The Holy Spirit in Christianity Intercession of the Spirit Pneumatically Christianity

The Holy Spirit in Christianity
Intercession of the Spirit Pneumatically Christianity

Contents
1 Holy Spirit (Christianity) 1
1.1 Etymology and usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Biblical references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.2 Synoptic Gospels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.3 Johannine literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.4 Pauline Epistles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.5 Acts of the Apostles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.6 Jesus and the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Mainstream doctrines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.1 God the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.2 Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Denominational variations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Symbolism and art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5.1 Symbolism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5.2 Art and architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5.3 Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 God in Christianity 10
2.1 Development of the theology of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.1.2 Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1.3 Attributes and nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Kingdom of God and eschatology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.1 Kingship and Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.2 End times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.3 Judgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 Trinitarianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.1 History and foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.2 The doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
i

ii CONTENTS
2.3.3 Trinitarian diﬀerences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4 Nontrinitarianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.7 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3 Baptism with the Holy Spirit 22
3.1 Biblical description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.1 Early Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.2 Puritans (16th and 17th centuries) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.3 Wesleyanism and the Higher Life movement (18th and 19th centuries) . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.4 20th century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.3 Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.3.1 Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.3.2 Non-charismatic Protestantism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.3.3 Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.3.4 Mormonism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.4 Bible references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.8 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.9 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4 Intercession of the Spirit 32
4.1 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5 Pneumatology (Christianity) 33
5.1 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.2 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.3 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.3.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.3.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.3.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 1
Holy Spirit (Christianity)
This article is about the Christian view of the Holy Spirit.
For the Holy spirit in other religions, see Holy Spirit.
“Holy Ghost” redirects here. For other uses, see Holy
Ghost (disambiguation).
For the large majority of Christians, the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove descending on the Holy Family,
with God the Father and angels shown atop, by Murillo, c. 1677.
or Holy Ghost is the third person (hypostasis) of the
Trinity: the Triune God manifested as Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit; each person itself being God.[1][2][3]
The New Testament includes over 90 references to
the Holy Spirit.[4]
All three Synoptic Gospels proclaim
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable
sin.[5]
The Holy Spirit plays a key role in the Pauline epis-
tles.[6]
In the Johannine writings, three separate terms,
“Holy Spirit”, “Spirit of Truth”, and "Paraclete" are
used.[7]
The New Testament details a close relationship between
the Holy Spirit and Jesus during his earthly life and min-
istry.[8]
The Gospels of Luke and Matthew and the Nicene
Creed state that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary".[9]
The Holy Spirit descended
on Jesus as a dove during his baptism, and in his Farewell
Discourse after the Last Supper Jesus promised to send
the Holy Spirit to his disciples after his departure.[10][11]
The theology of the Holy Spirit is called pneumatology.
The Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Lord, the Giver of
Life” in the Nicene Creed, which summarises several key
beliefs held by many Christian denominations. The par-
ticipation of the Holy Spirit in the tripartite nature of
conversion is apparent in Jesus’ ﬁnal post-Resurrection
instruction to his disciples at the end of the Gospel of
Matthew (28:19): “make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit”.[12]
Since the ﬁrst century,
Christians have also called upon God with the name
“Father, Son and Holy Spirit” in prayer, absolution and
benediction.[13][14]
1.1 Etymology and usage
The Koine Greek word pneûma (πνεῦμα) is found around
385 times in the New Testament, with some scholars dif-
fering by three to nine occurrences.[15]
Pneuma appears
105 times in the four canonical gospels, 69 times in the
Acts of the Apostles, 161 times in the Pauline epistles,
and 50 times elsewhere.[15]
These usages vary: in 133
cases, it refers to “spirit” in a general sense and in 153
cases to “spiritual”. Around 93 times, the reference to the
Holy Spirit,[15]
sometimes under the name pneuma and
sometimes explicitly as the pneûma tò Hagion (Πνεῦμα
τὸ Ἅγιον). (In a few cases it is also simply used generi-
cally to mean wind or life.[15]
) It was generally translated
into the Vulgate as Spiritus and Spiritus Sanctus.
The English terms “Holy Ghost” and “Holy Spirit” are
complete synonyms: one derives from the Old English
gast and the other from the Latin loanword spiritus. Like
pneuma, they both refer to the breath, to its animating
power, and to the soul. The Old English term is shared by
1

2 CHAPTER 1. HOLY SPIRIT (CHRISTIANITY)
all other Germanic languages (compare, e.g., the German
Geist) and is older, but the King James Bible used both in-
terchangeably, and 20th-century translations of the Bible
overwhelmingly prefer “Holy Spirit”, probably because
the general English term “ghost” has increasingly come
to refer only to the spirit of a dead person.[16][17][18]
1.2 Biblical references
The term Holy Spirit appears at least 90 times in the New
Testament, but only three times in the Old Testament.[4]
The sacredness of the Holy Spirit is affirmed in all
three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 12:30–32, Mark 3:28–
30 and Luke 12:8–10) which proclaim that blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin.[5]
The par-
ticipation of the Holy Spirit in the tripartite nature of
conversion is apparent in Jesus’ final post-Resurrection
instruction to his disciples at the end of the Gospel of
Matthew (28:19):[19]
“Go ye therefore, and make disci-
ples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.[12]
1.2.1 Old Testament
What the Hebrew Bible calls “Spirit of God” and “Spirit
of Elohim” is called in the Talmud and Midrash “Holy
Spirit” (ruacḥ ha-kodesh). Although the expression
“Holy Spirit” occurs in Ps. 51:11 and in Isa. 63:10–11,
it had not yet acquired quite the same meaning which
was attached to it in rabbinical literature: in the latter
it is equivalent to the expression “Spirit of the Lord”.
In Gen.1:2 God’s spirit hovered over the form of life-
less matter, thereby making the Creation possible.[20]
Al-
though the ruach ha-kodesh may be named instead of
God, it was conceived of as being something distinct; and,
like everything earthly that comes from heaven, the ru-
ach ha-kodesh is composed of light and fire.[20]
The most
characteristic sign of the presence of the ruach ha-kodesh
is the gift of prophecy. The use of the word “ruach”
(Hebrew: “breath,” or “wind”) in the phrase ruach ha-
kodesh seems to suggest that Judaic authorities believed
the Holy Spirit was a kind of communication medium like
the wind. The spirit talks sometimes with a masculine and
sometimes with a feminine voice; the word ruacḥ is both
masculine and feminine.[20]
1.2.2 Synoptic Gospels
The Holy Spirit does not simply appear for the first time
at Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus, but is present
in the Gospel of Luke (in 1–2) prior to the birth of Je-
sus.[4]
In Luke 1:15, John the Baptist was said to be “filled
with the Holy Spirit” prior to birth, and the Holy Spirit
came upon the Virgin Mary in Luke 1:35.[4]
In Luke 3:16
John the Baptist stated that Jesus baptized not with water
The Holy Spirit as a dove in the Annunciation, by Philippe de
Champaigne, 1644
but with the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit descended
on Jesus during his baptism in the Jordan River.[4]
In
Luke 11:13 Jesus provided assurances that God the Fa-
ther would “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him”.[4]
Mark 13:11 specifically refers to the power of the Holy
Spirit to act and speak through the disciples of Jesus in
time of need: “be not anxious beforehand what ye shall
speak: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that
speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 10:20 refers to the same act of speaking through
the disciples, but uses the term “Spirit of your Father”.[21]
The sacredness of the Holy Spirit is affirmed in all
three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 12:30–32, Mark 3:28–
30 and Luke 12:8–10) which proclaim that blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin.[5]
1.2.3 Johannine literature
Main article: Holy Spirit in Johannine literature
Three separate terms, namely Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth
and Paraclete are used in the Johannine writings.[7]
The
“Spirit of Truth” in used in John 14:17, 15:26 and
16:13.[4]
The First Epistle of John then contrasts this with
the “spirit of error” in 1 John 4:6.[4]
1 John 4:1–6 provides
the separation between spirits “that confesseth that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is of God” and those who in
error refuse it—an indication of their being evil spirits.[22]

1.2. BIBLICAL REFERENCES 3
In John 14:26 Jesus states: “But the Comforter, [even]
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things”. The identity of the “Com-
forter” has been the subject of debate among theologians,
who have proposed multiple theories on the matter.[23]
1.2.4 Pauline Epistles
Main article: Holy Spirit in the Pauline epistles
The Holy Spirit plays a key role in the Pauline epistles;
Stained glass representation of the Holy Spirit as a dove, c. 1660.
and the Apostle Paul's pneumatology is closely connected
to his theology and Christology, to the point of being al-
most inseparable from them.[6]
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, which was likely
the first of Paul’s letters, introduces a characterization of
the Holy Spirit in 1:6 and 4:8 which is found throughout
his epistles.[24]
In 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul refers to the
imitation of Christ (and himself) and states: “And ye be-
came imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received
the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit”,
whose source is identified in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 as “God,
who giveth his Holy Spirit unto you”.[24][25][26]
These two themes of receiving the Spirit “like Christ” and
God being the source of the Spirit persist in Pauline letters
as the characterization of the relationship of Christians
with God.[24]
For Paul the imitation of Christ involves
readiness to be shaped by the Holy Spirit, as in Romans
8:4 and 8:11: “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Je-
sus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies
through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”[25]
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians also refers to the
power of the Holy Spirit in 1:5, a theme also found in
other Pauline letters.[27]
1.2.5 Acts of the Apostles
Main article: Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles has sometimes been called
the “Book of the Holy Spirit” or the “Acts of the Holy
Spirit”.[28][29]
Of the seventy or so occurrences of the
word Pneuma in Acts, fifty-five refer to the Holy Spirit.[29]
From the start, in Acts 1:2, the reader is reminded that the
ministry of Jesus, while he was on earth, was carried out
through the power of the Holy Spirit and that the “acts of
the apostles” continue the acts of Jesus and are also facil-
itated by the Holy Spirit.[29]
Acts presents the Holy Spirit
as the “life principle” of the early Church and provides
five separate and dramatic instances of its outpouring on
believers in 2:1–4, 4:28–31, 8:15–17, 10:44 and 19:6.[28]
References to the Holy Spirit appear throughout Acts, for
example Acts 1:5 and 8 stating towards the beginning:
“For John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be bap-
tized in the Holy Spirit ... ye shall receive power, when
the Holy Spirit is come upon you” referring to the fulfill-
ment of the prophecy of John the Baptist in Luke 3:16:
“he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit”.[30]
1.2.6 Jesus and the Holy Spirit
In the Farewell Discourse Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit
to his disciples after his departure,[11]
depiction from the Maesta
by Duccio, 1308–1311.
The New Testament details a close relationship between
the Holy Spirit and Jesus during his earthly life and min-
istry.[8]
The Apostles’ Creed echoes the statements in the
Gospels of Luke and Matthew, stating that Jesus was con-
ceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary.[9]
Specific New Testament references to the interaction of
Jesus and the Holy Spirit during his earthly life, and the
enabling power of the Holy Spirit during his ministry
include:[8][9][31]

• “Spirit without measure” having been
given to Jesus in John 3:34, referring to
the word spoken by Jesus (Rhema) being
the words of God.[32]
• Baptism of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit de-
scending on him as a dove in Matthew
3:13–17, Mark 1:9–11 and Luke 3:21–
23
• Temptation of Jesus, in Matthew 4:1 the
Holy Spirit led Jesus to the desert to be
tempted
• The Spirit casting out demons (Matthew
12:28), in Exorcising the blind and mute
man miracle
• Rejoice the Spirit in Luke 10:21 where
seventy disciples are sent out by Jesus
• In Matthew 26:41 during the Agony in
the Garden before his crucifixion, Jesus
tells his disciples to watch and pray, in
order not to fall into temptation for “the
Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is
weak”
• Acts 1:2 states that until his death and
resurrection, Jesus “had given command-
ment through the Holy Spirit unto the
apostles”
• Referring to the sacrifice of Jesus to
be crucified out of obedience to the fa-
ther, the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews
9:14 states that Jesus “through the eter-
nal Spirit offered himself without blem-
ish unto God”
In his Farewell Discourse to his disciples, Jesus promised
that he would “send the Holy Spirit” to them after his de-
parture, in John 15:26 stating: “whom I will send unto
you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth... shall
bear witness of me”.[10][11]
1.3 Mainstream doctrines
See also: Pneumatology (Christianity)
The theology of spirits is called pneumatology. The Holy
Spirit is referred to as the Lord and Giver of Life in the
Nicene creed.[33]
He is The Creator Spirit, present before
the creation of the universe and through his power every-
thing was made in Jesus Christ, by God the Father.[33]
Christian hymns such as Veni Creator Spiritus reflects this
belief.[33]
In early Christianity, the concept of salvation was closely
related to the invocation of the “Father, Son and Holy
Spirit”.[13][14]
and since the first century, Christians
have called upon God with the name “Father, Son
and Holy Spirit” in prayer, baptism, communion, ex-
orcism, hymn-singing, preaching, confession, absolution
and benediction.[13][14]
This is reflected in the saying:
“Before there was a 'doctrine' of the Trinity, Christian
prayer invoked the Holy Trinity”.[13]
For the majority of Christians, the Holy Spirit is the third
Person of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and is Almighty God.[1][2][34]
The Holy Spirit is under-
stood to be one of the three persons of the Trinity. As
such he is personal and also fully God, co-equal and co-
eternal with God the Father and Son of God.[1][2][34]
He is
different from the Father and the Son in that he proceeds
from the Father (and, according to Roman Catholics, Old
Catholics, Anglicans, and Protestants, from the Father
and the Son) as described in the Nicene Creed.[2][35]
The
Triune God is thus manifested as three Persons (Greek
hypostases),[36]
in One Divine Being (Greek: Ousia),[3]
called the Godhead (from Old English: Godhood), the Di-
vine Essence of God.[37]
In the New Testament, by the power of the Holy Spirit Je-
sus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary, while
maintaining her virginity.[38]
The Holy Spirit descended
over Jesus in a corporal way, as a dove, at the time of his
baptism, and a voice from Heaven was heard: “This is my
beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.”[39][39][40]
He
is the Sanctifier of souls, the Helper,[41]
Comforter,[42]
the Giver of graces, he who leads souls to the Father and
the Son.[33]
The Holy Spirit is credited inspiring believers and allow-
ing for them to interpret all the sacred scripture and leads
prophets, both in Old Testament and New Testament.[43]
Christians receive the Fruits of the Holy Spirit by means
of his mercy and grace.[44]
1.3.1 God the Holy Spirit
Main article: God in Christianity
The belief in the Holy Trinity among many Christians in-
cludes the concept of God the Holy Spirit, along with God
the Son and God the Father.[45][46]
Theologian Vladimir
Lossky has argued that while in the act of the Incarnation,
God the Son became manifest as the Son of God, the
same did not take place for God the Holy Spirit which re-
mained unrevealed.[47]
Yet, as in 1 Corinthians 6:19 God
the Spirit continues to dwell in bodies of the faithful.[46]
In Christian theology Holy Spirit is believed to perform
specific divine functions in the life of the Christian or the
church. The action of the Holy Spirit is seen as an es-
sential part of the bringing of the person to the Christian
faith.[48]
The new believer is “born again of the Spirit”.[49]
The Holy Spirit enables Christian life by dwelling in the
individual believers and enables them to live a righteous
and faithful life.[48]
The Holy Spirit also acts as comforter
or Paraclete, one who intercedes, or supports or acts as
an advocate, particularly in times of trial. And it acts to

1.4. DENOMINATIONAL VARIATIONS 5
A depiction of the Trinity consisting of God the Holy Spirit along
with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus)
convince the unredeemed person both of the sinfulness of
their actions, and of their moral standing as sinners before
God.[50]
Another faculty of the Holy Spirit is the inspira-
tion and interpretation of scripture. The Holy Spirit both
inspires the writing of the scriptures and interprets them
to the Christian and/or church.[51]
1.3.2 Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit
Main articles: Fruit of the Holy Spirit, Gifts of the Holy
Spirit and Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
The "fruit of the Holy Spirit"[52]
consists of “permanent
St. Josaphat Cathedral in Edmonton, Canada is shaped as a cross
with seven copper domes representing the Seven Gifts of the Holy
Spirit.
dispositions”[52]
(in this similar to the permanent char-
acter of the sacraments), virtuous characteristics engen-
dered in the Christian by the action of the Holy Spirit.[53]
Galatians 5:22–23 names 9 aspects and states:[53]
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
meekness, self-control; against such there is no
law.
In the Epistle to the Galatians these nine characteristics
are in contrast to the “works of the flesh” and highlight
the positive manifestations of the work of the Holy Spirit
in believers.[53]
The "gifts of the Holy Spirit"[52]
are distinct from the
Fruit of the Spirit, and consist of specific abilities granted
to the individual Christian.[48]
They are frequently known
by the Greek word for gift, Charisma, from which the
term charismatic derives. There is no generally agreed
upon exhaustive list of the gifts, and various Chris-
tian denominations use different lists, often drawing
upon 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12 and Ephesians 4.[54]
Pentecostal denominations and the charismatic move-
ment teach that the absence of the supernatural gifts was
due to the neglect of the Holy Spirit and his work by
the major denominations.[54]
Believers in the relevance
of the supernatural gifts sometimes speak of a Baptism
with the Holy Spirit or Filling with the Holy Spirit which
the Christian needs to experience in order to receive those
gifts. However, many Christian denominations hold that
the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is identical with conver-
sion, and that all Christians are by definition baptized in
the Holy Spirit.[54]
The "seven gifts of the Holy Spirit"[52]
pour out on a
believer at baptism, and are traditionally derived from
Isaiah 11:1–2, although the New Testament does not re-
fer to Isaiah 11:1–2 regarding these gifts.[54][55]
These
7 gifts are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude
(strength), knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.[54][55]
This is the view of the Catholic Church[52][55]
and many
other mainstream Christian groups.[54]
1.4 Denominational variations
Main article: Holy Spirit (Christian denominational vari-
ations)
Christian denominations have doctrinal variations in
their beliefs regarding the Holy Spirit. A well-known
example is the Filioque controversy regarding the Holy
Spirit – one of the key differences between the teach-
ings of the Western Church and Eastern Orthodox beliefs,
ranking at the level of the disagreement about the papal
primacy.[56][57]
The Filioque debate centers around whether the Nicene
Creed should state that the Spirit “proceeds from the Fa-
ther” and then have a stop, as the creed was initially
adopted in Greek (and followed thereafter by the East-
ern Church), or should say “from the Father and the Son”
as was later adopted in Latin and followed by the Western
Church, filioque being “and the Son” in Latin.[58]
Towards the end of the 20th century, discussions took

Icon of the Fathers of the Council holding the Nicene Creed
place about the removal of Filioque in the Nicene Creed
from Anglican prayer books along the lines of the East-
ern Orthodox approach, but these still have not reached a
state of final implementation.[59]
The majority of mainstream Protestantism hold simi-
lar views on the theology of the Holy Spirit as the Ro-
man Catholic Church, but there are significant differ-
ences in belief between Pentecostalism and the rest of
Protestantism.[1][60]
Pentecostalism has a focus on “Bap-
tism with the Spirit”, relying on Acts 1:5 which refers to
“now you will baptize with the Holy Spirit”.[61]
The more
recent Charismatic movements have a focus on the “gifts
of the Spirit” (such as healing, prophecy, etc.) and rely
on 1 Corinthians 12 as a scriptural basis, but often differ
from Pentecostal movements.[62]
Non-trinitarian views about the Holy Spirit differ signif-
icantly from mainstream Christian doctrine. Jehovah’s
Witnesses view the Holy Spirit, not as an actual person
separate from God the Father, but as God’s eternal “en-
ergy” or “active force”, that he uses to accomplish his will
in creation and redemption.[63]
Mormons believe that the Holy Ghost is the third member
of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a
body of flesh and bones.[64]
He is often referred to as the
Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the
Lord, or the Comforter.[65]
1.5 Symbolism and art
1.5.1 Symbolism
The Holy Spirit as a dove on a stamp from Faroe Islands.
The Holy Spirit is frequently referred to by metaphor
and symbol, both doctrinally and biblically. Theologi-
cally speaking these symbols are a key to understanding
of the Holy Spirit and his actions, and are not mere artistic
representations.[34][66]
• Water – signifies the Holy Spirit’s action in Bap-
tism, such that in the manner that “by one Spirit
[believers] were all baptized”, so they are “made to
drink of one Spirit”.[1Cor 12:13]
Thus the Spirit is also
personally the living water welling up from Christ
crucified[Jn 19:34] [1 Jn 5:8]
as its source and welling up
in Christians to eternal life.[66][67]
The Catechism of
the Catholic Church, item 1137, considers the Water
of Life reference in the Book of Revelation (21:6
and 22:1) “one of most beautiful symbols of the
Holy Spirit”.[68]
• Anointing – The symbolism of bless with oil also
signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming
a synonym for the Holy Spirit. The coming of the
Spirit is referred to as his “anointing”.[2Cor 1:21]
In
some denominations anointing is practiced in Con-
firmation; (“chrismation” in the Eastern Churches).

