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View Chapter “I cannot imagine that there are many pastors who have not heard each of the six questions that Graham Cole raises. Here are serious, careful, practical, theologically-alert answers. This book deserves the widest circulation.” — D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School “Pneumatology has been sadly neglected in recent evangelical the- ology and, when it has been touched upon, it has trended toward either the speculative or the sensational. But here is a book on the Holy Spirit that is practical, relevant, balanced, and useful in the lives of God’s people everywhere. This book provides important grounding for a fuller theology of the Holy Spirit, and I commend it to all believers who are serious about the Christian life.” — Timothy George, Dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University; Senior Editor, Christianity Today “Drawing from the well of his extensive and rigorous study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Dr. Graham Cole gives refreshingly clear answers to six crucial questions that earnest Christians invariably ask about the Holy Spirit. The answers are sure to grace the church, because what Christians believe about the third Person of the Holy Trinity will determine how they live. This is an important, acces- sible, life-giving book.” — R. Kent Hughes, Senior Pastor Emeritus, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois “Dr. Graham Cole’s book makes a significant contribution to the life of the church. Uncertainty about the person of the Holy Spirit sometimes leads to division in the local church and often to confu- sion in the life of the individual believer. I have found in my pastoral calling that the challenges churches face about the doctrine of the Spirit all come back to the six questions Dr. Cole addresses. In fact, his subtitle is an accurate description of this insight-filled book— real questions, practical answers. Dr. Cole handles all the relevant biblical texts carefully and accurately and then places his findings into a coherent theological framework. He distills the views about the Holy Spirit that have been held by brothers and sisters in Christ of the past. Then, with clarity and relevance, he points out how his biblical, theological, and historical findings might be applied to the concerns church people face in their daily lives and in their understanding of the triune God. I believe every pastor, Christian counselor, and lay leader should keep this book close at hand. When churches wrestle with division over contradictory views related to the work of the Holy Spirit, this book will provide lucid and suc- cinct guidance. When individuals fear they have sinned against or grieved the Holy Spirit, Dr. Cole’s teaching will provide clarity and encouragement. When church leaders long for their congregations to know the filling of the Spirit of God, they will find, in this book, wisdom. I recommend it highly.” — Greg Waybright, Former President, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Senior Pastor, Lake Avenue Church, Pasadena, California FOHBHJOH with the CJGTNKDMDO M@<GLP@NODJIN'KM<>OD><G<INR@MN HSBIBN!B/!DPMF Foreword by David Peterson 6EBFFJ4L5BB>F J;84GBA<??<AB<F Engaging with the Holy Spirit: Real Questions, Practical Answers Copyright © 2007 by Graham A. Cole Originally published by APOLLOS (an imprint of Inter-Varsity Press) Norton Street, Nottingham NG7 3HR, England. North American edition first published 2008. Published by Crossway Books a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as pro- vided for by USA copyright law. Cover design: Amy Bristow Cover photo: iStock Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version,® copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture references marked niv are from The Holy Bible: New International Version.® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trade- mark requires the permission of International Bible Society. Scripture references marked nrsv are from The New Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by per- mission of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cole, Graham A. (Graham Arthur), 1949– Engaging with the Holy Spirit : real questions, practical answers / Graham A. Cole. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-58134-972-6 (tpb) 1. Holy Spirit. I. Title. BT121.3.C645 2008 231'.3—dc22 2007044604 VP 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 >GJ=OGJ< <]khal]l`]eYfqZggck that have been written on the subject in recent decades, the person and work of the Holy Spirit remains a fascinating area for further exploration. Graham Cole has focused his research firstly on ways in which we may sin against the Spirit, secondly on whether it is right to pray to the Spirit, and thirdly on what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Each chapter confronts us with important challenges about our relationship with the Spirit, either as believers or as unbelievers. However, in fulfilling his aims, Graham has also enriched us with some valuable reflections on theological method. How do we handle the biblical evidence reverently and responsibly? How do we interpret the Bible’s teaching in the light of many centuries of differing insights and opinions? In particular, can we agree on an approach to certain biblical texts about the Spirit? Graham shows us in practice how valuable it is to have a clearly defined and articulated theological method that takes the biblical text seriously, learns from others in the process of interpretation, and works hard at application to the contemporary context. This is exactly what we hope for at our Annual School of Theology, where college graduates and others come together for a day to reflect on their ministries and to be inspired in their pastoring and teaching of others. We were blessed at Oak Hill by Graham’s lectures in 2006 and it is my prayer that many readers will be similarly blessed by the publication of this expanded version of his work. David Peterson Principal, Oak Hill Theological College, London AFLJG<M;LAGF Afl`]aj)1./hmZda[Ylagf$ The Spirit within You: The Church’s Neglected Possession, A. M. Stibbs and J. I. Packer wrote: “‘No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ Such was the reply of the Ephesian disciples to St. Paul’s question, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ (Acts 19:2). Their words express a state of mind to which the modern church, to put it mildly, is no stranger.”1 The rise of the charismatic movement and the growth of Pentecostal churches worldwide soon made their comment out of date. In fact, twenty years later when Watson E. Mills compiled a bibliography of assorted works on the Holy Spirit, there were 2,098 entries.2 One can only imagine how much larger such a bibliogra- phy would be by now. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is no longer neglected. Even so, real questions remain concerning the Holy Spirit, especially with regards to sinning against the Spirit. What sort of questions? To start with, how may the Holy Spirit be blasphemed? This is a particularly important question, since it troubles numbers of Christians. It is the so-called unpardonable sin. Can Christians commit it, or is it the sin of the outsider? Again, how may the Spirit be resisted? Is this a sin that a person is even conscious of commit- ting? What is its character? These questions arise from reading the biblical text. The next question does not. Rather it stems from the practice of some Christians of praying to the Holy Spirit. Ought we to do so? There are no biblical commands as such to pray to the Spirit. There are no biblical precedents. For example, we do not read of David praying to the Spirit in the Old Testament or Paul praying to the Spirit in the New. What are we to make of the 1A. M. Stibbs and J. I. Packer, The Spirit within You: The Church’s Neglected Possession (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1967), 9. Note the subtitle. 2Watson E. Mills, The Holy Spirit: A Bibliography (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988), cited in Craig S. Keener, 3 Crucial Questions about the Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), 203. 16 JOUSPEVDUJPO practice? The remaining three questions return us to the text of the New Testament. What does it mean to quench the Spirit? How may the Holy Spirit be grieved? Finally, what does it mean to be filled by the Spirit? I have left this question to last as it ends the discussion on a positive note. Such questions are the burden of this book, which began life as the Annual Oak Hill Lectures for 2006. Each question has a chapter devoted to it and may stand alone.
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