...An etymologist is a wordsmith. Or, put more plainly, it is a person who studies
the origin of words and their usage. Such scholars of language have enhanced
our understanding of some Bible words.
For instance, our English word spirit is derived from the Latin word spiritus
which means “breath.” We find the appearance of this word in several words
we frequently employ in conversation: aspire, perspire, expire and conspire,
to name but a few.
The Sacred Scriptures are said to Have Been Inspired (2 Tim. 3:16), or
“God Breathed.” In Latin it’s Deo spiritus; in Greek, theopneustos.
In the creation account God Breathed into the first man the breath of
life (Gen. 2:7). But it is not without significance that the church of The
Mystery is referred to as the “new man” (Eph. 2:15), for the life thereof
is also The Very Life of God.
This new man is called “the Body of Christ,” a phrase that is used by the apostle
to the Gentiles (1 Cor. 12:27). As God’s agent of The Mystery, Paul reminds his
listeners that believers are Baptized By The Spirit Into Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
As a result, the tiny word “in” is used more than 200 times in Paul’s epistles in
relation to believers being in Christ. For example, in Christ we are a new creature
(2 Cor. 5:17). This Baptism By The Spirit Identifies us with Christ our Lord.
As a former Pentecostal pastor, I understand the misuse and abuse of the
so-called “second experience” of the Spirit that is so prevalent in “faith”
churches across the globe. The vast majority of confessing Christians in the
“experiential movements” are encouraged to receive a salvation experience
labelled “the Spirit baptism” that is subsequent to our Baptism By The Spirit
into Christ.
My spiritual odyssey in the Pentecostal movement was interrupted when I
became a theological seminary lecturer or teacher of pneumatology
(Doctrine of the Holy Spirit). My research exposed me to the transitional
nature of the Book of Acts, in terms of the Kingdom hope to Israel being
postponed and the spiritual awakening of Saul of Tarsus and his Revelation
of The Mystery from the Ascended Christ.
It took me many years of struggle as I grappled with The Truth Of Scripture
and the relevance of the personal experiences that I had ignorantly accredited
to The Holy Spirit. The dispensational application of Bible interpretation and
exegesis that I eventually adopted ignited an unquenchable zeal to study
The Word Rightly Divided.
I found subjective human experience to be unreliable because it’s a variable
that is not consistent. I learned to trust objective truth as a constant instead.
The objective approach to Bible truth espoused by Berean Bible Society brings
stability to believers. Consistency silences the critics, and those of us on the
foreign mission fields have found so much comfort in the ministry of BBS and
the Berean Searchlight.
BBS’s consistent and loyal commitment to correct Bible observation, interpretation
and application is so refreshing. The following thoughts that employ this approach
may be helpful to Grace believers who must field questions from our Pentecostal
friends about our position in terms of Yhe Holy Spirit.
There are four significant verbs that Paul the Apostle used in connection with our
relation to the Holy Spirit. We have been (past tense) Baptized by the Spirit at
the moment of our conversion. We were also Indwelt, Sealed and born anew By
The Spirit at that time (1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13; Titus 3:5). The actions expressed
by these four verbs happened simultaneously when we believed. There is no
subsequent experience that is required to get more of the Spirit and become
more spiritual.
When I officiate at a wedding ceremony and declare the couple married, Miss
Jones becomes Mrs. Brown. She loses her single identity and takes on her
husband’s family name. The very moment I pronounce them husband and wife,
her status changes. If she owned property before the nuptials, according to the
laws of South Africa where I minister, she cannot sell the land without her
husband’s consent once she is married.
There are four changes that occur to Miss Jones simultaneously. Her name,
status, responsibility and destiny change forever. In the same manner,
these four changes occur simultaneously in the believer When The Holy Spirit
Takes up Residence in the human citadel.
Spirituality has to do with recognizing the Identity in Christ that the Spirit Gave
us when we believed, not in any Subsequent Action of The Spirit. It is the
Residing Presence of God’s Spirit within us that Seals our salvation, and we
received all of The Spirit we will ever need the moment we believed.
According to Vine’s Greek Dictionary, the term “Earnest of our inheritance”
(Eph. 1:14) is arrabon, and the modern Greek word arrabona is “engagement
ring.” The engagement ring is a promise of marriage. The Holy Spirit Is Given
to us As A Promise of our Eternal inheritance in Christ. And you don’t have to
be an etymologist to rejoice in that!
"
(B Woolard):
Original article: What Is An Etymologist?
