What does the historical evidence tell us about the pneumatological beliefs of the early Church during the first two centuries of Christianity?
score:3
The New Testament contains a massive amount of first-hand evidence about what the early Church believed regarding the Holy Spirit. Unless that is taken as the prime source, all else will be futile. Space here does not permit quoting all the N.T. texts about the Holy Spirit, but if we consider something of what Jesus himself and some of the apostles said, that would serve as a starting-point.
Jesus explained that unless he returned to heaven, he could not send the Holy Spirit to indwell believers, to remind them and to guide them into all truth (See John 14:16-17 & 26 & 16:5-15). This indicates something about distinction between the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, and yet how they relate to each other in unity. As Jesus also said that the Holy Spirit would come to lift up the risen Christ (not point to himself), we further see how the two relate to each other.
The Holy Spirit's role is to enable people to see Jesus Christ and the Kingdom clearly - spiritually. We don't turn around to look at the Holy Spirit, for his job is to lift up Jesus Christ. Without his enabling, however, we will never grasp just who Jesus is. The first century Church knew and believed that.
In Romans chapter 8 Christians are told by the apostle Paul that it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that guarantees they now belong to Christ and will be with Christ in glory. Those who do not have his anointing do not belong to Christ. Yet the Holy Spirit is simultaneously called the Spirit of God AND the Spirit of Christ (verse 9). The three are bound together in unity and in action.
The Holy Spirit deals with the matter of convicting people of their sins (1 Thess 1:4 & 2 Thess 1:6-10) so is equally bound up in salvation as are the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit also intercedes for believers when they pray, as does Jesus Christ (Rom 8:26-27 & Heb 8:6). And don't forget that Jesus warned that the only unforgivable sin is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. He said we could be forgiven for all blasphemies except that. This proves the deity of the Holy Spirit, for only a person can be blasphemed. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit, which was equated with lying to God, and for tempting (testing) the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11, especially verses 4 & 9).
All of these truths were written down in the N.T., long before the end of the 1st century. This means that religious points about the Holy Spirit just being an impersonal energy could not have arisen within the new Church, for they were in awe of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:11). The Apostles did warn, however, that after their departure, heresies would arise; wolves in sheeps' clothing would come into the congregations, to lead them astray. Right enough, even before the end of the 1st century, men were starting to twist what Christ and the Apostles had said. That is why it's essential to collate ALL the N.T. statements about the Holy Spirit, to spot deviations from that in history. The fact that there are different beliefs about the Holy Spirit today proves that – somewhere along the road – deceptive teachings crept in to the Church.
More post
- 📝 How would the Catholic Church reconcile 1 Thess 4:13 (which suggests soul sleep) with the doctrine of Intercession of Saints?
- 📝 Understanding grace
- 📝 Complete Debates?
- 📝 What is the evidence that the Angel of the Lord in the old Testament is probably Jesus?
- 📝 What happened to "the last seminary" website
- 📝 Luke's introduction, doesn't seem like he is claiming he was inspired?
- 📝 Christ 'made' sin - the Reformed, Protestant view?
- 📝 Where can I find the Graduale Romanorum in Latin or Croatian in physical format?
- 📝 According to LDS, if the Fall was a positive thing why would God condemn sin in the flesh?
- 📝 Rev 3:14. Jesus seems to be claiming to be a creature?
- 📝 Faith is certain: "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt" doubt versus desire to know the One
- 📝 Is the Summa Theologia infallible to Catholics or not?
- 📝 Did Mosaic covenants follow Ancient Near East Suzerain Treaties or was it the other way around?
- 📝 What was Jesus trying to convey in the parables of the mustard seed and yeast?
- 📝 Is the popular image of the Puritan as purveyor of an intolerant monoculture accurate?
- 📝 What was the reason for the suspension of the “vegetarian mandate” in Gen 9:1-3 after maintaining it for over 1500 years?
- 📝 What is an overview for how protestants tend to regard progress in the spiritual life?
- 📝 Why wasn't Noah's wife name revealed?
- 📝 Looking for the right Church
- 📝 Can our own spiritual gifts be given to others?
- 📝 Can any sin be forgiven? (According to the teaching of the Catholic Church)
- 📝 LDS belief in pre-existence of the human person vs. human physical deformities
- 📝 What specific scholarship is there behind the New World Translation?
- 📝 Genesis 1:3; 1:5 and 1:16
- 📝 Do the temples need cleaning?
- 📝 When and where did the Catholic tradition of first communion at 7 years old start?
- 📝 Is it justifiable to kill an innocent person with the following conditions?
- 📝 Translation / bibles / composition bible LXX - Masoretic?
- 📝 Was there a war in Heaven?
- 📝 Does Christianity allow allegorical readings of creation and the deluge?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What does the historical evidence tell us about the pneumatological beliefs of the early Church during the first two centuries of Christianity?
- 📝 What does the Bible tell us about how people knew right from wrong before the Law of Moses?
- 📝 What does the bible say about h*m*sexuality?
- 📝 What does the bible say about interracial marriages?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about Capital Punishment?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about tithing?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about Science?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about "bad" words?
- 📝 What does the Catholic church teach about fate of non-Catholic christians?
- 📝 What does the Roman Catholic church teach about those who die having never heard of Christ?
- 📝 What does the LDS Church (Mormon) teach about marriage and polygamy in the afterlife?
- 📝 When talking about the Trinity, what does "persons" mean?
- 📝 What evidence do we have today about Christian groups not represented at the first four ecumenical councils?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about life before conception?
- 📝 Does the Bible say anything about what demons *are*?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about God being a different type of being than man?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about sex before marriage / premarital sex?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about the appearance of angels?
- 📝 What does Catholic Church say about the post-resurrection wound marks of Jesus?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about people with mental illness?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about vegetarian diets?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about birth control?
- 📝 What evidence does the LDS Church offer regarding claims of degradation of Biblical texts?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about people who see dead people?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about praying too much?
- 📝 Is there historical evidence for an atheist argument about the New Testament?
- 📝 What does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teach about who Jesus is and where He came from?
- 📝 What does the LDS Church teach about Jesus being married, having children, and His position on polygamy?
- 📝 What evidence does the LDS church forward for the claim that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri?
- 📝 What does the LDS church teach about what men and women did or do in the pre-existence?
