THE HOLY SPIRIT (THEOLOGY FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD), by Gregg R. Allison and Andreas J. Köstenberger

A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

by Mark Baker

 

About the Authors

Gregg Allison serves as professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written many books including Historical Theology and Strangers and Sojourners: The Doctrine of the Church.

Andreas Köstenberger is research professor of New Testament and biblical theology and director of the Center for Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also authored many books including A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters and A Handbook on Hebrews through Revelation.

 

Overview

This book is the inaugural volume in the Theology for the People of God series. The series addresses individual topics of systematic theology (e.g. God, Man, Salvation) from the lens of a biblical scholar and a systematic scholar. Each co-authored work begins with a biblical theology of the given topic and concludes with a systematic treatment based on that biblical data. The end goal is to “emphasize integration of biblical and systematic theology in dialog with historical theology and with application to church and life” (xxii).

 

Table of Contents

Part 1: Biblical Theology

1 Introduction to Biblical Theology of the Holy Spirit
2 The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and in the Pentateuch
3 The Holy Spirit in the Historical and Wisdom Books
4 The Holy Spirit in the Prophetic Books
5 The Old Testament’s Contribution to a Biblical Theology of the Holy Spirit
6 The Holy Spirit in the New Testament in the Gospels
7 The Holy Spirit in Acts
8 The Holy Spirit in Paul
9 The Holy Spirit in the General Epistles and in Revelation
10 The New Testament’s Contribution to a Biblical Theology of the Holy Spirit
11 A Biblical-Theological Synthesis of the Holy Spirit in Scripture

Part 2: Systematic Theology

12 Introduction, Methodology, Central Themes, and Assumptions of a Systematic Theology of the Holy Spirit
13 The Deity and Personhood of the Holy Spirit
14 The Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity: Intratrinitarian Relations
15 The Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity: Trinitarian Processions and Missions
16 The Holy Spirit and Creation and Providence
17 The Holy Spirit and Scripture
18 The Holy Spirit and Angelic Beings
19 The Holy Spirit and Human Beings and Sin
20 The Holy Spirit and Christ
21 The Holy Spirit and Salvation
22 The Holy Spirit and the Church
23 The Holy Spirit and the Future
24 Contemporary Issues in Pneumatology
25 Conclusion

 

Summary

 

PART 1: BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

 

Chapters 1–5: The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

The Spirit has three primary roles in the Pentateuch: (1) The Spirit is an agent in creation. The Spirit infuses creation with the breath of life. (2) The Spirit is an agent in judgment. Specifically, the Spirit brings about worldwide judgment in the flood. (3) The Spirit is an agent of revelation. The Spirit brings revelation to both Jews (e.g., Joseph) and Gentiles (e.g., Balaam) (15). In the Historical Books, we see the power of the Spirit when he repeatedly delivers Israel. The Spirit indicates God’s choice of kings in 1­–2 Samuel. He enables prophetic utterances in Chronicles and Nehemiah. In the Wisdom literature, David cries out to God, “take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps 51:11). If this is, indeed, a reference to the Holy Spirit, then it highlights “God’s empowering presence with the ruler of his people and the possibility of the withdrawal of that special presence due to egregious sin” (31). In the Prophetic Books, Isaiah highlights God putting his Spirit on his messianic Servant (Isa 42:1–4; 61:1–2). Additionally, both Joel 2:28–29 and Zechariah 12:10 refer to a future pouring out of the Spirit. Joel refers to God’s Spirit being poured out on all humanity. Zechariah speaks of God’s pouring out a spirit of grace on those who “look upon the one they have pierced,” a passage that the New Testament understands as a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion. . . . .

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