The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Matthew Ling
The Holy Sprit is the executive agent of the Trinity, yet He has been seriously neglected down through Church history. Although the Holy Spirit was the power and the energy in Christians from the beginning, Christians were slow to give Him proper theological recognition and definition. Before the third century, the Holy Spirit did not even receive a firm place in the creeds of the Church, the Apostles’ Creed simply says, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” The creed doesn’t even acknowledge whether the Holy Spirit is a He, She, or and It.
The Holy Spirit has suffered from neglect, depersonalization, neutralization, mis-definition, and a whole host of other unhappy things. I believe these happened precisely because of His importance; the Holy Spirit is that Person of the Holy Trinity who comes directly in touch with us in life and experience. Satan is not at all adverse to our having intellectually orthodox views of the Holy Spirit, but he is clearly against our becoming involved with Him in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the One who brings the life, power, energy, illumination, and enablement of the Triune God to reach us, individually and corporately.
