Were OT saints indwelt by the Holy Spirit? This dissertation seeks an answer from John's Gospel. The thesis here is that John 14:17c, "He is with you, and he will be in you," encapsulates the Bible's description of the relationship between the Spirit and the believer in the Old and New Covenants. In chapter 1 the different positions taken on this question are surveyed. The five actual positions and one alleged position are illustrated with quotations. Not all equate regeneration and indwelling. None think the Spirit had nothing to do with OT saints. Chapter 2 contends that the OT does not present its faithful as indwelt by the Spirit. Covenant mediators have the Spirit, but the Spirit distinguishes and empowers them. God dwells among his people in the tabernacle/temple, but he does not dwell in each believer. The outpouring of the Spirit passages point to the future, saying nothing about the experience of Old Covenant believers. Chapter 3 exegetes the Spirit passages in John. Chapter 4 argues that John 7:39 will not permit the inference that OT saints were indwelt. This chapter lays out the OT expectation of a Spirit-anointed Messiah who inaugurates the age to come. John presents Jesus as the fulfillment of this hope, and Jesus ministers the Spirit to his people. Chapter 5 shows that regeneration and indwelling are not equivalent in John. John presents Jesus as the replacement of the temple. Jesus is the locus of God's presence and the place where sin is dealt with. Once Jesus fulfills all sacrifice, God can take up residence in a temple where no sacrifices are offered. Jesus confers temple status on those who believe in him. When Jesus ascends, believers become the locus of God's presence with authority to forgive and retain sin, i.e., they are the new temple. Chapter 6 concludes and summarizes. OT saints were regenerate but not indwelt. The OT does not claim its faithful were indwelt, and the NT says they were not (John 7:39). Under the Old Covenant God's dwelling was the temple. In the New Covenant God dwells in believers. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

This dissertation ascertains the meaning of the Unjust Steward parable (Luke 16:1-13) by examining its language, historical background, and literary context. Chapter 1 introduces the parable's interpretive problems, acknowledges that it is perhaps the most difficult of Jesus' parables to understand, and offers a method for deciphering the meaning. Chapter 2 offers a detailed history-of-interpretation with special attention given to the work of Dennis J. Ireland ( Stewardship and the Kingdom , 1992) and the interpreters who have come after him, especially those who depart from the traditional interpretation. Chapter 3 first examines the text-critical concerns for the parable and then analyzes the language of 16:1-13 at the lexical, grammatical, and syntactical levels. Chapter 4 examines four historical background matters that some scholars have offered as interpretative keys for understanding the parable and determines that most of these background features have been overemphasized and are of limited help. Chapter 5 examines the literary concerns of the parable. This chapter first examines the nature of the "parable" genre, Luke's use of parables, and the history of parable interpretation in general. The chapter then examines the literary context of the parable, giving special attention to the relationship between the Unjust Steward and all of the major units in Luke 15 and 16. Finally, the chapter examines a few literary conventions that some scholars have proposed as interpretive keys. The conclusion is that some are of more value than others. Chapter 6 synthesizes the information and conclusions from Chapters 3, 4, and 5 to answer the nine most pressing questions that the parable presents to the reader. The dissertation concludes that the traditional interpretation, which perceives the parable to be about a dishonest transaction that serves as an exhortation about both the proper use of monetary possession and preparing for the kingdom of God, is still the most plausible. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.