The Lord Is the Spirit. John A. Studebaker
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Название: The Lord Is the Spirit

Автор: John A. Studebaker

Издательство: Ingram

Жанр: Религия: прочее

Серия: Evangelical Theological Society Monograph Series

isbn: 9781630876852

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ Father, which is illustrated by several metaphors—a lamp, for example, which communicates its light to another lamp and through that lamp to a third lamp. The Spirit alone shone in this way, he taught, eternally through the Son.34 The result of this argument was a “new” view of the Spirit as deifier or sanctifier, the one who transforms various common or material elements through his sanctifying power. In turn, humans are transformed by partaking in the sacramental provision of the Spirit. It is “the visitation of the Spirit that comes sacramentally to set us free.”35

      The “Divine Authority” of the Spirit—Definition and Storyline

      Is there a provisional definition of the Holy Spirit’s authority that we are able to infer from these defenses of the Spirit’s divinity? If so, how might this definition: (1) correlate with our principle and pattern of divine authority? (2) provide a beginning or basis for the “storyline” of the Spirit’s authority in theological history?

      Basil’s inductive reasoning (from the Spirit’s activity as the breath of God and sanctifier to the Spirit’s infinite power, eternality, and moral supremacy) employs similar logic. Basil’s insistence on the Spirit’s equality (with the Father and the Son), dignity, and demonstration of divine goodness also confirms the Spirit’s authority as a divine Person. Here Basil does expose his platonic leanings, pointing to his preference for transcendence in theology. Nevertheless, Basil’s thought did serve to pave the way for the popular notion of divine ousia and accounted for the “oneness” of the three “hypostases.” The implication of a shared divinity is the sharing of divine authority amongst the three hypostases.

      Gregory of Nyssa’s theological anthropology demonstrates the Spirit’s divine Personhood as well. Gregory’s understanding of the Spirit’s sanctification is described as an internal process within us arising from an external source that descends upon us. Forsythe clarifies this key distinction: