Spirit Christology Research Articles

Lamb and Lion, Eyes and Horns: Spirit Christology in the Apocalypse of John

Abstract What contribution may the Apocalypse of John make to Spirit Christology? This article focuses on Rev 5:5–6, progressively unveiling these verses’ promise for the project of Spirit Christology through the examination of seven theses. The aim of this exercise is mutual enrichment: Spirit Christology gains an expanded biblical basis beyond its traditional concentration on the New Testament gospels, while the theological interpretation of the Apocalypse of John benefits from a Spirit-christological reading heretofore lacking in major works on the theological interpretation of Revelation.

Spirit Christology: Intentions, Challenges, and the Ecumenical Potential of a Concept

Spirit Christology: Intentions, Challenges, and the Ecumenical Potential of a Concept

A.Leopoldo and M.Sánchez, T&T Clark Introduction to Spirit Christology. London: T&T Clark, 2021, xvii + 202 pp. £75.00/$100.00 hb., £24.99/$34.95 pb.

International Journal of Systematic TheologyEarly View BOOK REVIEW Leopoldo, A. and Sánchez, M., T&T Clark Introduction to Spirit Christology. London: T&T Clark, 2021, xvii + 202 pp. £75.00/$100.00 hb., £24.99/$34.95 pb. Lucy Peppiatt, Corresponding Author Lucy Peppiatt principal@wtctheology.org.uk WTC Theology, Cheltenham, United KingdomSearch for more papers by this author Lucy Peppiatt, Corresponding Author Lucy Peppiatt principal@wtctheology.org.uk WTC Theology, Cheltenham, United KingdomSearch for more papers by this author First published: 03 August 2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12592Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation

The Holy Spirit and the Humanity of Christ in John Owen: A Re‐Examination

AbstractThis article re‐examines John Owen’s construal of the Holy Spirit’s activity in the humanity of Christ. While Owen’s ‘Spirit Christology’ is both lauded as exemplary and criticized as nearly Nestorian, both positions are largely based on a shared (yet faulty) assumption regarding the key text of Owen’s ‘Spirit Christology’ (Pneumatologia 3:159–88; esp. pp. 160–1). In order to correct this assumption, this article examines the claims that Owen makes in this section of Pneumatologia within three different contexts: (1) Owen’s historical context; (2) the context of Owen’s broader corpus; and (3) the immediate context of these claims within the structure and argumentation of Pneumatologia as a whole. I suggest that this rereading of Owen’s Spirit Christology is able to retain many of the desirable theological implications of the original interpretation without the same theological difficulties.

Inseparable Operations, Trinitarian Missions, and the Necessity of a Christological Pneumatology

Abstract A pneumatology that is Christological in emphasis (Christological pneumatology) provides a valuable foil to a Christology that is pneumatological in emphasis (Spirit Christology). Furthermore, a Trinitarian Christological pneumatology offers a robust conception of the person and work of the Holy Spirit that at once acknowledges the centrality of Christ in redemptive history, aligns with orthodox Trinitarianism, and protects against common Trinitarian concerns. The framework of this model lies in a theological complex involving the doctrines of inseparable operations and distinct personal appropriations, the Trinitarian taxis (or order), and the Trinitarian missions. This article provides one step in constructing a theologically viable Christological pneumatology that contributes to the contemporary enrichment of evangelical theology concerning the Holy Spirit.

Sculptor Spirit: Models of Sanctification from Spirit Christology by Leopoldo A. Sánchez M

Sculptor Spirit: Models of Sanctification from Spirit Christology by Leopoldo A. Sánchez M

The unity of the divine and the human in Christ: The Chalcedonian definition and Paul Tillich’s Spirit Christology

The Christological disputes of the 6th–7th centuries (the polemics of Leontius of Byzantium with the Nestorians and Eutychians, and Maximus the Confessor with the monoenergistes/monothelites) showed that the Chalcedonian definition gives rise to a number of problems that cannot be solved within the framework of traditional theology: the unclear ontological status of human nature without a human hypostasis; the inconsistency of the ontological models underlying trinitology and Christology; the need to resort to an artificial interpretation of the gospel testimonies about Christ. However, the Chalcedonian definition is only one possible way to describe the unity of the divine and the human in Christ. The Christology of Paul Tillich is considered as an example of an alternative description in which the above problems do not arise. Tillich’s idea is to replace the traditional concept of the Logos incarnated in man with the concept of the Spirit of God transforming man. According to this view, God does not act on human nature without hypostasis, but on the hypostasis of man through its unifying center. During the earthly life of Christ, this effect occurred only in the hypostasis of Christ as man. And after (and thanks to) the death on the cross and the resurrection of Christ, it extends to all people.

"We Have Seen His Glory": Pentecostal Spirit Christology in Conversation with Cyril of Alexandria

This article proposes a constructive Pentecostal Spirit christology, primarily in conversation with a feature of Cyril of Alexandria’s thought. After considering key features of kenotic Pentecostal Spirit christologies, and showing their limitations, the article takes up the task of constructing an alternative account of kenosis via a re-reading of the Christ hymn in Philippians 2.

SPIRIT CHRISTOLOGY: A PENTECOSTAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE TRINITARIAN DISCOURSE

In reply to Jesus’ question to his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”, the early church used the biblical symbol of God as Spirit to explain how God is present and active in Jesus and the contents of Jesus’ divinity. By the second century, the Apologists responded to christological controversies such as adoptionism, monarchianism, docetism and modalism, as well as the introduction of the gospel to a Greek-speaking audience that required the utilisation of hellenistic philosophical terms. As part of their contextual hermeneutical endeavour, they introduced Logos Christology, with its focus on Jesus as the word (Logos) of God incarnate, who also speaks the word of God, emphasising his divinity to the neglect or diminishment of his humanity. It is argued that Western Christology can benefit from the supplement of Spirit Christology, which is evaluated at the hand of certain criteria useful in evaluating a valid Christology. Because of the influence of its growth and its emphasis on the Spirit, especially in the global South, Pentecostalism is ideally situated to introduce Spirit Christology as a productive systematic christological addition to the christological discourse. The essence of pentecostal hermeneutic, defined as the hermeneutic in which the Holy Spirit is involved in the interpretation of Scripture, lies in its pneumatocentric emphasis. It emphasises the fundamental need for an existential relationship with Christ that represents the experience of the presence of God through the Spirit that is christologically and pneumatologically inscribed. It views the three persons of the Trinity within the context of the economy of salvation to explain their inter-trinitarian relationships. It requires that the filioque view be rejected because it presupposes that the Father-Son relationship is a primary relationship of origin and subordinates the Spirit to the Son, which cannot be accepted. Lastly Pentecostalism’s general view of God falling outside the human frame of reference is illustrated by their practice of speaking in tongues. Spirit Christology supplements the use of intellectual reason with the exercise of discursive and intuitive reason to form a conception of the hidden super-essential Godhead of the Bible.

The Church’s Journey through Time

Abstract Applying the methodology of Third Article Theology to the doctrine of eschatology enables the development of a nuanced understanding of the church’s journey through time. Just as Spirit Christology has revealed insights into Christ’s humanity and growth, similarly a Spirit eschatology informs an understanding of the church’s transformation and development. Such a Spirit eschatology complements rather than replaces the more common christologically focused eschatologies, painting a picture of the Spirit working through but not being beholden to the church, leading us in cruciform lives that echo Christ’s overarching metanarrative.

Indwelling without the indwelling Holy Spirit: a critique of Ray Yeo’s modified account

In 2014, Ray Yeo published a modified account of the Spirit’s indwelling in “Towards a Model of the Indwelling: A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards and William Alston.” Yeo utilizes a conglomerate of Two-Minds Christology and Spirit Christology to provide a metaphysical framework for his model which he believes offers a viable alternative to more traditional merger accounts like those of Edwards and Alston. After providing an overview of Yeo’s objections to the merger accounts of Alston and Edwards, I will summarize Yeo’s modified model. I will argue Yeo’s emphasis on the humanity of Christ in lieu of a literal, internal, and direct union of the Holy Spirit and the human person cannot alleviate the core metaphysical concerns which surface in all accounts of union between the divine and human. Yeo’s misunderstanding of Two-Minds Christology leads him to deny the full humanity of Christ; a humanity upon which his entire account of the indwelling relies. Yeo’s modified model will be shown unsuccessful as an account of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit even if one accepts both his conception of Two-Minds Christology and his conditions for indwelling.

Wolfgang Vondey’s Structure for Systematic Pentecostal Theology

Wolfgang Vondey’s Pentecostal Theology: Living the Full Gospel is a tour de force in Pentecostal systematic theology. It is also the most articulate statement of the fivefold gospel’s power to explain the impulses of past Pentecostal spirituality and its constructive potential for future Pentecostal discourse. Combining both traditional and innovative systematic loci, Vondey’s project shows great promise for the enterprise of christologically oriented narrative theology. One looming question is whether the christocentrism of the full gospel can bear adequate witness to some of the details of Spirit christology. That is, can the full gospel, with its emphasis on Jesus actively bestowing the Holy Spirit on creatures, give proper place to Jesus passively receiving the Holy Spirit from the Father, without the full gospel’s structure undergoing fundamental transformation? While some ambiguities remain in Vondey’s attempts to employ both the full gospel and elements of Spirit christology in the same theological paradigm, he takes long strides towards integrating these two themes that have often competed with each other for space in Pentecostal theology.

Is the Filioque an Obstacle to a Pneumatologically Robust Christology?

AbstractThis article provides examples of pneumatologically robust Reformed Christologies that are founded upon the doctrine of the filioque, as counter-evidence against the charge that the filioque prohibits the possibility of a ‘Spirit Christology.’ In order to provide this evidence, four Reformed theologians from four centuries (Calvin, Owen, Edwards, and Bavinck) are surveyed, particularly as they articulate the doctrine of the filioque and its significance for the role of the Holy Spirit in their Christologies. The article concludes that, rather than constituting an obstacle to a pneumatologically robust Christology, the filioque can positively contribute to a genuine Spirit Christology.

Sacred Heart, Beatific Mind: Exploring the Consciousness of Jesus

Traditional Christologies have focused attention on the question of Jesus’ beatific knowing. On the other hand, recent explorations into Spirit Christology raise different questions about his affectivity. Both issues highlight a concern with Jesus’ psychological experience. The present article proposes that both these issues can be fruitfully examined through the lens of the psychological analogy for the Trinity. In particular, Bernard Lonergan’s developments of the analogy drawing as they do on the experience of grace, shed a new and helpful light on the question of Jesus’ knowing and loving. This approach alleviates some of the more problematic aspects of the traditional approach to Jesus’ beatific vision, while also providing a more solid trinitarian basis for Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Baptized in the Spirit and Fire Christology and Pneumatology in Pentecostal Perspective

Baptized in the Spirit and Fire Christology and Pneumatology in Pentecostal Perspective

David Coffey: Reshaping Traditional Theology

The article seeks to locate the genealogy of David Coffey’s systematic theology in his original search for a unified account of grace. This led to the recovery of early but forgotten ways of thinking about the central doctrines of the Trinity and Christology related especially to the role of the Holy Spirit in the Incarnation. Coffey’s Spirit Christology, based on the Synoptic Gospels and patristic reflection, complements the traditional Christology of Chalcedon in ways that throw light on Christ’s humanity and the redemptive character of his death and resurrection. It also grounds a theology of grace, Christian anthropology, death and resurrection, the Church, and the salvation of unbelievers. Coffey is a prominent Australian theologian and the discussion of his thought is set within a brief account of the development of theological studies in the Australian context.

Jesus, the Spirit, and the Unforgivable Sin

ABSTRACT In Matt 12:22–32 (and parr.: Mark 3:20–30; Luke 12:8–10), the confrontation between the Pharisees and Jesus reaches fever pitch and Jesus pronounces over them the judgment of the unforgivable sin, namely, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This logion has perplexed biblical commentators and theologians alike, as evidenced by the conflicting interpretations of the episode in the literature. Reading this text through the lens of a biblical and Trinitarian Spirit Christology provides a key interpretive paradigm by which to make full sense of this messianic disclosure episode within the Gospel narratives as a whole. The mighty works of Jesus were portals through which the presence of the Spirit might be viewed; they point to who Jesus is and demand a response in light of this revelation. This contribution from Spirit Christology helps to interpret the pericope in a way that takes full account of the response of the Pharisees in the context of messianic disclosure expectations. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and the unforgiveable sin logia further reveal the messianic identity of Jesus and as such form an important part of the Gospel witness to Jesus the Christ.

“But If . . . by the Spirit of God”

ABSTRACT A robust Spirit Christology must display the distinct identities and shared mission of the Son and Holy Spirit, especially as the Spirit perfects Jesus’ humanity and opens his life for our participation. Such a pneumatological Christology seems largely absent in Matthew’s Gospel, especially in his Lord’s Prayer text. Yet interpretations by Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa invite a rereading of the Lord’s Prayer as Spirit Christology. This article correlates Matthew’s unique Lord’s Prayer material with five Matthean co-texts to argue that Jesus is the Father’s Son who humanly prays and lives this prayer in the Spirit, thereby opening it for our participation. The Spirit makes Jesus’ baptism an embodied prayer for the heaven opening arrival of God’s kingdom; the Spirit joins heaven to earth to make Jesus the Father’s New Temple; the Spirit conforms Jesus’ human will to triune will when Jesus hungers in the desert and agonizes in Gethsemane; and the Spirit delivers Jesus, and through him us as well, from evil.

The Holy Spirit and the Son’s Glorification

ABSTRACT In John 7:37–39, Jesus promises “rivers of living water” to those who believe in him. John explains that such reference is to “the Spirit,” which “had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (RSV). The text has puzzled interpreters through the centuries. First, who does the “rivers of living water” (v. 38) flow from—Jesus or the believer? Second, was not the Spirit around before the Son’s glorification, which for John begins with his being lifted up on the cross? If so, then in what sense is the Spirit yet to be given (v. 39)? We will argue that a Spirit Christology, which speaks of Jesus as the receiver, bearer, and giver of God’s Spirit, is a most promising theological framework to make sense of Jesus’ words in John 7, unlock the pneumatic dynamic and trajectory of the Gospel as a whole, and more broadly, to ask important theological questions of the text in dialogue with interpreters past and present.

The Spirit, the Prophets, and the End of the “Johannine Jesus”

ABSTRACT The phrase “the Johannine Jesus” can connote, and effectively create, a Jesus who is inferior to the Synoptic or historical Jesus, charged with lacking compassion, having no interest in the physical realm, and/or lacking the Spirit. This “narrow” Johannine Jesus leads to a “narrow” Johannine Christian. This article posits that such an understanding of Jesus is both theologically problematic and exegetically incorrect. As an investigation of John’s “Spirit Christology,” it argues that the Spirit is powerfully present with Jesus in John, as in the Synoptics—and even in ways not explored in the Synoptics. Four main claims are made. First, as several texts in John indicate explicitly or implicitly, the Spirit remains with Jesus throughout his ministry, from baptism to glorification. Second, the Spirit who is upon/with Jesus is the Spirit promised by the prophets. John contains echoes of Isa 61:1–3, and depicts Jesus the Good Shepherd as fulfilling the spiritual and material promises of Ezek 34. Third, John’s emphasis on the spiritual/metaphorical is not a minimizing or negating of the physical. Rather, as in the prophets and the Synoptics, the spiritual and the physical hang together, implicitly or explicitly as the work of the Spirit. Fourth, at his glorification, Jesus hands over the Spirit to his disciples (19:30) and breathes the Spirit into them (20:22) to continue his Spirit-filled spiritual and material/physical mission. Without ignoring different emphases among the Gospels, we should therefore speak of their unified portrait of the prophetic or Spirit-endued Jesus—or simply Jesus.