This post aims to develop an understanding of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in Christ today. The scope of this project is concentrated mainly upon New Testament facts, instruction, details, and principles concerning the Spirit, but there are related areas of interest within the Old Testament this post shall draw upon for a broader old and new covenant perspective. The activity of the Holy Spirit among people serves various purposes throughout Scripture, yet there is His continuous personal work throughout the course of historical events.
Introduction
From creation, the formation and development of humanity, to the upheaval and strife among the nations across centuries, the Holy Spirit is actively at work in building the Kingdom of God. The disinherited nations at Babel, who were dispersed, set the canvas of peoples who would form a Kingdom where Christ Jesus would reign as its King. Incubated and grown to large populations that fill the earth, the harvest of souls brought into the Kingdom by the work of the Spirit is God’s divine means of redemption. Millions of people who form the Kingdom of God on earth, regardless of era, language, culture, nation, time zone, or generation, would enter before God’s presence as redeemed people who glorify and worship God while in eternal fellowship with Him and one another.
As this post is developed, it will more closely explore the Spirit’s work among people as souls are harvested out from a corrupt and evil world alienated from God. As the nations of old were given over to spiritual rulers who are both then and now involved in the affairs of humanity, the Spirit of God thoroughly works among them to reclaim humanity. Through covenants and longstanding persistent mercies, grace, judgments, prophetic utterances, and messianic promises, the Holy Spirit provides a way for people to return to God, their Creator.
Background
The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is an area of study that interacts with the person and work of the Spirit of God. The term that identifies the study of the Holy Spirit is pneumatology. It is derived from the Greek terms pneuma and logos as they describe the topic’s meaning together. With a particular interest in the salvation of people redeemed, the Holy Spirit performs numerous functions while having characteristics unique to Him as the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God and a person who exists in triadic union with God the Father and God the Son. Having cognitive intellect, a will, and emotions, the Holy Spirit is self-aware. The identity of the Holy Spirit is established by His role from divine revelation concerning Creation, historical events, and transcendent supernatural activity. While comprehensive, the whole of the Holy Spirit’s presence and work goes well beyond a ministry to people. He, in various ways, ministered to Christ while retaining His functional purposes as transcendent and immutable God of the Universe.
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is identified by the Hebrew term ruakh, while in the New Testament, He is identified by the Greek term pneuma. As these are not names but descriptions of the Holy Spirit’s identity, His name is Yahweh (יהוה, yhwh), often referred to as the Tetragrammaton: YHWH. The divine name of the Holy Spirit originates from the encounter Moses had before God in Exodus 3:14. The Holy Spirit, as the I AM, is the existing One who causes to be. That is to say, while the Holy Spirit is the Creator of the physical Universe, He is the cause of all that exists Spiritually. His presence throughout all existence as omnipresent God also inhabits people as sacred space within believers. The Spirit is among His people and within them. From the time of Pentecost (Acts 2), the active presence of the Spirit among believers today is a prominent witness to His existential reality.
Formulated Doctrine
The Trinitarian persons of the Godhead are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As formulated from intertextual narrative and testimonies from Scripture, the Holy Spirit is the Most High God. Old and New Testament surveys of His person and work are abundantly evident as people perceive Him as permitted through special revelation. To further compose an understanding of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God, the Westminster Confession of Faith articulates some specific biblical references to substantiate this doctrinal assertion (WCF 2.3) that the Holy Spirit is God.1
“In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: (1 John 5:7. Matt 3:16–17, Matt. 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14) the Father is of none, neither begotten, not proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; (John 1:14, 18) the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. (John 15:26, Gal. 4:6).”
As the identity and deity of the Holy Spirit are established from divine revelation through Scripture, it becomes further possible to understand His work from the beginning of human existence to the eschatological outcomes expected from further events prophetically foretold. Tracing His work and activity in the lives of believers begins from the Old Testament, but as the events of the new covenant are revealed, His presence is far more understood in a redemptive context in light of Christ’s accomplishments.2 As the work of Yahweh is understood from God the Father and God the Son, the Spirit of God is there together to apply what both have been decreed according to an eternal and sovereign plan.
The Holy Spirit is not a passive and impersonal force applied to people as if God somehow works from a distance. The specifics of His work are detailed here in major categorical areas with various attributive characteristics made evident by who He is and what He does. Functions, activities, and outworkings of the Spirit are interspersed as a historical matter of interest as experienced by people and recorded in Scripture. Even as literary encounters with the Spirit are observed, what He does is not a corporeal embodiment of human or anthropomorphic expression or production. Innumerable intangible acts of the Holy Spirit have a bearing on people, events, and circumstances to orchestrate what divine intentions are sought and fulfilled.
The Presence of the Spirit
Before the prophetic promises of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26 were cast into the distant future, it was a common understanding of ancient Judaism that Yahweh dwelled among His people, whether in the wilderness, in the tabernacle, or the temple. The Spirit of God was exterior to the lives of His people but with them nonetheless. Compared to the Spirit interior to people under the new covenant, a different spiritual reality corresponded to old covenant Jews and their status before Yahweh. The work of the Holy Spirit was largely external as an abiding presence yet sometimes limited presence among the inhabitants of Israel. The Spirit of God’s presence upon specific individuals appears among prophets and political figures but not among ordinary people.3 The governing presence of the Holy Spirit was a ministry of protection, social order, guidance, inspiration, and the development of individual capabilities.4
From the time of creation (Genesis 1:2), through the ancient formative years of humanity, to the patriarchs, the Davidic and Solomonic kingdoms, the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity to second-temple Judaism, the Spirit of God remained thoroughly active within and among His chosen people. Yet His activity was within the context of the Old Testament covenants and what was necessary to fulfill divine intentions for the inevitable arrival of the Messianic prophet, priest, and king. The Spirit of God, who shaped the history of His people, guided the sovereign and intended redemptive outcomes with an incorporeal power5 that explains what He did in time differently than what He does under the new covenant. The essence of God as Spirit as He is transcendent over matter, space, and time. God doesn’t consist of material and spirit as humans do. The essence of God, the Holy Spirit, is a single “substance” as spirit yet further considered within the doctrine of divine simplicity.
By general means of human sensory perception, the presence of the Holy Spirit is detectable by processing and interpreting His actions, messages, and influence, through available matter, whether it is physical (air, gas, matter, plasma, fluid) or spiritual (metaphysical, supernatural, transcendent). The overlap of both in which His presence is observable or perceived renders an awareness of who the Holy Spirit is (God) and what He is doing. The sensory perceptions of sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell don’t yield a tangible or physical awareness of the Spirit within space occupied by matter or its properties unless it is somehow made evident by the Spirit. The Spirit otherwise perceived is Spirit to spirit today, where there is a transcendent and intangible reality that becomes manifest (for example, an internal heaviness, a softening, a washing, a filling, a conviction, or some other extra physical and non-cognitive origination without the use of physical or sensory faculties).
The Anointing Spirit
Historically attributed to the kingly accession of rulers, appointed prophets of the Old and New Testaments (e.g., Samuel, John the Baptist) anointed men as King over Israel. As a cultural and religious consecration ritual, the practice usually involved pouring or smearing oil on a person’s head or forehead as a symbolic way of bestowing divine favor upon a person for an appointment to a place or function.6 While the valid application of oil upon a person carried with it divine authority, it also came to represent the outpouring of the Spirit upon the recipient to attain a holy status or position to impart a charter or mandate. Before Christ Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, his baptism was an anointing by John the Baptist where the Holy Spirit would come upon Him for Jesus’ ministry that was just beginning. To accede as King of the Jews, it was necessary for Christ to overcome an adversary and do so by the anointing of a prophet.7
The anointing of the Holy Spirit was placed upon Jesus, where His public ministry would begin. After Christ’s anointing with the power of the Holy Spirit, He overcame Satan’s temptation and entered Jerusalem for His kingly procession (Isaiah 40:3, John 1:23, John 12:12-13). The anointing of the Holy Spirit accompanied Jesus during His wilderness trial and His ascent as King as necessary to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy. While the prophetic anointing that occurred at baptism was for Christ’s royal accession, it was a baptism to anoint Him for the work of ministry nonetheless. The messianic events that unfolded after Jesus’ anointing (baptism), the defeat of a supernatural foe, and His triumphant arrival into Jerusalem all together signified what believers to as a matter of Christlike accession from death to life.
Baptism in the Spirit
The baptism in the Spirit is an event that occurs among all believers who are regenerated and undergo new spiritual birth. United in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, all believers are together made a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). The baptism of the Holy Spirit unites all believers who were born again, as made clear by Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12:13). Further references to the new birth as baptism in the Spirit makes a distinction about the baptism of water for repentance (Mark 1:8, John 1:33, Acts 1:5, 11:16). It is this baptism in the Spirit as regeneration that precedes belief, saving faith by grace, and baptism by water for repentance. As John baptized the body of individual believers by immersion with literal water, the Spirit baptizes believers spiritually by “fire” (Matt 3:11, Luke 3:16).
The historical and biblical precedent for the Spirit of Baptism comes from Moses’s encounter with Yahweh from Numbers 11:15-17. Moses asked the Lord to kill him as the burden was too great for him alone to lead His people. As the Lord heard the petition of Moses, He instructed Him to choose 70 elders to lead the people. Yahweh, speaking to Moses, said he would “take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.” The anointing of the Lord upon the 70 elders endowed them to help Moses to lead and support His people. It was ultimately Moses’ wish that Yahweh would put His Spirit upon all people (Numbers 11:29).
The prophet Joel later appropriated Moses’ desire and applied it to all of God’s people as he spoke of coming judgment and redemption. “It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29). The pouring of the Spirit of God upon the 70 elders by divine decree was an indication that later this bestowment would become the means by which people would become baptized by the Holy Spirit, beginning with the Pentecost event in Acts 2:2-4.8
The Scriptural passages concerning baptism in the Spirit accompany baptism by water. The baptism in the Spirit is for salvific purposes as regeneration occurs among believers. Baptism by water immersion is a loyalty oath as it symbolically represents the believer’s death, burial, and resurrection in Christ. The practice of baptism in this was to take a side and affirm by a pledge that the supernatural authority of spiritual rulers over the gentiles was displaced or removed.9 To further assert the difference between baptism by fire and water, Colossians 2:8-15 informs readers that burial with Christ is by baptism to infer immersion as believers are submerged in water to represent spiritual allegiance within the Kingdom of God. As a believer is saved by fire, or baptism in the Spirit, it is in due course that person proclaims a loyalty oath by water baptism to impart an anointing for the Kingdom that involves surrender (repentance) and dedication to the Lordship of Christ.
The 1 Peter 3:14-22 passage further deepens the significance of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection and the reasons it correlates to the Colossians 2:8-15 reference. As the crucifixion meant victory over every demonic force,10 Jesus’ declaration to the “spirits in prison” was about his triumph over sin and death to inform them that they were still condemned. His ascension to authority at the right hand of God was set over all angels, authorities, and powers. Baptism is a personal and spiritual loyalty declaration of unity by Christ’s death and resurrection.
To further develop baptism as a loyalty pledge that corresponds to an anointing of the Holy Spirit, observe verse 21 of 1 Peter 3:14-22 (ESV).
“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”
The terms “appeal” and “conscience” in this passage have a wider semantic range that broadens the interpretive meaning rendered from numerous English translations.
② a formal request, appeal (ἐπερωτάω 2) συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς ἐ. εἰς θεόν an appeal to God for a clear conscience 1 Pt 3:21.
• But cp. a pledge (s. L-S-J-M s.v. 3 with pap ref.; also the vb. in PYadin 17, 38) to God proceeding from a clear conscience; 11
② the inward faculty of distinguishing right and wrong, moral consciousness, conscience
• σ. ἀγαθή a good conscience (cp. Herodian 6, 3, 4; PRein s.v. καλός 2b) Ac23:1; 1 Ti 1:5; 1 Pt 3:21 (on the topic cp. FSokolowski, Lois sacrées des cités grecques, Supplément ’62 no. 108, 4–7 ‘one who enters the temple … must be pure, not through bathing but in mind’); 12
Furthermore, the term appeal as rendered pledge appears to produce a reading as a pledge to God for a good conscience. Whether as a pledge or appeal, the effect of baptism with a good conscience is one of repentance to where Jesus is accepted by oath as Lord. The Spirit at work in the believer at baptism is a corresponding spiritual form of anointing similar to Christ at His baptism (Mark 1:9-11). As Christ was anointed at baptism, believers are. As Christ died, was buried, and resurrected, believers are, too, by the process of baptism of water.
