Dr. Paul Manuel—2013
In A "Reader's Digest" Approach to Theology, we come to pneumatology, a study of the Holy Spirit. We will approach this topic as we have the previous two, surveying the nature and work of the Spirit. After that, we will examine in more detail a particular aspect of his work that theologians often neglect. We will begin by considering three common opinions.
[The end notes can be found in the linked pdf]
Query: What do others believe about the Holy Spirit?
WWN: "How to Tell If You Are Possessed" (Foxington 2012)
A top psychologist and author says that the troubles you have in life are not your fault because you, most likely, are possessed by a dead soul.... [Y]ou can learn ways to tell if you are possessed by the spirit of a dead person and can rid yourself of this spirit, said Dr. Edith Fiore, author of The Unquiet Dead.
To banish the dead soul that haunts you, Dr. Fiore says, you must speak to the dead person and convince him to leave.
A. The nature of the Holy Spirit
...It offers poor support for such an important doctrine for at least three reasons.
As I mentioned earlier, this is the weakest part of Trinitarian belief, because the Bible contains few explicit references to the Spirit as a distinct and personal deity. Theologians appeal to passages that depict the Spirit as having emotion and volition, but the biblical writers could simply be using personification, a literary device that ascribes personal attributes to animals, ideas, or inanimate objects.15
For example...
What to remember: Although not as strong as testimony for the Father or the Son, the Bible attests both the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. He is, therefore, more than an influence in the world or a force at our disposal, but a member of the godhead equal with the Father and the Son.
Having established as best we can the nature of Holy Spirit, we turn to his work. The Spirit plays quite a diverse role, and we will look at what the Bible says about his activity in relation to the physical world, to Jesus, to scripture, to unbelievers, and especially to believers.
WWN: "Psychic Surgeon: John of God" (Vann 2012b)
The Spirit does not seem to testify directly to non-believers but works indirectly, through believers.
Pentecostals (or Charismatics) say, "Yes" (Clouse 1974:763). They believe baptism of the Spirit is a separate experience that occurs after a person's new birth (regeneration), during which the Spirit indwells the believer for the first time, empowering him for holy living. The Spirit manifests his presence through the gift of tongues, an ecstatic form of speech. To reach full potential, every believer should seek the baptism of the Spirit (the "second blessing," after regeneration).
There are, however, several problems with this view.35
Query: Some Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is not active today to the same extent or in the same ways as he was during the NT period (e.g., sign gifts). What do you think?
...We must be careful not to confuse what the Spirit may or may not be doing today with what he could do. We must also not make that determination using the limited scope of our experience. The Holy Spirit is probably working in ways that would surprise us, were we aware of them.
What to remember: The Holy Spirit has been active in many ways since the creation. His primary activity, though, is in the lives of believers, and it is through his efforts that we enjoy many of God's blessings.
[The end notes can be found in the linked pdf]
Query: What do others believe about the Holy Spirit?
- Jehovah's Witnesses
"...the holy spirit is the invisible active force of Almighty God which moves his servants to do his will." (Watchtower 1952:108)
- Unification Church
"...God is the absolute subject, who exists with His dual characteristics of positivity and negativity...we call the positivity and negativity of God 'masculinity' and 'femininity,' respectively...the Holy Spirit is a female Spirit." (Moon 1973:24,215)
- Worldwide Church of God
"...the Holy Spirit is divine, spiritual love....God's Spirit is His very life imparted to you!" (Armstrong 1973b:23, 25)What do these views of the Holy Spirit have in common...besides error? ...They all deny that the Spirit is a person. Let us look at what the Bible says. But first...
WWN: "How to Tell If You Are Possessed" (Foxington 2012)
A top psychologist and author says that the troubles you have in life are not your fault because you, most likely, are possessed by a dead soul.... [Y]ou can learn ways to tell if you are possessed by the spirit of a dead person and can rid yourself of this spirit, said Dr. Edith Fiore, author of The Unquiet Dead.
Many people are possessed by earthbound spirits. These are people who have lived and died, but did not go into the afterworld at death. Instead, they stayed on Earth and remained just like they were before death, with the fears, pains, weaknesses and other problems that they had while they were alive. They are drawn to unite with the living, in fact, they don't even know that they have died.The therapist estimates that about 80 percent of her patients are suffering from the problems brought on by spirits of the dead. To tell if you are among the possessed, she advises that you look for the following symptoms:
- Low energy levels
- Character shifts or mood swings
- Inner voice or voices speaking to you
- Impulsive behavior
- Memory problems
- Poor concentration
- Sudden onset of physical problems
- Sudden onset of anxiety or bouts of depression...
To banish the dead soul that haunts you, Dr. Fiore says, you must speak to the dead person and convince him to leave.
[T]ell him his loved ones are waiting for him. Reassure him that when he's in the hereafter he will be in a perfect body, not a crippled or aged one. Tell him there's no such thing as hell - that he will have a wonderful, peaceful existence in the afterlife with everything he wants. Then tell him to go in peace with your blessing.This, of course, is contrary to God's description of death and His prohibition against contacting the dead.1 (the end notes are found in the linked pdf here)
A. The nature of the Holy Spirit
1. The Holy Spirit is God.
- Others affirm he is God.
Query: Does it matter that only passage (this one) specifically refers to the Holy Spirit as deity? How should that affect our thinking about this aspect of theology?Acts 5:3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
...It offers poor support for such an important doctrine for at least three reasons.
- The first reason it offers poor support for the Spirit's deity is that the grammar is unclear, in that it allows either one or two objects.
- One object: Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, who is God
- Two objects: Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit and to God.
- The second reason it offers poor support for the Spirit's deity is that one should not base doctrine on a single passage, especially if it is unclear.2
- If this Acts passage is the only testimony that the Spirit is God, then we should not make that belief a major part of our overall theology.
- The third reason it offers poor support for the Spirit's deity is that Peter's statement is imbedded in historical narrative (versus didactic literature), and even a conservative view of bibliology only holds to the accuracy of the record not to the veracity of every statement in it. Inerrancy means that the account of what took place is reliable, not that the characters all spoke the truth. When might that difference be important? ...The distinction allows us to recognize Satan's words to Eve or to Jesus as not representing God's perspective, despite their being in the inspired text.3
Although this text may affirm the Spirit is God, alone, it is insufficient grounds for belief. We must look to other, less direct passages for support of this doctrine, those that show...
- No one claims that Peter (or any other biblical author) was inspired all the time, just when he penned the words of scripture, so we should not assume too much from his statement here.4
- He possesses the attributes of God;
- He performs the works of God;
- He has association with God.
- He possesses the attributes of God.
Eternality—Heb 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Omnipresence—Ps 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
Omniscience— 1 Cor 2:10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.5
Holiness - Ps 5 1:11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
- He performs the works of God.6
Creation— Ps_104:30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.7
Regeneration—John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
Resurrection—Rom 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
- He has association with God.8
Baptismal formula—Matt 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Pauline salutation—I Pet 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Petrine benediction—2 Cor 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.It is not enough to identify the Spirit as deity, We noted earlier that some deny a more fundamental aspect of his character, that he is a person and not simply a force. The confusion stems in part from thinking that God's Spirit is like man's spirit.9 We have a material part, our physical bodies, and an immaterial part, our soul (or spirit). These two parts, material and immaterial, are not separate persons but different manifestations of the same person. The biblical writers sometimes use the nature of man's spirit to illustrate something about God's Spirit, but that does not mean they are the same.10 Unlike our spirit, the Holy Spirit is as distinct a person as is the Father or the Son.
- He has the attributes of a person.
- He performs the actions of a person.
- He receives the abuse of a person.
2. The Holy Spirit is a person.
- He has the attributes of a person.
Mind—1 Cor 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Will—1 Cor 12:11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Emotion—Isa_63:10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
- He performs the actions of a person.11
Speaks—Acts _8:29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
Commands—Acts 15:28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
Appoints—Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.12
Teaches—Luke 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."13
Intercedes—Rom 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
- He receives the abuse of a person.14
Deception—Acts 5:3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
Temptation—Acts 5:9 Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
Annoyance—Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Insult—Heb 10:29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Query: Does it matter if the Spirit is an actual person or, as some claim, just an impersonal power? ...One commentator answered this way (Pache 1954:19):Blasphemy—Matt _12:31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
[I]f the Spirit were merely a power coming from above, it would be at my disposal and I could use it at will. But if the Spirit is a Person, and more than that, if He is God Himself, it is I who should be at His disposal, and love and obey Him in all things. Besides, receiving into our hearts...the presence of the Almighty God is to have within us the source of all grace and of all possibility.Yes, it does matter that the Holy Spirit is an actual person and not just an impersonal power.
As I mentioned earlier, this is the weakest part of Trinitarian belief, because the Bible contains few explicit references to the Spirit as a distinct and personal deity. Theologians appeal to passages that depict the Spirit as having emotion and volition, but the biblical writers could simply be using personification, a literary device that ascribes personal attributes to animals, ideas, or inanimate objects.15
For example...
Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Prov 9:1 Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars.
Isa 55:12b ...the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.What are the best passages, then, for supporting the deity and personality of the Spirit? ...Association makes the best case for the Spirit's deity, and similar texts that speak about his character traits along with those of the Father or Son offer good support for the Spirit's personality.16
What to remember: Although not as strong as testimony for the Father or the Son, the Bible attests both the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. He is, therefore, more than an influence in the world or a force at our disposal, but a member of the godhead equal with the Father and the Son.
