Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship 5-1-2017 Eschatological Pneumatology as a Theological Framework for Evaluating the Pneumatology of the International Church of God’s Grace in Brazil Gerson Linden Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/phd Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Linden, Gerson, "Eschatological Pneumatology as a Theological Framework for Evaluating the Pneumatology of the International Church of God’s Grace in Brazil" (2017). Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. 52. https://scholar.csl.edu/phd/52 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ESCHATOLOGICAL PNEUMATOLOGY AS A THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING THE PNEUMATOLOGY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCH OF GOD’S GRACE IN BRAZIL A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Systematics in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Gerson Luis Linden May 2017 Approved by Dr. Robert Kolb Advisor Dr. Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. Reader Dr. Robert Rosin Reader © 2017 by Gerson Luis Linden. All rights reserved. ii To Denise iii Epigraph “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord or come to him; but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian Church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine and those of all believers. On the last day will the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.”(Martin Luther – Small Catechism) iv CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 The Thesis ............................................................................................................................. 3 The Current Status of the Question....................................................................................... 3 Pentecostalism in Brazil: The Three “Waves” ..................................................................... 3 Neopentecostalism in Brazil: A Multifaceted Reality in the Pentecostal Field .................... 5 The International Church of God’s Grace (ICGG) ............................................................... 8 Pneumatology and Eschatology in Pentecostalism and in Neopentecostalism .................. 10 The Dissertation in the Context of Current Scholarship ..................................................... 13 Main Aspects of Neopentecostal Spirituality ..................................................................... 14 The Holy Spirit and His Eschatological Ministry ............................................................... 20 The Methodological Procedure Employed ......................................................................... 28 The Chapters’ Contents ...................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................................... 30 PENTECOSTALISM AND NEOPENTECOSTALISM IN BRAZIL ........................................ 30 The North-American Beginnings........................................................................................ 30 Beginnings of Pentecostalism in Brazil .............................................................................. 38 The Metaphor of the Three Waves ..................................................................................... 43 Neopentecostalism: A Concept in Discussion .................................................................... 49 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................... 55 v THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCH OF GOD’S GRACE: HISTORY AND DOCTRINES .... 55 Missionary R. R. Soares: Founder and Leader of the ICGG .............................................. 55 Theological Emphases of the ICGG ................................................................................... 61 Theology of Prosperity ....................................................................................................... 66 Positive Confession............................................................................................................. 71 Spiritual Warfare................................................................................................................. 76 The ICGG As Evaluated from Outside ............................................................................... 82 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................ 89 ESCHATOLOGICAL PNEUMATOLOGY: THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CONSIDERED ESCHATOLOGICALLY .................................................................................. 89 The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Anticipation of the Coming of the Kingdom ............... 89 The Nature of the Kingdom of God: An Overview of an Ongoing Debate .............. 89 The Kingdom of God Anticipated in Christ’s Person and Mission: A Description of “Inaugurated Eschatology” ........................................................................................ 97 L. A. Sánchez M.: A Contemporary Lutheran Approach of Spirit-Christology ..... 101 The Role of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s Coming, Ministry, and Messianic Work ... 107 The Holy Spirit and Jesus’ Earthly Origin. .................................................... 107 The Holy Spirit in Jesus’ Baptism and Temptation. ....................................... 108 Jesus’ Ministry in the Spirit. ........................................................................... 112 Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and the Holy Spirit ........................................ 114 The Spirit-guided Life of the Church: The Community of the End Times ............. 119 The Community of End Times Living in the Spirit ....................................... 119 F. D. Bruner: A Christocentric Approach to the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Church ............................................................................................................ 123 R. Prenter: Luther’s Doctrine of the Holy Spirit — spiritus creator .............. 132 vi The Holy Spirit and Future Eschatology .......................................................................... 139 T. D. Beck: Holy Spirit and Eschatology in Paul and J. Moltmann ........................ 139 The Holy Spirit as “Seal,” “Guarantee,” and “First-fruits”: The Future Consummation Anticipated in the Life of the Church ...................................................................... 144 The First-fruits of the Spirit ............................................................................ 144 The Holy Spirit as Down Payment and Seal .................................................. 147 The Holy Spirit and General Resurrection: The “Spiritual Body” .......................... 150 CHAPTER FIVE ....................................................................................................................... 156 PNEUMATOLOGY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHURCH OF GOD’S GRACE .............. 156 The Faith Course ............................................................................................................... 156 Official Magazine “Jornal Show da Fé” .......................................................................... 159 General Characteristics of the Magazine ................................................................. 160 Teaching about the Holy Spirit ................................................................................ 161 The Holy Spirit and the Revelation of God and His Will .............................. 162 The Holy Spirit is Present and Active in the Fight against the Devil ............. 164 The role of the Holy Spirit in Christian Life .................................................. 167 Results from an Interview with Members of the ICGG.................................................... 172 General Remarks about the ICGG Teaching on the Holy Spirit ...................................... 175 CHAPTER SIX .......................................................................................................................... 178 CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................