Theology II Final

Cedarville Univeristy - Dr. Kira

characteristics of personhood that the holy spirit demonstrates

he possesses intellect; he possesses emotion; he possesses will

How is the Holy Spirit described like a person

He is given masculine pronouns; He is given a personal name; He is treated like a person

Divine Attributes ascribed to the Spirit

Life, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, eternity, holiness, truth

Divine works attributed to the Spirit

Creation, inspiration, new birth, gives life, sanctification, virgin birth, helps/intercedes, teaches, convicts

Significance of the Trinitarian Formulae in relation to the Spirit

Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:3-14; Procession is an attempt to understand the inner-relations of the Trinity; It is an attempt to show how the person of the Holy Spirit comes to be from both the Son and the Father

Deposit

a first installment or down payment that secures a legal claim to the article in question. This obligates the contracting party to make further payments; the Holy Spirit is the down payment of our ultimate and complete glorification in heaven — a symbol of the believer’s security in Christ

Tongue of Fire

Denoted the presence of God and His approval of Peter’s message when he proclaimed the resurrected Jesus. Fire also symbolized the judgment of God

Seal

Refers to the securing or fastening a stone with a seal; Also means to mark as a means of identification. The mark denotes ownership and carries with it the protection of the owner; the seal on the believer therefore indicates ownership, security, and authority by God on the believer

Breath

ruach, also ‘spirit’

Genesis 1:1-2, Psalm 104:30, Psalm 33:6, Job 33:4

Revelation: the act whereby God reveals Himself, or reveals something about Himself; 2 Timothy 3:16

The Greek word pneuma can mean either ‘spirit’ or ‘breath’; 2 Peter 1:21’ Acts 27:15

The Spirit reveals by speaking - Ezekiel 2:1-2

The Spirit reveals by showing - Exodus 8":3

Regeneration

the instantaneous act whereby God imparts new life to an individual at the time of salvation

Restraint - tribulation

The Holy Spirit acts to restrain sinful humanity from doing the worst of evil - Genesis 6:1-4; The Holy Spirit will restrain evil until the Tribulation

Theocracy

a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily affairs

Israel was a theocracy in that God

was the ruler of the kingdom - in order for His rule to be followed he had those who mediated the theocracy: priests, judges and kings

Theocratic Anointing

The act whereby the Holy Spirit enables an individual to perform a specific ministry related to the establishment continuance, and support of the mediation of the theocracy

3 Types of Mediators of Theocracy and how they performed their function

Priests - brought the word of God to the people so that they had the instruction necessary to follow God

Judges - lead the people as civil servants who were meant to save people from the judgment of their sins and turn people back to the covenant with God

Kings - were called by God to rule over the people in line with the covenant, and support the work of the piresthood in teaching the people

Important Theocratic Anointing Statements

1. Theocratic anointing has nothing to do with indwelling.

2. Theocratic anointing has nothing to do with the recipient’s spiritual condition.

3. Theocratic anointing could be taken form the recipient.

4. Theocratic anointing was God’s provision to enable a specific person to carry out a theocratic task, primarily ruling but also for Tabernacle/Temple artisans

Common Grace

the Spirit’s ministry in all forms of life — enforcing truth, restraining evil, exalting the good, imparting wisdom or strength when, where, and in what measures seem to fit the best; it is based on God’s benevolent attitude toward mankind. Through the Holy Spirit, the effects of sin are restrained, enabling the performance of civic righteousness and good

Restraint - spirit’s ministry during church age

the possibility for total evil is held in check by the Spirit

Conviction

the Spirit convicts the world of its sinfulness and guilt

Baptism

the non-experiential act which results in every believer becoming a member of the body of Christ, and effecting union with Christ by identification with His death

Factors regarding Baptism

• It is limited to the church age

• It includes all believers in this age

• It brings union with other believers in the body of Christ

• It brings believers into union with Christ Himself

• It is not commanded

• it is performed only by the Spirit

Indwelling

the presence or abiding of the Holy Spirit within each individual believer

Factors of Indwelling

It is given at salvation and it is for all believers

Sealing

the work God performs on behalf of the believer to secure his salvation; The prinicipal idea of this is ownership

Factors regarding sealing

It verifies salvation and it emphasizes certainty

Filling

the unhindered control of the Spirit in the life of the believer; this is a ministry of the Spirit that is conditional, experiential, and repeated

Obligations of filling on the believer

• it is commanded

• it is conditional

• it is continuous

• It is not a formula

How does filling occur

based on fruit of Spirit in one’s life. There must be a balance of dependence without legalism, obedience without license to the glory of God.

