spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

elation to Jesus’ incarnation, the Heidelberg Catechism also refers to the Spirit and Jesus’
ministry. Question/answer 31 addresses the name of Christ, the anointed One, by indicating that
Christ is anointed with the Spirit in order to do God’s will and to redeem us. As the Spirit was
present in Jesus’ earthly ministry, so is the Spirit also present in Jesus’ kingship over us now.
The Heidelberg Catechism also affirms the meaning of the Spirit in relation to Jesus’ ascension.
Question/answer 47 shows that the Spirit represents Christ among us: “with respect to His
divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is never absent from us”. The Spirit, who is to be regarded
as a counter-pledge (question/answer 49) or down payment, gives the believer the power to focus
on God and on the things that are above, where Christ is. In the Spirit, we experience in part that
which will eventually be revealed to us in fullness and perfection. In question/answer 51, the
intimate relationship between the ascended Christ as the Head of His Church and the ministry of
the Spirit is clarified: “by His Holy Spirit He pours out heavenly gifts upon us, His members”.
Hyde (2006:219) points out that the Heidelberg Catechism embraces the idea that it is the work
of Christ that gives us the Spirit. This means that according to the Heidelberg Catechism, Christ
is the One who is involved Himself, redeeming and preserving, in the ministry of the Spirit. In
other words, the Spirit’s work reveals who Christ is, despite the fact that the Heidelberg
Catechism does not address more explicitly the relationship between the distinct person of the
Spirit and the person of the ascended Christ.
The pneumatology of the Heidelberg Catechism does not only concern the person and the work
of the Spirit in relation to the Trinity and to the ministry of Jesus, but also the meaning of the
Holy Spirit to the individual believer. The ministry of the Spirit in relation to the believer is
framed by covenant theology, which means that the believer is perceived as a partner of Christ in
the covenant of grace. The Holy Spirit is the One who gives us faith, leads us into communion
with Christ, and makes us share in the benefits of that covenant relationship with God. The Holy
Spirit is essential for the redemptive bond between God and man. This notion is highlighted
immediately in question/answer 1: “by His Holy Spirit, He assures me of eternal life and makes
me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him”. Pneumatologically speaking, this is
the melody of the Heidelberg Catechism. This idea is confirmed in question/answer 8, in which
the work of the Spirit is seen as a necessary condition for re-birth: “But are we so corrupt that we
are totally unable to do any good and inclined to all evil? Yes, unless we are generated by the
Spirit”. Without the Spirit, no one can enter into a relationship with God. This understanding of
the Spirit is also found with Calvin, who contended that all of Christ’s work is meaningless if the
Spirit is not involved. For the Spirit is the One who gives faith to our hearts (question/answer 21
and 53), through which the believer is brought into a relationship with Christ, and is able to
partake in Christ and his benefits (which are forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and
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