How Feelings can be Set Free⤒🔗

In this article we will reflect on the relation­ship between faith in God and the emotional life of man. Following this approach we are obliged to reflect on the work of the Holy Spirit in man with reference to the work of the Creator of man.

The Holy Spirit is the author of faith. The Creator equipped man with many gifts, specifically also the gift of emotion. Thus we have to face the question about the anthropo­logical and psychological aspects of faith and of living in communion with Christ.

We investigate this issue against the back­ground of the conviction of faith which holds that on some evil day an alien power usurped God's good creation. It was the power of revolution against God and alienation from Him. For centuries the Church has called this (in quoting the Bible) the power of sin. Sin is corruption, contrary to nature, destruction of a creation that was good. In His work of salva­tion our God wants to deliver His creatures from this tyranny and to recapture His regime as Creator.

This operation of deliverance is also a war of liberation, comparable to the liberation of The Netherlands in 1944 and 1945.

An immense effort is required to accomplish this. The enemy must be hunted down where he is hiding and chased out of the occupied area. It is essential that the liberating forces and the enemy-occupied area engage in battle. After the first skirmishes the army of the liberators must prevail over the enemy forces. If capitulation and victory are to be achieved, battles will have to be fought which may result in destruction. And once the battle has been gained, the ruins will have to be cleared away and peace must be established.

The rule of the lawful lord, who has returned to his own, must become an integral part of the whole nation. The liberated country is to demonstrate that life has been restored. This will happen only when this restoration is accepted or accommodated, and when the new regime (i.e. the original regime that after years of enemy occupation again returns to power) will find resonance in the 'conscience of the people' (to couch it in the idiom of a century ago).

It will be apparent what this figurative language has significance for our theme. In reflecting on the restoration of man's life before God, we have introduced as our theme the issue of faith and our human feelings. It is to the honour of God's work that the human being is not going to be replaced but liberated. This is the reason the Holy Spirit penetrates the deepest layers of the human being and sets up this home even in man's psychological life.

What God communicates to us in His promise will (through faith) gradually become man's 'experience'. This 'experience' is a matter of resonance that occurs in the acoustic space of our inner life. In pursuing this subject, we shall pay attention to its emotional aspect. It would demonstrate the validity of the foregoing if the work of the Holy Spirit can be described in terms of psychological concepts as well.

Human Feelings←⤒🔗

It is self-evident that we, in this particular area, are faced with difficult questions. Numerous things can lead us astray, and history bears this out abundantly. We can think about the function of our feelings in mysticism or in Pentecostal assemblies. What is the nature of the spirit that (at this level) rules over the human spirit? Is ecstasy a guarantee of the presence of the Holy Spirit or does it in fact denote His absence? For the human spirit raised to the nth power will never be able to extort the Holy Spirit, let alone coincide with Him.

But we shall let these things rest for the mo­ment. For our purpose it would seem to be more beneficial to ask two preliminary ques­tions.

The first question is: What exactly do we mean by 'feeling'? The second is: Why are we going to concentrate specifically on the emotional aspect of our human faculties?

1. A dictionary will tell us that the word 'feeling' has several meanings. The general term 'feeling' is similar but more informal than 'emotion'. It can refer both to weak or intense states. 'Feeling' can signify an act or condition of one that feels. It can be a sensation or a complex of sensations, an emotional state, or an unreasoned opinion (sentiment). In this chapter we shall occasionally alternate this usage by using instead the term 'affect' in its psychological sense; that is to say: feeling, emotion and desire, together with an implica­tion of their importance in determining thought as well as conduct. It is a sensation that seizes man and calls forth in him a sponta­neous reaction (e.g. joy or grief).
   
   Man received from his Creator the faculty of thought. Hence, man is able to discern and discriminate ('discretion'), to reflect ('reflec­tion'), to store knowledge in his memory ('memorize'), and to pursue rational thought without reference to things that can be ob­served by the senses ('abstraction').
   
   Man is indeed a being that has been richly equipped. Moreover he received the ability to experience feelings. This is why he can be 'moved': he can be overcome by joy or sadness and reacts to it spontaneously (inwardly or outwardly). When this happens we find ourselves at the level of emotion.
   
