Category Archives: Holy Spirit and Providence

The Holy Spirit: Introduction: Alexander Campbell

The Restoration Movement (or Stone-Campbell Movement), which gave birth to the Churches of Christ, resulted from the merger of two earlier movements, one founded by Barton W. Stone and one founded by Thomas and Alexander Campbell. The Stone movement is … Continue reading

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The Holy Spirit: Introduction: The Cane Ridge Revival

As I’ve promised more than once, this is the beginning of a new series on the Holy Spirit. I’ve written extensively here and there about the Spirit, but I’ve never assembled a complete pneumatology — theology of the Spirit. Of … Continue reading

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The Holy Spirit: What Does It Mean to Have a Personal Relationship with Jesus?

I get emails — I’ve been following your blog for some time now and have come to believe that what you are teaching is largely correct. Now I’m struggling with this idea of having a “relationship” with Jesus. How do … Continue reading

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The Holy Spirit: How do I know he indwells me?

I recently posted an emailed question from a reader, asking how he could tell that the Spirit indwells him. And there have been many excellent responses from the readers. I don’t think what I’m about to say is in any … Continue reading

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The Holy Spirit: A Question About the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

I get emails — I’ve been following your blog for some time now and have come to believe that what you are teaching is largely correct. … Also, this idea of having the indwelling of the Spirit is new to … Continue reading

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Church of Christ Deism: Testimonies

Regular readers know that I’m big on testimonies. I mean, if God is alive and active through his Spirit, then some of our fellow Christians should have experienced that activity. And it just happens that in my congregation, we just … Continue reading

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Church of Christ Deism: Wrapping Up

I’m probably going to make some readers mad. It’s inevitable, I’m afraid. You see, ever since I first started teaching, over 1800 classes ago, I find that students get upset when I raise an issue, present alternative interpretations, and then … Continue reading

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Church of Christ Deism: Showing the Spirit

D. A. Carson has written a masterful book on the Holy Spirit called Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14. Carson is one of the world’s premier conservative theologians working today, is not a charismatic, and works … Continue reading

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Church of Christ Deism: Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament

Sometimes we get so caught up in the details that we don’t step back to look at the big picture. Let’s take a moment to consider the New Testament’s big picture of spiritual gifts. We begin with the Gospels, of … Continue reading

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Church of Christ Deism: Do Spiritual Gifts Come Exclusively from the Laying On of Hands?

It’s been argued by many that spiritual gifts died out in the generation following the apostles because the gifts were imparted exclusively by the laying on of apostolic hands. In the Churches of Christ, this teaching has taken on near-canonical … Continue reading

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