N pursuing the chronological and natural development of the subject, I have heretofore considered the relations of the Holy Spirit to believers only, or what is properly termed "the gift of the Holy Spirit." It is, however, a most important part of the office of the Spirit to influence and convert the unbelieving world, and it is proper that to this we should now direct our attention, as the great incipient work in the process of human redemption. Christianity is designed for the salvation of a perishing world. The apostles were sent out into all the world to preach the gospel, "with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven," for the express purpose of 'turning men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive remission of sins, and an inheritance among those who were sanctified by faith in Christ.' There can be no question, then, that the conversion of sinners was, and is, due to the Holy Spirit, and that this constitutes an essential part of his work. [226]

      As conducive to a proper understanding of this important matter, it will be proper here, before proceeding, to consider briefly the present state of the question as it presents itself in religious society, and to obviate, if possible, certain misapprehensions which present themselves directly in the way. The first and most important of these errors is, that the religious world, very generally, fail to make any proper distinction between the work of the Spirit, in the conversion of the sinner, and the "gift of the Holy Spirit" to the believer. They confound these together, indeed, in such a manner, as to render it evident that they have no idea of any difference in the relations which the sinner and the saint respectively sustain to the Holy Spirit, or that there is, or can be, different modes of operation. As a simple matter of fact, apart from any of the metaphysical theories with which the subject is incumbered, it is perfectly clear that, in the general view of the religious community, conversion is supposed to be effected by the direct gift of the Holy Spirit to the sinner. It is for this he is taught to pray and labor. It is by this he "obtains a hope" of salvation. The emotions or feelings which he experiences, are taken as the evidences of a true faith; of a change of heart; of the remission of sins; of justification and of sanctification through Christ, whose blood is supposed to be mysteriously applied to the heart and conscience in this "instantaneous work," called conversion or regeneration. It is upon this, accordingly, that the individual evermore thereafter rests his hope of acceptance. It [227] constitutes his entire "religious experience." To it he recurs, in moments of despondency, for consolation and support. The work of the Spirit is with him, in after time, not a present reality, but a memory of the past; and conversion is conceived to be, both the beginning and the ending of that renovation, which the Spirit accomplishes. Such is the view, at least, commonly entertained. A few of the more intelligent among the different parties may have better conceptions, but such are manifestly those held by the mass of religious society, and constantly taught and practically exhibited on all suitable occasions.

      There is no dispute, let it be remembered, as to the fact that the Holy Spirit imparts faith to the sinner, and gives him repentance, and leads him to confess and obey Christ. The point is, that modern theology attributes all this and more to the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit in the sinner; to an actual and a direct impartation of the Spirit, to enter into and purify his heart by a special and mysterious power. The gist of the modern view is, that this is accomplished by the personal agency of the Spirit, which is conceived to be essential, and the only thing essential, as is clearly shown in this, that the word of God is not deemed necessary to the effect, but it is supposed that this may be produced without the Word, which, in no case, is considered as more than a mere instrumentality, requiring an infusion of spiritual power, and as being, in default of this, inert and inefficacious. It is, thus, this [228] mysterious "operation," internal, independent, direct, and overwhelming--a spiritual baptism--an immediate outpouring of the Spirit upon the unbeliever, in order to give to him true faith, that constitutes the popular regeneration, and the sole or chief idea of the Spirit's work in effecting the salvation of men. It is the sinner who receives every thing, and who is the subject of the only distinct and direct influence of the Spirit which the modern view admits; conversion being thus inextricably confounded with "the gift of the Spirit," which, according to this theory, is conferred thus upon the unbelieving world.

      It is here that another error reveals itself in this, that modern theology makes the mode of conversion the essential matter. That a sinner should "break off his sins by righteousness, and his iniquities by turning to the Lord," is admitted to be well enough; but the question, theologically, is, was this supposed change brought about in a particular manner, and according to the rules approved by the "masters of assemblies?" Was it the result of a special operation? Can the candidate for church membership give an orthodox and satisfactory recital of the mental throes in which his transformation may have originated? If he can, it is well; if not, he will be rejected as unregenerate, since it seems to be not so much a favorable change that is required, as a change accomplished in a particular manner. Theologians, indeed, have wearied themselves and their readers with elaborate disquisitions upon the evidences of conversion, and have succeeded in involving the [229] whole matter in utter indefiniteness and confusion. But if any thing is to be made out of their inconsistent theories, it is this, that conversion, to be valid, must arise from a direct and immediate operation of the Spirit. Conversion is thus judged of, not by what it is, but by the manner in which it has been brought about; and the question in dispute is not the nature of the change effected, but the way or manner in which it was accomplished. It is admitted, on all hands, that conversion is by the Spirit. The debate is upon the point, whether the Spirit converts men by the evidences of the gospel presented to their minds, or by a special "instantaneous work," communicating faith by supernatural power. It is upon this question that religious controversy, in modern times, has largely turned; and, as regards the present state of religious society, there is, perhaps, no issue which needs more to be scripturally considered and adjusted.

      We have seen, that the mission of the Comforter was, primarily, to the disciples. "He will guide you into all truth," said Jesus, "for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, because he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." John xvi: 13, 14. This is a very remarkable declaration, showing that the Holy Spirit came not to make himself known, but to make Christ known. Similarly, Christ said of himself, "The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself--I have not spoken of myself, but the [230] Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak." John xii: 49. Christ thus, in like manner, came to make the Father known, to whom all things are ultimately referred, and to whom, through Christ, an access was to be obtained by one Spirit. At the Transfiguration, the Father introduced Jesus, in the presence of those representing the Law and the Prophets, in the oracle: "This is my Beloved Son, hear him;" and Christ, in turn, announcing the advent of the Comforter, who was to complete the revelation of the love of God to men, declares that he also was to "speak" the things he received.

      As, under all these manifestations, the unity of God is maintained, so, in all these revelations, there is perfect unity, harmony, and consistency; all being designed to exhibit, in its different stages, the Divine plan of redemption in Christ. The Comforter, then, came not to make a distinct or independent revelation, but to take of the things of Christ, and show these to the disciples; "to lead them into all the truth" involved in the mission and work of Christ, both as to his suffering for sin, and as to the things to come--the glory that should follow, in order that the Divine purposes, in him, might be fully made known to the world. This was to be accomplished by words; through human speech; through intelligible oral or written communications. Hence, as Jesus spoke the words, which the Father dictated, so the Spirit was to speak the things he heard, with which no human being could be permitted to [231] interfere in the slightest degree, in the way of addition, subtraction, or change.

      The apostles, being "filled with the Holy Spirit," were fully constituted and endowed as God's embassadors to the world, and were commanded to go into all the world and preach to every creature, that gospel which presented to men the love of God in Christ. The great object of the whole was, the salvation of the world. The church was to be gathered out of the world, throughout all ages; as Christ himself, during his personal ministry, gathered his disciples out of the world. Hence, while the mission of the Spirit was, primarily, to the disciples, the ultimate purpose involved also the salvation of the unbelieving world, and the mode in which this was to be effected is the present subject of inquiry.

      In announcing the advent of the Comforter, Christ said: "When he is come, he will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." We have here, then, an express statement of the work of the Holy Spirit, as this relates to the world, and the particulars here given, comprise his entire office, as respects the world at large. He was, in the first place, to "convince the world of sin." It is of very great importance to comprehend aright this declaration. The term "sin" here has very frequently been construed as sinfulness, and the sense has been supposed to be 'He will convince the world of unbelievers, individually, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and of their own great depravity, and need of repentance in order to salvation.' [232]

      In view of the fact, that it is difficult, if not impossible, for any human being to form adequate conceptions of the malignity of sin, it would be neither an unlikely, nor an incorrect hypothesis to conceive, that a part, at least, of the office of the Holy Spirit would be, to assist men to form a clear and just notion in regard to their lost condition, which must, as a matter of course, lie at the very foundation of any effort for deliverance. It is a deep sense of sin, and of human frailty and inability, which alone can lead the soul to seek for refuge in the all-sufficiency of Christ; and which must ever attend the believer in his life-long struggle against the powers of evil; and there can be no question, but that it constitutes a most important part of the Holy Spirit's work, to create and maintain such convictions, essential to any movement or progress in the Divine life. A tender conscience, taking alarm at the very appearance of evil; a profound and abiding consciousness of the "exceeding sinfulness of sin;" an humble and a contrite heart which rests, "in trembling hope," upon the Divine mercy, are indubitable evidences of true religion, and of the presence of God's Spirit. It is well observed by the eminent Arnold, of Rugby: "In a deep sense of moral evil, more, perhaps, than in any thing else, abides a saving knowledge of God."

      The question before us here, however, is not one respecting this, or any other general truth, but one of Scripture interpretation; and, while all that can be urged as to the importance of deep convictions of [233] sin in the human heart, is fully sanctioned, it does not at all follow that the passage before us has any immediate reference to these. It is amazing how great a looseness has existed in regard to the interpretation of Scripture; how much men have been disposed to confound general with particular truths, and to overlook the most precious gems, while gazing vaguely at the wide-spread field of revelation. They seem as though unaware of the fact, that we may err, as well by substituting one truth for another, as by substituting error for truth; and that the proper question in the examination of any Scripture is not, With what general truth does it coincide? but What particular truth does it express? What is the direct and immediate purport of the passage?

      "When the Comforter is come, he will convince the world of sin, said Jesus." If this be understood of sin in general, it would be at once implied that, prior to this, the world had never been convinced of its sinfulness, and had received no proper impressions in regard to its guiltiness before God. Nay, it would be justly understood as indicating that heretofore no effort, even, had been made for such a purpose, and that it would be left to the Comforter, when he came, to undertake this most necessary work. Furthermore, it would be a fair conclusion that no one had ever been saved since the world began, as a true conviction of sin and a sincere repentance are indispensable to pardon. Such an application of the passage would be, therefore, palpably a false one, and utterly inconsistent with the facts of revelation and [234] of human history. From the time of the sin-offering of Abel, down through all the ages, amidst the Divine judgments, and express revelations upon this subject; in presence of the innumerable victims upon Jewish and upon Gentile altars; in view of the Mosaic law, with its wondrous ritual, ordained for the very purpose of imparting a knowledge of sin, and all the inspiration of the prophets, and the examples of the suffering saints of God, it would be impossible to entertain for a moment the idea, that the world was at any period unprovided with the necessary evidences of its sinfulness, or that the people of God did not always possess just convictions upon the subject. The passage in question, therefore, can have no reference to the general sinfulness of the world, or the particular state of human nature. The work which it announces is a special one. It is one which had not been, and in the nature of things could not have been, accomplished by any other agency or at any prior time. A conviction of sin was now to be imparted to the world, of which it had previously no knowledge or experience whatever, and which was to contribute more to its salvation, than any lesson, or than all the lessons, it had learned.

      In order to perceive the true and precise meaning of the declaration before us, it is only necessary to consider it in its connection with the definite explanation which the Saviour himself gave. He did not leave the disciples under any incertitude as to its import, but went on to state specifically that the sin of which the Comforter would convince the world, was [235] unbelief in reference to himself." Of sin," added he, "because they believe not on me." The reference is here directly to the rejection of Christ, in his personal mission as a suffering Saviour. He had often said to the people, "Ye will not come to me, that ye may have life." "Whom God hath sent, him ye believe not." "Ye neither know me nor my Father," etc. But there was a time approaching when the Divine purposes would be more fully developed. "When ye have lifted up the Son of Man," said Jesus, "then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." John viii: 28. It was the office of the Spirit, then, to show to the world, at the proper time, that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and that it had sinned in rejecting him.

