1993 issue 3 - he shall glorify me: doctrine of the holy spirit in the westminster standards -...

8/12/2019 1993 Issue 3 - He Shall Glorify Me: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Westminster Standards - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/3

n John

16:14, the Lord Jesus

Christ gives

us

a summary statement

ofthe

workof he Holy Spirit: He shall

glorify

Me.

The major function

of

the

Spirit is, in a sense, self-effacing; He

does

not

seek His own glory, but

Christ's, His work is Christ centered.

(in

as

much

as Christ came to do the

work of

the

Father-or

glorify Him

UIl.

17:4j-al1

glory that is Christ

centered is similarly reflected onto the

Father and

finally

becomes

Theocentric. As the angels sang

at

the

birth

of Christ, Glory to

God

in the

highest " ILk.

2:14j.)In the

same

way

that

this verse

speaks

of

he Spirit's work, it

also speaks of

is

person.

This is true

on

two accounts.

First, although the person

and work of the Spirit must

be distinguished, they must

never be totally separated.

Second, to perfectly glorify

the

Lord Jesus Christ, by

cartying outHis ministry, the

Holy Spirit mUst

be

iIUrinsically Holy

and

divioe.

This He is; He is the Holy '

Spirit, a tide attested to by Christ

Hirnself (Tn. 14:26). He is also fully

divine, possessing all of the attributes

of

deity.

This

monograph intends to

examine the doctrine of the person

and work of the Holy Spirit

(or

pneumatology ) as set forth

in

the

Westminster Standards,

i.e.,

the

Confession of Faith along with 'the

Larger

and

Shorter Catechisms. Thus,

the study will

be

presented from a

~ f o r m e and

covenantal perspective.

All that is found within the Standards

willbesubjectedtotheBereanprinciple

test

of

Acts 17:11: we will search the

Scriptures to see

if

hese. hings are so.

The reformational guideline of sola

Scriptura (Scripture alone as our

authorityrwill be

our

own. Here we

t ll1ist

remember that the Westminster

StandardSc onsist f n o t h i ~ g r n o r than

a scriptufaJ. condensation. Ourmethod,

then, will compare the best

of

historic

Scripture-study with more Scripture

study,

that

Scripture might

be

compared with Scripture. We shall see

that

in

a day and age when much

strange teaching on the third person of

the Godhead abounds, Westminster's

doctrine will blow

upon us

as abreath

of fresh air.

The Westminster Assembly

of

divines (men who studied divinity

or theology) was called by an act of the

British Parliament to unite England,

Scotland,

and

Ireland

in

a single creed.

A

STUDY

OF

THE PERSON

AND WORK

OF THE

HOLY SPIRIT

Civil Magistrate and the Church, and

in

1903 two chapters were added to

the original thirty-three: one

on

the

Holy Spirit and the o.ther on the Love

ofGod and Missions. The Westminster

Standards are still today the adopted

standards of the co.nservative

Presbyterian church and other

Reformed churches throughout the

world.

The Standards are recognized as

one of the finest systematic theological

treatises of

Holy

Scripture

ever

produced in creedal form. It is, to

BASED

ON

THE

WESTMINSTER

SI ND RDS

quote B.B. Warfield,

.

. he

final crystalization of the

elements of evangelical

religion, after the conflicts

of

sixteen hundred

years ... the richest and most

precise

and best

gnarded

statement ever penned of

all that

enters

into

evangelical religion

and

of

all

that must be safegnarded

if evangelical religion is to

persist in the world.

Benjamin B.

Warfield,

Selected

Shorter

Writings

The Puritan Parliament formed the

Assembly in 1643, and its multi-year

consultation produced the

Westminster Confession

Of

Faith

(WCF) (1647) and the Larger (WLC)

(1647) and Shorter (WSC) Catechisms

(1648),

with

Scripture proofs. Together

these documents are referred to as the

Westminster Standards.

The original group of

Puritan

diVines consisted of over 140

theolOgians,

all

of whom were

Calvinistic

in

their biblical persuasion.

Presbyterianism was the dominant

pOSition.

These

men

met over a period

of

five

years and six months in 1163

sessions. Their work was ratified by

, Parliamentin1649,anditwasaccepted

in North America in 1729.

In 1788 several changes were made

with regard to the doctrines of the

Vol. II, p. 660.

Our study will center on Chapter

XXXIV:

Of The Holy Spirtt, one of

the additions of 1903. But wewill also

look at the balance of Westminster's

teaching on

the

subject (rom the

original thirty-three chapters and the

Catechisms.

Although

there was no one

particular chapter dedicated solely to

the doctrine of he Holy Spirtt in the

ortginal edition, the stress upon His

person and work

s

evident throughout

the treatise (confirm1,5 ,6,10;II,3; III,6;

IV,I; VII,3; VIII,2,3,5,8; X,l-4; XI,4;

XII,1; XIII,l-3;

XN,l; XVI,3;

XVII,l-

3; XVIII,2-4; XIX,7;

XX

,I; XXI,2,3;

XXV,3; XXVI,1; XXVII,3;

XXVIII,2,6;

XXXII,3). In

other words, Chapter

XXXN was

not

intended to correct

anything found within the original

4

I TIlE. COUNSE.L of Chalcedon

I

April, 1993


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edition, but merely to expand and

clarify that doctrine already expressed.

This is evident from the Preamble

which introduces the new chapters of

1903: Whereas, It is desirable to

express more fully the doctrine of the

church concerning the Holy Spirit,

Missions, and the

Love

of God

for

all

men, the following Chapters are added

to the Confession of Faith. Cited in

Warfield, p. 382.2

According to Warfield, Chapter

XXXIV

is

nothing other than

a

compact summary of the ordinalY

Calvinistic doctrine of the Holy Spirit

and His work. ) Warfield, p. 384.)

Chapter XXXIV: Of The Holy

Spirit;

is divided into four sections, as

follows:

1) The Holy Spirit, the third person

in

the Trinity, proceeding from the

Father and

the

Son, of the same

substance and equal in power and

glory, is, together with the Father and

the Son, to

be

believed in, loved,

obeyed, and worshipped throughout

all ages.

2. He is the Lord and Giver oflife,

everywhere present, and is the source

ofall good thoughts, pure desires, and

holy counsels

in

men.

By

Him the

prophets were moved to speak the

Word ofGod, andall the writers of the

Holy Scriptures inspired to record

infallibly the

mind

and will of God.

The dispensation of the gospel is

especially committed to Him. He

prepares the way for it, accompaniesit

with His persuasive power, and urges

its message upon the reason and

conscience of men,

so

that they who

reject its merciful offer are not only

without excuse,

but

are

also

guilty

of

resisting the Holy Spirit.

3. The HolySpirit, whom the Father

is ever willing to

give

to all who ask

Him, is the only efficient agent

in

the

application of redemption. He

regenerates

men

by His grace, convicts

them ofsin, moves them to repentance,

and persuades and enables them to

embraceJesus Christ byfuith. Heunites

all believers

to

Christ, dwells in them

as their Comforter and Sanctifier, gives

to them the Spirit of adoption and

prayer, and perfonns all these gracious

offices by which they are sanctified

and sealed unto the day of edemption.

4.

By

the indwelling of the Holy

Spirit all believers being vitally united

to Christ, who is the Head, are thus

united one to another in the church,

which is His body. He calls and anoints

ministers fortheir holy office qualifies

all other officers in the church for their

special work, and impans various gifts

and graces to its members. He gives

efficacy

t

the Word and

to

the

ordinances of the gospel. By Him the

church will be preserved, increased,

purified, and at last made perfectly

holy

in

the presence of God.

s

Chapter XXXIV is subdivided

into four sections, we will study the

doctrine of the Spirit in four chapters.

It is common among theologians to

study the doctrine of God under two

headings: the being of God (who God

is) and the works of God (what God

does). Thus

it

should also

be

with

Pneumatology. The reason for this

should be obvious: the significance

and efficaciousness of he Spirit's work

is dependent upon His being fully

divine. And yet, as stated in the

Introduction, the person and work are

inextricably related. They are to be

distinguished, but not separated.

So

we, with the Confession, will proceed

in our study of God the Spirit in this

order. The first chapter will be devoted

to the study of His being, the final

three chapters to His work. Cenain

overlaps will necessarily occur.

1

The Holy Spirit His Being

The study of the doctrine of the

Holy Spirit is called pneumatology

(from the Greek pneuma, spirit). We

will begin with a brief overview of the

history of pneumatology. See The

Evangelical ictionary of Theology,

edited

by

Walter

A.

Elwell, pp. 521-

527;

A.A.

Hodge,

Outlines ofTheology,

pp. 173-176; George Smeaton, The

Doctrine

of

he

Holy

Spirit,

pp. 291-414;

and Millard

J.

Erickson,

Christian

Theology, pp. 848-856. The' first

century (post-canonical)

church

concentrated very little

on

the person

and work of the Spirit, although it did

not

vary

fur

from the orthodox view.

The orthodox view is considered

to

be

that

of

the Westminster

Confession, which view this series

seeks to set forth. In the second

century, the heretical Montanist

movement arose. Montanus claimed

that he was the incarnation of the

Spirit; his disciples recognized him as

such

and

followed him. This, said

Montanus was the age of

the

Paraclete

(parakletos, which literallyrneans, one

called

alongside ), when

new

revelations, miracles, andso fonh, were

given. The church officially rejected

the movement. See F. Nigel Lee,

Pentecostalism:

A New

Outpouring or

Ancient

Heresy?

The third century wimessed the

heresy of Sabellianism, which claimed

that the Son

and

the Spirit were merely

modes (as in Modalism) of he one true

God. The Spirit was merely a means of

referring

to

God's power or force. In

the fourth century, Arianism taught

that the Son and the Spirit were lesser

beings (creatures) than

the

Father.

Athanasius (c. 296-373) vigorously

opposed Arius, and the Council of

Nicea (325) at least strongly inferred

the deity of the Spirit by stating, I

believe in the Holy Spirit. In the year

381, the Council of Constantinople,

whichissometimescalled the Council

of

the

Holy Spirit,

further

strengthened the orthodox doctrine of

the Spirit by calling Him the Lord.

This Council declared that

the

Spirit

was zoapoion (life-giver); He was the

source of life. Augustine (354-430)

wrote his

On The Trinity in

the fifth

April, 1993 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

15


3/3

century, affinrung the

th.ree

persons

and

one essence

of

the the Godhead.

The

Council of Ephesus 431)

supported the Augustinian doctrine.

The Council of Chalcedon (451)

confirmed

th.e

decisions of Nicea and

Constantinople

and

firmly established

the full deity

of

the Holy Spirit.. The

sixth. century Council of Toledo (589)

added

th.e

filioque ( and the Son )

clause to

th.e

Constantinople creed,

asserting that

the

Spirit eternally

proceeded from

th.e

Father and the

Son. Whereas

th.e

deity of Christ was

~ t t l e at

Nicea

and th.e

deity of the

Spirit

at

Constantinople, th.eprocession

andprecise relationship of b e Spirit to

th.e

oth.er members of

th.e

Trinitywas

settled

at

Toledo.

The

orthodox doctrine

of

Pneumatology, basically, held its

ground during the

middle ages.

Aquinas (1225-1274), for example,

the greatest scholar

of th.e

era, was

orthodox. At least one dissentingvoice

was that

of

Abelard (1079-1142), who

was more Sabellian in his views.

. Durtng the sixteenth and

seventeenth. centuries, th.e Reformers

and later Puritans began to direct more

attention to the work of th.e Spirit,

whereas, tb e earlier th.eologians were

more

concerned with His person.

Calvin,

was rightly

dubbed the

theologian

of

the Spirit, Benjamin

B.

Warfield, CalvinandAugusttne p. 484.

and

Luther,

focused

on the

regenerating ,sanctifying, and teaching

ministries of the Holy Spirit. The

various creeds

and

confessions that

emerged as a result of h.eReformation

(e.g., the Helvetic Confession, th.e

WestniinsterConfession, the Anglican

Articles) were fully orthodox.

The heretical movements in this

era (e.g., Socinianism, which denied

th.e

basic Trinitarian doctrine,

and

Arminianism, which held

to a

t:runcated view of he Spiritin salvation)

were overturned

in th.e

Synod ofDort

1618,1619)

. In

the

seventeenth

century, John Owen (1616-1683)

wrote hismassive treatise Diswurse

ConCerning the

Holy Splrit.]ohn Owen,

Works,

Vols

. 3,4 . n the eighteenth

and nineteenth centuries, the heretical

views of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-

1772), who denied the Trinity, and

liberal scholars, such as Friedrich

Schleiermacher

1768-1834) and

Albrecht

Ritschl

1822-1889)

emerged. The latter two theologians

are considered

to be

somewhat

modaltstic and subordinationistic,

respectively. But the Plymouth

Brethren (19th. century) held to a

basically

orthodox

position,

and

Abraham Kuyper wrote his orthodox

tome

The

Work of the Holy Spirit.

The twentieth century

gave

rise to

NeD-orthodoxy, under Karl Barth

(1886-1968),

and

Neo-liberalism,

under men

such as Rudolf Bulnnann

(1884-1976). Theformerwas basically

modalistic in his views of the Trinity,

although Barth did teach that

th.e

Spirit

was divine. The latter group denied

any orthodox view of the Trinity,

following

along the lines

of

Schleiermacher and Ritschl. Twentieth

century, there have been a number of

sound theolOgians, such as B.B.

Warfield, Louis Berkhof, A.A . Hodge,

J.

Gresham Machen, John Murray,

Loraine Boetmer, Gordon Clark, F.

Nigel

Lee,

John Gerstuer, Robert

L

Reymond, Gregg Singer, et.

aI.,

who

have upheld classic orth.odoxy.

To be

continued.O

WH.K1NS CONT.

FROM PG.

They believed what God said was right

and

th.e

contrary wrong. They believed

that unbelief brought destruction

and

death and that faith in th.e Son of God

brought

life and

peace. They believed

that

the gospel would bring

unspeakablebenefits to

th.e

mysterious

world of the ast which lay

in

the

darkness of a cruel infidelity. They

believed that Christianity and

th.e

culture it produced was inherently

better than

paganism

and

the

destruction

it

leaves

in

its wake.

This is why they have been (and

will

continue to be)defamed,

denounced,

and

despised

by the

modern B

aa

lists. The one unforgivable

sin

in

this modern, tolerant age is

saying

th.ere

is such a thing as sin. The

only judgment that will not be allowed

is the righteous one.

All

opinions are

legitimate except

th.ose

based

upon

God's Word.

Thus, it is their faith which, in the

final analysis, is the great

evil

of

h.ese

men in the eyes of our modern

Pharisees. Makertomistake, the recent

vilification of Columbus is nothing

more than the latest fracas

in

th.e long

war against Biblical religion. Thenewl

old gods of pluralism and multicul

turalism demand no absolutes and have

century

Pentecostalism, and

the no

tolerance

for

a God who declares

Charismatic movement

in

general, such. Forthisreason,Christianleaders

alth.ough basically ortb.odox in their of

the

past will

continue

to be

doctrine of he Spirit,have overstressed slandered, snubbed, and insulted by

the experiential aspect of the third unbelieving historians. Whether

it

be

person of

the Godhead

and

the

Jesus or Columbus, the world hates

charismaticgifts.Ofcourse, during this those who testify against it.O

16

, TH COUNSEL of Chalcedon , April, 1993

1993 issue 3 - he shall glorify me: doctrine of the holy spirit in the westminster standards -...

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