John
16:12-14 When
the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will
not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he
will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he
will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity,
proceeding from the Father and the Son, of the same substance and equal in
power and glory, is, together with the Father and the Son, to be believed in,
loved, obeyed, and worshiped throughout all ages.
He is the Lord and giver of life, everywhere
present, and is the source of all good thoughts, pure desires, and holy counsels
in men. By him the prophets were moved to speak the Word of God, and all the
writers of the Holy Scriptures inspired to record infallibly the mind and will
of God.
The dispensation of the Gospel is especially
committed to him. He prepares the way for it, accompanies it with his
persuasive power, and urges its message upon the reason and conscience of men,
so that they who reject its merciful offer are not only without excuse, but are
also guilty of resisting the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, whom the Father is ever willing to
give to all who ask him, is the only efficient agent in the application of
redemption. He regenerates men by his grace, convicts them of sin, moves them
to repentance, and persuades and enables them to embrace Jesus Christ by faith.
He unites all believers to Christ, dwells in them as their comforter and
sanctifier, gives to them the spirit of adoption and prayer, and performs all
these gracious offices by which they are sanctified and sealed unto the day of
redemption.
By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit all believers
being vitally united to Christ, who is the head, are thus united one to another
in the church, which is his body. He calls and anoints ministers for their holy
office, qualifies all other officers in the church for their special work, and
imparts various gifts and graces to its members. He gives efficacy to the Word
and to the ordinances of the Gospel. By him the church will be preserved,
increased, purified, and at last made perfectly holy in the presence of God.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith
