Foundation Baptist Church - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Edmonton Baptist Church
Pneumatology
The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God as the third person of the Trinity (Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 3:18) and that He possesses attributes that only God possesses: Eternality (Hebrews 9:14), Truth (1 John 5:6), Omnipresence (Psalms 139:7-10), Omnipotence (Luke 1:35), Omniscience (Isaiah 11:2; John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11). He was involved in creation (Genesis 1:2; Job 33:4; Psalms 104:30), He was involved in the inspiration of Scripture (1 Samuel 23:2; 1 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 1:21) and is still involved in regeneration (John 3:5-6; Titus 3:5), all of which are designated only to God Himself, and that He is actively working in men to draw them to God.

His Person: We teach that the Holy Spirit is a personal being and works actively in the lives of men. His personhood is seen in the characteristics of function in that He has emotion (Romans 8:26; 15:30; Ephesians 4:30), and will (1 Corinthians 12:11). He teaches (John 14:26), speaks (Acts 13:2), and reproves (John 16:8).

His work in the lives of Christians: The Holy Spirit is active and vital in every area of spiritual life. Even before salvation, the Spirit is convicting the heart of man (John 16:8-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3). The Spirit is active in the conversion and regeneration of every new believer (John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5). The Spirit begins His permanent indwelling of the believer at the moment of salvation (John 14:17; Romans 8:9; 11:1; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Galatians 4:6). The Spirit seals every believer by declaring God's permanent ownership of their lives (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30). We believe that at the moment of salvation there is a Spirit baptism where the Holy Spirit baptizes every believer into union with Christ and the Body of Christ (Romans 6:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:4-6), and that He gives gifts to every believer to be used for the edification of the body and for the glory of Christ (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:11). We believe that there were some gifts that were temporary and are no longer in existence today. Some of the miraculous gifts were tongues, healings, and prophecy. Their purpose was for the authentication of God's messenger and message (2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:2-4). These gifts were meant to be limited, such as the gift of the apostle and foretelling prophet with their God-given ability to use the gifts of miracles, healing, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Therefore we fully reject the modern Pentacostal movement (also known as the Charismatic movement). The Spirit intercedes in prayer for believers according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27). Finally, the Spirit's empowerment is key to the progressive sanctification of the believer (Romans 8:2-14; Galatians 5:15-25) which includes His work in the heart of the believer to grant assurance of salvation in Christ (Romans 8:16; Galatians 4:6; 1 John 4:13).

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