Quotes from Larry W. Hurtado

The Qumran texts are also of interest in reflecting a preference for the expressions "Holy Spirit" and "Spirit of Holiness

In Philippians 2:9-11

that there is simply a far greater place of the Spirit in the religious discourse in the NT texts, obviously reflected in the far greater frequency of references to the Spirit.

this far greater frequency and prominence of references to the Spirit in the NT likely reflects the religious life and discourse of early Christian circles generally.

the quantity of references to the Spirit in the Qumran texts reflects an intense piety and likely the cultivation of religious experiences in which divine blessings of the last days were believed to be already bestowed (corporate worship being a prime setting for such experiences).

where Paul first refers to "the Spirit of holiness" as involved in Jesus' resurrection (v. 4), and then to serving God "with my spirit [in] the gospel of his Son" (v. 9 NRSV).

The biblical texts typically taken as reflecting the idea of divine immutability (e.g., Num 23:19; Ps 46:1-3; 102:25-28; Jas 1:17; Heb 13:8) all seem to emphasize what we may call a moral immutability, i.e., divine trustworthiness

from Jesus' resurrection onward, "God" in some profound way now includes a glorified human. That, I believe, represents quite a significant alteration!

major emphasis in the NT is that the Spirit is now freely given by "God" and so is powerfully and regularly operative in the lives of believers individually and collectively. There is a rich variety of verbs used to describe the divine

I have proposed that the devotional pattern reflected already in Paul's letters amounts to a distinctive "mutation" in Jewish monotheistic practice, in which Jesus features in an unprecedented way in worship directed to "God.

how important it is that these convictions about Jesus and "God" found expression in devotional practices,

I have referred to a "binitarian" devotional pattern, a "mutation" in the devotional pattern and beliefs dominant in the Jewish matrix of earliest Christianity.27

must underscore the importance of taking account of early Christian worship practice as highly significant evidence that the NT reflects major religious developments, including particularly developments in how "God" is understood.

But this central significance of Jesus is also retrojected through time, especially to the origins of the world, with Jesus (the "Logos" and "Son") depicted as the agent through whom God created all things (1 Cor 8:6; Heb 1:2; John 1:1-3). So, practically all of God's previous actions and self-disclosures can be retroactively understood in light of Jesus.

reiterate the point that all these are actions of personal agency, giving the Spirit an intensely personal quality.

NT, "God" is so closely linked with Jesus and Jesus so closely linked with "God" that one cannot adequately identify the one without reference to the other. Jesus is the one through whom "God's" eschatological redemption is now bestowed and is to be consummated.

The most explicit such passage is, of course, Acts 2:14-21, which as previously noted includes an extended citation of a portion of Joel (2:28-32) that predicts that "in the last days" God will "pour out" the Spirit and that this will signal "the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.

To cite one particularly striking example of this, note how in John 12:37-41, Isaiah's vision of "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" is taken to be a vision of Jesus.28

in Philippians 2:9-11, Jesus' exaltation by "God" even involves him being given "the name that is above every name" (NRSV) and being designated as the one whom all of creation is to acclaim as "Lord.

that the Spirit is now freely bestowed on those who embrace Jesus as the divinely designated "Lord and Messiah" (Acts 2:36),

The obvious adaptation of Isaiah 45:23 (one of the most emphatically monotheistic passages in the Bible) to describe this universal acclamation of Jesus is a remarkable indication of the belief that this acclamation is now the required way in which "God" is to be glorified by the creation.

Yet it also remains the case that typically NT authors can distinguish "God" and Jesus. Jesus never displaces "God" in the NT, and the two are never pictured as in tension or competition with each other.

efforts to develop and defend his faith were convictions and devotional practices such as those already reflected in the NT.16

Moreover, although Jesus is ascribed or is integrally involved in a number of "God's" attributes and actions, from creation through eschatological redemption and judgment, this never means that "God" fades or is diminished