory of him who sent me." After completing the work of redemption, the Son was to be glorified with the Father. He prayed for this, saying, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son" (John 17:1), with the glory they shared before the world existed, when their joint purpose was to carry out the Father's love. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is sent, and His work is to glorify the Son. However, as I mentioned, we now have a spirit that has emerged, whose entire focus is on glorifying itself. From this, we can easily discern its origin.
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit pours out the love of God into our hearts, as previously mentioned, and fills them with joy, peace, and hope. He brings quietness and refreshment to those in whom He dwells, granting them freedom, rest, confidence, and the boldness of children. On the other hand, the spirit that people now boast about is a spirit of bondage. Its main purpose is to make individuals quake and tremble, plunging them into a state of un-sonlike fear and driving them with horror and enslavement. It drains their very life force and causes their whole being to wither away. There is hardly anything that more clearly reveals that the spirit by which some are now driven is not the Comforter promised by Christ than this: it is a spirit of bondage and slavery within them and a spirit of cruelty and reproach towards others. It stands in direct opposition to the Holy
Spirit in believers and to all the purposes for which the Spirit of adoption and consolation is given to them.
To provide one more example: the Holy Spirit bestowed upon believers is a Spirit of prayer and supplication, as was demonstrated.
On the contrary, the spirit with which we are dealing pretends to