Essay - Holy Spirit

Essay – Holy Spirit

Introduction

This essay seeks to explore the place of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. It also will explore how the Holy Spirit acts within the world, and in both Christian and non-Christian lives. God is described in the Bible as being three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.[1] Those persons are one.[2] They talk to each other and honour one another as God.[3]

Over church history there has been a long debate over the hierarchical authority within the Trinity.[4]Erickson jokes, “Whether or not the subordination itself is eternal, some have begun to wonder whether the debate over it might be.”[5]Some theologians have concluded that there must be a hierarchy that results in the Father God being the authority over the Son and the Holy Spirit.[6] Others conclude that there is no authority in the trinity because there is no actual separation between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.[7] How God interacts within Himself is still a mystery.[8]

The Holy Spirit has been actively involved in the world from creation.[9] From being the breath that brings life to human-kind[10] to pouring himself upon all flesh at Pentecost.[11] The Holy Spirit appears as a glory cloud, or shekinah glory, guiding Israel through the desert.[12]He takes up residencefor some time in the Tabernacle[13] and later the Temple.[14]Throughout the Bible the Holy Spirit comes upon people to empower them to do the work that God has commanded of them in order to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth.[15] He gives gifts to people[16] and now he resides in those who accept Jesus as their Saviour.[17]

Discussion

God is Spirit.[18] The word spirit in Old Testament is usually translated from the Hebrew word Ruach meaning ‘spirit’, ‘wind’ or ‘breath’.[19]Ruach[20] occurs over 370 times in the Old Testament and it is most often found in the form of ‘the Spirit of God’.[21] The Greek word used for the spirit is Pneuma.[22]Ruach is translated to Pneuma in the Septuagint translation of the Tanak and both words carry thesame meaning.[23]McGrath demonstrates how each of these translations, wind, breath and spirit, can define the Holy Spirit:

• Wind suggests power, movement and energy; a wild dynamic powerful force.[24]
• Breath gives the impression of a creative life-giving force.[25]
• McGrath uses a technical term ‘charism’ to define spirit; it refers to the infilling of the Holy Spirit upon a person to enable them to do supernatural things.[26]

The Place of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity

God is a hypostatic union of one being with three subsistences.[27] These subsistences are referred to as three persons but they are not persons per se. God has three parts that while having their own identity they are completely one.[28] This relationship of God with Himself is still a mystery.[29] Many theologians have tried to explain the relationship in various aspects of God and Trinity but have fallen short of forming a complete understanding and they have often led to heresy.[30] God is both one and three; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not explicitly found in the Bible but it is clearly implied.[31] In the Old Testament the actions of the Holy Spirit are in unison with the Father and the Son. The language used for God is often plural such as the use of the Hebrew word Elohim[32] (plural) over Eloah[33] (singular). Also, plural sentence structures are employed hinting at trinity such as, “Let us make man… [emphasis added]”.[34]In the creation story the Holy Spirit is clearly at work with the Word.[35] In Heaven the angels worship God by crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty”.[36] Three Holy cries for each subsistence of the Trinity. The Christian faith is unique in its claim about the Trinity.[37] The Trinity forms a core concept in Christian theology and is considered a dogmatic belief in the Christian faith.[38]

Even though Trinity is dogma for Christians, after being the focus in the early church councils and the creeds developed thereof,[39] there is still much debate and confusion about how Trinity works and how God has relationship with Himself.[40]The Holy Spirit is underrepresented in the theological discourse of the Trinity.[41] The Holy Spirit, often referred to as the third part of the trinity, has been seen by some as having a lower status than the Father and the Son.[42] This perceived hierarchy in the trinity lead Arius to incorrectly consider the Son as a lesser aspect of God.[43] The scriptural subordination of the Son to the Father was used as evidence that the Son is lesser than the Father.[44] Arius’ position has been called a heresy.[45]This serves a warning to those theologians who might lower the position of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity in a similar way.

Augustine and Thomas Aquinas are criticized for their lack of attention given to the theology of the Holy Spirit.[46] It appears from their work the Holy Spirit merely acts as a conduit or means of cooperation between the Father and the Son as described in the filioque controversy.[47] In the filioque controversy, the church experienced a major split between the Eastern Church and the Western Church about how to approach the subordination of the persons of the Trinity.[48] The East maintains that the Son and the Holy Spirit comes from the Father; the western church added the term filioque (from the Son) so that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son.[49] The word ‘proceeding’ is often misunderstood as grounds of authority and supersession.[50] The Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son does not necessarily infer that He is lesser or created.[51] Horrell rightly points out that the Trinity, all the persons of the God-head, co-existed eternally.[52] They are best described as proceeding out of each other as hypostasis implies.[53] The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one and three; they have always been the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.[54]

Erickson states that, “…the case for eternal subordination must be considered dubious at best.”[55] Kruger, in his book ‘The Great Dance’ best demonstrates the hypostatic concept of Trinity.[56]It is a dance of equals, each with a part but in complete unison, as one.[57] Subordination is based in honouring one another; each partner of the dance takes turns to lead and support. Each member of the Trinity worships the other. Hebrews 1 is evidence of such worship whereby the Father says to the Son, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever.” While Jesus does subordinate Himself by becoming humanit isn’t eternal since His name is then placed above all names.[58] The point is not the superiority of the Father but the character of God to be a servant and the character of God to lift up and honour the humble.[59] God demonstrates his own meekness and system of honour within the Trinity.

Other issues that have surfaced over the years includes modalism and tritheism.[60] Modalism postulates that God operates in different ways and prescribes himself names like father, son or holy spirit to differentiate between those ways. There is not three subsistences. In modalism there is chronological and functional modalism. Chronological modalism is when God is at one time the Father, then another time the Son and then at another time the Holy Spirit. Functional modalism is where God operates a certain way according to what he needs to be at the time.[61] Tritheism, on the other hand, separates the persons of the Trinity to be three completely unique identities operating together as a triplex rather than a Trinity.[62] Both ideas have been rejected by most theologians.

Webb demonstrates that there is a strong drive amongst modern theologians to balance the understanding of the three persons of the trinity by intensifying the study of pneumatology.[63] The growth of Pentecostalism as a main stream denomination and its focus on Pneumatology is spearheading the research in stronger Holy Spirit doctrine.[64] Pentecostals, being more focused on the Holy Spirit in the Trinity seek to understand their experiences in a scriptural, academic and scholarly way.[65]

How the Holy Spirit acts within the world

Chuck Missler often quips that that the book of Acts in the Bible should be referred to as the acts of the Holy Spirit not the acts of the apostles.[66] The point Missler goes on to make is that the Holy Spirit is the end goal of the Earthly ministry of Jesus.[67] After our sins are forgiven, the Holy Spirit now makes His temple in the disciples of Jesus. A gift to all believers.[68] Hauerwas describes the purpose of the Holy Spirit in an interesting way when he shows that the forgiveness of sins is simply the precursor to being able to enter an alternate community.[69] Jesus said that he came to Earth to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.[70] The forgiveness of sins allows the Holy Spirit to live in us to empower us to be citizens and ambassadors for that Kingdom community.[71]

From the very beginning of creation, the Holy Spirit takes an active role; even being the very life-giving essence of mankind in the divine breath.[72] Sproul describes the Holy Spirit acting upon the world as the life giver, the advocate, the sanctifier, the anointer and the illuminator.[73] The life giver because He is the breath of God that awakened Adam and then enables sons of Adam, born in sin, to be born again of spirit; sons of God.[74] The Holy Spirit is an advocate because He is the ‘paraclete’;[75] that is, the Holy Spirit supplements the work of Jesus by advocating for us.[76] The Holy Spirit is our ongoing covering for sin; He is our sanctifying guide leading us into righteousness as defined by God.[77] The Holy Spirit is our anointer because He enables us to work under the power of God by giving us His power and spiritual gifts.[78] The Holy Spirit illuminates the way we should go; He is our light and makes us the light of the world thereby continuing the role of Jesus bringing the light into the world.[79]

Within Christian Lives

Erickson describes the Holy Spirit forming a union with the spirit of the Christian.[80]Essentially, this is the same type of union that God has with himself in the Trinity.[81] It is a spiritual union whereby both persons remain themselves, not extinguishing one or the other, but a bonding together oneness.[82]Kruger describes Trinity as dance of oneness between the subsistences of God that we are invited to join.[83]Bevere says, “There is virtually no Christian life without the Holy Spirit.”[84] If the purpose of a Christian is to present the Kingdom of God to Earth then that role is only made possible by the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit within.[85] This must be the purpose of a Christian life because the Bible says it was the purpose of Jesus.[86] Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”[87]

Therefore, the purpose of the Holy Spirit in Christian lives is to empower them to bring the Kingdom of God.[88] This can only happen when the Christian is sanctified, anointed and illuminated as discussed above. The Holy Spirit enables the Christian to bear much fruit as commanded by Jesus.[89] That fruit showswe have the character of a son of God; a character that is only manifested in life guided and cared for by the Holy Spirit.[90] The character of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.[91] The Holy Spirit affirms our adoption into sonship, counsels us into the ways of the Father, teaches us all things and continues the ongoing process of sanctification that leads to bearing much fruit.[92]

Within Non-Christian Lives

The Holy Spirit leads humans to recognise Jesus as the Son of God.[93] Both John the Baptist, leaping for joy in his mother’s womb, and Peter, in his revelation of Jesus being the Son of God, are evidence of the Holy Spirits influence on people to recognise Jesus as the Son of God.[94] The Holy Spirit acts as evidence of God to unbelievers and assurance of hope to believers.[95] According to John 16:7-11, the Holy Spirit works to convict the unbeliever of their own sin, God’s righteousness and their condemnation toward God.[96]

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit is part of the trinity, one of the three subsistences that makes up God. He is an equal partner to the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the ‘wind, breath or charism’ of God according to the Hebrew and Greek translations. He is found in the OT as the shekinah glory residing in the Temple and in the New Testament those who believe in Jesus have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit functions to continue the work of Jesus in the world by empowering believers to be able to be the light, bear much fruit and develop God’s Kingdom on Earth.

With regards to non-believers; He is in the world to convict people about sin. The purpose of this conviction is to lead them to the love of God; to accept the work of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, to repent, to be filled with Holy Spirit and enabled to bring the Kingdom of God.[97] The Holy Spirit represents the power of God on Earth.[98] From the Holy Spirit comes the gift of life. Also, the gifts of the spirit are manifest in people to bring God glory through the bringing of the Kingdom of God.[99]

Bibliography

Bevere, John and Addison Bevere. The Holy Spirit: An Introduction. Palmer Lake, Colorado: Messenger International, 2013.

Craig, William Lane. Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008.

Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Publishing Group, 2013.

Erickson, Millard J. "Language, Logic, and Trinity: A Critical Examination of the Eternal Subordinationist View of the Trinity." Priscilla Papers 31, no. 3 (2017): 8-15.

Fee, Gordon D. God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994.

Hauerwas, Stanley. Matthew. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2006.

Horrell, J. Scott. "In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Toward a Transcultural Trinitarian Worldview." Evangelical Review of Theology 38, no. 2 (2014): 126-137.

Kaiser Jr, Walter C. "The Pentateuch." In A Biblical Theology of the Holy Spirit, edited by Trevor J. Burke and Keith Warrington, 1-11. London: SPCK Publishing, 2014.

Kruger, C Baxter. The Great Dance: The Christian Vision Revisited. Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College Pub., 2005.

McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 2016.

Menzies, Robert. Empowered for Witness. Shefield, England: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005.

Missler, C. Learn the Bible in 24 Hours. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2002.

Olson, Roger E. The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity & Diversity. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Schumacher, Lydia. "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Western Theological Tradition: Underdeveloped or Misunderstood?" Heythrop Journal 57, no. 6 (2016): 999-1009.

Sproul, R. C. Who Is the Holy Spirit? North Mankato, MN: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2012.

Strong, James. "Strong's Concordance." Iowa Falls, Iowa: World Bible Publishing, 1995.

Wang, Ted. "Gifts of the Holy Spirit." Chinese Law & Government 49, no. 3 (2017): 144-148.

Webb, Stephen H. "How Revolutionary Is the Holy Spirit?" Reviews in Religion & Theology 21, no. 1 (2014): 1-7.

White, Thomas Joseph. "Divine Simplicity and the Holy Trinity." International Journal of Systematic Theology 18, no. 1 (2016): 66-93.


