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    The Holy Spirit
    The Holy Spirit
    The Holy Spirit
    Ebook97 pages1 hour

    The Holy Spirit

    By Stanley Hauerwas and Bishop William H. Willimon

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    About this ebook

    Do you realize what baptism really means?
    Through the Holy Spirit we become part of the Body of Christ! The work
    of the Spirit is often thought of as “inspirational,” but it’s more than
    a personal experience and this book challenges some of those
    individualistic and subjectivist accounts. You’ll come to understand
    that the Holy Spirit is who God is and what God does as the Trinity. And
    you’ll learn how to prayerfully embrace this gift that created the
    church and become empowered to live out holy love and friendship in the
    world.
    “Hauerwas and Willimon
    are among the most reliable teachers of the church. Ours is a time when
    faithful teaching is urgent in the church that is compromised,
    bewildered and domesticated. This study by these trustworthy teachers on
    the Holy Spirit is a robust affirmation of the way in which core claims
    made concerning God’s Spirit matter concretely in the life of the
    church. This book is an invitation to fresh learning, to repentance, and
    to the recovery of missional nerve.”
    -Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

    "For
    too long many Christians have neglected the Holy Spirit; some even fear
    the Holy Spirit. Hauerwas and Willimon challenge them to rediscover the
    Comforter, the Advocate, for the renewal of the Christian church and
    the world. This is a welcome and much needed corrective to common
    Christian forgetfulness of the Spirit.”
    -Roger E. Olson, Foy
    Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics, George W. Truett
    Theological Seminary, Baylor University

    "The Holy Spirit is too
    often considered the junior partner of the Trinity. Therefore, this book
    by two eminent churchmen is a cause for celebration, reminding us of
    the importance and vitality of an orthodox view of God's Spirit."
    -Tony
    Jones, author of Did God Kill Jesus? andtheologian-in-residence at
    Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis. He teaches theology at Fuller
    Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.

    "When
    these two long-time theologian-friends and disciples of Jesus, gather
    in a room to write, you can be sure that you will hear a sound of a
    rushing mighty wind, feel the heat of holy fire, and be ignited by
    dynamite on the page as you read. Whether it be theTrinity, Pentecost,
    holiness, or the last things, this is not just another book, this is
    literary bread from heaven fed to you by anointed servants of the Holy
    Spirit. Take, eat and be filled with the Spirit of Christ!"
    -Luke A. Powery, Dean of the Chapel and Associate Professor of Homiletics, Duke University

    This
    engaging and accessible pneumatological overview,written by two leading
    voices of theological wisdom and church renewal, is a rich
    collaborative discussion, which weaves together poignant and
    wide-ranging doctrinal insight (from the historic creeds, to the
    Wesleyan heritage, to contemporary Pentecostalism), punctuated by
    perceptive liturgical applications, fresh biblical expositions,
    memorable testimonial observations, and passionate pastoral appeals –
    all driving toward the earnest prayer of its authors, "Come, Holy
    Spirit!"
    -Rickie D. Moore, Associate Dean of the School of Religion, Professor of Old Testament, Lee University

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbingdon Press
    Release dateOct 6, 2015
    ISBN9781501805165
    The Holy Spirit
    Author

    Stanley Hauerwas

    Stanley Hauerwas, a theologian and Christian ethicist, is professor emeritus of theological ethics and of law at Duke University and the author or editor of more than fifty books.

    Read more from Stanley Hauerwas

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    • 4/5
      A good book on any aspect of Christian theology is one that brings clarity and new insights into what is believed. An even better Christian book is one that challenges long-held assumptions and forces the reader to rethink concepts and values taken for granted.This is an even better book.

    Book preview

    The Holy Spirit - Stanley Hauerwas

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    Half-Title Page

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    Other Abingdon Press Books by Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon

    Other Abingdon Press Books by Stanley Hauerwas

    and William H. Willimon

    Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (Expanded

    25th Anniversary Edition)

    Where Resident Aliens Live: Exercises for Christian Practice

    The Truth about God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life

    Lord, Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer and the Christian Life

    Title Page

    14202.png

    Copyright Page

    The holy spirit

    Copyright © 2015 by Abingdon Press

    All rights reserved.

    No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Permissions, Abingdon Press, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228-0988, or [email protected].

    This book is printed on acid-free paper.

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Hauerwas, Stanley, 1940-

    The Holy Spirit / Stanley Hauerwas, William H. Willimon. — First [edition].

    1 online resource.

    Includes bibliographical references.

    Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

    ISBN 978-1-5018-0516-5 (e-pub) — ISBN 978-1-4267-7863-6 (binding: soft back) 1. Holy Spirit. I. Title.

    BT121.3

    231’.3—dc23

    2015017818

    All scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

    Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Dedication

    To those who, by the Holy Spirit, are our pastors

    Clarke French

    and

    Heather Rodrigues

    Contents

    Contents

    Introduction

    Chapter One

    Trinity

    Chapter Two

    Pentecost: The Birth of the Church

    Chapter Three

    Holiness: Life in the Spirit

    Chapter Four

    Last Things

    The Creeds

    Introduction

    Introduction

    Christians are nothing without the Holy Spirit. The historic core of the service of ordination is the Veni Creator Spiritus , Come, Creator Spirit. The church in its wisdom knows that pastoral leadership, preaching, and care ought not be attempted alone. Just as the Spirit brooded over the waters at creation, the church is birthed by the Holy Spirit. The church lives not by

    savvy, worldly wisdom, and techniques for church growth but rather lives moment by moment, in every time and place, utterly dependent upon the gifts of the Spirit. Thus the Holy Spirit is nothing less than a life-and-death matter for the people of God.

    Christians are people who dare to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, that is, live lives out of control, coming to God dependent, empty-handed, lives driven by and accountable to someone more interesting than ourselves.

    You will note a number of themes recur in our exploration of the Spirit: When we talk about the Holy Spirit, we are talking about God, who is one as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is more than a personal experience; the Holy Spirit is who God is and what God does as the Trinity, whether we feel it or not. Because the Holy Spirit is intensely communitarian, relational, and embodied, we have the church. Whatever we say about the Holy Spirit must be tested by and congruent with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is that gift whereby even in a world at war, we may live in peace, our enemies can become friends, and even in a culture of lies, we can tell the truth. Come, Holy Spirit! is the first and last prayer of the church, our only hope in life and death. In receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can begin the adventure of discipleship and end all our attempts at self-justification. Holiness is the fruit of the Spirit and a sure test of holiness is love.

    Come, Holy Spirit! is the first

    and last prayer of the church.

    Jesus commands us to venture courageous, countercultural, demanding lives. He orders us to love one another, to pray for our enemies, to take up the cross and follow. But he does not expect us to do these demanding tasks or to live and to die by ourselves. Christ gives us what we need to be as holy as he calls us to be. Thus the church prays for the gift of the Holy Spirit (Epiclesis) every time we read scripture, preach, celebrate the Eucharist, or stand against injustice. We know that we cannot pray as we ought, enjoy the peace of Christ, or be the body of Christ in motion except through the gifts of the Spirit. Little in the Christian faith is self-derived.

    Therefore we write this book as a practice of prayer, bold to believe that little in our celebration of the Holy Spirit is original with us. A quarter of a century ago, we coauthored Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony.¹ This book is therefore a demonstration of how two friends have, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, continued to grow in their faith. Even as this book is a collaborative effort, we’ll try to think with our friends the saints, for the church, and under the influence of the Holy Spirit. That these words might be helpful to fellow Christians and to a church facing new challenges, that you and your church may hear these words of ours as God’s address to you, God’s summons, blessing, and disruption, we pray, Come, Holy Spirit!

    1. Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony, rev. ed. (Nashville: Abingdon, 2014).

    Chapter One

    Chapter One

    Trinity

    When we talk about the Holy Spirit, we are talking about God. You may find this an odd remark with which to begin a book meant to introduce the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. After all, this is a book written by Christians for Christians. However, throughout Christian history, and particularly in our own day, Christians have had difficulty remembering that when they say Holy Spirit , they’re saying God .

    God as Father, Son, and . . .

    Surveys show that nine out of ten Americans say they believe in God. But we’re not sure that the God in whom so many Americans believe is the God designated by Holy Spirit. Actually, when Christians say Holy Spirit, they are not merely saying God; they are saying Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are the one God. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. Often when you are third in a list, for instance, a list like the Apostles’ Creed, it can seem that third is an afterthought. ¹

    Thus the general presumption is that the Father creates, the Son redeems, and the Spirit—well, what does the Spirit do? Too often the Spirit is associated with our feeling that we have had some sort of experience that is somehow associated with God or at least a vague feeling that seems to be spiritual. Human experience is

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