The Gospel Of John's View Of The Role Of The Holy Spirit - Research Paper Example

? Research Outline THE GOSPEL OF JOHN'S VIEW OF THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Tomeka Holloway ID: 25594235 NBST 655 Dr. James Mann Liberty University Online Theology Seminary Date Submitted: 06/13/2013 Thesis: The Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John is first introduced in Chapter 1 verse 33. The functions of the Holy Spirit in a believers’ life are discussed in three chapters (14-16). In these chapters, the Holy Spirit’s roles are introduced in chapter 14 verse 18 where Christ tells His disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans..” and in verse 26 .. But the helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things...” These verses show the Holy Spirit as a helper and teacher. Other roles that will be discussed in this paper are the Holy Spirit as a comforter, giver of life, living water and as a reminder of Christ among other roles. This paper will also look at who is the Holy Spirit, how does one receive Him and how it is viewed in the Old Testament. OUTLINE 1.1.0 Introduction 1.2.0 Who is the holy spirit 1.3.0 The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament 1.4.0 The Holy Spirit as a giver of eternal life 1.5.0 The Holy Spirit as the giver of gifts and fruits of the Holy spirit 1.6.0 The Holy Spirit helps believers in worshipping God 1.7.0 The Holy Spirit as a helper and comforter. 1.8.0 Conclusion The Gospel of John's View of the Role of the Holy Spirit This research aims at studying John's Gospel view of the Holy Spirit using the existing literature. In his article "John 14:17 and the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John", Sloan gives a breakdown of h earthly ministry of Jesus giving the leads to the permanent ‘indwelling of the Holy Spirit’ among his disciples on departure to heaven. Further, Carsons (1991) gives the descriptions of ‘the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit’ during the final discourse of Jesus. It emerges that the Holy Spirit hovers through those baptized in it (known as indwelling). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is independent of the father and the son due to the nature of the work allocated. The Holy Spirit is responsible of the Christendom and the spread of the church within boundaries and beyond. The institution of the church survives on the mercy of Holy Spirit who is responsible for this valuable task (Stott 2006). The Holy Spirit fills the followers of Christ with the yearning to know God more as the ethics dictate. The responsibilities further stretch towards the power to redeem and reconcile humans and their God whenever they wrong him (Barth 1993). The regeneration of human beings is entirely dependent on the functions of the righteous Spirit as evident from Owen's "Discourse concerning the Holy Spirit.” He has more than one function as Linzey puts it in her book "The Baptism with the Holy Spirit.” The illumination of the human believer's mind depends on the efforts of the divine Spirit as indicated in John 3:5. This is because the Holy Spirit knows better about God's will than any other supernatural power in existence thus engages the believers in their day-to-day activities that related to Godliness (Rogers 2009). 1 Introduction The Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John is first introduced in Chapter 1 verse 33. The functions of the Holy Spirit in a believers’ life are discussed in three chapters (14-16). “But the helper, the Holy spirit whom the father will send in my name, He will teach you all things.” These verses show the Holy Spirit as a helper and teacher. Other roles that will be discussed in this paper are the Holy Spirit as a comforter, giver of life, living water and as a reminder of Christ among other roles. This paper will also look at who is the Holy Spirit, how does one receive Him and how it is viewed in the Old Testament. This paper has considered the Holly Spirit in the perspective of the gospel of John. We have taken the entire gospel through references to the Lord’s Ministry as provided in the first thirteen chapters. Then, it extends to God’s communication to Himself in light of His departure. This has covered the chapters fourteen across to seventeen. Lastly, John 20 has recorded God’s breathing on the disciples in resurrection. In this context, we have taken into account the integral elements of God’s Ministry and its ultimate influence on His disciples (Carson 1979). 2 The paper begins by taking into account the Spirit’s descent upon Jesus, how it makes Him a Son of God and confirms the testimony given by John the Baptist. It also highlights how the new order was introduced, which began in the Lord’s Ministry as the Spirit has indwelt in it a public anointing. This Gospel of John presents the fact that Jesus relocated in order to accomplish His Father’s will. However, he appears in the form of a servant that acts on His Father’s gospel. This impact entails securing support that can take God’s revelation and provide answers to it (Barth 1993).3 Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit first appears in the book of John as a Dove during the baptism of Jesus. The physical manifestation of the Holy Spirit was meant to show the coming of the long awaited Messiah. The Holy Spirit is part of the Holy trinity, which is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the third person and has existed since the beginning of time. (Genesis 1:2). This paper will further expound on this. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament The Holy Spirit has been in existence even before creation as stated in Genesis chapter 1 verse 2. He is again mentioned severally in the prophetic books, both major and minor. In Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor”. The Old Testament does not have direct statements concerning the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the believer. This makes it challenging to draw any concluding remarks about the role of the Holy Spirit in the period of the Old Testament. Others argue that the Holly Spirit worked differently in the Old Testament as it works in the current period (Rogers 2009). Although the Holly Spirit remains the same, He has adopted new methods over time. The way the Holly Spirit has indwelled in the Old Testament cannot be perceived to be universal to all believers. However, it has been available to some believers. In the Old Testament, there is no promise to the believers that the Holly Spirit will indwell in them. Here, in Numbers27:17, God told Moses “Joshua is the Son of Nun and you should take him with you because he is a man with the Spirit. Make sure to lay your hands on Joshua”. This verse indicates that we cannot find the Holly Spirit in every person (Jang 2011). When God said that the Holly Spirit would be found in Joshua, it means God is not universally given. It is said that the Spirit had come upon some individuals. God sent the Holly Spirit upon him to judge Israel (Judges 3: 9). This view suggests that the Holly Spirit had been indwelt in very few people. It was exclusively indwelt among believers in the Old Testament. However, in the new world, the Spirit dwells upon every believer in the age of the New Testament. It is difficult for a person to enter into a relationship with God without the intervention of the Holly Spirit. The Old Testament teaches that the Holly Spirit was not indwelt in individuals during the era of the Old Testament. In John3:4, Jesus said to Nicodemus that one can only enter the Kingdom of God if he only gets born of the Spirit and water. According to this verse, all people must experience a spiritual re-birth to enter God’s Kingdom (Owen and George 1810). The holy spirit as a giver of gifts and fruits of the holy spirit The Holy Spirit independently gives spiritual gifts such as prophesy, healing, speaking in tongues among others and fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:23) such as Love, Joy, peace, patience and many others to believers. 4 In the current generation, there is a lot of unique persistence on spiritual gifts. People rarely talk about spiritual fruits. Spiritual gifts play an important role in the body of Christ. Equally, the fruits of the Spirit serve an integral purpose in understanding the work of God in our 5 lives. The Holly Spirit Ministry manifesting God’s fruits in human beings is much important than all spiritual gifts. However, these spiritual gifts have not placed priority upon every believer’s call to lead a Holly life. Human beings should desire to pursue the giver of the gifts and not the gifts. Mathew 6:33 cites that this is because once we seek the giver, all the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit shall be added on us via the Holly Spirit, who is a supernatural being. Whatever decisions an individual makes, God will always frown at sins and calls His followers to conform to His son’s image (Jang 2011). It is obvious that gives are given. However, spiritual fruits are developed. Spiritual fruits are, commonly known referred to as the Spiritual Medicine. Only people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour are granted fruits of the Spirit. Nevertheless, these fruits come as tiny seeds that must be developed and nurtured in peoples’ lives. This requires frequent watering through reading the Bible, prayer and living by faith. Because Christ lives in us, then our lives must be Christlike. Spiritual fruits and gifts display the characters of Christ. Because He is present in us, then He enables us to capacitate spiritual fruits and gifts within our lives. The Bible has begun and ended talking about gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. John says even God took man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to maintain it and dress it. Then He commanded man to feel free to eat on every tree in the garden (Stott 2006). The Holy Spirit is a Giver of Eternal Life This is mentioned in John chapter 3 and 6. John 6:33 and John 3:6 hold the view that the Holly Spirit gives eternal life. John3:6 cites that whatever is born out of flesh must be flesh and whatever is born out of Spirit must be Spirit. John 6:33 teach us that the bread of God is whatever descends down from heaven and provides life to living things in the world. Therefore, John 6:33 and John 3:36 teach us that the work of the Holly Spirit works to provide new lives. Ordinary reasoning cannot explain the new life born out of the Spirit and its outcome, too is unpredictable (Sloan 2011). In John 1:14, flesh is used to imply human nature. Here, the term flesh is applied to mean something different from what Paul has assigned it. This implies that naturally, human birth creates individuals who belong to the families on earth comprising of humankind but not God’s children. Here, the Holly Spirit works to produce new nature made of spirits related to God’s divine and sphere. For people born of flesh to be born again so that they can become children of God, they must take eternal word as flesh. Nicodemus failed to understand the need for a new birth given by God and the promise of God that He will give His disciples new hearts, clean lives, a new nature and the magnitude of the Holly Spirit on the final day. For this reason, Nicodemus should not have been shocked when he heard Jesus talking about the new birth (Rogers 2009). 