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He Shall Glorify Me: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Westminster Standards

In John 16:14, the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a summary statement of the work of the Holy Spirit: "He shall glorify Me." The major function of the Spirit is, in a sense, self-effacing; He does not seek His own glory, but Christ's, His work is Christ centered. (In as much as Christ came to do the work of the Father-or glorify Him [Jn. 17:4]-all glory that is Christ centered is similarly reflected onto the Father and finally becomes Theocentric. As the angels sang at the birth of Christ, "Glory to God in the highest!" [Lk. 2:14]) In the same way that this verse speaks of the Spirit's work, it also speaks of His "person." This is true on two accounts. First, although the person and work of the Spirit must be distinguished, they must never be totally separated. Second, to perfectly glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, by carrying out His ministry, the Holy Spirit must be intrinsically Holy and divine. This He is; He is the Holy Spirit, a title attested to by Christ Himself (Jn. 14:26). He is also fully divine, possessing all of the attributes of deity. This monograph intends to examine the doctrine of the person and work of the Holy Spirit (or "pneumatology") as set forth in the Westminster Standards, i.e., the Confession of Faith along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.