THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

BY

ISRAEL KIM

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

NOVEMBER 14, 1995

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God are intimately related. The Spirit is

the birthing agent which regenerates man into a condition where he is able to

participate in the Kingdom. The Spirit is the power which allows the Kingdom to be

present in the ministry of Jesus and his corporate body. The Spirit is the

empowering Comforter who bears witness of the Kingdom since the Ascension of

Jesus. Every aspect of the Kingdom of God is attested, empowered, and manifested

by the Holy Spirit of God.

The biblical concept of the Kingdom of God regarding the chronological

expectation and entry into the Kingdom of God is both present and future. In Jesus

with the empowerment of the Spirit, the Kingdom of God came into being and in him

it will be consummated.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of the Holy Spirit

and the Kingdom of God, examining both the historical overview of the development

of the Kingdom and Jesus' teaching through the parables on the Kingdom.

1

Chapter 2 will examine the historical development of the Kingdom of God

throughout the centuries and will explain briefly each view and some of the

representatives of each view.

Chapter 3 will examine some of Jesus' parables and whether those selected in

fact do contain the idea of the Kingdom in both a present and future reality.

Chapter 4 will examine the relationship of the Spirit to the Kingdom of God in

the teachings of Jesus. This section will exegete the relationship of the Spirit to the

earthly beginning entrance of the Kingdom in Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus.

The relationship of the Spirit to the presence of the Kingdom will also be examined

regarding the Beelzebul controversy. The chapter will conclude with the Spirit's

role in the witness of the Kingdom in the post-Ascension Church.

CHAPTER 2

HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE KINGDOM

OF GOD

The Kingdom of God is a major theme of the Gospel,1 but as to the nature and

the concept of the Kingdom, scholarly views have been diverse. Some scholars think

of the Kingdom as a present reality, others consider it as a future event, and still

others believe it is both present and future. What is the Kingdom of God? Where

and when does it begin? What is the fundamental aspect of the Kingdom in Jesus'

teachings in the Gospels? These are the questions that one might face whenever

dealing with the issue of the Kingdom.

Kingdom of God as Future Reality

Johannes Weiss and Albert Schweitzer2 posit an apocalyptic Jesus with a

totally future Kingdom. They contend that Jesus held to and preached an imminent

parousia.

Johannes Weise criticizes Ritschl's interpretation of the Kingdom of God.

Weiss' historical interpretation of the Kingdom of God proved to be radically

different from any interpretation that had been made during and before his time.3

1George E. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1993), 54. 2Johannes Weiss, Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971); and Albert Schweitzer, The Quest for the Historical Jesus, trans. W. Montgomery (New York: Macmillan, 1968), x-xiii.

3

3Norman Perrin, The Kingdom of God in the Teaching of Jesus (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1963), 16.

In Die Predigt Jesus vom Reiche Gottes (1900), Weiss develops three

criticisms of Ritschl.4 First, Ritschl does not do justice to the antithesis between the

Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.5 Second, Ritschle put emphasis upon the

activity of men in building the Kingdom; whereas in the teachings of Jesus the

emphasis is upon the Kingdom of God as the activity of God as king.6 Third, Ritschl

sees the intention of Jesus as the moral organization of humanity.7

Weiss' concern is to offer a historically accurate interpretation of the

teachings of Jesus. The true background of Jesus' teachings is found in the Jewish

thought where "God as ruler" is emphasized and upon the Kingdom as the

manifestation of his kingly activity. Weiss claims that this is the dominant emphasis

in the Old Testament: the hope expressed in the proclamations of the prophets is for

the coming of a mighty, kingly activity of God whereby his people will be redeemed,

his enemies will be destroyed, and the present evil state of things totally and forever

reversed.8 Therefore, what Weiss argues in his interpretation is that there is an

essential relationship between the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of prophetic

and apocalyptic Judaism concerning the Kingdom of God.9

Among others, Albert Schweitzer really provokes discussion of the Kingdom

of God. Schweitzer developed and popularized Weiss' view.10 His assumption is

4Ibid., 17.

5Weiss, Jesus Proclamation of the Kingdom, 78-79.

6Ibid., 82, 132. 7Ibid., 105.

8Weiss, Jesus' Proclamation of The Kingdom of God, 134-35. Isa. 40:10; 52:7; 52:9-

10; Zech. 14:9 etcetera.

9Ibid., 8. 10Perrin, The Kingdom, 28.

that the whole life, work, and teachings of Jesus were dominated by a fixed

eschatological expectation, which is found in Jewish apocalyptic literature, an

interpretation that he calls "Konsequent Eschatologie" (Consistent Eschatology).11

This "Konsequente Eschatologie" is defined as follows. First, Jesus knew

himself to be the designated Messiah.12 Second, when he sent his disciples on the

mission recorded in Matthew 10, he did not expect to see them back before the

Kingdom should have come.13 Third, the failure of the parousia to take place on this

occasion was the turning point in Jesus' ministry.14 Last, messianic woe (suffering)

should precede or accompany the coming of the Kingdom, as in Jewish apocalyptic

thought.15

Both Schweitzer and Weiss discover the eschatological character of Jesus at

about the same time, also both present the interpretation of Jesus' teaching of the

Kingdom on the basis of eschatology.

