01.19. The gift of the Holy Spirit.

19. The gift of the Holy Spirit. The first activity exercised by Christ after his exaltation at the right hand of the Father is the sending of the Holy Spirit. At that exaltation He received from His Father the Holy Spirit promised in the Old Testament, and therefore, according to His own promise, He can now communicate Him to His disciples on earth, Acts 2:33. The Spirit, whom he grants, goes out from the Father, is received by him from the Father, and is then distributed by him to his congregation, Luke 24:49, John 15:26 It is the Father himself who sends the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, John 14:26. This sending of the Holy Spirit, which took place on the day of Pentecost, is a unique event in the history of Christ’s church; like the creation and incarnation, it took place only once; it was not preceded by any manifestation of the Spirit, which was equivalent in significance, and it can never be repeated. Just as Christ in His conception took on human nature, never to be severed from it again, so on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit consecrated the congregation to His dwelling and temple, never to be severed from it again. Scripture clearly indicates this unique significance of the event on the day of Pentecost, when it speaks of the outpouring or pouring out of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:17-18, Acts 2:33, Acts 10:45, Titus 3:6.

However, this does not exclude the possibility that there was also activity and gift of the Holy Spirit before Pentecost. We have already seen (pages 156 and 157) that, together with the Father and the Son, He is the Creator of all things, and that in the sphere of re-creation He is the Employer of all life and salvation, of all gifts and abilities. However, there is a significant and essential difference between the activity and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the days of the Old Testament and in the days of the New Testament. This is shown, first of all, by the fact that the old dispensation still looked forward to the appearance of the Servant of the Lord, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord would rest in all his fullness, as the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of strength, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, Isaiah 11:2. And, secondly, the Old Testament itself predicts that, although there was already some participation and activity of the Holy Spirit, nevertheless, it would not be poured out on all flesh, on sons and daughters, old and young, servants and maids, until the last of days, Isaiah 44:3, Ezekiel 39:29, Joel 2:28.

Both promises are fulfilled in the New Testament. Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One of God. He not only received the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, and was anointed with that Spirit without measure at baptism, but He also lived and worked continually by that Spirit. By that Spirit He was led into the wilderness, Luke 4:1, returned to Galilee, Luke 4:14, preached the gospel, healed the sick, cast out devils, Matthew 12:28, Luke 4:18-19, gave Himself up to death, Hebrews 9:14, was raised up and revealed as the Son of God in power, Romans 1:3. During the forty days between His resurrection and ascension, He gave instructions to His disciples by the Holy Spirit, Acts 1:3, cf. And at the ascension, in which He subdued all enemies and made all angels, powers and forces subject to Himself, Ephesians 4:8, 1 Peter 3:22, He became a full partaker of the Holy Spirit with all His gifts. Ascending into the heavens, He took captivity, gave gifts to men, and was exalted above all heavens, that He might accomplish all things, Ephesians 4:8-10. This taking possession of the Holy Spirit through Christ is so complete that the apostle Paul can say in 2 Corinthians 3:17 that the Lord (i.e. Christ as the exalted Lord) is the Spirit. Of course Paul does not want to erase the distinction between the two, because in the next verse he immediately speaks again of the Spirit of the Lord (or according to another translation, of the Lord of the Spirit). But the Holy Spirit has become the property of Christ, and has, as it were, been taken up by Christ into Himself. Through resurrection and ascension Christ became the Spirit of life, 1 Corinthians 15:45. He now possesses the seven Spirits (the Spirit in all His fullness), as He has the seven stars, Revelation 3:1. The Spirit of God the Father has become the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of Christ, who emanates from both Father and Son, not only in the divine essence, but also consequently in the conception of salvation, and who is sent by the Son as well as by the Father, John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7. By virtue of his perfect obedience, Christ received full and free disposal of the Holy Spirit and of all his gifts and powers. He can now distribute it as and when He wishes, not in contradiction of course, but in complete harmony with the will of the Father and the Spirit Himself, for the Son sends the Spirit of the Father, John 15:26; the Father sends Him Him in the name of Christ, John 14:26; and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, the Father of the Father, the Father of the Father. John 14:26; and the Holy Spirit does not speak of himself, but speaks as he hears; as Christ himself glorified the Father on earth, so the Spirit in his turn will glorify Christ, take everything from him, and then proclaim it to his disciples, John 16:13-14.

