Holy Spirit in the NT

1. Holy Spirit in the NT Holy Spirit Theology in the NT writing

2. Holy Spirit in the NT • The synoptic Gospels • With the exception of two references to speaking by the Spirit (David in Mark 12:36; par. Matt. 22:43; the disciples in Mark 13:11; par. Matt. 10:20; Luke 12:12), all the references to the Spirit in Mark (total = 6) and Matthew (total = 12) relate to Jesus and his work. • With approximately twenty references to the Spirit in his Gospel (and a further sixty in Acts), Luke is the Synoptic writer with the greatest interest in the Spirit, and his teaching is Christocentric. Other pious figures experience the Spirit of prophecy in revelation and inspired speech (in Luke 1–3), but only as those who await the messianic salvation and recognize or testify to its inauguration in Jesus (so Zechariah, 1:67; Simeon, 2:25–27; John the Baptist, 1:15, 17 [80?]).

3. Holy Spirit in the NT • The synoptic Gospels • The portrait of Jesus and the Spirit in the Gospels functions primarily to confirm to readers that Jesus is indeed the Messiah anticipated by the OT (see above) and intertestamental Jewish writings. The latter tended to draw especially on Isaiah 11:1–4 in their anticipation of a ruler endowed with the Spirit of prophecy, and so with revelation, wisdom, redoubtable righteousness and power to cleanse Israel (see esp. 1Enoch 49:2–3, 62:1–2; Psalms of Solomon 17:37; 18:7; Rule of the Blessings 5:24–25, [4Q] Testament of Naphtali, etc.). The same picture probably informs the Baptist’s promise that the coming one will baptize (= cleanse/purify) with Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11; par. Luke 3:16); the following verse sets this baptism in the context of the cleansing restoration of Israel.

4. Holy Spirit in the NT • The synoptic Gospels • During His ministry, Jesus refers to the Spirit of God (Matt. 12:28–29; Luke 11:20) as the power by which He is casting out demons, thereby invading the stronghold of Beelzebub and freeing those held captive. • Accordingly, the Spirit works with the Father and Son in realizing the redeeming power of the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is not only the reign of the Son but also the reign of the Spirit, as all share in the reign of the Father.

5. Holy Spirit in the NT • The synoptic Gospels • Another vital aspect of the Synoptic portrait, however, draws on the great Isaianic ‘new Exodus’ themes. It is these that explain the main features of the prelude to Jesus’ ministry. • John the Baptist chooses the wilderness as his location and Isaiah 40:3 (a key new-Exodus chapter) as his prime explanatory text (Mark 1:2–3; par. Matt. 3:2–3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). • The Spirit descends upon Jesus at his baptism and is interpreted by a heavenly voice in terms of the anointing of the Servant of Isaiah 42:1–2 (Mark 1:11; par. Matt. 3:17; Luke 3:22). • Jesus is led by the Spirit in the wilderness (*cf. esp. Luke 4:1) in a replay of the temptations that faced Israel in the exodus-wilderness traditions of Deuteronomy 6–8. 4. Having overcome, he returns in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14), and in the programmatic sermon of Luke 4:16–30, he announces himself as the Spirited-anointed liberator, proclaiming the ‘good news’ of Isaiah 61:1–2.

6. Holy Spirit in the NT • The synoptic Gospels • In the Isaianic context the essence of this good news is the forgiveness of Israel’s sins, the end of her historical chastisement, and the joyful proclamation to Zion that, with the return of Yahweh to them, their God reigns, and the nations will see the salvation he works in and from Jerusalem (*cf. e.g. Is. 52:7–10; 40:1–11; 44:1–8; 49:6, etc.). • It is mainly these ideas that inform the preaching of the forgiveness of sins, and the announcement of the kingdom of God, by the Baptist and especially by Jesus. Luke has already expressed the same set of hopes in the prophecies of Zechariah (Luke 1:68–79), Mary (1:46–55) and Simeon (2:29–32), and in his designation of the Spirit in the conception of Jesus as ‘the power of the most High’ (Luke 1:35, evoking Is. 32:15–20 with its promise that Israel would be restored when God’s Spirit was ‘poured out on us from on high’; and see below on Acts 1:8).