Kingdom of God as Present Reality

The "Kingdom of God as present reality" view is a pivotal reaction to the

eschatological interpretations. The principal representatives of this view are C. H.

Dodd and Rudolf Bultmann.16

11Schweitzer, The Quest, 365; and Schweitzer, Paul and His Interpreters (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1912), ix. 12Perrin, The Kingdom, 31.

13Schweitzer, The Quest, 356.

14Ibid., 357; and Werner Georg Kümmel, Promise and Fulfillment, trans. Dorothy M. Barton (Naperville, CA: Allenson, 1957), 21. 15Ibid., 385-88. 16Perrin, Kingdom, 58.

Dodd rightly affirms that the most characteristic and distinctive of the gospel

sayings are those which speak of a present coming of the Kingdom. He argues that

for Jesus the Kingdom is present and that Jesus taught the reality of the Kingdom as

realized in his own ministry.17

Dodd does not deny the future aspect of the Kingdom (Matt. 8:11; Mark

14:25), but interprets it as fulfillment in a world beyond this one. According to

Dodd, sayings about eating and drinking in the Kingdom of God do not refer to its

future coming, but rather to future participation in the Kingdom by those not yet

there."18 He sees both rabbinical and prophetic-apocalyptic usage of the Kingdom of

God as the background of the teaching of Jesus.19 Though Dodd's reflections are

strongly influenced by Adolf Harnack,20 Bultmann is effected by his teacher,

Johannes Weiss, and says of him,

Weiss showed that the Kingdom of God is not imminent in the world and does not grow as part of the world's history, but is rather eschatological; i.e., the Kingdom of God transcends the historical order. It will come into being not through the moral endeavor of man, but solely through the supernatural action of God.21

Rather than trying to accommodate Jesus to modern thought by attributing

to him the more convenient theory of realized eschatology, Bultmann insists upon the

necessity of a "demythologizing" of Jesus' and the early church's eschatological outlook

17Dodd, Parables, 50-51. See C. K. Barrett, The Holy Spirit and Gospel Tradition, 5th ed. (London: SPCK, 1970), 62. 18Dodd, Parable, 55.

23Ibid., 41-42. 20F. W. Dillistone, C. H. Dodd Interpreter of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 54-57. 21Rudolff Bultmann, Jesus Christ and Mythology (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958), 12.

in order to recover the essential understanding of existence.22 Bultmann makes

clear that the purpose of demythologizing was to remove false or unnecessary

stumbling blocks to the faith of modern people.23

Jesus is a proponent of an understanding of existence that focuses entirely on

the present "now" or "crisis of decision." "Now" is always the "last hour."

Therefore, for Bultmann, the Kingdom is the imminent future, but "the Kingdom of

God is the beginning and beginning now."

The one concern in this teaching was that man should conceive his

immediate concrete situation as the decision to which he is constrained, and should

decide in this moment for God and surrender his natural will.24

Both Dodd and Bultmann conclude that Jesus' message of the Kingdom of

God is essentially timeless. According to Dodd, Jesus does not expect or proclaim

any future eschatological events; for Bultmann, Jesus is a proponent of "now" or

crisis of decision. The only future matter of interest is how a decision now would

affect achievement of one's future self.

Kingdom of God as Present and Future Reality

Since the appearance of W. G. Kümmel's landmark work Verheissung und

Erfullung,25 it has been widely agreed among scholars that Jesus' teachings on the

Kingdom of God comprehend both a present and a future reality. That these present

and future aspects of the Kingdom are brought side-by-side in certain Synoptic and

22Ibid., 18; Rudolf Bultmann, Kerygma and Myth a Theological Debate vol. 2, ed. Hans-Werner Bartsch (London: SPCK, 1962), 182-83; and Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 11, 13. 23Bultmann, Jesus Christ and Mythology, 14-23. 24Rudolf Bultmann, Jesus and the Word (New York: Scribner's, 1985), 131.

25Hereafter cited in its translation, Promise and Fulfillment, 155.

Johannine texts appears to be undeniable.26 Kümmel with his work Promise and

Fulfillment is the first to juxtapose the present and the future of the Kingdom. The

Kingdom was and is present and yet still future. In this "inaugurated eschatology"

there is a tension between "already" and "not yet."

Oscar Cullmann used the analogy of D-Day and V-Day in order to

demonstrate the tension between the present and yet still future perspectives of the

Kingdom of God. According to Cullmann, Jesus, in casting out demons and in other

activities of his ministry, represented the decisive defeat of the powers of evil by the

powers of the Kingdom ("I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" [Luke 10:18]

and "If I by the Spirit of God drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has already

come to you"[Matt. 12:28/Luke 11:20]. This is D-Day. The final consummation of

the sovereignty of God is V-Day, Victory Day. Thus, Cullmann affirmed that "the

hope of the final victory is so much more vivid because of the unshakably firm

conviction that the battle that decides the victory has already taken place."27

For G. E. Ladd the central thesis of the Kingdom of God is:

The Kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God dynamically active to establish his rule among men, and that this Kingdom, which will appear as an apocalyptic act at the end of the age, has already come into human history in the person and mission of Jesus to overcome evil, to deliver men from its power, and to bring them into the blessings of God's reign. The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfillment within history, and consummation at the end of history.28

26See E. Earle Ellis, "Present and Future Eschatology in Luke," New Testament Studies 12 (May 1965): 27-41.

27Osacar Cullmann, Christ and Time: The Primitive Christian Conception of Time and History (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1950), 87, 71-77, 82-88. 28G. E. Ladd, The Presence of the Future: The Eschatology of Biblical Realism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 218.

Ladd believes that the best solution to explain the Kingdom of God as both future

and present is the "dynamic meaning" of the Kingdom of God; that is understanding

it as the "reign" or "rule" of God (as opposed to "realm").29

Ladd has given a very valuable survey of the teaching of the Synoptics about

the Kingdom of God. At the end of the age there will be the eschatological appearing

of God's Kingdom,30 the redemptive manifestation of his kingly rule.31 However, the

Kingdom has come into history in advance of its historical manifestation, and this is

"the mystery of the Kingdom."32 In the person and mission of Jesus, God's Kingdom

is to be primarily understood as his kingly rule, and the present dynamic of that rule

has created a new realm of blessing which men may enter. This realm also is called

the Kingdom of God.33

This writer holds the last position. The Kingdom of God is a present and

future reality which gives greater understanding to the relationship between the

Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God. The only problem that remains is to explain

how these two elements could be credibly integrated with each other. One

important suggestion is that the promise of the Kingdom of God is fulfilled in the

ministry of Jesus and will be consummated in the future. The next chapter will

examine the biblical support for this view of the Kingdom of God as a present and

future reality from Jesus' parables.

29Ibid., 121. 30Ibid., 139.

31Ibid., 171. 32Ibid., 222. 33Ibid., 202.

CHAPTER 3

THE JUXTAPOSITION OF PRESENT AND FUTURE

MANIFESTATION OF KINGDOM

IN JESUS' TEACHINGS

In the exposition of the following selected parables, it is assumed that the

term "parable" bears a complex meaning, designating "all expressions which contain

a comparison, whether direct or indirect."34 According to C. H. Dodd "the parable is

a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its

vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise

application to tease it into active thought."35 The parable demands an interpretation

from the viewer in which the viewer has the responsibility to interpret the meaning,

first by understanding it, then by reacting to it critically, and finally by taking action

accordingly.

The writer believes that all the parables cited in this chapter reveal the

Kingdom in both present and future forms. The main task in this chapter is to

establish whether those selected in fact do contain the idea of the Kingdom as both

present and future reality which gives greater understanding to the relationship

34William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 149. 35Dodd, Parable, 5; C. F. Moule, "Mark 4:1-20 Yet Once More," in Neotestamentica et Semitica, ed. E. Earle Ellis and Max Wilcox (Edinburgh:

T. & T. Clark, 1969), 96-98.

12

between the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom. This will help to understand better how

the role of the Holy Spirit relates to the Kingdom as both a present and future reality.

The Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-32, Matt. 13:31-32, Luke 13:18-19)

This parable shows the whole picture of the beginning of the Kingdom and

the amazing destiny of it. Jesus contrasts the Kingdom, presently veiled in the form

of a servant, with its glorious manifestation at the future parousia.36

Interrelated with the mustard-seed parable in Matthew and Luke is the

comparison of the Kingdom with leaven (Matt. 13:33-35; Luke 13:20-21). Besides

giving an idea that little things can yield great results, the leaven introduces the

thought of an active, intrinsic power.37 In this parable, one can notice the whole

picture of the beginning-end, before-after contrast of the Kingdom.

The Seed Growing Secretly (Mark 4:26-29)

Depending where one puts the emphasis, this parable will have different

interpretations. This parable may be interpreted as either centered on the seed (the

Kingdom as an inward germinal principle), on the process of growth (the Kingdom

grows gradually in the world), or on the harvest (the eschatological Kingdom is soon

to arrive, or has arrived).38

Many implications can be drawn from the parable, but the question here is

how the Kingdom present and Kingdom future are juxtaposed. G. R. Beasley-Murray

36C. E. B. Cranfield, The Gospel According to St. Mark, 2d ed., Cambridge Greek Testament (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1963), 170.

37See Oswald T. Allis, "The Parable of the Leaven," Evangelical Quarterly 19 (1947): 254-73, for a refutation of the "pessimistic" interpretation.

