Pnematology - Study Of The Holy Spirit Series

PNEUMATOLOGY “Study of the Holy Spirit”

INTRODUCTION

At the beginning of the year, I set out to take the first Sunday of each month presenting one of the nine major categories of theology. We have missed a couple Sunday’s but today I want to get back on schedule. So far we have covered “Theology Proper” that deals with the basic understanding of the Godhead and the role of the Father.

The official alliance doctrine statement reads…

There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We provided a basic outline for a study of the person and work of Christ.

The official CM&A doctrinal statement reads…

Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. tie died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutional sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at tile right hand of tile Majesty on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and peace.

Today we will present an overview of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. When Paul found some disciples of Jesus in Ephesus, he asked them…

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." Acts 19:1-2

Many today have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. An if they have it is a distorted or deficient understanding of Him. We mentioned a couple weeks ago from a recent survey of Biblical understanding of those who claim to be Christians that 22% strongly agreed and 17% somewhat agreed that the Holy Spirit is only “a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity. Our understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit must come from a thouorugh and careful study of the Scriptures.

It is not experience but the Scriptures that must shape our thinking in this area.

This is meant to be just an overview. If you want a more thougough coverage of the topic you can get a copy of the notes from a past series on the Holy Spirit presented a few years ago. Today will be only a summary of His person and work. When you put all of the references together, the role of the Holy Spirit looks amazingly similar to that of a caring pastor. The Holy Spirit is God’s perfect perpetual pastor to His people. He is always there.

He was sent to encourage with the same kind of ministry Jesus had with His disciples.

The official CM&A statement reads:

The Holy Spirit is a divine person, sent to indwell, guide, teach and empower the believer and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.

I. The Name and Titles of the Holy Spirit

Names set people apart from the crowd. Names or titles tell you something of their function or character or association with others. Father, Son, Daughter, Cousin, Brother, Uncle, Professor, Helper, Aid, Sergeant, Secretary, Doctor, supervisor, senator, policeman or Pastor. Each of these names reveals and highlights a particular relationship or function. Many names and titles have been assigned in Scripture to the Holy Spirit that focus on both His relationship and function.

? Relationship to the Father

Spirit of God Gen 1:2; Matt 3:16

Spirit of the Lord Luke 4:18

Spirit of our God 1Cor 6:11

His Spirit Num 11:29

Spirit of Yahweh Judg 3:10

Your Spirit Ps 139:7

Spirit of the Lord God Isa 61:1

Spirit of you Father Matt 10:20

Spirit of the Living God 2Cor 3:3

? Relationship to the Son

Spirit of Christ Rom 8:9

Spirit of Jesus Christ Phil 1:19

Spirit of Jesus Act 16:7

Spirit of His Son Gal 4:6

Spirit of the Lord Act 5:9; 8:39

? Titles revealing attributes

Spirit of Life Rom 8:2

Spirit of Holiness Rom 1:4

Holy One 1 John 2:20

Spirit of Wisdom Ex 28:3; Eph 1:17

Spirit of Wisdom and understanding Isa 11:2

Spirit of Counsel and Might Isa 11:2

Spirit knowledge & fear of the Lord Is 11:2

Spirit of Truth John 14:17

Spirit of Grace Heb 10:29; Zech 12:10

? Titles revealing His Work

Spirit of Glory 1Pet 4:14

Spirit of life Rom 8:2

Encourager, Helper, Comforter John 14-16

Spirit of Adoption Rom 8:15

SYMBOLS

We must always exercise great care when handling symbols in Scripture. Symbolism can be a wonderful tool for understanding the reality of Spiritual truths. However, these symbols should not ever be pushed beyond their original intent. Sometimes in Scripture, water is water and fire is fire and oil is just oil and wind is sometimes just wind. Do not take a symbol and always assume it refers to the Holy Spirit just because it was used as such once.