{Book Review} The Holy Spirit (New Studies in Dogmatics Series)

Zondervan Academic is currently producing a 15-volume series that is entitled “New Studies in Dogmatics.” The existing volumes have been done very well, and the forthcoming volumes look very promising! 

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The Holy Spirit (New Studies in Dogmatics Series)

This review is in regards to the first volume that was published in the series, The Holy Spirit by Christopher Holmes. Holmes is very thorough and careful in his approach to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, combining classical thought (see more on this below) with contemporary application for the church. The desired result for Holmes (and one that I believe he achieves) is knowledge of the Triune God that leads to greater and purer worship of the Triune God. 

The book is divided into four parts:

1. What is the Spirit?
2. Who is the Spirit?
3. How does the Spirit do things?
4. What does the Spirit do?

One of the aims of this series is to draw upon the rich resources that we have in the trusted teachers that have gone before us. The editors of the series believe that the way forward in constructive theology lays in “renewal through retrieval.” In other words, the authors in this series will be interacting with Holy Scripture as well as tradition (what the trusted teachers throughout church history have believed and taught from Scripture).

With that being said, Holmes engages the following theological giants: Augustine (part 1); Thomas Aquinas (part 2); Karl Barth (part 3). All three of these teachers have studied and taught on the Trinity (and often, specifically on the Holy Spirit) from the Gospel of John. Holmes, therefore, presents a dogmatic theology on the Holy Spirit that largely engages the Gospel of John and the way that Augustine, Aquinas, and Barth understood this fourth Gospel in relation to the third person of the Holy Trinity. Holmes explains that “each of these thinkers appreciates first principles and the function of these principles in describing God’s being and activity.” 

Strengths of The Holy Spirit

A great strength of Holme’s book is his careful discussion on the processions of the Triune God, namely the generation of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit. Due to this Trinitarian focus, some have provided criticism to Holmes for discussing the Father and the Son so often in a book on the Holy Spirit (this criticism has come from bloggers but not necessarily scholars), especially since Fred Sanders has provided a volume specifically on the Triune God.

However, in order to rightly understand the questions that Holmes is asking of the Holy Spirit, one must rightly understand the processions. I believe this focus is warranted in this book. It’s also possible that there has been a misunderstanding of what dogmatic theology is. Those who have criticized Holmes for writing too much on the other two persons of the Trinity are perhaps expecting a systematic treatment that has already been offered elsewhere in other works. It is true that Holmes does not address every issue about the works of the Holy Spirit, but that ought not to be seen (in my opinion) as a failure on the part of Holmes. He set out to achieve a task, and I believe that he succeeded at that particular task. 

Some other strengths of this book include: 

• Engagement with the writings of Augustine, Aquinas, and Barth.
• Two “excursus” sections which were quite interesting to read.
• Holmes’ careful use of language and helpful distinctions, especially in regards to relations and being.
• This book covers ground that most volumes on the Holy Spirit do not (perhaps it could be said that this book goes more into the topic of the person of the Holy Spirit instead of focusing on the works of the Holy Spirit). 

My Conclusion

If Holmes is correct that “beatific contemplation” is the goal and essence of the Christian life, then reading The Holy Spirit will help in that endeavor. I highly recommend this book to those who would desire to learn more about the Holy Spirit, and in turn, the Triune God. I also recommend this book to those who may be interested in learning more about the Gospel of John or the writings of Augustine, Aquinas, and Barth. 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Zondervan Academic for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.