The Holy Spirit is God. In Matt.28:19 Jesus commended his disciples “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This Bible verse is interpreted to show that the Holy Spirit is eternal, and coequal with the Father and the Son in power and might.[i]
In a very real sense Luther’s theology is Christocentric. The Formula of Concord states that, “The entire Holy Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, directs all men to Christ…”[ii] Luther also states that “The Spirit is to glorify the Son – this is the office and work of the Holy Spirit: to reveal through the Gospel what great and glorious things God has done for us through Christ, namely, that He has redeemed us from sin, death, and the devil’s power; has taken us into His grace and protection; and has given Himself utterly and entirely for us.”[iii]
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord is generally an expression for God’s power. “Spirit” sometimes finds expression in ways similar to other modes of God’s activity, such as “the hand of God” (Ps19:1, 102:25), “the word of God” (Ps.33:6, 147:5,18), and the “wisdom of God” (Ex.28:3, 1Kings 3:28, Job32:8).[iv] The work of the Holy Spirit is extended to the whole creation, all human behaviors and natures. Even Jesus Christ worked all his redemptive action by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is important in our Christian life. Humans can never come to Christ or believe in Him with their own knowledge or strength until the Holy Spirit leads them to Christ. The Holy Spirit creates faith through the Word of God. Two thousand year ago Christ’s crucifixion occurred. Without the Holy Spirit, this would just be a historical event. With the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds, this event becomes the transformative process that allows us to find divine meaning in this historical and now religious event. The Holy Spirit makes us holy. Luther’s Large Catechism states, “This is the office and work of the Holy Spirit, to begin and daily to increase holiness on earth through these two means, the Christian church and the forgiveness of sins… Creation is past and redemption is accomplished, but the Holy Spirit carries on his work unceasingly until the last day.”[v]
The Holy Spirit motivates true believers to spontaneously do good works and bear the fruit of the Spirit.[vi] The Formula of Concord says “Children of God were perfectly renewed through the indwelling Spirit in such a way that in their nature and all its powers they would be totally free from sins, they would require no law, no driver. Of themselves and altogether spontaneously… they would do what they are obligated to do according to the will of God.”[vii]
Jesus told his disciples in John 15:26 “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.” The Holy Spirit works through the Word and God infuses the Spirit into our hearts so that when someone reads the Scripture, it becomes the Word of God. No one can rightly understand the Word without the Holy Spirit. Luther continues in his statement of belief that the Word is the main sacrament, for faith. The Holy Spirit is conveyed through the preaching and teaching of the gospel (Rom.10:17). Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are “the visible Word,”[viii] proclaiming the Word of God. The Holy Spirit makes Christ present in the sacraments and in Scripture; only when the Holy Spirit makes Christ present in the Word is it God’s own living word.[ix]
[i] Martin Luther, What Luther Says: an Anthology (Saint Louis (Miss): Concordia Publishing House, 1986), 662.
[ii] Theodore Tappert, The Book of Concord (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989), 627.66.
[iii] Luther, 662.
[iv] Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001), 568.
[v] Tappert, 418. 419
[vi] Gal.5:22
[vii] Tappert. 564.6.
[viii] Ibid., 212.5
[ix] Elwell,571
In a very real sense Luther’s theology is Christocentric. The Formula of Concord states that, “The entire Holy Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, directs all men to Christ…”[ii] Luther also states that “The Spirit is to glorify the Son – this is the office and work of the Holy Spirit: to reveal through the Gospel what great and glorious things God has done for us through Christ, namely, that He has redeemed us from sin, death, and the devil’s power; has taken us into His grace and protection; and has given Himself utterly and entirely for us.”[iii]
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord is generally an expression for God’s power. “Spirit” sometimes finds expression in ways similar to other modes of God’s activity, such as “the hand of God” (Ps19:1, 102:25), “the word of God” (Ps.33:6, 147:5,18), and the “wisdom of God” (Ex.28:3, 1Kings 3:28, Job32:8).[iv] The work of the Holy Spirit is extended to the whole creation, all human behaviors and natures. Even Jesus Christ worked all his redemptive action by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is important in our Christian life. Humans can never come to Christ or believe in Him with their own knowledge or strength until the Holy Spirit leads them to Christ. The Holy Spirit creates faith through the Word of God. Two thousand year ago Christ’s crucifixion occurred. Without the Holy Spirit, this would just be a historical event. With the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds, this event becomes the transformative process that allows us to find divine meaning in this historical and now religious event. The Holy Spirit makes us holy. Luther’s Large Catechism states, “This is the office and work of the Holy Spirit, to begin and daily to increase holiness on earth through these two means, the Christian church and the forgiveness of sins… Creation is past and redemption is accomplished, but the Holy Spirit carries on his work unceasingly until the last day.”[v]
The Holy Spirit motivates true believers to spontaneously do good works and bear the fruit of the Spirit.[vi] The Formula of Concord says “Children of God were perfectly renewed through the indwelling Spirit in such a way that in their nature and all its powers they would be totally free from sins, they would require no law, no driver. Of themselves and altogether spontaneously… they would do what they are obligated to do according to the will of God.”[vii]
Jesus told his disciples in John 15:26 “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.” The Holy Spirit works through the Word and God infuses the Spirit into our hearts so that when someone reads the Scripture, it becomes the Word of God. No one can rightly understand the Word without the Holy Spirit. Luther continues in his statement of belief that the Word is the main sacrament, for faith. The Holy Spirit is conveyed through the preaching and teaching of the gospel (Rom.10:17). Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are “the visible Word,”[viii] proclaiming the Word of God. The Holy Spirit makes Christ present in the sacraments and in Scripture; only when the Holy Spirit makes Christ present in the Word is it God’s own living word.[ix]
[i] Martin Luther, What Luther Says: an Anthology (Saint Louis (Miss): Concordia Publishing House, 1986), 662.
[ii] Theodore Tappert, The Book of Concord (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989), 627.66.
[iii] Luther, 662.
[iv] Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001), 568.
[v] Tappert, 418. 419
[vi] Gal.5:22
[vii] Tappert. 564.6.
[viii] Ibid., 212.5
[ix] Elwell,571