In regard to the deity of the Holy Spirit, Calvin sets forth his arguments under two headings: first His work, and second, the express testimony of the Scripture.
Most of us will be familiar with these arguments. The Holy Spirit is seen to be God because He does the work of God. He sends the prophets. His creates. He sustains. He regenerates. He justifies. He sanctifies. And on and on and on. The work of the Holy Spirit is the work of God.
The express testimony of Scripture confirms what His works declare. We are, Paul says, the temple of God. But who dwells in us? The Spirit, we are told. Ananias lies to the Holy Spirit and is said to have lied not to men, but to God. The words of the prophets, which are said in the OT to be the words of God, are, in the NT, attributed to this same Holy Spirit.
Certainly, Calvin's purpose in the Institutes is not to provide a complete theology of any one subject, but I find that there are occasions, this being one, when I wish he would not have so constrained himself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment