Now, I say that this appearance of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape, wherein he was represented by that which is a substance and hath a subsistence of its own, doth manifest that he himself is a sub- stance and hath a subsistence of his own; for if he be no such thing, but a mere influential effect of the power of God, we are not taught right apprehensions of him but mere mistakes by this appearance, for of such an accident there can be no substantial figure or resem- blance made but what is monstrous. It is excepted by our adver- saries (Crell. de Natur. Spir, Sane), " That a dove is no person, be- cause not endued with an understanding, which is essentially requir- ed unto the constitution of a person; and therefore," they say, " no argument can thence be taken for the personality of the Holy Ghost." But it is enough that he was represented by a subsisting substance; which if they will grant him to be, we shall quickly evince that he
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78 DIVINE NATURE AND PERSONALITY OF THE [BOOK I.
is endued with a divine understanding, and so is completely a person. And whereas they farther object, " That if the Holy Ghost in the ap- pearance intended to manifest himself to be a divine person, he would have appeared as a man, who is a person, for so God, or an angel in his name, appeared under the Old Testament," it is of no more im- portance than the preceding exception. The Holy Ghost did mani- fest himself as it seemed good unto him; and some reasons for the instructive use of the shape of a fiery dove we have before declared. Neither did God of old appear only in a human shape. He did so sometimes in a burning fiery bush, Exod. iii. 2, 4 ; sometimes in a pillar of fire or a cloud, chap. xiv. 24. Moreover, the appearances of God, as I have elsewhere demonstrated, under the Old Testament, were all of them of the second person; and he assumed a human shape as a preludium unto, and a signification of, his future personal assumption of our nature. No such thing being intended by the Holy Ghost, he might represent himself under what shape he pleased. Yea, the representation of himself under a human shape had been dangerous and uuvsafe for us; for it would have taken off the use of those instructive appearances under the Old Testament teaching the incarnation of the Son of God, And also, that sole reason of such ap- pearances being removed, — namely, that they had all respect unto the incarnation of the second person, — as they would have been by the like appearance of the third, there would have been danger of giving a false idea of the Deity unto the minds of men ; for some might from thence have conceived that God had a bodily shape like unto us, when none could ever be so fond as to imagine him to be like a dove. And these, Vv'ith the like testimonies in general, are given unto the divine personality of the Holy Spirit. I shall next consider those personal properties which are particularly and dis- tinctly ascribed unto him.
First, Understanding or wisdom, which is the first inseparable property of an intelligent subsistence, is so ascribed unto him in the acts and effects of it: 1 Cor. ii. 10, "The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." What Spirit it is that is intended is declared expressly, verse 12, "Now we have not received to Ti/sD/ia 7o\J xc'(r,«-ou, the spirit of the world," are not acted by the evil spirit; aXka TO Ilv£iiiJ.a to Ik tov Qsou, " but the Spirit which is of God," — a sig- nal description of the Holy Ghost. So he is called " His Spirit," verse 10, " God hath revealed these things unto us by his Spirit." Now, to search is an act of understanding; and the Spirit is said to search, be- cause he knoweth: Verse 11, " What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ?" — which is intimate unto all its own thoughts and counsels; "even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." And by him are they revealed unto
CHAP. III.] HOLY SPIRIT PROVED AND VINDICATED. 79
US, for by him "we know the things that are freely given to us of God," verse 12. These things cannot be spoken of any but a person endued with understanding. And he thus "searcheth ra ^ud/j rou 0soD,the deep things of God," — that is, the mysteries of his will, counsel, and grace ; — and is, therefore, a divine person that hath an infinite understand- ing; as it is said of God, in™^ ipn }^K^ Isa. xl. 28, " There is no end," measure, or investigation, " of his understanding;" Ps. cxlvii. 5, there is " no number of his understanding," — it is endless, boundless, in- finite. It is excepted (Schlichting. de Trinitat., p. 605) " That the Spirit is not here taken for the Spirit himself, nor doth the apostle express what the Spirit himself doth, but what by the assistance of the Holy Ghost men are enabled to do. By that believers are helped to search into the deep counsels of God." But as this excep- tion is directly against the words of the text, so the context will by no means admit of it ; for the apostle giveth an account how the wisdom, counsels, and deep things of God, which the world could not understand, were now preached and declared unto the church. " God," saith he, " hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." But how cometh the Spirit himself, the author of these revelations, to be acquainted with these things? This he hath from his own na- ture, whereby he knoweth or " searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." It is, therefore, the revelation made by the Spirit unto the apostles and penmen of the scripture of the New Testa- ment,— who were acted hy the Holy Ghost in like manner as were the holy men of old, 2 Pet. i. 21, — which the apostle intendeth, and not the illumination and teaching of believers in the knowledge of the mysteries by them revealed, whereof the apostle treateth in these words. But who is tbis Spirit? The same apostle tells us that the "judgments of God are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out," Rom. xi. 33 ; and asketh, " Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?" verse 34. And yet this Spirit is said to "search all things, yea, the deep things of God;" such as to all creatures are absolutely unsearchable and past finding out. This, then, is the Spirit of God himself, who is God also; for so it is in the prophet from whence these words are taken, " Who hath directed the Spirit of the LoRD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?" Isa. xl. 13.