spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

The fourth difference is about the meaning of sacrifice. The theme of sacrifice is central in
Christology, but it is difficult to trace in pneumatology. Taking a closer look at the work of the
Spirit, however, will make one see that sacrifice and reconciliation can pneumatologically be
found in the moments of fellowship in all dimensions of Christian life.
The fifth difference addresses the once-and-for-all nature of Christ’s work which is distinctive
from that of the Spirit. The Spirit’s outpouring can be seen as a decisive event, but the Spirit’s
presence in creation is an ongoing reality.
The sixth difference in the structures of Christology and pneumatology is that the Spirit inhabits
creation, while this cannot be said about Christ. God dwells in human beings in the Spirit, but
not in Christ. Van Ruler (Van Ruler 1947:185; see also Janssen 2005:74) understands the work
of the Spirit as more broad-ranging and more inclusive than that of Christ, so that it can be said
that the Spirit is the One who expands into the full plurality of the created order. In this sense,
the difference between Christ and the Spirit is located in the notion of plurality, because plurality
is at the heart of the Spirit’s work. In the Spirit, there are multiple ways and different
manifestations of God’s salvation (2011 [1957a]:309).
The seventh difference in the structures of Christology and pneumatology that Van Ruler
identifies is that the inhabitation of the Spirit is a matter of conflict, stretching over the span of a
person’s life-history. It is a struggle in which a person can resist, grieve and quench the work of
the Holy Spirit.
The eighth difference is that the work of the Spirit includes the mingling of the old and the new
in a person’s life. The Spirit touches a person, and changes his or her existence. The implication
is that something is happening: God’s grace is infused (gratia infusa) in the believer, and the
believer receives the gifts of grace (charismata). This new dimension of divine grace in human
life belongs to the work of the Spirit, and can never be related to the work of Christ, for it would
be a heresy to suggest a mingling of God’s being and human nature (2011 [1961b]:379).
The ninth, and final, difference is that within Christology the work of Christ can be characterized
as complete and perfect, while this terminology cannot be included in pneumatology. The Spirit
is at work, but creation is not yet perfected. The work of the Spirit should rather be characterized
in terms of continuation.
178