      This we, accordingly, find to be the point first pressed upon the attention of the people, in the discourses of the apostles. Speaking as the Holy Spirit gave him utterance, Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, charges the multitude with this very sin of having rejected Christ. "Him ye have taken," said he, "and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death." "Therefore," he adds in conclusion, "let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." It was when they heard this, and realized its truth from the miraculous confirmations which accompanied it, that they were convinced of [236] sin in not having believed on Christ, and, pierced to the heart, cried out, "Men and brethren what shall we do?" In like manner, the apostles every-where in their addresses, charged home upon the consciences of men, this sin of rejecting Christ; and, by the evidences which the Holy Spirit enabled them to submit of his Divine mission, convinced them of the unreasonableness and criminality of their disbelief. "Ye denied the Holy One and the Just," said Peter in Solomon's Porch, "and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses." Acts iii: 14, 15. "They that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers," (says Paul at Antioch,) "because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.--But God raised him from the dead: and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people." Acts xiii: 27-31. But it is unnecessary to multiply quotations to show how the Holy Spirit, working and speaking by the apostles, convinced the world of sin in the rejection of Christ. In accomplishing this, we find that they reasoned with the people out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs thus have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and "that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you is Christ." Acts xvii: 3.

      In thus convincing the world of sin in disbelieving, the Spirit, at the same time, convinced men that it [237] was their duty to believe; for it was only so far as faith in Jesus was produced, that men could be convinced of the sin of disbelief. To "convince the world of sin," then, because of its rejection of Christ, was simply to produce faith in Christ; and this faith, it will be seen, was produced by the testimony of prophets and apostles. The people were addressed in words; the proper evidence was laid before them, and it was when they "heard these things," that they were convinced of the Messiahship of Jesus. Faith thus "came by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." In convincing men that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God, by laying before them indubitable evidences of the fact, the Holy Spirit convinced them, at the same moment, of sin in having rejected and denied him, when he appeared in the guise of the "Man of sorrows." It is evident, from the narrative, that this conviction was produced by the evidence placed before the mind, and not by any direct mysterious supernatural operation upon the heart by the Spirit, independently of the Divine testimony. It was not, as we have formerly shown, until believers confessed their faith, and became obedient to the command of the gospel, that they realized the promise, "You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." See Acts ii: 38.

      It was, thus, the office of the Paraclete to convince the world of a particular sin which it had committed, viz., the rejection of the Christ. "Of sin," said he, "because they believe not on me." This was, by way of eminence, the sin of that age, both of Jews [238] and Gentiles. "He came unto his own," says John, "and his own received him not." "The kings of the earth and the rulers," says Peter (Acts iv: 26, 27), "were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For of a truth, against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." As, typically under the Mosaic law, the sinner laid his hand upon the head of his sin-offering, so the entire world, both Jews and Gentiles, by their official representatives--Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas, called "the princes of this world," 1 Cor. ii: 8--laid their hands upon the Lamb of God, who was to take away the sin of the world, and consigned him to the death of the cross. This they did, according to the Divine purpose, in derogation of the claim of Jesus to be the Son of God; and the rejection of the true Messiah became thus the great special sin, which, first and chief of all, needed to be brought home to the convictions of men; being in itself not only the culmination of human guilt, but constituting the actual ground of final condemnation. "If I had not come and spoken to them," said Jesus "they had not had sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." "He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God." The rejection of Christ was the rejection of the world's true sin-offering, and, hence, [239] comprehended, in its consequences, all sin, and, unrepented of, left the unbeliever wholly beyond the pale of forgiveness. To confess Christ, on the other hand, and to receive him in his true character, was to obtain deliverance from all sin, and to enter into the favor and fellowship of God. The great and only question then was, belief in Christ--the acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah. The matter at issue then was, and ever since has been, whether or not Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. To bear witness, therefore, to the Messiahship of Jesus, and to convince the world of their sin in rejecting him, constituted the first and chief work of the Paraclete.