7. Holy Spirit in the NT • The synoptic Gospels • The Synoptic evangelists show little interest in what the Spirit meant for Jesus’ interior life before God; they are concerned only with what the Spirit accomplished through him. • Thus even Luke, who includes a reference to Jesus ‘rejoicing’ in the Spirit (10:21), and perhaps depicts the Spirit providing Jesus with the charismatic wisdom that enables him to defeat Satan in the wilderness (*cf. 4:1), nevertheless does not explain how the Spirit relates to Jesus’ experience of sonship. • Matthew and Mark are almost silent about the disciples’ experience of the Spirit; they mention only the Baptist’s promise, and an assurance of the Spirit’s guidance in times of trial (Mark 13:11; Matt. 10:20; Luke 12:12).

8. Holy Spirit in the NT • Acts • Not surprisingly, the Spirit plays such a prominent role in Acts that it could well be entitled “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” There is a clear parallel between the beginning of the Gospel and that of Acts. Jesus bestows his Spirit at Pentecost, the birth of the Christian community. Dramatic outpourings of the Spirit on believers are recorded at Acts 2:1–4; 4:28–31; 8:15–17; 10:44; 19:6. All Christians now have the Holy Spirit. Peter, John, Philip, Stephen, Barnabas, and Paul are “filled with the Holy Spirit” to witness boldly and enthusiastically in proclamation, in good news and signs and wonders. Thus Luke combines God’s universal saving will, Jesus’ model ministry, and the worldwide mission of the early Church. • Nothing could be clearer than that the gift of the Spirit in Acts. Not only does Peter interpret the Pentecost gift in terms of Joel 2:28–32 (Acts 2:17–18, redactionally emphasizing prophecy in 18b), but also nearly all subsequent references to the Spirit in Acts are related to the prototypical gifts of the Spirit of prophecy, namely charismatic revelation (whether in visions, dreams, words, or a mixture of these), charismatic wisdom (sometimes evoking joy), immediately inspired speech of different kinds, and acts of power (8:39; 10:38).

9. Holy Spirit in the NT • Acts • The person and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels is confirmed by His work in the early church. • The baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) is the pouring out of the Spirit’s power in missions and evangelism (Acts 1:8). • This prophecy of Jesus (and of Joel 2:28–32) begins on Pentecost (Acts 2:1–18). Many of those who hear of the finished work of God in Jesus’ death and resurrection (Acts 2:32–38) repent of their sins. In this act of repentance, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), becoming witnesses of God’s grace through the Spirit. • In Acts, there is a close connection among four elements: • the proclamation of the gospel (4:28–31) • baptism (8:15–17) • the laying on of hands (10:44) • the reception of the Holy Spirit (19:6).

10. Holy Spirit in the NT • Acts • The Baptist’s promise, invoked in the form ‘you will be baptized with Holy Spirit’ in Acts 1:5 and 11:16, refers not primarily to empowerment for mission, but to the restoration/cleansing of the messianic people of God (*cf. the parallel between 11:16 and 15:8–9). This interpretation is confirmed by the clear allusion to Isaiah 32:15 in Acts 1:8. • For Luke, ‘salvation’ is not merely ‘justification’, but also participation with the Israel-of-fulfilment in the presence of the kingdom of God and of its transformative power, which results from the ‘forgiveness of sins’. • During Jesus’ ministry, this was partially experienced, but only through the Spirit bestowed on the Messiah. His removal through death, resurrection and ascension might thus be expected to bring to a close any experience of the kingdom of God before the parousia. However, the Gospel of Luke (and the opening paragraph of Acts) anticipates, instead, a fuller experience of God’s reign/salvation, consequent on Jesus’ enthronement. In this respect, the exaltation of Jesus described in Acts 2:33–36 fulfils the hopes expressed in Luke 1:32–33 and elsewhere. But it is precisely through the gift of the Spirit that this salvation is poured out; only through the Spirit can the people of Jesus continue to experience his ongoing messianic/transformative reign.

11. Holy Spirit in the NT • Acts • If Jesus’ death fulfils the Passover and looks forward to the new covenant (Luke 22:14–20), Pentecost is portrayed as the fulfilment of Sinai (Acts 2), including a corresponding ascent on high of Israel’s leader to receive a foundational gift for the people of God. • Given the above, the new, radical and paradisal community life depicted as the immediate consequence of Pentecost (2:42–47 and cf. 4:32–35) should almost certainly be interpreted as a result of the church’s reception of the Spirit (*paceSchweizeretal.). • This is confirmed in Acts 5, where the sin of Ananias and Sapphira against the community is described as ‘putting the Spirit to the test’ (5:9), i.e. rejecting what the Spirit is leading the community to do.

