Theology Applied
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 63, No. 1 – Fall 2020
Editor: David S. Dockery
By Gregg R. Allison and Andreas J. Köstenberger. Theology for the People of God. Nashville: B&H, 2020, xxiii+543pp., $44.99
The first volume in a new series called “Theology for the People of God” takes up the topic of the Holy Spirit in biblical and systematic theology. Coauthored by a biblical studies scholar and a historical and systematic theologian, their treatment seeks to balance the weight of both fields and offer a thoroughly integrated approach to the doctrine. This partnership, as envisioned by the series, is meant to serve a perspective that is “convictionally Baptist and warmly evangelical.” The series editors articulate well their vision in this way: “Careful theology is an integrative task, and to that end the volumes in Theology for the People of God emphasize integration of biblical and systematic theology in dialog with historical theology and with application to church and life” (p. xxii). Professors Allison and Köstenberger have more than answered that call with the series’ first volume by principally rooting their contribution in sustained and rigorous exegetical work alongside thorough attention to theological debates about the Spirit that have punctuated Christian history and continue amidst the church’s witness today.
The Holy Spirit proceeds in two parts but in both halves the discussion focuses on the driving questions: 1) Who is the Holy Spirit? 2) What does the Holy Spirit do? Such a framing helps to organize the detailed and nuanced survey given of biblical teaching on the Spirit in the first half of the volume. Here, the authors move step by step through mentions of the Spirit from the Old and New Testaments giving accounts of how various biblical genres treat the Spirit as well as the aggregate pictures from each testament. Their choice to review so carefully the biblical record generates its particular benefit when they arrive at “A Biblical-Theological Synthesis of the Holy Spirit in Scripture,” which is their transition point for moving from biblical to systematic theology. Thus, they reflect that, “the Spirit is not only integrally involved in God’s work throughout salvation history; he increasingly steps into the foreground” (p. 201). Here, their summative conclusions from the biblical witness reveal the trajectory of their most significant answers to the theological questions around the Spirit’s identity and activity. Such a leveraging of biblical theology for systematic foundations represents a prime example of the “helpful methodological contribution” they are seeking to make (p. 7).
The second part begins by addressing both the historical neglect and lingering suspicion of the Holy Spirit in some churches today. Having named these problems, the authors seek to navigate between two extremes in which the Spirit is seen as either a “last-minute addition” to the traditional categories of doctrine or the opposite error of giving the Spirit “first-order priority” in an undue, reactive way. By way of corrective, then, they devote much attention to the intratrinitarian relations within God as the grounds for their abiding thematic—drawn from Augustine—that envisions the Spirit as love and gift. Their account of the Trinitarian processions and missions thus secures a stable foundation upon which to consider the Spirit’s relation to each doctrinal loci, among which the chapters on salvation and ecclesiology respectively are alone worth the volume’s purchase. Along this tour of doctrinal connections, they provide illuminating diagrams, helpful applications for Christian practice, and careful, extended engagement with theological issues such as Spirit Christology, Spirit baptism, cessationism versus continuationism, and the Spirit’s role in the exclusivism versus inclusivism debate, among others. Creating their own question and answer format, the book concludes with a final consideration of the most relevant questions on the role of the Spirit in both the individual and corporate Christian life (e.g. worship, illumination, discernment).
There is much to appreciate about Allison and Köstenberger’s volume. In addition to being consistent, cohesive, and succinct, many readers will find their treatment imminently accessible, readily applicable, and free from unhelpful academic squabbles. While their Baptist convictions are clearly evident, the volume maintains a generative conversation with theologians from the breadth of church history, highlighting the likes of the Cappadocians, Augustine, Luther, and Calvin. Best of all, the volume is thoroughly exegetical, continually employing a “ground-up” approach that constructs its systematic proposals from sound biblical interpretation. The clear aim was to supply a resource for the church that would stand the test of time, and in that light, any innovations for the field remain modest and uncontroversial (e.g. the discussion of prolepsis on pp. 348-350). Where the authors must supply a firm judgment, it comes only after careful consideration of the options. The charts, diagrams, and other explanatory material will be a welcome find for students and laypeople alike. Still, there are areas where the practical concerns of their broader audience should dictate further discussion. Despite the fact that they review the influence of Pentecostal and Charismatic theologies on evangelicalism, their attention to the project’s implications for worship today seems unfortunately meager and brief (perhaps only four pages in the whole volume). There are few areas of concern regarding the Spirit that are riper for rehabilitation and development than worship, and one wonders what help the authors could bring if that discussion matched their commendable treatment of the Spirit and individual discernment (pp. 398-400). Relatedly, their discussion of how the Spirit fosters unity among Christians develops in an awkwardly narrow and perhaps confusing way, especially given the enthusiasm with which they quote Miroslav Volf as saying that, “the unity of the church is grounded in the interiority of the Spirit” (emphasis original). Surely this insight runs counter to the prior condition they have placed on biblical unity as understood principally in terms of Calvin’s two marks for the church (p. 435). Are we to see, then, the unity they envision as limited exclusively to those who share the same ecclesiology? If so, this seems to digress from the more conciliar tone employed throughout the work, evident in places like their advocacy for a “spiritual presence” view of the Lord’s Supper (pp. 453-455). Regardless of a few potentially missed opportunities for further application, readers will discover here a solid and trustworthy guide to a robustly evangelical doctrine of the Spirit that promises to empower a more thoroughly Trinitarian witness for the church. On a personal note, it should be observed that these two Trinity alums have dedicated this excellent volume to those who have served at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
