Calvin, Institutes, Vol.3, Part 2
(... continued from part 1)
Chapter 1.
1. The benefits of Christ made available to us by the secret
operation of the Spirit.
The three divisions of this chapter are, - I. The secret
operation of the Holy Spirit, which seals our salvation, should be
considered first in Christ the Mediator as our Head, sec. 1 and 2.
II. The titles given to the Holy Spirit show that we become members
of Christ by his grace and energy, sec. 3. III. As the special
influence of the Holy Spirit is manifested in the gift of faith, the
former is a proper introduction to the latter, and thus prepares for
the second chapter, sec. 4.
Sections.
1. The Holy Spirit the bond which unites us with Christ. This the
result of faith produced by the secret operation of the Holy
Spirit. This obvious from Scripture.
2. In Christ the Mediator the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be
seen in all their fulness. To what end. Why the Holy Spirit is
called the Spirit of the Father and the Son.
3. Titles of the Spirit, - 1. The Spirit of adoption. 2. An earnest
and seal. 3. Water. 4. Life. 5. Oil and unction. 6. Fire. 7. A
fountain. 8. The word of God. Use of these titles.
4. Faith being the special work of the Holy Spirit, the power and
efficacy of the Holy Spirit usually ascribed to it.
1. We must now see in what way we become possessed of the
blessings which God has bestowed on his only-begotten Son, not for
private use, but to enrich the poor and needy. And the first thing
to be attended to is, that so long as we are without Christ and
separated from him, nothing which he suffered and did for the
salvation of the human race is of the least benefit to us. To
communicate to us the blessings which he received from the Father,
he must become ours and dwell in us. Accordingly, he is called our
Head, and the first-born among many brethren, while, on the other
hand, we are said to be ingrafted into him and clothed with him, all
which he possesses being, as I have said, nothing to us until we
become one with him. And although it is true that we obtain this by
faith, yet since we see that all do not indiscriminately embrace the
offer of Christ which is made by the gospel, the very nature of the
case teaches us to ascend higher, and inquire into the secret
efficacy of the Spirit, to which it is owing that we enjoy Christ
and all his blessings. I have already treated of the eternal essence
and divinity of the Spirit, (Book 1 chap. 13 sect. 14, 15;) let us
at present attend to the special point, that Christ came by water
and blood, as the Spirit testifies concerning him, that we might not
lose the benefits of the salvation which he has purchased. For as
there are said to be three witnesses in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Spirit, so there are also three on the earth, namely,
water, blood, and Spirit. It is not without cause that the testimony
of the Spirit is twice mentioned, a testimony which is engraven on
our hearts by way of seal, and thus seals the cleansing and
sacrifice of Christ For which reason, also, Peter says, that
believers are "elect" "through sanctification of the Spirit, unto
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ," (1 Pet. 1:
2.) By these words he reminds us, that if the shedding of his sacred
blood is not to be in vain, our souls must be washed in it by the
secret cleansing of the Holy Spirit. For which reason, also, Paul,
speaking of cleansing and purification, says, "but ye are washed,
but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus and by the Spirit of our God," (1 Cor. 6: 11.) The whole comes
to this that the Holy Spirit is the bond by which Christ effectually
binds us to himself. Here we may refer to what was said in the last
Book concerning his anointing.
2. But in order to have a clearer view of this most important
subjects we must remember that Christ came provided with the Holy
Spirit after a peculiar manner, namely, that he might separate us
from the world, and unite us in the hope of an eternal inheritance.
Hence the Spirit is called the Spirit of sanctification, because he
quickens and cherishes us, not merely by the general energy which is
seen in the human race, as well as other animals, but because he is
the seed and root of heavenly life in us. Accordingly, one of the
highest commendations which the prophets give to the kingdom of
Christ is, that under it the Spirit would be poured out in richer
abundance. One of the most remarkable passages is that of Joel, "It
shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon
all flesh," (Joel 2: 2S.) For although the prophet seems to confine
the gifts of the Spirit to the office of prophesying, he yet
intimates under a figure, that God will, by the illumination of his
Spirit, provide himself with disciples who had previously been
altogether ignorant of heavenly doctrine. Moreover, as it is for the
sake of his Son that God bestows the Holy Spirit upon us, and yet
has deposited him in all his fulness with the Son, to be the
minister and dispenser of his liberality, he is called at one time
the Spirit of the Father, at another the Spirit of the Son: "Ye are
not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his," (Rom. 8: 9;) and hence he encourages us to hope for
complete renovation: "If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from
the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you,"
(Rom. 8: 11.) There is no inconsistency in ascribing the glory of
those gifts to the Father, inasmuch as he is the author of them,
and, at the same time, ascribing them to Christ, with whom they have
been deposited, that he may bestow them on his people. Hence he
invites all the thirsty to come unto him and drink, (John 7: 37.)
And Paul teaches, that "unto every one of us is given grace,
according to the measure of the gift of Christ," (Eph. 4: 7.) And we
must remember, that the Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ, not
only inasmuch as the eternal Word of God is with the Father united
with the Spirit, but also in respect of his office of Mediator;
because, had he not been endued with the energy of the Spirit, he
had come to us in vain. In this sense he is called the "last Adam,"
and said to have been sent from heaven "a quickening Spirit," (1
Cor. 15: 45,) where Paul contrasts the special life which Christ
breathes into his people, that they may be one with him with the
animal life which is common even to the reprobate. In like manner,
when he prays that believers may have "the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God," he at the same time adds, "the
communion of the Holy Ghost," without which no man shall ever taste
the paternal favor of God, or the benefits of Christ. Thus, also, in
another passage he says, "The love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us," (Rom. 5: 5.)
3. Here it will be proper to point out the titles which the
Scripture bestows on the Spirit, when it treats of the commencement
and entire renewal of our salvation. First, he is called the "Spirit
of adoption," because he is witness to us of the free favor with
which God the Father embraced us in his well-beloved and
only-begotten Son, so as to become our Fathers and give us boldness
of access to him; nays he dictates the very words, so that we can
boldly cry, "Abba, Father." For the same reason, he is said to have
"sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts,"
because, as pilgrims in the world, and persons in a manner dead, he
so quickens us from above as to assure us that our salvation is safe
in the keeping of a faithful God. Hence, also, the Spirit is said to
be "life because of righteousness." But since it is his secret
irrigation that makes us bud forth and produce the fruits of
righteousness, he is repeatedly described as water. Thus in Isaiah
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters." Again, "I
will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry
ground." Corresponding to this are the words of our Savior, to which
I lately referred, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and
drink." Sometimes, indeed, he receives this name from his energy in
cleansing and purifying, as in Ezekiel, where the Lord promises,
"Then will I sprinkle you with clean water, and ye shall be clean."
As those sprinkled with the Spirit are restored to the full vigor of
life, he hence obtains the names of "Oil" and "Unction." On the
other hand, as he is constantly employed in subduing and destroying
the vices of our concupiscence, and inflaming our hearts with the
love of God and piety, he hence receives the name of Fire. In fine,
he is described to us as a Fountain, whence all heavenly riches flow
to us; or as the Hand by which God exerts his power, because by his
divine inspiration he so breathes divine life into us, that we are
no longer acted upon by ourselves, but ruled by his motion and
agency, so that everything good in us is the fruit of his grace,
while our own endowments without him are mere darkness of mind and
perverseness of heart. Already, indeed, it has been clearly shown,
that until our minds are intent on the Spirit, Christ is in a manner
unemployed, because we view him coldly without us, and so at a
distance from us. Now we know that he is of no avail save only to
those to whom he is a head and the first-born among the brethren, to
those, in fine, who are clothed with him. To this union alone it is
owing that in regard to us, the Savior has not come in vain. To this
is to be referred that sacred marriage, by which we become bone of
his bone, and flesh of his flesh, and so one with him, (Eph. 5: 30,)
for it is by the Spirit alone that he unites himself to us. By the
same grace and energy of the Spirit we become his members, so that
he keeps us under him, and we in our turn possess him.
4. But as faith is his principal work, all those passages which
express his power and operations are, in a great measure, referred
to it, as it is, only by faith that he brings us to the light of the
Gospel, as John teaches, that to those who believe in Christ is
given the privilege "to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe in his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," (John 1: 12.)
Opposing God to flesh and blood, he declares it to be a supernatural
gift, that those who would otherwise remain in unbelief, receive
Christ by faith. Similar to this is our Savior's reply to Peter,
"Flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven," (Matt. 16: 17.) These things I now briefly advert to,
as I have fully considered them elsewhere. To the same effect Paul
says to the Ephesians, "Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of
promise," (Eph. 1: 13;) thus showing that he is the internal
teacher, by whose agency the promise of salvation, which would
otherwise only strike the air or our ears, penetrates into our
minds. In like manner, he says to the Thessalonians, "God has from
the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth," (2 Thess. 2: 13;) by this passage
briefly reminding us, that faith itself is produced only by the
Spirit. This John explains more distinctly, "We know that he abideth
in us, by the Spirit which he has given us;" again, "Hereby know we
that we dwell in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit," (1 John 3: 24; 4: 13.) Accordingly to make his disciples
capable of heavenly wisdom, Christ promised them "the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive," (John 14: 17.) And he assigns
it to him, as his proper office, to bring to remembrance the things
which he had verbally taught; for in vain were light offered to the
blind, did not that Spirit of understanding open the intellectual
eye; so that he himself may be properly termed the key by which the
treasures of the heavenly kingdom are unlocked, and his
illumination, the eye of the mind by which we are enabled to see:
hence Paul so highly commends the ministry of the Spirit, (2 Cor. 3:
6,) since teachers would cry aloud to no purpose, did not Christ,
the internal teacher, by means of his Spirit, draw to himself those
who are given him of the Father. Therefore, as we have said that
salvation is perfected in the person of Christ, so, in order to make
us partakers of it, he baptizes us "with the Holy Spirit and with
fire," (Luke 3: 16,) enlightening us into the faith of his Gospel,
and so regenerating us to be new creatures. Thus cleansed from all
pollution, he dedicates us as holy temples to the Lord.
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 3, Part 2
(continued in part 3...)
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