The Lord Is the Spirit. John A. Studebaker
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу The Lord Is the Spirit - John A. Studebaker страница 7

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 href="#ulink_2724c96c-5d9c-52e7-9d6a-0cf0b4925f4e">37. Ibid., 62.

      2

      The Authority of the Holy Spirit and Historical Theology: Assessing Historical Debates

      Assumptions

      In the last chapter, we defined the “principle of authority” in Christianity along with its corresponding “pattern of authority.” Our principle of authority revealed the possibility of the Spirit’s “divine authority” as a divine Person within the Triune God. The pattern of authority (incorporating Christ, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit) revealed the possibility of the Spirit’s “executive authority.” So, we can assume that since the Spirit is an essential partner in both our principle of authority and our pattern of authority, the authority of the Holy Spirit should be evaluated in relation to the authority of the Triune God (who possesses divine authority over the world) as well as in relation to the authority of Christ and the authority of Scripture. In addition, since this work is concerned with the implications of the Spirit’s authority in the Church, such a relation should be evaluated as well.

      The Progressive Development of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Theological History

      As we can evaluate these critical debates in Church history, we will begin to observe a progressive development of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. In fact, each major period of theological history contained a critical debate that focused on one of the “relations” mentioned above. Thus, each debate seemed to result in further clarification of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Since each debate revolved around a very significant ecclesiastical problem of the time (i.e., a heresy or conflicting views of sanctification) each served to shape and define that theological period in a significant way. As a result, the “storyline” development of the doctrine of the Spirit’s authority, though often unnoticed, emerges as a hidden theme in the storyline of the Church itself. The doctrine progressively unfolds—unwittingly and covertly—on the pages of theological history.

      The Discernment of “The Authority of the Holy Spirit” in Theological History