God's empowering presence. The Holy Spirit in the letters of Paul

995 Pages·1994·42.504 MB·English

by  Fee, Gordon D.

"Fee uniquely combines professional
competence as a tt:Xt critic, an t:Xegete,
an author and editor of major commen~
taries, and a foremost evangelical
interpreter of Paul with a lifetime of
fomiation and ministry among the
Pentecostals-this century's providential
witnesses to the work of the Spirit of
God among us .
. . . Fee's work offers an enduring
encyclopedia of Pauline pneumatological
t:Xegesis, easy to consult for nt:Xt
Sunday's semion, yet substantial enough
to take its place near George Ladd's
Theology of the New Testament as a
must-have, within amzs' reach for
serious interpreters of Paul's gospel.
. . . Fee's work is the theological crown
of a distinguished t:Xegetical career."
- Russell P. Spittler
Director of the David du Plessis
Center for Christian Spirituality
Professor of New Testament
Fuller Theological Seminary
"Our appreciation of the Holy Spirit in
Paul-both in academic and larger
church circles-has long needed
thorough t:Xegetical and theological
analysis. By focusing on careful t:Xami
nation of every Pauline tt:Xt related to
the Spirit, Gordon Fee has helpfully filled
this lacuna."
- Joel B. Green
Associate Professor of NT
American Baptist Seminary
of the West
Graduate Theological Union,
Berkeley
(continued on back flap)
(continued from front flap)
"Students of Paul's letters and theology
have long been in need of a major
scholarly investigation of his treatment
of the Spirit. By providing such an inves~
tigation with the same high standards of
scholarship and skills of communication
~hibited in his outstanding commentary
on 1 Corinthians, and by doing so with
an eye on the present renewed interest
in the work of the Spirit in the church,
Gordon Fee has put us doubly in his
debt. His effective combination of
thorough and robust ~egesis with
invigorating theological reflection that
views Paul's ~perience of and concern.
with the Spirit from an eschatological
and Trinitarian perspective drives home
what we should have known-that the
Spirit is far more central to Paul's
thought than most of his interpreters
have recognized. Fee's comprehensive
and challenging new study will be
appredated not only by professional
interpreters of Paul but by all who have
a serious interest in the biblical
resources for spiritual renewal."
-Andrew T. Lincoln
Professor of New Testament
University of Sheffield
GORDON D. FEE is Professor of New
Testament at Regent College, Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada, and is the
author of numerous works, including
The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New
International Commentary), 1 and 2
Timothy, Titus (New International
Biblical Commentary), and, with
Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible
for All Its Worth.
Cover design by Sarah J. Slattery
"Seldom does one find such a satisfying treatment of a theological topic so
solidly based on serious and thorough t:Xegetical analysis. In his study of the
New Testament Fee recognizes and takes seriously the fact that Paul t:XPeri~
enced the reality of the Spirit's empowering presence in his life and in the life
of the church. Comprehensive in its scope, this scholarly volume speaks to
pastors, students, and other church leaders as well as to the academic
community. It is a good book that will do good.''
-Bruce M. Metzger
Professor of New Testament, Emeritus
Princeton Theological Seminary
"Fee's book is the most comprehensive treatment available of Paul's understand
ing of the Holy Spirit, a topic that has rarely received sufficient attention in
studies of Pauline theology. Fee's method is t:Xempla,y: he first analyzes Paul's
statements about the Spirit, in eacli individual letter; then moves to a synthesis
of Paul's general pneumatology,. The result is a book that fs deeply ~egetica~
doing justice bath fo the partieulariJy of Paul's writings and to the fundamental
unity of his vi:sionf or th SpirtV:'sr ole in the life ef the Christian community.
y that the Holy Spirit must be
church. That message is both faithful
in our time.''
ISBN □-943575-94-X
1111111I1I I1I I 1ll l1ll1l 111
9 780943 575940
GOD'S EMPOWERING PRESENCE

OD'S
OWERIN
RESENCE
THE HOLY SPIRIT
IN THE LETTERS
OF PAUL
GORDODN.F EE
~, HENDRICKSON
~~
P U B L I S H E R S
Copyright © 1994 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
P. 0. Box 3473
Peabody, Massachusetts, 01961-3473
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 0-943575-94-X
Third printing - December 1995
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fee, Gordon D.
God's empowering presence: the Holy Spirit in the letters of Paul /
Gordon D. Fee
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-943575-94-X
1. Holy Spirit-Biblical teaching. 2. Bible. N.T. Epistles of
Paul-Criticism, interpi:etation, etc. I. Title
BS2655.H67F44 1994
231' .3'09015-dc20 93-41933
CIP
Material from "Pauline Literature" in the Dictionary of Pentecostal and
Charismatic Movements, Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee, eds.,
Patrick H. Alexander, assoc. ed., © 1988 Stanley M. Burgess, Gary B.
McGee, and Patrick H. Alexander, was used with the permission of
Zondervan Publishing House.
Portions of chapter 4, "1 Corinthians," were adapted from Gordon D. Fee,
The First Epistle to the Corinthians, in the New International Commentary
series, © 1987 by Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, and is used with
the gracious permission of the publisher.
for
Carl and Betsy
Michael and Rosemary
Peter and Donna
Paul and Gail
and
Maudine
with gratitude for providing a context
for the birthing of this book;
may God's Empowering Presence
be your portion