Pentecostalism and Covenantalism: Towards a Pneumatological Covenant Theology of dealing with Adversity
Mookgo Solomon Kgatle 
Issue: Vol.10 No. 10 October 2024 Issue Article 3 pp.352-361
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.202410103 | Published online 16th October, 2024.
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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.
Keywords: Pentecostalism, Covenantalism, Covenant Theology, Pneumatology, Pneumatological Imagination, Adversity, Pentecostal
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Mookgo Solomon Kgatle is a Professor of Missiology at the Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology, University of South Africa (UNISA). He has published several peer-reviewed articles in the Pentecostal tradition, particularly New Prophetic Churches in South Africa. He is an NRF rated scholar in the area of African Pentecostalism. He won the Vision Keeper Award at the University of South Africa (2020-2022).
Kgatle, Mookgo Solomon. “Pentecostalism and Covenantalism: Towards a Pneumatological Covenant Theology of dealing with Adversity,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 10 no.10 (2024): 352-361. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.202410103
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
