This Incredibly Benevolent Force: The Holy Spirit in Reformed Theology and Spirituality

by Cornelis van der Kooi

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2018

Overview

A key refrain in Reformed theology is that God’s Spirit trumpets the message of salvation through Jesus Christ into every nook and cranny of the universe—but how? And in what way does this cosmic truth touch and shape the mundane reality of our lives and our world?

In this distillation of his Warfield Lectures, delivered at Princeton Theological Seminary in spring 2014, leading Reformed theologian Cornelis van der Kooi examines the relationship of the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ. He demonstrates how a fuller understanding of the interplay between Christology and pneumatology can encourage the Christian church to have open eyes and ears for the inbreaking of God’s “incredibly benevolent force” into the cosmological emptiness of today’s world.

Key Features

• Discusses the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus
• Examines the importance of the Holy Spirit in modern context
• Draws from a Dutch Reformed theological viewpoint

Contents

• The Promise of Pneumatology: Cosmological Emptiness and the Spirit of God
• The Identity of Christ: Logos and Spirit
• The Anointed Son: Toward a Sustainable Spirit-Christology
• God’s Spirit as Transformative Power: Voices from the Reformed Tradition
• The Threefold Office: Criterion for Living the Christian Life
• Eyes and Ears Open to the World: Discernment and Hope

Top Highlights

“The Reformed tradition focuses the work of the Spirit primarily on conversion and personal holiness” (Page 15)

“is taken by those theologians who want to replace the Logos Christology with a Spirit Christology” (Page 38)

“the Spirit is the Spirit of the eschaton, or fulfillment” (Page 10)

“Jesus does not answer John directly but responds with words from the prophet Isaiah: ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them’ (vv. 4–5). These were the signs of the shalom that the prophet Isaiah had attributed to the Spirit of the eschaton, and now these things were happening around Jesus by virtue of the Spirit who rested upon him.” (Pages 25–26)

“In this text, the attention is on what Jesus undertook to do, on the way in which the signs of the kingdom of God became evident around him. His meaning is determined by what he did and by his being equipped with the Spirit of God.” (Page 25)

Praise for the Print Edition

Cornelis van der Kooi here presents an urgently needed contribution to a future Spirit-Christology and a christologically clarified doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Drawing from biblical sources and from Reformation and Dutch Reformed theology, he awakens new trust in God’s creative saving and ennobling work in the world of the twenty-first century.

—Michael Welker, University of Heidelberg

Originally given as the prestigious Warfield Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary, This Incredibly Benevolent Force holds many surprises. In and through them, if the author is right, one may hope that a force working for good will emerge, running like a current between this book and its readers.

—Kathryn Tanner, Yale Divinity School

How do we know that the Holy Spirit is an incredibly benevolent force? Cornelis van der Kooi has a compelling answer: Jesus Christ. He develops this answer with unusual insight and clarity. A truly enjoyable read for students and seasoned theologians alike.

—Frank D. Macchia, Vanguard University

Van der Kooi has written a masterful treatment of the Holy Spirit. Everything in it is fresh, revealing, mature. This will be a theological standard for years.

—Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Calvin Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: This Incredibly Benevolent Force: The Holy Spirit in Reformed Theology and Spirituality
• Author: Cornelis van der Kooi
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2018
• Logos Release Date: 2019
• Pages: 176
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Holy Spirit; Reformed church › Doctrines; Spirituality › Reformed church
• ISBNs: 9780802876133, 0802876137
• Resource ID: LLS:THSNCRDBSPRTLTY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:23:01Z

About Cornelis van der Kooi

Cornelis van der Kooi is professor of systematic theology and director of the Center for Evangelical and Reformation Theology at the Free University of Amsterdam.

Sample Pages from This Incredibly Benevolent Force: The Holy Spirit in Reformed Theology and Spirituality