Lesson for August 27, 2023

The Doctrine of Pneumatology

Lesson 2

We find descriptive titles and metaphors for the Holy Spirit throughout Scripture. Because His function within the Godhead is one of glorifying Jesus Christ, He is presented in Scripture as “the Spirit.” The word Holy in His title means He is fully God – coequal and coeternal with God the Father and God the Son.

Here are some of the titles that identify the Holy Spirit as deity:

1. The Spirit of God – Genesis 1:2, ^“And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
2. The Spirit of the Lord God – Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord Godis upon me, because the Lord anointed me to bring good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and freedom to prisoners.”
3. The Spirit of Jehovah – Judges 3:10, ^“And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (Othniel), and he judged Israel. When he went to war, the Lord handed over to him Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.”
4. The Spirit of Jesus Christ – Philippians 1:19, “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
5. The Spirit of His Son – Galatians 4:6, “Because you are sons and daughters, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”
6. The Spirit of the Lord – Acts 5:9, “Then Peter said to her (Sapphira), “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”
7. The Eternal Spirit – Hebrews 9:14, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
8. The Spirit of Life – Romans 8:2, ^“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
9. The Spirit of Holiness – Romans 1:4, “Who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
10. The Spirit of Truth – John 14:17, “The Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.”
11. The Spirit of Grace – Hebrews 10:29, “How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
12. The Helper, the Holy Spirit – John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.”

Here are some types of the Holy Spirit that describe His work:

1. Dove – Matthew 3:16, “After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him.”
2. Living Water – John 7:38, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’But this He said in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
3. Seal – Ephesians 1:13, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise.”
4. Pledge – II Corinthians 5:5, ^“Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.”

The Word of God was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The words that were in the original languages of Scripture were given directly to certain men to write down. The Holy Spirit did not violate the personality or literary style of any of the writers of Scripture. Some of the writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write about future things that they did not necessarily fully understand. I Peter 1:10-12, ^“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you.”

Some writers of Scripture were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write things they clearly understood. Colossians 1:25-29, ^“I was made a minister of this church according to the commission from God granted to me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Canonicity is the compilation of 66 books combined to form one canon (the Bible). Canonicity comes from the Greek word “kanon,” meaning a measuring stick. In other words, canon means a norm or standard. In the case of the Canon of Scripture, it is God’s divine norm or standard for a collection of books, which form one book, our Bible.

Peter gives us an excellent synopsis of the origin of the Word of God in II Peter 1:16-21, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased,’ and we ourselves heard this declaration made from Heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so, we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

Remember that much of what Peter wrote was taught to him directly by Jesus Christ. Peter was an eyewitness to Christ’s ministry on earth. Peter was at most major events recorded in the Gospels. (Matthew 16:28; 17:1-8) In II Peter 1:20, Peter revealed the fact that all Scripture originates with God and is not someone’s private inspiration or interpretation. This means that God the Holy Spirit so directed the writers of Scripture that without changing their personalities, their literary style, their vocabularies, or their expression of personal feelings about what they were writing (joy, sorrow, etc.), God’s complete and coherent message was permanently recorded, with perfect accuracy, in the original languages of Scripture. (II Timothy 3:16)

Before the written Word of Scripture came into existence through the writings of Moses, revelation of God’s message came through the spoken word of kings, prophets, and others. God’s message in the Old Testament often came through dreams, visions, and angels (often the Angel of the Lord, Jesus Christ). In the Church Age, God speaks to us only through His Word. (Isaiah 6:8-10; Daniel 10:9; Isaiah 1:1; Psalms 68:17)

The Bible records many events from eternity past that are true and accurate even though they cannot be substantiated by mankind. Ancient historical facts in the Bible were not found in any other writings and were unconfirmed for thousands of years until the recent past when many of the facts were found to be true, despite earlier skepticism from the scientific community. The Bible is so accurate that it even records the lies of people and Satan. What we have been given by God is a record of His Divine Viewpoint Thinking, a blueprint for fulfilling His plan for us. And He has made sure that this truth has been preserved throughout the centuries.

It is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to illuminate (enlighten) people to the truth of the Gospel and the teaching of the Word of God. Since unbelievers do not have human spirits, they are unable to understand anything spiritual. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must act on their behalf, as a human spirit, for them to understand the Gospel. I Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

II Corinthians 4:3-6, ^“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Once a person becomes a believer, by placing their faith in Jesus Christ, and His payment for their sin on the Cross, they have the potential to understand the teaching of spiritual information, because a human spirit was created in them at salvation. I Corinthians 2:15-16, “But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”