6 God’s bread is commonly associated with the heavenly bread. God’s bread reminds us that it is the revealer and the narrator of God to His followers. This bread is synonymous with the 7 fact that God alone can tell His people heavenly things. The bread of heaven is nothing less than God’s word (Carson 1979). The Spirit helps Believers in worshiping God One can only worship God when he has the full knowledge of God. The Holy Spirit helps believers to worship in harmony with God. It is no longer a physical activity but a spiritual one. Genuine worshippers worship in truth and in spirit. Despite the numerous worship services, worship does never happen in these services. This is because human beings tend to let in the Holly Spirit to deliver his required function in worshiping God. In lifting up Christ and honoring God as the creator of heaven and earth, the Holly Spirit must be given a proper place. In Acts 16:7, the word of God says that the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus manifests themselves in the form of the Holly Spirit. The Spirit played a key role when the world was being created (Barth 1993). Second Peter 1:21 intercedes between human beings and God and is responsible for performing miracle. Because the Spirit speaks to human beings deep in their hearts, this assures them that they belong to God (Jang 2011). The power of the Holly Spirit in worship cannot be substituted by anything including excellent music. The spirit in an individual’s heart is so powerful that it cannot be replaced by eloquent speaking. Genuine Christian worships occur at the spiritual level. During worshipping, the Holly Spirit in human beings rises and magnifies Jesus Christ. This lifts up the Almighty giving Him the honor He deserves. All services are led and controlled by the Holly Spirit. Zechariah 4:6 says “Not by power, nor by might but by the Spirit of God” (Rogers 2009). The Holy Spirit as a helper and comforter. Jesus promises His disciples that He will not leave them alone once He ascends to Heaven but will send them a helper. The helpers will them to testify about Christ. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." (John 14:26). John 14:18 says that Jesus told His disciples, “I will be your comforter because you must not be comfortless or parentless, I will always come to you as your friend, guardian, teacher and guide” Jesus rites to us then when He ascends to the Father, we will not see but we should not feel orphaned or abandoned. In John 13, Jesus said he would never leave his children to face life struggles alone. Jesus will continue to teach, guide and be our eternal friend. However, all these would be done through the Holly Spirit Ministry who will be sent to the world to act as the Body of Jesus Christ to comfort us. God promised to send us another comforter who might with us throughout our lives. Here, the Holly Spirit acts as someone called to assist and give aid. Looking at the Amplified Bible, Jesus will send another comforter (strengthen, advocate, intercessor, helper and counselor) and all these things make up the Holly Spirit. 8The Spirit was sent to live and walk besides the followers of Jesus Christ and lead them into an in-depth understanding of the truth about the Holly Spirit. This induces divine strength in us enabling us to overcome the struggles of life. 9 When praying, the Spirit is our partner and He helps us 1011communicate to God, our innermost needs. He also trains our hearts to hear God’s voice (Owen and George 1810). Conclusion The book of John clearly outlines the roles of the Holy Spirit in a Christian believer’s life outstandingly. He comforts, counsels, gives eternal life, and helps in worshiping the living God. Essentially, a Christian believer cannot practice their faith without receiving the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of John, the person and work of the Holly Spirit has been grounded throughout the Old Testament. He convicts sins, transforms believers and glorifies the people to live according to the image of God. The Holly Spirit is seen to be convicting individuals their sins by leading them to Jesus Christ to seek confidence. This enables them to become closer to the throne, find grace and receive God’s mercy at the time of need (Barth 1993). This has been explained throughout Hebrews 4:16. I have diagnosed the work, the person and how the Holly Spirit indwells in people. It works in sovereignty giving life, indwelling and teaching the elect to gain an in-depth understanding of God’s work. Then, He sends them to deliver testimonies concerning God’s glory. John, in his gospel, intentionally demonstrates an intimate, personal and relational view of the Spirit. He views the Spirit as being able to breathe a fresh life into individuals coming to Jesus and sanctifying God all over the world through the power of God’s word (Carson 1979). Future studies about the Gospel of John’s view of the role of the Holly Spirit must explore Greek term Paraclete and the various “I AM” phrases. In light of the Holly Spirit, further studies must consider exploring the relationship between the view of John about the Spirit and the view of the Book of Acts in terms of how they understand and make use of the Old Testament. Scholars in the era of John established that John was an artist who weaved his Gospel with increased passion and intensity to ensure the readers understood the definition of Jesus, how He works and what He demands from His people. The Gospel of John is a progressive oasis that attracts Christians to explore it to grow in terms of beauty, truth and glory to God. Via the work of the Spirit, the people of God are able to know and preach how Jesus is superior in the Spirit’s power (Jang 2011).12 Bibliography Barth, Karl. The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life: The Theological Basis of Ethics. London, 1993. Carson, Donald A. "Journal of Biblical Literature 98, no. 4." The function of the paraclete in John 16:7-11, 1979: 547-566. Jang, Kwang-Jin. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Christian Suffering: With Reference to Paul's . Indiana: iUniverse, 2011. Owen, John, and George Burder. Pneumatologia: Or, A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit, Wherein an Account is Given of his whole wo. London: University of Oxford, 1810. Rogers, Eugene F. . The Holy Spirit: Classic and Contemporary Readings. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Sloan, Daniel. John 14:17 and the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. Virginia: Liberty University, 2011. Stott, John. Baptism and Fullness: The Work of the Holy Spirit Today. InterVarsity Press, 2006. Read More