1.6. SEE ALSO 7
Its full force can be grasped only in relation to
the primary anointing accomplished by the Holy
Spirit, that of Jesus. The title "Christ" (in He-
brew, messiah) means the one “anointed” by God’s
Spirit.[66][67]
• Fire – symbolizes the transforming energy of the
Holy Spirit’s actions. In the form of tongues “as of
fire”, the Holy Spirit rested on the disciples on the
morning of Pentecost.[66][67]
• Cloud and light – The Spirit comes upon the Vir-
gin Mary and “overshadows” her, so that she might
conceive and give birth to Jesus. On the moun-
tain of transfiguration, the Spirit in the “cloud came
and overshadowed” Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Pe-
ter, James and John, and “a voice came out of the
cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to
him!'"[67][Lk 9:34–35]
• The dove – When Christ comes up from the wa-
ter of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of
a dove, comes down upon him and remains with
him.[66][67][Mt 3:16]
• Wind – The Spirit is likened to the “wind that blows
where it will,”[Jn 3:8]
and described as “a sound from
heaven like the rush of a mighty wind.”[Acts 2:24] [66]
1.5.2 Art and architecture
Main article: Holy Spirit in Christian art
The Holy Spirit has been represented in Christian art
both in the Eastern and Western Churches using a variety
of depictions.[69][70][71]
The depictions have ranged from
nearly identical figures that represent the three persons of
the Holy Trinity to a dove to a flame.
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove, based on the
account of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove
when he was baptized in the Jordan.[72]
In many paintings
of the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit is shown in the form
of a dove, coming down towards Mary on beams of light,
as the Archangel Gabriel announces Jesus Christ's com-
ing to Mary. A dove may also be seen at the ear of Saint
Gregory the Great─as recorded by his secretary or other
church father authors, dictating their works to them. The
dove also parallels the one that brought the olive branch
to Noah after the deluge, as a symbol of peace.[72]
The book of Acts describes the Holy Spirit descending
on the apostles at Pentecost in the form of a wind and
tongues of fire resting over the apostles’ heads. Based on
the imagery in that account, the Holy Spirit is sometimes
symbolized by a flame of fire.[73]
1.5.3 Gallery
The Holy Spirit as a dove in the Annunciation by Rubens, 1628
Visual arts
• Dove representation in the Baptism of Christ by
Pietro Perugino, circa 1498
• Representation as both dove and flames, Ravens-
burg, Germany, 1867
• Ray of light representation in Russian icon of the
Pentecost, 15th century
Holy Spirit Cathedrals
• Holy Spirit Cathedral (Minsk), Belarus
• Guildford Cathedral, UK
• Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
1.6 See also
• Cult of the Holy Spirit
• Holy Spirit
• Holy Spirit (Islam)
• Holy Spirit (Judaism)

• Intercession of the Spirit
• Miracle
• Seven Spirits of God
1.7 References
[1] Millard J. Erickson (1992). Introducing Christian Doc-
trine. Baker Book House. p. 103.
[2] T C Hammond; Revised and edited by David F Wright
(1968). In Understanding be Men:A Handbook of Chris-
tian Doctrine. (sixth ed.). Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 54–56
and 128–131.
[3] Grudem, Wayne A. 1994. Systematic Theology: An In-
troduction to Biblical Doctrine. Leicester, England: Inter-
Varsity Press; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Page 226.
[4] Acts and Pauline writings by Watson E. Mills, Richard F.
Wilson 1997 ISBN 0-86554-512-X, pages xl–xlx
[5] Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by
Craig L. Blomberg 2009 ISBN 0-8054-4482-3, page 280
[6] Grabe, Petrus J. The Power of God in Paul’s Letters 2008
ISBN 978-3-16-149719-3, pp. 248–249
[7] Spirit of Truth: The origins of Johannine pneumatology by
John Breck 1990 ISBN 0-88141-081-0, pages 1–5
[8] Jesus in Trinitarian Perspective: An Introductory Christol-
ogy by Scott Horrell, Donald Fairbairn, Garrett DeWeese
and Bruce Ware (Oct 1, 2007) ISBN 080544422X pages
208–213
trine. Baker Book House. pp. 267–268.
[10] John by Andreas J. Köstenberger 2004 ISBN
080102644X, page 442
[11] The Gospel of John: Question by Question by Judith Schu-
bert 2009 ISBN 0809145499, pages 112–127
[12] Lord, giver of life by Jane Barter Moulaison 2006 ISBN
0-88920-501-9 page 5
[13] Vickers, Jason E. Invocation and Assent: The Making and
the Remaking of Trinitarian Theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing, 2008. ISBN 0-8028-6269-1, pages 2–5
[14] The Cambridge Companion to the Trinity by Peter C. Phan
2011 ISBN 0521701139, pages 3–4
[15] Companion Bible–KJV–Large Print by E. W. Bullinger,
Kregel Publications, 1999. ISBN 0-8254-2099-7. Page
146.
[16] Robin W. Lovin, Foreword to the English translation of
Karl Barth’s The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life (1993
ISBN 0-664-25325-3), page xvii
[17] Millard J. Erickson, L. Arnold Hustad, Introduc-
ing Christian Doctrine (Baker Academic 2001 ISBN
9780801022500), p. 271
[18] “Norfolk schools told Holy Ghost 'too spooky'". The
Guardian (London). 2005-04-11. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
[19] Matthew 28:19
[20] “Holy Spirit”, Jewish Encyclopedia
[21] The Gospel of Luke by Luke Timothy Johnson, Daniel J.
Harrington 1992 ISBN 0-8146-5805-9, page 195
[22] 1, 2, and 3 John by John Painter, Daniel J. Harrington
2002 ISBN 0-8146-5812-1, page 324
[23] The anointed community: the Holy Spirit in the Johannine
tradition by Gary M. Burge 1987 ISBN 0-8028-0193-5,
pages 14–21
[24] Theology of Paul the Apostle by James D. G. Dunn 2003
ISBN 0-567-08958-4, pages 418–420
[25] A Concise Dictionary of Theology by Gerald O'Collins,
Edward G. Farrugia 2004 ISBN 0-567-08354-3 page 115
[26] Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia,
Volume 3 by Phyllis G. Jestice 2004 ISBN 1-57607-355-
6, pages 393–394
[27] 1 & 2 Thessalonians by Jon A. Weatherly 1996 ISBN 0-
89900-636-1, pages 42–43
[28] The Acts of the Apostles by Luke Timothy Johnson, Daniel
J. Harrington 1992 ISBN 0-8146-5807-5, pages 14–18
[29] A Bible Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles by Mal Couch
2004 ISBN 0-8254-2391-0, pages 120–129
[30] Reading Acts: A Literary and Theological Commentary on
the Acts of the Apostles by Charles H. Talbert 2005 ISBN
1-57312-277-7, pages 24–25
[31] Karl Barth (1949). Dogmatics in Outline. New York
Philosophical Library. p. 95.
[32] The Gospel According to John: An Introduction and
Commentary by Colin G. Kruse (Jun 2004) ISBN
0802827713, page 123
[33] The Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine by Colin
E. Gunton (Jun 28, 1997) ISBN 052147695X, pages 280–
285
[34] “Catholic Encyclopedia:Holy Spirit”.
[35] Pope Pius XII (1943). Mystici Corporis Christi.
[36] See discussion in "Person". Catholic Encyclopedia. New
York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
[37] “Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Dogma of the
Holy trinity”.
[38] Luke 1:35
[39] Harrington, Daniel J., SJ. “Jesus Goes Public.” America,
Jan. 7–14, 2008, p. 38
[40] [Mt 3:17] [Mk 1:11] [Lk 3:21–22]
[41] John 15:26
[42] John 14:16

1.8. EXTERNAL LINKS 9
[43] Theology for the Community of God by Stanley J. Grenz
(Jan 31, 2000) ISBN 0802847552 page 380
[44] Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and
Liturgy in the First Five Centuries by Everett Ferguson
(Mar 29, 2009) ISBN 0802827489, page 776
[45] Systematic Theology by Lewis Sperry Chafer 1993 ISBN
0-8254-2340-6, page 25
[46] The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Tes-
tament by Warren W. Wiersbe 2007 ISBN 978-0-7814-
4539-9, page 471
[47] The mystery of the Triune God by John Joseph O'Donnell
1988 ISBN 0-7220-5760-1 page 75
[49] Though the term "born again" is most frequently used
by evangelical Christians, most denominations do con-
sider that the new Christian is a “new creation” and “born
again”. See for example the Catholic Encyclopedia
[50] The Holy Spirit and His Gifts. J. Oswald Sanders. Inter-
Varsity Press. chapter 5.
tian Doctrine. (sixth ed.). Inter-Varsity Press. p. 134.
[52] CCC nos. 1830–32.
[53] The Epistle to the Galatians (The New International Com-
mentary on the New Testament) by Ronald Y. K. Fung
(Jul 22, 1988) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing ISBN
0802825095, pages 262–263
[54] Erickson, Millard J. (1992). Introducing Christian Doc-
trine. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Publishing Group.
ISBN 0-801-03215-6; ISBN 978-08-0103-215-8. 2nd
ed. 2001. Chapter Thirty – “The work of the Holy Spirit”
(pp. 275ff.). ISBN 0-801-02250-9; ISBN 978-08-0102-
250-0.
[55] Shaw, Russell; Stravinskas, Peter M. J. (1998). Our Sun-
day Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia. Huntington, Indiana:
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing. p. 457. ISBN 0-879-
73669-0; ISBN 978-08-7973-669-9.
[56] Kasper, Walter. The Petrine ministry. Catholics and Or-
thodox in Dialogue: Academic Symposium Neld at the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Paulist
Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-8091-4334-4.
[57] Kinnamon, Michael; Cope, Brian E. (1997). The Ecu-
menical Movement: An Anthology of Key Texts and Voices.
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-
8028-4263-3.
[58] The Holy Spirit: Classic and Contemporary Readings by
Eugene F. Rogers Jr. (May 19, 2009) Wiley ISBN
1405136235, page 81
[59] Introduction to Theology by Owen C. Thomas and Ellen
K. Wondra (Jul 1, 2002) ISBN 0819218979, page 221
[60] David Watson (1973). One in the Spirit. Hodder and
Stoughton. pp. 39–64.
[61] Encyclopedia of Protestantism by J. Gordon Melton 2008
ISBN 0816077460, page 69
ISBN 0816077460, page 134
[63] “Is the Holy Spirit a Person?". Awake!: 14–15. July 2006.
In the Bible, God’s Holy Spirit is identified as God’s power
in action. Hence, an accurate translation of the Bible’s
Hebrew text refers to God’s spirit as “God’s active force.”
[64] http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/130.22
[65] “True to the Faith”, p. 81 http://www.lds.org/bc/content/
shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/36863_
eng.pdf
[66] David Watson (1973). One in the Spirit. Hodder and
Stoughton. pp. 20–25.
[67] Catechism of the Catholic Church: Symbols of the Holy
Spirit (nos. 694–701).
[68] Vatican website: Catechism item 1137
[69] Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary by Irene Earls 1987
ISBN 0-313-24658-0, page 70
[70] Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective
by Fred S. Kleiner ISBN 0-495-57355-8, page 349
[71] Vladimir Lossky, 1999 The Meaning of Icons ISBN 0-
913836-99-0, page 17
[72] We Believe in the Holy Spirit (Ancient Christian Doctrine,
No. 4) by Joel C. Elowsky (Jul 13, 2009) InterVarsity
ISBN 0830825347, page 14
[73] The Holy Spirit: Classic and Contemporary Readings by
Eugene F. Rogers Jr. (May 19, 2009) Wiley ISBN
1405136235, pages 121–123
1.8 External links
• Catechism of the Catholic Church: CHAPTER
THREE. I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (nos.
683–686); ARTICLE 8. “I BELIEVE IN THE
HOLY SPIRIT” (nos. 687–747)