The Indwelling Spirit
Regeneration by the Holy Spirit as baptism in the Spirit does not constitute the indwelling of the Spirit. Regeneration of a person simply means that a person is given divine enablement to believe. From belief (i.e., grace through faith), a person is converted as faith and repentance together constitute saving faith in Christ for salvation. When this occurs in the life of a believer, Scripture informs us that Christ will take up residence in the believer (John 7:39, 14:17, 20:22). In contrast to the statements of regeneration (John 3:3-8, 6:63), where God gives people the willingness to believe, there are specific conditions that exist within a believer as the Holy Spirit is to inhabit him. This habitation of the Holy Spirit is more inward evidence of spiritual rebirth because, without the Spirit, it is impossible to be born again.
Apostle Paul also informed the early church that believers are individually the temple of God’s Spirit (1 Cor 3:16, 6:19, 2 Cor 6:16). It is well-understood that this divisible indwelling is not exclusive to corporate fellowship (Matt 18:2) but within each separate life of the believer (1 Cor 3: 17). The presence of the Spirit within the church as a corporate body, and within the body of an individual believer is not mutually exclusive theological principles supported by Scripture.13 The Spirit of God, as promised among the composite body of believers, as the Spirit of God inhabits each of them, includes those who are repentant and full of faith who, by grace, worship in spirit and truth. The Spirit is both with believers and in believers, as the Holy Spirit is their eternal Paraclete (John 14:15).14 The Holy Spirit as Paraclete is an advocate or counselor (John 14:16, 26), and this is significant as it pertains to the ministry of the Spirit among believers who have come to saving faith in Christ Jesus. Paraclete is an old Greek term, “called in aid.”
The Filling of the Spirit
The work of the Spirit in the lives of believers continues through their sanctification as they grow in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). Furthermore, the spiritual maturity developed among believers is toward ongoing personal holiness. After regeneration and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at spiritual rebirth, believers undergo a lifelong sanctification process. To become sanctified is to be made more holy.15 While regeneration is a one-time event or occurrence, and the indwelling of the Spirit (Romans 8:9) either happens instantaneously at the same time or at a later point in life, the filling of the Spirit is yet another Scriptural distinction to recognize.
Paul wrote to the church in first-century Ephesus (Eph 5:18), “Be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And Luke’s record of Acts explicitly informs its readers:
“And when they (the disciples) had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” – Acts 4:31
The continuity of the Spirit’s presence among believers regenerated, anointed, and indwelt also involves an outpouring for specific missional purposes. Namely, the outpouring is generally expressed in Scripture as having a Kingdom intent. That is, to extend the Kingdom as Paul urges the church to be filled with the Spirit. Receiving the Spirit in this way is not just a passive endeavor, as believers indwelt by the Spirit today are active through the means by which they obtain this outpouring (James 4:8) through Scripture, prayer, and worship.17
The Fruit of the Spirit
Consistent with the doctrine of Sanctification, the Holy Spirit continuously transforms us into the image of Christ. While the fillings of the Spirit are individual and recurring events, the Spirit, who indwells us, shapes us into ever-increasing levels of holiness that please God. Necessary for our access to God, Scripture informs us that without holiness, no one will see the Father (Hebrews 12:14). Both the continuous indwelling of the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit produces fruit in the lives of believers. To more clearly understand what the filling of the Spirit is and does, Apostle Paul informs us about the specifics in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 5:16-22). While Galatians 5:22-23 specifically informs readers what the fruits are, it is necessary to recognize the historical and prophetic allusions to the fruitfulness of a new age. The prophet Isaiah points Old Testament and New Testament believers to a time when there will be the qualities of the Spirit written about by Paul (Isa. 32 and 57).18
Paul wrote of the “first fruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23) that point to believers among the whole creation effort of the Holy Spirit. As G.K. Beale eloquently informs us, the Spirit first raises the saints from the dead spiritually and then creates these fruits in them.19 Authentic believers who were regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit will participate in the eschatological course of history by producing fruits of the Spirit to become what God sovereignly intends for His Kingdom. As believers keep in step with the Spirit, they glorify God as they reflect back to Him the holiness developed among His people. With the mutual indwelling of Christ (Gal 2:20) and the Spirit within believers (1 Cor 6:19), they produce fruit.20
The presence of fruit in believers’ lives is evidence of the Spirit within. The absence of the fruit of the Spirit indicates an absence of the Spirit. The pericope lesson of Mark 11:12-14, 20-21, in a sense, informs readers about the displeasing nature of people as believers who do not bear fruit. Not merely that they produce works of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21), as Paul warns the churches in Galatia, but that there are no fruits as described in Galatians 5:22-23 is an unacceptable condition that implies consequences. The Holy Spirit who indwells His people will cause them to bear fruit as they strive to produce fruit of their efforts. As the Holy Spirit has a direct bearing on the sanctification of believers, He also works through human agency to yield the qualities described as the traits of Christ.21
As a further up-close look at the fruit of the Spirit within the lives of believers, Apostle Paul wrote specific details about what they are (Gal 5:22-23). They are described in three triad groupings of Christ lived out in a Christian. The “fruit” of the Spirit (singular ), as compared to the “fruits” of the Spirit (plural) in this passage, renders an intended understanding of the unity of attributes within believers who are yielded to the Spirit.22 They are all present within believers, who are indwelt and, at times, filled by the Holy Spirit. As a matter of faith and practice, Paul tells the church, “walk in the Spirit” (v.16), be “led by the Spirit” (v.18), and “live by the Spirit” (v.25). This is life by the Spirit in contrast to a believer being gratified by the flesh. As trees produce literal fruit, so do believers who first walk by the Spirit, become led by the Spirit, and ultimately live by the Spirit throughout life. The only way to overcome the desires of the flesh is to live according to what Paul counsels in this passage. Being yielded to the Spirit is the way in which a believer escapes the deadly desires of the flesh that works against the Spirit (v.17).
It is, therefore, crucial to understand the fruits of the Spirit to walk by them. Living out the fruit of the Spirit by faith while yielding in surrender to Him is the way to abide in union with Christ against the desires and appetites of the flesh. To understand more specifically, the triad groupings of this fruit consist of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The first three, love, joy, and peace, are habits of mind. The second three, patience, kindness, and goodness, reach out to others. The final three, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, guide the general conduct of the believer.23
The Gifts of the Spirit
The work of the Spirit doesn’t end with His internal presence among believers for personal sanctification. God’s grace is extended to believers through the Holy Spirit for the church’s benefit, edification, and growth. The spiritual gifts as “pneumatika” are translated to “spiritual gifts” from the Greek (1 Cor 14:1, 12, 2:13; 12:1) to render a sense of inspiration from the Holy Spirit toward a functional purpose and conversely translated, “charismata” or “gifts of grace,” derived from the Greek term charis,24 (Latin, gratia). Charisma, as a gift of grace, is distributed among believers as God’s people are restored to harmony and wholeness to fulfill the restorative purposes of people within the church. Spiritual gifts are given to people of the church who are regenerated, indwelt, anointed, and filled to produce the fruit of the Spirit. Alongside the sanctification process, the Holy Spirit places upon people gifts of supernatural and natural origin and effect. Either one or the other corresponds to the measure of faith within a believer. Gifts imparted to believers are apportioned to them as a “manifestation of the Spirit” (1 Cor 12:7).25
As the gifts are meant to build up the church, they serve as examples of what it is to become enabled by the Spirit to fill specific functions that the church needs. When paying close attention to the specific gifts outlined in Scripture, they represent natural and supernatural capabilities characterized by the benefit of people as recipients. In Apostle Paul’s letters to Rome and Asia-Minor, he describes specifics to the early church as relevant for us today. The various gifts in the New Testament are not all-inclusive but represent what they are for the edification of the church. In the table below, Thomas Schreiner organizes the gifts Paul wrote about in the following way. While fitting to the early church, they’re, in principle, what the Holy Spirit does to produce or apply capabilities to people for the church and not for individual self-interest.
