Hence His indwelling manifests itself in the par- ticular dispositions and graces of character** which He calls into existence, called 'the fruits of the Spirit.' We need not trace the forms in which the spiritual principle unfolds or the spheres within which it operates. ft We point only to the infinite variety and individuality of grace in its exhibition here, and to its limitless prospect and horizon. God in Christ through His Spirit is the Maker, the Creator of this new spiritual character. :I:J It is the production of the original and underived con- ception of His mind, not an origination in man's nature nor within its limits. Hence its freshness, pregnancy, fruitfulness, and hopefulness. It is a life to be worked up to (a Divine ideal), not worked out from — and no man can fix the bounds of its splendour.
It finds exercise in the natural virtues, in the spiritual graces, in the service and worship of God, in the religious emotions, and in the realization of the blessings of salvation. It is ' unto good works,' with sublime inclusiveness. There is no fixed pattern. God has no set moulds for character to run in : nothing is fixed but the predestined path
*Ro8.
t This is prominent in Romanist teaching of gratia, infusion of saving energy by the work of the Spirit, just as in Reformed doctrine 'grace' is the free favour of God, manifested in justification, which brings with it assurance. St. Paul's idea comprises both.
: Ro 55. § Ro 816- 17.
II Jn 14, 16, etc. •} Jn 1613.
** St. Paul g^ves a fine list (Gal 522. 23) ; st. John gives its no less fine spirit— love (1 Jn 3i).
ft Briefly, the Spirit's 'manifestation' is (a) ecstatical, (6) ethical, (c) religious. St. Paul g^ives the lowest place to (a), the highest to (c) (1 Co 13).
It Eph 210, ' we are His " poem" created.'
' that God has ordained that we should walk in.' * The same idea occurs in another fine setting in St. Peter.t The greatness of grace lies quite as much in what it is to be as in its present value ; in grace there is an inherent, indefinitely prolonged, and enduring propagativeness, another aspect of grace's resources. In tliis regard the Spirit is ' an earnest.' An earnest implies two things — more to follow, and more of essentially the same kind. The pres- ence of the Spirit in a man's life speaks to him with assurance of the future, and the blessedness awaiting ; and, if it does not enable him to forecast the particulars of that life, yet it does enable him to foretaste its nobleness and bliss. What grace gives here J will be enjoyed there in perfect glory and perfected fullness. Only let ns 'live in the Spirit ' and ' walk in the Spirit.' §
3. Historical controversies.— The subject of grace bristles with controversy. Every fresh epoch, bring- ing larger thought and fresh foci of emphasis, sees the recurrence of perplexities. The Apostolic Age is no exception. Its apologetic protagonist, St. Paul, discusses at least four points — grace in rela- tion to (a) nature, (6) merit, (c) freedom, {d) the Church and sacraments. A brief note on each may fitly close this exposition.
{a) Grace and nature. — The question is in reality part of the perennial problem of nature and the supernatural, and their relation. With the Apostle it ofi'ers two facets : (1) the extent to which unre- generate man may be said to be under grace ; (2) the conversion of sinful nature by grace. As to the former, there have been in subsequent times two attitudes : (a) man's unregenerate nature is wholly outside grace, a massa perditionis (St. Augustine), a 'total depravity' (Calvin), 'in bond- age' (Luther); and (/3) it is only in part outside the operation of grace ; grace includes natural virtue as well as supernatural gifts ; in the work- ing of reason and conscience we see the working of God's Spirit; the question is one of degree. As to the latter there have been also two attitudes : Is sin radical or superficial, imperfection or perver- sion? If it is a radical perversion, then the con- verting grace required is above nature, tlie free gift of God's mercy ; if a superficial imperfection, moral influence by way of education will suffice to eradicate it.
These attitudes in varying guise have divided Christendom through the centuries. On which side may we range the apostles? The question is not easy to answer. They otier no systematic state- ment. Two considerations are relevant. First, they inherit the national attitude, the cardinal feature of which is the natural affinity of man for God and the easy access of God's Spirit to man. The Spirit operated specially but also generally ; His grace lay in the ordinary as well as in the ex- ceptional facts of moral and religious life. There is no sign that the apostles broke with this point of view (nor did the Patristic age).|| They make, however, a most significant addition, due to the vital etiect of Christ's Personality in their experi- ence, introducing an absolutely new strain, form- ing a new centre round which the problem gathers. The inherited theory is left unreconciled with the new focus ; the new focus inevitably leads to the profoundest widening of the gulf between nature and grace ; and pre-Christian moral and religious life is conceived of as, in its general disposition, evil, abandoned of God, even if, in its higher tendencies, especially in Israel under the Law, it was propaedeutic and led to demands for revelation