A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
1. The Holy Spirit
2. The Personality of the Holy Spirit
3. The Deity of the Holy Spirit
4. The Titles of the Holy Spirit
5. The Covenant-Offices of the Holy
6. The Holy Spirit During the Old Testament
7. The Holy Spirit and Christ
8. The Advent of the Spirit
9. The Work of the Spirit
10. The Holy Spirit Regenerating
11. The Spirit Quickening
12. The Spirit Enlightening
13. The Spirit Convicting
14. The Spirit Comforting
15. The Spirit Drawing
16. The Spirit Working Faith
17. The Spirit Uniting to Christ
18. The Spirit Indwelling
19. The Spirit Teaching
20. The Spirit Cleansing
21. The Spirit Leading
22. The Spirit Assuring
23. The Spirit Witnessing
24. The Spirit Assisting
25. The Spirit Interceding
26. The Spirit Transforming
27. The Spirit Preserving
28. The Spirit Confirming
29. The Spirit Fructifying
30. The Spirit Endowing
31. Honoring the Spirit
Summary
There is a lot of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and this is dishonoring to him and damaging to our Christian walk. It is only by the Spirit that we can know the truth and receive the blessings of God. Far too much ministry today is being conducted in the power of the flesh rather than the power of the Spirit. The greatest lack in Christendom is the presence and power of the Spirit. Today, we are at a very low ebb, and part of the explanation is that we have grieved the Spirit.
The great blessedness of our faith is that we get to know and have communion with the personal, Triune God. Some deny that the Spirit is a person, but Scripture is clear in ascribing to him the various aspects of personality. We are told that the Spirit has wisdom and understanding. We are told that he can be grieved and lied to. Personal pronouns are used of him; personal characteristics are ascribed to him; personal actions are attributed to him. It is impossible to read the biblical text fairly and conclude anything other than that the language used of the Spirit can only be properly used of a personal being.
Having recognized that the Spirit is a person, we need to consider his nature. Scripture’s testimony is clear that the Spirit can be none other than God. In several passages, the Spirit is explicitly referred to as God or Jehovah. Other passages ascribe to the Spirit attributes that only belong to deity. The same is true of the works that are ascribed to the Spirit: there are things he does that only God can do. He is perfect, eternal, holy, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. He is absolutely sovereign and supreme. It is the Spirit who gives spiritual gifts, and he is the one who calls and directs people into ministry.
God has revealed his divine names to us so that we can understand who he is and what he does. His names are significant and reveal his nature and character. The names and titles given to the Spirit reveal his divine, personal nature. He is shown to be distinct, yet also cooperates and concurs with the other persons of the Trinity. He is called the Spirit because that is his ontological essence, and also because that designation is suitable for his mode of operation. As the Holy Spirit, he is set apart in supremacy and is revealed as perfectly pure and clean. He is also called good, free, eternal, and the Spirit of Christ or the Spirit of the Lord. One of his unique titles is that of the Paraclete, which means that he comes alongside of us and gives us strength. . . .
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