Therefore, upon the whole, the sense of the primitive church, so far as it can be gathered from the authors above cited, is, That “although some of the scriptures primarily refer, to those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, which were given to the apostles, and a few other persons in the apostolical age: yet they refer also, in a secondary sense, to those ordinary operations of the Holy Spirit, which all the children of God do and will experience, even to the end of the world.”
23. What I mean by The ordinary operations of the Holy Ghost, I sum up in the words of a modern writer:
“Sanctification being opposed to our corruption, and answering fully to the latitude thereof, whatsoever of holiness and perfection is wanting in our nature, must be supplied by the Spirit of God. Wherefore being by nature we are totally void of all saving truth, and under an impossibility of knowing the will of God; this Spirit searcheth all things, yea, even the deep things of God, and revealeth them unto the sons of men, so that thereby the darkness of their understanding is expelled, and they are enlightened with the knowledge of God. The same Spirit which revealeth the object of faith generally to the universal church, doth also illuminate the understanding of such as believe, that they may receive the truth. For faith is the gift of God, not only in the object, but also in the act. And this gift is a gift of the Holy Ghost working within us—And as the increase of perfection, so the original of faith is from the Spirit of God, by an internal illumination of the soul.”
“The second part of the office of the Holy Ghost is, the renewing of man in all the parts and faculties of his soul. For our natural corruption consisting in an aversion of our wills, and a depravation of our affections, and inclination of them to the will of God, is wrought within us by the Spirit of God.”
“The third part of this office is, To lead, direct and govern us in our actions and conversations. If we live in the Spirit, quickened by his renovation, we must also walk in the Spirit, following his direction, led by his manuduction. We are also animated and acted by the Spirit of God, who giveth both to will and to do: And as many as are thus led by the Spirit of God, are the sons of God.[¹] Moreover, that this direction may prove more effectual, we are guided in our prayers by the same Spirit: according to the promise, I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication. (Zechariah xii. 10.) Whereas then this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and whereas we know not what we should pray for as we ought, the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered[²]: And he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God.[³] From which intercession” (made for all true Christians) “he hath the name of the Paraclete given him by Christ, who said, I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete.[⁴] For if any man sin, we have a Paraclete with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, saith St. John: Who maketh intercession for us, saith St. Paul, (Romans viii. 34.) And we have another Paraclete[⁵], saith our Saviour: Which also maketh intercession for us[⁶], saith St. Paul. A Paraclete then, in the notion of the scriptures, is an intercessor.”
[¹] Romans viii. 14.
[²] Verse 26.
[³] Verse 26.
[⁴] John xiv. 16, 26.
[⁵] John xiv. 16.