Ah, the Holy Spirit. It’s amazing to me how little knowledge there is of the Holy Spirit. You’d think there would be more emphasis and biblical teaching on him, being part of the Trinity (i.e., God) and all. Yet, most churches and Christians know very little of what the Bible teaches on the Holy Spirit (I’m not pointing fingers outward, by the way, the circles I run in are just as guilty, more on that to come). In the words of J I Packer, in chapter 6 of Knowing God, the Holy Spirit is “divine yet ignored.”
Christian people are not in doubt as to the work that Christ did, they know that he redeemed us by his atoning death, even if they differ among themselves as to what exactly this involved. But the average Christian, deep down, is in a complete fog as to what work the Holy Spirit does. (p68)
Packer focuses on two main reasons to see the Holy Spirit as important: (1) the inspiration of Scripture and (2) regeneration. If it weren’t for the Holy Spirit, we wouldn’t have the Bible itself, because he inspired the authors to write it. Nor would we have Christians, because the Holy Spirit is the one who convincts sinners and brings new life to their heart. Packer is, of course, absolutely correct in making both points.
But part of me can’t help but note that there’s so much more than that. This is the difficulty of a book like this, that Packer cannot dive deeper into what the Scripture teaches on a topic as broad (and crucial) as the person and work of the Holy Spirit. If I could have placed a bet on what Packer would write about the Spirit, well, I’d be a rich man. It’s a shame, however, because the predictability is disheartening: a charismatic would write about manifestations of the Spirit, a Reformed theologian would focus on inspiration and regeneration, many Baptists would focus on the fruit of the Spirit, and so on. Each group is woefully partial in their emphases.
And this is part of the problem Packer decries here in this chapter. I could ask Packer: what about the spiritual gifts? What does Paul mean when he calls the Spirit “a deposit” (Eph 1:14) or refers to the “firstfruits of the Spirit” (Rom 8:23)? What does it mean to live/walk by/in the Spirit? What does it mean to be filled by the Spirit? Let me be clear- what Packer says about the Spirit is spot on and to be appreciated. But I finish the chapter with more questions than answers, and can’t get away from what Gordon Fee always says about the Holy Spirit- that in the New Testament church, the Holy Spirit was an “experienced reality.”
I guess it’s unfair to knock Packer on this point, since he’s trying to keep everything short and sweet (though a couple more pages wouldn’t kill the reader). I want to close by repeating his application points, which are excellent (71-72).
- Do we honor the Holy Spirit in our faith, acknowledging the authory of the Bible?
- Do we honor the Holy Spirit in our life, by seeking to apply the Bible he has inspired?
- Do we honor the Holy Spirit in our witness, realizing that he alone does the convincted and saving?
bmarchio
danny
Boston Bible Geeks 
Packer has written a pretty comprehensive book on the Person & Work of the Holy Spirit, called Keep in Step with the Spirit. http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Step-Spirit-Finding-Fullness/dp/0801065585
I suspect many of your questions regarding Packer’s interpretations of the Spirit would be answered there.
Hi Pete, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I actually meant to mention that book. I’m not saying Packer himself has a deficient view of the Spirit, and I’m sure that book will prove that. I’m saying his presentation in this chapter on the Holy Spirit is partial and missing a ton of good stuff. So when I ask those questions in this post, I’m really just saying ‘this chapter leaves so many questions open that it ends up being a little disappointing.’
Side note, there are 2 things I’ve noticed about this book that show it was not really written recently (it was first written 30+ years ago and updated in 1993). One, he doesn’t have footnotes recommending the reader goes and reads another book by him on a given topic (see Piper, John). If he wrote this today, the publisher would want him plugging everything he’s written, particularly if they published it.
Two, he would have notes in a chapter with something like ‘we’ll develop this more fully in chapter __.’ I’m grateful for the lack of self-advertising in the footnotes, but I think point #2 might have been helpful. This chapter is an example of that.