| Romans 12:6-8 | 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 | 1 Corinthians 12:28 | Ephesians 4:11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us | To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good | And God has appointed in the church | And he gave |
| Apostles | Apostles | ||
| Prophecy | Prophecy | Prophets | Prophets |
| Distinguishing of spirits | Evangelists | ||
| Teaching | Word of wisdom and word of knowledge | Teachers | Pastors and teachers |
| Exhortation | |||
| Miracles | Miracles | ||
| Healing | Healings | ||
| Serving | Helps | ||
| Leading | Administration | ||
| Various kinds of tongues | Various kinds of tongues | ||
| Interpretation of tongues | |||
| Giving | |||
| Faith | |||
| Mercy |
Table 1. – Biblical Gifts of the Spirit 26
The gifts are tangible exterior outworkings applied to people distinct from the internal fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit originates as a grace for personal sanctification and blessing, while the gifts of the Spirit are for fellow believers who comprise the missional church for discipleship and sanctification of its members. The examples of gifts of the Spirit illustrate what underlying Scripturally supported development methods pertain to the church for eschatological Kingdom objectives, to honor Christ as head of the church, and to glorify God. The gifts of the Spirit according to Catholic tradition (i.e., Summa Theologiae) do not correspond to the biblical definition of the “gifts of the Spirit” as narrated by the example above. Still, they could include them as gifts as a matter of practice without claiming biblical authority and explicit meaning. None of these gifts are included in Paul’s description of gifts to highlight what types of natural skills and talents, or supernatural capabilities could be given to persons. As with the virtues defined by Aquinas,27 these are not counterfeit gifts, but they originate from the Summa Theologica to derive the theological tradition and catechism of the Catholic church.28
| The Seven Gifts of the Spirit | The Seven Virtues | The Seven Deadly Sins |
|---|---|---|
| Wisdom | Chastity | Lust |
| Understanding | Temperance | Gluttony |
| Counsel | Charity | Greed |
| Fortitude | Diligence | Sloth |
| Knowledge | Kindness | Wrath |
| Piety | Patience | Envy |
| Fear of God | Humility | Pride |
Table 2. – Catholic Gifts of the Spirit
Further interest concerning the gifts of the Spirit includes the Charismatic traditions often viewed as controversial and fraught with theological and biblical error. In many cases, to the charismatic believer, the gifts of the Spirit are about the uninformed personal experience with God as a filling and gifting of the Spirit as an admixture of an often faked encounter. The imaginations of often well-meaning people leave less room for the sober, intentional, and self-controlled manner of faith and practice in exchange for frequent healings, prophetic words of knowledge, miracles, and other transactional means of personal experience with others.
The subjective and personal experiences of Charismatic traditions outside instructions about church conduct can often contradict the biblical imperatives of being rational and sober-minded in fulfilling ministry and not carnal desires (1 Pet 4:7, 5:8, Titus 2:2, 6, 1 Cor 15:34).29 Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. If a gift of the Spirit, according to Charismatic doctrine, contradicts the intended interpretation of Scriptural meaning about gifts of the Spirit, there is a difference that the authority of God’s Word must resolve. The heart, mind, and spirit are informed by Scripture what it means to worship in spirit and truth. However, gifts of the Spirit are defined in God’s Word and not by subjective experiences and imaginations of spiritual predators or well-meaning people in a spirit of error.
Often, Charismatic and Pentecostal traditions are closely joined to prosperity preaching and social gospel activists who find their subjective roots in theological liberalism. Schleiermacher, the father of protestant liberalism, denied his faith in a letter to his father and adopted Romanticism early in his faith. While Ritschl, who believed that Christianity ought to be defined by social justice imperatives and ethics, insisted upon a theologically liberated society.30
Opposing Views
There is a wide array of counterpoint perspectives concerning much of the historically orthodox views of the Church. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers today is Scripturally described and presented as authoritative by the biblical writers as intended. A common thread among the various opposing views appears centered around special interest concerning tradition, appeal to historical instruction and conditions, and spiritually interfering predilections that bring confusion, error, contradictions, and uncertainty. False or unorthodox beliefs and practices contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture would seemingly run counter to the human conscience of regenerated people indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Yet, there is a multitude of subjective perspectives. This post presented two examples of alternative views around the gifts of the Spirit between confessional Christian belief, Catholicism, and Charismatics. The range of differences is pronounced, but they all, to some extent, diverge from what Scripture specifically reveals about the Holy Spirit, who He is, and what He does in the life of believers.
Wesleyans, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, and others have differing views about justification, what constitutes saving faith, and the role or function of the Holy Spirit to regenerate people, indwell them and shape their spiritual development during the course of personal sanctification (i.e., whether salvific and consecrated status is immediate, earned, and synergistic, etc.). Additional alternative interpretations in the church also range much further than liberal and neo-orthodox perspectives.31 However, while all these perspectives affect faith and practice, theological conclusions formed from biblical and objective truth carry the lasting weight of God’s specific revelation about what He does through His Spirit.
Historical Positions
In addition to matters of interpretation to suit personal, congregation, institutional, or state interests aside from biblical instruction, there are also matters of control that people want to retain. From the governing perspectives of the Church, the State, and cultures throughout civilization, social and economic interests have a bearing upon what people come to believe and understand with respect to faith and practice. Historical traditions of people among nations that are not in alignment with God’s intentions concerning His Kingdom and its eschatological trajectory are entirely, thoroughly, and utterly spiritual. People believe what they are given to believe. From Yahweh as Creator God, or the spiritual rulers of nations that govern access and the substance of belief, through God’s sovereignty, the historical development and acceptance of orthodox doctrines are under the subjection of what He has already decreed.
Under the care and persistent work of the Holy Spirit, the church will grow as Christendom increases in size to a geometric scale. While the various historical positions of theologians, philosophers, and politicians run in and out of alignment with Scripture, God’s purposes shall prevail. He will have His Kingdom. Humanity will be restored to Him and there will be nothing humanistic culture or secularism can do about it. If fact, by design, the hand of people as free-will human agents will be instruments of God’s intended purpose for Creative intent as it belongs to Him.
Conclusion
In numerous ways, this post resolved open questions about what the Holy Spirit does in the lives of believers today. Within our limited line of sight, there is what we know by what is revealed in His Word. Accordingly, believers also experience what the work of the Holy Spirit corresponds to what readers observe in both the Old and New Testaments. Among the covenants, to the redemptive work of Christ and the ongoing sanctification of regenerated believers indwelt, anointed, and filled, they are given spiritual gifts to build the church for its edification and development. The church exists for God’s purposes, His glory, and His good pleasure. Our place is to abide in Christ and live by the Spirit so as to fulfill His interests about the Kingdom as we love Him, each other, and His plan for our lives together.
Citations
1 Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851), 21–25.
2 John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, eds., Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 334.
3 James M. Hamilton Jr., God’s Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old & New Testaments (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2006), 27.
4 Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, ed. Gerald Bray, Contours of Christian Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 21–22.
5 Basil of Caesarea, “The Book of Saint Basil on the Spirit,” in St. Basil: Letters and Select Works, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. Blomfield Jackson, vol. 8, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1895), 15.
6 J. A. Motyer, “Anointing, Anointed,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 49.
7 W. Brian Shelton, “An Ancient Israelite Pattern of Kingly Accession in the Life of Christ,” Trinity Journal 25, no. 1 (2004): 72.
8 R. C. Sproul, What Is Baptism? First edition., vol. 11, The Crucial Questions Series (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2011), 44.
9 Michael S. Heiser, Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), 229.
10 Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, First Edition. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 338.
11 William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 362.
12 Ibid. 967-968.
13 Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 718–719.
14 James M. Hamilton Jr., God’s Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old & New Testaments (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2006), 181.
15 Joel R. Beeke, Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2008), 216.
16 Thomas R. Schreiner, The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 490.
17 John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2013), 927.
18 G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 588.
19 Ibid.
20 Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 307–308.
21 Guy P. Duffield and Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, Foundations of Pentecostal Theology (Los Angeles, CA: L.I.F.E. Bible College, 1983), 291–292.
22 Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 608.
23 Ibid.
24 Ralph P. Martin, “Gifts, Spiritual,” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1016.
25 Herman Bavinck, John Bolt, and John Vriend, Reformed Dogmatics: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation, vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 299.
26 Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 719–720.
27 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, n.d.), STh., I-II q.61-62 a.1-5.
28 Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), 450.
29 John F. MacArthur, Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013).
30 Ibid.
31 Gordon R. Lewis and Bruce A. Demarest, Integrative Theology: Spirit-Given Life: God’s People, Present and Future, vol. 3, Integrative Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), 174-184.
Bibliography
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