scholarly journals The narrative-theological function of Matthew's baptism command (Matthew 28:19b)

Anafora ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-106
Author(s):  
Gregory S. Thellman
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Great Commission ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Relationship With God ◽  
The Public ◽  
Stated Goal ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit

The triadic name given in the baptism command of Matthew 28:19b has often been considered awkward in its context and perhaps anachronistic in light of later Christian Trinitarian doctrine. This article argues that Matthew 28:19b is rather a fitting climactic conclusion to a narrative-theological motif throughout Matthew’s Gospel where triadic or at least dyadic language is employed within revelatory contexts that affirm Jesus’ divine sonship and messianic mission: either in small apocalypses or within apocalyptic discourse. This argument finds its crux in the baptism of Jesus itself (3:13–17) which is presented as an apocalypse in which the heavenly fatherly voice reveals the identity of the Son and anoints him with his Spirit, with the stated goal of “fulfilling all righteousness.” The revelation is presented by Matthew so that it is directed to the public within the narrative and implicitly to the reader disciple. The baptism revelation is then closely associated both with the lengthy citation of Isaiah 42:1–4 in Matthew 12:18–21, another triadic text, and with the visionary transfiguration account (17:1–8). Other passages are analyzed in order to trace the pattern throughout the Gospel. In the resurrection narrative (28:1–20) it is demonstrated that the resurrected Jesus is portrayed as a now heavenly, yet still embodied, revealer who is worshipped such that the Great Commission passage (28:16–20) is presented as a divine revelation. Within this “ultimate apocalypse” the risen Jesus commands his followers to make disciples of the nations by teaching and baptizing in the triadic name. The baptism command, in light of the triadic motif throughout the Gospel has the rhetorical effect of inviting Matthew’s reader-listener disciples to identify with Jesus in his own triadic baptism such that they too have an affirmed filial relationship with God and receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit to continue and extend Jesus’ messianic mission into the world under his universal authority and with his promised presence.

Spirit-Empowered ‘Walking Alongside’

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-36
Author(s):  
Mark J. Cartledge
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
The Church

The gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples in John’s Gospel, expressed in the so-called Paraclete sayings (John 14–16), indicates that certain capacities will be given to the disciples of Jesus Christ for the benefit of their witness to the world. This article reflects on these pneumatological texts, brings them into conversation with the discourse of public theology, that is, theology that seeks to address issues in the public domain of wider civil society, outside the sphere of the church. In particular, by taking the metaphor of ‘walking alongside’, this study explores the ways these texts inform the manner in which Renewal (Pentecostal and Charismatic) Christians, believing in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for service to the world, may frame their pneumatology of engagement for the sake of others.

Revelation, Tradition, and Culture

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald O’Collins, SJ
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Human History ◽  
Present Experience ◽  
Lower Case ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
In Christ

Tradition as process and as object needs to be understood in the light of divine revelation and the inspired Scripture. Primarily interpersonal or relational and secondarily propositional or cognitive, revelation involves a past fullness in Christ, a present experience, and a future, definitive consummation. As process, tradition is pre-given and always part of us, collective, richly polymorphous, sacramentally communicated through words and actions, often in tension with present experience, open to change or reform, and ending only with the close of human history. At the heart of innumerable traditions (plural and in lower case) is the Tradition (singular and in upper case), the risen Christ made present through the Holy Spirit, not an object we possess but a reality by which we are possessed. While they frequently overlap, ‘culture’ differs from tradition by not being so clearly an ‘action word’.

Pentecostal Understanding of Sanctification from a Pentecostal Perspective

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
Hollis Gause
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Birth ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Fruit Of The Spirit ◽  
The Trinity

AbstractThe doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the product of divine revelation, and is a doctrine of divine worship. The expressions of this doctrine come out of worshipful response to divine revelation demonstrating the social nature of the Trinity and God's incorporating the human creature in His own sociality and personal pluralism. The perfect social union between God and the man and woman that he had created was disrupted by human sin. God redeemed the fallen creature, and at the heart of this redemptive experience lies the doctrine of Holy Trinity, with the Holy Spirit as the communing agent of all the experiences of salvation. The Spirit is especially active in the provision and fulfillment of sanctification, which is presented here as the continuum of 'holiness-unity-love'. He produces the graces of the Holy Spirit – the fruit of the Spirit. He implants the Seed of the new birth which is the word of God. He purifies by the blood of Jesus. He establishes union and communion among believers and with God through His Son Jesus. This is holiness.