Why is filling different from baptism and indwelling

it is commanded

Spiritual Gifts

Those gifts mentioned as a New Testament ministry of the Holy Spirit to believers for service to the church; Service in love to other members of the body of Christ

Biblical Charismatic

The act whereby the Holy Spirit enables an individual to perform a specific ministry related to the establishment continuance, and support of the mediation of the theocracy

Traditional Cessationsim

holds that sign gifts, which were meant to authenticate revelation have ceased but the rest of the spiritual gifts are for continued use

Complete Cessationism

holds that all spiritual gifts have ceased

Purpose of the Spiritual Gifts

• for the common good

• for edification of the church

• for equipping of the saints for work of service

• for edification of the church

• for glory of God

• do all for the glory of God

Characteristics of the spiritual gifts

• they were abilities through which the Holy Spirit ministered

• The Holy Spirit was the giver of the gifts

• All spiritual gifts were necessary

What spiritual gifts were not

• they were not baptism or indwelling

• they were not the fruit of the spirit

How much control believers had over their use

the believer could choose to use or refrain from using their gift

who were given spiritual gifts

every Christian had an area of giftedness

Is there a ceasing of gifts?

1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Is there a distinction between gifts

Yes but 2 Corinthians 12:12

If there is a distinction between ‘sign gifts’ and the giving of revelation, then. at the very least. those gifts have ceased.

If, however, there is no distinction in a passage that implies ceasing, then all of the gifts have ceased.

Spiritual Gifts Summary Statements

1. If you believe that there has not been a significant ceasing and there is not a significant distinction between gifts, then you will trend towards the Charismatic view.

2. If you believe that there has been a significant ceasing and there is a significant distinction between gifts, then you will trend towards the traditional cessationist view.

3. If you believe that there has been a significant ceasing and there is not as significant distinction between gifts. then you will trend towards a complete cessationist view

Tongues

gift whereby individuals possessing it could choose to speak in a foreign language for the purpose of providing a sign to unbelievers

Are baptism, filling, and tongues to be equated

No

Ecstatic Language and why it’s different from tongues

The use of tongues in Acts 2 involved languages that were known and spoken somewhere, even though the tongues speaker himself did not know the language. There is no indication that this is not the case wherever else tongues is mentioned in Acts or 1 Corinthians. The terminology is the same, and nothing is mentioned to indicate any change. The point is that the New Testament gives no example of the so-called ‘ecstatic language’.

3 manners prescribed as to how tongues are to be used

• tongues is meant for public use and edification

• tongues should not be simultaneously practiced by a whole congregation

• tongues must be interpreted

the Church

the group of believers called to be the witnessing and worshipping body of Christ

The local church

A group of believers in a particular congregation. In the early church, they met in homes and had no buildings. Only in more recent history has Christianity made the unfortunate association of a church with a building rather than a group of people.

The universal church

believers of all eras and locations

the visible church

A term used in the Reformation of all who profess to be part of a congregation, regardless of their salvation. It was used to emphasize the fact that those who identify with an assembly are not coextensive with those who are saved. They taught this in contrast to the Catholic tendency to equate the saved with those who were part of the Catholic church.

5 Images for the Church and their Significance

1. Body – emphasizes the church as a diverse but unified organism with Christ as the head.

2. Wife/Bride – Indicates the honor and love which God has for the church.

3. Household of God – Emphasizes the fellowship of the body as well as growth of the church by the proper functioning of its parts. Christ is the cornerstone and the apostles and prophets are the foundation. 

4. Temple – points to the church as a body set apart for worship. This is significant in light of the imagery that every Christian is a priest, able to approach God directly.

