Gregory Brown - Pneumatology: Knowing the Holy Spirit (The Bible Teacher’s Guide Book 26)

Pneumatology

Knowing the Holy Spirit

Gregory Brown

Copyright 2020 Gregory Brown

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Author, Gregory Brown

Content

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Preface

And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.

2 Timothy 2:2 (NET)

Pauls words to Timothy still apply to us today. The church needs teachers who clearly and fearlessly teach the Word of God. With this in mind, The Bible Teachers Guide (BTG) series was created. This series includes both expositional and topical studies, with resources to help teachers lead small groups, pastors prepare sermons, and individuals increase their knowledge of Gods Word.

Pneumatology can be used for personal study or as a six to eight-session small group curriculum, depending on how the leader divides up the topics. For small groups, the members will read a chapter (or chapters) and discuss the reflection questions and anything else that stood out in the reading within their gathering. Or, the chapter can be read before the gathering, with the meeting focusing only on discussion.

Introduction

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.

Acts 1:8

There is great confusion and controversy over the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Who is he, and what does he do? Is he some type of force? Is he an energy or a thing? Likewise, topics such as spiritual gifts, the baptism in the Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit tend to incite differing views and discord, even amongst the sincerest and most devoted Christians.

Because of all this, some have hesitated to study or teach on the Holy Spirit. This is unfortunate, since the Holy Spirit makes possible both the redemption (John 6:8-9, Rom 8:11) and sanctification (1 Pet 1:2) of believers. In addition, the Holy Spirit, in a unique way, makes the truth, power, and presence of the Godhead experiential. For these reasons, the study of the Holy Spirit and his ministries should be fervently pursued and enjoyed! In Pneumatology: Knowing the Holy Spirit , we will do just that. We will consider the Holy Spirit and his ministry, so that we may know him better and experience both empowerment and transformation through him. May the Spirit of God and our Lord Jesus richly bless your study!

The Holy Spirits Personhood

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is not a force, energy, or power, as some have wrongly believed. He is a person! Charles Ryrie describes how some have tried to deny his personhood throughout history:

Denial that the Spirit is a person often takes the form of substituting the concept that He is a personification of, say, powermuch like claiming that Satan is a personification of evil. This denial of His personality has occurred throughout church history, first by the Monarchians, the Arians, the Socinians, and today by Unitarians, liberals, and some neo-orthodox theologians. But there is a great deal of evidence that He is a person.

In talking about the Holy Spirits personhood and encouraging believers to pursue intimacy with him, R.C. Sproul said this:

Do you know who the Holy Spirit is? Do you understand the Holy Spirit in terms of a personal relationship? Or does the Spirit remain for you a vague, misty, abstract concept or an illusive, amorphous force? Forces in and of themselves are impersonal. But the Holy Spirit is not simply an abstract force. He is a person who empowers the people of God for the Christian life.