The Church and the Development of Doctrine

2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Chan
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Living Body ◽  
Living Tradition ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Church

AbstractDoctrines are the authoritative teachings of the Church, yet the modern church is hampered by its inability to speak authoritatively even to its own members on matters of doctrine. One reason is that doctrines are widely perceived as archaic and fixed formulations with little significance for the present day. True doctrines, in fact, are constantly developing as the Church moves towards eschatological fulfillment. Yet for doctrines to develop properly there needs to be a proper ecclesiology. The Church is not an entity that God brought into being to return creation to its original purpose after the Fall; rather, the Church is prior to creation, chosen in Christ before the creation of the world (Eph. 1.4). It is a divine-humanity, ontologically linked to Christ the Head. It is the living Body of Christ, the totus Christus.Within the continuing life of prayer and worship, the Church’s doctrines are re-enacted, renewed and developed. These acts constitute the ecclesial experience or the living tradition. The living tradition is the transmission and development of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the on-going practices of the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost is not just to enable the Church to preach the gospel but to constitute the Church as part of the gospel itself. That is to say, the gospel story includes the story of the Spirit in the Church. The third person of the Godhead is revealed as such in his special relation to the Church. The Church, therefore, could be called the ‘polity of the Spirit’, that is, the public square in which the Spirit is especially at work to bring God’s ultimate purpose to fulfillment. There is, therefore, no separation between ecclesiology and pneumatology. They are necessary for maintaining the living tradition and ensuring the healthy development of doctrine until the Church attains unity of the faith. Pentecostals who see the Pentecost event as the distinctive mark of their identity have a special role to play: by becoming more truly catholic in their ecclesiology, they become more truly Pentecostal. This accords well with their early ecumenical instinct.

John Carroll and the Appeal to Evidence: A Pragmatic Defense of Principle

1988 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-309
Author(s):  
Joseph M. McShane
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Religious Liberty ◽  
Divine Providence ◽  
Active Intervention ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
New Republic ◽  
John Carroll ◽  
The Church

Throughout his career John Carroll supported the American religious settlement with surprising and consistent enthusiasm. Indeed, his enthusiasm for the religious liberty of the new republic seemed to be boundless. Thus he never tired of celebrating and advertising its benefits. He assured American Catholics that it was “a signal instance of [God's] mercy” and a product of the active intervention of Divine Providence and the Holy Spirit, who have “tutored the minds of men” in such a way that Catholics could now freely worship God according to the “dictates of conscience.” Flushed with pride, he even predicted that if America were wise enough to abide by the terms of this providential arrangement, the nation would become a beacon to the world, proving that “general and equal toleration…is the most effectual method to bring all denominations of Christians to an unity of faith.” Finally, confident that the extraordinary freedom accorded American Catholics would make the American church “the most flourishing portion of the church,” he urged European states and churches to follow America's inspired lead.

scholarly journals Knowing the Father

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David. T. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Charismatic Movement ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Greek Thought ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Doctrine Of The Trinity ◽  
The Trinity

The emergence of the Charismatic movement has generated a new awareness and interest in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, but has also brought a realisation that there is a still-neglected Person of the Trinity, the Father. Part of the reason for this lies in the historical development in the doctrine of the Trinity, which led to a belief that external actions of God are not differentiated between the Persons, and also in the fact that the Father only generally acts in the world by Son and Spirit, so has no clear role. It seems natural to attribute creation to the Father, but even here, the Bible sees the Son as the actual creator. Nevertheless, the Father can be seen as the source of the concepts and means behind the material; interestingly there are hints of this in classical Greek thought and other faiths. This is ongoing, perhaps particularly in the evolutionary process of the world. Thus, paralleling the incarnation, the Father is present in the material universe, as its ethos. He can also be seen to be affected by creation, sharing in its nature in his kenōsis, and in its suffering. Creation then inspires a sense of wonder not only from its existence, extent and nature, but from its interactions and underlying concepts; this is worship of the Father. Sin is then when this is overlooked, or when actions disrupt it; these are an offence to the Father.

“I Will Not Leave You Orphaned”

Pneuma ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 370-394
Author(s):  
J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Simple Question ◽  
Global Movement ◽  
World Christianity

Abstract This article responds to a simple question: What are the distinctive contributions of Pentecostalism to the making of world Christianity? We cannot touch on every conceivable point in the discussion, and thus for our purposes I identify seven major interrelated areas that ought to stimulate our thoughts in reflecting on Pentecostalism as a global movement influencing world Christianity today. This article is devoted neither to global pentecostal statistical returns, as important as that may be, nor to the different types of pentecostal/charismatic movements in the world. Rather, I focus on the critical importance of the experience of the Holy Spirit as the religious core of this stream of Christianity and the practical ways in which the Spirit has inspired pentecostal activity in the world.

Affect, Ethics, and Cognition

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-193
Author(s):  
Hannah R. K. Mather
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Relationship With God ◽  
Ethical Action ◽  
The Holy Spirit

Abstract This article considers the Spirit’s role in the interpretation of Scripture, otherwise known as pneumatic interpretation. It outlines that whilst we may approach scripture seeking to interpret its written truth, the Spirit’s concern is with so much more than just our minds. Thus, pneumatic interpretation is holistic and cannot be restricted to interpretation of the scriptural text. The Spirit always works through and beyond the written words, seeking to interpret and appropriate scriptural truth affectively, ethically, and cognitively in our lives in ways that align with Scripture and transform us holistically into knowledge of and relationship with God as Father, Son, and Spirit. However, within this lies a paradox that whilst the Holy Spirit of God is all-powerful, discernment and reception of truth brought by the Spirit through Scripture (or in ways leading towards Scripture) is either helped or hindered by ethical action and choice.

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