S P I 



of our redemption ; — while many others have contented 

 themfelves with averting, that there is only apolitical, modal, 

 or economical diftinftion, in the perfonahty of the Father, 

 Son, and Spirit. Others again have maintained, that the 

 Spirit is a third diftinaion in the Deity ; and when he is 

 called 2 per/on, the word is to be taken in fuch a fenfe be- 

 low the philofophical and above the modal ; though whit 

 determination is to be affixed to it, they do not more parti- 

 cularly fay. 



Thofe, and they form a numerous clafs, who aflert the 

 Spirit to be a A\me poiver, plead chiefly the fenfe of the 

 word in the Old Teilament, where they fay it has generally 

 that fi"-nification : and that it would be abfurd to fuppofe, 

 that the idea (hould be fo greatly changed, when Chrilt 

 and his apnftles addrefl'ed thofe who had been bred up in 

 the Jewifh religion, and muft, therefore, have been ufed to 

 conceive of the Spirit according to the reprefentation made 

 in their Ijcred oracles. It is alfo pleaded, that the pouring out 

 one per/on on another, is both iinfcriptural and unintelligible 

 language, but not fo, if it relates to a divine/iow^r, influence, 

 or operation. They urge in favour of the explication of the 

 doftrine, Luke, i. 35 ; and reply to the paflages of fcrip- 

 ture above cited, by obferving, that nothing was more com- 

 mon among the ancients, and more efpecially the Eaftern 

 nations, than to reprefent powers, properties, and attri- 

 butes, by perfonal charafters ; thus, wifdom is reprefcnted 

 as contriving, rejoicing, inviting, pleading, reproving, &c. 

 Prov. i. 20, &c. iii. 15, &c. iv. 6, &c. viii. i. ix. i, &c. ; 

 charity, as believing, rejoicing, &c. I Cor. xiii. ; and 

 death, as being plagued, Hof. xiii. 4 ; the fcripture, as 

 forefeeing and preaching, Gal. lii. 8 ; the fun, as rejoicing, 

 Pf. xix. 5 ; a famine, as coming at God's call, 2 King«, 

 Tiii. I ; righteoufnefs, as walking before him, compare 

 Pf. Ixxxv. 10 — 13 ; and the wind, as willing, John, iii. 6. 

 To thofe who allege thefe paflages, it is replied, that none 

 of them come up to the preceding texts ; more efpecially 

 confidering how frequently the perfonal term »/io; is ufed, 

 when fpoken of the Spirit, and that not merely in poetical, 

 but moll plain and fimple difcourfes, which, indeed, as it 

 might be argued, is necefl'ary to render the perfonification 

 complete ; but the fl:rongefl; objeftion againft this opinion 

 is faid to arife from the form of baptifm, and the fore- 

 mentioned John, xvi. 13, 14. 



Dr. Lardner examines the different fenfes in which the 

 words Spirit, Spirit of God, and Holy Ghoft, are ufed in 

 the Old and New Teftament ; and he finds, i. That Spirit 

 is in many places equivalent to God himfelf. 2. That it 

 often means the power or wifdom of God, or his will and 

 command. 3. That it often means an extraordinary gift 

 from God of power, wifdom, knowledcre, and underiland- 

 ing. In Heb. li. 14. gifts of the Holy Ghofl; Ihould 

 be dillributions of the Holy Gholt ; an expreflion plainly 

 declaring, that by the Holy Ghoft or Holy Spirit were 

 meant thofe fpiritual gifts, which came down upon men 

 from heaven immediately, or were communicated in orreat 

 variety by laying on the hands of the apollles. 4. In the 

 cpillles of the New Teilament, there are at the beginning 

 and elfewhere wifht-s of peace from God the Father and 

 the Lord Jefjs Chrill, but none from the Spirit dillinftly ; 

 nor are there any doxnlogies or afcriptions of glory to the 

 Spirit didiTiftly, though there are feveral fuch afcriptions 

 to God and Chrill, or to God through Chrilt. 