5. Flock – originally used of Israel, the figure was used in the New Testament for the church. It indicates God’s care, the security of God’s people, and the need of God’s people for nurturing.

Covenant Theology

a view that organizes Scripture under three theological covenants and emphasizes the unity of God’s redemptive plan.

The covenants within Covenant Theology

1. Covenant of redemption: covenant before the beginning of the world, whereby the Father and the Son covenanted to provide for salvation.

2. Covenant of works: covenant between God and man whereby Adam would receive eternal life were he to be obedient during a probationary period. 

3. Covenant of grace: a covenant whereby salvation was promised to those who have faith in Christ.

Dispensational Theology

A view that organizes Scripture under 7 economies and emphasizes the distinctiveness of different portions of God’s plan.

Significant Faces of Covenant Theology

•  A large portion of the history described in the Old and New Testaments is under one covenant (the covenant of Grace).

• It emphasizes the unity of God’s redemptive plan.

• Israel and the church are not distinct entities, but are both considered the one people of God. 

• Seeing Israel and the church as the same body requires an allegorical interpretation of those prophecies concerning Israel. 

• Eschatology is understood metaphorically, and thus covenant theologians tend towards believing in amillenialism.

Significant Faces of Dispensational Theology

• Emphasizes distinctiveness in focusing on the different ways God governed different eras. 

• It is broken up in line with Biblical covenants. 

• Israel and the church are distinct entities. 

• Attempts to use a consistent historical-grammatical style of interpretation, including prophetic texts. 

• The use of a literal hermeneutic will cause Dispensationalists to trend towards premillennialism, holding that there will be a literal Millennial Kingdom where Israel will have its promises fulfilled.

Primary Function of the Church

the primary purpose and function of the church is exaltation and or the worship of God.

Secondary Functions of the Church and How they relate to the Primary Function

Exaltation is supported by two secondary functions, the edification of the body and the evangelism of the lost. 

• Edification helps believers grow in their worship.

• Evangelism brings new worshippers into the body of Christ.

Episcopalian

From episkopos, which means ‘overseer’; this form of church government holds that there is a hierarchy of authority such that a single bishop or group of bishops is in authority over a group of congregations.

Conciliar

 A form of church government where councils of leaders from different churches hold authority over individual congregations. 

Presbyterian

 From presbuteros, which means ‘elder’, the presbyterian form of government has various groups of leadership that are composed of elders from different congregations.

Two elements of Congregationalism

1. Each congregation is, in a general sense, autonomous.

2. Each person has some say in the governance of the local body.

The Support of Congregationalism

• Choosing Judas’ successor (Acts 1)

• Selecting the first deacons (Acts 6)

• Sending Barnabus and Paul to settle the issue of circumcision (Acts 15:2-3)

• The whole church of Jerusalem sent reply

• The whole church is involved in discipline (1 Corinthians 5)

• Many epistles are addressed to whole congregations rather than leaders

The Difficulties of Congregationalism

• Paul appointed elders (Acts 14:23) and told Titus to do so.

• Paul spoke authoritatively to the churches.

• Historically, bishops were given special authority early in the history of the church.

Elder Rule/Lead

a form of government where a plurality of pastor-elders lead a local church.

Elements of Elder Rule

• A plurality of elders are involved with the overall leading of the church, as well as the teaching. 

• No elder is given a place of authority over the other elders. 

• Some decisions, within the church, may be put forth to the body, but there will be decisions where the elders are the sole decision-makers.

Support for Elder Rule

• The positions for elder; pastor; overseer are the same office (Acts 20:17,28; Titus 1:5, 7; 1 Peter 5:1-2)

• Paul supported a plurality of elders

• Plurality of eldership was the trajectory of the early church.

• References to a plurality of elders (James 5:14; 1 Peter 5:1-3; 1 Timothy 4:14/5:17)

Three Views on Deacons

1. They are a group set apart within the congregation that become the de facto leaders of that church.

2. They are a group set apart within the congregation that serve practical functions so that the elders can spend their time leading and teaching the church.

3. Deacon is a term for anyone serving within the church.

Support of Exclusive Male Eldership

• Passages that argue that women should not teach (1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16)

• Passages that argue that there are differing roles between men and women (Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7)

• Predominance of male leadership in early church.