38Dodd, Parable, 176-77.

sees the conjoining of three complementary themes: the work of Jesus as

"authorized and enabled by God", the sovereignty of God both in Jesus' ministry and

in the eschatological harvest of judgment and salvation, and the wholeness of the

miraculous work of God in both the present and future.39

Wheat and Tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43)

One can see more clearly the present-future duality in this parable by looking

at it from the perspective of God's redemptive purpose. For the present the tares

are allowed to remain, not because they cannot be distinguished from the good

wheat, but lest the tangling of roots result in the loss of the good along with the bad.

The present is the time of salvation, but the separation and the judgment await a

future day.40

Related to the wheat and tares story, through the theme of separation, is the

Dragnet (Matt. 13:47-50). Here, though, the present-future juxtaposition is more

abrupt than in other parables. Jeremias Joachim sees this as strictly a harvest-

judgment parable,41 but Beasley-Murray points out that it is not only the separation

that is seen in this parable but also the gathering.42 In other words, even as the

gathering and the sorting are the main tasks of the fisherman, so the present

39G. R. Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986), 126-27. 40Ibid., 134, 199-200. 41Jeremias Joachim, The Parables of Jesus, 6th ed., trans. S. H. Hooke (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1963), 223-25. 42Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom, 136, 200.

"gathering" work of the Kingdom is certainly linked to the future "separating" of the

good from the bad.

The Sower (Mark 4:1-9, 14-20; Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23;

Luke 8:5-15)

It is generally accepted that the main concern of the parable of the Sower is

in the Kingdom of God.43 There are at least four hermeneutical approaches to "the

Sower,"44 depending on which element of the parable is emphasized: When the

sower is emphasized, the parable is a picture of Jesus' experiences as a herald of the

Kingdom.45 If the emphasis is upon the soil, the parable becomes an encouragement

to disciples perplexed about the measure of rejection the proclamation of the

Kingdom brings.46 If the seed is emphasized, the parable is a paranesis exhorting

the hearers to believe the Word of God.47 Lastly, when the harvest is emphasized,

the focus of the parable is eschatological or a miraculous end.48

Perhaps the options described above are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

According to Cranfield, while the harvest is not the primary focus of the parable, it is

a necessary element--as indeed are also the sower and the seed.49 Marshall

43T. W. Manson, The Saying of Jesus (London: SCM Press, 1949), 77. 44See Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom of God, 128, and C. S. Mann, Mark, The Anchor Bible, ed. William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1986), 261.

45Hugh Anderson, The Gospel of Mark, The New Century Bible, ed. Ronald E. Clements and Matthew Black (London: Oliphants, 1976), 128. 46See Cranfield, Mark, 151, and David Hill, The Gospel of Matthew, New Century Bible (London: Oliphants, 1972), 225. 47I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978), 318. 48Dodd, Parable, 181-83. 49Cranfield, Mark, 161.

considers the story open to more than one interpretation.50 It is not being suggested

here that Jesus designed the parable to be ambiguous, but that there is an inherent

present-future duality in it. William Lane says that what Jesus taught, through the

veiled meaning of the parable of the sower, was the relationship between the

coming of the Kingdom in his own person and the proclamation, and the delay of the

end, the harvest, and the consummation. This tension is both the occasion and the

"situation" of the parable. If this is not clearly understood, the parable remains

unintelligible and its interpretation is reduced to generalities.51

Then what is the main teaching in the parable? The whole is "a depiction of

the mission of the Kingdom of God."52 The unique representative of God has come

into the world proclaiming the message of God's Kingdom. The parable reveals that

in Jesus the Kingdom is "making a decisive beginning despite all opposition and

anticipating the final glory to which God is guiding the present."53 As Lane

concludes, both the parable and its explanation stress "the comprehensive character

of the Kingdom as both present in an incipient way in the person and mission of

Jesus and future with a glory yet undisclosed."54

Summary

The parables give deliberate instruction concerning the relation of the

present and future aspects of the Kingdom. The seed-growth parables and those

50Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, 318. 51See note 1. Consult Herman Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, trans. H. de Jongste (Philadelphia: P.R.P.C., 1962), 121-34. 52Beasley-Murray, Jesus and the Kingdom, 129. 53Ibid., 130. 21Lane, The Gospel according to Mark, 163.

related to them all have a harvest orientation, even as sowing is focused on the

harvest. As the harvest is the purpose of sowing seed, so the eschatological

consummation is the destiny of the Kingdom. But the harvest-consummation is not

the total picture. Other recurring themes are oriented to the present situation of the

Kingdom: the task of sowing (proclamation), the waiting upon the growth, and

dealing with obstacles and opposition. The common element of the parables is

Jesus' reassurance that things are happening with the Kingdom as they should and

that all puzzlement with regard to the Kingdom can be resolved if it be understood

that the Kingdom is here just as the harvest is present in the seed, but not yet here

in fullness.

The next chapter will examine the relationship between the Holy Spirit and

the Kingdom of God as a present and future reality. This relationship will explain

how the Kingdom is both a present and future reality.

CHAPTER 4

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SPIRIT AND

KINGDOM IN THE TEACHING OF JESUS

In Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom he mentions the relationship of the Spirit

and the Kingdom. This chapter will survey the relationship of the Spirit and

Kingdom especially from Jesus' encounters with the Pharisees.

The Spirit and Entrance into the Kingdom (John 3:1-7)

It is not surprising to find that the Kingdom of God appears in the fourth

Gospel. What is surprising is that the term appears in the gospel only twice. This

does not mean that John is less interested in the Kingdom of God. Johns uses a

different idiom to explain the reality of the Kingdom.55 If the Kingdom of God is

"God's sovereign judgment and salvation to man, that characterizes the Gospel of

John."56 It is John who explains the relationship of the new birth, the Spirit, and

entrance into the Kingdom.

New birth from Above

Jesus converses with the Pharisee Nicodemus emphasizing the absolute

necessity ( ) of birth by the Spirit to see/enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus

55E. Earle Ellis, The World of St. John: The Gospel and the Epistles (New York: University Press of America, 1984), 37. 56G. R. Beasley-Murray, "John 3:3, 5: Baptism, Spirit, and the Kingdom," Expositor's Times 97 (March 1986): 168.

20

came to see Jesus at night probably because he was fearful of his colleagues and

fellow Jews. At the same time, he is presented in the Gospel as a just man who seeks

God's truth.57

Some have suggested the abruptness of transition from one thought to

another as an editorial compression of the event,58 while others see the abruptness

as "true to life."59 Jesus answered him, "Indeed and in truth I tell you, unless a man

is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (v. 3).

In Jesus' teaching, marks some difficulty to be overcome. At

the same time they mark the introduction of a new thought "carrying the divine

teaching farther forward."60 The new truth that Jesus is introducing to Nicodemus is

that one has to be "born from above." The term is usually used of the

"begetting" of the father and the "bearing" of the mother.61 Jesus' use of in

this narrative can mean either "anew" or "from above." In a sense, his words here

mean to be "born from God" in the sense of John 1:13, to enter immediately into the

life of that coming age.62 The central truth of the interview with Nicodemus is that

spiritual regeneration is a necessity. This contrasts with the Pharisaic teaching

57R. H. Lightfoot, St. John' Gospel, ed. C. F. Evans (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956), 116.

58K. C. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John (London: S.P.C.K., 1960), 170. 59F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1984), 82. 60Brooke Foss Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1950), 48. 61Friedrich-Buchsel, Rostock, " ," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 665. 62Bruce, John, 83.

which emphasized physical regeneration through Abraham.63 Entrance into

participation of the Kingdom of God, therefore, requires a new birth.

Water and the Spirit

There are several misunderstandings involved in Nicodemus' reaction to

Jesus' words. He takes Jesus' word literally,64 asking how can a man enter a second

time into his mother's womb and be born for a second time (3:4). Jesus, therefore,

explains to the Pharisee the meaning of . Jesus describes as being

a birth "of water and Spirit".65 Since this is not an easy expression commentators

have tried to explain it in different ways.

One interpretation sees "water" as referring to baptism.66 It may be the

baptism of John. He called on people to repent and to accept his baptism as a sign of

their repentance. The new birth would be, therefore, the product of repentance and

the Spirit.67

A second interpretation sees "water" as connected with natural birth.

According to Barrett, it is possible to interpret the word "water" without reference

to baptismal rites. On the basis of the use in rabbinic Hebrew of z5h2, the birth

63The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 1975 ed., s.v. "Nicodemus," by H. L. Drumwright, Jr. Robinson says that the Judaism is lifeless without the work of the Spirit of God. "Born of water and spirit: Does John 3:5 refer to baptism?" Reformed Theological Review 25 (1966): 15-23. 64C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: University Press, 1958), 303. 65Gail R. O'Day, "New Birth as a New People: Spirituality and Community in the Fourth Gospel," Word & World 8 (Winter 1988): 53-61. 66Barnabas Lindars, The Gospel of John (London: Oliphants, 1972), 152; and Barrett, John 174. 67Westcott, John, 49.

"from water" can be interpreted as physical birth.68 Margaret Pamment says "by

water" refers to the breaking of water in natural birth.69

The fourth interpretation sees "water" as an idea of purification. Jesus' use of

Old Testament phraseology may have been used to ring a bell in Nicodemus's

mind.70 The prophet Ezekiel, speaking for YHWH states, "I will sprinkle clean water

upon you, and you shall be clean . . . , and a new spirit I will put within you" (36:25-

26). This "new spirit" was God's own Spirit: "I will put my spirit within you" (Ezek.

36:27).

It seems that the first way of taking the expression for "water" is the best way

to interpret the term . Considering the context of Nicodemus, Jesus is

referring to John's baptism in the use of the term . The baptism of John is a

baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4). Jesus is therefore stating that the new birth takes

place by repentance and the word of the Spirit.71 A person enters a completely new

existence by virtue of what the Holy Spirit does in him.

There is no essential difference in the meaning between "entering the

Kingdom of God" and "seeing the Kingdom of God." Just as Jesus replaces water and

Spirit for in his rephrasing of his first remarks to Nicodemus, he replaces

with .

Jesus proceeds to develop the nature of the new birth by presenting the flesh

and Spirit relationship. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh,"72 Jesus says, "and

68Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John, 174-75. 69Margaret Pamment, "John 3:5," Novum Testamentum 25 (April 1983): 189-90. 70Bruce, John, 84. 71Leon Morris, Expository Reflections on the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1914), 91. 72Ibid., 92.

that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (v. 6). For entrance into the Kingdom, a

spirit birth is needed.

The next principle follows that of v. 6, "the wind blows where it wishes and

you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is

going?" (v. 8). There are translation problems with the verse. According to Brown,73

Barrett,74 and Bultmann,75 this Greek word pneuma may be translated either "wind"

or "spirit." Jerome Neyrey,76 however, is more convincing in observing that "like

wind," spirit is mysteriously felt but its source and destination is still hidden.

Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus reveals important truths about the

requirements to enter the Kingdom. Entrance into the Kingdom of God requires a

new birth which is the result of repentance and the work of the Spirit. Since the

nature of the Kingdom is of the Spirit, the new birth is essential. The Spirit,

therefore, is the creating force which transforms one into the state of , the

state of Kingdom living.

Spirit as the Presence of the Kingdom

(Matt. 12:25-28; Luke. 11:17-20)

Although references to the Spirit are few in the Synoptics, J. D. G. Dunn

affirms that they are sufficient to show that Spirit and Kingdom are closely

associated. Similarly, a present-future tension in the Kingdom is for the Synoptists a

73Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966), 131. 74Barrett, John, 175. 75Bultmann, John, 142. 76Jerome H. Neyrey, "John III-A debate over Johannine Epistemology and Christology," Novum Testamentum 23 (April 1981): 115-27.

function of the Spirit and dependent upon him.77 Jesus' conflict with the religious

establishment is the context where he directly connects the Spirit and the Kingdom

of God. It is in this setting that for the only time in the Gospels Jesus states to his

audience that the Kingdom of God (has come upon you).

Context of the Passage

Although all three synoptics record the accusation of Jesus' opponents, that

he is allied with Beelzebul, each of the gospels places the story in a different context

with different accusers.78 Matthew records the accusation in the context of the

Sabbath controversy (12:1-13). After a period of withdrawal, Jesus performed an

exorcism (v. 22) which the Pharisees claimed was done by the power of Beelzebul.

Luke's accusation (11:14-26) comes immediately after the exorcism of a demon of

muteness when unspecified members of the multitude witnessing the exorcism

claimed Jesus' alliance with Beelzebul. Mark condenses the exorcism to a general

report of many healing and exorcisms (3:7-12) and adds the accounts of the calling

of the twelve and the remark that Jesus had lost his senses (3:13-21), between the

report of exorcisms and the accusation. Since Mark leaves out Jesus' statements

about casting out demons by the Spirit of God, the study will be restricted to

Matthew and Luke.

Spirit of God and Finger of God

The key verse in these two passages for this study is Matt. 12:28 and Luke

11:20 which states, "Since I cast out demons by the Spirit of God (finger of God--

Luke) the Kingdom of God ."

77J. D. G. Dunn, "Spirit and Kingdom," Expository Times 82 (November 1970): 36-40. 78Matthew and Luke preserve the Q version of Jesus' defense against the accusation that he is allied with Beelzebul. Kümmel, Promise, 195.

Although these two verses have close verbal agreement, the one significant

difference is the wording "finger of God"/"Spirit of God."79 Both verses, however,

have the same meaning in reference to the power of God's Spirit.80 The Lukan "finger

of God" is an Old Testament allusion to the creative, communicative power of God.

It is found three times in the Old Testament (Deut. 9:10, Exod. 8:19, Ps. 8:3). The

direct allusion is most likely to be Exod. 8:19, because of the Exodus motif found

elsewhere in Luke.81 The point is that the accusers accepted Moses and the work of

their sons, but yet they attributed the work that Jesus did to the power of the evil

one.

Kingdom as Present

The central issue of the Jesus' statement is not that the exorcism of demons

demonstrated the presence of the Kingdom, but the emphatic stress

that his exorcism proved the presence of the Kingdom of God.82 Because of the work

of the Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered Messiah, the Kingdom is proclaimed to have

come upon them. As Cullmann and Ellis affirm, the Holy Spirit is the mediator of the

79E. Earle Ellis The Gospel of Luke, New Century Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981), 167; see Rudolf Otto, The Kingdom of God and the Son of Man (London: Lutterworth Press, 1943), 97. On the other hand, Bruce holds Matthaean priority: A. B. Bruce, The Synoptic Gospels, Expositor's Greek Testament (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1907) 187-89; and C. S. Rodd, "Spirit or Finger," Expository Times 72 (1961): 157-58. 80C. K. Barrett, The Holy Spirit and the Gospel Tradition (London: S.P.C.K., 1970), 144. 81Ellis, Luke, 167; and see Barrett's explanation, Barrett, The Holy Spirit and Gospel Tradition, 63. 82 John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Americana Commentary on the New Testament (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1886), 269.

reign of God, "the anticipation of the end in the present."83 Matt. 12:28/Luke 11:20

record the only occurrence of in the gospels. Even though the word meant

to "precede someone" in the original sense, in LXX it mainly has the idea "to arrive,"

"to accomplish," or "to get to." The word is used five times in the New Testament

with the consistent meaning "to arrive at," "to reach," or "to come," except in 1

Thess. 4:14 where it keeps its original sense of "to precede some one."84 The exact

meaning in the immediate context, however, has been the source of much

debate.85 The basic argument has been between those who view the word as a

prediction of a coming Kingdom, or one that is near, and those who state that the

passage teaches the present arrival of the Kingdom. Exegetically, there is no reason

other than preconceptions to consider the passage teaching a future or merely near

kingdom.

The passage proves the close relationship between the Spirit, Jesus, and the

Kingdom. The Kingdom is present because of the Spirit-empowered work of Jesus.

The Spirit alone does not guide in the Kingdom, but neither do "works of power."

Dunn recognizes the close relationship between the Spirit, Jesus, and Kingdom, but

83E. Earle Ellis, Paul and His Recent Interpreters (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961), 37-40. 84Gottfried Fitzer, " ," Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 90. 85Dodd, Parable, 44, states that and are sometimes used to translate the Hebrew verb naga' and the Aramaic verb m'ta, both of which mean "to reach, "to arrive." J. Y. Campbell, "The Kingdom of God has Come," Expository Times 48 (1936-7): 91-94, argues that the verb is a timeless aorist: "The kingdom of God will come upon you immediately." K. W. Clark, "Realized Eschatology," Journal of Biblical Literature 59 (1940): 379, states that describes the drawing near of the kingdom, to the point of contact, but no more. C. H. Dodd, "The Kingdom of God has Come," Expository Times 48 (1936-7): 138-42, states that is a "durative-punctiliar" perfect, meaning "the kingdom has been approaching and now has arrived."

he overstates the role of the Spirit and downplays the role of Jesus in his comments

on this verse by stating, The importance of this formulation (that the presence of the Spirit is the presence of the Kingdom) is that it explains the relationship between Jesus and the Kingdom. For at once we see that the Kingdom is present in Jesus only because He has the Spirit. It is not so much a case of Where Jesus is there is the Kingdom, as Where the Spirit is there is the Kingdom. . . . The manifestation of the Spirit is the manifestation of the Kingdom.86

The Spirit and the Spread of the Kingdom

(Acts 1:3-8)

The work of the Holy Spirit allows an individual to experience the Kingdom

in his life and empowers Jesus' ministry of casting out the demon from his kingdom

in order to establish the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, the work of the Holy Spirit

does not stop there, he continuously works and influences the spread of the

Kingdom. A comparison between the primitive church with the community of

disciples is a clear example. The disciples of Jesus completely failed to understand

his person and his mission (Mark 8:21, 33; 9:32, 34; 10:37). On the other hand the,

primitive community not only demonstrates the utmost boldness in confessing their

Lord, they also reveal a remarkable understanding, both of his Messiaship and of his

sufferings and death.

The primitive church shows a difference also in power. While the testimony

of the Twelve was not as effective as was the church witness, the apostles and their

followers continually bore witness to the resurrection.

It is clear from these differences that something unique and significant must

have happened. Barrett comments that "the difference between the company of

Jesus ( , Mark 4:10) and the Church was the gift

86James D. G. Dunn, "Spirit and Kingdom," Expository Times 82 (1970): 38; James D. G. Dunn, Jesus and the Spirit (Philadelphia: Westminster Press: 1975), 48-49; and I. Howard Marshall, "The hope of a new age: the Kingdom of God in the New Testament," Themelios 11 (1985): 5-15.

of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the community with divine power and

inspiration."87

Spirit and Kingdom

The relationship between the continuation and spread of the Kingdom and

the Holy Spirit is clearly demonstrated in Acts 1:3-8. In these verses the Spirit and

the Kingdom of God are twice connected. Luke sums up Jesus' teaching between his

death and ascension by stating that Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God.88

Immediately after this comment, Luke records Jesus telling the disciples to wait in

Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1:4-5). Then,

immediately before the Ascension, the last words the disciples speak to the earth-

bound Christ concern the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel (1:6). Jesus responds

by telling them they will be his witnesses when the Spirit comes upon them. Thus

every mention of the Kingdom in Acts 1 is paired with the endowment with the Holy

Spirit to spread the gospel.

The Kingdom will continue and spread even though the earthly presence of

Jesus is missing. And the disciples will not be alone. Jesus will send a

to them, and he will rule in and through the Spirit. The Spirit will be the

empowering force behind the witness of the gospel from Jerusalem to the remotest

parts of the earth. The act of empowering is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The synoptics, in different contexts, record John the Baptist's declaration that

the one who comes after him will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew places

87Barrett, The Holy Spirit and the Gospel Tradition, 138-39. 88I. Howard Marshall, Acts, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980), 57.

the words in the midst of John's condemnation of the Pharisees and Sadducees

(Matt. 3:11). Mark records a simple declaration to those being baptized (Mark 1:8),

while Luke's version has John making the statement in reference to questions

concerning his identity (Luke 3:16). Significantly, Mark omits the important and

debated phrases .89

The term baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire has reference to Pentecost and

the last judgment.90 In short, it refers to the entire process with which the Spirit

deals with the Christian. In reference to this paper, the baptism of the Spirit is the

Spirit's work in bringing participation in the Kingdom, preparation of the Christian

for Kingdom life, and empowering the witness of the Kingdom of God.

89Allen, Matthew, 25, views the reference to fire as a purifying agent upon Christians. If_________ refers to all men (Matt. 3:11), then the baptism in the Spirit would refer to Christians, and the fire may be a reference to Pentecost or redeeming agency, while baptism in fire would find its final fulfillment in the future judgment of unbelievers, Willoughby C. Allen, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to S. Matthew, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1957); Ellis, Luke, 91-92; and E. Earle Ellis, Eschatology in Luke (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972), 14. 90Dunn, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Naperville: Alec R. Allenson, 1970), 4, 11; Ellis, Luke, 91-92; and N. A. Dahl, Interpretationes ad Vetus Testamentum Pertinentes Sigmundo Mowinckel (Oslo: Fabritius & Sonner: 1955), 45.

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS

The historical overview of the development of the Kingdom of God has

maintained three different scholarly views on chronological expectation and entry

of the Kingdom of God. Some scholars think the Kingdom is a present reality, others

consider it to be a future event, and still others believe it to be both present and

future.

It has been shown that the juxtaposition of present and future manifestations

of the Kingdom of God is to be found in all the Synoptics, but it is most emphasized

in the parables in Matthew and Mark. The parables serve as expositions of the plan

of God in the history of the world.

The relationship between the Spirit and the Kingdom is explicitly seen in the

teachings of Jesus. The Spirit, when coupled with repentance, takes that which is

earthly and gives it birth into the realm of the Spirit. Without this transformation,

there is no entrance into the Kingdom of God. Thus, the first reference to the Spirit's

relationship to the Kingdom in Jesus' teaching speaks of the absolute necessity of

one's participation in the Spirit before participation in the Kingdom is allowed.

34

The manifestation of authority over Satanic forces in Jesus' ministry by the

power of the Holy Spirit was a demonstration that the Kingdom of God had arrived.

The Kingdom is present in the eschatological combination of Jesus and the Spirit.

The Spirit in the Pentecostal Age empowers the witness of the Kingdom.

Through the immersing of the believer in the Spirit, each believer participates in and

has the ability to demonstrate the Kingdom of God. The Church, the corporate

Christ, indwells with the Spirit, and continues the ministry of the Kingdom.

CITED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Bultmann, Rudolf. New Testament and Mythology. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984. ________. Jesus Christ and Mythology. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958. ________. The Gospel of John. Translated by G. R. Beasley-Murray. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971. ________. Kerygma and Myth a Theological Debate. Vol. 2. Edited by Hans-Werner Bartsch. London: SPCK, 1962. Cranfield, C. E. B. The Gospel According to St. Mark. 2d ed., Cambridge Greek Testament. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1963. Cullmann, Oscar. Christ and Time: The Primitive Christian Conception of Time and History. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1950. ________. Salvation in History. Translated by Sidney G. Sowers. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Dahl, N. A. Interpretationes ad Vetus Testamentum Pertinentes Sigmundo Mowinckel. Oslo: Fabritius & Sonner, 1955. Dillistone, F. W. C. H. Dodd Interpreter of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977. Dodd, C. H. The Parables of the Kingdom. London: Nisbet & Co., 1935. ________. The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel. Cambridge: University Press: 1958. Dunn, James D. G. Jesus and the Spirit. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press: 1975. ________. Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Naperville, CA: Alec R. Allenson, 1970. Ellis, E. Earle. The Gospel of Luke. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981. ________. The World of St. John: The Gospel and the Epistles. New York: University Press of America, 1984. ________. Paul and His Recent Interpreters. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961. ________. Eschatology in Luke. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972. Fitzer, Gottried. S. v. " ," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Edited by Kittel, Gerhard.

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Marshall, Howard. "The hope of a new age: the Kingdom of God in the New Testament." Themelios 11 (1985): 5-15. Neyrey, Jerome H. "John III-A debate over Johannine Epistemology and Christology." Novum Testamentum 23 (1981): 115-27. O'Day, Gail R. "New Birth as a New People: Spirituality and Community in the Fourth Gospel." Word & World 8 (1988): 53-61. Pamment, Margaret. "John 3:5." Novum Testamentum 25 (April 1983): 189-90. Robinson, D. W. B. "Born of water and spirit: does John 3:5 refer to baptism?." Reformed Theological Review 25 (1966): 15-23. Rodd, C. S. "Spirit or Finger." Expository Times 72 (1961): 157-58.