Having established as best we can the nature of Holy Spirit, we turn to his work. The Spirit plays quite a diverse role, and we will look at what the Bible says about his activity in relation to the physical world, to Jesus, to scripture, to unbelievers, and especially to believers.
WWN: "Psychic Surgeon: John of God" (Vann 2012b)
BADIANIA, Brazil - John of God, is the world's greatest psychic surgeon. John of God grabs a kitchen knife from a silver tray and appears to scrape it over the right eye of a believer. The "psychic surgeon" then wipes a viscous substance from the blade onto the patient's shirt. The procedure is repeated on the left eye of Juan Carlos Arguelles, who recently traveled thousands of miles from Colombia to see the healer. For 12 years, Arguelles says, he suffered from keratoconus, which thinned his cornea and severely blurred his vision.
John of God is Joao Teixeira de Faria, a 69-year-old miracle man and medium to those who believe.... Faria says he's not the one curing those who come to him. "It's God who heals. I'm just the instrument."
"Psychic surgeons" are mostly concentrated in Brazil and the Philippines with roots in spiritualist movements that believe spirits of the dead can communicate with the living. Like Faria, they often appear to go into a trance while doing their work, allowing God, dead doctors or other spirits to flow through them.... The American Cancer Society has said practitioners of psychic surgery use sleight of hand and animal body parts during procedures to convince patients that what ails them has been snatched away.... Arguelles, the 29-year-old Colombian who had his eyes worked on by John of God, doesn't care what the medical establishment says. A week after visiting Brazil and undergoing the procedure, he said his vision had improved "by 80 percent" and was getting better each day.B. The work of the Holy Spirit
1. The Holy Spirit acted in relation to the world.
- He was involved in its creation.17
Gen 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Ps 104:30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
2. The Holy Spirit acted in relation to the savior.
- He was a vital part of his earthly ministry.18
Incarnating—Matt 1:20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.19
Filling— Luke 4:1a Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit....
Guiding—Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Empowering—Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.20
Raising—1 Pet 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,21
3. The Holy Spirit acted in relation to the scriptures.
- He inspired the biblical writers.22
2 Pet 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
2 Sam 23:2 "The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.
Ezek 11:5 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say: "This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind.
4. The Holy Spirit acts in relation to non-believers.
- He tells them about Jesus.23
John 15:26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
- He convicts them of guilt.
Query: How does the Holy Spirit testify to non-believers about Jesus?John 16:8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
The Spirit does not seem to testify directly to non-believers but works indirectly, through believers.
Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
Acts 5:32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
5. The Holy Spirit acts in relation to believers.
- He is a vital part of their salvation.24
Regenerates—John 3:5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.25
Indwells—1 Cor 3:16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?26
Baptizes—1 Cor 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.27
Seals—Eph 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.28
Testifies—Rom 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.29
Raises—Rom 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
- He is a continuing part of their life.30
Fills—Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.31
Gifts—1 Cor 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.32
Empowers—Rom 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,33
Guides—Rom 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.34
Query: Does baptism of the Spirit require speaking in tongues?Intercedes—Rom 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
Pentecostals (or Charismatics) say, "Yes" (Clouse 1974:763). They believe baptism of the Spirit is a separate experience that occurs after a person's new birth (regeneration), during which the Spirit indwells the believer for the first time, empowering him for holy living. The Spirit manifests his presence through the gift of tongues, an ecstatic form of speech. To reach full potential, every believer should seek the baptism of the Spirit (the "second blessing," after regeneration).
There are, however, several problems with this view.35
- There is no command in scripture to seek this experience (i.e., speaking in tongues) and no instance in scripture of anyone praying for it.36
- Paul states clearly that all believers are baptized in the Spirit, that all believers receive a gift from the Spirit, but that all believers do not and should not expect to speak in tongues.37
- The Spirit's indwelling cannot be subsequent to salvation because one cannot be regenerated without having the Spirit; it is the sign of a relationship with God.38
- The Book of Acts makes clear that biblical tongues are real languages,39 whereas Charismatic glossolalia often are not.40
Query: Some Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is not active today to the same extent or in the same ways as he was during the NT period (e.g., sign gifts). What do you think?
...We must be careful not to confuse what the Spirit may or may not be doing today with what he could do. We must also not make that determination using the limited scope of our experience. The Holy Spirit is probably working in ways that would surprise us, were we aware of them.
What to remember: The Holy Spirit has been active in many ways since the creation. His primary activity, though, is in the lives of believers, and it is through his efforts that we enjoy many of God's blessings.
For the extensive End notes, see the pdf here.
For the other chapters in "A 'Reader's Digest' Approach to Theology" see the contents here.
For the other chapters in "A 'Reader's Digest' Approach to Theology" see the contents here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs