During our course this week Dr. Phelps shared a document that was very interesting.
(POST UPDATE [i.e. credit where credit is due]: The PDF document in this post was given to our professor, Dr. Dennis Phelps, by Dr. Daniel I. Block of the Wheaton Graduate School.)
The document is a chart that lists all the doxologies in the New Testament. Most notably it lists who is being praised in each of these expressions of praise. Almost all of the references are to God. A few are to Christ. NONE are to the Holy Spirit. This is what was so interesting. In the NT there seems to be missing any direct praise solely and specifically addressed to the Holy Spirit.
What does this have to do with Charismatic Worship? Oftentimes there is a very pronounced emphasis upon the Holy Spirit within many variations of the Charismatic style of worship. The question needs to be asked whether this emphasis aligns with the doxological worship spelled out in the New Testament. Here’s the document we were given:
I am indebted to Dr. Daniel I. Block of the Wheaton Graduate School for sharing this compilation of NT doxologies with me.
Thank you, Dr. Phelps. The post has been updated to reflect Dr. Block’s contribution.