GRACE, Peace, And JOY...
the origin of words and their usage. Such scholars of language have enhanced
our understanding of some Bible words.
For instance, our English word spirit is derived from the Latin word spiritus
which means “breath.” We find the appearance of this word in several words
we frequently employ in conversation: aspire, perspire, expire and conspire,
to name but a few.
The Sacred Scriptures are said to Have Been Inspired (2 Tim. 3:16), or
“God Breathed.” In Latin it’s Deo spiritus; in Greek, theopneustos.
In the creation account God Breathed into the first man the breath of
life (Gen. 2:7). But it is not without significance that the church of The
Mystery is referred to as the “new man” (Eph. 2:15), for the life thereof
is also The Very Life of God.
This new man is called “the Body of Christ,” a phrase that is used by the apostle
to the Gentiles (1 Cor. 12:27). As God’s agent of The Mystery, Paul reminds his
listeners that believers are Baptized By The Spirit Into Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
As a result, the tiny word “in” is used more than 200 times in Paul’s epistles in
relation to believers being in Christ. For example, in Christ we are a new creature
(2 Cor. 5:17). This Baptism By The Spirit Identifies us with Christ our Lord.
As a former Pentecostal pastor, I understand the misuse and abuse of the
so-called “second experience” of the Spirit that is so prevalent in “faith”
churches across the globe. The vast majority of confessing Christians in the
“experiential movements” are encouraged to receive a salvation experience
labelled “the Spirit baptism” that is subsequent to our Baptism By The Spirit
into Christ.
My spiritual odyssey in the Pentecostal movement was interrupted when I
became a theological seminary lecturer or teacher of pneumatology
(Doctrine of the Holy Spirit). My research exposed me to the transitional
nature of the Book of Acts, in terms of the Kingdom hope to Israel being
postponed and the spiritual awakening of Saul of Tarsus and his Revelation
of The Mystery from the Ascended Christ.
It took me many years of struggle as I grappled with The Truth Of Scripture
and the relevance of the personal experiences that I had ignorantly accredited
to The Holy Spirit. The dispensational application of Bible interpretation and
exegesis that I eventually adopted ignited an unquenchable zeal to study
The Word Rightly Divided.
I found subjective human experience to be unreliable because it’s a variable
that is not consistent. I learned to trust objective truth as a constant instead.
The objective approach to Bible truth espoused by Berean Bible Society brings
stability to believers. Consistency silences the critics, and those of us on the
foreign mission fields have found so much comfort in the ministry of BBS and
the Berean Searchlight.
BBS’s consistent and loyal commitment to correct Bible observation, interpretation
and application is so refreshing. The following thoughts that employ this approach
may be helpful to Grace believers who must field questions from our Pentecostal
friends about our position in terms of Yhe Holy Spirit.
There are four significant verbs that Paul the Apostle used in connection with our
relation to the Holy Spirit. We have been (past tense) Baptized by the Spirit at
the moment of our conversion. We were also Indwelt, Sealed and born anew By
The Spirit at that time (1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13; Titus 3:5). The actions expressed
by these four verbs happened simultaneously when we believed. There is no
subsequent experience that is required to get more of the Spirit and become
more spiritual.
When I officiate at a wedding ceremony and declare the couple married, Miss
Jones becomes Mrs. Brown. She loses her single identity and takes on her
husband’s family name. The very moment I pronounce them husband and wife,
her status changes. If she owned property before the nuptials, according to the
laws of South Africa where I minister, she cannot sell the land without her
husband’s consent once she is married.
There are four changes that occur to Miss Jones simultaneously. Her name,
status, responsibility and destiny change forever. In the same manner,
these four changes occur simultaneously in the believer When The Holy Spirit
Takes up Residence in the human citadel.
Spirituality has to do with recognizing the Identity in Christ that the Spirit Gave
us when we believed, not in any Subsequent Action of The Spirit. It is the
Residing Presence of God’s Spirit within us that Seals our salvation, and we
received all of The Spirit we will ever need the moment we believed.
According to Vine’s Greek Dictionary, the term “Earnest of our inheritance”
(Eph. 1:14) is arrabon, and the modern Greek word arrabona is “engagement
ring.” The engagement ring is a promise of marriage. The Holy Spirit Is Given
to us As A Promise of our Eternal inheritance in Christ. And you don’t have to
be an etymologist to rejoice in that!
"
(B Woolard):
Original article: What Is An Etymologist?
GRACE, Peace, And JOY...
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