The Lord Is the Spirit. John A. Studebaker

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The Lord Is the Spirit - John A. Studebaker Evangelical Theological Society Monograph Series

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as his Supreme Revelation. Then,

      A Limitation of This Study

      This study will wrestle primarily with the Spirit’s inherent authority rather than with the display of his power. The Spirit’s authority can be seen as that which provides appropriate parameters for understanding and experiencing the Spirit’s power. The Greek words exousiva and duvnamij illustrate the general distinction between “authority” and “power.” Exousiva is used in the New Testament 105 times and is closely related to, though distinguishable from, divine du/namij. Barrett catches the crucial distinctions:

      These comments indicate that, while there is a close relationship in the New Testament between authority and power, these two concepts should not be confused.

      Methodology

      Each chapter will build upon the previous chapters. In this chapter, I show the need for this study, define its purpose, develop a basic framework for understanding and discussing “The Authority of the Holy Spirit,” mention an important limitation, and present an overview of the chapters.

      Chapter two will be entitled “The Authority of the Holy Spirit and Historical Theology: Assessing Historical Debates.” Here I shall examine the critical debates regarding the doctrine of the Holy Spirit found in five periods of historical theology: Patristic, Medieval, Protestant, Modern, and Postmodern. I shall discern four provisional definitions of the Spirit’s authority that emerge from these debates (divine, executorial, veracious, and governing authority) that display his authority in various “realms.”

      Chapters three and four will be entitled “The Authority of the Holy Spirit and Systematic Theology” (Parts 1 and 2). In chapter three, I shall develop a systematic understanding of the Spirit’s divine and executorial authority, two critical perspectives on his authority that are foundational for any further understanding (in that they establish the essential “nature” of his authority as well as his “authority to act”). In chapter four, I shall develop a systematic understanding of two critical “domains” of the Spirit’s executorial authority: veracious authority and governing authority. I will develop these two chapters by exegeting key passages of Scripture, by attempting to find specific evidence of the Spirit’s authority therein for systematic theology, and by developing “dialogue” with contemporary pneumatologists.

      In chapters five, six, and seven, I will attempt to demonstrate the way my systematic model (developed in chapters three and four) comes to bear upon three “practical” applications with respect to the Church. These three chapters will be entitled “The Authority of the Holy Spirit and Practical Theology” and subtitled “Hermeneutics,” “The Structure and Guidance of the Church,” and “Christian Spirituality,” respectively. Within these chapters I will also provide an evangelical response to contemporary versions of “practical theology” that attempt to incorporate the work of the Holy Spirit in various ways.

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