The Lord Is the Spirit. John A. Studebaker

of each book for our discussion.

      Second, I will utilize my exegesis and biblical theology to respond to each author. Having discerned from Scripture various clues and patterns regarding the authority of the Holy Spirit, I will now use Scripture to assess whether this author affirms or denies a biblical notion of the Spirit’s authority.

      Finally, I will discuss this aspect of the Spirit’s authority in light of systematic theology and specifically within the broader scope of our principle and pattern of divine authority, looking to confirm a biblical/systematic notion of the Spirit’s authority within the entire pattern.6 I will attempt to provide a formal description of this authority that will clarify its precise nature and identify specific “titles” for the Spirit that represent each description. This description, of course, will be far more definitive than the “provisional” summary statement gleaned from historical theology (in chapter two).

      Exegetical and Theological Analysis

      We now begin our exegetical and theological analysis of the four critical “aspects” of the Holy Spirit’s authority as discerned in our study of historical theology.

      The Divine Authority of the Spirit

      In our study of historical theology we discovered that various patristic theologians (i.e., Athanasius, the Cappadocians) attempted to “prove” the Spirit’s divinity by demonstrating such attributes as the Spirit’s Lordship and transcendence (as well as his immutability, supremacy, eternality shared divinity, and involvement in certain activities).7

      Introduction