Chapter 2
God in Christianity
God in Christianity is the eternal being who created
and preserves all things. Christians believe God to be
both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed
from, the material universe) and immanent (involved in
the world).[1][2]
Christian teachings of the immanence
and involvement of God and his love for humanity ex-
clude the belief that God is of the same substance as the
created universe[3]
but accept that God’s divine Nature
was hypostatically united to human nature in the person
of Jesus Christ, in an event known as the Incarnation.
Early Christian views of God were expressed in the
Pauline Epistles and the early[4]
creeds, which proclaimed
one God and the divinity of Jesus, almost in the same
breath as in 1 Corinthians (8:5-6): “For even if there are
so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed
there are many 'gods’ and many 'lords’), yet for us there
is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came
and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through whom all things came and through whom
we live.”[5][6][7]
“Although the Judæo-Christian sect of
the Ebionites protested against this apotheosis of Jesus,[8]
the great mass of Gentile Christians accepted it.”[9]
This
began to differentiate the Gentile Christian views of God
from traditional Jewish teachings of the time.[5]
The theology of the attributes and nature of God has
been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity, with
Irenaeus writing in the 2nd century: “His greatness lacks
nothing, but contains all things”.[10]
In the 8th century,
John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes which remain
widely accepted.[11]
As time passed, theologians devel-
oped systematic lists of these attributes, some based on
statements in the Bible (e.g., the Lord’s Prayer, stating
that the Father is in Heaven), others based on theologi-
cal reasoning.[12][13]
The Kingdom of God is a prominent
phrase in the Synoptic Gospels and while there is near
unanimous agreement among scholars that it represents a
key element of the teachings of Jesus, there is little schol-
arly agreement on its exact interpretation.[14][15]
Although the New Testament does not have a formal doc-
trine of the Trinity as such, it does repeatedly speak of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in such a way
as to “compel a trinitarian understanding of God.” This
never becomes a tritheism, i.e. this does not imply three
Gods.[16]
Around the year 200, Tertullian formulated a
version of the doctrine of the Trinity which clearly af-
firmed the divinity of Jesus and came close to the later
definitive form produced by the Ecumenical Council of
381.[17][18]
The doctrine of the Trinity can be summed up
as: “The One God exists in Three Persons and One Sub-
stance, as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit.”[19][20]
Trinitarians, who form the large majority
of Christians, hold it as a core tenet of their faith.[21][22]
Nontrinitarian denominations define the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit in a number of different ways.[23]
2.1 Development of the theology of
God
2.1.1 Overview
Early Christian views of God (before the gospels were
written) are reflected in Apostle Paul's statement in 1
Corinthians (8:5-6), written ca. AD 53-54, i.e., about
twenty years after the crucifixion of Jesus:[5]
for us there is but one God, the Father,
from whom all things came and for whom we
live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things came and through
whom we live.
Apart from asserting that there is but one God, Paul’s
statement (which is likely based on pre-Pauline confes-
sions) includes a number of other significant elements:
he distinguishes Christian belief from the Jewish back-
ground of the time by referring to Jesus and the Father
almost in the same breath, and by conferring on Jesus
the title of divine honor “Lord”, as well as calling him
Christ.[5][6] [7]
In the Book of Acts (17:24-27) during the Areopagus
sermon given by Paul, he further characterizes the early
Christian understanding:[24]
The God that made the world and all things
therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth
10

2.1. DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEOLOGY OF GOD 11
A 12th-century copy of the Pauline Epistles
and reflects on the relationship between God and
Christians:[24]
that they should seek God, if haply they
might feel after him and find him, though he
is not far from each one of us for in him we
live.
The Pauline Epistles also include a number of references
to the Holy Spirit, with the theme which appears in 1
Thessalonians (4:8) "…God, the very God who gives you
his Holy Spirit” appearing throughout his epistles.[25]
In
John 14:26 Jesus also refers to “the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name”.[26]
By the end of the 1st century, Clement of Rome had
repeatedly referred to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
and linked the Father to creation, 1 Clement 19.2 stat-
ing: “let us look steadfastly to the Father and creator of
the universe”.[27]
By the middle of the 2nd century, in
Against Heresies Irenaeus had emphasized (Book 4, chap-
ter 5) that the Creator is the “one and only God” and the
“maker of heaven and earth”.[27]
These preceded the for-
mal presentation of the concept of Trinity by Tertullian
early in the 3rd century.[27]
The period from the late 2nd century to the beginning
of the 4th century (approximately 180-313) is generally
called the “epoch of the Great Church" and also the Ante-
Nicene Period and witnessed significant theological de-
velopment, and the consolidation and formalization of a
number of Christian teachings.[28]
From the 2nd century onwards, western creeds started
with an affirmation of belief in “God the Father
(Almighty)" and the primary reference of this phrase
was to “God in his capacity as Father and creator of
the universe”.[29]
This did not exclude either the fact the
“eternal father of the universe was also the Father of Jesus
the Christ” or that he had even “vouchsafed to adopt [the
believer] as his son by grace”.[29]
Eastern creeds (those
we know come from a later date) began with an affirma-
tion of faith in “one God” and almost always expanded
this by adding “the Father Almighty, Maker of all things
visible and invisible” or words to that effect.[29]
As time passed, theologians and philosophers developed
more precise understandings of the nature of God and be-
gan to produce systematic lists of his attributes (i.e., qual-
ities or characteristics). These varied in detail, but tradi-
tionally the attributes fell into two groups, those based on
negation (God is impassible) and those positively based
on eminence (God is infinitely good).[13]
Ian Ramsey sug-
gested that there are three groups and that some attributes
such as simplicity and perfection have a different logical
dynamic which from such attributes as infinite goodness
since there are relative forms of the latter but not of the
former.[30]
Throughout the Christian development of ideas about
God, the Bible “has been, both in theory and in fact, the
dominant influence” in the Western world.[31]
2.1.2 Name
Main article: Name of God in Christianity
In Christian theology the name of God has always had
The Tetragrammaton YHWH, the name of God written in He-
brew, old church of Ragunda, Sweden
much deeper meaning and significance than being just

12 CHAPTER 2. GOD IN CHRISTIANITY
a label or designator. It is not a human invention, but
has divine origin and is based on divine revelation.[32][33]
Respect for the name of God is one of the Ten Com-
mandments, which Christians teachings view not simply
an avoidance of the improper use of the name of God,
but as a directive to exalt it, through both pious deeds
and praise.[34]
This is reflected in the first petition in the
Lord’s Prayer addressed to God the Father: “Hallowed be
thy Name”.[35]
Going back to the Church Fathers, the name of God has
been seen as a representation of the entire system of “di-
vine truth” revealed to the faithful “that believe on his
name” as in John 1:12 or “walk in the name of the Lord
our God” in Micah 4:5.[36][37]
In Revelation 3:12 those
who bear the name of God are destined for Heaven. John
17:6 presents the teachings of Jesus as the manifestation
of the name of God to his disciples.[36]
John 12:27 presents the sacrifice of Jesus the Lamb of
God, and the ensuing salvation delivered through it as the
glorification of the name of God, with the voice from
Heaven confirming Jesus’ petition (“Father, glorify thy
name”) by saying: “I have both glorified it, and will glo-
rify it again” referring to the Baptism and crucifixion of
Jesus.[38]
The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular
(e.g., Ex. 20:7 or Ps. 8:1), generally using the terms in a
very general sense rather than referring to any special des-
ignation of God.[39]
However, general references to the
name of God may branch to other special forms which
express his multifaceted attributes.[39]
Scripture presents
many references to the names for God, but the key names
in the Old Testament are: God the High and Exalted One,
El-Shaddai and Jehovah. In the New Testament Theos,
Kyrios and Pater (πατήρ i.e., Father in Greek) are the
essential names.[39]
2.1.3 Attributes and nature
Main article: Attributes of God in Christianity
The theological underpinnings of the attributes and na-
ture of God have been discussed since the earliest days
of Christianity. In the 2nd century Irenaeus addressed
the issue and expounded on some attributes, e.g., in his
Against Heresis (Book IV, Chapter 19) stated: “His great-
ness lacks nothing, but contains all things”.[10]
Irenaeus
based his attributes on three sources: Scripture, prevail-
ing mysticism and popular piety.[10]
Today, some of the
attributes associated with God continue to be based on
statements in the Bible, e.g., the Lord’s Prayer states that
the Father is in Heaven, while other attributes are derived
by theological reasoning.[12]
In the 8th century, John of Damascus listed eighteen at-
tributes for God in his An Exact Exposition of the Or-
thodox Faith (Book 1, Chapter 8).[11]
These eighteen at-
tributes were divided into four groups based on time (e.g.,
being everlasting), space (e.g., being boundless), mat-
ter or quality and the list continues to be influential to
date, partially appearing in some form in various modern
formulations.[11]
In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas fo-
cused on a shorter list of just eight attributes, namely:
simplicity, perfection, goodness, incomprehensibility, om-
nipresence, immutability, eternity and oneness.[11]
Other
formulations include the 1251 list of the Fourth Lat-
eran Council which was then adopted at Vatican I in
1870 and the Westminster Shorter Catechism in the 17th
century.[11]
Two attributes of God that place him above the
world, yet acknowledge his involvement in the world,
are transcendence and immanence.[1][2]
Transcendence
means that God is eternal and infinite, not controlled by
the created world and beyond human events. Immanence
means that God is involved in the world, and Christian
teachings have long acknowledged his attention to hu-
man affairs.[1][2]
However, unlike pantheistic religions, in
Christianity God’s being is not of the substance of the
created universe.[3]
Traditionally, some theologians such as Louis Berkhof
distinguish between the communicable attributes (those
that human beings can also have) and the incommunicable
attributes (those that belong to God alone).[40]
However,
others such as Donald Macleod hold that all the suggested
classifications are artificial and without basis.[41]
There is a general agreement among theologians that it
would be a mistake to conceive of the essence of God ex-
isting by itself and independently of the attributes or of
the attributes being an additional characteristic of the Di-
vine Being. They are essential qualities which exist per-
manently in his very Being and are co-existent with it.
Any alteration in them would imply an alteration in the
essential being of God.[42]
Hick suggests that when listing the attributes of God, the
starting point should be his self-existence (“aseity”) which
implies that his eternal and unconditioned nature. Hick
goes on to consider the following additional attributes:
Creator being the source of all that composes his cre-
ation (“creatio ex nihilo”) and the sustainer of what he has
brought into being; Personal; Loving, Good; and Holy.[43]
Berkhof also starts with self-existence but moves on to im-
mutability; infinity, which implies perfection eternity and
omnipresence; unity. He then analyses a series of intellec-
tual attributes: knowledge-omniscience; wisdom; veracity
and then, the moral attributes of goodness (including love,
grace, mercy and patience); holiness and righteousness be-
fore dealing finally with his sovereignty.[42]
2.2 Kingdom of God and eschatol-
ogy