      It was another part of his office, as this related to the world, to "convince the world of righteousness." The sense here is not, any more than in the case of conviction of sin, the loose, general, indefinite, and pointless one generally entertained, but has a direct, immediate, and personal relation to Christ himself. "Of righteousness," said he "because I go to the Father, and ye see me no more." It was then, from the ascension of Jesus, and his glorification at the right hand of God, that this "righteousness" was to be deduced. It was because he went to the Father, and was no more on earth, but was enthroned in heaven, that the Comforter was to convince the world of the truth of his claims as the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world. The evidence furnished by the advent and miraculous works of the Spirit in proof of Christ's return to God, evinced at the same moment that he had been sent of God, and [240] was fully justified in all his acts and in all his teachings. It showed that he had properly and rightly claimed to be the Son of God.

      The demonstration of the sublime fact, however, of his ascension to the Father, involved much more than his own personal righteousness; for, in verifying and ratifying his official work, and proving the acceptance of the offering which he made to God, it reveals him necessarily as "made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." It presents him as the Lord our righteousness, and makes known to the world that God can be just in justifying those who believe in Jesus. It substantiates and confirms the Divine plan of redemption witnessed by the Law and the prophets, and accomplished in the life and death of the Son of God. Hence, the Spirit was to "convince the world of righteousness," both as this related to Jesus and to the world itself, and to assure men of that Divine righteousness which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe--to convince men that they could be justified freely only by the grace of God, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

      Apart from the fact that a conviction of sin must necessarily precede either the desire or the gift of pardon, there was a beautiful propriety that this conviction of righteousness should immediately succeed the conviction of sin. It was in harmony with the infinite philanthropy of God, that he should thus seek at once to assuage the sorrows of the sin-stricken heart, awakened to the consciousness that it had rejected [241] the love of Christ, by the assurance that in him, nevertheless, there was mercy and plenteous redemption. It was this gracious revelation of the love of God in Christ which was indeed fitted to lead men to "break off their sins by righteousness, and their iniquities by turning to the Lord"--to say, in the language of the prophet, "Come, and let us return unto the Lord; for he hath torn and he will heal us; he hath smitten and he will bind us up." Hosea vi: 1. We find, accordingly, that the Comforter, speaking by the mouth of the apostles, perfectly thus fulfilled his mission, and that multitudes were thus induced to submit themselves to "the righteousness of God." "Ye denied the Holy One and the just," said Peter to the multitude, "and desired a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of Life." "And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Acts iii: 14-19. "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren," said Paul, after rehearsing the rejection and death of Christ, "that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Acts xiii: 38, 39. It was thus characteristic of God's justification, that it was obtained through faith, and not by works of law, or any human device, and that it was a full and free acquittal to every [242] one who became alive unto God, through faith in Jesus Christ, who was thus made to him "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption."

      As before, in the case of the conviction of sin, the Comforter assured the world of this righteousness, through the usual channels by which men's minds are reached--viz., by the facts and evidences which it placed before them, as is abundantly evident from the sacred record. "Go, speak to the people all the words of this life," was the Divine messenger's command to Peter. "Send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved," was the angel's direction to Cornelius; who, doing as he was bidden, heard the gospel announced by Peter, and, after belief, received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was, in no case, given to unbelievers--to the people of the world--in order to produce faith in them, or to convince them of sin or of righteousness. The world could not receive the Comforter as an indwelling presence. Christ thus manifested himself to the obedient, but not thus unto the world. John xiv: 21-23. These convictions were effected through the truths presented to the minds and hearts of men, opened to receive them by means of various agencies hereafter to be considered.

