Analyzing Theological Sources: A Historical Perspective Through Paradigmatic Relationship to Scripture

Blending Biblical & Historical Theology

            As early as the first Christian church in 30 A.D., which claimed their faith and relationship to the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, as seen by modern theologians, has continued to shed light and perspective upon the historical application of a paradigmatic relationship to scripture through a biblical lens.  One theologian in particular, has taken a unique look at how biblical history has begun to “actualize” community’s ideals.   Writes Grenz (2000), “This goal of the Spirit in appropriating the text is not reached with the mere recounting of the biblical story. Instead, as the narrative is retold (or reread), the Spirit transports the contemporary hearer (or readers) into the text” (p. 367).  In other words, what Grenz appears to be stating is that the Holy Spirit recreates the past history within current events within community, both individually and community wide. As the body of Christ forms its identity within community, it is the religion that gives each member a sense of identity as it is related with the past and how it is implied for an immeasurable and limitless future.

The Holy Spirits Paradigm

As the Holy Spirit has a dynamic imperative role in forming and reshaping the new identity process, the Holy Spirit is writing and forming a new identity within each Christian. This is achieved with the Spirit's involvement with the narrative of past events tied in with how the biblical history of God, fast at work in all of creation, will carry out into different times in history. It is up to the Holy Spirit to bring people into a place that must call them to

reinterpret their own narratives in relationship to the “paradigmatic narrative” to interpret this within the framework of scripture. Revelations 21:1-22:5 and Romans 8:9-30 relate to the constructing of our identity within the context of community through the past, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and how that will link us to “God’s glorious future.” Hence, bringing to life a revelation of the future one can experience. This was given to me in the present as it was orchestrated based on current life happenings. 

Having spent time evangelizing, my sister and I began having a series of revelations that were imparted to us while we were spending time in Maui. As if in direct response to sharing and spreading the gospel in Los Angeles, there were many spiritual paradigms that began to play out.  After a very intense spiritual battle on Maui, the Glory of the Lord came over me in an important vision. Part of the vision showed that God would utterly and completely destroy all idols that had been placed here on earth. There was one in particular my aunt had raised in her back yard. The “Stupa” or false idol, was raised in honor of a Buddhist tradition. In this vision, the Lord showed me His utter fury as He decimated this idol.  Shortly thereafter, the Lord showed me how even my aunt who refused to believe was saved and everything else on the island was of one accord with His spirit.

This vision correlated to the perspectives mentioned by Grenz (2000), how the Spirit and the Word are directly correlated to the function of bringing about communication to us in our current circumstances as it relates to the history and plan of creation. When I see how Grenz has taken the concept of “biblical theology” and tied it to Revelations 21, I am encouraged to see there is a certain narrative theme that is being carried out.  For instance, Grenz (2000) makes some important contrasts to biblical theology in the sense that he states, “Hence, our interpretive framework facilitates our experiences and forms the outlook by means of which we make sense out of life” (p. 368). This Grenz applies to his thoughts about how the Holy Spirit takes us through particular scriptures as the Holy Spirit forms within us a community based framework that is integrated into our lives, thus creating what appears to be a “New world.”

In conclusion, it appears this article has touched upon how the Holy Spirit is uniting His people into what would be a paradigmatic framework through biblical history. As Grenz (2000) states, “The Spirit’s world-creating act does not arise out of nowhere, however. Rather, it emerges directly out of the Spirit’s own particular whole within God’s creative activity” (p. 364).

References

Grenz, S. (2000). The spirit and the word, the world-creating function of the text.

Theology Today, 3(57), 364-368.