III. DOCTRINE RESPECTING GOD THE

HOLY GHOST.

BESIDES setting forth Belief in God the Father and God the Son, the Creed declares also Belief "in God the Holy Ghost."

Ghost is an old English (or Saxon) word for spirit. Angels are spirits. Men have spirits. Therefore, the Third Person in the Blessed Trinity is called the Holy Spirit, to distinguish Him from all other spirits, that is to say, from all created beings.

The article about the Holy Ghost in the Nicene Creed is more full than in the Apostles' Creed. It is, "I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spake by the prophets."

"Proceeding" means neither begotten as our Lord, nor created as men and angels.

The Holy Ghost is God, as truly as the Father is God and the Son is God. This equality is implied in our Lord's command to His apostles to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [Matt. xxviij. 19.] Therefore, in the Athanasian Creed, we say that He is Eternal, Almighty, and Incomprehensible, i.e., that He has always been God, that there is no limit to His power, and that He is everywhere present, not limited by space.

But He never became incarnate as God the Son did, and does not make us "members of" Himself, but 66 'members of Christ."

We declare that the Holy Ghost is God every time. that we sing, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Ghost; also when we pray in the Litany, "O God the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, Have mercy upon us miserable sinners :" thus carrying out the statement in the Nicene Creed, "Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.”

Before our Lord's coming the Holy Ghost "spake by the prophets." The whole of the Holy Bible was written by the inspiration or guidance and teaching of God the Holy Ghost. St. Peter says, in reference to the Old Testament, "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" [2 Pet. j. 21]; and St. Paul says, in reference to the New Testament, "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth" [I Cor. ij. 13.]

The Incarnation of our Blessed Lord was brought about by God the Holy Ghost. In Luke j. 35 we read that the angel said to the Blessed Virgin Mary, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon Thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow Thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of Thee shall be called the Son of God. [See also Matt. j. 18-21.]

The Holy Ghost descended visibly from Heaven, "in bodily shape like a dove,” and lighted upon our Lord at His baptism by St. John the Baptist in the river Jordan. [Matt. j. 13-17.]

Jesus promised the Holy Ghost as the Comforter to be with the twelve Apostles and with the Church after them for ever, saying, "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth... and the

Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." [John xiv. 16-26.]

In accordance with this promise God the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, came down to the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost-or Whitsun Day-ten days after our Lord's Ascension. [Acts ij. 1-4.] He made the Apostles and others of the early Christians able to speak in languages which they had never learned, and He gave to some also the power of working miracles as the Apostles did. Our Lord promised that the Comforter should abide with His Church for ever, and not merely during the lifetime of the Apostles; therefore although the power of working miracles is now seldom, if ever, manifested, we believe that He remains with the Church still, to comfort Christians by making them holy and saving them.

God the Holy Ghost sanctifies Christians in their Baptism by making those who are born in sin to be members of Christ who is all Holy. As the Holy Ghost brought about the birth of Christ, so also He brings about the regeneration or new birth of Christ's members. So St. Paul says, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body." [1 Cor. xij. 13.]

This is shown by the prayers in the baptismal service. For

Before baptism the priest prays God—

1. "To wash and sanctify the child with the Holy Ghost."

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2. To give His Holy Spirit to the child that it may be born again."

In the thanksgiving after baptism he says→→

3. "We give Thee thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased Thee to regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit."

Our Lord calls baptism "being born of water and of the Spirit," [John iij. 5], which words form part of the Gospel of the service for the baptism of those of riper years, and are quoted in the introduction to the service for the public baptism of infants.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is also bestowed upon Christians after baptism.

[Gift of the Holy Ghost=that which the Holy Ghost gives.]

It is given by means of the chief ministers of the Church, with laying on of hands.

1. In Confirmation, the bishop lays his hands on those to be confirmed and prays thus, "Defend, O Lord, this Thy child with Thy heavenly grace, that he may continue Thine for ever, and daily increase in Thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto Thy everlasting kingdom." And in the Collect afterwards, "Let Thy Holy Spirit ever be with them." So when the first converts in Samaria had been baptized by Philip the deacon, two of the Apostles, St. Peter and St. John, went down from Jerusalem and "laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." [Acts viij. 17.]

2. In Ordination. At the consecration of Bishops and the ordination of Priests [not Deacons] the Bishops and Priests present lay their hands upon the head of the person ordained and say, “Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a 'Bishop' or 'Priest' in the Church of God now committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands." St. Paul reminded

Timothy of this gift of the Holy Ghost when he said, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God that is in thee by the putting on of my hands." [2 Tim. j. 6.] It is by this gift which the Holy Ghost bestows that Bishops and Priests are different from other men, and are able to give that which no other men can give, the grace of Ordination, of Confirmation, of the Lord's Supper, and of Absolution.

The Holy Ghost is called "The Giver of Life,” because in baptism and other ordinances He makes us partakers of Christ, who is the life of our souls.

The gifts of the Holy Ghost were given without measure to Christ, in accordance with the prophecy of Isaiah: "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." [Isa. xj. 2.] The same gifts are given to Christ's members in Confirmation, when they are made one with Christ, who received those gifts.

In that service the Bishop prays :—

"Strengthen them, we beseech Thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, and daily increase in them Thy manifold gifts of grace, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength, the spirit of knowledge and true godliness, and fill them, O Lord, with the spirit of Thy Holy fear, now and for ever."

They are generally called the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit, as in the lines of the Hymn called the Veni Creator :