the W ork of the Holy Spirilj
in the World
by William Bass, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy,
Talbot Theological Seminary
I t is understandable that the Christian often associates the work of the Holy Spirit solely with His redemp tive offices. This is largely due to the concerns of the Christian life. ,It isi necessary to j keep oneself sensitive to the suasions of the Holy -Spirit which’ are intended to'.y6||hg. ;the Christian to maturity. »'He isjthe Spirit of Truth (John 14:17) who leads us more deeply into re demptive truth. He is the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2) who constantly pointsftus back to ourlorganic relationship to the risen Saviour. He is the Spirit of Holiness by name, whjfiiy. His faithful, consistent guidance promotes our Christian growth—our conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). The Christian’s whole being is to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:8). In the process of abiding in the placelof blessing, it is easy to overlook the work of the Holy Spirit outside of the realm of the church and personal salvation. The ministry of the Holy Spirit m the world has been a powerful reality from tjpfeeadnaangJ He has dealt with the sons o f men from time immemorial—not in the same manner as He .does today, but relevantly neverthe- les. th is relationship may be conveniently surveyed un der several divisions. I. BEFORE THE DELUGE The God-given account of the creation in Genesis be gins almost immediately with a reference to the presence of the Holy Spirit hovering over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). The language here does not involve the brooding over a world egg as taught by the pagan myths.1 It refers rather tb the intense moving ;pf the Holy Spirit over the physical universe as a life-giving force. “ By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens . . (Job 26:13). “ By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made,; and all the host of them by the ‘breath [Spirit] of His-mouth” (Psalms 33:6). H .jC f Lbuppld, has described the activity of the HolySpiritJin creation as a “ potentiality” of all that was to follow.2 1: H. C. Leopold, Exposition of Genesis^ p. 48. 2 5 0 . O C tilE R , 1963
In discussing the presence of the Holy Spirit in crea tion and in the life-giving processes of the natural world, Abraham Kuyper has stressed that His function is related only to the “ invisible and imperceptible” realms of life.3 ThbgFather has determined the substance and destiny of ¡the creation; the Son executes the tasks; but to the Holy gSpirit is given the “ direct touch” with the material world I n the realm? Which are' completely inicessibhi to men’s activity or description.4 Thb basidhmplication of this fact is tremendous. Every realm of the world has holy and sacred aspects. The phy sical universe, the processes which are|called;natural— even the very substance of the ungodly men and angels -—arefiif sorhe’iindefiriable sense maintained bj| the Spirit of God. Strictly speaking there is no completely natural realm— there is only the rebellious realm, the cursed realm, the creature of divine -.wrath. There'can be no substance or process which is neutral. God's motives are blessed, beneficial and loving. Man can only corrupt the good t^i;God..'.;^ » j ■ From the very beginning then, God has been in con tact with the world by the Holy Spirit. There is every feasor# to beHeVegthat He w is also active after ¡¡the fall of man—to effect the salvation of the godly of the human race. God has jnot chosen to| reveal the manner of this work among saved hneryggdifaSyAbel and Enoch. He has rather chosen to reveal that during this time God was dealing with all men judicially by the Holy Spirit. “My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh:' yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis® 6:3). Since the basic meaning of the Hebrew strive is to judge or rule, it is evident that’ God was restraining the rampant confusion of the works of the flesh during the time until man was destroyed at the flood. Man did not repsond but Completely committed himself to a fleshly life. The work of the Spirit during this time was simple when compared with the complexity of His work in the 3 AbrahaSS rauyperjl Thr Work Of The H oly Spirit, p. 2S, - 4 Ibid., p. 26. (continued on next page) a?
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