2.2. KINGDOM OF GOD AND ESCHATOLOGY 13
2.2.1 Kingship and Kingdom
Main article: Kingdom of God (Christianity)
The Christian characterization of the relationship be-
God the Father on a throne, Westphalia, Germany, late 15th cen-
tury.
tween God and humanity involves the notion of the
“Kingship of God”, whose origins go back to the Old Tes-
tament, and may be seen as a consequence of the creation
of the world by God.[14][44]
The “enthronement psalms”
(Psalms 45, 93, 96, 97-99) provide a background for this
view with the exclamation “The Lord is King”.[14]
How-
ever, in later Judaism a more “national” view was as-
signed to God’s Kingship in which the awaited Messiah
may be seen as a liberator and the founder of a new state
of Israel.[45]
The term "Kingdom of God" does not appear in the Old
Testament, although “his Kingdom” and “your Kingdom”
are used in some cases when referring to God.[46]
How-
ever, the Kingdom of God (the Matthean equivalent be-
ing “Kingdom of Heaven”) is a prominent phrase in the
Synoptic Gospels (appearing 75 times), and there is near
unanimous agreement among scholars that it represents
a key element of the teachings of Jesus.[14][15]
Yet, R. T.
France points out that while the concept of “Kingdom of
God” has an intuitive meaning to lay Christians, there is
hardly any agreement among scholars about its meaning
in the New Testament.[15]
Some scholars see it as a Chris-
tian lifestyle, some as a method of world evangelization,
some as the rediscovery of charismatic gifts, others re-
late it to no present or future situation, but the world to
come.[15]
France states that the phrase Kingdom of God
is often interpreted in many ways to ﬁt the theological
agenda of those interpreting it.[15]
2.2.2 End times
See also: Christian eschatology and End times
Interpretations of the term Kingdom of God have
given rise to wide ranging eschatological debates among
scholars with diverging views, yet no consensus has
emerged among scholars.[47][48][49]
From Augustine to
the Reformation the arrival of the Kingdom had been
identiﬁed with the formation of the Christian Church, but
this view was later abandoned and by the beginning of the
20th century the apocalyptic interpretation of the King-
dom had gained ground.[47][49][50]
In this view (also called
the “consistent eschatology”) the Kingdom of God did not
start in the 1st century, but is a future apocalyptic event
that is yet to take place.[47]
An angel blows the “last trumpet”, as in 1 Corinthians 15:52,
Langenzenn, Germany, 19th century
By the middle of the 20th century realized eschatology
which in contrast viewed the Kingdom as non-apocalyptic
but as the manifestation of divine sovereignty over the
world (realized by the ministry of Jesus) had gathered a
scholarly following.[47]
In this view the Kingdom is held
to be available in the present.[48]
The competing approach
of Inaugurated eschatology was later introduced as the
“already and not yet” interpretation.[47]
In this view the

Kingdom has already started, but awaits full disclosure
at a future point.[48]
These diverging interpretations have
since given rise to a good number of variants, with var-
ious scholars proposing new eschatological models that
borrow elements from these.[47][48]
2.2.3 Judgement
See also: Last Judgement
Hebrews 12:23 refers to “God the Judge of all” and the
notion that all humans will eventually "be judged" is an
essential element of Christian teachings.[51]
A number
of New Testament passages (e.g., John 5:22 and Acts
10:42) and later credal confessions indicate that the task
of judgement is assigned to Jesus.[51][52]
John 5:22 states
that “neither does the Father judge any man, but he has
given all judgment unto the Son”.[51]
Acts 10:42 refers
to the resurrected Jesus as: “he who is ordained of God
to be the Judge of the living and the dead.”[51]
The role
played by Jesus in the judgement of God is emphasized
in the most widely used Christian confessions, with the
Nicene Creed stating that Jesus “sits on the right hand of
the Father; shall come again, with glory, to judge the liv-
ing and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end”.[53]
The Apostle’s Creed includes a similar confession.[53]
A number of gospel passages warn against sin and suggest
a path of righteousness to avoid the judgement of God.[54]
For instance, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:22-
26 teaches the avoidance of sin and the Parables of the
Kingdom (Matthew 13:49) state that at the moment of
judgement the angels will “sever the wicked from among
the righteous and shall cast them into the furnace of
ﬁre”.[54]
Christians can thus enjoy forgiveness that lifts
them from the judgement of God by following the teach-
ings of Jesus and through a personal fellowship with
him.[54]
2.3 Trinitarianism
Main article: Trinity
2.3.1 History and foundation
In early Christianity, the concept of salvation was
closely related to the invocation of the “Father, Son
and Holy Spirit”.[55][56]
Since the 1st century, Chris-
tians have called upon God with the name “Father, Son
and Holy Spirit” in prayer, baptism, communion, ex-
orcism, hymn-singing, preaching, confession, absolution
and benediction.[55][56]
This is reﬂected in the saying:
“Before there was a 'doctrine' of the Trinity, Christian
prayer invoked the Holy Trinity”.[55]
The earliest known depiction of the Trinity, Dogmatic Sarcoph-
agus, 350 AD[57]
Vatican Museums.
The term “Trinity” does not explicitly appear in the Bible,
but Trinitarians believe the concept as later developed is
consistent with biblical teachings.[21][22]
The New Tes-
tament includes a number of the usages of the three-
fold liturgical and doxological formula, e.g., 2 Corinthi-
ans 1:21-22 stating: “he that establisheth us with you in
Christ, and anointed us, is God; who also sealed us, and
gave [us] the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”.[21][58]
Christ receiving “authority and co-equal divinity” is men-
tioned in Matthew 28:18: “All authority hath been given
unto me in heaven and on earth” as well as John 3:35,
John 13:3, John 17:1.[58]
And the Spirit being both “of
God” and “of Christ” appears in Galatians 4:6, the Book
of Acts (16:7), John 15:26 and Romans 8:14-17.[58]
The general concept was expressed in early writings from
the beginning of the 2nd century forward, with Irenaeus
writing in his Against Heresies (Book I Chapter X):[55]
“The Church ... believes in one God, the Fa-
ther Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and all things that are in them;
and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who
became incarnate for our salvation; and in the
Holy Spirit”.
Around AD 213 in Adversus Praxeas (chapter 3)
Tertullian provided a formal representation of the con-
cept of the Trinity, i.e., that God exists as one “substance”
but three “Persons": The Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit.[59][60]
In defense of the coherence of the Trinity

2.3. TRINITARIANISM 15
Tertullian wrote (Adversus Praxeas 3): “The Unity which
derives the Trinity out of its own self is so far from being
destroyed, that it is actually supported by it.”
Tertullian also discussed how the Holy Spirit proceeds
from the Father and the Son.[59]
The First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and later the First
Council of Constantinople in AD 381 defined the dogma
“in its simplest outlines in the face of pressing heresies"
and the version used thereafter dates to 381.[20]
In the
5th century, in the west, Saint Augustine expanded on
the theological development in his On the Trinity, while
the major development in the east was due to John of
Damascus in the 8th century.[61]
The theology eventu-
ally reached its classical form in the writings of Thomas
Aquinas in the 13th century.[61][62]
Bernhard Lohse (1928-1997) states that the doctrine of
the Trinity does not go back to non-Christian sources such
as Plato or Hinduism and that all attempts at suggest-
ing such connections have floundered.[63]
The majority
of Christians are now Trinitarian and regard belief in the
Trinity as a test of true orthodoxy of belief.[55]
2.3.2 The doctrine
A diagram of the Trinity consisting of God the Father, God the
Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit
The doctrine of the Trinity is considered by most Chris-
tians to be a core tenet of their faith.[19][20]
It can be
summed up as:[19]
“The One God exists in Three Persons and One
Substance.”
Strictly speaking, the doctrine is a mystery that can “nei-
ther be known by unaided human reason”, nor “cogently
demonstrated by reason after it has been revealed"; even
so “it is not contrary to reason” being “not incompatible
with the principles of rational thought”.[62]
The doctrine was expressed at length in the 4th cen-
tury Athanasian Creed of which the following is an
extract:[20][21]
We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the sub-
stance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son,
and another of the Holy Spirit.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty co-
eternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy
Spirit.
To Trinitarian Christians (which include Catholic Chris-
tians, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and most Protestant
denominations), God the Father is not at all a separate god
from the Son (of whom Jesus is the incarnation) and the
Holy Spirit, the other Hypostases of the Christian God-
head.[64]
The 20th century witnessed an increased theological fo-
cus on the doctrine of the Trinity, partly due to the efforts
of Karl Barth in his fourteen volume Church Dogmat-
ics.[65]
This theological focus relates the revelation of the
Word of God to the Trinity, and argues that the doctrine
of Trinity is what distinguishes the “Christian concept of
God” from all other religions.[65][66]
The Father
Main article: God the Father
The emergence of Trinitarian theology of God the Fa-
Depiction of God the Father (detail) offering the right hand
throne to Christ, Pieter de Grebber, 1654.
ther in early Christianity was based on two key ideas: first
the shared identity of the Yahweh of the Old Testament
and the God of Jesus in the New Testament, and then

