spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

Kuyper’s thought is of great importance within the tradition of Reformed theology because he
played a major role in retrieving Calvinist ideas in the second half of the nineteenth century. As
theologian, minister, journalist and politician, Kuyper generated a wide sphere of influence, not
only in his own country, but also internationally (United Kingdom, United States of America,
South Africa). One of his main achievements was the re-envisioning of the Calvinist doctrine of
common grace (Bratt 1998:165; Bolt 2001:197), whereby he secured a close relationship
between God’s sovereignty and creation’s distinctiveness. Kuyper’s view on general grace
affirmed God’s sovereign Lordship over all of creation, while he also managed to emphasize the
vocation of the believer to be engaged in a non-Christian context. Kuyper’s doctrine of common
grace, embracing various lines of thought about religion, church, politics, culture and science, is
permeated with ideas about the work of the Holy Spirit.
Spirit and creation
Kuyper’s doctrine of common grace is rooted in his ideas about creation. He has a very positive
view on creation: everything is created by God in such a way that it has a purpose and a destiny.
The world that God created is good, but not yet finished or fulfilled. It is still in the process of
reaching its destiny, which is the glorification of God. The glory of God is the ultimate end of
every creature (Kuyper 1946:35). Accordingly, culture as the work of humans should be
understood as the context in which God himself is at work, through his Spirit, in order to lead
creation to its purpose.
Since the Fall creation is cursed by God, yet God responded to man’s disobedience by infusing
grace in creation. The Spirit’s gracious presence prevents creation from being annihilated by
death and destruction. The work of the Spirit in creation does not allow sin and death to destroy
what God has created. Sin is the power that obstructs humans and nature in reaching their
destiny, and the Holy Spirit is the One who antagonizes sin (Kuyper 1946:36). She does this in
two different ways: the Spirit is involved in the sustenance of life according to the law of nature,
and She is also active in the re-creation or the restoration of the glory of creation (because
glorification is the ultimate end of creation).
The creation and sustenance of life by the Holy Spirit is referred to as general or common grace
(this idea is also to be found in Calvin’s theology). This general grace is a constant activity that
offers resistance to a complete take-over of creation by sin. It limits the flow of destruction at
three levels of human life: the soul, the body and nature (Kuyper 1902:501). In addition to the
constant activity of grace, Kuyper mentions the progressive way of grace that can be
experienced, for example, in the developments of science and culture. This form of general grace
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