Second Chapter. The Creation
Second Chapter.
V.
The Principle of Life in the Creature.
“By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent.”— Job xxvi. 13.
We have seen that the work of the Holy Spirit consists in leading all creation to its destiny, the final purpose of which is the glory of God. However, God’s glory in creation appears in various degrees and ways. An insect and a star, the mildew on the wall and the cedar on Lebanon, a common laborer and a man like Augustine, are all the creatures of God; yet how dissimilar they are, and how varied their ways and degrees of glorifying God.
Let us therefore illustrate the statement that the glory of God is the ultimate end of every creature. Comparing the glory of God to that of an earthly king, it is evident that nothing can be indifferent to that glory. The building material of his palace, its furniture, even the pavement before its gate, either enhance or diminish the royal splendor. Much more, however, is the king honored by the persons of his household, each in his degree, from the master of ceremonies to his prime minister. Yet his highest glory is his family of sons and daughters, begotten of his own blood, trained by his wisdom, animated by his ideals, one with him in the plans, purposes, and spirit of his life. Applying this in all reverence to the court of the King of heaven, it is evident that while every flower and star enhance His glory, the lives of angels and men are of much greater significance to His Kingdom; and again, while among the latter they are most closely related to His glory whom He has placed in positions of authority, nearest of all are the children begotten by His Spirit, and admitted to the secret of His pavilion. We conclude, then, that God’s glory is reflected most in His children; and since no man can be His child unless he is begotten of Him, we confess that His glory is most apparent in His elect or in His Church.
His glory is not, however, confined to these; for they are related to the whole race, and live among all nations and peoples with whom they share the common lot. We neither may nor can separate their spiritual life from their national, social, and domestic life. And since all differences of national, social, and domestic life are caused by climate and atmosphere, meat and drink, rain and drought, plant and insect—in a word, by the whole economy of this material world, including comet and meteor, it is evident that all these affect the outcome of things and are related to the glory of God. Hence as connected with the task of leading creation to its destiny, the whole universe confronts the mind as a mighty unit organically related to the Church as the shell to the kernel.
In the accomplishment of this task the question arises in what way the _fairest, noblest, _and holiest part of the creation is to attain its destiny; for to this all other parts must be made subservient.
Hence the question, How are the multitude of the elect to attain their final perfection? The answer to this will indicate what is the Holy Spirit’s action upon all other creatures.
The answer can not be doubtful. God’s children can never accomplish their glorious end unless God dwell in them as in His temple. It is the love of God that constrains Him to live in His children, by their love for Him to love Himself, and to see the reflection of His glory in the consciousness of His own handiwork. This glorious purpose will be realized only when the elect know as they are known, behold their God face to face, and enjoy the felicity of closest communion with the Lord.
Since all this can be wrought in them only by His indwelling in their hearts, and since it is the Third Person in the Holy Trinity who enters the spirits of men and of angels, it is evident that God’s highest purposes are realized when the Holy Spirit makes man’s heart His dwelling-place. Who or what ever we are by education or position, we can not attain our highest destiny unless the Holy Spirit dwell in us and operate upon the inward organism of our being.
If this His highest work had no bearing upon anything else, we might say that it consists merely in finishing the perfection of the creature. But this is not so. Every believer knows that there is a most intimate connection between his life _before _and _after _conversion; not as tho the former determined the latter, but in such a way that the life in sin and the life in the beauty of holiness are both _conditioned _by the same _character _and disposition, by similar circumstances and influences. Wherefore, to bring about our final perfection the Holy Spirit must influence the previous development, the formation of character, and the disposition of the whole person. And this operation, altho less marked in the natural life, must also be traced. However, since our personal life is only a manifestation of human life in general, it follows that the Holy Spirit must have been active also in the creation of man, altho in a less marked degree. And finally, as the disposition of man as such is connected with the host of heaven and earth, His work must touch the formation of this also, tho to a much less extent. Hence the Spirit’s work reaches as far as the influences that affect man in the attaining of his destiny or in the failure to attain it. And the measure of the influence is the degree in which they affect his perfecting. In the departure of the redeemed soul every one acknowledges a work of the Holy Spirit; but who can trace His work in the star-movements? Yet the Scripture teaches not only that we are born again by the power of the Spirit of God, but that: “by the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them _by the breath _[Spirit] ofHis mouth.” (Psa. xxxiii. 6)
Wherefore the Spirit’s work leading the creature to its destiny, includes an influence upon all creation from the beginning. And, if sin had not come in, we might say that this work is done in _three _successive steps: first, _impregnating _inanimate matter; second, _animating _the rational soul; third, _taking up His abode _in the elect child of God.
But sin entered in, _i.e., _a power appeared to keep man and nature _from their destiny. _Hence the Holy Spirit must _antagonize _sin; His calling is to annihilate it, and despite its opposition to cause the elect children of God and the entire creation to reach their end. Redemption is therefore not a _new _work added to that of the Holy Spirit, but it is _identical _with it. He undertook to bring all things to their destiny either _without _the disturbance of sin or in spite of it; first, by saving the elect, and then by restoring all things in heaven and on earth at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Things incidental to this, such as the inspiration of _Scripture, _the preparation of the _Body of Christ, _the extraordinary _ministration of grace to the Church, _are only connecting-links, connecting the beginning with its own predetermined end; that in spite of sin’s disturbance the destiny of the universe to glorify God might be secured.
Condensing all into one statement, we might say: Sin having once entered, a factor which _must _be taken into account, the Holy Spirit’s work shines most gloriously in gathering and saving the elect; prior to which are His operations in the work of _redemption _and in the economy of the _natural _life. The same Spirit who in the beginning moved upon the waters has in the dispensation of grace given us the _Holy Scripture, _the _Person of Christ, _and the Christian _Church; _and it is He who, in connection with the original creation and by these means of grace, now regenerates and sanctifies us as the children of God.
Regarding these mighty and comprehensive operations, it is of first importance to keep in view the fact that in each He effects only that which is _invisible _and _imperceptible. _This marks all the Holy Spirit’s operations. Behind the visible world lies one invisible and spiritual, with outer courts and inner recesses; and underneath the latter are the unfathomable depths of the soul, which the Holy Spirit chooses as the scene of His labors—His temple wherein He sets up His altar.
Christ’s redemptive work also has visible and invisible parts. Reconciliation in His blood was visible. The sanctification of His Body and the adorning of His human nature with manifold graces were invisible. Whenever this hidden and inward work is specified the Scripture always connects it with the Holy Spirit. Gabriel says to Mary: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.” (Luke i. 35) It is said of Christ: “That He had the Spirit without measure.”
We observe also in the host of heaven a life material, outward, tangible which in thought we never associate with the Holy Spirit. But, however weak and impalpable, the visible and tangible has an invisible background. How intangible are the forces of nature, how full of majesty the forces of magnetism! But life underlies all. Even through the apparently dead trunk sighs an imperceptible breath. From the unfathomable depths of all an inward, hidden principle works upward and outward. It shows in nature, much more in man and angel. And what is this quickening and animating principle but the Holy Spirit? “Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created; Thou takest away Thy breath, they die.” (Psalm civ. 29, 30)
This inward, invisible something is God’s direct touch. There is in us and in every creature a point where the living God touches us to uphold us; for nothing exists without being _upheld _by Almighty God from moment to moment. In the elect this point is their spiritual life; in the rational creature his rational consciousness; and in all creatures, whether rational or not, their life-principle. And as the Holy Spirit is the Person in the Holy Trinity whose office it is to effect this direct touch and fellowship with the creature in his inmost being, it is He who dwells in the hearts of the elect; who animates every rational being; who sustains the _principle of life _in very creature.
VI.
The Host of Heaven and of Earth.
“The Spirit of God hath made me.”—Job xxxiii. 4.
Understanding somewhat the characteristic note of the work of the Holy Spirit, let us see what this work was and is and shall be.
The Father brings forth, the Son disposes and arranges, the Holy Spirit perfects. There is one God and Father of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things; but what does the Scripture say of the special work the Holy Spirit did in creation and is still doing?
For the sake of order we examine first the account of the creation. God says in Gen. i. 2: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the waters.” See also Job xxvi. 13: “By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His hand hath formed the crooked serpent [the constellation of the Dragon, or, according to others, the Milky Way].” And also Job xxxiii. 4: “The Spirit of God hath made me; and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” And again Psalm xxxiii. 6: “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” So also Psalm civ. 30: “Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created, and Thou renewest the face of the earth:” And with different import, in Isa. xl. 13: “Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord [in creation], or being His counselor hath taught Him?”
These statements show that the Holy Spirit did a work of His own in creation.
They show, too, that His activities are closely connected with those of the Father and the Son. Psalm xxxiii. 6 presents them as almost identical. The first clause reads: “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made”; the second: “And all the host of them by the breath [Spirit] of His mouth.” It is well known that in Hebrew poetry parallel clauses express the same thought in different ways; so that from this passage it appears that the work of the _Word _and that of the _Spirit _are the same, the latter adding only that which is peculiarly His own.
It should be noticed that hardly any of these passages mention the Holy Spirit by His own name. It is not the Holy Spirit, but the “Spirit of His mouth,” “His Spirit,” “the Spirit of the Lord.” On account of this, many hold that these passages do not refer to the Holy Spirit as the Third Person in the Holy Trinity, but speak of God as One, without personal distinction; and that the representation of God as creating anything by His hand, fingers, word, breath, or Spirit is merely a human way of speaking, signifying only that God was thus engaged.
The Church has always opposed this interpretation, and rightly so, on the ground that even the Old Testament, not merely in a few places but throughout its entire economy, bears undoubted testimony to the three divine Persons, coequal yet of one essence. It is true that this too has been denied, but by a wrong interpretation. And to the reply, “But our interpretation is as good as yours,” we answer that Jesus and the apostles are our authorities; the Church received its confession from their lips.
Secondly, we deny that “His Spirit” does not refer to the Holy Ghost, for the reason that in the New Testament similar expressions occur that undoubtedly do refer to Him, e.g., “God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son” (Gal. iv. 6); “Whom the Lord shall consume by the Spirit of His mouth” (2 Thess. ii. 8); etc.
Thirdly, judging from the following passages,—“By the _Word _of the Lord were the heavens made” (Psalm xxxiii. 6); “And God said, Let there be light” (Gen. i. 3); and “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John i. 3),—there can be no doubt that Psalm xxxiii. 6; refers to the Second Person in the Godhead. Hence also the second clause of the same verse, “And all their host by the Spirit of His mouth,” must refer to the Third Person.
Finally, to speak of a Spirit of God that is not the Holy Spirit is to transfer to the Holy Scripture a purely Western and human idea. We as men often speak of a wrong spirit which controls a nation, an army, or a school, meaning a certain tendency, inclination, or persuasion—a spirit that proceeds from a man distinct from his person and being. But this may not and can not apply to God. Speaking of Christ in His humiliation, one may rightly say, “To have the mind of Christ,” or “to have the spirit of Jesus,” which indicates His disposition. But to distinguish the divine _Being _from a spirit of that Being is to conceive of the Godhead in a human way. The divine consciousness differs wholly from the human. While in us there is a difference between our persons and our consciousness, with reference to God such distinctions disappear, and the distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit takes their place.
Even in those passages where “the breath of His mouth” is added to explain “His Spirit,” the same interpretation must be maintained. For all languages show that our breathing, even as the “breathing of the elements” in the wind which blows before God’s face, corresponds to the being of spirit. Nearly all express the ideas of spirit, breath, and wind by cognate terms. Blowing or breathing is in all the Scripture the symbol of spirit-communication. Jesus breathed on them and said: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John xx. 22). Thus the breath of His mouth must signify the Holy Spirit.
The ancient interpretation of the Scripture should not be hastily abandoned. Accept the dictum of modern theology that the distinction of the three divine Persons is not found in the Old Testament, and allusions to the work of the Holy Spirit in Genesis, Job, Psalms, or Isaiah are out of the question. Consequently nothing is more natural for the supporters of this modern theology than to deny the Holy Spirit altogether in the passages referred to.
But if from inward conviction we still confess that the distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is clearly seen in the Old Testament, then let us examine these passages concerning the Spirit of the Lord with discrimination, and gratefully maintain the traditional interpretation, which finds at least in many of these statements references to the work of the Holy Spirit.
These passages show that His peculiar work in creation was: 1st, hovering over chaos; 2d, creation of the host of heaven and of earth; 3d, ordering the heavens; 4th, animating the brute creation, and calling man into existence; and last, the operation whereby every creature is made to exist according to God’s counsel concerning it.
Hence the material forces of the universe do not proceed from the Holy Spirit, nor did He deposit in matter the dormant seeds and germs of life. His special task begins only _after _the creation of matter with the germs of life in it.
The Hebrew text shows that the work of the Holy Spirit moving upon the face of the waters was similar to that of the parent bird which with outspread wings hovers over its young to cherish and cover them. The figure implies that not only the earth existed, but also the germs of life within it; and that the Holy Spirit impregnating these germs caused the life to come forth in order to lead it to its destiny.
Not by the Holy Spirit, but by the Word were the heavens created. And when the created heavens were to receive their host, then only did the moment come for the exercise of the Holy Spirit’s peculiar functions. What “the host of heaven” means is not easily decided. It may refer to sun, moon, and stars, or to the host of angels. Perhaps the passage means not the _creation _of the heavenly bodies, but their reception of heavenly glory and celestial fire. But Psalm xxxiii. 6 refers certainly not to the creation of the matter of which the heavenly host are composed, but to the production of their glory.
Gen. i. 2 reveals first the creation of matter and its germs, then their quickening; so Psalm xxxiii. 6 teaches first the preparation of the being and nature of the heavens, then the bringing forth of their host by the Holy Spirit. Job xxvi. 13 leads to a similar conclusion. Here is the same distinction between the heavens and their ordering, the latter being represented as the special work of the Holy Spirit. This ordering is the same as the brooding in Gen. i. 2, by which the formless took form, the hidden life emerged, and the things created were led to their destiny. Psalm civ. 30 and Job xxxiii. 4 illustrate the work of the Holy Spirit in creation still more clearly. Job informs us that the Holy Spirit had a special part in the making of man; and Psalm civ. that He performed a similar work in the creation of the animals, of the fowls and the fishes; for the two preceding verses imply that verse 27—“Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created”—refers not to man, but to the monsters that play in the deep.
Grant that the matter out of which God made man was already present in the dust of the earth, that the type of his body was largely present in the animal, and that the idea of man and the image after which he was to be created existed already; yet from Job xxxiii. 4 it is evident that he did not come to be without a special work of the Holy Spirit. So Psalm civ. 30 proves that, altho the matter existed out of which whale and unicorn were to be made, and the plan or model was in the divine counsel, yet a special act of the Holy Spirit was needed to cause them to be. This is still plainer in view of the fact that neither passage refers to the first creation, but to a man and animals formed later. For Job speaks not of Adam and Eve, but of himself. He says: “The spirit of God hath made _ me_, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job xxxiii. 4) In Psalm civ. David means not the monsters of the deep created in the beginning, but those that were walking the paths of the sea while he was singing this psalm. If, therefore, the bodies of existing man and of mammals are not immediate creations, but are taken from the flesh and blood, the nature and kind of existent beings, then it is more evident that the hovering of the Holy Spirit over the unformed is a present act; and that therefore His creative work was to bring out the life already hidden in chaos, i.e., in the germs of life.
This agrees with what was said at first of the general character of His work. “To lead to its destiny” is to bring forth the hidden life, to cause the hidden beauty to reveal itself, to rouse into activity the slumbering energies.
Only let us not represent it as a work performed in successive stages—first by the Father, whose finished work was taken up by the Son, after which the Holy Spirit completed the work thus prepared. Such representations are unworthy of God. There is _distribution, _no division in the divine activities; wherefore Isaiah declares that the Spirit of the Lord, i.e., the Holy Spirit, throughout the entire work of creation from the beginning—yea, from _before _the beginning—directed all that was to come.
VII.
The Creaturely Man.
“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”— Job xxxiii. 4.
The Eternal and Ever-blessed God comes into vital touch with the creature by an act proceeding not from the Father nor from the Son, but from the Holy Spirit.
Translated by sovereign grace from death unto life, God’s children are conscious of this divine fellowship; they know that it consists not in inward agreement of disposition or inclination, but in the mysterious touch of God upon their spiritual being. But they also know that neither the Father nor the Son, but the Holy Spirit, has made their hearts His temple. It is true Christ comes to us through the Holy Spirit, and through the Son we have fellowship with the Father, according to His word, “I and the Father will come unto you, and make Our abode with you”; yet every intelligent Bible student knows that it is more especially the Holy Spirit who enters into his person and touches his innermost being.
That the Son incarnate came into closer contact with us proves nothing to the contrary. Christ never entered into a human _person. _He took upon Himself our human _nature, _with which He united Himself much more closely than the Holy Spirit does; but He did not touch the _inward man _and his hidden _personality. _On the contrary, He said that it was expedient for the disciples that He should go away; “for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send Him unto you.” (John xvi. 7) Moreover, the Incarnation was not accomplished without the Holy Spirit, who overshadowed Mary; and the blessings that Christ imparted to all around Him were largely owing to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was given Him without measure.
Hence the principal thought remains intact: When God comes into direct contact with the creature it is the work of the Holy Spirit to effect such contact. In the visible world this action consists in the kindling and fanning of the spark of life; hence it is quite natural and in full harmony with the general tenor of the teaching of Scripture that the Spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters, that He brings forth the host of heaven and earth, ordered, animated, and resplendent.
Besides this visible creation there is also an invisible, which, so far as our world is concerned, concentrates itself _in the heart of man; _hence, in the second place, we must see how far the work of the Holy Spirit may be traced in man’s creation.
Of the animal world we do not speak. Not as tho the Holy Spirit had nothing to do with their creation. From Psalm civ. 30 we have proven the contrary . Moreover, no one can deny the admirable traits of cunning, love, fidelity, and thankfulness in many of the animals. Not that we would be foolish on that ground to call the dog _half human; _for these higher animal properties are evidently but instinctive preformations, sketches of the Holy Spirit, carried to their proper destiny in man alone. And yet, however striking these traits may be, it is not a _person _that meets us in the animal. The animal proceeds from the world of matter, and returns to it; in _man _alone appears that which is new, invisible, and spiritual, justifying us in looking for a special work of the Holy Spirit in his creation.
Of himself, i.e., of a _man, _Job declares: “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job xxxiii. 4) The Spirit of God hath made me. That which I am as a _human personality _is the work of the Holy Spirit. To Him I owe the human and personal that constitute me the being that I am. He adds: “The breath of the Almighty hath given me life”; which evidently echoes the words: “The Lord God breathed into His nostrils the breath of life.” (Gen. ii. 7)
Like Job, we ought to feel and to acknowledge that in Adam you and I are created; when God created Adam He created _ us_; in Adam’s nature He called forth the nature wherein we now live. Gen. i. and ii. is not the record of _aliens, _but of ourselves—concerning the flesh and blood which we carry with us, the human nature in which we sit down to read the Word of God.
He that reads his Bible without this personal application reads amiss. It leaves him cold and indifferent. It may charm him in the days of his childhood, when one is fond of tales and stories, but has no hold of him in the days of conflict, when he meets the stern facts and realities of life. But if we accustom ourselves to see in this record the history of our own flesh and blood, of our own human nature and life, and acknowledge that by human generation we spring from Adam, and therefore were in Adam when he was created—then we shall also know that when God formed Adam out of the dust He also formed us; that we also were in Paradise; that Adam’s fall was also ours. In a word, the first page of Genesis relates the history not of an alien, but of our own real selves. The breath of the Almighty gave us life, when the Lord formed man of the dust, and breathed into his nostrils and made him a living soul. The root of our life lies in our parents; but through and beyond them the tender fiber of that root goes back through the long line of generations, and received its earliest beginning when Adam first breathed God’s pure air in Paradise.
And yet, tho in Paradise we received the first inception of our being, there is also a _second _beginning of our life, viz., when from the race, by conception and birth, each of us was called into being _individually. _And of this also Job testifies: “The Spirit of the Lord hath given me life.” (Job xxxiii. 4)
And again, in the life of sinful man there comes a _third _beginning, when it pleases God to convert the wicked; and of this also the soul testifies within us: “The Spirit of the Lord hath given me life.”
Leaving this new birth out of the question, the testimony of Job shows us that he was conscious of the fact that he owed his existence as a man, as a person, as an ego, hence his creation _in Adam _as well as his _personal being, _to God.
And what does the Scripture teach us concerning the creation of man? This: that the dust of the ground out of which Adam was formed was so wrought upon that it became a living soul, which indicates the _human being. _The result was not merely a moving, creeping, eating, drinking, and sleeping creature, but a living soul that came into existence at the moment when the breath of life was breathed into the dust. It was not first the dust, and then human life within the dust, and after that the soul with all its higher faculties in that human life; nay, as soon as life went forth into Adam, he was a _man, _and all his precious gifts were natural endowments.
_Sinful _man being born from above receives gifts that are _above _nature. For this reason the Holy Spirit merely _dwells _in the quickened sinner. But in heaven this will not be so; for in death the human nature is so completely changed that the impulse to sin disappears entirely; wherefore in heaven the Holy Spirit will work in the human nature itself for ever and ever. In the present state of humiliation the nature of the regenerate is still the Adam-nature. The great mystery of the work of the Holy Spirit in him is this: that in and by that broken and corrupt nature, He works the holy works of God. It is as light shining through our window-panes, but in no wise identical with the glass.
In Paradise, however, man’s nature was whole, intact; everything about him was holy. We must avoid the dangerous error that the newly created man had an inferior degree of holiness. God made man _upright, _with nothing crooked in or about him. All his inclinations and powers with all their workings were pure and holy. God delighted in Adam, saw that he was good; surely nothing more can be desired. In this respect Adam differed from the child of God by grace in _not _having eternal life; he was to attain this as the reward for holy works. On the other hand, Abraham, the father of the faithful, begins with eternal life, from which holy works were to proceed.
Hence a perfect contrast. Adam must attain eternal life by works. Abraham has eternal life through which he obtains holy works. Hence for Adam there can be no indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There was no antagonism between him and the Spirit. So the Spirit could _pervade _him, not merely _dwell_in him. The nature of sinful man repels the Holy Spirit, but Adam’s nature attracted Him, freely received Him, and let Him inspire his being.
Our faculties and inclinations are impaired, our powers are enervated, the passions of our hearts corrupt; hence the Holy Spirit must come to us from without. But since Adam’s faculties were all intact, and the whole expression of his inward life undisturbed, therefore could the Holy Spirit work through the common powers and operations of his nature. To Adam spiritual things were not a supernatural, but a natural good—except eternal life, which he must earn by fulfilling the law. Scripture expresses this unity between Adam’s natural life and spiritual powers by identifying the two expressions—“To breathe into the breath of life,” and “to become a living soul.” (Gen. ii. 7)
Other passages show that this divine “inbreathing” indicates especially the Spirit’s work. Jesus breathed upon His disciples and said: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” (John xx. 22) He compares the Holy Spirit to the wind. In both the Biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek, the word spirit means wind, breathing or blowing. And as the Church confesses that the Son is eternally generated by the Father, so it confesses that the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father and the Son as by breathing. Hence we conclude that the passage, “And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen. ii. 7)—in connection with, “The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters,” (Gen. i. 2) and the word of Job, “The Spirit of God hath given me life” (Job xxxiii. 4)—points to a special work of the Holy Spirit.
Before God breathed the breath of life in the lifeless dust, there was a conference in the economy of the divine Being: “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” (Gen. i. 26) This shows—
First, that each divine Person had a distinct work in the creation of man—“Let Us make man.” Before this the singular is used of God—“He spake,” “He saw”; but now the plural is used, “Let Us make man,” which implies that, here specially and more clearly than in any preceding passage, the activities of the Persons are to be distinguished.
Secondly, that man was not created empty, afterward to be endowed with higher spiritual faculties and powers, but that the very act of creation made him after God’s image, without any subsequent addition to his being. For we read: “Let Us create man in Our _image _and after Our likeness.” This assures us that by _immediate _creation man received the impress of the divine image; that in the creation the divine Persons each performed a distinct work; and, lastly, that man’s creation with reference to his higher destiny was effected by a going forth of the breath of God.
This is the basis of our statement that the Spirit’s creative work was making all man’s powers and gifts instruments for His own use, connecting them vitally and immediately with the powers of God. This agrees with Biblical teachings regarding the Holy Spirit’s regenerating work, which also, tho differently, brings the power and holiness of God in immediate contact with human powers.
We deny, therefore, the frequent assertion of ethical theologians, that the Holy Spirit created the personality of man, since this opposes the entire economy of Scripture. For what is our personality but the realization of God’s plan concerning us? Such as God from eternity has thought each of us, as distinct from other men, with our own stamp, life-history, calling, and destiny—as such each must develop and show himself to become a person. Thus alone each obtains character; anything else so called is pride and arbitrariness.
If our personality result directly from God’s plan, then it and what we have in common with all other creatures can not be from the Holy Spirit, but from the Father; like all other things, it receives its disposition from the Son; and the Holy Spirit acts upon it as upon every other creature, by kindling the spark, imparting the glow of life.
VIII.
Gifts and Talents.
“And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.”—Judges iii. 10.
We now consider the Holy Spirit’s work in bestowing gifts, talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scripture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit.
The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses with them? The Holy Spirit. For we read in Exod. xxxi. 2, 3: “I have called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri … . and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.” Verse 6 shows that this activity of the Holy Spirit included others: “In the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded them.” And to give clearest light on this subject, Scripture says also: “Then hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work of the engraver and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer in blue and in purple and in scarlet and in fine linen of the weaver, even of them that do any work and of these that devise cunning work.” (Exod. xxxv. 35)
The Spirit’s working shows not only in ordinary skilled labor, but also in the higher spheres of human knowledge and mental activity; for military genius, legal acumen, statesmanship, and power to inspire the masses with enthusiasm are equally ascribed to it. This is generally expressed in the words, “And the Spirit of the Lord came upon” such a hero, judge, statesman, or tribune of the people, especially in the days of the judges, when it is said of Joshua, Othniel, Barak, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, and others that the Spirit of the Lord came upon them. Also of Zerubbabel rebuilding the temple, it is said: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord.” (Zech. iv. 6) Even of the heathen king, Cyrus, we read that Jehovah had called him to His work and anointed him with the Spirit of the Lord—Isa. xlv.
This last instance introduces another aspect of the case, viz., the operation of the Holy Spirit in qualifying men for official functions. For altho this operation upon and through the office receives its fullest significance only in the dispensation of grace, yet the case of Cyrus shows that the Holy Spirit has originally a work to perform in this respect which is not only a result of grace, but belongs essentially to the nature of the work, even tho it is obvious only in the history of God’s special dealings with His own people.
It is especially noticeable in the struggle between Saul and David. There is no reason to consider Saul one of God’s elect. After his anointing the Holy Spirit comes upon him, abides with him, and works upon him as long as he remains the Lord’s chosen king over His people. But as soon as by wilful disobedience he forfeits that favor, the Holy Spirit departs from him and an evil spirit from the Lord troubles him. Evidently this work of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with regeneration. For a time it may operate upon a man and then forever depart from him; while the Spirit’s saving operation, even tho suspended for a time, can never be wholly lost. David’s touching prayer, “Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me,” (Psalm li. 11) must therefore refer to gifts qualifying him for the kingly office. David had the terrible example of Saul before him. He had seen what becomes of a man whom the Holy Spirit leaves to himself; and his heart trembled at the possibility of an evil spirit coming upon him, and an end as sad as Saul’s. Like Judas, Saul dies a suicide.
From the whole Scripture teaching we therefore conclude that the Holy Spirit has a work in connection with mechanical arts and official functions—in every special talent whereby some men excel in such art or office. This teaching is not simply that such gifts and talents are not of man but from God like all other blessings, but that they are not the work of the Father, nor of the Son, but of the Holy Spirit.
The distinction discovered in creation may be observed here: gifts and talents come from the Father; are disposed for each personality by the Son; and kindled in each by the Holy Spirit as by a spark from above.
Let us distinguish art itself, personal talent to practise it, and the vocation thereto.