the self-distinction and yet the unity between Jesus and
his Father.[67][68]
An example of the unity of Son and Fa-
ther is Matthew 11:27: “No one knows the Son except
the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son”,
asserting the mutual knowledge of Father and Son.[69]
The concept of fatherhood of God does appear in the
Old Testament, but is not a major theme.[67][70]
While
the view of God as the Father is used in the Old Testa-
ment, it only became a focus in the New Testament, as
Jesus frequently referred to it.[67][70]
This is manifested
in the Lord’s prayer which combines the earthly needs of
daily bread with the reciprocal concept of forgiveness.[70]
And Jesus’ emphasis on his special relationship with the
Father highlights the importance of the distinct yet uni-
fied natures of Jesus and the Father, building to the unity
of Father and Son in the Trinity.[70]
The paternal view of God as the Father extends beyond
Jesus to his disciples, and the entire Church, as reflected
in the petitions Jesus submitted to the Father for his fol-
lowers at the end of the Farewell Discourse, the night be-
fore his crucifixion.[71]
Instances of this in the Farewell
Discourse are John 14:20 as Jesus addresses the disci-
ples: “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you”
and in John 17:22 as he prays to the Father: “I have given
them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as
we are one.”[72]
In Trinitarian theology, God the Father is the “arche”
or “principium” (beginning), the “source” or “origin” of
both the Son and the Holy Spirit, and is considered the
eternal source of the Godhead.[73]
The Father is the one
who eternally begets the Son, and the Father eternally
breathes the Holy Spirit. The Son is eternally born from
God the Father, and the Spirit eternally proceeds from the
Father,[27][73]
and, in the Western tradition, also from the
Son.
Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, Father
is one with, co-equal to, co-eternal, and con-substantial
with the Son and the Holy Spirit, each Person being
the one eternal God and in no way separated, who is
the creator: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent.[27]
Thus, the Divine Unity consists of God the Father, with
his Son and his Spirit distinct from God the Father and
yet perfectly united together in him.[27]
Because of this,
the Trinity is beyond reason and can only be known by
revelation.[74][75]
Trinitarians believe that God the Father is not pantheistic,
in that he not viewed as identical to the universe, but exists
outside of creation, as its Creator.[76][77]
He is viewed as
a loving and caring God, a Heavenly Father who is active
both in the world and in people’s lives.[76][77]
He created
all things visible and invisible in love and wisdom, and
man for his own sake.[76][77][78]
The Son
Main articles: God the Son and Son of God
See also: Christology, Christ the Logos, Jesus in Chris-
tianity and Person of Christ
Since early Christianity, a number of titles have been
Stained glass window of Christ, Peter and Paul Cathedral, St.
Petersburg, Russia.
attributed to Jesus, including, Messiah (Christ) and the
Son of God.[79][80]
Theologically, these are different at-
tributions: Messiah refers to his fulfilling the expected
Old Testament prophecies, while Son of God refers to a
paternal relationship.[79][80]
God the Son is distinct from
both Messiah and Son of God and its theology as part
of the doctrine of the Trinity was formalized well over a
century after those.[80][81][82]
According to the Gospels, Jesus was conceived by the
Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary.[83]
The Bib-
lical accounts of Jesus’ ministry include: his baptism,
miracles, preaching, teaching, and healing. The narra-
tive of the gospels place significant emphasis on the death
of Jesus, devoting about one third of the text to just
seven days, namely the last week of the life of Jesus in

2.3. TRINITARIANISM 17
Jerusalem.[84]
The core Christian belief is that through
the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can
be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation
and the promise of eternal life.[85]
The belief in the re-
demptive nature of Jesus’ death predates the Pauline let-
ters and goes back to the earliest days of Christianity and
the Jerusalem church.[86]
The Nicene Creed's statement
that “for our sake he was crucified” is a reflection of this
core belief.[85]
The two Christological concerns as to how Jesus could be
truly God while preserving faith in the existence of one
God and how the human and the divine could be com-
bined in one person were fundamental concerns from well
before the First Council of Nicaea (325).[87]
However,
the theology of “God the Son” was eventually reflected in
the statement of the Nicene Creed in the 4th century.[88]
The Chalcedonian Creed of 451, accepted by the ma-
jority of Christians, holds that Jesus is God incarnate
and "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and
fully human). Jesus, having become fully human in all
respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mor-
tal man, yet he did not sin. As fully God, he defeated
death and rose to life again.[89]
The Third Council of Con-
stantinople in 680 then held that both divine and human
wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having prece-
dence, leading and guiding the human will.[90]
In mainstream Christianity, Jesus Christ as God the Son
is the second Person of the Holy Trinity, due to his eter-
nal relation to the first Person (God as Father).[91]
He is
considered coequal with the Father and Holy Spirit and
is all God and all human: the Son of God as to his di-
vine nature, while as to his human nature he is from the
lineage of David.[83][91][92][93]
More recently, discussions of the theological issues re-
lated to God the Son and its role in the Trinity were ad-
dressed in the 20th century in the context of a “Trinity-
based” perspective on divine revelation.[94][95]
The Holy Spirit
Main article: Holy Spirit (Christianity)
In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit is one of the
three divine persons of the Holy Trinity who make up the
single substance of God; that is, the Spirit is considered to
act in concert with and share an essential nature with God
the Father and God the Son (Jesus).[96][97]
The New Tes-
tament has much to say about the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit’s presence was especially felt following the ascen-
sion of Christ, although not to the exclusion of an early
presence as attested by the Old Testament and throughout
the New Testament.[16]:p.39
The Christian theology of the
Holy Spirit, or pneumatology, was the last piece of Trini-
tarian theology to be fully explored and developed, and
there is thus greater theological diversity among Christian
understandings of the Spirit than there is among under-
standings of the Son and the Father.[96][97]
Within Trini-
Stained glass representation of the Holy Spirit as a dove, Bernini
c. 1660.
tarian theology, the Holy Spirit is usually referred to as
the “Third Person” of the triune God—with the Father
being the First Person and the Son the Second Person.[97]
The sacredness of the Holy Spirit is affirmed in all three
Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 12:30-32, Mark 3:28-30 and
Luke 12:8-10) which proclaim that blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin.[98]
The participation of
the Holy Spirit in the tripartite nature of conversion is ap-
parent in Jesus’ final post-Resurrection instruction to his
disciples at the end of the Gospel of Matthew (28:19):[99]
“make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit”.[100]
The Holy Spirit plays a key role in the Pauline
epistles, to the point that their pneumatology is almost
inseparable from their Christology.[101]
In the Johannine
writings, three separate terms, namely Holy Spirit, Spirit
of Truth and Paraclete are used.[102]
Reflecting the Annunciation in Luke 1:35, the early
Apostles’ Creed states that Jesus was “conceived by the
Holy Spirit”.[103]
The Nicene Creed refers to the Holy
Spirit as “the Lord and Giver of Life” who with the Father
and the Son together is “worshiped and glorified”.[104]
While in the act of the Incarnation, God the Son became
manifest as the Son of God, the same did not take place
for God the Holy Spirit which remained unrevealed.[105]
Yet, as in 1 Corinthians 6:19 God the Spirit continues to
dwell in bodies of the faithful.[105][106]
In Christian theology Holy Spirit is believed to perform
specific divine functions in the life of the Christian or the
church. The action of the Holy Spirit is seen as an es-
sential part of the bringing of the person to the Chris-
tian faith.[107]
The new believer is “born again of the
Spirit”.[108]
The Holy Spirit enables Christian life by dwelling in the

individual believers and enables them to live a righteous
and faithful life.[107]
He acts as Comforter or Paraclete,
one who intercedes, or supports or acts as an advocate,
particularly in times of trial. He acts to convince unre-
deemed persons both of the sinfulness of their actions
and thoughts, and of their moral standing as sinners be-
fore God.[109]
The Holy Spirit both inspired the writing
of the scriptures and now interprets them to the Christian
and/or church.[110]
2.3.3 Trinitarian differences
In Eastern Orthodox theology, essence of God being that
which is beyond human comprehension and can not be
defined and or approached by human understanding.[111]
Roman Catholic teachings are somewhat similar in con-
sidering the mysteries of the Trinity as being beyond
human reason.[75]
However, differences exist in that in
Roman Catholic theology and teaching, God the Father is
the eternal source of the Son (begot the Son by an eternal
generation) and of the Holy Spirit (by an eternal proces-
sion from the Father and the Son) and the one who breaths
the Holy Spirit with and through the Son, but the Eastern
Orthodox consider the Spirit to proceed from the Father
alone.[112]
Most Protestant denominations and other mainstream tra-
ditions arising since the Reformation, hold general Trini-
tarian beliefs and theology regarding God the Father
similar to that of Roman Catholicism. This includes
churches arising from Anglicanism, Baptist, Methodism,
Lutheranism and Presbyterianism. Likewise, The Oxford
Dictionary of the Christian Church describes the Trinity
as “the central dogma of Christian theology".[113]
How-
ever, a precise representative view of Protestant Trini-
tarian theology regarding “God the Father”, etc., is more
difficult to provide, given the diverse and less centralized
nature of the various Protestant churches.[113]
2.4 Nontrinitarianism
Main article: Nontrinitarianism
Some Christian traditions reject the doctrine of the Trin-
ity, and are called nontrinitarian.[114]
These groups differ
from one another in their views, variously depicting Jesus
as a divine being second only to God the Father, Yahweh
of the Old Testament in human form, God (but not eter-
nally God), prophet, or simply a holy man.[114]
Some
broad definitions of Protestantism include these groups
within Protestantism, but most definitions do not.[115]
Nontrinitarianism goes back to the early centuries
of Christian history and groups such as the Arians,
Ebionites, Gnostics, and others.[23]
These nontrinatarian
views were rejected by many bishops such as Irenaeus and
subsequently by the Ecumenical Councils. The Nicene
Creed raised the issue of the relationship between Jesus’
divine and human natures.[23]
Nontrinitarianism was rare
among Christians for many centuries, and those reject-
ing the doctrine of the Trinity faced hostility from other
Christians, but the 19th century saw the establishment of
a number of groups in North America and elsewhere.[115]
In Jehovah’s Witness theology, only God the Father is
the one true and almighty God, even over his Son Jesus
Christ. While the Witnesses acknowledge Christ’s pre-
existence, perfection, and unique “Sonship” with God the
Father, and believe that Christ had an essential role in
creation and redemption, and is the Messiah, they believe
that only the Father is without beginning.[116]
In the theology of God in Mormonism, the most promi-
nent conception of God is the Godhead, a divine coun-
cil of three distinct beings: Elohim (the Father), Jehovah
(the Son, or Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. The Father
and Son are considered to have perfected, material bod-
ies, while the Holy Spirit has a body of spirit. Mor-
monism recognizes the divinity of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, but believes they are distinct beings, united
not in substance but in will and purpose, and they are each
omniscient, omnipotent, and omni-benevolent.[117]
Other groups include Oneness Pentecostals,
Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, and The New
Church.
2.5 See also
• Attributes of God in Christianity
• God in Abrahamic religions
2.6 Notes
[1] Basic Christian Doctrine by John H. Leith (Jan 1, 1992)
ISBN 0664251927 pages 55-56
[2] Introducing Christian Doctrine (2nd Edition) by Millard J.
Erickson (Apr 1, 2001) ISBN 0801022509 pages 87-88
[3] Berkhof, L. Systematic Theology Banner of Truth
publishers:1963, p.61
[4] Perhaps even pre-Pauline creeds.
[5] One God, One Lord by Larry W. Hurtado (Oct 25, 2003)
ISBN 0567089878 pages 1-2
[6] The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament by David
E. Aune (Mar 23, 2010) ISBN 1405108258 page 424
[7] Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology by Udo Schnelle (Nov
1, 2005) ISBN 0801027969 page 396
[8] (“Clementine Homilies,” xvi. 15)
[9] “TRINITY”. Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclope-
dia.com. Retrieved 22 August 2013.

