웨스트민스터 신앙고백서에 반영된 성령론

Pneumatology in The Westminster Confession of Faith

This article aimed to see who is the Holy Spirit, and what are the works of Holy Spirit in the Westminster Confession of Faith from the contemporary discussions on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and then to point out what contents should be complimented on the condition that this document is to be revised. In relation to the person of the Holy Spirit, the Westminster Confession of Faith articulates that the Holy Spirit as a person is proceeded from God the Father and God the Son, and consequently is qualified to be worshiped with God the Father and God the Son. In relation to the work of the Holy Spirit, the Westminster Confession of Faith contains the following points: that the Holy Spirit created this world with God the Father and God the Son, that the Holy Spirit worked to inspire biblical authors to write the Scriptures without any faults, and to illuminate readers seizing up proper meaning of the Scriptures, and that the Holy Spirit dominantly worked to win the sinners to confess Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour, and distributed God's grace to the believers with the means of Grace. However, this writer would like to suggest that some points should be complemented. That is to say, the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to the creation should be articulated in a more concrete expression, in order to avoid possible misunderstandings such as pantheism or panentheism. And while in individual christian's life as well as in church life, spiritual gifts are necessarily needed, the Westminster Confession of Faith does not give any hint about it. A lucid articulation on this matter must be given in the revised version of the Westminster Confession of Faith. With regard to the missio of the Holy Spirit, the relationship to the covenant of Grace ought to be mentioned in the Westminster Confession of Faith to avoid religious pluralism.