God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul

Fee offers a fresh and in-depth exegesis of every Spirit text in the Pauline corpus. Part Two synthesizes the analysis presented in Part One into a coherent invitation to consider the Holy Spirits crucial role in Pauline theology. "Seldom does one find such a satisfying treatment of a theological topic so solidly based on serious and thorough exegetical analysis. In his study of the New Testament Fee recognizes and takes seriously the fact that Paul experienced the reality of the Spirits empowering presence in his life and in the life of the church. Comprehensive in its scope this scholarly volume speaks to pastors students and other church leaders as well as to the academic community. It is a good book that will do good." -Bruce M. Metzger Professor of New Testament Emeritus Princeton Theological Seminary "Fees book is the most comprehensive treatment available of Pauls understanding of the Holy Spirit a topic that has rarely received sufficient attention in studies of Pauline theology. Fees method is exemplary: he first analyzes Pauls statements about the Spirit in each individual letter then moves to a synthesis of Pauls general pneumatology. The result is a book that is deeply exegetical doing justice both to the particularity of Pauls writings and to the fundamental unity of his vision for the Spirits role in the life of the Christian community. Most importantly Fee emphasizes insistently that the Holy Spirit must be experienced as a living presence within the church. That message is both faithful to Paul and urgent for the community of faith in our time." -Richard B. Hays Associate Professor of New Testament The Divinity School Duke University "With the energy and care that is a trademark of his work Gordon Fee here fills a significant gap in Pauline Studies. Both those who find talk about the Holy Spirit congenial and those who would happily marginalize it will be instructed by this book. Fee makes a genuine contribution as he examines Pauls letters in conversation with both the exegetical tradition of the academy and the pressing needs of the church." -Beverly R. Gaventa Associate Professor of New Testament Princeton Theological Seminary