Christ does not rule by force or violence in the kingdom given to Him by the Father. He did not do so in His humiliation, nor does He do so in His exaltation. His entire prophetic, priestly and royal activity continues to be performed from heaven in a spiritual manner; He fights only with spiritual weapons; He is a King of grace and a King of power, but in both senses He carries out His reign through the Holy Spirit, who uses the Word as a means of grace. By that Spirit he teaches, comforts, leads and inhabits his congregation; and by that same Spirit he convinces the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, John 16:8-11. The final victory, which Christ will gain over all his enemies, will be a triumph of the Holy Spirit.

After Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God, therefore, only the second promise of the Old Testament can be fulfilled, which mentions an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh. Christ must first have fully acquired and made His own that Spirit before He can give Him to His congregation. Before that time, that is, before the ascension, the Holy Spirit was not yet, since Christ had not yet been glorified, John 7:39. Of course, this does not mean that the Holy Spirit did not exist before the glorification of Christ, because not only is the Holy Spirit constantly mentioned in the Old Testament, but the Gospels also relate that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:15, that Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit to the temple, Luke 2:26-27, that Jesus was received from Him and anointed with Him, etc. Nor can it be the intention that the disciples did not know before Pentecost that there was a Holy Spirit. For they had been taught differently by the Old Testament and by Jesus Himself. Even the disciples of John, who said to Paul at Ephesus that not only had they not received the Holy Spirit at their baptism, but also had not heard whether there was a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2), could not have meant to indicate their ignorance of the existence of the Spirit, but only meant to say that they had not heard of an extraordinary working of the Holy Spirit, that is, of the event on Pentecost. They knew that John was a prophet sent by God and empowered by his Spirit, but they had remained disciples of John, had not joined Jesus, and therefore lived outside the congregation that received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. On this day there was an outpouring of the Spirit like nothing before. The Old Testament already spoke of this promise, and Jesus also took it up and repeatedly came back to it in his teaching. John the Baptist already said of the Messiah who would come after him that he would not, like himself, baptize with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire (with the cleansing and consuming fire of the Holy Spirit), Matthew 3:11 and John 3:11. Here He clearly distinguishes between two kinds of activity of the Holy Spirit. The first activity consists of the fact that the Holy Spirit, poured into the hearts of the disciples, comforts them, leads them into the truth and will remain with them forever (John 14:16, John 15:26, John 16:7). But this Spirit of comfort and guidance is given only to the disciples of Jesus; the world cannot receive this Spirit, for it neither sees Him nor knows Him, John 14:17. On the other hand, the Holy. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit exercises an entirely different activity in the world, namely, that He, dwelling in the church and acting from it on the world, convinces it of sin, righteousness and judgment, and in all three respects rules it out, John 16:8-11.