   In speaking about 'feeling' in the sense of 'an affective process' we refer to this specific dimension of man's functioning. So we might phrase the question as follows: Does the functioning of faith also have affective aspects?" If the answer is 'yes', how does this manifest itself in the practice of Christian life?
    
2. The second question concerns the significance assigned to feelings. Why do we examine especially the relation between faith and feeling? This investigation was prompted by the consideration that it is precisely those questions about the emotional aspect of faith that have caused so much misunderstanding and problems throughout the course of history.
   
   We should distinguish between our views on subjectivism in the doctrine of faith and our calling attention to our feelings. But to us it appears that the clarity of this distinction leaves at times much to be desired. It would be most regrettable if the necessary battle we wage against internalization, subjectivism, and religious individualism would become a battle against the expression of 'feeling' in both preaching and matters of faith.
   
   He who opposes pietism is not necessarily opposed to pietas (i.e. a spirit of loyalty in the fulfilment of religious obligations, piety, leading a God-fearing life). It is therefore possible to fight against subjectivism but at the same time preach and believe with 'feeling'.
   
   Still, we sometimes get the impression that more than one preacher 'feels' the calling to admonish the congregation to be vigilant in the matter of feeling, when in reality these warning signs are not placed on the route of formal reasoning about faith.¹ It seems there­fore a suitable approach to enter the broad field of research into the 'experience' of living with God by investigating the relation between faith and feeling. For as we have intimated before, this 'experience' is about the sound level of the resonance. Would there be anyone who would like to turn down this volume arbitrarily?
   
   Even so, we want to arm ourselves beforehand against one-sided accentuation. That is why we first of all wish to reflect on Calvin's proposed definition of faith which has been quoted as the heading of this chapter.
   
   It is remarkable that Calvin described faith as a "firm and certain knowledge". It will therefore be the more surprising when we discover that Calvin is able to shed light on the affective aspects of faith by using this very definition as point of departure. For this reason we will first of all concentrate on Calvin's instruction as found in one of the most impres­sive chapters of his Institutions.

Calvin's Instruction←⤒🔗

When Calvin describes the activities of the soul of man, it is remark­able that he does not go all out in trying to develop a personal psychology over against traditional systematized knowledge (Institu­tions, I, 15, 6). In fact, he quite conveniently endorses the traditional dichotomy: within man operate both a cognitive (knowing) ability and a volitional (willing) ability.

With his cognitive function man organizes the impressions that reach him via his senses, and with his volition (will and desire) man deter­mines what goal he will pursue. In this condi­tion the cognitive function receives the leading role. Our feeling too, as well as the will, is a response to what we have absorbed in our consciousness by means of our cognitive ability.

This is why the affective function belongs to a secondary ability. The first ability resides in human reason; the second ability resides in the human heart. Notwithstanding this rather dry summing up of data, it is important with a view to understanding the definition of faith. This will be our next topic.

1. We may well have been struck by the fact that Calvin calls faith knowledge. Immediately a number of questions arise, for is this not too narrow a definition? And if his definition should not be labelled as a form of intellectual­ism, the question follows: why not? And what is the reason that Calvin expresses himself this way? When we explore the historical context in which this description was formulated (Institutions, III, 2, 7), we will discover his rationale for this definition. We point out the following views.

• In his definition Calvin seeks to refer to John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent".
   
• It is Calvin's position that man as renewed image of God demon­strates how God had originally created him. When we keep this in mind, the word choice of the apostle in Colossians 3:10 is quite remarkable: "and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator". (RSV)
   
• Calvin opposes the faith of the 'Carbonari' (the charcoal burners in the mountains in Italy) who simply said: "I believe what the Church believes".² In other words: Calvin emphasizes the fact that believers ought to have a personal knowledge of their God. Believers should not rely on an 'implicit faith' which would permit them to find shelter behind the copious vest­ments of the clergy. Calvin's emphasis on knowledge is therefore a polemic thrust directed against the Roman Catholic church – as we also find it expressed in the first part of Answer 21 of The Heidelberg Catechism.
   
• Calvin undergirds his definition by elaborat­ing on the difference between knowledge and understanding (cf. Institutions, III, 2, 14). In doing this he protects himself and his readers explicitly against intellectualism and rational­ism. "When we call faith knowledge we do not mean comprehension, of the sort that is com­monly concerned with those things which fall under human sense perception" (Institutes III, 2, 14). Moreover, the elements of faith refuse to yield any rational proofs. The knowledge of faith, as you may know, far exceeds human comprehension. Hence knowledge is not to be understood as theoretically knowing a certain number of truths. It means knowing God's will as revealed in His love and grace. That is why the objective of this knowledge is not compre­hension but having assurance about personally sharing in God's love and goodwill. And thus we speak of true faith as a "sure and firm knowledge".
   
• This "sure and firm knowledge" is not immune to temptations. Yet, these temptations are not able to play havoc with the character of the knowledge of faith (cf. Institutes, III, 15-21, 37).
  
  It is in the nature of faith to realize that God's goodness is beyond a shadow of doubt. "But this cannot happen without our truly feeling its sweetness and experiencing it in ourselves. For this reason, the apostle derives confidence from faith, and from confidence, in turn, boldness: 'Through Christ we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him', (Eph 3:12)" (Institutes, III, 2, 15).
   
• From the quotation above it is apparent to what extent this knowledge also rules our hearts and affective processes. For this knowledge is a living, practical knowledge which fully dem­onstrates its own nature in the relationship with God. It is for this reason that Calvin sets this knowledge apart from 'sterile knowledge' that keeps man and the object of his knowl­edge separated from each other. The knowl­edge of faith kindles our hearts in the love for Christ.³ The knowledge of faith generates new life in us. It is simply impossible that this knowledge will be confined to human reason, since it also brings about 'pious affection'; that is: a response of the heart.
  
  Submitting oneself to God, a quality that is inherent in faith, "is more of the heart than of the brain, and more of the disposition than of the understanding. For this reason, it is called 'obedience of faith' (Ro 1:5) and the Lord prefers no other obedience to it..." (Institutes, III, 2, 8). "For truly, that abundant sweetness which God has stored up for those who fear Him cannot be known without at the same time powerfully moving us. And once anyone has been moved by it, it utterly ravishes him and draws him to itself" (Institutes, III, 2, 41). This is how we can get carried away by the 'sweetness' of God.
  
  This reasoning of Calvin may have made it completely clear to us that the 'sure and firm knowledge' of faith is far from being a purely intellectual issue. By means of this knowledge, the mind, heart, and affective processes are brought to their highest activity. When we see it from this perspective, Calvin's definition can indeed set us free from any notion that faith and feelings have nothing to do with each other, and that 'feeling' and 'ratiocination' (=mental process of exact thinking) contesteach other this territory.
  
  Calvin's punctilious reading of Scripture prevented him from confining faith within the boundaries which the knowledge of man and his soul attributes to 'reason' and 'heart' respectively. If we have now established that faith as knowledge of God has the characteristic of crossing those boundaries, let us accept this as the first and foremost result of our brief examination of Calvin's definition of faith.⁴

2. We are now in a position to be more concise about the other parts of Calvin's definition. Calvin speaks about God's benevolence toward us. In doing this, he does not correlate faith with a number of Scriptural truisms. It is very clear that faith is focused on the message of Scripture, as the word of salvation from the Father of Jesus Christ. It becomes also clear at this very point what the difference is between revealed knowledge of faith and a rational knowledge acquired by man's efforts.
    
3. Next, we learn that the basis for this knowl­edge is "founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ". At this juncture we observe that faith relies entirely on that promise, and that faith could not exist without it. At the same time, Calvin points out the function of preaching of the Gospel. Preach­ing consists in preaching the Christ, with a view to faith that is founded in Christ, the Redeemer.
    
4. After this, the work of the Holy Spirit comes into view. The Spirit, we confess, reveals the knowledge of faith to our minds and seals it upon our hearts. After the opening of Scripture our minds and hearts must be opened up (cf. Lk 24:32, 45). In using this formulation, Calvin (using a prevalent differentiation: mind ­heart) heads off any idea that man as a 'rational being' would be able by his own effort to lay hold of the knowledge of faith and then appropriate it (cf. Institutes, III, 2, 33 and 34).
   
   Man is by nature not able to have communion with God. The Spirit will have to arrest us in both mind and heart. "Indeed, the Word of God is like the sun, shining upon all those to who it is proclaimed, but with no effect among the blind. Now, all of us are blind by nature in this respect. Accordingly, it cannot penetrate into our minds unless the Spirit, as the inner teacher, through His illumination makes entry for it" (Institutes, III, 2, 34 —> end). This defini­tion is more powerful and clearer than the phrasing of Answer 21 of The Heidelberg Catechism with reference to the necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit in the human mind.
   
   What does Calvin have in mind with "sealed upon our hearts"? He informs us about this in his Institutes, III, 2, 36 – "The hearts of believers have, so to speak, been sealed with the Spirit". The knowledge of faith has the character of taking "root in the depth of the heart". The knowledge of faith finds its fixed place in the heart, and there it is embedded and made immovable. It is in the heart that this knowl­edge of faith becomes a part of our lives. We find that it is a 'firm confidence' and grants us a 'good conscience' before God. At this deep level of the human being, the Spirit is busy to confirm him in the communion with Christ and to create a soundboard for the Gospel. It is as if Calvin at this moment has to restrain himself from engaging the total riches of Romans 8 for the purpose of his instruction (cf. Institutes, III, 2, 39-42). Christ in us! , "...with a wonderful communion, day by day, he grows more and more into one body with us, until He becomes completely one with us" (Institutes, 2, 24).

'Feelings' must Grow as well←⤒🔗

Those who so far have assimilated Calvin's instruction can only be amazed at the profound insight with which this teacher of the Church was endowed concerning the work of the Spirit of Christ. Calvin, more than anyone else, helped us think about protecting the nature of faith against the enticement of proud rationalism, the idolatry of inflamed mysticism, and the arid chill of intellectualism.

Calvin gives us the courage to think about the relation between faith and experience, and he gives us insight into the deep mystery that Christ dwells within us. More and more He becomes our life. This is the most profound definition we can come up with (cf. Gal. 2:30) concerning the resonance which in our lives rises upward to God, the speaking God.

The Holy Spirit, who "penetrates into the innermost recesses" of our twisted lives (Canons of Dort, III/IV, 1, 11, 12) confers faith on us, as an internal healer and teacher. He restores our lives and also sets free our feel­ings, so that we may be revitalized by that faith. Our feelings are then reanimated so that they may rejoice in the Triune God. There is no reason whatsoever for these feelings to be reined in or to tone them down.

For when I through faith take into account the indestruct­ible unity of God's acts of salvation in contrast with the sins and miseries of 'this' world, I am overcome by great joy. My total personality, together with all its strength (Mt 22:37), has at that moment sprung into action. This gives such joy, such strong zest for life, that Walaeus (a Reformed author), defines this comfort as true joy.⁵

No wonder then that the Reformed confession speaks about "I now already feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy" (The Heidelberg Catechism, Answer 58) and calls us to reflect (Canons of Dort I, 13; V, 12); to observe (I, 12, 16); to be aware of (1, 13; "Rejection of Errors" 1, 7; III/IV, 13) and to experi­ence God's work in us (C/D, III/IV, "Rejection of Errors", 6).

Thus, though we reject the dichotomy of objective and subjective preaching (respectively: 'intellectual' and 'emotional' faith) we must permit ourselves to send out nothing but warning signals with reference to 'experience' and 'feelings'. It would be much better to proclaim the goodwill of God in Christ so ardently and convincingly that the obedience of faith⁶ will simultaneously set our feelings free. This will then result in a deep joy and comfort in the living God.

We realize that although our feelings are set free, they are unable to properly and fully blossom forth (in our earthly existence) as intended originally. This also applies to the illumination of the mind and the cleansing of our desires. All our lives long it can be seen that we need to recover from serious spiritual injuries. Our emotional lives, too, are handi­capped. Though we presently feel in our hearts only a beginning, we may look forward to bliss and joy that defies description. Everything that is pure 'doctrine' will once become integrated in the affective aspect of our lives.

It may even happen that man has a notion of having lost the small beginning of faith. Our emotional side (in our earthly existence) can be affected by sickness. In this event it is unable to make room for faith.

True, this kind of apathy or depression will land one's life in arid regions, but is not necessarily indicative of lacking or having lost faith. For faith comes from the Spirit of God and God's faithfulness preserves that faith. Mental disorders exhibit a disjunction on the creational level, a disruption in the consecra­tion of gifts with which God has enriched human life. When our feelings can no longer be a soundboard for the word of God's love, it is not a symptom of this love having departed from us.

Nor is this the case when man's mind or memory, because of illness or senescence, gradually begins to deteriorate. The Spirit of God does not abandon His work of salvation in us when our physical abilities and mental capabilities are wearing out. On the contrary, this very wear and tear is pressed into the service of the new building (2 Co 4:16 - 5:9: also cf. He 12:28) that awaits those who have loved His appearance.

The Victory of the Holy Spirit←⤒🔗

When we reflect on the relation between faith and feelings, the deep mystery of the Holy Spirit 'proceeding' from the Father and the Son should be given pre-eminence. We profess with the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of life. The Holy Spirit is as far exalted above us as God is above man. The Spirit is not the private possession of only a few in the Church, but He is Lord of all. In the promise of the covenant He approaches them all. This Spirit is the Spirit of life. His power is so far-reaching that He is able to make alive even sinners who were completely dead in their sins (cf. Canons of Dort, III/IV, 12).

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. It is therefore unthinkable that the work of regen­eration and sanctification should alienate us from creation. In His work the Spirit employs the instruments of creation: the spoken word, the water of baptism, and the elements of the Lord's Supper. He does not make God's people stand with their backs turned to the world. Yet, He does not require His people to withdraw themselves from the world. Nor does He compel them to take on the world militantly. The style of the Anabaptists with their variety of spiritualizing is not the way of the Spirit. Neither does He inspire us to espouse some Methodistic kind of militancy. He restores life created by the Father. His new world is the restored world of the Father. That is why He illuminates our reason, renews our will, liberates our feelings, and cleanses our desires. And so man will again have his creatural abilities and capabilities at his disposi­tion.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. Whatever He gives us, comes from Christ. He binds us together with Christ and grants Him to us. We are 'incorporated' in Him; that is, from now on our lives can be characterized as: Christ in us and we in Christ.

This is the reason we use in this context the word appropriation. It means in the first place that the Spirit makes what we have in Christ into our possession. That is to say: justification and sanctification, new life in God through love and dedication (cf. the classical Form of Baptism). The Spirit is continuously engaged in this activity. He performs this work in whatever age and in all languages. He perse­veres with a divine perseverance, even though He encounters on His way so much opposition and misunderstanding that, rightly so, it has been called the 'via dolorosa' of the Spirit.⁷

Since every sermon is intrinsically involved in the work of appropriation it is not necessary to introduce this work in great detail in each and every sermon. The sermon is not an objective, doctrinal exposition, which reserves a separate compartment in man's heart for the appropria­tion of the truth. The entire preaching is from Christ for His congregation, and it is effectual through the ministration of the Spirit, Who continues with His gathering work.

But this matter has still another aspect. For the Spirit does not only grant us salvation, but in consequence of His work we become active ourselves in appropriating by faith what we have in Christ.⁸ This is the quintessence of salvation: man is able to function fully again before God. Faith is the instrument of the appropriation that was referred to (cf. The Heidelberg Catechism, Answer 61, Belgic Confes­sion, Article 22 and 35). By means of this faith the mind is illuminated, the will renewed, the feelings set free. And when the will is renewed it "is not only actuated and moved by God but, acted upon by God, the will itself also acts. Hence also man himself is rightly said to believe and repent through the grace he has received." (Canons of Dort, III/IV, 12—>end).

It should be clear, then, that we use a single word ('appropriation') for two kinds of activi­ties: (a) what God's Spirit grants and imputes to us, as well as (b) our appropriation of salvation by faith. Since the Holy Spirit is and remains Lord, and we are creatures and sinners, one and the same word suffices to express the renewal of life. There is no more splendid proof in the matter of resonance in our hearts and the volume of its sound. It is especially this resonance that lends such great beauty to the glory of the renewed covenant.

Come, Holy Spirit, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire,
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost Thy sevenfold gifts impart.

Teach us to know the FATHER, SON,
And Thee, of BOTH, to be but ONE,
That through all ages all along,
Thy praise may be our endless song!
Praise to Thy eternal merit,
FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT.
Amen⁹