Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

identity” and makes them in all respects one with Him; that the work of the Holy Spirit
is quite superfluous, since the sinner’s redemption was completed on the cross, or —
even more extreme — that the work of Christ was also unnecessary, since the whole
matter was settled in the eternal decree of God; that the sinner is justified in the
resurrection of Christ or even in the counsel of redemption, and therefore does not need
justification by faith or receives in this merely a declaration of a previously
accomplished justification; and that believers are free from the law, not only as a
condition of the covenant of works, but also as a rule of life. It virtually denies the
personality and work of the Holy Spirit, and in some cases even the objective atonement
through Christ. Both atonement and justification are from eternity. The penitent sinner
wrongly proceeds on the assumption that God is angry with him and merely needs
information on that point. Moreover, he should realize that whatever sins he may
commit cannot affect his standing with God.
Scripture teaches us to recognize a certain economy in the work of creation and
redemption and warrants our speaking of the Father and our creation, of the Son and
our redemption, and of the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. The Holy Spirit has not
only a personality of His own, but also a distinctive method of working; and therefore
we should distinguish between the work of Christ in meriting salvation and the work of
the Holy Spirit in applying it. Christ met the demands of divine justice and merited all
the blessings of salvation. But His work is not yet finished. He continues it in heaven, in
order to put those for whom He laid down His life in possession of all that He has
merited for them. Even the work of application is a work of Christ, but a work which
He accomplishes through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Though this work stands out in
the economy of redemption as the work of the Holy Spirit, it cannot for a moment be
separated from the work of Christ. It is rooted in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ
and carries this to completion, and that not without the co-operation of the subjects of
redemption. Christ Himself points out the close connection when He says: “Howbeit
when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall
not speak from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He speak: and
He shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He shall glorify me, for He shall
take of mine, and shall declare it unto you.” John 16:13,14.
B. GENERAL AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Scripture clearly shows that not all the operations of the Holy Spirit are part and
parcel of the saving work of Jesus Christ. Just as the Son of God is not only the Mediator
of redemption, but also the Mediator of creation, so the Holy Spirit, as represented in
468