LIV.-REVERSIONS AND DEGENERATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO CONCEPTIONS OF THE HOLY GHOST.

sons.

The common conception of the coming and presence of the Holy Ghost has reverted and degenerated from that lofty one found in the Bible to something like the following:The God-Family from all Eternity consisted of three PerThese three kept close and continual companionship until the necessity came for one to go and try to save the fallen and perishing Human Race. The second Person of the Trinity offered to go and remain on Earth thirty-three years; the third Person, meanwhile, to remain with the first Person to help Him, and to keep Him company. This "scheme" was accepted and fulfilled :—with the understanding, however, that, when the "expiatory work" was done and the "body of flesh and blood" brought back, by the second Person, into Heaven, "there forever to dwell," the third Person would be spared to go and complete the "Redemptive Scheme." Hence it came to pass that, about forty days after the Ascension of the second Person, came the Descension of the third Person,-His first appearance upon Earth. The second Person has, ever since, “remained at the right hand" of the first Person "on High"; while the third Person has been trying to carry forward the redemptive work of Mankind. On the "Day of Pentecost" the Holy Ghost descended for the first time; before that day no one had ever "received the Holy Ghost"; since that, all who believe on Jesus as an "Atoning Sacrifice" and are baptized with water in the Triune Name-and none others—also "receive the Holy Ghost." That this is not travesty-much less scoffing or ridicule-let any intelligent and honest person prove by listening to the preaching, teaching, and worship in the "orthodox " Churches of all denominations and names. In five out of six he will probably gain this as the popular conception.

Correcting Quotations.

"Our English words Ghost and Spirit, the one of AngloSaxon, the other of Latin origin, correspond to and repre

sent only one word in the original Scriptures, Hebrew and Greek respectively. This should unquestionably everywhere be rendered by 'Spirit,' especially in the New Testament, the word Ghost being, in our days, by no means free from objectionable associations. It can only tend to convey false impressions to many English readers, to use sometimes the one, sometimes the other, in an English version of the New Testament, the original word being always, without exception, the single neuter substantive πνεйμα.

"This Holy Spirit' has been upon the Earth and in the souls of men from the beginning till now. In the Old Testament all life, intelligence, mental energy, and mental skill, were of its operation. 'The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters' at the dawn of creation, and reduced the chaos into order. The same inspiration upholds us in being, gives us understanding and strength to do whatever man is capable of doing; and when that Divine power is withdrawn, we die and return to the dust.

"It is evident that, in all such representations, what is really meant by the term in question, is no other than God Himself. It is the Almighty Being, inscrutably putting forth His power in the creation, support, control, inspiration, of the universe of animate and inanimate things-acting upon us and in us by the operation of His living and will energy. There is nothing to shew that the ancient writers of the Old Testament, in thus speaking of the active power of God, ever attributed to it a separate personal existence. Nor has this, in fact, ever been maintained. The Holy Spirit, in the older Scriptures, is indeed the Divine Being in His action upon the material world, and in communion with the soul of man; but this fact will not justify us in saying that it is God the Holy Spirit,' as though it were a something distinct, something to be thought of and named as God, apart from Him who alone is Jehovah and The Father. The personal conception, if admitted into the Old Testament, would manifestly tend directly to weaken or destroy the proper monotheistic idea of the Mosaic religion. It will be found, that nothing approaching to so dangerous an infringe

ment of the great characteristic principle of that religion is anywhere to be met with throughout the Hebrew Books.

"The truth of these statements may be shewn by a reference to various expressions which occur in the New Testament. When Jesus reasoned with the Jews respecting his own authority as a Divine teacher, and the power by which he wrought his miracles, he said to them, as reported by the first Evangelist, If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.' In the parallel place in St. Luke, the same saying is reported thus: 'If I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.' The two forms of expression were evidently understood by the Evangelists to mean the same thing. What that meaning is cannot be doubtful, and is well illustrated by the words of the fourth Gospel, where Jesus says on another occasion, The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.' But this, again, cannot reasonably be taken to mean that the Infinite Father was in Christ, in the Evangelist's conception, in any other way than by the Divine help and power which He gave him; or, also, by means of the indwelling Logos; and such forms of expression simply amount, in fact, as already observed, to the statement of the Apostle Peter at the Pentecost. The Almighty Father was manifested in Jesus, and, in the Apostle's conception, was seen to be so, 'by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by Him.'

"It is thus clear, that the 'finger of God' and the 'Spirit of God' are simply God Himself, the Heavenly Father, acting in and through the Christ; and it is no more necessary, or allowable, to make a separate person of the Spirit, than it is to suppose such a distinction to be hidden or implied in the phrase 'the finger of God.'

"There are still one or two facts to be mentioned which are wholly unaccountable on the supposition of the truth of the popular teaching on this subject. First, there is no doxology, or ascription of praise, to the Holy Spirit, in either the Old or the New Testament. Nor is there any instance, we believe, on record, in all the Scriptures, of any

prayer having ever been addressed to the Holy Spirit as a separate personality. It is inconceivable that this should be the case, had this Divine power been regarded in the early Christian times as separately God, a definite personal being, even as much so as the Almighty Father.

"It is, indeed, in the second place, to be remembered, that no example can be adduced, from the first and second centuries, of the Holy Spirit being made an object of worship, or perhaps even of its being spoken of as a distinct existence -as distinguished, that is to say, from the idea of it as a power, gift, blessing, conferred by God. Even in the Apostles' Creed, which probably comes down from the end of the second century, the Holy Spirit does not appear in a personal character. It may be questioned whether it does so in the original Nicene Creed, although at the time when this was composed (A.D. 325), the doctrine of a Trinity of equal persons was beginning to be held by some of the more speculative of the Church Fathers. The absence of the fuller definition of the Spirit from the Nicene Creed proper is well known. It was the Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381) which introduced the longer form now found in the English Prayer Book.

"No reasonable mind can suppose that the Spirit of God is confined in its movements within the limits of Churches, one or all of them; that it can only visit the humble, waiting soul through the medium of a 'Sacrament' or through the person of a 'priest.'

"All true religion, whether in 'Church' or out of it, is founded upon, is identical with, the sense of the Living Presence of God with and in the human soul-that alone. Such is also the evident foundation of Christianity, as recognized in almost every act and word of the Christ and his Apostles. With them, the Heavenly Father is the all-pervading Spirit of the universe, a living God, who can hear our prayers, and see our efforts to do His will; and who, by His Spirit, can help, enlighten, and comfort the souls of all that faithfully look to Him, whether they shall bow down in the humblest meeting-house, or in the grandest cathedral of

human Art. Not, indeed, in the presence of elaborately or superstitiously observed formalities, any more than amidst fanatical noise and excitement, can we think that the Spirit of God most effectually visits the waiting soul, or lets the ‘still, small voice' of His presence be most clearly and touchingly heard within the heart. It is rather in the hour of quiet and lonely meditation that this will come to pass :— when we think with penitence about our past sins, when we reflect upon the duties we have to do, and how best we may do them, when we strive and pray to give ourselves up to all God's will concerning us; then will the communion of His Holy Spirit be ours; 'the grace of Jesus Christ' be with us, and the Divine Love be shed upon us. Then, too, shall we know that we are true disciples of His Son, acceptable servants and children of our Father which is in Heaven."

LV.-REVERSIONS AND DEGENERATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO CONCEPTIONS OF THE ATONING SACRIFICE.

Not less and less, but more and more, the entire public Worship of Roman (and Greek) Catholicism is becoming one unceasing "Mass"; a perpetually reoffered Sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ upon the Altars of Cathedrals and Churches: without participation in which no human soul can be saved. Not less and less, but more and more, the Anglican and Protestant Episcopal Churches are tending to this same reversion and degeneration. Rarely now can be found a Communion Table; all are "Altars." Rarely now do we hear of a preacher, or a prophet, or even of a minister; all are "Priests." All the paraphernalia, and ceremonies, and vestments, and Altar-adornments, and fastings, and genuflections of Romanism are slowly but surely creeping into the Anglican and Episcopal Churches all over Great Britain and America, and their outlying Mission Fields in common. They call it the "enrichment" of their services. Among the "Denominations" or "Sects" there is, happily, an almost universal tendency upward-instead of downward -in this regard. We must except, however, the Revival