Gift and Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today

By Craig S. Keener

Book Overview

In Gift and Giver, leading New Testament scholar Craig Keener takes a probing look at the various evangelical understandings of the role of the Holy Spirit in the church. He explores topics such as spiritual gifts, the fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit's power for evangelism, and hearing God's voice. His desire is for Christians to "work for consensus, or at least for unity in God's work despite our differences on secondary matters."

Employing a helpful narrative approach and an ample number of stories, Keener enters into constructive dialogue with Pentecostals, moderates, and cessationists, all the while attempting to learn from each viewpoint. He seeks to bridge the gap between cessationists and Pentecostals/charismatics by urging all Christians to seek the Holy Spirit's empowerment. His irenic approach to this controversial issue has been endorsed by charismatics and non-charismatics alike.

Sure to provoke helpful dialogue on a topic that has caused unfortunate divisions within the church, Gift and Giver will be a valuable addition to college and seminary courses on pneumatology. It will also be helpful to lay readers interested in a balanced discussion of spiritual gifts. This repackaged edition includes an updated preface and a substantive new afterword.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1540963616
• ISBN13: 9781540963611
• Release Date: November 2020
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Joel Comiskey

As far as I'm concerned this is the best book I've ever read on the Holy Spirit in the church today. Keenan does AN EXCELLENT job of balancing Spirit and Truth. He skillfully handles the Word of God on the subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and tongues. Rather than trying to prove his own narrow conviction, he helps the reader understand the strong points of both Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals. The credibility of this author is seen in the fact that Keenan is a Baptist Biblical scholar who teaches at Eastern Theological Seminary--yet he boldly shares his personal experience of speaking in tongues and practicing the gifts of the Spirit. His writings and personal experience bring out the best of both worlds--careful scholarship mixed with a hunger for the living God. I was encouraged to want the same thing. Let me say once again that this book is my HANDS DOWN favorite book on the Holy Spirit. We need more people like Keenan who are willing to look honestly at both sides of the issue and then to give honest answers about what both sides have in common.

a good book

I haven't read this book fully and carefully, but I have read its previous edition, 3 CRUCIAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT. Primarily I want to address the other reviewer's comments about cessationists being cautious about subjective or personal testimony in this area. While I don't want to belittle the need for adherence to the Scriptures in these matters and the need to check these things out by the Scriptures, and to study what the Scriptures teach about these things, much of the Bible IS personal experience. It's what men and women experienced of God. And though "these things have been written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have Life in His name" (John 20:31), New Testament faith is also based on subjective and personal testimony to these things in our lives (Galatians 3:5). As one who does NOT believe that God stopped doing these things with the passing of the apostles or the close of the canon, nor that the Scriptures teach such a doctrine, I expect believers to be able to give subjective and personal testimony to these things as a sign that "God is among [them]" (I Corinthians 14:25). As Philip said to Nathanael: "Come and see" (John 1:46). Keener provides both Scriptural arguments and personal testimony to the validity and reality of this theology.