6. Describe and assess the role Paul gives to the Holy Spirit in Christian initiation, Church life and personal religious experience.
St Paul is remembered as one the most influential figures of the early church. Today he is seen as being somewhat controversial, but his conversion and life continue to inspire modern Christians. He could be considered as being the first Christian theologian and his teachings are still massively important to Christians today and still influence Christian study and thought. Paul’s writings make up the majority of the New Testament and he worked tirelessly to nurture and support the early church communities, most of his letters being responses to problems suffered by these communities. No figure could be said to have done more or worked harder to spread the …show more content…
One of the fundamental aspects of Christian baptism is the receiving of the Holy Spirit. To Paul, it is a given that all believers receive the Holy Spirit, this is evident in Acts 19 where he discovers that the believers at Ephesus have not received the Holy Spirit because they were not baptised in the name of Jesus. The presence of the Holy Spirit is seen clearly when the believers begin to prophesy and speak in tongues after being baptised (NIV Acts of the Apostles 19). Baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit initiate the believers into a state of being with Christ; a ‘oneness with Christ’. According to Bruce Christ’s ‘’historical death and resurrection become part of their spiritual experience; the baptism in the Spirit…incorporates them into one body’’ (Bruce 1977, 281). The Holy Spirit therefore is the central force in Christian initiation as it brings new believers into the body of Christ and into a family of fellow believers. This is important as it transforms the convert from a Gentile of a Jew into a Christian, part of a large community of people sharing the same
St Paul is remembered as one the most influential figures of the early church. Today he is seen as being somewhat controversial, but his conversion and life continue to inspire modern Christians. He could be considered as being the first Christian theologian and his teachings are still massively important to Christians today and still influence Christian study and thought. Paul’s writings make up the majority of the New Testament and he worked tirelessly to nurture and support the early church communities, most of his letters being responses to problems suffered by these communities. No figure could be said to have done more or worked harder to spread the …show more content…
One of the fundamental aspects of Christian baptism is the receiving of the Holy Spirit. To Paul, it is a given that all believers receive the Holy Spirit, this is evident in Acts 19 where he discovers that the believers at Ephesus have not received the Holy Spirit because they were not baptised in the name of Jesus. The presence of the Holy Spirit is seen clearly when the believers begin to prophesy and speak in tongues after being baptised (NIV Acts of the Apostles 19). Baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit initiate the believers into a state of being with Christ; a ‘oneness with Christ’. According to Bruce Christ’s ‘’historical death and resurrection become part of their spiritual experience; the baptism in the Spirit…incorporates them into one body’’ (Bruce 1977, 281). The Holy Spirit therefore is the central force in Christian initiation as it brings new believers into the body of Christ and into a family of fellow believers. This is important as it transforms the convert from a Gentile of a Jew into a Christian, part of a large community of people sharing the same