Pentecostalism and Covenantalism: Towards a Pneumatological Covenant Theology of Dealing with Adversity
kgatle, mookgo solomon
Covenant theology seeks to explore the connection between deity and
humanity which spans from the time of creation to the time when God sent his
son to redeem the world from sin. The main tenets of the covenant theology
also known as covenantalism are the covenant of works mainly found in the
creation story. Second, it is the covenant of grace based on the promises of
eternal life through faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and embracement of the
Holy Spirit. The third component of covenant theology is the covenant of
redemption which recognizes the sending of the Son of God into the world to
die for the sins of the people. This article argued that covenantalism in the
Pentecostal movement is not a mere doctrine based on these three tenets but
rather is pneumatologically defined as a way of dealing with adversity. This is
demonstrated through the theoretical framework of the pneumatological
imagination in illustrating how Pentecostals in Africa are rooted in the
covenant between them and their God through the Holy Spirit. Thus
pneumatology in Pentecostalism becomes the foundation for the Pentecostal
pneumatological covenant theology of dealing with adversity. This changes
how we study covenant theolog., It is not only about religious doctrine but also
a means of dealing with adversity. The study is a literature review within
qualitative methodology. The study makes an important contribution to
covenant theology by suggesting a theology of dealing with adversity beyond
doctrinal issues. Therefore, covenant theology should be studied by taking into
cognizance the role of the Holy Spirit within the framework of
pneumatological imagination in helping believers overcome adversity.
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