spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

salvation). Questions/answers 65-82 explain that the Spirit gives faith by the preaching of the
gospel and by the use of the sacraments, which strengthen faith: “the Holy Spirit teaches us in
the gospel and assures us by the sacraments that our entire salvation rests on Christ’s one
sacrifice for us on the cross” (question/answer 67). The work of the Spirit is thus the gift of faith
and the re-birth of the believer. The work of the Spirit is also the ongoing renewal, that is, the
sanctification of the believer. The Heidelberg Catechism emphasizes that his transforming work
of the Holy Spirit is also expressed in the believer’s response of gratitude. Prayer forms an
important part of the thankfulness which God requires from us (question/answer 116), but also
our bodies and souls as temples of the Holy Spirit are to be involved in the Christian life of
thankfulness. The entire Christian life, from the gift of faith till consummation, is a life that is in
need of God’s Spirit. Hyde (2006:227) says that “the entire Christian life is described by our
Catechism as living ‘in the Spirit’”. Gaffin (1980:61) seems to support this evaluation of the
pneumatology of the Heidelberg Catechism when he indicates that the Reformed tradition has
always accentuated that the complete soteriological process is rooted in the work of the Holy
Spirit.
In summary, at the core of the pneumatology of the Heidelberg Catechism is the notion of the
Spirit as the bond of the believer’s union with Christ. Without the Spirit the believer cannot
partake in Christ and his benefits. The Heidelberg Catechism also displays another Reformed
feature: the work of the Spirit is closely related to the preaching of the Word and the use of the
sacraments. By means of the Word and the sacraments, the Holy Spirit creates faith which leads
the believer to his or her salvation in Christ.
6.3 CONTOURS OF A REFORMED PNEUMATOLOGICAL MATRIX
What are the contours of a Reformed pneumatological matrix? Addressing this question has to
be done in all modesty, because it cannot be suggested that there is one particular Reformed
pneumatology. Presumably the contours or features will also not be exclusively Reformed. There
are numerous and diverse pneumatologies, referred to as Reformed here because they are
developed by Reformed theologians, all of whom in their time and context have responded to
developments in church and society. In addition to the systematically developed pneumatologies,
there are also other kinds of articulations of the ministry of the Spirit, such as the Reformed
confessions. Together they give a certain impression of how the Spirit is perceived within
Reformed tradition; in all their diversity they represent something that can be called ‘Reformed’.
The main issue now is how to approach this multifaceted unity of Reformed pneumatological
perspectives and how to carefully identify some contours? Again I follow the suggestions made
by Dirkie Smit (2009:57-76), who in his treatment of Reformed Trinitarian theology looks for
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