Work of the Spirit by Dr. A. Phelps

California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists · Oakland, Cal. · Apr 8, 1875

Work of the Spirit.

By Dr. A. Phelps

The mightiest forces in the universe are silent forces. Who ever heard the budding of an oak? Who was ever deafened by the falling of the dew? Who was ever stunned by a solar eclipse? So it is with the august phenomenon of a change of heart. So far as we know, it is the most radical change the human spirit can experience. It is a revolutionary change. Still, a change of heart is not an unnatural change. It is not necessarily even destructive of self-possession. God employs in it an instrument exquisitely adjusted to the mind of man as an intelligent and free being. Truth may act in it with an equipoise of forces as tranquil as that of gravitation in the orbits of the stars. No, it is not of necessity a tumultuous experience to which God calls us when he invites us to be saved. By what emblem have the Scriptures expressed the person of the Holy Ghost? Is it an eagle? "And John bare record, saying: I saw the Spirit descending like a dove." "Come," is the selected language of inspiration. "Come, and I will give you"—what? a shock, the rack, a swoon? No, I will give you—"rest." Come, and ye shall find"—what? struggle, terror, torture? No, ye shall find—"peace." "Come ye"—come who? "Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."—Dr. A. Phelps.