12. Holy Spirit in the NT • Acts • For Luke (as J. D. G. Dunn showed in Baptism), conversion-initiation normally involves repentance and belief, crystallized in submission to baptism, and reception of the Spirit. • Acts 2:38–39 is thus paradigmatic (though the order of the elements may vary according to circumstances; thus, e.g., it is the Gentile Cornelius’ evident reception of the Spirit that justifies his baptism and that of his household). • This close connection with conversion-initiation suggests that the gift of the Spirit is fundamental to Christian life, not merely empowering for mission (indeed, with the exception of Paul, converts are not depicted as being immediately involved in mission). • The apparent exceptions, if anything, prove the rule. a. The Samaritans (the first converts outside Judaism) in Acts 8 do not receive the Spirit until some days after their repentance and baptism, when the apostles come from Jerusalem.

13. Holy Spirit in the NT • Acts • But if Luke and his readers considered such a delay as ‘normal’, he would not have needed the cumbersome ‘explanation’ in 8:16. b. • Saul certainly comes to belief on the Damascus Road before he receives the Spirit at the hands of Ananias (9:17), but from a Lukan perspective he is not a member of the Messiah’s ekklēsia until he responds to the vision with formal repentance and baptism, also at the hands of Ananias (*cf. 22:16), and the assumption is that he is filled with the Spirit in the latter context. c. • In 19:1–7 Paul encounters a group of ‘disciples’ awaiting the Messiah and he initially assumes them to be Christians (like Apollos in 18:24–28). Unlike Apollos, however, they have not even heard of the Spirit; so Paul asks questions about their baptism (19:2–3; the question assumes that Christian baptism and Spirit-reception normally belong together). It transpires that their baptism was John’s, and Paul has to inform them that the coming one about whom John preached is Jesus. So it would appear that they were not yet Christians, which is why Paul re-baptizes them (contrast Apollos). And it is in that context that they receive the Spirit through the laying on of hands (19:5–6). In short, all these passages suggest that Spirit-reception was normally part of conversion-initiation, not a ‘subsequent’ experience.

14. Holy Spirit in the NT • Acts • It is clear that many of the activities attributed to the Spirit are orientated towards believers (individuals and congregations) and their life before God, not merely towards mission (*cf. Acts 5:1–11; 6:3–6; 9:31; 11:28; 13:52; 15:28; 19:2; 20:22–23, 28; 21:4, 11). • It is unclear whether Luke thought Spirit-reception was regularly attended by tongues (see Languages), or prophetic speech (*cf. 2:4; 10:46; 19:6), or some other manifestation (8:18?), or whether he thought this should only be expected when some kind of attestation was ‘required’ by the situation (*e.g. would the Jerusalem church readily accept that Samaritans and Gentiles had received the Spirit if there were not clear parallels with the initial outpouring?).

15. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • The Holy Spirit appears in the Gospel of John as the power by which Christians are brought to faith and helped to understand their walk with God. He brings a person to new birth: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6); “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63). The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, or Helper, whom Jesus promised to the disciples after His ascension. The Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are unified in ministering to believers (John 14:16, 26). It is through the Helper that Father and Son abide with the disciples (John 15:26).

16. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • This unified ministry of the Trinity is also seen as the Spirit brings the world under conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He guides believers into all truth with what He hears from the Father and the Son (John 15:26). It is a remarkable fact that each of the persons of the Trinity serves the others as all defer to one another: The Son says what He hears from the Father (John 12:49–50); the Father witnesses to and glorifies the Son (John 8:16–18, 50, 54); the Father and Son honor the Holy Spirit by commissioning Him to speak in their name (John 14:16, 26); the Holy Spirit honors the Father and Son by helping the community of believers.

17. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • Like Father and Son, the Holy Spirit is at the disposal of the other persons of the Trinity, and all three are one in graciously being at the disposal of the redeemed family of believers. The Holy Spirit’s attitude and ministry are marked by generosity; His chief function is to illumine Jesus’ teaching, to glorify His person, and to work in the life of the individual believer and the church. • For John, too, the Spirit is very much a Christocentric version of the Spirit of prophecy, but he has a much more developed view of the soteriological and missiological dimensions of the gift.

18. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • The Spirit in John 1–12 • Because humankind is alienated from God, people exist in a state of ‘death’ and ‘darkness’. In contrast, toknow the Father and the Son is by definition ‘eternal life’/salvation (17:3). Jesus’ essential mission is thus to reveal the Father (1:18), and so to bring light into darkness (1:4–9; 3:19–21; 8:12; 9:5), and life where there was death (5:24). Precisely as the manifestation of the Father (14:9–11), the Son not merely gives but is the ‘bread of life’ (6:35–51), the ‘light of the world’, the ‘way, the truth, and the life’ (14:6), etc. • But how is the Son the revelation of the Father? While this revelation is grounded in the eternal, intimate unity of the Father and the Son, it comes to expression in Jesus’ works and in his teaching (14:8–11), and above all in his self-giving at the cross (3:14–16; 8:28–29; 10:14–17, etc.).

19. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • The Spirit in John 1–12 • The Spirit is directly related to all these. Jesus hears and speaks the word of God because the Father gives him the Spirit without measure (3:34–36). Hence Jesus claims he could have given the Samaritan woman ‘living water’ (= Spirit-imbued revelatory wisdom/teaching) had she asked for it, for although the definitive giving of living water/Spirit lies beyond Jesus’ ‘glorification’ (7:38–39), his teaching is already at least a foretaste of cleansing ‘Spirit and life’ (6:63; 13:10) to those who receive it. For them ‘the hour’ when they will worship God in Spirit and truth is not merely ‘coming’ but in some sense ‘now (already) is’ (4:23). But the primarily future orientation of 4:23 points forward to the cross as the definitive saving revelation of the divine wisdom, and this is the main theme of 3:14–16 and 6:35, 51, 53–58. Thus the cross is portrayed as the ‘lifting up’/ascension/glorification of Jesus which will draw all people to him (3:14–15; 8:28–29 and 12:32).

20. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • The Spirit in John 1–12 • Of course, John is aware that this crucifixion/ascension is deeply paradoxical (6:61–62). Seen from the purely human perspective it is nothing but an ugly execution. Only by the Spirit’srevelation to the individual can it be understood as the saving divine self-disclosure (so 6:63, concluding 6:35–63). But the transformation effected by that moment of revelation is so great that John can portray it as ‘birth from above’ (3:3). It is seeing Jesus ‘lifted up’ withtheeyesoffaith (3:14–15; i.e. by faith enabled by the Spirit) which brings about ‘birth of water-and-Spirit’ (3:5; an allusion to Ezek. 36:25–27). So the definitive giving of the Spirit is beyond the cross (7:38–39). Thus, in part one of John’s Gospel (chs. 1–12), the Spirit is depicted primarily as the soteriological Spirit of prophecy/wisdom which enables the decisive revelation through Jesus. But the Spirit is not yet given to the disciples; they only partially experience the Spirit through Jesus’ inspired teaching (6:63; cf. 13:10b).

21. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • The promise of the Spirit-Advocate • In the farewell discourses (John 13–17), the disciples are promised that they themselves will receive the Spirit. In three passages (14:16–26; 15:26–27; 16:7–15) John speaks of a coming gift of the Holy Spirit (14:26), or ‘Spirit of truth’ (14:17; 15:26; 16:13), to act as ‘another Paraclete’ (paraklētos = advocate; 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) in Jesus’ place. • The problem posed by the coming ‘departure’ of Jesus is that of how salvation, understood as knowing the Father and the Son (17:3), can continue, when Jesus, the Revealer, is withdrawn into heaven. It is in this context that Jesus promises the Spirit to mediate the presence of the Father and the glorified Son (14:16–26). Thus, having assured the disciples of the gift of the Spirit in 14:16–17, in verses 18 and 19 Jesus promises that he will not leave them as orphans, but will come to them in such a way that ‘the world’ will not see him; he will manifest himself to any disciple who loves him (14:21). When Judas asks for an explanation (14:22), Jesus asserts that if a disciple loves him, he and the Father will come and make their home with that disciple.

22. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • The promise of the Spirit-Advocate • This promise cannot refer to Jesus’ ‘second coming’ (for then the world shall see him), nor to resurrection appearances (which cannot be described as the coming of the Father and the Son todwell with the disciple). As it is sandwiched by the promises of the Spirit-Paraclete (14:14–17; 14:25–26), and as (in Judaism) the Spirit of prophecy was regarded as the presence of God in revelation, it must be the promised Spirit that will mediate the presence and self-revelation of Father and Son. So the Paraclete/Advocate is the Holy Spirit in a special role, namely as the personal presence of Jesus in the Christian while Jesus is with the Father (see R. E. Brown, in NTS 13).

23. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • Overlapping with this role is the Paraclete’s mission as teacher and revealer (14:26; 16:12–14). The disciples cannot really comprehend (16:12) what Jesus has said and done until he is glorified (16:25); consequently the Spirit-Paraclete will be given to remind them of Jesus’ teaching (14:26), and to interpret it to them. His task is to lead them into the truth which Jesus has already incarnated (16:13), and into ‘the things [yet] to come’ (especially the cross and resurrection-glorification; 16:13–14). • In performing these tasks in and through the community of disciples, the Spirit-Paraclete makes them witnesses. The disciples are now ‘sent’ as Jesus was (20:21; cf. 17:17–18), and the Spirit is given to them to take over the earthly Jesus’ advocacy of his case (15:26–27; 16:7b–11), that the life of the Father is savingly revealed in the Son.

24. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • A closing scene (20:22; matching 1:32–33) depicts Jesus insufflating the disciples with the Spirit and recalls Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:9 (each passage uses the rare verb ‘to insufflate’). This event is probably not the giving of the Paraclete (*contra G. M. Burge), which is to happen only after Jesus’ ascension/glorification, but the climax of the life-giving pneumatic wisdom/understanding they have already tasted in Jesus’ ministry. • But John envisages no two-stage reception of the Spirit in the period of the church. The experience of 20:22 cannot be repeated after the ascension, as Jesus can then come to the disciple only in the saving, sanctifying and empowering gift of the Paraclete.

25. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Gospel of John • While Luke stresses the external experience of the Spirit and Paul the inner experience of the person in the charismatic community, John describes the Spirit as “another Christ” (John 14:16) and stresses the individual’s relationship to Christ through the Spirit. The Baptist describes his revelation of Jesus’ identity “on whom you see the Spirit descend” (1:33). Rebirth comes through the Spirit “blowing where it chooses” (3:5–8). God is Spirit (4:24). Life to the fullest comes from the Spirit (6:63). • John goes further than even Paul in speaking of the Spirit as Paraclete, an advocate, counselor, or comforter. The Paraclete’s functions are copied from those of Jesus: developing Jesus’ teaching to meet new situations (John 16:14)—“what Jesus would have said” or what John did in writing his Gospel; stressing and teaching what has already come with Jesus, even though there are a future resurrection, judgment, and parousia (5:28–29); helping to make real the kingdom of life and love, even though the world does not see his coming (14:15–21). John’s greatest contribution is this teaching of the ongoing presence of Jesus in the heart of each individual (1 John 3:24).

26. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • Paul’s teaching about the Holy Spirit harmonizes with the accounts of the Spirit’s activity in the gospels and Acts. According to Paul, it is by the Holy Spirit that one confesses that Jesus is Lord (1 Cor. 12:3). Through the same Spirit varieties of gifts are given to the body of Christ to ensure its richness and unity (1 Cor. 12:4–27). The Holy Spirit is the way to Jesus Christ the Son (Rom. 8:11) and to the Father (Rom. 8:14–15). He is the person who bears witness to us that we are children of God (8:16–17). He “makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26–27). • The Holy Spirit also reveals to Christians the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10–12) and the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:3–5). The Holy Spirit acts with God and Christ as the pledge or guarantee by which believers are sealed for the day of salvation (2 Cor. 1:21–22), by which they walk and live (Rom. 8:3–6) and abound in hope with power (Rom. 15:13). Against the lust and enmity of the flesh Paul contrasts the fruit of the Spirit: “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23).

27. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • Since the Holy Spirit is the expressed power of the Trinity, it is imperative that one not grieve the Spirit, since no further appeal to the Father and the Son on the day of redemption is available (Eph. 4:30). Jesus made this clear in His dispute with the religious authorities, who attributed His ministry to Satan rather than the Spirit and thereby committed the unforgivable sin (Matt. 12:22–32; John 8:37–59). • In Paul’s letters Christian liberty stems from the work of the Holy Spirit: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17). This is a process of “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,” and “being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). The personal work of the Holy Spirit is accordingly one with that of the Father and the Son, so Paul can relate the grace, love, and communion of the Trinity in a trinitarian benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Cor. 13:14).

28. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • For Paul, as for Luke-Acts and John, the Spirit is a Christocentric, soteriological and ecclesiological version of the Spirit of prophecy. Salvation is not merely ‘justification’, but deliverance from the whole ‘realm’ of Satan, the flesh and sin, and transfer to the realm/reign of God’s beloved Son (Col. 1:13), with all that this entails, including reconciliation and reunification with God in Christ, sonship, membership in and fellowship with the new people of God, the restored Israel anticipated in (*interalia) Ezekiel 36–37, and ultimately resurrection into new creation (see Death and resurrection). It can be argued that Paul sees the Spirit as the key to all of these blessings (there are 115 references to the Spirit in his small corpus of writings). Thus: • The Spirit initially reveals the Christ-event (*e.g. through preaching) as God’s saving wisdom (1 Cor. 2; Gal. 3:1–5; 2 Cor. 3:14–16), eliciting repentance, belief and reception of the Spirit in a single complex event (*cf. esp. Gal. 3:1–5). Charismatic revelation/wisdom is thus at the foundation of the Christian life, and continues to play an important role (*cf. 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 1:17–20; 3:16–20, etc.; and see below).

29. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • For Paul, as for Luke-Acts and John, the Spirit is a Christocentric, soteriological and ecclesiological version of the Spirit of prophecy. Salvation is not merely ‘justification’, but deliverance from the whole ‘realm’ of Satan, the flesh and sin, and transfer to the realm/reign of God’s beloved Son (Col. 1:13), with all that this entails, including reconciliation and reunification with God in Christ, sonship, membership in and fellowship with the new people of God, the restored Israel anticipated in (*interalia) Ezekiel 36–37, and ultimately resurrection into new creation (see Death and resurrection). It can be argued that Paul sees the Spirit as the key to all of these blessings (there are 115 references to the Spirit in his small corpus of writings). Thus: • The Spirit initially reveals the Christ-event (*e.g. through preaching) as God’s saving wisdom (1 Cor. 2; Gal. 3:1–5; 2 Cor. 3:14–16), eliciting repentance, belief and reception of the Spirit in a single complex event (*cf. esp. Gal. 3:1–5). Charismatic revelation/wisdom is thus at the foundation of the Christian life, and continues to play an important role (*cf. 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 1:17–20; 3:16–20, etc.; and see below).

30. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • For Paul, this initial and ongoing experience of Christ by the Spirit is essentially transformatory, and he interprets it in the light of Ezekiel 36:24–27 as washing, sanctifying and justifying in the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; cf. Titus 3:5). Accordingly, in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 he reminds his readers (using the unusual wording of Ezek.) that ongoing sin frustrates the very purpose of the gift, which was for Israel’s eschatological cleansing/restoration. • In response to Judaizing pressures, Paul sharply radicalizes this pneumatology developed from Ezekiel 36–37: • In the great Torah/Spirit antithesis of 2 Corinthians 3, Galatians 3–6, and its refinement in Romans 7–8. For Israel, the law has led only to bondage to sin and death; the Spirit alone brings ‘life’ (as the one in whom the life-giver, God himself, indwells his people, and as the one who enables pleasing service to God) and freedom.

31. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • Not to have the Spirit is to be on the wrong side of this antithesis, and to be in need of salvation, while to receive the eschatological gift of the Spirit is ipsofacto to enter salvation. • in the great flesh/Spirit antithesis in Galatians 3–5 and Romans 7–8. Here again, belonging to ‘the flesh’ is the great disaster from which humankind needs salvation, while the Spirit is the means of ‘putting to death’ the flesh/deeds of the body (Rom. 8:13) and the source of ethical ‘fruit’ (Gal. 5–6). A related antithesis is that of uncircumcision/circumcision of the heart in Romans 2:25–29; Philippians 3:3. • In the old creation/new creation antithesis of 2 Corinthians. 5:17 and Galatians 6:15. The language of new creation is bound up with that of Adam and Christ, and the injunctions to ‘put off’ the old self and ‘put on the new’ are paralleled and explained by the injunctions to ‘put on Christ’ (*cf. Gal. 3:27; Rom. 13:14; Col. 3:9–10; Eph. 4:24, etc.), an action which Paul considers to be possible only ‘by the Spirit’.

32. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • At the heart of Paul’s view of salvation, however, is not so much new ‘performance’ as new relationship: i.e. restoration toGod. Israel looked forward to ‘salvation’ as the lavish pouring out of the Spirit upon them (Is. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36–37; Joel 2), because this was to be the returnofGod to Israel in transforming grace. • Paul describes both the church and the individual as the eschatological temple which God now indwells by his Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Eph. 2:22, etc.), and the believer is said to have access toGod through the Spirit (Eph. 2:18; cf. Rom. 8:26–27). • However, these ideas are Christocentric. Paul’s writings are dominated by a rich ‘in Christ’ mysticism, and his understanding of ‘salvation’ is summarized in such passages as Galatians 2:19–20: ‘I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me’ (nrsv, cf. 1 Cor. 12:13; 2 Cor. 5:17; Phil. 1:21; 3:10, etc.). Christ, as much as the Father, is the indwelling, self-revealing presence of God, but only through the Spirit of God, now experienced as the Spirit ofChrist (Rom. 8:9–11; Phil. 1:19; cf. Gal. 4:6). • If salvation is above all ‘union with Christ’, that union is effected and maintained only through the Spirit. The corollary is stated in Romans 8:9b: ‘anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to him’. Fundamentally, then, the Spirit is ‘the Spirit of adoption/sonship’ (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15).

33. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • For Paul, ‘salvation’ has a corporate dimension. The erstwhile alienated person experiences fellowship/communion in the ‘body’ of Christ. In Ephesians this amounts to a restructuring of the very notion of personhood. But even in the earlier letters it is clear that to be the Spirit-people is to live in a different sort of society, one marked by love, unity and mutual service in the pattern of the cross (so Gal. 5–6; 1 Cor. 12–14; Rom. 12–14; Phil. 2:1–11, etc.). The new life is summed up in the expression ‘fellowship of the Spirit’, which denotes a sharing with each other in a unity enabled by the Spirit and/or joint participation in the Spirit (Phil. 2:1; 2 Cor. 13:14). • For Paul believers have now only the firstfruits of the Spirit (Rom. 8:23); the final element of salvation is resurrection transformation as a sōmapneumatikon like Christ (1 Cor. 15:45–49; cf. Phil. 3:21), and this too is by the Spirit. Paul appears to see resurrection to new creation life as the final great saving act of the Spirit. The Spirit in the believer now is the guarantee or first instalment of that future resurrection, because the Spirit himself will bring it about (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Rom. 8:11, 12–25; Eph. 1:13–14; 1 Tim. 3:16).

34. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • Everywhere in Paul the Spirit is clearly the charismatic Spirit of prophecy, who builds the church, inspires its worship, and empowers its mission through a variety of spiritual gifts (notably Gal. 3:3–5; 1 Thess. 5:19–20; 1 Cor. 12–14; Rom. 12, Eph. 4:7–16, etc.). But these charismata are not a distinct set of workings of the Spirit, dependent on some ‘second blessing’; they are an integral part of the new covenant relationship, sonship and service, which are charismatic throughout. • Paul, with his problem- and situation-centered theology, describes the Christian experience in terms of the Spirit (“in the Spirit,” Rom. 8:9), whereas the Synoptics speak the language of the Kingdom. The Spirit is distinct from, yet clearly related to, the risen Jesus and dwells in the Christian (Rom. 15:30; 1 Cor. 6:11; 12:4).

35. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • Paul insists that the gospel comes not in word alone but in the powerful Holy Spirit bringing conviction and joy (1 Thess. 1:5–6; 2 Thess. 2:13). Paul warns, “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thess 5:19, his only reference using the definite article). This is a gift of God’s grace but involves a struggle between the spirit (involving the full Christian person) and the flesh (the person as subject to sin). • The lively character of the Spirit is evident in the nine gifts described in 1 Cor. 12–14: wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues. But the greatest gift is love. The Corinthians themselves are Paul’s “letter” written by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:2).

36. Holy Spirit in the NT • Paul’s letters • In Galatians, a forerunner of Romans, Paul’s reflection on the reception of the Spirit is developed quite passionately. The Spirit is received into the heart so that we can cry “Abba” as adopted children. She comes through faith rather than works of the law, from whose slavery the Christian is released and justified (Gal. 3:2–5; 5:5). The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). A Christian is sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, “the first installment of our inheritance” (Eph. 1:11; 3:14–19). • Romans (esp. ch. 8, where the new age breaks into view) is a good summary of Paul’s pneumatology. Christ has achieved what the law was unable to do. The life led by the Spirit is the life of God’s free children, heirs of Christ, free from fear and sin. The Spirit helps people pray because they are too weak to pray properly. She is involved in the redemption of all creation (Rom. 8:18–27). The Spirit witnesses to Paul’s great sorrow and anguish for his own people (Rom. 9:1–2).

37. Holy Spirit in the NT • The remaining letters • Among the other New Testament writings the Spirit’s ministry is evident in the profound teaching of Hebrews 9:14, which shows the relationship of God, Christ, and the eternal Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s work in the Old Testament in preparation for the coming of Christ is explained in this and other passages in Hebrews (3:7; 9:8; 10:15–17). • Luke-Acts, John and Paul provide the most profound theologies of the Spirit in the NT. The remaining writings add little to their witness. • Not surprisingly, 1 John echoes the fourth Gospel; the Spirit is teacher/interpreter (2:20), who enables fellowship with the Father and the Son (1:6) and assurance of their indwelling presence (3:24; 4:13), and who bears witness to the incarnate Son (4:1–6; 5:6–8). • For Hebrews, the Spirit is the power working signs that confirm the gospel (2:4) and the one who once spoke, and now speaks anew, through Scripture (3:7; 9:8; 10:15; cf. 2 Tim. 3:16 and 2 Pet. 1:21).

38. Holy Spirit in the NT • The remaining letters • Among the other New Testament writings the Spirit’s ministry is evident in the profound teaching of Hebrews 9:14, which shows the relationship of God, Christ, and the eternal Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s work in the Old Testament in preparation for the coming of Christ is explained in this and other passages in Hebrews (3:7; 9:8; 10:15–17). • Luke-Acts, John and Paul provide the most profound theologies of the Spirit in the NT. The remaining writings add little to their witness. • Not surprisingly, 1 John echoes the fourth Gospel; the Spirit is teacher/interpreter (2:20), who enables fellowship with the Father and the Son (1:6) and assurance of their indwelling presence (3:24; 4:13), and who bears witness to the incarnate Son (4:1–6; 5:6–8). • For Hebrews, the Spirit is the power working signs that confirm the gospel (2:4) and the one who once spoke, and now speaks anew, through Scripture (3:7; 9:8; 10:15; cf. 2 Tim. 3:16 and 2 Pet. 1:21). • Through the same Spirit, Jesus made his self-offering (Heb. 9:14), and his disciples thereby participate in the eschatological new-covenant Spirit (6:4), who is ‘the Spirit of grace’, but who nevertheless must not be outraged by backsliding into Judaism (10:29).

39. Holy Spirit in the NT • Revelation • In Revelation, the Spirit is again a Christocentric version of the Spirit of prophecy. In 19:10 this is explicit, but it is implicit elsewhere. • references to the apostle being ‘in the Spirit’ (1:10; cf. 4:2) lead into a Christocentric vision; • the repeated ‘Let him who has ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22) relates to oracular words of the risen Lord directed to the seven churches (oracles which amply demonstrate the active involvement of the risen Lord in the churches’ affairs); • in 22:17, the Spirit, through the prophetic people (the bride), bids Christ ‘come’; • the references to ‘the seven spirits before the throne of [God]’ (1:4; 4:5; cf. 3:1 and 5:6), which some interpreters have taken to be the angels of presence, more probably symbolize the pastors of the churches.

40. Holy Spirit in the NT • The Spirit in Acts, Paul and John • The gift of the Spirit marks the beginning of the Christian life • The Spirit of the New Covenant. • The Spirit as the power of the new life • Manifestations of the Spirit • The Spirit of community and of Christ • The Fellowship of the Spirit • The Spirit of Christ