Who or what is the Holy Spirit? Is He a force, or power, or an actual person? Is He equal with God, or merely another way of talking about God’s power? What about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Is that something that a believer receives subsequent to salvation, or at the moment of salvation? How does the Spirit sanctify believers?
Leadership Training and Development
Systematic Theology
The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
1. The Personality Of The Holy Spirit:
A. His Attributes Confirm His Personality:
1) He Has Intelligence (1 Cor.2:10-11,13; Rom.8:27)
2) He Has Feelings (Eph.4:30)
3) He Has A Will (1 Cor.12:11; Acts 16:6-10)
B. His Works Confirm His Personality:
1) He Teaches And Testifies About Christ (Jn.14:26; 15:26)
2) He Guides Us Into The Truth (Jn.16:13)
3) He Convicts The World (Jn.16:8)
4) He Performs Miracles (Acts 8:39)
5) He Regenerates People (Titus 3:5; Jn.3:3-8)
6) He Intercedes For Believers (Rom.8:26-28)
7) He Commands The Church (Acts 8:29; 13:2,4; 16:6)
C. His Position Confirms His Personality:
1) He is To Be Obeyed (Acts 10:19-23)
2) He Can Be Lied To (Acts 5:3)
3) He Can Be Grieved (Eph.4:30; Isa.63:10)
4) He Can Be Blasphemed (Mt.12:31-32; Mk. 3:29-30)
5) He Can Be Resisted (Acts 7:51)
6) He Can Be Insulted (Heb.10:29)
D. His Relationships Confirm His Personality (Person to Person)
1) His Relationship To The Apostles (Acts 15:28)
2) His Relationship To Other Trinity Members (Jn.16:14; Rom.8:27; 1 Cor.2:11; Mt.28:19; 2 Cor.13:14)
E. His Designations Confirm His Personality: (Jn.15:26; 16:8,13-14)
2. THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:
A. The Divine Titles Of The Holy Spirit:
1) Spirit of God (1 Cor.2:11; 1 Cor.6:11;)
2) Spirit of Christ, Spirit of Father (Acts 16:6-7; Rom.8:9-11)
3) “Another” Helper (Jn.14:16 – “allos” means another of the same kind)
B. The Divine Attributes Of The Holy Spirit: (refer to Trinity notes)
C. The Divine Works Of The Holy Spirit:
1) Creation (Gen.1:2; Ps.104:24-26,30; Job 33:4; Isa.40:12-13)
2) Virgin Birth (Mt.1:20; Lu. 1:35)
3) Inspiration Of Scripture (2Pet.1:21)
4) Regeneration (Titus 3:5; Jn.3:6)
D. The Divine Relationships Of The Holy Spirit (Inter-trinitarian relationships)
1) The Spirit As Yahweh (The New Testament identifies the Holy Spirit as Yahweh of the Old Testament – Heb.10:15-17 & Jer.31:31-34)
2) The Spirit As God (Acts 5:3-4)
3) Equality Among the Persons of the Godhead (Mt.28:19; 2Cor.13:14)
3. THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:
A. Dove (Mt.3:16; Mk. 1:10; Lu. 3:22; Jn.1:32)
B. Pledge (2 Cor.1:22; Eph.1:14)
C. Seal (2 Cor.1:22; Eph.1:13; 4:30)
D. Water (Jn.7:37-39)
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MINISTRY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
A. Inspiration And Revelation
B. Creation
C. Selective Coming Upon of the Holy Spirit
1) The Spirit’s Coming Upon People Was Selective (1Sam.16:12-13; Num.27:18)
2) The Spirit’s Coming Upon People Has No Relationship To The Person’s Spiritual Condition (1Sam.10:6,10; 1Sam.28:7)
3) The Spirit’s Coming Upon Was Temporary (1Sam.16:14; Jud. 13:25; 16:20; Ps.51:11)
4) The Spirit’s Coming Upon Was A Sovereign Work Of God In The Person To Accomplish A Specific Task (Ex.31;2-5; Num.11:16-17, 27-29; 24:2; Jud.3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6,19; 15:14)
D. Regeneration (Jn.3:5,10)
5. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MINISTRY IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST:
A. The Virgin Birth (Mt.1:20; Lu. 1:35)
B. The Life and Ministry of Christ
1) Jesus Was Indwelt and Filled by the Holy Spirit (Lu. 4:1; Mk. 1:12)
2) Jesus Received the Coming Upon of the Holy Spirit (Mt.3:16; Isa.11:2; 42:1)
3) Jesus Rejoiced in the Spirit (Lu. 10:21)
4) Jesus Was Empowered By The Holy Spirit (Mt.12:28; Lu. 4:18)
6. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MINISTRY TODAY:
A. The Indwelling Of The Holy Spirit (Jn.14:16-17; Rom.8:9; 1 Cor.6:19)
1) This Indwelling Is For All Believers (Jn.7:37-39; Rom.8:9; Rom.5:5; 1 Cor.2:12; 2 Cor.5:5)
2) The Believer Is Indwelt At The Point of Salvation (Eph.1:13)
3) If A Man Does Not Possess The Indwelling Spirit He Is Not A Christian (Rom.8:9; Jude 19)
4) This Indwelling Is Permanent (Jn.14:16; 2Cor.1:22; Eph.4:30)
B. The Baptizing Work Of The Holy Spirit
1) Pentecostal and Charismatic View: “The coming upon of the Holy Spirit, usually subsequent to salvation, equipping him with gifts and power for service and witness.” Often the gift of tongues is seen as the initial “sign” that a person has been baptized in the Spirit. (Acts 1:8 – these disciples were already saved; Acts 8:12-17 – here people believed and were baptized but did not receive the Spirit; Acts 9:9,17 – here Paul was saved three days before being filled with the Holy Spirit; Lu. 11:13)
a. Answer to Charismatic Position: Principle of Hermeneutics — never build a doctrine on historical narrative alone but make sure it is clearly taught in the didactic portions of Scripture. These examples are all taken from the Book of Acts – a section of historical narrative. They are also taken from a period of history in which the church was in transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. You would expect some irregularities in this period of the Church. The reason the 120 disciples were baptized with the Spirit on Pentecost after they were already believers is because they could not have been baptized in the Spirit before that date – it was a prophetic day (Acts 2:1) sovereignly appointed by God. The reason the Samaritans in Acts 8 received the Holy Spirit after conversion was because God wanted to make sure there be no division in the early church, so He sovereignly delayed the bestowal of the Spirit, until Jewish apostles could be there to witness and confirm that God had granted them the same access into the Church as them. The same principle would hold true of Saul’s reception of the Spirit in Acts 9 and the Old Testament believers’ reception of the Spirit in Acts 19. Since the transition period of the New Testament has been closed, all believers today are baptized in the Holy Spirit at the point of regeneration.
2) Non-Charismatic View: “That one-time work whereby the Holy Spirit places the believer into union with Christ and into union with other believers in the Body of Christ (1Cor.12:13).”
a. The Baptism Of The Spirit Is Unique To The Church Age (Acts 1:5; 11:15-16)
b. The Baptism Of The Spirit Includes All Believers In The Church Age (1 Cor.12:13; Rom.6:3,5; Gal.3:27-28)
c. The Baptism Of The Spirit Brings Believers Into Union With Christ (Rom.6:3,5; Gal.3:27)
d. The Baptism Of The Spirit Brings Believers Into Union With Other Believers (1 Cor.12:12-13; Eph.4:3)
e. The Baptism Of The Spirit Is A One-Time Event (1 Cor.12:13; Eph.4:5)
f. The Baptism Of The Spirit Is Non-Experiential
C. The Sealing Of The Holy Spirit (2Cor.1:22; Eph.1:13; 4:30)
D. The Gifting Of The Holy Spirit
1) The Charismatic View: All the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament can be received today. God desires that His church operate in all of them, including the supernatural or “sign” gifts in 1Cor.12:8-10.
2) The Non-Charismatic View: The “sign” gifts in the New Testament such as tongues, interpretation of tongues, miracles, healings, being evidences given to confirm the validity of the apostles’ ministry as vehicles of new revelation passed away with the death of the last living apostle.
3) Evaluation Of These Views:
a. We have no hard and fast Biblical data to prove that certain gifts would cease after the 1st century. This argument is built on theory and church history – not the Word of God.
b. It must be admitted that a primary purpose of these extraordinary gifts was to confirm the ministry of Christ’s apostles (Heb.2:4; Mk. 16:20).
c. It must also be admitted that these “sign” gifts were exercised by non-apostles (Acts 6:8; 8:6-7).
d. All gifts are given sovereignly when, where, and to whom the Spirit pleases (1 Cor.12:11).
e. Therefore, it seems that to be in keeping with the Word of God we ought not decide that all supernatural gifts have been done away with, but also ought not hold that they are given today in the same measure that they were given to the infant church. All gifts must be tested and proved by the Word of God – 1 Thess.5:19-22.
E. The Filling Of The Holy Spirit
1) Controlling Aspect: “to be continually controlled by the Spirit who indwells the believer and results in Christ-like character” (Eph.5:18-21). This aspect of the Holy Spirit’s filling is something that all believers are commanded to possess. They experience it by an act of the will – self-surrender and conscious dependence.
a. Conditions Of Being Filled With The Spirit
1. Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit (Eph.4:30)
2. Do Not Quench The Holy Spirit (1Thess.5:19)
3. Keep In Step With The Spirit (Gal.5;16)
b. Evidence Of Being Filled With The Holy Spirit (Eph.5:19-21; Gal.5:22-24)
2) Empowering Aspect: “to receive a sovereign enduement of power for ministry, similar to the coming upon work of the Holy Spirit for specific tasks in the Old Testament” (Acts 4:8; 13:9; cf. 1 Cor.2;4; 1 Thess.1:5). This aspect of the Holy Spirit’s filling is something that is given when and to whom God pleases to give it. It is not received by an act of the will of man, but given by the sovereign will of God.
F. The Teaching Of The Holy Spirit (Jn.16:12-15; 1 Cor.2;12-14; 2 Cor.4:4-6)
1) Content Of Instruction: Truth About Christ (Jn.14:26; 15:26-27; 16;14)
2) Purpose Of Instruction: Glorify Christ (Jn.16:14)
3) Procedure Of Instruction
a. Spiritually gifted teachers (Rom.12:7; Eph.4;11-16)
b. Confirmation of the Holy Spirit (1Jn.2:27)
G. The Guiding Of The Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6-7)
H. The Initial Sanctifying Work of The Holy Spirit: Regeneration (2 Thess.2:13; 1 Pet.1:2; Jn.3:3-5; Titus 3:5)
I. The Progressive Sanctifying Work of The Holy Spirit: Being conformed to Christ’s image (1 Thess.4:7-8; Rom.8:13). The initial sanctifying work of the Spirit is monergistic (God works alone), but the progressive sanctifying work of the Spirit is synergistic (we work with God). Jn.1:13; Eph.2:4-5; Rom.8:13; Phil.2:12-13.
J. The Assuring Of The Holy Spirit (Rom.8:16)
K. The Praying Of The Holy Spirit (Rom.8:26-27)
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