Jesus fulfills this promise to His disciples in the narrow sense, that is, to the Apostles even before His ascension. When He appeared to His disciples for the first time in the evening of the day of His resurrection, He formally initiated them into their apostolic mission and breathed on them, saying: Receive the Holy Spirit; if you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained’ (John 20:22-23). For the apostolic office which they will soon have to exercise, they need a special gift and power of the Holy Spirit, which is currently still being given to them by Christ Himself before His ascension, in distinction to the gift they will receive on the day of Pentecost in fellowship with all believers. The actual outpouring took place forty days later. The Jews then celebrated their feast of Pentecost, in commemoration of the completed harvest and the legislation on Sinai. The disciples waited in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, and were all the time in the temple, praising and thanking God (Luke 24:49, Luke 24:53). But now they were not alone, but persisted in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren, and with many others, numbering about one hundred and twenty persons, Acts 1:14-15, Acts 2:1. And while they were thus assembled, there came suddenly and unexpectedly a noise from above, from heaven, which resembled the rustling of a strong wind, driven on, and which filled and penetrated not only the room where the disciples were assembled, but the whole house. At the same time tongues of lightning-like flames appeared and spread out over the heads of the assembly and remained there. Under these signs, which showed the cleansing and illuminating activity of the Holy Spirit, the outpouring took place; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:4. The same expression occurs already earlier, Exodus 31:3, Micah 3:8, Luke 1:41, but the distinction is nevertheless obvious. Whereas in the past the Holy Spirit was given to some isolated individuals temporarily for a specific purpose, He now descended upon all the members of the congregation and from now on continues to dwell and work in them all. Just as the Son of God appeared several times on earth in the days of the Old Testament, but only chose human nature for a permanent home when he was conceived in Mary’s womb, so too there was formerly all kinds of activity and gift of the Holy Spirit, but only on the Day of Pentecost did he make the congregation his temple, which he constantly sanctifies and builds up, and never leaves. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives the congregation of Christ an independent existence; it is no longer part of the nation of Israel and within the borders of Palestine, but it now lives independently through the Spirit who dwells in it, and it extends throughout the whole earth. Out of the temple on Zion, God through his Spirit is now dwelling in the body of the church of Christ, and the latter is thereby born on this very day as a missionary church and a world church. The ascension of Christ has its inevitable consequence and proves its truth in the descent of the Holy Spirit. Just as the latter first sanctified and perfected Christ through suffering, and raised him to the highest level, so now, in the same manner and by the same means, He must form the body of Christ until it reaches maturity and constitutes the fulfillment, the pleroma, of Him who fulfills all in all. In the early days of Christ’s disciples, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by all kinds of extraordinary powers and effects. As soon as they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). According to the description of Luke, we are not dealing here with a hearing miracle, but with a speaking miracle. Luke was a friend and co-worker of Paul and was very familiar with speaking in tongues (the glossolalia), as occurred for example in Corinth; he speaks of it himself in Acts 10:46-47 and Acts 19:6. Without doubt the phenomenon that took place on the day of Pentecost was related to speaking in tongues, for otherwise Peter could not have said that Cornelius and his people had received the Holy Spirit, as we also do, Acts 10:47, cf. Acts 11:17, Acts 15:8. But nevertheless there was a difference. For in 1 Corinthians 14:1-40, as well as in Acts 10:46 and Acts 19:6, there is mention of speaking in tongues, without the adjective foreign, which our translation therefore wrongly included; but Acts 2:4, speaks explicitly of other languages. As if the members of the congregation in Corinth speak in tongues, they are not understood, unless there is a later interpretation, 1 Corinthians 14:2 f; but in Jerusalem the disciples already spoke in other languages, before the crowd came running and heard them, so that a hearing miracle is excluded, Acts 2:4. And when the multitude heard them, they understood what was spoken; for each one heard them speak in his own language, in the language in which they had been born, Acts 2:6, Acts 2:8. The other languages spoken in verse 4 are thus undoubtedly the same as those which in Acts 2:6 are called the hearers’ own languages, and in Acts 2:8 are further indicated as the languages in which they were born. They were therefore not unintelligible sounds in which the disciples spoke, but other languages, new languages, as Mark 16:17 says, and such as the untrained Galileans were not expected to speak (Acts 2:7). And in all these languages they proclaimed the great works of God, especially those which He had wrought in the last days in the raising and exaltation of Christ, Acts 2:4 and Acts 2:14 ff.

Now ’this report of Luke must not be taken to mean that the disciples of Jesus knew and spoke all the languages of the earth at that time. Nor does it imply that they all spoke head to head in all foreign languages. Even the purpose of the language miracle was not that the disciples should preach the Gospel to foreigners in their own language, because otherwise they could not understand it. For the fifteen names listed in Acts 2:9-11 do not refer to as many different languages, but are indications of the countries from which the foreigners had come to Jerusalem on the occasion of Pentecost; and all these foreigners understood Aramaic or Greek, so that there was no need to equip the Apostles with the gift of foreign languages. Later on, this gift of foreign languages is never mentioned in the New Testament; Paul, the gentile apostle, who would have received it before everyone else, never mentions it; with Aramaic and Greek he could go anywhere in the world at that time.

Speaking in foreign languages on Pentecost was thus a separate event; it was related to glossolalia, but was a special kind and a higher form of it. While glossolalia is to be regarded as a weakening and diminishing of prophecy, which the Apostle Paul therefore regards as much lower than prophecy, speaking in foreign languages in Jerusalem was a combination of glossolalia and prophecy, an intelligible proclamation of God’s great works in foreign languages. The working of the newly poured-out Spirit was so powerful then that it dominated the whole consciousness and expressed itself in the speaking of articulate sounds, which the hearers recognized as their own national languages. The purpose of this linguistic miracle was not to equip the disciples with the knowledge of foreign languages, but to give them an extraordinary impression of the great event that had just taken place. How could this be better accomplished than by having the small, newly founded world church proclaim the great works of God in many languages? At the creation the morning stars sang and all God’s children rejoiced; at the birth of Christ a multitude of the heavenly hosts sang the jubilant song of God’s good pleasure; on the day of the congregation’s birth they themselves sang in many tones the great works of God.

Although speaking languages occupies a special place on the day of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Spirit was manifested in many extraordinary powers and effects. The gift of the Spirit was usually given after coming to faith, and then sometimes at baptism, Acts 2:38, or at the laying on of hands before baptism, Acts 9:17, or at the laying on of hands after baptism, Acts 8:17, Acts 19:6; but regularly it consisted in the communication of a special power. Thus we read that through the Spirit the disciples were given boldness to speak the word, Acts 4:8, Acts 4:31 a special power. Acts 4:8, Acts 4:31 a special strength of faith, Acts 6:5, Acts 11:24, consolation and joy, Acts 9:31, Acts 13:52, wisdom, Acts 6:3, Acts 6:10, speaking with tongues, Acts 10:46, Acts 15:8, Acts 19:6, prophecy, Acts 11:28, Acts 20:23, Acts 21:11, appearances and revelations, Acts 7:55, Acts 8:39, Acts 10:19, Acts 13:2, Acts 15:28, Acts 16:6, Acts 20:22, miraculous healings, Acts 3:6, Acts 5:5, Acts 5:12, Acts 5:16, Acts 8:7, Acts 8:13 etc. Like the works which Jesus did, these extraordinary powers which became manifest in the congregation also brought about fear and dismay, Acts 2:7, Acts 2:37, Acts 2:43, Acts 3:10, Acts 4:13, Acts 5:5, Acts 5:11, Acts 5:13, Acts 5:24. On the one hand they stirred up opposition and stirred up the hearts of enemies to hatred and persecution; but on the other hand they also prepared the ground for the reception of the seed of the gospel. They were necessary in the first instance to give the Christian confession access and stability in the world.

Throughout the apostolic era, these extraordinary workings of the Spirit continued. We know this especially from the testimony of the Apostle Paul. He himself, in his own person, was amply endowed with these special gifts of the Spirit. In an extraordinary way, by a revelation from Jesus Christ Himself, he was converted on the road to Damascus and called an apostle, Acts 9:3 f, and later revelations continued to come to him, Acts 16:6-7, Acts 16:9, 2 Corinthians 12:1-7, Galatians 2:2. He knows himself to be in possession of the gift of knowledge, of prophecy, of teaching, of speaking with tongues, 1 Corinthians 14:6, 1 Corinthians 14:18; signs, wonders and powers are performed by him, which are proofs of his apostleship, 2 Corinthians 12:12. He preaches in demonstration of spirit and power, 1 Corinthians 2:4; Christ Himself works through him, for the obedience of the Gentiles, with words and works, by power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, Romans 15:18-19.

But, although Paul was fully aware of his apostolic dignity and always maintained it as strictly as possible, the gifts of the Spirit were given not only to him, but to all believers. In 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, cf. Romans 12:6-8, he lists several of them, saying that they are distributed by the Spirit in different degrees and given to each according to his will. All these gifts are highly esteemed by the apostle; they are not due to the believers themselves, for they have nothing that they have not received, and therefore lack any reason to exalt themselves and despise others (1 Corinthians 4:6-7), but all the gifts that are given to the believers are given to them. 1 Corinthians 4:6-7; but all these gifts and powers are wrought by one and the same Spirit; they are a fulfillment of the promise already made in the Old Testament, Galatians 3:14, and are to be regarded as first fruits, guaranteeing a great harvest and providing a pledge of the heavenly inheritance to come, Romans 8:23, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5, Ephesians 1:14, Ephesians 4:30.

Nevertheless, the apostle makes a judgment about all these extraordinary gifts that differs significantly from that of many members of the congregation.

There were those in Corinth who prided themselves on the gifts bestowed on them by the manifestation of the Spirit, and who looked down with pride on those who were less fortunate than themselves; they did not use these gifts for the benefit of others, but flaunted them, and attached great importance to the mysterious and unintelligible speech of tongues. But Paul teaches them quite differently (1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 Corinthians 14:1-40). In the first place he points out the criterion by which all spiritual gifts must be judged; and this criterion lies in the confession of Jesus as Lord. He who speaks through the Spirit of God cannot call Jesus an abomination; but only he who confesses Jesus as Lord, proves by this that he speaks through the Holy Spirit; the characteristic of the Spirit and of all his gifts and workings lies in his being bound to the confession of Jesus as the Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:3.

He goes on to point out that the gifts of the Spirit, although all conforming to the same standard, are nevertheless very distinctive, and are given to each one in particular, not according to his merit or worthiness, but according to the free will of the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

Therefore they may not be a reason or a ground for self-exaltation and contempt of others, but should all be applied wholeheartedly and willingly for the benefit of one another, because all believers are members of one body and need each other, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30. But if the gifts serve this purpose, if they are given for what is proper, 1 Corinthians 12:7, that is to say, for the benefit of others, for the edification of the church, as it says in 1 Corinthians 14:12; then there is also a distinction of rank among the gifts themselves, for one is more conducive to that edification than the other; then there are good and better and best gifts. Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 12:31 the Apostle advises the believers to strive diligently for the best gifts.

Love is the most excellent way of striving diligently for the best gifts. For without it the greatest gifts are worthless, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3; it far surpasses them all in virtues, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; it surpasses them all in duration, for all gifts cease once, but love is eternal; among the three virtues, faith, hope and love, it is again the highest in value, 1 Corinthians 13:8-13. Therefore it must be pursued before all things, although the pursuit of spiritual gifts is in itself not to be rejected, 1 Corinthians 14:1. But in this striving, attention should be directed above all to those gifts that serve to edify the congregation and therefore put love into action the most. Seen from this perspective, prophecy is much higher than glossolalia. For he who speaks in tongues is not understood, speaks mysteries which are incomprehensible to the hearers, speaks in the air, leaves his mind unused, does not bring the unbelievers to faith, but makes an impression on them as if they were delusional. If there are members of the congregation who have this gift, they must use it sparingly and preferably add an interpretation; if this cannot be given, let them rather remain silent in the congregation. On the other hand, he who prophesies, he who proclaims the Word of God through revelation of the Spirit, he speaks to mankind foundation, exhortation and consolation; he builds up the congregation and wins the unbelievers. Whatever gift someone may have received, it has its measure in the confession of Jesus as Lord, and its goal in the edification of the church. God is not the God of confusion but of peace, 1 Corinthians 14:1-40. This beautiful treatise on the spiritual gifts did not only bear fruit for the church of Cephalus, but continues to have significance for the church of all ages. Again and again, there are persons and parties who attach greater value to extraordinary phenomena, to revelations and miracles, than to the activity of the Spirit in rebirth, conversion, and the renewal of life. The abnormal attracts attention, and the normal remains unnoticed; people revel in apparitions, soul-searching, and sensational excesses, and turn a blind eye to the slow and steady growth of the Kingdom of God. But Paul had a different idea; however much he appreciated the unusual gifts of the Spirit, he admonished the brothers in Corinth: do not become children of intellect, but be children of wickedness, and grow up in the intellect. In this way the Apostle shifts the focus from the temporary and transitory manifestations of the Spirit to the regular, religious and moral work that He is constantly carrying out in the congregation. This view was already prepared in the days of the Old Testament. For it is true that all kinds of extraordinary gifts and powers were then attributed to the Holy Spirit, but as the prophets and psalmists became more deeply acquainted with the aversion of the people of Israel and with the deceitfulness and wickedness of the human heart, they pronounced it all the more strongly and clearly, that only a renewal through the Holy Spirit could make the people of Israel a people of God in the true sense. A Moor cannot change his skin, nor a leopard his spots; nor can they do good who have been taught to do evil (Jeremiah 13:23). God must by his Spirit change the heart of the people, if they will walk in his ways and keep his statutes. The Spirit of the Lord alone is the master of the true, spiritual and moral life, Psalms 51:13-14, Isaiah 32:15, Ezekiel 36:27. To this the preaching of Jes-! in the Gospel of John joins. For in the conversation with Nicodemus, Christ explains that there is no entrance to and no participation in the kingdom of heaven except through rebirth, and that this rebirth can only be effected by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3, John 3:5). And in the farewell discourses, John 14:1-31, John 15:1-27, John 16:1-33, he explains in detail that the Spirit, whom he will send from the Father after his glorification, will take his place among the disciples. It is therefore beneficial to them that Christ himself should go, for otherwise the Comforter would not come to them; but if he himself goes to the Father, he can and will send it to them. For when Christ goes to the Father, it is proof that He has completely fulfilled the task assigned to Him on earth. In heaven, He can and may then stand at the right hand of the Father, as the High Priest and Advocate for His congregation on earth, and ask the Father for everything they need. He can then especially ask the Father for the Holy Spirit in all his fulness, and send this to his disciples. And this Spirit will then take his place with them; he will be their comforter, their guide, their intercessor and guardian. And in this the disciples will not lose. For when Christ walked on earth, He did associate with His disciples, but there was still all kinds of distance and misunderstanding among them. But the Spirit who is to come to them will not remain outside and beside them, but will make his home with them. Christ’s stay on earth was temporary, but the Spirit whom He will send will never leave them again, but will remain with them for all eternity. Yes, Christ Himself will come to them again in that Spirit; He will not leave them orphans, but will come to them again and, in that Spirit, will unite Himself with His disciples in a way that has never happened before. They will see Him again, they will live as He lives, they will know that Christ is in the Father, and they in Him, and He in them. And in Christ the Father Himself comes to them; through the Spirit both the Father and the Son come to the disciples and will dwell with them. This, then, is what the Holy Spirit will bring about in the first place: a community between the Father and the Son on the one hand, and the disciples on the other, which has never existed before. And when the disciples have partaken of this fellowship and live by it, when they are united to Christ as the vine to the branch, when they are not servants but friends, then the same Spirit who has made them partakers of this fellowship will also, as the Spirit of truth, lead them into all the truth; He will not only remind them of what Christ personally said and taught them, but He will continually testify to them concerning Christ; He will say what He heard of Christ and what He took from Him, and He will even proclaim to them the things to come. The disciples will not only have fellowship with Christ and the Father, but will also be aware of it. The Holy Spirit will inform them about Christ, about His oneness with the Father, and about their fellowship with both. The ultimate goal is that all believers be one, just as - so Christ himself says - just as You, Father, are in me and I in You, that they also be one in us, so that the world may know that You have sent Me. When the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place on the day of Pentecost, it was initially very understandable that the extraordinary phenomena in which this rich spiritual outpouring manifested itself, attracted attention. But we must not close our eyes to that other, and in fact much more significant, fact that the disciples, through the gift of the Spirit, were most intimately united to form a single, independent, holy congregation. They were one heart and one soul, and no one said that anything he had was his own, but all things were common to him. The unity of which Christ had spoken was realized for a time in the church at Jerusalem. Later, when the fervor of the first love gave way to a calmer frame of mind, when congregations were added in other places and among other peoples, when still later all sorts of divisions and schisms arose in the Christian church, then the unity that binds all believers did take on a different form and was much less lively and deep, sometimes even very weak and almost not felt at all; But we must not forget, in the midst of all the differences and struggles, that it has continued to exist in essence to the present day, and that it will come to light in the future in a much more magnificent way than it did for a short time in Jerusalem.

