Charles Spurgeon on the power of the Holy Spirit

CH Spurgeon in the garden (with discarded hat!)

The Quotable CH Spurgeon
If you check in regularly at the Church History Review you’ll have seen that I’ve been trying to end a series of articles about the great Baptist leader CH Spurgeon. But I keep failing. Flailing and failing. I made the mistake of going through several volumes of his sermons and looking at what I’d underlined to see if there were any further additions I could make before moving on. Big mistake. Spurgeon is so distractingly quotable that I was absorbed for several hours, transported back to his study, and found myself reclining on a Victorian chaise-longe having my my mind enlivened, my soul enriched, and my zeal restored. What a delight it is to hear both his insights and his quips.

As I’ve mentioned before Spurgeon cannot be categorised as a ‘Pentecostal/charismatic’ in the modern sense. He was a man of his time, and while he respected the ministry of Edward Irving in London he would have had serious doubts about so-called predictive prophetic utterances (of which there were many during the 19th century).

But there’s absolutely no doubt that he was a man who, like his puritan heroes, knew what it was to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And from time to time he exercised gifts of the Spirit during his preaching, and was not at all nervous of what Paul calls ‘the variety of effects’ of the Spirit (1 Cor 12.6).

Here are a few characteristic Spurgeonic insights on the Holy Spirit from various sermons and lectures.
‘And I could tell you some singular instances of persons going to the house of God and having their characters described, limned out to perfection, so that they have said, “He is painting me, he is painting me.” Just as I might say to that young man here, who stole his master’s gloves yesterday, that Jesus calls him to repentance. It may be that there is such a person here; and when the call comes to a peculiar character, it generally comes with power.’1 [This word of knowledge proved true. Indeed the young man he had pointed to at that very moment, did have a stolen pair of gloves in his pocket. You can read the story here.]

‘Do not say, “So many preachers; so many sermons; so many souls saved.” Do not say, “So many Bibles; so many tracts; so much good done.” No so. Use these, but remember…it is so much Holy Spirit, so many souls ingathered.’2

‘Value above all things the Holy Spirit. Realise your entire dependence on him. Pray for fresh grace. Venture not into the world without a fresh store of his hallowed influence. Live in the Divine love. Seek to be filled with that blessed Spirit.’3

‘There is not, in the Church, such a belief in the Holy Ghost as there ought to be.’4

‘May the Lord answer us by fire, and may that fire fall first on the ministers, and then upon the people! We ask for the true Pentecostal flame, and not for sparks kindled by human passion.’5

‘In order to have great power in public, we must receive power in private.’6

Miracle Workers!
‘Do not speak as if the gospel might have some power, or might have none. God sends you to be a miracle-worker; therefore, say to the spiritually lame, “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk,” and men will rise up and walk.’7

‘The whole business [of evangelism] on our part is the height of absurdity unless we regard ourselves as used by the Holy Ghost, and filled with His power. On the other hand, the marvels of regeneration which attend our ministry are the best seals and witnesses of our commission.’8

‘It is a grand thing to preach in an atmosphere full of the dew of the Spirit. I know what it is to preach with it; and, alas! I know what it is to preach without it.’9

‘Our object is to turn the world upside down; or in other words, that where sin abounded grace may much more abound. We are aiming at a miracle.’10

‘Ours is the miraculous method which comes of the endowment of the Spirit of God, who bids His ministers perform wonders in the name of the holy child Jesus. We are sent to say to blind eyes, “See,” to deaf ears, “Hear,” to dead hearts, “live,” and even to Lazarus rotting in that grave, wherein by this time, he stinketh, “Lazarus, come forth.”11

‘You are to be instruments in the hands of God; yourselves, of course, actively putting forth all your faculties and forces which the Lord has lent to you; but still never depending upon your personal power, but resting alone upon that sacred, mysterious, divine energy which worketh in us.’12

‘Try nothing new, but go on with preaching, and if we all preach with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, the results of preaching will astound us.’13

‘There is no end to the possibilities of divine truth spoken with the enthusiasm which is born of the Spirit of God.’14

We have known and perceived the power!
‘We have felt the Spirit of God operating upon our hearts, we have known and perceived the power which He wields over human spirits, and we know Him by frequent, conscious, personal contact.’15

‘If we have not the Spirit which Jesus promised, we cannot perform the commission which Jesus gave.’16

‘The lack of distinctly recognising the power of the Holy Ghost lies at the root of many useless ministries.’17 [Ouch!]

For the first post in this series on Spurgeon click here

1CHS, sermon, Christ Crucified
2CHS, sermon, The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
3CHS, sermon, John Mark; or, Haste in Religion
4CHS, sermon, Faith
5CHS, sermon, Light. Fire. Faith. Life. Love
6 CHS, sermon, The Conditions of Obtaining the Power
7 CHS, sermon, Power in Delivering Our Message
8 CHS, lecture, What is it to win a soul?
9 CHS, lecture, How to Induce our People to Win Souls
10 CHS, sermon, How to Win Souls for Christ
11 CHS, sermon, How to Win Souls for Christ
12 CHS, sermon, How to Win Souls for Christ
13 CHS, sermon, How to Win Souls for Christ
14 CHS, sermon, How to Win Souls for Christ
15 CHS, Lectures to My Students
16 CHS, Lectures to My Students
17 CHS, Lectures to My Students

©2021 Lex Loizides / Church History Review