Bible Study (Pneumatology)

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD

I.                 GOLDEN TEXT.

1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

LESSON NOTES:[1]

I.                        WHAT IS PNEUMATOLOGY? Pneumatology has its origin in the Greek word (Pneuma) meaning spirit wind, or breath. Therefore, pneumatology is the study of the Holy Ghost

A.             AS OF A RUSHING MIGHT WIND. The Holy Ghost reveals the thought of the Holy moving, vitalizing breath which came down at Pentecost as a rushing wind to bring the soul- inspiring atmosphere of the vary presence of God in and around the waiting disciples.

Acts 2:1-4 ¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

II.            HOLY GHOST AND HOLY SPIRIT ARE THE SAME. This doctrine states the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit (for there is no difference between the Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit; both the words "Ghost" and "Spirit" are rendered the same in the Greek and are used interchangeably) is the “third person of the Trinity.”

A.             THE THIRD PERSON IN THE GODHEAD?

1.               WHAT DOES GODHEAD MEAN? It simply means God’s nature or how He is.

2.               THE TRINITY DOCTRINE WAS INITIATED TO PROTECT THE TEACHING THAT JESUS IS DIVINE. Some early Christians taught that Jesus was just an anointed Man; not quite God but more than human. The doctrine of the Trinity was composed to protect the teaching that Jesus is God. It was never formulated to teach erroneously that there are three gods. That would be polytheism; which is not Christian at all.

3.               HOWEVER NORMALLY WHEN GOD’S THREEFOLD NATURE IS MENTIONED, THE HOLY GHOST IS LISTED THIRDLY.

Matthew 28:19⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

A.             HE PROCEEDS FROM THE FATHER AND SON.

John 15:26 ²⁶"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father-the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father-he will testify about me.

B.             HE IS OF THE SAME SUBSTANCE, EQUAL IN POWER AND GLORY, and is together with the Father, and the Son, to be believed in, obeyed, and worshiped.

III.            NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING ABOUT THE HOLY GHOST.

John 14:15-26.

15 Jesus said to his disciples:

If you love me, you will do as I command. 16 Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help[a] you and always be with you. 17 The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.

18 I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the people of this world won’t be able to see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live. 20 Then you will know that I am one with the Father. You will know that you are one with me, and I am one with you. 21 If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you. I will also love you and show you what I am like.

22 The other Judas, not Judas Iscariot,[b] then spoke up and asked, “Lord, what do you mean by saying that you will show us what you are like, but you will not show the people of this world?”

23 Jesus replied:

If anyone loves me, they will obey me. Then my Father will love them, and we will come to them and live in them. 24 But anyone who doesn’t love me, won’t obey me. What they have heard me say doesn’t really come from me, but from the Father who sent me.

25 I have told you these things while I am still with you. 26 But the Holy Spirit will come and help[c] you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.

John 15:26-27.

26 I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about me. 27 Then you will also tell others about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:7-15.

7 But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.

8 The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God’s justice and the judgment. 9 The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn’t have faith in me. 10 They are wrong about God’s justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won’t see me again. 11 And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.

12 I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. 13 The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. 14 The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you.

John 20:21-2321Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Luke 24:49I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

Romans 8:26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

1 John 4:13This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.

Romans 8:9You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

  

IV.            THE PURPOSE OF THE HOLY GHOST The Holy Ghost is a gift bestowed upon the believer for the purpose of equipping and empowering the believer, making him a more effective witness for service in the world He teaches and guides one in all truth.

John 16:13 ¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Acts 1:8 ⁸But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 V.            BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is an experience subsequent to conversion and sanctification.

John 7:37-39 ³⁷On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Acts 2:39 ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the LORD our God will call."

A.             TONGUE-SPEAKING IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST. As a result, they were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 4:31; 8:14-17; 10:44-46; 11:15; 19:2-6; Eph. 1:13).

Acts 2:4 ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 10:45-46 ⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,

Acts 19:6 ⁶When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

B.             ALONG WITH THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

Galatians 5:22-23 ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

VI.            OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE. The Charismatic manifestations on the Day of Pentecost gave peculiar distinctive qualities to the ministry of those Spirit-filled disciples in Acts Chapters 4-5. They were as follows:

A.             GREAT POWER "With great power gave the apostles witness of the Lord Jesus." (4:33).

B.             GREAT GRACE: "and great grace was upon them all." (4:33).

C.             GREAT FEAR "And great fear came upon all the church" (5:13).

D.             GREAT INCREASE: "And the believers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both men and women" (5:14).

VII.            SALVATION IS THE PREREQUISITE. We are not baptized with the Holy Ghost in order to be saved, but that we are baptized with the Holy Ghost because we are saved.

Acts 19:1-6 ¹While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ²and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." ³So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. ⁴Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." ⁵On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the LORD Jesus. ⁶When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

A.             BIRTH OF THE SPIRIT.

John 3:5 ⁵Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

John 20:20-22 ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the LORD. ²¹Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." ²²And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

B.             BAPTIZED IN THE SPIRIT.

Acts 1:8 ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

VIII.            TONGUE SPEAKING. When one receives a baptismal Holy Ghost experience, we believe one will speak a language or tongue according to the sovereign will of Christ unknown to oneself. This language may be foreign or unknown.

A.             THE REASON FOR THE TONGUES.

James 3:8-14 ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With the tongue we praise our LORD and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. ¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

B.             IT IS A WITNESS. If one speaks in a foreign language, as the 120 did on the Day of Pentecost we may conclude from Scriptures that it will be to convince the unbelievers of the power of Christ and to prepare the way for miraculous events.

Acts 2:7-12 ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

IX.            THE GIFT OF TONGUES.

A.             WHO ARE YOU SPEAKING TO? To the Corinthian Church, Paul distinctly said that, “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth Him; how be it in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." (1 Corinthians 14:2).

B.             THE NINE MANIFESTATIONS OF 1 CORINTHIANS 12. We believe that the gift of tongues is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit. We do not believe that all Christians should possess the gift of tongues, for it is given only to some for the benefit to all. However, spiritual gifts should be desired by all believers.

1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

Romans 11:29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.

C.             INTERPRETATION. We may conclude then that if one speaks in an unknown tongue, it is for one's own edification unless an interpreter is present.

1 Corinthians 14:4 ⁴Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.

1 Corinthians 14:27 ²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

 X.            SPIRIT CONTROLLED. To be filled with the Spirit means to be spirit controlled as expressed by Paul in Ephesians 5:18-19. “And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord."

XI.            GRIEVING THE HOLY GHOST. It is possible that a person can be baptized with the Holy Ghost and not permit the Spirit to influence and control his life. But such person will, eventually degenerate, come under condemnation, and succumb to the backslider condition.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.

XII.            IT IS ALL NEEDED TODAY. Since the charismatic demonstrations were necessary to help the early church to be successful in implementing the command of Christ, we, therefore, believe that a Holy Ghost experience is mandatory for all men today.

Acts 2:37-39 ³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" ³⁸Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the LORD our God will call."

XIII.            PRAYER FOR SALVATION. As we close, if you have not received this Jesus pray this simple prayer:

"Father, I know that I have sinned against You. Please forgive me. Wash me clean. I promise to trust in Jesus, Your Son. I believe that He died for me—He took my sin upon Himself when He died on the cross. I believe that He was raised from the dead. I surrender my life to Jesus today.

"Thank You, Father, for Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Please help me to live for you. In Jesus' name, Amen."

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[1] [1] Range, C. F. Church Of God In Christ Official Manual. COGIC: Memphis, 1973.