Journal: Reformation and Revival
Volume: RAR 05:3 (Summer 1996)
Article: Spirit and Word: Lessons from Puritanism
Author: Andrew Davies

RAR 5:3 (Summer 1996) p. 93

Spirit and Word: Lessons from Puritanism

Andrew Davies

The seventeenth century was an age similar to our own in at least one major respect: the emphasis on experience. It was the age of diaries and autobiographies, of Rembrandt and his fascination with himself, the age of anatomy. In religion, also, it was the century of prophesying, of telling experiences, of preaching what “I felt, what I smartingly did feel.” During the Civil War and Commonwealth period in particular, religious enthusiasm burst forth in almost every direction, with new groups and sects claiming the liberty of the Spirit. Mainstream Puritanism addressed itself to this question as a matter of urgency. The debate centered around the work of the Holy Spirit in the enlightenment of Scripture’s hearers and readers. It was one of the major controversies of the time, and the way it was dealt with provides us with some illuminating insights into the sort of questions which have again come to the fore in our century.

The Puritans, to a man, accepted the inspiration of Scripture. But when they came to examine the work of the Spirit within the believer, discussion, even controversy, emerged. All agreed that the letter of Scripture, the “bare word,” could not save. The work of the Spirit was essential for a saving knowledge of the Word. (John Owen spoke of the “external testimony” of the Spirit opening the eyes of the blind.) But thereafter questions arose about which there was not such unanimity. (1) Did the Spirit ever speak apart from the Word? Or was He bound to what was written? (2) What exactly was the Spirit’s function and role in the interpretation of the Word? (3) What about leadings or promptings or impressions? Were they of the Spirit? And if so, how should they be tested? By the Word alone? Or by the Word and the Spirit? (4) How could you tell that it was the Spirit who was speaking to you? Might it not be your own spirit? Or even the Evil Spirit? (5) And when the Holy Spirit did speak, what

RAR 5:3 (Summer 1996) p. 94

exactly did He say? And to what part of the human personality did He speak? These were some of the many questions raised in Puritan sermons and books about the relationship between Word and Spirit.

Word and Spirit

This was the basic question. Did the Holy Spirit speak only “in” or “through” or “by” the Word? The main body of Puritan opinion answered with a qualified “Yes.”

There must be a double light. So there must be a Spirit in me as there is a spirit in the Scriptures before I can see anything. The breath of the Spirit in us is suitable to the Spirit’s breathing in the Scriptures; the same Spirit doth not breathe contrary motions (Richard Sibbes).

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