The person and work of the spirit

Recently, I’ve been preparing to teach a module on the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. All sounds quite straightforward, but it’s set in an Old Testament context, and that’s been a challenge. You see, the majority of teaching on the Holy Spirit is actually based on the New Testament, and we might say, for good reason. Yet, the more I’ve thought about it, that is not adequate (more on that perhaps another time).

In my studies, I have been impacted afresh by the nature of the Spirit’s work, especially when it comes to virtue, something we don’t talk enough about.

In the process of study and reflection, I woke one morning with a few words of an old hymn going through my mind: “And every virtue we possess…” The more I thought about it, the more I thought I needed to find the hymn. I did some research and found it.

Here’s the hymn by Harriet Auber.

Our blessed Redeemer, ere he breathed
His tender last farewell,
A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed
With us to dwell.

He came in tongues of living flame,
To teach, convince, subdue;
All-powerful as the wind he came,
As viewless too.

He came sweet influence to impart,
A gracious, willing Guest,
While he can find one humble heart
Wherein to rest.

And his that gentle voice we hear,
Soft as the breath of even,
That checks each fault, that calms each fear,
And speaks of heaven.

And every virtue we possess,
And every victory won,
And every thought of holiness,
Are his alone.

Spirit of purity and grace,
Our weakness, pitying, see:
O make our hearts thy dwelling-place,
And worthier thee.

Oh! praise the Father, praise the Son,
Blessed Spirit, praise to Thee!
All praise to God, the Three in One,
The One in Three. Amen.

Harriet Auber, 1829.

There’s a lot going on there! It deserves rereading and reflection.

Now I love to hear testimonies of what God is doing in people’s lives; we encourage it in the church. Very often, they have a dramatic element to them. And we praise God for them. And yet, as I have thought about the work of the Spirit, I found myself thinking that maybe there’s more going on than meets the eye. That some may not have a dramatic story to tell, but they can speak of the Spirit’s gracious influence and their response to it.

I wonder, do you know that experience?