Fresh Insights about the Holy Spirit
My new book, The Holy Spirit as Person and Power: Charismatic Renewal and Its Implications for Theology, has just been published by Wipf and Stock in the United States.
It’s now available on Amazon and the Book Depository, or robyule.co.nz - and can be ordered from your nearest Christian bookstore. I’m very excited at its publication.
The Holy Spirit as Person and Power offers fresh perspectives on the Holy Spirit. It takes what has been learned in the dynamic experience of charismatic renewal, shows how this opens fresh insights into what the Bible says about the Spirit, and challenges the major branches of the Christian church to re-examine their theological understanding of the Spirit in the light of these developments. I’m not claiming a new revelation. What I draw attention to are overlooked insights in the revealed text of the Bible itself.
I show that biblical language about the Spirit is surprisingly nuanced, with a particular concreteness and dynamism often overlooked by commentators. The Spirit oversees the development of the fine–tuned universe. The Spirit inspires artistic creativity and empowers Israel’s leaders. But only with the Messianic prophecies is it promised that the Spirit will indwell human beings. With Jesus comes a profound change in the Spirit’s relationship to humanity. Constituting Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, the Spirit makes him the Spirit-filled human being who in turn imparts the Spirit to his followers.
I contend that what the Spirit did in the life and ministry of Jesus is a prototype and pattern for what the Spirit wishes to do in the life and ministry of Christians. Being baptised in the Holy Spirit is a tangible experience, distinct from though ideally accompanying conversion, which initiates a believer into a new realm of experience and effectiveness.
Engaging with Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and Evangelical reflection on the Spirit, I note the difference between the incarnation of the Son and the coming of the Spirit. In the former, a divine person assumes human nature; in the latter, the Spirit communicates the divine nature to human persons. The dynamism of the Spirit’s activity in the world today invites us to recognise the Spirit as a distinct divine person and reassess our understanding of God’s triune being.
My book, The Holy Spirit as Presence and Power, offers fresh perspectives on the Holy Spirit. It is a book of ecumenical significance, challenging theology and the global church to learn from the Pentecostal–charismatic movement. It is a rich, learned and prophetic work of theological integration, a testimony to the Spirit’s inspiration.
Rob Yule
To learn more about Rob’s books or blogs, or to contact him, visit robyule.co.nz
