66 of this host of heaven and earth, is that which is assigned peculiarly to the Spirit of God. And hereby the work of creation was completed and finished. By his SPIRIT he hath garnished the heavens;" or rather, his Spirit hath garnished....Thus the heavens were garnished by the Spirit of God, when by the creation and disposal of the aspectable host of them, he rendered them so glorious and beautiful as we behold. So the Targum; His SPIRIT beautified the face of the heavens, or gave them that comely beauty and order, wherein their face appeareth unto us.' 1 14. When we read of a person writing from the dictation of another, we immediately conclude that he who dictates must be a person, as well as the writer himself. But we well know that the Sacred Scriptures were written by the dictation of the Holy Ghost; "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ... The Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." If then the prophets spake and wrote by the motion, i. e. in reality by the dictation of the Holy Ghost, then is He a person by whom the prophets were directed and regulated. But the personality of the Spirit may be proved also by that COMMUNION which good men have with Him. St. Paul prays for the Corinthians; "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the COMMUNION of the Holy Ghost, be with you 1 Owen, p. 167. Gen. i. 2. Job xxvi. 13; xxxiii. 4. all. Amen. Now as all admit the personality of Christ and of God, why not also allow that of the Holy Ghost also? If He be not a person, what COMMUNION could men have with him? But communion with him is as clearly revealed in the gospel, as the love of God, and the grace of Christ; and it is equally unscriptural to deny the personality of any one of the Three. 15. If further, men may LIE to Him, then is the Holy Ghost a person; for to lie to a quality, is unmeaning and unintelligible; but men may lie to the Holy Ghost; for "Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart, to lie to the Holy Ghost.... thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." 2 Now here, the Holy Ghost is put in contradistinction with men; and as no one would deny their personality, so no one should deny His: the personality of the one is as certain from this passage of Scripture, as that of the other. 16. And not only may men lie to the Holy Ghost, but also TEMPT Him; for "Peter said unto her, how is it ye have agreed together to TEMPT the Spirit of the Lord?" And not only may they TEMPT, but also BLASPHEME Him; and hence says our Lord; Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world 1 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 2 Acts v. 3, 4. 3 Acts v. 9. to come." And not only may men blaspheme, but also RESIST and GRIEVE the Spirit; and hence says Stephen; "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always RESIST the Holy Ghost." And hence says St. Paul; “GRIEVE not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of Redemption." But how would it be possible for the Spirit to be blasphemed, resisted, tempted, and grieved, if He were not a person? If the Son of Man be a person, as most assuredly he is, SO also must the Holy Ghost; to speak against whom is a more heinous crime than to speak against the Son. And, unless men are prepared to deny the personality of both the Father and the Son, it is difficult to conceive how they can deny that of the Spirit. 17. When men commit sin, they must of necessity transgress some law; for "sin is the transgression of the law." But a law presupposes a lawgiver; and therefore, sin is an offence against the lawgiver, who, as such, must be a person. Now blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is a sin of the most malignant nature; for "he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost. hath never forgiveness; but is in danger of eternal damnation," though all other" sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme." 2 When men sin against the Father, or the Son, we always conceive of a person against whom the offence is committed; nor can any due reason be assigned, why we should not have the same idea of the Holy Ghost; for the Scriptures as 1 Matt. xii. 31, 32. Acts vii. 51. Eph. iv. 30. evidently distinguish between the offences committed against the Holy Spirit, as against the Father and he Son. 18. But as if the Sacred Scriptures would remove all doubt respecting the personality of the Holy Ghost, they inform us, that " it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a BODILY SHAPE like a dove upon him.” ' The appearance of a bodily shape attributed to the Holy Ghost descending upon Christ must assure us that he is not a quality, but a person, as well as the Son, on whom he descended. The phrase," bodily shape," might be translated more literally, corporeal form; and how a quality could be said to descend in a corporeal form, seems inconceivable for this appearance of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape, wherein he was represented by that which is a substance, and hath a subsistence of its own, doth manifest that He himself is a substance, and hath a subsistence of his own :-for if He be no such thing, but a mere influential effect of the power of God, we are not taught right apprehensions of Him, but mere mistakes by this appearance; for of such an accident there can be no substantial figure or resemblance made, but what is monstrous.' "2 19. The accumulation of proof, for the personality of the Holy Ghost, is indeed so great, and the language of Scripture so determinate and direct, that there is scarcely stronger proof for the personality of the Father or the Son. And, if the Scriptures are to be our guide and teacher on the nature and 2 Owen, p. 139. 1 Luke iii. 21, 22. attributes of the Deity, it does not seem possible to evade the force by which they prove the personality of the Spirit. And since He is a person, He is therefore, on the supposition of His Divinity, the proper object of all those regards of faith, fear, love, and trust, which we owe to God. And that He is not only a Person, but a divine Person, we shall prove in the next chapter. |