2.6. NOTES 19
[10] Irenaeus of Lyons by Eric Francis Osborn (Nov 26, 2001)
ISBN 0521800064 pages 27-29
[11] Global Dictionary of Theology by William A. Dyrness,
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Juan F. Martinez and Simon Chan
(Oct 10, 2008) ISBN 0830824545 pages 352-353
[12] Christian Doctrine by Shirley C. Guthrie (Jul 1, 1994)
ISBN 0664253687 pages 111 and 100
[13] Hirschberger, Johannes. Historia de la Filosofía I,
Barcelona: Herder 1977, p.403
[14] Dictionary of Biblical Imagery by Leland Ryken, James C.
Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III (Nov 11, 1998) ISBN
0830814515 pages 478-479
[15] Divine Government: God’s Kingship in the Gospel of Mark
by R. T. France (10 Mar 2003) ISBN 1573832448 pages
1-3
[16] Stagg, Frank. New Testament Theology. Broadman Press,
1962. ISBN 0-8054-1613-7
[17] Prestige G.L. Fathers and Heretics SPCK:1963, p. 29
[18] Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines A & C Black:
1965, p.280
[19] The Nicene Faith: Formation Of Christian Theology by
John Behr (Jun 30, 2004) ISBN 088141266X pages 3-4
[20] Life in the Trinity: An Introduction to Theology with the
Help of the Church Fathers by Donald Fairbairn (Sep 28,
2009) ISBN 0830838732 pages 48-50
[21] Mercer Dictionary of the Bible edited by Watson E. Mills,
Roger Aubrey Bullard 2001 ISBN 0865543739 page 935
[22] Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines A & C Black:
1965, p 115
[23] Theology: The Basics by Alister E. McGrath (Sep 21,
2011) ISBN 0470656751 pages 117-120
[24] Theology of the New Testament by Udo Schnelle (Nov 1,
2009) ISBN 0801036046 page 477
[25] Theology of Paul the Apostle by James D. G. Dunn 2003
ISBN 0-567-08958-4 pages 418-420
[26] The anointed community: the Holy Spirit in the Johannine
tradition by Gary M. Burge 1987 ISBN 0-8028-0193-5
pages 14-21
[27] The Doctrine of God: A Global Introduction by Veli-Matti
Kärkkäinen 2004 ISBN 0801027527 pages 70-73
[28] Peter Stockmeier in the Encyclopedia of Theology: A Con-
cise Sacramentum Mundi edited by Karl Rahner ISBN
0860120066 (New York: Seabury Press, 1975) page 375-
376 “In the following period, c. 180-313, these structures
already determine essentially the image of the Church
which claims a universal mission in the Roman Empire.
It has rightly been termed the period of the Great Church,
in view of its numerical growth, its constitutional devel-
opment and its intense theological activity.”
[29] Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Creeds Longmans:1960,
p.136; p.139; p.195 respectively
[30] Ian T. Ramsey, Religious Language SCM 1967, pp.50ﬀ
[31] David Ray Griﬃn, God, Power, and Evil: a Process
Theodicy (Westminster, 1976/2004), 31.
[32] Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof (Sep 24, 1996)
ISBN 0802838200 pages47-51
[33] Mercer dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills, Roger
Aubrey Bullard 1998 ISBN 0-86554-373-9 page 336
[34] The Ten Commandments: Interpretation: Resources for the
Use of Scripture in the Church by Patrick D. Miller (Aug
6, 2009) ISBN 0664230555 page 111
[35] Theology of the New Testament by Georg Strecker (2000)
ISBN 0664223362 page 282
[36] Ten Commandments by Arthur W. Pink (Dec 30, 2007)
ISBN 1589603753 pages 23-24
[37] John 11-21 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)
by Joel C. Elowsky (May 23, 2007) ISBN 0830810994
page 237
[38] Wiersbe Bible Commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe (Nov
1, 2007) ISBN 0781445396 page 274
[39] Manual Of Christian Doctrine by Louis Berkhof (Aug 1,
2007) ISBN 1930367902 pages 19-20
[40] Manual Of Christian Doctrine by Louis Berkhof (Aug 1,
2007) ISBN 1930367902 pages 21-23
[41] Donald Macleod, Behold Your God (Christian Focus Pub-
lications, 1995), 20-21.
[42] Berkhof, Louis Systematic Theology, Banner of Truth
1963, pp.57-81 & p.46 respectively
[43] John H. Hick, Philosophy of Religion Prentice-Hall 1973,
pp. 7-14
[44] Mercer Dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills, Edgar
V. McKnight and Roger A. Bullard (May 1, 2001) ISBN
0865543739 page 490
[45] Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum Mundi
by Karl Rahner (Dec 28, 2004) ISBN 0860120066 page
1351
[46] Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible by
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, N. T. Wright, Daniel J. Treier and
Craig Bartholomew (20 Jan 2006) ISBN 0801026946
page 420
[47] Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth
by Michael James McClymond (Mar 22, 2004) ISBN
0802826806 pages 77-79
[48] Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of
Current Research by Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans
(Jun 1998) ISBN 9004111425 pages 255-257
[49] An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of
Christianity by Delbert Royce Burkett (Jul 22, 2002) ISBN
0521007208 page 246

[50] A Theology of the New Testament by George Eldon Ladd
(Sep 2, 1993) ISBN 0802806805 pages 55-57
[51] Introducing Christian Doctrine (2nd Edition) by Millard J.
[52] Systematic Theology Vol 2 by Wolfhart Pannenberg (Oct
27, 2004) ISBN 0567084663 pages 390-391
[53] The Oxford Companion to the Bible by Bruce M. Metzger
and Michael David Coogan (Oct 14, 1993) ISBN page 157
[54] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Volume III)
by Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich (Jun 1966) ISBN
0802822452 pages 936
[55] Vickers, Jason E. Invocation and Assent: The Making and
the Remaking of Trinitarian Theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing, 2008. ISBN 0-8028-6269-1 pages 2-5
2011 ISBN 0521701139 pages 3-4
[57] Elizabeth Lev, “Dimming the Pauline Spotlight; Jubilee
Fruits” Zenit 2009-06-25
[58] Richardson, Alan. An Introduction to the Theology of the
New Testament SCM: 1961, p122f,158
[59] The Trinity by Roger E. Olson, Christopher Alan Hall
2002 ISBN 0802848273 pages 29-31
[60] Tertullian, First Theologian of the West by Eric Osborn (4
Dec 2003) ISBN 0521524954 pages 116-117
[61] Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof (Sep 24, 1996)
ISBN 0802838200 page 83
[62] Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (1974), Cross
& Livingstone (eds), art “Trinity, Doctrine of”
[63] A Short History of Christian Doctrine by Bernhard Lohse
1978 ISBN 0800613414 page 37
[64] Critical Terms for Religious Studies. Chicago: The Uni-
versity of Chicago Press, 1998. Credo Reference.27 July
2009
2011 ISBN 0521701139 pages 173-174
[66] The Trinity: Global Perspectives by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
(Jan 17, 2007) ISBN 0664228909 page 8
[67] The Trinity: Global Perspectives by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
(Jan 17, 2007) ISBN 0664228909 pages 10-13
[68] Global Dictionary of Theology by William A. Dyrness,
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Juan F. Martinez and Simon Chan
(Oct 10, 2008) ISBN 0830824545 pages 169-171
[69] The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia by Geof-
frey W. Bromiley 1988 ISBN 0-8028-3785-9 page 571-
572
[70] The Doctrine of God: A Global Introduction by Veli-Matti
Kärkkäinen 2004 ISBN 0801027527 pages 37-41
[71] Symbols of Jesus by Robert C. Neville (Feb 4, 2002) ISBN
0521003539 pages 26-27
[72] Jesus and His Own: A Commentary on John 13-17
by Daniel B. Stevick (Apr 29, 2011) Eeardmans ISBN
0802848656 page 46
[73] The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology by
Alan Richardson and John Bowden (Jan 1, 1983) ISBN
0664227481 page 36
[74] The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity by Gilles Emery O. P.
and Matthew Levering (27 Oct 2011) ISBN 0199557810
page 263
[75] Catholic catechism at the Vatican web site, items: 242 245
237
[76] God Our Father by John Koessler (Sep 13, 1999) ISBN
0802440681 page 68
[77] International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E-J by Geof-
frey W. Bromiley (Mar 1982) ISBN 0802837824 pages
515-516
[78] Catholic Catechism items: 356 and 295 at the Vatican web
site
0664227481 page 101
[80] Historical Theology: An Introduction by Geoﬀrey W.
Bromiley 2000 ISBN 0567223574 pages 128-129
[81] Christology: Biblical And Historical by Mini S. Johnson
ISBN 8183240070 page 307
[82] The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: A His-
tory by Joseph F. Kelly (Sep 1, 2009) ISBN 0814653766
pages 19-22
[83] Practical Christian Theology: by Floyd H. Barackman
1998 ISBN 0825423740 pages 149-151
[84] Matthew by David L. Turner 2008 ISBN 0-8010-2684-9
page 613
[85] Christian Theology by J. Glyndwr Harris (Mar 2002)
ISBN 1902210220 pages 12-15
[86] Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity
by Larry W. Hurtado (Sep 14, 2005) ISBN 0802831672
pages 130-133
[87] Historical Theology: An Introduction by Geoﬀrey W.
Bromiley 2000 ISBN 0567223574 pages 50-51
[88] Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World by G.
W. Bowersock, Peter Brown and Oleg Graba 1999 ISBN
0674511735 page 605
[89] A Short History of Christian Doctrine by Bernhard Lohse
(Jan 5, 1978) ISBN 0800613414 pages 90-93
0664227481 page 169
[91] Introducing Christian Doctrine(2nd Edition) by Millard J.

