the teaching of the Church of in the life of its members. During the last few years a good deal has been done to wipe away this reproach. The deepening of the study of theology has brought conviction that the ignoring of the work of the Spririt is the mutilating of the doctrine of Christ; and treatises not a few have been put forth giving the evidence of deep meditation and enlightened thought on this great subject. Nevertheless, there is still much to be done. There are still many religious and devout minds who are unable to rise above the conception of the Divine Spirit as an influence or energy; and this undeniable fact is an evidence of the need of more careful instruction on the subject. On the importance of the doctrine it is not necessary to insist. Either the Holy Ghost is very God, of one substance with the Father and the Son, or the Church Universal has been in error for many centuries. It is sufficient merely to state such an alternative in order to point out the greatness of the question now before us.
The Holy Ghost is very God—we have deemed it best to take this fundamental doctrine as our starting point; and, before proceeding to deal directly with the doctrine itself, it may be helpful first to say something on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which is inseparably connected