Among the Apostles, it is St. Paul who places this ideal of the unity of the church before our eyes and who holds to it himself, despite all the divisions he already witnessed in his days. The church is one body, of which all the members need and must serve one another (Romans 12:4, 1 Corinthians 12:12 ff). But it is such a unity because it is the body of Christ (Romans 12:5, Ephesians 1:23, Colossians 1:24). The unity of the church is rooted in and arises from the fellowship with Christ. He is the head of every believer, of every local church, and also of the church as a whole. All believers are new creatures, whom God created in Christ for good works, that they might walk in them (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10). Christ lives and dwells in them, and they live, move and are in Christ, Christ being their very life, Romans 6:11, Romans 8:1, Romans 8:10, 2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 2:20, Php 1:21, Colossians 3:4. The formula: in Christ (in the Lord, in Him) occurs more than one hundred and fifty times in the New Testament, and indicates that Christ is not only the constant source of spiritual life, but that He also, as such, directly and immediately lives in the believer. The unity is as close as that between the cornerstone and the temple, man and woman, head and body, vine and branch. The faithful are in Christ, just as all things are in God by virtue of their creation and maintenance, just as the fish lives in the water, the bird in the sky, the man in his work, the scholar in his study. They have been crucified with Him, died, buried, raised up, put at God’s right hand, glorified, Romans 6:4, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 6:14, Ephesians 2:6, Colossians 2:12, Colossians 2:20, Colossians 3:3 etc., etc. They have put on Him, take on His form, reveal in their bodies both the suffering and the life of Christ, and are made perfect (fulfilled) in Him; in a word, Christ is all and in all, Romans 13:14, 2 Corinthians 4:11, Galatians 4:19, Colossians 1:24, Colossians 2:10, Colossians 3:11. This intimate fellowship is made possible by the fact that Christ communicates Himself to the believers through His Spirit. Since Christ, through his suffering and death, has so completely acquired and made the Spirit with all his gifts and powers his property, that he himself can be called the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17), he has also acquired the right to distribute this Spirit to whomever he wishes. The Spirit of God has become the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of the Lord, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 4:6, Php 1:19. Receiving the Spirit is the same as having Christ in one, for he who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ and is not his property, Romans 8:9-10. The faithful are one Spirit with Him, 1 Corinthians 6:7, they are temples of the Holy Spirit, through whom God Himself dwells in them, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Corinthians 8:2, 1 Corinthians 2:14; they are continually led by the Spirit and sealed until the day of redemption, Romans 8:15-16, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30; by the same Spirit they all have access to the Father and are built together on the foundation of the apostles and prophets into a dwelling place of God. Ephesians 2:18, Ephesians 2:22. With these words the Holy Scriptures give us a description of that wonderful union which exists between Christ and his congregation, and which later is called unio mystica (mystical union; mysterious, hidden union). We cannot understand this union in its depth and intimacy; it is far beyond our imagination. It is certainly distinct in nature and character from that union which exists in the divine being between the three persons, for all three share the same divine essence, and Christ and the faithful remain distinct in essence. The union between Christ and the church is often compared to the union between Him and the Father (John 10:38, John 14:11, John 14:20, John 17:21-23). But then Christ does not speak of himself as the Son, the only begotten, but of himself as the Mediator, who will be exalted at the right hand of God and through whom the Father will perform all his good pleasure. Just as the Father chose His own in Christ before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:3, and has blessed and redeemed them in the Beloved, Ephesians 1:6-7, Acts 20:28, so He also gathers them all into one in Christ, Ephesians 1:10. But as close and indissoluble as the union between the Father and the Mediator is, is that between Christ and the believers. It surpasses in its inner strength any other union found between creatures, and even that which exists between God and His world. While on the one hand it is distinct from all pantheistic associations, on the other it is far superior to all deistic juxtapositions and contractual relationships. Scripture shows us something of its essence by comparing it with the relationship between vine and branches, head and members, man and woman. It is a union that unites the whole of Christ with the whole of His congregation and each of its members in the depth of their being, in the core of their personality, fully and forever. It began in eternity, when the Son of God declared himself ready for the mediumship; it acquired its objective (subjective) substance in the fullness of time, when Christ took on human nature, entered into the fellowship of his people, and gave himself up to death for his own sake; and it is realized in each person personally, when the Holy Spirit descends into him, incorporates him into Christ, and he, for his part, acknowledges and declares this union with Christ in faith. But this fellowship with the person of Christ also entails fellowship in all his goods and benefits. There is no participation in the benefits of Christ without our sharing in his person, for the benefits are inseparable from his person. This would be conceivable, at least to a certain extent, if the goods that Christ gave were of a material nature; for someone can give us his money and goods without giving himself to us. But the goods which Christ gives are of a spiritual nature; they consist, first and foremost, in His favor, in His mercy, in His love, and these are thoroughly personal and cannot be separated from Christ. The "treasure of merit" is therefore not deposited anywhere on earth by Christ in the hands of pope or priest, in church or sacrament; but the treasure of merit lies solely with and in Christ himself. He is that treasure Himself; in Him the Father turns His kind, benevolent face toward us, and that is all our salvation.

Conversely, therefore, there can be no communion with the person of Christ without at the same time sharing in all his treasures and goods. The relationship between the Father and Christ is again the basis and example for that between Christ and his congregation. The Father has given Himself to the Son, and specifically also to the Son as the Mediator of God and man; so that the Father has retained nothing for Himself, but has given everything to Christ. All things were given him by the Father, Matthew 11:27. John 5:35; whatever the Father has is His own, John 16:15, John 17:10; the Father and Christ are one, the Father is in Him, and He is in the Father, John 10:38, John 14:11, John 14:20, John 17:21-23. But in return Christ communicates himself and everything he possesses to the congregation through the Holy Spirit, John 16:13-15. He reserves nothing for Himself. As the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him physically, Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:9, so He also fills the congregation, until she reaches the measure of His fullness and is filled to the fullness of God, Ephesians 1:23, Ephesians 3:19, Ephesians 4:13, Ephesians 4:16; He is all in all, Colossians 3:11.

It is a fullness which we receive from Christ, a divine fullness, a fullness of grace and truth, a fullness which never runs out, and which gives grace for grace, John 1:14, John 1:16. This fullness dwells in Christ himself, in his person, in his divine and in his human nature, during the state of his humiliation and his exaltation. There is a fullness of grace in his incarnation, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, being rich, he became poor for your sake, so that you might become rich through his poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9). There is a fullness of grace in His life and death, for in the days of His flesh He learned obedience from that which He suffered, and, being sanctified, He became a cause of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, Hebrews 5:7-9. There is a fullness of grace in His resurrection, for by it He was proved to be the Son of God in power, and He has regenerated us into a living hope, Romans 1:3, 1 Peter 1:3. There is a fullness of grace in His ascension into heaven, for by it He took prisoner and gave gifts to mankind, Ephesians 4:8. There is a fullness of grace in His intercession, for through it He can completely save all those who go to God through Him, Hebrews 7:25. It is a long, broad, deep stream of grace, which carries the believers from the beginning to the end, and to eternity. It is a fullness that gives grace for grace, grace instead of grace, that replaces one grace with another, alternates with another, merges into another. There is no delay and no interruption. It is all grace and it is pure grace that flows from Christ to the church. The benefits which Christ bestows on his own people in his communion may very well be summed up under the single name of grace. But that one name then encompasses a fullness, an incalculable wealth of blessings. The beginning of the previous paragraph already mentioned the reconciliation, which Christ brought about with the Father through his sufficient sacrifice. In Christ, God has renounced His wrath and established a relationship of peace with the world (2 Corinthians 5:19). The Holy Scriptures list a multitude of them: vocation, regeneration, faith, conversion, justification, remission of sins, adoption as children, redemption from the law, religious freedom, faith, hope, love, peace, joy, gladness, consolation, sanctification, preservation, perseverance, glorification, etc.; there is actually no list of them. They comprise everything that the congregation as a whole, and every believer in particular, has received, is receiving and will receive from the fullness of Christ through all times, in all situations and circumstances, in prosperity and adversity, in need and death, in life and death, on this side of the grave and hereafter for all eternity.

