The Gift of the Holy Spirit
The late George Smeaton (1814-1889) of Scotland began his excellent work upon the Holy Spirit by saying, "Wherever Christianity has been a living power, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has uniformly been regarded equally with the atonement and justification by faith as the article of a standing or falling church. The distinctive feature of Christianity, as it addresses itself on man's experience, is the work of the Spirit, which not only elevates it far above all philosophical speculation, but also above every other form of religion."
Not too strong was the language of Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) when he said, "The gift of the Spirit is the crowning mercy of God in Christ Jesus. It was for this all the rest was. The incarnation, and crucifixion, the resurrection and ascension were all preparatory to Pentecost. Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, all the rest would be useless. The great thing in Christianity is the gift of the Spirit. The essential, vital, central element in the life of the soul and the work of the church is the person of the Spirit."
Not too strong was the language of Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) when he said, "The gift of the Spirit is the crowning mercy of God in Christ Jesus. It was for this all the rest was. The incarnation, and crucifixion, the resurrection and ascension were all preparatory to Pentecost. Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, all the rest would be useless. The great thing in Christianity is the gift of the Spirit. The essential, vital, central element in the life of the soul and the work of the church is the person of the Spirit."