4

Context

John 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.—KJV

Question

According to the doctrine of the trinity, God consists of: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Much has been written about the Father and the Son—yet, there seems to be surprisingly little about the Holy Spirit. This seems somewhat unfortunate given that the Holy Spirit is sent to help and guide us.

We are told to pray to the Father, to study and be conformed to the image of Christ. What are we to do with the Holy Spirit? How do we interact with the Holy Spirit?

Note: I'm only interested in well-respected theologians who expound on the dynamics & interaction with the Holy Spirit. Please cite your sources.

|improve this question
  • 1
    Maybe you can open up a chat room and link it to your old closed question for book reccomendations and send messages to people who have previously reccomended books. I would reccomend some that way, but since you already recocgnize that this will be closed, you might want to just delete it. It creates unecessary work for moderators if you raise items you expect to have closed. See what I mean? – Mike Aug 9 '12 at 11:44
  • 3
    This site isn't just for you, it is supposed to produce lasting valuable answers. Book recommendations don't do that which is why they are of topic here. Closed questions are either destined to be edited into good ones and reopened (in which case quick closure makes sure people don't waste time giving irrelevant answers) or the are destined for deletion. Please don't try to break the rules, help the community thrive at what it is made for by modeling good questions. – Caleb Aug 9 '12 at 14:07
  • 2
    I've modified the question to remove the book recommendation altogether. It's a great question and I bet you'll get some good answer that point you to the resources you need. Out of curiosity, were you looking for theologians respected by a particular tradition? If so, please edit the question to clarify. (If not, may I recommend requesting answers from the early Church Fathers?) – Jon Ericson♦ Aug 10 '12 at 18:01
  • @Jon: any theologian considered mainstream Christianity will do. In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit appeared quite active. In "Modern Christianity", the Holy Spirit appears quite inactive. I guess I'm not completely convinced of cessation of spiritual gifts, and I'm curious what people who do NOT believe in the cessation of spiritual gifts have to say. – user1694 Aug 10 '12 at 20:36
4

Note: This response was written in response to the question as it was originally worded, which was in the form of a request for reference works.

It sounds like you're looking for works in the discipline of "pneumatology," the study of the Holy Spirit.

Prefatory blathering, because I like to write:

Great men have lamented the extent to which scholars' pens have neglected the work of the Holy Spirit throughout history. The protests of venerable Christian leaders notwithstanding, books about the one whom the Bible calls the "Spirit of Truth" are almost rare when compared with the vast numbers of pages devoted to the Father and the Son.

It's worth reflecting on the fact that the Holy Spirit is the one who enables, encourages, and facilitates Christians' efforts to grow in conformity to God's Son, and one of the primary resources provided for Christians who seek to do so is the Bible -- that is, disciples follow Christ by learning (through reading and/or hearing) about his life and teaching, and putting what they learn into practice. One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to enable Christians to understand what they learn about the triune God; AFAIK, he does not provide separate teachings distinct from what is offered through the Father and the Son.

A few actual resources:

  • Volume 1, chapter 8 of Hodge's Systematic Theology is about the Holy Spirit.
  • John Owen, an important Reformer, wrote a thousand-plus page book called Pneumatologia that could keep anyone busy for a lifetime.
  • Abraham Kuyper wrote a book called The Work of the Holy Spirit that looks interesting. He was a nineteenth century Dutch Calvinist, and I'm not familiar with his work, but the biographical sketch that I read looks clear.
  • Spurgeon sermons, numbers: 278, 738, 167, 630, 465, 2907, 3048, 2382, 1532, 1708, 1662, 2074, 1870, 1877, 201, 574, 178 -- and more.

There are, of course, many more resources out there, but those titles provide a good place to start.

|improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy