Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary.

From the publisher:

Kärkkäinen’s Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World is a five-volume project that aims to develop a new approach to and method of doing Christian theology in our pluralistic world at the beginning of the third millennium. Topics such as diversity, inclusivity, violence, power, cultural hybridity, and justice are part of the constructive theological discussion along with classical topics such as the messianic consciousness, incarnation, atonement, and the person of Christ.

With the metaphor of hospitality serving as the framework for his discussion, Kärkkäinen engages Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism in sympathetic and critical mutual dialogue while remaining robustly Christian in his convictions. Never before has a full-scale doctrinal theology been attempted in such a wide and deep dialogical mode.

From the Winter 2016 issue
Volume 1: Christ and Reconciliation
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Christ and Reconciliation, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World series, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013), 467 pages, ISBN 9780802868534.

From the Winter 2018 issue
Volume 2: Trinity and Revelation
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Trinity and Revelation, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 486 pages, ISBN 9780802868541.

From the Fall 2018 issue
Volume 3: Creation and Humanity
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Creation and Humanity, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 3 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2015), pages x+554.

From the Spring 2020 issue
Volume 4: Spirit and Salvation
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Spirit and Salvation, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2016), xi+498 pages, ISBN 9780802868565.

From the Summer 2020 issue
Volume 5: Hope and Community
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Hope and Community, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Press, 2017), x+574 pages with indices.

Holly Beers and Craig Keener: We love the Bible, and at heart we want to understand it well and help others understand it also. That’s how we see our scholarship – as a way to serve the church. We both have our specific areas of interest and specialty, including how Craig works with ancient Greek and Latin texts which help us better understand the New Testament, and Holly studies the way that the Old Testament is incorporated into the New Testament, but we both simply love to study and teach more generally. We are both very involved in our local churches: teaching, preaching, and offering our gifts in a variety of ways.

PneumaReview.com: If they asked, what would tell this leader about your experience with the contemporary ministry of the Holy Spirit?

Beers & Keener: Both of us are Pentecostal and desire to deeply know and be led by the Spirit. We regularly practice the gifts of the Spirit both individually and in (church) community. Craig especially has traveled extensively and observed and participated in the Spirit’s work around the world. Holly teaches at a college where most students come from non-charismatic/Pentecostal backgrounds, and she regularly exposes interested students to the Spirit’s contemporary work and trains them to engage in it.

PneumaReview.com: Where did the idea for the Word & Spirit Commentary on the New Testament series originate?

Word and Spirit Commentary on the New Testament Series from Baker Academic (as of July 2025)

Beers & Keener: We noticed that there have not been very many biblical resources authored by scholars from Pentecostal/charismatic traditions. When researching for projects or preparing for classes, we had difficulty finding those voices. The need for a series like this was even more apparent because of the documented growth of Spirit-filled movements around the world. In conversations with an editor at Baker Academic we suggested this series, and Baker was happy to support us as editors and publish it.

PneumaReview.com: How were the various contributors selected?

Beers & Keener: We wanted to be intentional about including scholars from across the global Pentecostal and charismatic spectrum, so we recruited accordingly. The range of voices includes denominational Pentecostals, Reformed charismatics, charismatic Methodists, and others. They also reflect a range of cultures, including Spirit-filled voices from multiple continents.

PneumaReview.com: In what ways is the importance of the Word emphasized in these commentaries?

Beers & Keener: They are, at their core, biblical commentaries; in that sense the Word is central. They explain the best of what biblical scholars know about the original context of the books as they work through the entirety of each. They also highlight the Spirit’s inspiration of the biblical texts.

PneumaReview.com: How is the work of the Holy Spirit highlighted in these volumes?

Beers & Keener: This series focuses on how the same Spirit who inspired the text speaks and works today. Our authors “preach” their way through the texts, emphasizing how we listen alongside the ancient audiences for the Spirit’s voice in our time and contexts.

PneumaReview.com: What is the most unique aspect of this commentary series?

Beers & Keener: The authors engage the biblical text in both its ancient setting and its message for Spirit-filled Christians today. The commentaries do not separate the exegetical and application sections, as readers in Spirit-filled traditions tend to integrate and move naturally between these categories. In other words, Spirit-filled readers traditionally blend the ancient and modern horizons so as to read themselves within the continuing narrative of salvation history—that is, as part of the ongoing biblical story (not culturally but theologically/spiritually/eschatologically). Particularly distinctive of this approach, then, will be observing how God works in the biblical texts and how Christians can expect God to be working today, even if in new and/or culturally surprising ways. The commentaries are written with distinctives of the tradition(s), including testimony, a conversational style (“preaching”), and sidebars that feature connections to Spirit-filled history and interest, such as healing, exorcism, spiritual gifts, etc.

PneumaReview.com: In your opinion, is the divide in the church regarding the Word and the Spirit declining?

Beers & Keener: Yes, we see a growing interest in and commitment to keeping the Word and Spirit together. We find this to be very encouraging, and are convinced that the Spirit’s own prompting is the main reason.

PneumaReview.com: What factors are contributing to this?

Beers & Keener: Beyond the Spirit’s own initiation, it seems due to our increased global awareness and connectedness. More and more Christians have contact and even relationships with Christians from different traditions in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and online. We hear about what the Spirit is doing around the world.

PneumaReview.com: Can you tell us about some of the forthcoming volumes and who is writing them?

Beers & Keener: This summer Craig’s co-authored volume with Robert P. Menzies on Acts will be published, and this fall Craig’s volume on 1-2 Peter and Jude will also be released. In the next couple of years you will see commentaries on 1-3 John by Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, 1-2 Timothy and Titus by Amy Anderson and Gordon Fee (revising Fee’s earlier contribution), Matthew by David Instone-Brewer, and Galatians by Roji George.

PneumaReview.com: What do you hope the lasting legacy of this commentary series will be?

Beers & Keener: Although the series naturally welcomes all readers, we especially hope to serve those who identify as Spirit-filled (broadly defined) leaders: pastors, seminarians, theology and ministry students, youth leaders, and Bible study leaders. We pray that the series testifies to the creative work and restorative goodness of the triune God.

PneumaReview.com: When will the series be complete?

Beers & Keener: The goal is 2030; at this point the date appears realistic, as authors are very excited about and committed to the series.

Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is author of thirty-seven books, with some 1.4 million copies in circulation. The books have won fifteen national or international awards, including six in Christianity Today; together the books take up 19,000 pages. He has also authored roughly one hundred academic articles; seven booklets; and roughly two hundred popular-level articles. In 2020 Craig was president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is ordained with the Assemblies of God. His YouTube channel is: www.youtube.com/c/CraigKeenerPhD; his blog site is www.craigkeener.com/.

Learn more about this series and series co-editor, Holly Beers:

Doug Strong and Jess Bielman offer this short volume intent on reimagining and reoffering an ancient medieval metaphor (the “workshop”) for contemporary practices of theological education that are integrative of the life of the academy and the church together. The volume proposes to take readers on a journey of recovery. Chapter 1 introduces the ancient construct of “apprenticeship” as a means of education in theology and ministry that is intentionally hands-on and oriented around a relationship of discipleship rather than simply courses taken independently with hopes that the student will gain integrative mastery on their own. Foundationally this is a call to mentorship that is facilitated via Spirit-empowered transformational experiences in community, discipline, and vocational holiness and wholeness.

Despite the noted issues with this volume, it still offers a refreshing rethinking of the moves within theological education that have tended to turn it into business and a cognitive intellectualist project rather than the personalizing and transforming Spirit empowering encounter it is meant to be for the sake of the individual, the Church, and the world. This book might function well for a group of professors, administrators, pastors, and students to read together over several weeks of discussions centered around the journey into the “workshop” re-storying proposed. As such it might just offer the “academy opportunity to make it a place of spiritual and intellectual flourishing for the sake of the church’s health” (144). May it be so.

Reviewed by Rick Wadholm Jr.

Publisher’s page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532689093/workshop-of-the-holy-spirit/

Preview Workshop of the Holy Spirit: https://books.google.com/books?id=SyKcEAAAQBAJ

Amos Yong and Dale Coulter bring to bear a fruitful and constructive offering in The Holy Spirit and Higher Education whose primary audience are those engaged in work and service at institutions found within the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. Not that this is their exclusive audience, but it is a helpful focal point for the intended audience. The volume is divided into two sections between the two contributors respectively where each voice may be heard (for those who recognize the writing styles) with three chapters each: historical (Coulter in chapters 2-4) and theological (Yong in chapters 5-7). Both sections offer some of the most constructive and fresh hearings in their respective areas of focus that this reviewer has engaged across the literature in both the history and theology of (Christian) higher education. The volume has helpful introductory and concluding chapters that summarize the project on both ends. Further, each chapter entails a succinct summation of the primary contributions of that chapter to the conversation.

A welcome construct utilized were terms/ideas to lead the imagination of each of the six core chapters of the volume. In the historical section by Coulter, he makes use of habitus, Bildung, and the Romanticist intuitive populism via the “triad of intuitionism, immanence, and progressivism” (in contrast to the “high culture” of liberalism and the worldview notions of Reformed approaches). In the theological section by Yong, he makes use of head, heart, hands and connects these in a pneumatologically attuned trinitarian construction for an integrative approach to Christian higher education. These ideas offer a way of remembering the movements made in each respective chapter of which the authors do hope to have some manner of “hook” to aid those who have read their works toward recall and entering into the imaginations of the writers and the world they have offered. The volume is not overly long (at 306 oversized pages), but likely many readers may find it a difficult read owing to the thickness of careful critical reflection demonstrated in the writing styles of both Coulter and Yong. In this way, familiarity with their previous work bears dividends toward understanding their particular articulations.

The rooting of this volume in the ecumenical turn of “Pentecost” (bearing the marks of Yong’s distinct contribution to the global Pentecost/al conversations) functions well as a metaphor and storying that naturally seems to lend itself to ecumenical dialogue (many thanks for the persistent work in this regard by Yong). This framing/orientation for this project avoids the political dynamics of much contemporary ecumenism and instead not only allows, but specifically calls for diversity (by and through the Spirit). This is not without difficulty in how one may in fact critique such diversities as somehow outside of such storying via Pentecost. However, this makes use of the chief storying of the Church all the while reminding Pentecostals (those identifying as such) of the ways in which this story is not their own unique possession but belongs to God’s work to set all things to rights. Coulter and Yong, thus, provide a way of constructive dialogic engagements between both Pentecostals and the rest of the Church via this storying of Pentecost as the Church’s story (and in turn, as that meant to be/become the cosmic redemptive story).

Another question is whether the “trinitarian” explanations failed to appreciate the decidedly Christologic offering in a turn to the Pneumatologic? While this perhaps opens greater ecumenical dialogue within the wider Christian traditions and among Evangelicals in particular, one may wonder if there is a loss for the internal Pentecostal dialogue between trinitarian and Oneness confessions which is so aptly engaged in the editorial epilogue of the latest issue of Pneuma by none other than Amos Yong himself.[2] It is particularly in the Christologic foci of Pentecostal confession (historic and contemporary rapprochement, e.g., the “Cleveland School” of Pentecostalism) as precisely a potential contribution to the wider Church. Though knowing that this volume is not for Pentecostals narrowly, but for institutions of the CCCU in mind particularly, means this volume is not meant directly to speak into the discussions among Pentecostals directly (though doing so throughout by way of integration of who the contributors are, their work, and the impulses of their socio-historical-religious locations).

Finally, if one sought a “how-to” approach, it is not offered in this volume (intentionally) as this is more pertaining the history, philosophy, and theology of higher education than to the practices of such. It is concerned with practices throughout, but not as a “how-to”. This is not to say no such examples are given. They are offered through the storying of part one and numerous examples of applications in part two. However, this is not a “how-to” book which would have severely limited the volume to time and place. Yet readers in higher education will likely find themselves saying “Now what?” Are there embodiments of the stories and theological ideals of Coulter and Yong that might serve as testimonial exemplars, at least in part, without simply repristinating such and allowing for the particularities of such as faithful in their respective contexts?

It is in these ways (among others) that this volume would serve well to be carefully read by individuals and (preferably in) groups across institutions of (Christian) higher education. The restorying is a key that needs to be taken up. If restorying fails to be appreciated and integrated, it will most certainly result in the failure of institutions of higher education. To be healthy, higher education must move well beyond assessments based merely upon head counts or the construction of new buildings and programs; and if the Christian story is true, education is more than an ROI calculation or a path to employability.

May this volume find a wide readership among all those concerned for the state and future of Christian higher education.

Reviewed by Rick Wadholm Jr.

Publisher’s page: https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481318143/the-holy-spirit-and-higher-education/

Notes

[1] Not least among the book, chapter, and article contributions being Yong’s Renewing the Church by the Spirit: Theological Education after Pentecost (Eerdmans, 2020). [Editor’s note: see the review by Carolyn Tennant]

[2] Amos Yong, “Afterword: Pentecostal Systematic or Constructive Theology: Many Models, Many Witnesses,” Pneuma 45.3-4 (2023): 466-475.

My presentation was 18 minutes, and it begins at the 32-minute mark. You can watch it here: https://video.horizon.edu/en/c….

In my presentation I mentioned one of my articles and one of my books. I’ll note them below.

• “The Intensity of the Spirit in a Spirit-Filled World: Spirit Baptism, Subsequence, and the Spirit of Creation.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 34.3 (2012): 365-382.

• Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2019.

I also discuss the intensity of the Spirit in this essay:

• “Pneumatology: Eschatological Intensification of the Personal Presence of God,” The Routledge Handbook of Pentecostal Theology, edited by Wolfgang Vondey (London: Routledge, 2020), 206-215. [Editor’s note: preview this 2020 book]

The title of this book may be initially off-putting to some, as though the author is proposing a view of the Holy Spirit akin to what is known as “adoptionist Christology.” But in the foreword, Matthew Bates makes it clear this is not the case: “While the revelation of the divinity of the Spirit (as part of the Christian doctrine of God) has an origin in time, nevertheless the Spirit’s divinity is not constrained by time or by our process of discovery” (xi). So, the book is not about the Spirit becoming God, as though there “was a time when he was not” God, but about how the Spirit came to be understood as being God.

The author, Kyle Hughes, apart from being an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church in North America, is also chair of the history department at Whitfield Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. He brings both a doctrinal lens and a historian’s perspective to this topic.

Chapter one, “The Problem of the Holy Spirit,” starts off by tackling some of the difficulties raised by the ways the Spirit is portrayed in Scripture. While the Father and Son are consistently portrayed in personal terms, phrases that depict the Spirit being “poured out” on people, or “filling” them, seem to suggest an inanimate substance rather than a personal being (3). Hughes then outlines how this historical study will not simply summarize the dogmatic teachings of various church fathers, but dive into how the early church’s methods of biblical interpretation that informed their declarations about the Godhead. Hughes proposes that the development of pneumatology in the first few centuries of the Christian era was based first on ideas being grounded in Scripture, while also including the church’s lived experiences of the Holy Spirit in light of Scripture.

Chapter three deals with “The Spirit and Christian Identity.” In discussing how the increasingly Gentile church came to see itself as no longer simply a messianic Jewish sect, Hughes looks at the Epistle of Barnabas and the writings of Justin Martyr. Barnabas argues that not only did the Spirit inspire the writers of the Ole Testament to look forward to Christ, but the Spirit himself looked forward to Christ, which is a personal activity rather than that of an impersonal force (42). Hughes points out that Justin wrote about the ongoing presence of the charisms in the second century, in the lives of both male and female believers, which means that the Montanists and other charismatic groups in the early church were not as innovative as some versions of history would assume (48-49). Justin also argued that just as the central Old Testament figures had gifts of the Spirit, the presence of these gifts among Christians showed that God’s Spirit was now upon them and had departed from the Jewish people as a group, indicating that the Christians had properly recognized the arrival of the Messiah.

The fifth chapter, “The Spirit and the Divine Economy,” examines Iranaeus’ presentation of the Spirit as the one who gives life, prepares believers for eternal life, reveals God across all of Scripture, and realizes the risen Christ’s presence in redeemed individuals (80-81). The work of Tertullian is further examined as well, discussing how his battle against modalistic monarchianism led to the development of trinitarian language, with Tertullian showing how that activities of the Father, Son, and Spirit are carried out by three divine Persons, and not simply one God playing three roles (85). The author also points out that Tertullian’s particular language sets up a problem for later trinitarian theologians, that of subordinationism (87). Novatian’s contribution of the eternal distinction of the Son from the Father is discussed (92), as is Origen’s articulation of the eternal existence of the Spirit with the Father and the Son (95).

I found this book to be very helpful in understanding the development over time of the doctrines we learn today in basic Christian discipleship classes and courses of systematic theology. The church’s teaching on the divine personhood of the Spirit—and thereby of the Trinity—did not descend fully-formed from heaven on golden tablets but was hammered out over the centuries through theological reflection on Scripture in the midst of the Spirit’s working among believers. I highly recommend Hughes’ volume to students of historical theology, as well as to anyone who desires to know more about “how we got here.”

Reviewed by Brian Roden

Publisher’s page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532693748/how-the-spirit-became-god/

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit has been present from the time of the primitive church and on into the 20th century. However, generally speak­ing, what has been lacking is His concrete influence in the same way that was evident in the early days of Pentecost, in the primitive churches, and among the proclaimers of the gospel at that time. That faith returned and started to grow among the holiness movements in the United States in the 19th century. It was faith in the fact that the Holy Spirit can presently fill the believer so that he/she speaks in new tongues, can prophesy, or become a channel for another of the spiritual gifts. That phenomenon of speaking in tongues began to increasingly appear throughout the world. The Pentecostal movement did not start in a vacuum. Its explosive spread in the 20th century was, however, a surprise.

I will now more intensely observe some central elements in the work of the Holy Spirit. These seem to have a pivotal role in the composition of the Pentecostal DNA.

The Importance of Baptism with the Holy Spirit

In our lives we strive for things that have significance. An athlete is ready to work hard in order to reach his/her ultimate fitness. A cook is ready to spend time in creating a unique taste experience. A musician repeatedly practices tone sequence until he/she is finally satisfied.

Jesus gave the promise of sending the Holy Spirit as the source of power for us. He did not say he would send power, but that He would send the Holy Spirit which would bestow power in us. The Holy Spirit is a person, one of the three persons of the Godhead. That fact provides the correct basis of our attitude toward Him. Power is impersonal. The Holy Spirit sees, feels, rejoices, mourns, comforts, defends, equips, serves, exhorts, upholds. It is important to us that He entrusts us with power. The Old Testament already gave a clear message regarding the Holy Spirit: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” (Zech. 4:6)

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting …All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:1-4) Their waiting was rewarded. The followers of Jesus were always focused on seeing His kingdom estab­lished on earth. He had taught them to pray for the coming of God’s king­dom. The will of God would be realized in heaven as well as on earth. This right expectation needed a correction in emphasis. It was not for them to know exact timetables. (Acts 1:7) There was something more important. Jesus instructed them in this way: “But you will receive pow­er when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Receiving power is connected to the infilling of the Holy Spirit. It has a special purpose. This power is not for bodybuilding nor for boasting about brawn. It is power for service. Jesus did not send His servants out with their own power. His intent was to equip them extraordinarily well for the task He was sending them to accomplish.

This chapter is an excerpt from Arto Hämäläinen’s book, The DNA of the Spirit-Empowered Christians and Churches (2023). Part of the Peace by the Spirit Series.

The promise of the Spirit to the disciples was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. At the same it gave birth to the church. The apostles served the multitude of thousands by leading them to faith in Jesus and by bap­tizing them. The power given to them enabled this action. The power was there for a purpose, for spreading the gospel, for giving birth and providing care for the community of believers, and for the spreading of the kingdom of God.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter reminded his hearers of the promised infilling of the Holy Spirit for all believers. “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39) Unfortunately, this emphasis and the desire for this privilege among the believers started to weaken in the churches during the following centuries. References to the work of the Holy Spirit can still be found long after the first outpouring of the Spirit, but the workings of the Holy Spirit were no longer a center of focus. Here and there people received charismatic experiences. In my home country, Finland, there were people in a few revival movements in the Lutheran church a few hundred years ago who had charismatic experiences such as speaking in tongues.³ The same kind of experiences took place in the history of many other countries.

The attitude of waiting for a filling with the Spirit is no longer at the forefront but remains in the background in many Pentecostal churches. The teaching about Spirit baptism and the steps toward receiving it have been forgotten or at least is very limited. The danger is that the meaning of the infilling of the Spirit is not understood or the experience of the infilling is not expected. The whole picture has somehow become distort­ed. To be filled has become a norm which is to be accomplished in order not to appear to be a lower level Pentecostal. This can lead to mental pressure and to a loss of the whole kernel of the matter. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift, not a result of merit. Jesus taught that God loved His children and gave them good gifts including the Holy Spirit. “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (Luke 11:13)

God is pleased to give the fullness of the Spirit. Therefore, it can be expected without stress or any pressure. It is a gift. What else can we do when receiving a gift than to be thankful? Gratefulness is the basic atti­tude in waiting for it.

The undisputed leader of the Swedish Pentecostal movement from its beginning and for a long time after was pastor Lewi Pethrus. To be filled with the Holy Spirit was so important to Pethrus that he travelled to Oslo to meet with Methodist pastor Thomas Barratt for three weeks. The latter had experienced Spirit baptism some time earlier in United States, and was now teaching it in Norway. During those weeks, however, Pethrus did not experience Spirit baptism. “But I received something almost as precious than the very experience,” he writes later. The key matter to him was to understand that it is received by faith, as Paul writes in his let­ter to the Galatians: “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you learned?” (Gal. 3:2)⁴

In the New Testament we find that some people had a special gift in leading people to experience being filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter and John were sent to Samaria where a revival occurred as a result of the work of Philip the evangelist. After they laid their hands on the new believers, they experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit. People like them which have this special gift have been and are still in the churches. In Finland, we have had pastor Arthur Kukkula lead thousands of believers into Spir­it baptism, among them the internationally known evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. It took place when Bonnke was still a young boy. Kukkula could not imagine this teenager becoming one of the most effective gospel preachers ever, leading more than 17 million people to Jesus.

I also experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit as a young boy of 12 years in my home city of Lappeenranta in Finland. Pastor Arthur Kukku­la was praying for me, and I still remember the moment when I received this blessing. Suddenly I felt like heaven was opened and a stream was flowing from there, touching my innermost being. I started speaking in tongues. It was very natural and spontaneous, something which I could not initiate myself.

Although God uses special people for leading others into the fullness of the Holy Spirit, it is important to remember that He is sovereign and acts as He likes. Many people have experienced the filling without any laying on of hands or special prayer. It is the Lord himself who pours out His Spirit, and people are only His servants, but not always needed. The Holy Spirit can fill a person in bed at night, or when he/she is driving the car, when jogging, preparing food, or when reading the Bible, etc. The most important factor is the openness or preparedness of the individual. Mary, the mother of Jesus had a very unique task. Through an angel she received an invitation to fulfill it. A special act of the Holy Spirit was involved in that experience. In receiving a promise, Mary’s attitude was a model for anyone who is waiting for the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)

We are the Lord’s servants. As Peter taught on the day of Pentecost, the Lord has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to every believer. Along with Mary let us say: “May your word to me be fulfilled!”

How can we be sure we have been filled with the Holy Spirit? What are the signs of it according to the New Testament?

1. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:4)
2. “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.” (Acts 10:45-46)
3. “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” (Acts 19:6)

In all of these contexts, speaking in tongues is mentioned as a conse­quence of the infilling with the Holy Spirit. In one case, prophesying also is mentioned. Even there, however, speaking in tongues is mentioned. This has been the foundational teaching of classical Pentecostalism re­garding the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a major difference between the charismatic movement and classical Pentecostal­ism. Although there is some variance among Pentecostals in relationship to this sign, it is very clear, e.g. in the World Assemblies of God Fellow­ship (WAGF). This Pentecostal family includes about 68 million Pente­costals (2018).

The breakthrough of global Pentecostalism took place in Los Angeles in 1906. The infilling with the Holy Spirit accompanied with the sign of speaking in tongues had been experienced in Topeka, Kansas already in 1901. Agnes Ozman, a student in the Bible school there became a witness to the fact that Pentecostal experiences are not a phenomenon only of the first century.⁷ During the entire second half of the 19th century, in the American Holiness movement, there was typically an expectation of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. That was the ground from which the Pente­costal revival emerged.

The same was experienced also in my home country of Finland. In the beginning of the last century, Pietari Brofeldt described the expectancy in this way: “We all were surrendered before the face of God in order to receive the Holy Spirit who was promised to all who believe. We were so given up to this issue that we came together in the mornings and often returned by the last tram stopping in a coffee house for eating a porridge.” Brofeldt assumed that there were no more devoted waiters on the infilling of the Holy Spirit elsewhere. His observation was that the concentration was so much on waiting that thanking in faith was left to a lesser role.⁸ In any case, in the long run, people experienced the infilling of the Spirit which led to the breakthrough of the Pentecostal movement in Finland.

Although the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Los Angeles was decisive for the spread of Pentecostalism more than one hundred years ago, Pen­tecostal experiences took place in various locations around the world. The revival in Wales and in the Ramabai Pandita’s girls’ home in India, and a strong spiritual movement in Korea, paved the way for the global Pentecostal movement and were the first heralds for it.⁹

Questions to church leaders:

1. When was the last time that you taught about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit?
2. When was the last time you prayed for the infilling of the Holy Spirit for those who are seeking for it?

PR

This chapter is an excerpt from Arto Hämäläinen’s book, The DNA of the Spirit-Empowered Christians and Churches. Used with permission.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The “NIV,” “New International Version,” “Biblica,” “International Bible Society,” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission.

Notes

Please see Arto Hämäläinen’s book, The DNA of the Spirit-Empowered Christians and Churches for complete citations.

³ J. Ruohomäki, 273, Aikamedia, 2009.

⁴ Pethrus, 97.

⁵ Ibid., 101-103.

⁶ Miller, 2005, 332.

⁷ Synan, 2001, 1.

⁸ Brofeldt, 1932, 30.

⁹ Anderson, 2013, 25-36.

See the announcement from CraigKeener.com.

The book consists of Acknowledgments, five chapters, thirteen excurses, varied notes, selected bibliography, and detailed indexes of subjects, ancient names, modern authors and ancient sources.

Chapter titles include: “The Emergence of the Spirit: Recasting Exodus”, “The Essence of the Spirit: Retelling Exodus”, “The Absence of the Spirit: Recalling Exodus”, “The Assurance of the Spirit: Rekindling Exodus”, and “The Significance of the Spirit: Rediscovering Exodus”. Each chapter brings a varied and deep-well resource for the study of pneumatology.

This work offers detailed, personable, opinionated, and indispensable tedious research. From his descriptions of German theologian Hans Leisagang and more to his Greek or Jewish tracing of the origins of historical pneumatology, you’ll find detailed promise of the divine presence of God. The weight of God’s glory is depicted through Israel’s birth and early years. Pillars and angels, Clouds and fire are described as leading the Israelites to outpace the Egyptians. While God’s presence is described as durable, unshakable, and reliable.

Levison’s description of the Babylonian exile offers intriguing storylines where the Spirit is an active agent in cross-cultural contexts.  He offers rich parallels of Moses and Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zechariah and more with concepts of the Spirit of God 1) rushing upon, 2) pouring over, and 3) resting upon individuals.

Jack Levison holds the W.J.A. Power Chair of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Levison was raised in New York, attended Wheaton College, received an MA at Cambridge University, and pursued his doctoral studies at Duke University. Faculty page.

He offers a unique study of consequences regarding modern assessments of early Judaism including a discourse of NT Wright’s deep appreciation for the contributions of 2^nd Temple Judaism and Shekinah Glory’s indwelling presence. He proclaims clearly, the Spirit is active now.

Levison ends this work with thirteen brief two to four page excurses. An excursus (from Latin excurrere, ‘to run out of’) is a short outbreak or narration in a work of literature. Excursuses often have little to do with subject matter discussed by the work, used to lighten or add insight to the story. He does it with brilliance.

Reviewed by Joseph S. Girdler

Publisher’s page: https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481310031/the-holy-spirit-before-christianity/

Elbert approaches Luke-Acts with two questions: (1) How does Luke expect Theophilus, the reader, to read his two-volume work (Luke-Acts)? and (2) How does Luke expect him to respond to it? As Robert Menzies summarizes, in the forward, first, Luke gives Theophilus “a coherent pneumatological picture.” Second, Luke thinks that “if Theophilus prays to receive gift of the Holy Spirit as Jesus taught, then it will be given to him” (Lk 11.13) and third, that Jesus’s command to ask for the good gift of the Holy Spirit must be understood in light of Pentecost and subsequent pneumatological events in Acts (vii). Significantly, Elbert sees the inchoate state of Theophilus who has received some initial instruction in the faith (Lk 1.4) like Apollos, whose knowledge of Jesus was rudimentary but deficient and was given a fuller picture (5, Acts 18.24–28).

For Elbert, Theophilus was probably a sincere disciple who needed further instruction which included more information about the Holy Spirit that his second treatise more extensively provides (1, 6). Having given Theophilus further teaching and examples of historical precedent, Luke expects him to seek this gift of the Holy Spirit (11). Elbert cites Hellenistic rhetorical parallels that demonstrate a pedagogical and mentoring relationship with the reader (20:n35, n61).

Moreover, the Lukan version of “the Holy Spirit” in contrast to Matthew’s “good gifts” shows that Luke is stressing Spirit reception either by his redactional emendation or by preferring one version of the dominical saying over another retained in the earlier Gospel tradition (11.13 cp. Matt 7.11). Elbert links the good gift-Holy Spirit saying to Acts 1.5, 8; 2.2. Luke’s rhetoric is intended to be didactic for his reader, Theophilus, and later in Luke-Acts, Luke shows him what to pray for and the effects of the gift of the Holy Spirit (34–35). Luke then, views history and narrative as paradigmatic for Christian practice (43–44).

In the third chapter, Elbert focuses on Acts 2.38: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (NRSV). Repentance and baptism are mandated in the final instructions of Jesus (Lk 24.47–49) and found throughout the Third Gospel. The repeated promise of the Holy Spirit in Lk 24.49 and in Acts 1.4, 8, 14 puts Theophilus in “an expectant transition” and is followed with templates for his own petition to receive God’s gift of the Holy Spirit (45). But first, Elbert makes it clear that those who were about the receive the promise of the Holy Spirit “had already entered into genuine Christian discipleship and commitment to Jesus, i.e., that they have entered into that nexus of experiential concepts: repentance, forgiveness, belief, and salvation which Luke associates with experiencing Jesus” (46). He gives ample examples from the Gospel that folk already had experienced salvation before Pentecost. In the text and in the footnotes, he takes issue with those who say that believers only experience salvation after Pentecost, especially James Dunn (46–50). It appears that Dunn and company are interpreting Luke’s pneumatology through the lens of Paul’s understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in conversion. Luke must be allowed to speak on his own terms, for the pneumatological agendas of both Luke and Paul are not quite the same.

Using a Graeco-Roman historiographical method, Luke presents in Peter’s Pentecost sermon “three narrative functions”: (1) to summarize events with a view of how the reader should respond, (2) to provide precedents that guide the disciples in mission, and (3) “to draw all the threads together into a timely tutorial re the Lukan gift of the Spirit, from both the preceding prophetic xenolalic event as well as from the previous narrative” (50–51). Peter’s initial speech/sermon is programmatic for all of Acts (54). “This emphasis on the individualistic extension of prophetic vocation to all repentant, forgiven, callers upon the Lord’s name who would prayerfully seek the gift of the Spirit, as I shall argue, for 2.38c, is distinctively Lukan” (55).

Elbert notes that the promise of the Spirit is not merely for prophecy: “Luke neither says nor implies that Joel has promised the ‘Spirit of prophecy’ (contra Turner). Rather, Luke’s insertion ‘and they will prophesy’ in 2.18 simply highlights the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy and extends the promise of it to everyone (cf. 1.4; 2.39), thus making Luke’s understanding of prophecy one component of the Lukan gift of the Spirit” (57–58). Luke understands that other aspects of the Spirit’s gift are included, such as dreams and visions and, later, other wonders. Nor is it evident that Spirit-reception happens immediately upon obeying the imperatives of “repent” and “be baptized”; the reception of the Spirit is in the future tense. Elbert demonstrates several passages where the future following the imperative is not immediate (64–73). To insist that the gift of the Spirit must appear immediately at baptism appears “to be non-Lukan importations no matter what their source” (72). Luke has set his narrative up to this programmatic point in the Pentecost sermon to instruct Theophilus, who already knows about repentance and forgiveness of sins, to ask the good Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Elbert makes the case for Apollos receiving fuller pneumatic instruction and experience, for he had the same instructional deficiency as the Ephesian twelve, who knew only the baptism of John. He suggests that Theophilus, though somewhat informed in the faith (Lk 1.4), knows only of a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins and needs further instruction on how to receive the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised. Luke does this by his frequent emphasis on prayer, especially regarding reception of the Holy Spirit. These promises and examples provide a paradigm for Theophilus to pray to receive the Holy Spirit (94–95).

Luke does not invent Theophilus to be a mere foil for him to present a theological treatise wrapped in a narrative; rather he gives instruction to Theophilus on what to pray for, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and what to expect in the breath of prayer for his future ministry. The primal mode of biblical revelation subsists in the telling of a story and expecting the readers to respond to the salvation-history event. The story cannot be divorced from the didache.

Elbert’s lengthy essay, presented in 2000 as a Society for Pentecostal Studies conference paper, should have been published much earlier; his argument is persuasive, and he maintains a detailed and frank interaction with other scholars in his footnotes. We have Robert Graves of the Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship to thank for making this seminal essay available to the Church and the academy.

Reviewed by James B. Shelton