Quiz 9 Study Guide: The Holy Spirit in Theology

born again

A phrase used by many evangelical Christians to describe an experience of conversion they have undergone. Also, in the larger sense, the regeneration which occurs at baptism in which the spiritual life is renewed and set on the path toward sanctification.

charismata

Gifts of grace, freely bestowed gifts of the Holy Spirit given to the believer. There are various gifts of the Spirit named in the New Testament, ranging from unremarkable gifts, such as knowledge and wisdom, to remarkable gifts such as miraculous healing, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues, to fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, and peace; some of these are viewed as given to some but not to others in the church for some useful purpose to the church.

glossolalia

from the Greek glossa meaning "tongue" and lalia meaning "talking", utterances approximating word and speech, usually produced during states of intense religious experience.

Holy Spirit

The Spirit of God and/or Christ, conceived in Scripture through the images of wind or breath or fire, who is seen as effective throughout the whole of creation from beginning to end, in the creation and maintenance of the church, and through gifts to individuals. Dogma defines it as God in the sense of being the Third Person of the triune identity of God.

miracle

A sign of the work or power of God. Definitions of the term vary and range from, on the one extreme, a suspension of natural law by God and a divine intervention to accomplish what God wants done (such as the elimination of a tumor), to, on the other extreme, a natural event that has religious significance to the observer (such as the birth of a baby).

orthopathy

Right passions or feelings as a norm for authentic Christian life. Some in the Methodist tradition have included this along with orthodoxy and orthopraxis as norms for the Christian life.

Pentecost

The day of the birth of the church in the New Testament (fifty days after Passover during the Festival of Weeks) when the Holy Spirit descended as fire on the gathered followers of Jesus fifty days after the resurrection. (Acts 2:1-13)

Pentecostalism

Movements that experience the baptism or gifts of the Holy Spirit primarily through charismatic gifts, including speaking in tongues. There have been several denominations in the twentieth century formed around this emphasis which teach a special experience of the Holy Spirit following the experience of conversion.

pneumatology

The doctrine of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Christian theology teaches that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the triune God and that the work of the Holy Spirit is as the bringer of the grace of God the Creator and Redeemer to us. In ecclesiology, the Holy Spirit is the creator and sustainer of the church and brings the grace that incorporates the believer into the church, sustains the believer's life, and brings the believer to fulfillment.

regeneration

The work of God in which we are born again, our lives renewed by our being in Christ.

Supernatural work of the Holy Spirit

The supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that grants spiritual life to a person who is spiritually dead in sin.

ruach

A Hebrew word that has multiple meanings, including 'breath,' 'wind,' 'spirit,' and 'mind'. In the Bible, it is often used to refer to the breath of God, or the Holy Spirit.

sanctification

The process by which the believer is made holy, either by an instantaneous work of God or through the process of growth in which the love of God and neighbor comes to dominate the Christian's intentions and actions.

spirit/Spirit

A being that does not have a material substance. The term is also used to refer to the part of the human being that has a relationship with God. Capitalized, it refers to the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the triune God.

The Person of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a person. It is distinct from the Father and the Son. It speaks, intercedes and grieves. The Holy Spirit is not a force or principle or part of God or mode of being.

Wind: The Spirit brings Power

God in action. God parted the Red Sea. The creation is finite and transitory. God is permanent, all else is impermanent.

Breath: The Spirit brings life

God breathed the breath of life into Adam. Adam became a "living being". Can dry bones live? God is the giver of life and can bring back the dead to life

spirit

A being that does not have a material substance, used to refer to the part of the human being that has a relationship with God.

Spirit

Capitalized, it refers to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God

The Holy Spirit & Salvation

The Holy Spirit gives Christ and all the redemptive blessings he has secured to the people of God. The Spirit applies to the church what Christ has accomplished for the church.

6 Things the Holy Spirit Does

Convicts. Commits a pledge. Comforts. Charism/charistmata. Communication/spirit of prophecy. Calling to mission.

Conviction

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of its guilt and sin, and convinces the world of the judgment for sin.

Pledge of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit commits a pledge that guarantees more of the Spirit

Comfort

The Holy Spirit comforts, advocates, and counsels disciples after Jesus' death.

Charism/charismata

Grace gifts that enable a person to perform tasks that would be otherwise impossible for them to perform.

Communication/spirit of prophecy

God communicates by the Spirit and the Word.

Calling to mission

The Spirit equips disciples for mission.

The Glue of the Gospel

The Holy Spirit is the bond by which Christ effectually unites us to himself (Calvin).

Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

1 Corinthians 12:8-10

To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

Galatians 5:22-23

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.