The Holy Spirit And The Renewal Of All Things Pneumatology In Paul And Jürgen Moltmann

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Book Reviews / Pneuma 30 (2008) 315-370

T. David Beck, The Holy Spirit and the Renewal of All Things: Pneumatology in Paul and Jürgen Moltmann, Princeton Theological Monograph Series 67 (Eugene, Ore.: Pickwick Publications, 2007). vii + 269 pp. $30.00 paperback.

According to T. David Beck, the doctrine of the Spirit in Protestantism has oscillated between the institutional model of Karl Barth, and the experiential model of John Wesley (including his Pentecostal/ Charismatic successors). Beck proposes a third option, devel- oped in the juxtaposition of the eschatological characteristics of St. Paul’s pneumatology and the eschatological pneumatology of Jürgen Moltmann.

The ﬁrst half of the monograph provides an excellent discussion of Paul’s pneumatology, deﬁ ned in an eschatological framework. Speciﬁ cally, the apostle sees a tension between the already/ not yet of the age to come. The Spirit is the mark of the eschatological age, who transforms us as we await the resurrection. Our hope is anchored in Christ’s resurrection, but also rests on the presence of the Spirit who points to the eschaton, the guarantee that God will complete the work already begun in Christ. The metaphors of “ﬁrst fruits,” “downpayment,” and “seal” reﬂ ect the eschatological work of the Spirit, already active in the people of God awaiting redemption. Beck also argues that Paul’s understanding of the gift of the Spirit is primarily corporate, and only secondarily individual. The community of the church is the entry into the eschatological age, permeated by the Spirit who draws together, enlivens, empowers, and gifts believers to serve others as the demonstration of divine love. For Paul, a change has occurred in that now the Spirit works through all the people of God as a charismatic community of faith. Both the believer and the corporate community are indwelt by the Spirit, bringing transformation, union with Christ, and the life of righteousness.

The second half of the book examines the eschatological pneumatology of Jürgen Molt- mann. Beck organizes his discussion around the four basic themes in Moltmann’s theol- ogy: personal, historical, cosmic, and divine eschatology. The tension between promise and fulﬁ lled hope, the inauguration and consummation of the new age is the point at which the Spirit is experienced. The Spirit’s kenosis and shekinah, descent and indwelling in both creation and the people of God respectively, is signiﬁ cant for understanding the Spirit’s presence. Yet Beck believes Moltmann has made an exegetical fallacy in reading the outpouring of the Spirit (Joel 2:28) through the lens of Genesis 9:10, to claim that the Spirit is poured out on all things. In reply to Beck, however, a canonical approach would suggest Moltmann’s reading is a valid interpretation of the work of the Spirit in creation. Moreover, Moltmann’s turn to the Spirit is a response to Barth’s call for a new pneumato- logical paradigm, but I think Moltmann’s contextual location and concern for liberation has brought him into contact with a Pentecostal/Charismatic spirituality which has urged him to shape his understanding of the spiritual giftings in a way not easily explained by his own Reformed sources.

Although a solid study, two structural weaknesses emerge. One is that the two foci need to be better integrated. One was left with a bifurcated feeling at the end, somehow that the two strands do not quite add up to a uniﬁ ed whole. Secondly, the introduction of the institutional and experiential models of the Spirit should be investigated in their own right, but Beck uses them simply to frame his own agenda. Nevertheless, these weaknesses

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Book Reviews / Pneuma 30 (2008) 315-370

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do not signiﬁ cantly diminish the quality of the work, and anyone interested in pneuma- tology and/or eschatology will be nourished by The Holy Spirit and the Renewal of All T ings .

Reviewed by Peter Althouse

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