[1]Matt 28:19
[2]Deut 6:4
[3]Heb 1:5-13; Ps 45:6-7
[4]Millard J. Erickson, "Language, Logic, and Trinity: A Critical Examination of the Eternal Subordinationist View of the Trinity," Priscilla Papers 31, no. 3 (2017): 8.
[5]Ibid.
[6]Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Publishing Group, 2013), 774.
[7]Thomas Joseph White, "Divine Simplicity and the Holy Trinity," International Journal of Systematic Theology 18, no. 1 (2016): 68.
[8]Alister E McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction (West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 2016), 235.
[9]Gen 1:2
[10]Gen 2:7
[11]Acts 2
[12]Exod 13:21
[13]Exod 40:38
[14]Ezek 10:18
[15]Exod 31:2-5
[16]Rom 12:6
[17]1 Cor 3:16
[18]John 4:24
[19]Walter C. Kaiser Jr, "The Pentateuch," in A Biblical Theology of the Holy Spirit, ed. Trevor J. Burke and Keith Warrington(London: SPCK Publishing, 2014). Ebook. Chapter 1.
[20]James Strong, "Strong's Concordance," (Iowa Falls, Iowa: World Bible Publishing, 1995). Ebook. H7307 – רוּחַ (ruach)
[21]Kaiser Jr. Ebook. Chapter 1.
[22]Strong. Ebook. G4151 – πνεῦμα (pneuma).
[23]Robert Menzies, Empowered for Witness (Shefield, England: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005), 49-50.
[24]McGrath, 228.
[25]Ibid.
[26]Ibid.
[27]R. C. Sproul, Who Is the Holy Spirit? (North Mankato, MN: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2012). Ebook. Chapter 1.
[28]Ibid. Ebook. Chapter 1.
[29]McGrath, 235.
[30]Erickson, "Language, Logic, and Trinity: A Critical Examination of the Eternal Subordinationist View of the Trinity," 14.
[31]Erickson, Christian Theology, 291.
[32]Strong, H430 אלהים - Elohim.
[33]Ibid., H433 אלוהּ - Eloah.
[34]Gen 1:26
[35]Lydia Schumacher, "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Western Theological Tradition: Underdeveloped or Misunderstood?," Heythrop Journal 57, no. 6 (2016): 1004.
[36]Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8
[37]Erickson, Christian Theology, 292.
[38]Roger E. Olson, The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity & Diversity (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 46.
[39]Ibid.
[40]Stephen H. Webb, "How Revolutionary Is the Holy Spirit?," Reviews in Religion & Theology 21, no. 1 (2014): 2.
[41]Schumacher, "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Western Theological Tradition: Underdeveloped or Misunderstood?," 999.
[42]Webb, "How Revolutionary Is the Holy Spirit?," 2.
[43]Erickson, Christian Theology, 306.
[44]Ibid., 774.
[45]McGrath, 274.
[46]Schumacher, "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Western Theological Tradition: Underdeveloped or Misunderstood?," 999.
[47]Ibid.
[48]McGrath, 247.
[49]Ibid.
[50]J. Scott Horrell, "In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Toward a Transcultural Trinitarian Worldview," Evangelical Review of Theology 38, no. 2 (2014): 128.
[51]Ibid.
Webb, "How Revolutionary Is the Holy Spirit?," 7.
[52]Horrell, "In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Toward a Transcultural Trinitarian Worldview," 129.
[53]Sproul. Ebook. Chapter 1.
[54]Heb 13:8; Exod 3:14-15
[55]Erickson, "Language, Logic, and Trinity: A Critical Examination of the Eternal Subordinationist View of the Trinity," 14.
[56]C Baxter Kruger, The Great Dance: The Christian Vision Revisited (Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College Pub., 2005). Ebook. Chapter 1.
[57]Ibid.
[58]Phil 2:1-9
[59]Jas 4:10; 1 Pet 5:6
[60]McGrath, 244-45.
[61]Ibid., 245.
[62] Ibid., 246.
[63]Webb, "How Revolutionary Is the Holy Spirit?," 2.
[64]Ibid.
[65]Ibid.
[66]C. Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2002). Ebook. Chapter 17.
[67]Ibid.
[68]Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2006), 192.
[69]Ibid., 122.
[70]Luke 4:43
[71]Menzies, 226.
[72]Kaiser Jr. Ebook. Chapter 1.
[73]Sproul. Ebook. TOC.
[74]Ibid. Chapter 2.
[75]John 14:16 – paraclete can be translated as advocate, helper, mediator or comforter
[76]Sproul. Ebook. Chapter 3.
[77]Ibid. Chapter 4.
[78]Ibid. Chapter 5.
[79]Ibid. Chapter 6.
[80]Erickson, Christian Theology, 881.
[81]Ibid.
[82]Ibid.
[83]Kruger. Ebook. Chapter 1.
[84]John Bevere and Addison Bevere, The Holy Spirit: An Introduction (Palmer Lake, Colorado: Messenger International, 2013). Ebook. Chapter 1.
[85]Gordon D Fee, God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994), 120.
[86]Luke 4:43
[87]Acts 1:6-8
[88]Fee, 120.
[89]John 15:8
[90]Fee, 54.
[91]Gal 5:22-23
[92]William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008), 44-45.
[93]Hauerwas, 33.
[94]Ibid., 44.
[95]Craig, 44.
[96]Ibid., 46.
[97]Ted Wang, "Gifts of the Holy Spirit," Chinese Law & Government 49, no. 3 (2017): 144, 146-47.
[98]Ibid., 144.
[99]Ibid., 144-45.