2.7. FURTHER READING 21
[92] Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum Mundi
by Karl Rahner (Dec 28, 2004) ISBN pages 692-694
[93] For Biblical passages see: Rom 1:3,4Galatians 4:4; John
1:1-14;5:18-25;10:30-38
[94] Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth by Geoﬀrey
William Bromiley (Nov 3, 2000) ISBN 0567290549 page
19
[95] The Renewal of Trinitarian Theology: Themes, Patterns &
Explorations by Roderick T. Leupp (Oct 1, 2008) ISBN
0830828893 page 31
[96] Systematic Theology Vol 1 by Wolfhart Pannenberg (Nov
11, 2004) ISBN 0567081788 page 332
[97] Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, Interna-
tional, and Contextual Perspective by Veli-Matti Kärkkäi-
nen (Jun 1, 2002) ISBN 080102448X pages 120-121
[98] Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by
Craig L. Blomberg 2009 ISBN 0-8054-4482-3 page 280
[99] Matthew 28:19
[100] Lord, giver of life by Jane Barter Moulaison 2006 ISBN
0-88920-501-9 page 5
[101] The power of God in Paul’s letters by Petrus J. Gräbe 2008
ISBN 978-3-16-149719-3 pages 248-249
[102] Spirit of Truth: The origins of Johannine pneumatology by
John Breck 1990 ISBN 0-88141-081-0 pages 1-5
[103] Invitation to Theology by Michael Jinkins (Jan 26, 2001)
ISBN 0830815627 pages 60 and 134-135
[104] Invitation to Theology by Michael Jinkins (Jan 26, 2001)
ISBN 0830815627 page 193
[105] The mystery of the Triune God by John Joseph O'Donnell
1988 ISBN 0-7220-5760-1 page 75
[106] The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Tes-
tament by Warren W. Wiersbe 2007 ISBN 978-0-7814-
4539-9 page 471
[108] Though the term "born again" is most frequently used
by evangelical Christians, most denominations do con-
sider that the new Christian is a “new creation” and “born
again”. See for example the Catholic Encyclopedia
[109] The Holy Spirit and His Gifts. J. Oswald Sanders. Inter-
Varsity Press. chapter 5.
tian Doctrine. (sixth ed.). Inter-Varsity Press. p. 134.
[111] The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church by
Vladimir Lossky ISBN page 77
[112] Systematic Theology by Francis Schussler Fiorenza and
John P. Galvin (May 1, 2011) ISBN 0800662911 pages
193-194
[113] The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford
University Press, 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article
Trinity, doctrine of the
[114] Trinitarian Soundings in Systematic Theology by Paul
Louis Metzger 2006 ISBN 0567084108 pages 36 and 43
ISBN 0816077460 page 543
[116] Insight on the Scriptures 2. 1988. p. 1019.
[117] Dahl, Paul E. (1992). “Godhead”. In Ludlow, Daniel H.
Encyclopedia of Mormonism. New York: Mcmillan. pp.
552–53. ISBN 0-02-904040-X..
2.7 Further reading
• Jenkins, David. Guide to the Debate about God.
London: Lutterworth Press, 1966.
2.8 External links
• Augustine On the Holy Trinity
• The Blessed Trinity Article in the Catholic Encyclo-
pedia

Chapter 3
Baptism with the Holy Spirit
Baptism with the Holy Spirit or in the Holy Spirit in
Christian theology is a term describing baptism (wash-
ing or immersion) in or with the Spirit of God and is
frequently associated with the bestowal of spiritual gifts
and empowerment for Christian ministry.[1][2][3]
While
the phrase “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is found in the
New Testament and all Christian traditions accept it as a
theological concept, each tradition has interpreted it in a
way consistent with their own beliefs on ecclesiology and
Christian initiation.[4]
One view holds that the term refers
only to Pentecost, the “once-for-all” event for the whole
Church described in the second chapter of the Book of
Acts.[5]
Another view holds that the term also refers to an
experience of the individual believer distinct from salva-
tion and initiation into the Church.
Before the emergence of the holiness movement in the
mid-19th century and Pentecostalism in the early 20th
century, most denominations believed that Christians
received the baptism with the Holy Spirit either upon
conversion and regeneration[5]
or through rites of Chris-
tian initiation. Since the growth and spread of Pen-
tecostal and charismatic churches, however, the belief
that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is an experience
distinct from regeneration has come into increasing
prominence.[6]
3.1 Biblical description
Further information: Holy Spirit (Judaism)
In Christian theology, the work of the Holy Spirit un-
der the Old Covenant is viewed as less extensive than
that under the New Covenant inaugurated on the day of
Pentecost.[7]
The Spirit was restricted to certain chosen
individuals, such as high priests and prophets.[8]
Often
termed the “spirit of prophecy” in rabbinic writings, the
Holy Spirit was closely associated with prophecy and di-
vine inspiration.[9]
It was anticipated that in the future
messianic age God would pour out his spirit upon all of
Israel, which would become a nation of prophets.[10][11]
While the exact phrase “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is
not found in the New Testament, two forms of the phrase
El Greco's depiction of Pentecost, with tongues of ﬁre and a dove
representing the Holy Spirit’s descent.
are found in the canonical gospels using the verb “bap-
tize”. The baptism was spoken about by John the Baptist,
22

3.2. HISTORY 23
who contrasted his water baptism for the forgiveness of
sins with the baptism of Jesus. In Mark and John, the
Baptist proclaimed that Jesus “will baptize in (the) Holy
Spirit"; while in Matthew and Luke, he “will baptize with
Holy Spirit and fire”.[12][13]
Jesus is considered the first person to receive the baptism
with the Holy Spirit.[14]
The Holy Spirit descended on Je-
sus during his baptism and anointed him with power.[15]
Afterward, Jesus began his ministry and displayed his
power by casting out demons, healing the sick, and teach-
ing with authority.[16][17]
The phrase “baptized in the Holy Spirit” occurs two times
in Acts, first in Acts 1:4-5[18]
and second in Acts 11:16.[19]
Other terminology is used in Acts to indicate Spirit bap-
tism, such as “filled”.[20]
“Baptized in the Spirit” indicates
an outward immersion into the reality of the Holy Spirit,
while “filled with the Spirit” suggests an internal diffu-
sion. Both terms speak to the totality of receiving the
Spirit.[21]
The baptism with the Holy Spirit is described
in various places as the Spirit “poured out upon”, “falling
upon”, “coming upon” people.[22][23]
To “pour out” sug-
gests abundance and reflects John 3:34,[24]
“God gives the
Spirit without limit”. Another expression, “come upon”
is related to a statement by Jesus in Lk 24:49, “I am send-
ing the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the
city until you are clothed with power from on high”. The
language of “come on” and “clothed with” suggest pos-
session by and endowment with the Holy Spirit.[21]
The narrative of Acts begins after Jesus’ crucifixion and
resurrection. The resurrected Jesus directed his disciples
to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism in the Holy Spirit
and promised, “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 end
of the earth”.[25]
After his ascension, he was given au-
thority to pour out the Holy Spirit.[16]
In the New Testa-
ment, the messianic expectations found in early Judaism
were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts
2:1-41. The Christian community was gathered together
in Jerusalem when a sound from heaven like rushing wind
was heard and tongues like tongues of flame rested on ev-
eryone. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak in tongues, miraculously praising God in foreign
languages. A crowd gathered and was addressed by the
Apostle Peter who stated that the occurrence was the ful-
fillment of Joel’s prophecy, “And in the last days it shall
be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all
flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy”.
He then explained how the Spirit came to be poured out,
recounting Jesus’ ministry and passion and then proclaim-
ing his resurrection and enthronement at the right hand
of God. In response, the crowd asked Peter what they
should do. He responded that they should repent and be
baptized for the forgiveness of sins in order to receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter finished his speech stating
that the promise “is for you and for your children and for
all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls
to himself”.[8]
Baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs elsewhere in Acts. The
gospel had been proclaimed in Samaria and the apostles
Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem. The new be-
lievers had been water baptized, but the Holy Spirit had
not yet fallen on them. The Samaritans received the Holy
Spirit when Peter and John laid their hands on them.[26]
The Apostle Paul was also filled with the Holy Spirit
when Ananias of Damascus laid hands on him, and af-
terwards Paul was baptized with water.[27]
Later in Acts,
Peter preached the gospel to the household of Cornelius
the Centurion, a Gentile. While he preached, the Holy
Spirit fell on the gentiles, and they began to speak in
tongues. The Jewish believers with Peter were amazed,
and the household was water baptized.[28]
While the apos-
tle Paul was in Ephesus, he found disciples there and dis-
covered that they did not know of the existence of the
Holy Spirit and had only received John the Baptist’s bap-
tism. After baptizing them in Jesus’ name, Paul laid his
hands on them, and they began to speak in tongues and
prophesy.[29]
3.2 History
3.2.1 Early Christianity
In the early Church, the imposition of hands on the newly
baptized to impart the gift of the Holy Spirit was the
origin of the sacrament of confirmation. In the Eastern
church, confirmation continued to be celebrated immedi-
ately after water baptism. The two rites were separated
in the Western church.[30]
According to Pentecostal histo-
rian H. Vinson Synan, “the basic premise of Pentecostal-
ism, that one may receive later effusions of the Spirit af-
ter initiation/conversion, can be clearly traced in Chris-
tian history to the beginnings of the rite of confirmation
in the Western churches”.[31]
3.2.2 Puritans (16th and 17th centuries)
Many Puritans believed that the experience of becoming
a Christian was followed by a later and distinct experi-
ence of the Holy Spirit. This experience was character-
ized by receiving assurance of one’s salvation. English
Puritan Thomas Goodwin equated this experience with
the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the “seal of the Spirit”
referenced in the Epistle to the Ephesians.[32]
3.2.3 Wesleyanism and the Higher Life
movement (18th and 19th centuries)
Synan traces the influence of Catholic and Anglican mys-
tical traditions on John Wesley's doctrine of Christian
perfection or entire sanctification, from which Pente-

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