Pneumatology???Posted by Phil on March 8th, 2010
you probably haven’t heard the word pneumatology. but it’s the fancy theological term for the study of the Holy Spirit. pneuma is the Greek word for wind or air. it is a neuter gender word, but is given a masculine personal pronoun.
the fact that the word for spirit means air and that it is a neuter term has lead people to think that the Holy Spirit is a farce, power, or an energy and they often miss out on the person of the Holy Spirit. don’t miss out on this….the Holy Spirit is by far the most prominent person of the Trinity for us right now. the Holy Spirit is what makes a personal relationship with God possible. it’s how we can experience God.
i would encourage you to read through 3 passages about the Holy Spirit and write down what the Spirit does and who he is. take a look through John 16:5-16, Romans 8:9-17, and 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.
we’ll see that the Spirit teaches, convicts, guides, reveals, brings glory to God, controls, gives life, discerns, gives gifts, and makes us God’s children…among many others things. he was there for the creation of the world (Gen. 1:2), inspired Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16), and involved in the birth of Christ (Luke 1:35).
it’s easy to see the Spirit is very active….but only in the life of the believer. the only thing the Spirit can do for a non-believer is convict of sin. at salvation, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and he does 4 very special things in our life…all 1 time acts that last forever. the Spirit regenerates us (new creation), baptizes (new identity), indwells in us (a new presence), and seals us (new destiny).
the Holy Spirit is active and real….so are you looking for him? are you asking to know him more and more each day? are you letting him do the things he said he would do in the life of the believer?