The Origins Of Pauline Pneumatology

Finny Philip inquires into Paul's initial thoughts on the Holy Spirit. Paul's conviction that he was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles and that God bestowed the Spirit upon the Gentiles apart from Torah obedience is the basis for any inquiry on this subject. Central to Philip's argument is Paul's conviction that God graciously endowed his Gentile converts with the gift of the Spirit, an understanding that is rooted primarily in his conversion experience and secondarily in his experience with and as a missionary of the Hellenistic community in Antioch. In examining the range of expectations of the Spirit that were present in both Hebrew scripture and in the wider Jewish literature, the author comes to the conclusion that such a concept is rare, and that it is usually the covenant community to which the promise of the Spirit is given. Furthermore, Paul's own pre-Christian convictions about the Spirit, a result of his own self-perception as a Pharisee and persecutor of the church, display continuity between his thought patterns and those of Second Temple Judaism. Paul's Damascus experience was an experience of the Spirit. His experience of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:1-4:6) provided him with the belief that there was now a new relationship with God, which was possible through the sphere of the Spirit. In addition, Paul was influenced by the Hellenists, whose theological beliefs included the perception of the church as the eschatological temple in which the Spirit of God is the manifest presence of God. It is in these notions that one may trace the origins of Paul's thoughts on the Holy Spirit.

What should the Christian life look like? What vision does Scripture cast for living as a follower of Christ? The New Testament scholar Jarvis Williams considers how Paul's letter to the Galatians can inform our understanding of the Christian life here and now as well as into eternity. What emerges from this careful study is a multifaceted vision of God's saving action in Jesus Christ for both Jew and Gentile, in both the vertical relationship between God and humanity as well as the horizontal relationships among people—with cosmic ramifications. Through Paul's instructions and Williams's interpretation, Christians can learn the importance of walking by the Spirit.

Journal of Biblical and Pneumatological Research VOLUME THREE FALL 2011 The Journal of Biblical and Pneumatological Research (JBPR) is a new international peer-reviewed academic serial dedicated to narratively and rhetorically minded exegesis of biblical and related texts. Potential topics include theological and pneumatological interpretation, the role of spiritual experience with authorial, canonical, and contemporary contexts, and the contextual activity of Ruach Yahweh, Ruach Elohim, and various identifications of the Holy Spirit. JBPR hopes to stimulate new thematic and narrative-critical exploration and discovery in both traditional and under-explored areas of research. CONTENTS: Editor's Overview of Volume 3 - 1 GALEN L. GOLDSMITH The Cutting Edge of Prophetic Imagery REBECCA SKAGGS and THOMAS DOYLE The Audio/Visual Motif in the Apocalypse of John through the Lens of Rhetorical Analysis DAVID SEAL Sensitivity to Aural Elements of a Text: Some Acoustical Elements in Revelation SIMO FRESTADIUS The Spirit and Wisdom in 1 Corinthians 2:1-13 KEITH WHITT Righteousness and Characteristics of Yahweh VANTHANH NGUYEN, S.V.D. Luke's Point of View of the Gentile Mission: The Test Case of Acts 11:1-18 LYLE STORY Luke's Instructive Dynamics for Resolving Conflicts: The Jerusalem Council Review of Christopher L. Carter, The Great Sermon Tradition as a Fiscal Framework in 1 Corinthians: Towards a Pauline Theology of Material Possessions (R. G. Dela Cruz) Review of Robert P. Debelek, Jr., Hidden in Plain Sight: Esther and a Marginalized Hermeneutic (A. Kay Fountain) Review of Richard Feldmeier, The First Letter of Peter: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Rebecca Skaggs and Thomas Doyle) Review of Rodrigo J. Morales, The Spirit and the Restoration of Israel: New Exodus and New Creation Motifs in Galatians (James C. Miller) Review of Robin Routledge, Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach (Andrew Davies) Review of John C. Poirier, The Tongues of Angels: The Concept of Angelic Languages in Classical Jewish and Christian Texts (Russell P. Spittler)

Early Christian claims to the Holy Spirit arose in a vibrant cultural matrix that included Stoicism, Jewish mysticism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Greco-Roman medicine, and the perspectives of Plutarch. In a range of articles, this multidisciplinary volume discovers in these texts rich cultural connections related to inspiration and the Holy Spirit. Essential reading for scholars of Judaism and the New Testament, as well as classicists and theologians.

In The Trinitarian Testimony of the Spirit, Kyle R. Hughes offers a new approach to the development of early Christian pneumatology by linking the Holy Spirit with testimony to the deity and lordship of the Father and the Son.

The book is divided into three parts. Part One provides a thematic analysis and exegetical commentary on all the relevant biblical and cognate literature, including Josephus, Philo and the Mishnah. Part Two investigates the thinking of key Christian theologians on the Holy Spirit, from the Apostolic Fathers to eighteenth century authors such as John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards. Part Three examines more recent writings on the Spirit, from the nineteenth century onwards, including major systematic theologians such as Schleiermacher, Barth and Moltmann, as well as biblical scholars such as James D G Dunn, Gordon Fee and Gerd Theissen. Thiselton concludes the entire study by identifying seven fundamental themes, and calling for greater dialogue between mainstream scholarship and contemporary leaders of the Pentecostal and Renewal movements.

Athanasius was one of the first writers to argue for the Holy Spirit's divinity, and the majority of his seven dozen works include at least one reference to the Holy Spirit. Yet, Athanasius is mainly remembered for his Christological writings and role in the so-called "Arian" controversy. Only a limited number of studies have looked at his pneumatology, and these studies have usually focused on Athanasius’s Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit (ca. 359–361), leaving a gap in our understanding of Athanasius’s prior pneumatology. By exploring the period from Athanasius’s election as bishop (328) to the completion of the third Oration against the Arians (ca. 345), this book seeks to help fill this gap. The first part argues that by the mid-330s, Athanasius had begun to establish core pneumatological perspectives that he would maintain for the rest of his career. Part two examines Athanasius’s three Orations, giving particular attention to Orations 1–2. Without the pneumatological perspectives that he established in the 330s and 340s, Athanasius would not have been prepared for his Letters to Serapion, where he took the next steps of confessing the Holy Spirit’s divine nature and role in creating the world.