      Similarly, in the third place, he was to "convince the world of judgment." This would be done, "because," said Jesus, "the Prince of this world is judged." When he uttered these words, he was about to "destroy, through death, him that had the [243] power of death," and to overthrow the empire of that mighty spiritual enemy who ruled in the hearts of the children of disobedience. When anticipating the agonies of the last mortal conflict, he said, "Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." "Now," said Jesus to the people, "is the judgment of this world, now shall the Prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." He who was "the light of the world," had carried on successfully the mighty struggle with the Prince of darkness from the hour of his temptation in the wilderness, and now, as the time of his final conflict drew near, he announced the entire overthrow of the Ruler of this world, who previously had been apparently left in almost undisturbed possession of his earthly kingdom; God having, we are told, "winked at the times of ignorance," and suffered the nations "to walk in their own ways." The time had now arrived, however, when a new dynasty was to be established on the earth, and when the Ruler of the darkness of the world was to be arraigned, condemned, and dethroned. The kingdom of God, no longer adumbrated in prophetic types and imagery, was to be really established among men. "If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God," said Jesus to the Jews, "then the kingdom of God is came unto you. Or else, how can one enter [244] into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man and then he will spoil his goods?" Baffled and discomfited, the Adversary was permitted to exert his utmost malignity against the Son of man and his feeble followers, whom, but for Divine aid, he would have overcome and enslaved. Allowed, for a time, an apparent triumph, that the Divine purposes might be accomplished, he enters into Judas, and, in the betrayal of Christ, employs the hour conceded to him and to the powers of darkness, to destroy, as he supposed, that mysterious One who had, thus far, resisted his machinations and opposed his rule. "The Prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in me." For it was at the very moment when, upon the cross, he announced the completion of the sacrifice, that, with a loud shout of victory, he cast away from himself those malignant spiritual foes who had pursued and beset his pathway in human life, and, that, "having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly," triumphing over them through that very death in which they sought his overthrow. Mysterious and mighty conflict! but faintly and imperfectly realized even by the spiritually enlightened, and of which the world is unconscious; yet upon which the destinies of the human race, and even of the material universe, are suspended. Happy are they who follow the Great Captain of Salvation, and, under his banner, continue to fight the good fight of faith, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the hosts of wicked spirits in the ærial realms, [245] that they may partake with Jesus in the glory of the ultimate triumph!

      Religion consists not in doctrines or in abstractions. It is, on the contrary, most practical and personal. It is a person that is believed in; it is a person that believes. It is a person who protects; it is a person who seeks to destroy. Every-where in Scripture, the struggle is represented as direct, immediate, real; and the Mighty Leader in the conflict, familiar with the mysteries of the spiritual and unseen world, sometimes presents to his disciples startling facts from thence, demanding their attention, or directly threatening their safety, of which they were wholly ignorant. "I beheld Satan," like lightning, "fall [fallen, pesonta] from heaven," (Luke x: 18,) said he to the seventy, when they recounted their success in casting out demons. They knew not of the discomfiture and downfall of the Prince of the demons, through their labors, as did Jesus, before whom the secrets of the spirit-world were laid open. Again, he warns the disciples, "Satan hath desired you that he may sift you as wheat." (Luke xxii: 31.) Of this, they were wholly unaware, and how great their danger was, may be seen in the case of Peter, who, left for a time to himself, was led to deny his Master, and rescued from the grasp of the Enemy only through the prayerful watchcare of Him to whom all things were revealed. Christ, as the second Adam, had been set forth as the opposer of the Prince of this world, and was destined to overthrow and destroy him, and the kingdom of darkness over which he [246] ruled. It was a conflict of which "men in the flesh" knew nothing; and of which even the disciples, prior to the advent of the Holy Spirit, had most imperfect conceptions. It was, hence, one of the three important offices of the Paraclete to convince the world that the Prince of this world was now brought into judgment; that his kingdom was assailed, and that his followers, if they repented not, should perish with him. The Holy Spirit accordingly, by the apostles, "commanded all men every-where to repent," announcing to them that God had appointed a day in which he would "judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he had ordained." To assure the world thus of "judgment" became a prominent feature in the addresses of those who "spoke as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance;" the judgment of the world being necessarily involved in that of the Prince of this world, who, in the passage under consideration, is appropriately made to stand forth as the prominent criminal--the "deceiver of the nations," the great "Adversary"--the Enemy of God and man; "the Ruler of the darkness of this world," "the Great Dragon," that old serpent called the Devil and Satan.

      The work, then, of the Paraclete, so far as it related to the world, was to convince the world of these three most important truths:

      1. The Messiahship of Jesus, or, as otherwise expressed, of their sin in not believing on Jesus.

      2. The justification of sinners, as involved in the justification and glorification of Christ. [247]

      3. The judgment of the world, involved in that of the Prince of this world.

      When now, as before stated, we examine the recorded addresses of the apostles to the unbelieving world, we find these to consist precisely of these themes; the forms of expression and proofs adduced, being changed or modified according to circumstances, but all having, as their chief purport, to convince men that Jesus was the promised Messiah; that they could obtain salvation through his name, and that God had ordained the judgment of the impenitent.¹ The apostles were sent into the world, accordingly, to preach the gospel to every creature, and to gather out of the world the ecclesia, or church, whose members, believing (eiV) on Christ, and justified though faith, had come out from among the ungodly, that God might "walk in them and dwell in them," and that they [248] might be "his sons and daughters," separated from the world, "a peculiar people, a holy nation." The disciples were thus ever the "light of the world," the "salt of the earth." From them the word of the Lord sounded forth. By them the word of truth was manifested through preaching, and the world was thus convinced of sin, righteousness and judgment; and just so far as the truth became effective, was "turned unto the Lord." We read accordingly, of the people of the world, that "when they heard these things they were pierced to the heart," that "many of them which heard the word, believed," that the "apostles so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed," (Acts xiv: 1); that "many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized" (Acts xviii: 8); in short, every-where we find that the preaching of the gospel was the means of conversion, that faith came by hearing, and "hearing by the word of God." In no case was the Holy Spirit given to any one who was of the world. In no case was faith produced by any internal supernatural operation upon the heart, by the Spirit, as it is fashionable now to allege. On the contrary, it was always the result of the Divine testimony, placed before the minds and hearts of men; and, in all cases, the belief of this testimony was a condition absolutely necessary to the enjoyment of the blessings of the gospel--the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the hope of eternal life. Such are the plain and simple facts, as they present themselves unmistakably upon the faithful and sacred [249] record of the acts and teachings of the apostles and first preachers of Christianity.

      In modern days, however, the above mentioned theories of conversion and regeneration by an immediate operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart of the unbeliever, have gained extensive currency, and have been carried to such extremes as to render the preaching of the gospel, in a good degree ineffectual, the word of God being disparaged and neglected by many who, believing these theories, await the expected "operation," or failing to experience it, either languish in despair or become disbelievers in religion altogether. On account of the prevalence and evil effect of these theories, there are not a few who have been carried away to an opposite extreme; depreciating religious emotions; adopting a frigid philosophy of selfish motivity, and utterly denying that any influence except that of "words and arguments" is employed in turning sinners "from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." It is greatly to be regretted that such theories, or indeed theories of any kind in regard to the mode of operation of either word or Spirit, should have been adopted and propagated upon this subject; and that, too, as zealously as if the belief of them was as important as conversion itself.

      In apostolic times, there were no such controversies, and no such speculations. The matter then was, to preach the gospel, to sow the good seed of the kingdom, and leave the event to God. The primitive disciples did not presume to inquire how [250] the seed grew up and brought forth fruit; nor did they endeavor to establish any particular theory of conversion. They were content to preach the word, to employ all prescribed human means, and to trust in God for results. They knew that Paul might plant, and Apollos water, but that it was God who gave the increase. They were wont to expect that God would "give repentance to the acknowledging of the truth," and "open" the hearts of hearers, so that they would "attend to the things which were spoken." But they did not, like modern religionists, insist upon any particular theory as to the manner in which the heart was opened to truth; nor did they, in any one single instance, attribute this to a direct and immediate operation of the Holy Spirit. There was, nevertheless, an "opening" of the heart, a granting of "repentance," a giving of "increase" on God's part, and it seems proper, in the present state of religious sentiment, to consider, at least briefly, how Divine truth may become effective, and to show that the results attributed to "direct special spiritual operations," by the popular theory, are to be explained upon principles much more in harmony with fact, with human experience and the teaching of the Bible. In the first place, however, it will be necessary to comprehend clearly and distinctly what regeneration is, according to the Scriptures. [251]

[OHS 226-251]