The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life

The ministry of the Holy Spirit tends to be a neglected ministry, neglected by us in our lives with their problems and tensions as well as with their privileges and opportunities. With some this neglect may be due to a lack of knowledge about the vigor of the theology of the Holy Spirit as it is revealed in Scripture. With others it may rest in the lack of understanding of the rich fullness of the eternal purpose of the Holy Spirit in their lives. With still others it may be accounted for by the mistaken assumption that the ministry of the Spirit is more remote and therefore less practical than many other divine truths. God as Father and Jesus Christ as Savior - these are accepted as divine revelation which reflects and meets the most desperate needs of man. But the ministry of the Spirit is frequently associated only with church councils and creedal formulations, with theological textbooks and classroom lectures. Therefore it is not at all surprising that the theological literature centering in the Person and the work of the Holy Spirit bulks much less than that which clusters around other areas of divine truth