Art is not man’s invention, but God’s creation. In all nations and ages men have pursued the arts of weaving, embroidering, skilful dressmaking, casting and chasing noble metals, cutting and polishing diamonds, molding iron and brass; and in all these countries and ages, without knowing of each other’s efforts, have applied the same arts to all these materials. Of course there is a difference. Oriental work bears a stamp quite different from that of the West. Even French and German work differ. But under the differences, the endeavor, the art applied, the material, the ideal pursued are the same. So, too, art did not attain perfection all at once; among the nations forms at first crude and awkward gradually developed into forms chaste, refined, and beautiful. Successive generations improved upon previous achievements, until among the various nations comparative perfection of art and skill was attained. Hence art is not the result of man’s thought and purpose; but God has placed in various materials certain possibilities of workmanship, and by applying this workmanship man must make out of each what there is in it, and not whatever he chooses.
Two things must cooperate to effect this. In the creation of gold, silver, wood, iron, God must have placed in them certain possibilities, and have created inventive power in man’s mind, perseverance in his will, strength in his muscle, accurate vision in his eye, delicacy of touch and action in his fingers, thus qualifying him to evolve what is latent in the materials. Since this labor has the same nature among all nations, the perpetual progress of the same great work being accomplished according to the same majestic plan, through successive generations, all artistic skill and executive ability must be wrought in man by a higher power and according to a higher command. Viewing the treasures of an industrial exposition in the light of the revealed Word, we shall see in their gradual development and genetic unity the downfall of human pride, and exclaim: “What is all this art and skill but the manifestation of the possibilities which God has placed in these materials, and of the powers of mind and eye and finger which He has given the children of men!”
Consider, now, personal talent as utterly distinct from art.
The goldsmith in his craft and the judge in his office enter upon a work of God. Each labors in his divine vocation, and all the skill and judgment that he may develop therein come from the treasures of the Lord.
Still, workman differs from workman, general from general. The one copies the product of the generation before him and bequeaths it without increasing the artistic skill. He began as an apprentice, and imparts this skill to other apprentices; but the artistic proficiency is the same. The other manifests something akin to genius. He quickly surpasses his master; sees, touches, discovers something new. In his hand art is enriched. It is given him to transfer from the treasures of divine artistic skill new beauties into human skill.
So also of men in office and profession. Thousands of officers trained in our military schools become good teachers of the science of tactics as practised heretofore, but add nothing to it; while among these thousands there may be two or three possessed of military genius who in the event of war will astonish the world by their brilliant exploits.
This talent, this individual genius so intimately connected with man’s personality, is a gift. No power in the world can create it in the man that possesses it not. The child is born with or without it; if without it, no education nor severity—not even ambition—can call it forth. But as the gift of grace is freely bestowed by the sovereign God, so is also the gift of genius. When the people pray, let them not forget to ask the Lord to raise up among them men of talent, heroes of art and of office.
When in 1870 Germany had victory only, and France defeat only, it was God’s sovereignty that gave the former talented generals, and in displeasure denied them to the latter.
Consider the vocation.
Official and mechanical men have a high call. All have not the same ability. One is adapted for the sea, another for the plow. One is a bungler in the foundry, but a master at wood-carving, while another is the reverse. This depends upon the personality, nature, and inclination. And since the Holy Spirit lights the personality, He also determines every man’s calling to trade or profession. The same applies to the life of nations. The French excel in taste as well as in artistic workmanship; while the English seem created for the sea, our masters in all the markets of the world. The Holy Spirit even bestows artistic skill and talent upon a nation at one time and withdraws it at another. Three centuries ago Holland surpassed all Europe in weaving, making porcelain, printing, painting, and engraving. But how great the subsequent decline in this respect—altho now progress again appears.
What we find in Israel is related to this. This very thirst and capacity for knowledge had caused man to fall. The first impetus was given to artistic skill among Cain’s descendants; the Jubals and the Jabals and the Tubal-Cains were the first artists. And yet this whole development, altho feeding upon the treasures of God, departed more and more from Him, while His own people utterly lacked it. In the days of Samuel there was no smith found in all the land of Canaan. Hence the Spirit’s coming upon Bezaleel and Aholiab, upon Othniel and Samson, upon Saul and David; signifies something more than a mere imparting of artistic skill and talent; namely, the restoration of what sin had corrupted and defiled. And thus the illumination of a Bezaleel links the Holy Spirit’s work in the material creation and that in the dispensation of grace.