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quite ineffective and are productive of spiritual results only through the efficacious operation of
the Holy Spirit.
B. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORD AND THE SACRAMENTS AS MEANS OF GRACE.
The fact that one can speak of means of grace in a rather general sense makes it imperative to
point to the distinctive characteristics of the means of grace in the technical or restricted sense
of the word.
1. They are instruments, not of common but of, special grace, the grace that removes sin and
renews the sinner in conformity with the image of God.
It is true that the Word of God may
and in some respects actually does enrich those who live under the gospel with some of the
choicest blessings of common grace in the restricted sense of the word; but it, as well as the
sacraments, comes into consideration here only as a means of grace in the technical sense of
the word. And the means of grace in this sense are always connected with the beginning and
the progressive operation of the special grace of God, that is redemptive grace, in the hearts of
sinners.
2. They are in themselves, and not in virtue of their connection with things not included in
them, means of grace.
Striking experiences may, and undoubtedly sometimes do, serve to
strengthen the work of God in the hearts of believers, but this does not constitute them means
of grace in the technical sense, since they accomplish this only in so far as these experiences are
interpreted in the light of God’s Word, through which the Holy Spirit operates. The Word and
the sacraments are in themselves means of grace; their spiritual efficacy is dependent only on
the operation of the Holy Spirit.
3. They are continuous instruments of God’s grace, and not in any sense of the word
exceptional.
This means that they are not associated with the operation of God’s grace merely
occasionally or in a more or less accidental way, but are the regularly ordained means for the
communication of the saving grace of God and are as such of perpetual value. The Heidelberg
Catechism asks in Question 65, “Since, then, we are made partakers of Christ and all His
benefits by faith only, whence comes this faith?” And the answer is, “From the Holy Spirit, who
works it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it by the use of the holy
sacraments.”
4. They are the official means of the Church of Jesus Christ.
The preaching of the Word (or, the
Word preached) and the administration of the sacraments (or, the sacraments administered)
are the means officially instituted in the Church, by which the Holy Spirit works and confirms
faith in the hearts of men. Some Reformed theologians limit the idea of the means of grace still
more by saying that they are administered only within the visible Church, and that they