Counterarguments of Exclusive Male Leadership

• Epistles were occasional and not normative.

• Headship deals with source and not authority.

• Differing roles were an outcome of the fall

Support of Female Eldership

• Passages that depict leadership functions of women (Deborah – Judges 4; Phoebe - Romans 16:1; Priscilla - Acts 18:26)

• The equalizing force of the gospel (Gal 3:28)

• The recognition of the gifts of teaching and leadership in women.

Counterarguments of Female Eldership

• No passage depicting the leadership of women relates directly to the role of the elder. 

• The equalizing force of the gospel is spiritual and not functional.

• Women’s giftedness is undeniable, but that does not mean they are not contextual.

Views concerning deaconship and gender

1 Timothy 3:8-11

Difference Between Deacons and Elders'; How this relates to gender

• 1 Timothy 3:2, “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach…” 

• The teaching function, along with the issue of authority, seems to be the differentiation factor between pastor-elders and deacons.

Main qualification of elders and what it means

• 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-16

• ‘Above reproach’

• It is first in the list is significant to its importance

• Has to do with the ability to cast doubts concerning their character and, thus, their leadership.

“The husband of one wife” (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6)

If they have a wife they must be faithful to her

“And his children are believers” (Titus 1:6).

Obedient and respectful children, has control over his household.

3 Reasons Why Eschatology is Important

1. Christianity is, at its core, an eschatological religion.

2. Eschatology is strongly related to other aspects of theology. 

3. Eschatology is meant to be a practical doctrine.

Premillennialism

 says Christ will come and set up His kingdom, which will last for a thousand years. During this time, Christ will sit on the throne of David as the final and eternal King promised in 2 Samuel 7.

Dispensational Premillennialism

The rapture will occur before the Tribulation, while the Second Coming will occur after.

Historical Premillennialism

The rapture will occur after the Tribulation, followed by the Second Coming.

Postmillennialism

Christ will not return until the church establishes the kingdom through evangelism

Amillennialism

Christ could come at any moment and set up His eternal state. There will be no thousand-year reign on earth, but the Millennium is an allegory for Christ’s present spiritual reign.

Liberalism

Christians, and potentially others, will be in heaven. 

4 Factors in Interpreting the book of Revelation

1. Recognize the prophetic nature of the book (Revelation 1:3; 22:2; 7, 18)

2. Follow a grammatical-historical method of interpretation.

3. Take the words of prophecy in their normal grammatical sense

4. Recognize that figurative and symbolic language still picture literal events 

There is no literal millennium

Ammillennialism, Liberalism

There may not be a literal millennium

Postmillennialism

There is a literal millennium

Premillennialism

There is no tribulation

Liberalism, Amilennialsm?, Postmilennialism?

There is a metaphroical tribulation

Amillennialism?, Postmillennialism?

There is a literal tribulation

Premillennialism

Post-Tribulational

The Church will go through the seven-year tribulation before Jesus returns for the rapture and a quick return to earth.

Mid-Tribulational

The Church will go through the first three and a half years of the tribulation before Jesus comes in the clouds to catch her up to heaven.

Pre-Wrath

The Church will go through most of the seven-year tribulation period, but just before the final outpouring of wrath, Jesus will come to rapture the Church.

Pre-Tribulational

The Church will not go through the tribulation period, but will be taken to heaven before this seven year period. 

Partial-Rapture

There are some other miscellaneous views, most of which deal with a partial rapture of the Church. 

T/F The deity of the Holy Spirit can be seen in the Spirit being used in Trinitarian formulae.

True

Which is a truth of the Trinity

There is one God

What is a reason why pneumatology is important?Pneumotalogy has seen a growing interest lately

• Pneumotalogy has seen a growing interest lately

• Pneumatology has a greater propensity to be misunderstood by Evangelicals than Christology or theology proper.

• The Holy Spirit is necessary for the application of salvation.

Which is an act of personhood that the Spirit performs?

Teaching and interceding

Which of the following is a divine attribute that is ascribed to the Spirit?

Omnipotence