...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...
...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):
FULL study: 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...
...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):
FULL study: What Is An Etymologist?
GRACE, Peace, And JOY...