Owing to this multitude and wealth it is impossible to develop them fully, - it is extremely difficult to obtain a good overview of them; and it even presents many difficulties in dealing with them in a regular order and in assigning each benefit its rightful place in relation to the whole. The ranking therefore varies widely among various theologians. But in the main three groups of benefits can be clearly distinguished. In the first place, there is a group of benefits that prepare mankind and introduce him to the covenant of grace and give him the strength to receive and accept the blessings of that covenant with a willing heart; these are the benefits of vocation, regeneration (in a narrow sense), faith and conversion. A second group contains those blessings which change the state of a man in relation to God, free him from guilt and thus renew his consciousness; these are especially the blessings of justification, forgiveness of sins, adoption as children, the testimony of the Holy Spirit with our spirit, deliverance from the law, spiritual freedom, peace and joy. And finally, there is a third group of benefits that change a person’s situation, free him from the stain of sin and renew him in the image of God; these include in particular rebirth (in a broader sense), dying and rising with Christ, ongoing conversion, walking in the Spirit, and endurance to the end. All these acts of well-being are perfected and completed in that heavenly glory and bliss which God is preparing for His own hereafter and which must be discussed in a separate paragraph at the end of this teaching of the Christian religion.

Before we focus on these three groups of benefits, it is important to note that they, as well as the person of Christ himself, are only given to us by the Holy Spirit. We have seen above that the Father is in Christ, that only in Christ does He show us His favourable face, and that only in and through Him does He make His home with us. But likewise Christ is in the Holy Spirit, and He cannot and will not come to us except through that Spirit. Through Him He shares Himself, through Him He also communicates His benefits to us. The Spirit is called the Holy Spirit precisely because He stands in a special relationship to the Father and to Christ, and consequently places us in such a special relationship to both. We must not think, therefore, that we can ever have fellowship with the Father and Christ in any other way than through the Holy Spirit. Everyone who mentions the name of Christ should desist from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19).

According to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration and faith, John 3:5, 1 Corinthians 12:3. He is the Spirit of truth, who leads in all truth and makes us know the things which are given us by God, John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:12. He justifies us in our consciousness and testifies of our childhood, Romans 8:15, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Galatians 4:6. He pours out the love of God in our hearts, gives peace and joy, and makes us free from law, flesh, sin and death, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:2, Romans 14:17. He is the comforter, the intercessor, who defends our interests, protects and supports us, and does not, like Christ according to his human nature, leave us, but always remains with us, comforts us and prays in us, John 14:16, Acts 9:31, Romans 8:26. The spiritual life is not only awakened by Him, but also constantly maintained and guided by Him; He is the law and rule of it all, Romans 8:2, Romans 8:14, Galatians 5:18. He renews and sanctifies that life, makes it bear fruit, and makes it pleasing to God, Romans 15:13, Romans 15:16, Galatians 5:22, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 1:2; the Christian’s whole life is a walk in the Spirit, Romans 8:4 ff, Galatians 5:16, Galatians 5:25. He unites all believers in one body and builds them all up into one temple, the one dwelling place of God, Ephesians 2:18-22, Ephesians 4:3-4. He guarantees their heavenly inheritance, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30, and also brings about their resurrection and exaltation, Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 15:44. In a word, Christ and all his benefits, the love of the Father and the grace of the Son, they only become our portion in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.