Bm it may be faid, as our learned and impartial author 

 ftates the objedions of thofe who maintain a different opi- 

 nion, that the Spirit o- the Holy Ghoft is oftentimes fpoken 

 of as a perfon, and efpecially in St. John's gofpel. To 

 vhich he replies, i. It is not uncommon in the language of 



S P I 



fcripture, as we have already ftated at large, to perfonalize 

 many things to which we do not afcribe intelligence ; thus, 

 e. g. wifdom is perfonified in the book of Proverbs, and 

 fin and death in the New Teftament. 2. There is not in 

 the Afts of the Apoftles, or in any other book of the 

 New Teftament, any account of the appearance and mani- 

 feftation of a great agent or perfon after our Saviour's af- 

 cenfion ; therefore no inch thing was promifed or intended 

 by our Saviour, nor expected by his apoftles, who could 

 not but know his meaning. 3. In other texts of fcripture, 

 and particularly in St. John's gofpel, by the Spirit or Holy 

 Ghoft is meant a gift, or plentiful effufion of fpiritual 

 gifts. 4. Our Saviour himfelf explains what he meant 

 by the Comforter, i. e. the divine influence or effufion of 

 fpiritual gifts. 5. Our bleffed Lord, in fpeaking of this 

 matter, has made ufe of a variety of expreffions, by at- 

 tending to which we may clearly difcern his true mean- 

 ing, in what he fays of the Comforter. All wliich feem 

 to (hew, that by the Spirit is to be underftood that fpe* 

 cial influence, which, in different meafures and propor- 

 tions, God vouchfafes to men through Jefus Chrill for 

 their own comfort and eftabliihment, and for fpreading the 

 great truths of religion in the world. This power or divine 

 influence, this effufion of knowledge and other fpiritual gifts, 

 our Lord calls the Comforter or the Advocate, rrx^ociXr'io;, 

 as thereby their caufe would be pleaded with men, and they 

 would be juttified in preaching boldly in the name of Jefus 

 Chrift. This gift, this divine influence, he calls alfo the 

 fpirit of truth, becaufe by this wonderful influence on their 

 minds, the apoftles would be led into the knowledge of all the 

 truths of the Gofpel, and would be enabled to teach them 

 to others with perfpicuity. And our Lord fpeaks of the 

 Spirit's bringing to their remembrance the things which he 

 had faid, and of his receiving of his and (hewing it unto 

 them ; becaufe by his miraculous influence upon their minds, 

 thofe prejudices would be removed, which had obftrufted 

 their clear difcemment of what Chrift had faid unto them, 

 when he was with them. By the Holy Ghoft in Matth. 

 xxviii. 19, where we have the form of baptifm, we are to 

 underftand the miracles of our Saviour's miniftry, and like- 

 wife the miracles wrought by his apoftles, and the fpiritual 

 gifts beftowed upon the apoftles and other difciples of Jefus, 

 and all believers in general, foon after our Lord's afcenfion, 

 and all the miraculous atteftations of the truth, and divine 

 origin of the doftrine taught by Jefus Chrift. On the fub- 

 je6t of this article, we refer our theological readers to 

 Calamy on the Trinity, Serm. vi. Emlyn's Trafts, vol. ii. 

 Burnet on the Art. — Script. Doftr. of the Trin. Diff. v. 

 Watts on the Trin.— Alfo, Chrift. Dodr. of Trin. Bar- 

 row's Works, vol. ii. Clarke on the Trin. part i. ch. 3. 

 part ii. § 3, 4. 19, 20, 21, 22. 28 — 32. 40 — 42. 45, 

 46. 53. Taylor on the Trin. part iii. Owen on the 

 Spirit, 1. i. c. 3. Pearfon on the Creed. Dr. Scott's 

 Eft. towards a Demonitr. of the Script. Trin. prop. iii. 

 Lardner's Firfl Poftfcr. to the Letter on the Logos, apud 

 Works, vol. xi. Prieftley's Hift. of Early Opinions, 

 vol. ii. — Corrnptions, vol. i. Doddridge's Leftures. 



Spirit, Order of the. See Holy Ghoft. 



Spirit is alfo ufed, amond Divines, for the divine power 

 and virtue, and the communication of it to men. 



In this fenfe, the fpirit is faid to have gone out on the 

 face of the deep (Gen. i. 3.), and the prophets to have 

 been poffeffed with the fpirit of God. Providence, in this 

 fenfe, is that univerfal fpirit by which God makes all nature 

 to act. 



Thus, the holy Virgin is faid to have conceived of the 

 Spirit. 



Spirit, 



