Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-118).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 78-79.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-118).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 334-340) and index.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 78-79.

Thesis (M. Div.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1986. / Abstract. Bibliography: leaves 72-78.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-123).

This thesis analyzes the pneumatology of Didymus the Blind as expressed in three of his writings: the Commentary on Genesis, the Commentary on Zechariah, and On the Holy Spirit. It attends specifically to the relationship between this pneumatology and Didymus’s concept of virtue formation. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a survey of the state of Didymean scholarship and a sketch of his biography. Chapter 3 identifies the concept of virtue formation that Didymus espouses in the Commentary on Genesis and the Commentary on Zechariah, while chapter 4 describes the pneumatology of On the Holy Spirit. Finally, chapter 5 draws together the observations of chapters 3 and 4 to demonstrate their interconnectedness and to argue that the pneumatology which Didymus constructs in On the Holy Spirit is, in fact, the underlying source of agency for the notion of virtue formation that he develops in his commentaries on Genesis and Zechariah.

There have been long debates in academic circles as to what constitutes the “heart” of Pauline theology. The traditional view, according to Fee (1994:11), is the one fostered by the Reformers and perpetuated by generations of Protestants, that “justification by faith” is the key to Paul’s theology. This view emphasises Christ’s historical act of redemption and its appropriation by the believer through faith. The inadequacy of such a view should be apparent to anyone carefully reading Paul’s letters. Not only does it focus on one metaphor of salvation to the exclusion of others, but, such a focus fails to throw the net broadly enough to capture all of Paul’s theological concerns. It would therefore, seem impossible to understand Pauline theology, without firstly beginning with salvation in Christ, and further to this, with eschatology and the Holy Spirit as the essential framework. It is within this framework that the process of sonship and adoption as related to the new covenant are unveiled to the believer. Without denying the presence of other determining factors, Christology, and eschatology especially, shape the framework of Paul’s pneumatology. One cannot doubt that the death and resurrection of Christ, in their eschatological significance, control Paul’s teaching on the work of the Spirit within the lives of believers. It could be said that the Spirit stands near the centre of things for Paul, as part of the fundamental core of his understanding of the Gospel. It is within this theological framework of the Spirit that Paul expresses his key ideas concerning the new covenant and sonship. One might say then, that membership in God’s family, is defined in terms of the Spirit. “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, assuming that the Spirit of God does indeed dwell in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Him” (Rom 8:9). One could say that in eschatological terms, the Spirit of God is the beginning of the process of salvation, which will culminate in the believer taking possession of his inheritance in the future age. It could be stated as a function of the Spirit in the believer’s present that is only meaningful in relation to the future. Not only does the indwelling Spirit serve as the divine pledge of a future bodily resurrection, but guarantees it. To give the reader further ideas as to what drives this thesis, the following urgencies are spelt out: • Crucial to the experience of the Spirit, was the early Church’s self-understanding as “thoroughly eschatological” in the “already/not yet” sense. • At the heart of this new understanding was their perception of themselves as the newly constituted people of God. The goal of salvation in Christ, the core of Pauline theology, was that God should create “a people for his name”. • Although persons’ individually become members of the family of God, the goal is not to simply prepare them for heaven, but to create a people, who by the power of the Spirit, live out the life of the future (the life of God Himself) in this present age. One final point needs to be clarified before one embarks on the enterprise of writing a theology of Paul as it relates to the title of this thesis. In the movement and dialogue of Paul’s theologising, his letter to the Romans is a relatively fixed feature (Dunn, 1998:25). It was written to a Church that was not his own founding. It was written at the end of a major phase of Paul’s missionary work (Rom 15:18-24), which included most of the other undisputed letters. It was written under probably the most congenial circumstances of his mission, with time for careful reflection and composition and, above all, it was clearly intended to set out and defend his own mature understanding of the Gospel (Rom 1:16-17) as he had thus far proclaimed it. In short, Romans is still far removed from a dogmatic or systematic treatise on theology, but it nevertheless is the most sustained and reflective statement of Paul’s theology by Paul himself. Romans provides Christians with an example of the way Paul himself chose to order the sequence of themes in his theology. If one wishes to grasp at (as attempted in this thesis) and dialogue with the mature theology of Paul, one cannot do better than to take Romans as a kind of template on which to construct one’s own statement of Paul’s theology. A theology of Paul that sets out to describe and discuss the Holy Spirit and sonship, is surely headed in the right direction, if one constantly references Romans as prompter and plumb-line throughout. / Prof. J.A. du Rand

The essay consists of five main chapters with an introduction and conclusion. This defines the limits of the essay and explains the methodology employed. These chapters are examined particularly with reference to the Spirit as the agent of fulfillment of the old, and the inaugurator of the new. 'The main text examined is Lk. 1.35. The Spirit is shown to be also used in a skillful linking and differentiation of John the Baptist and Jesus. Through a fairly detailed synoptic comparison, the peculiarly Lukan emphasis is brought to light. The Baptism is linked with 1.35 and the Transfiguration. Again both the Baptism and Temptation are shown to be seen in the light of the fulfillment of the Old Covenant. All the lines of fulfilment join together in the Spirit's descent on Jesus. The immediate result of this is the testing of his Messiahship, and Proclamation in the synagogue of Nazareth. This proclamation is coupled with the Luken rejection motif. The Spirit is seen to be especially involved in Jesus' ministries of exorcism and healing, but also in his preaching and teaching. The position of Lk 4.18-19 is seen to be of great importance. The main problem is the lack of specific reference to the Spirit. This is resolved in similar fashion to the question of the Messianic Secret. The relation of the apostles to the spirit is also discussed, since this is relevant to the ministry of the Church. Firstly the relation between the Transfiguration and Ascension is examined. This points to the fundamental centrality of the Ascension in Luke's theology. Pentecost is then seen as the fulfilling of the Ascension in the Church. Secondly, as a minor theme, the resurrection appearances are looked into and the similarities with Johannine thought are noted. This raises the question of the historicity of the Lukan schematization. In the examination of Pentecost itself the problem of the quotation from Joel and also the relation of Pentecost to the founding of the Church and the Gentile mission are raised. The Spirit is revealed to be active in two main areas : (1) the mission of the Church in evangelization - this is especialy seen in the areas of preaching, miracles and the life of the Church ; (2) the establishing and justification of the Gentile mission - this overriding concern is shown to obscure the other functions of the Spirit especially in the realm of Baptism and the Christian life of the individual. Thus Luke's historical sense is seen to be coupled with a theological desire to justify and bolster the Gentile mission. This draws out the various conclusions within the essay. The question of 'salvation-history' is raised and a solution found in terms of Luke's use of the Spirit. In broad outline the schema of Conzelmann is accepted. The Lukan eschatology is mentioned in an attempt to find a solution to questions raised by the comparison of Luke with Paul and John. This comparison is only meant to place the main conclusions of the essay within the context of the wider New Testament.