Book Review: The Holy Spirit
Paul has been Minister at Grove Chapel, London, since 2014. He heads up Affinity’s Theological Study Conference and is one of our trustees.
Robert Letham, Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2023.
Robert Letham will not need any introduction to most readers of Foundations. He is an erudite scholar and prolific writer, and he is also well known to regular attendees of the Affinity Theological Studies Conference, where he has spoken several times in the past and is due to be one of our speakers at the 2025 Study Conference, entitled Great God of Wonders – make sure you have booked your place!
This book on the Holy Spirit is the first volume of a planned “Trinitarian Trilogy” to place alongside Letham’s masterly work, The Holy Trinity, published in 2005.[1] The most obvious question from the outset is this: why has Letham chosen to deal with the Spirit first, rather than the Father, as we might expect? No specific answer is supplied in this work, and it would be hazardous for any reviewer to attempt any kind of speculation. We await clues from subsequent volumes!
Another surprising and indeed provocative feature of this book, possibly related to his decision to deal with the Holy Spirit first, is the way in which Letham tackles his subject from an historical-theological angle in Part 1 prior to surveying the biblical data in Part 2. This methodology seems to reflect Letham’s distinctive understanding of revelation and inscripturation, as set out in his Systematic Theology.[2] This should not be taken to mean that Letham places the tradition of the church on a level above or even equal to Scripture, which he acknowledges must always be the authoritative “norming norm”, but it does exemplify Letham’s high ecclesiology and his appreciation of the catholicity of the church from the earliest times, in both East and West.
Letham’s approach may deter some readers who, for the most part, are far more at home with their Bible than with their Irenaeus, Basil or Cyril – or at least they think that they are! – but patient study of Part 1 will be rewarding (I had to read through it twice, very carefully). Familiarity with the vocabulary and themes opened up in Part 1 will enable readers to gain far more from the rest of the book. Very helpfully, key theological terms are printed in bold, and are listed at the end of every chapter, and at the end of the book is a Glossary which explains every each of them, as well as the contributions of key theologians, in a concise fashion. It would be very helpful to read this Glossary before attempting Part 1.
Letham deals skilfully with the weighty subject of the Filioque Controversy, which culminated in the Great Schism between East and West in 1054. He concludes that
The Cyrilline phrase from the Father in the Son seems to me to express the mutual indwelling of the three, avoids any residual subordination, and also directs us to Jesus’ baptism. It also avoids a focus on the Spirit apart from Christ, for we receive the Spirit in Christ.[3]
He refers to ongoing discussions between East and West, though there is no imminent likelihood of any startling breakthrough. More to the point, for the benefit of the reader, Letham’s concern throughout is to maintain the unity of the Godhead whilst strenuously guarding against modalism. The three persons of the Trinity are equal and identical as to their being; they are differentiated only according to their distinctive missions, which are reflected in the order of their processions. Even so, their respective missions necessarily involve all three persons because their works are inseparable.
Part 2 contains several interesting discussions, not least in relation to John Owen’s understanding of the ministry of the Spirit in the earthly life of Jesus, enabling him to learn obedience as a human being. Letham addresses the criticism, raised by some, that Owen was guilty of an “incipient Nestorianism” by implying that “the Spirit empowered the incarnate Christ while the Son who had taken his humanity into union was passive”, though he could have dealt with this charge more thoroughly, especially bearing in mind the widespread influence of Owen in this whole field of Christology.[4] We may have to await another volume in this series for further elaboration.
Characteristically, Letham gives prominent place to the gathered church and its worship, and especially emphasises the sacraments, believing this to be necessary “since the sacraments have been neglected in recent generations under the influence of post-Enlightenment individualism.”[5] By inveighing against the widely understood separation between water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism, between sign and reality, he strongly repudiates what he sees as the gnostic tendency of “disparaging matter”. The important New Testament distinction, he maintains, is not between “water baptism” and “Spirit baptism”, but between “the powerless baptism of John and the baptism of Jesus, efficacious by the Spirit.” This section repays careful reading and rereading because it very much goes against the flow of much contemporary western evangelicalism. Lest, however, readers suspect that Letham is dismantling the entire Reformation, he insists that “[t]his does not mean that God’s grace in baptism is given automatically … Grace is not given to a baptized person on the grounds of baptism; rather, it is due to the electing grace of God in Christ. That grace is given in baptism ‘to those to whom it belongs.’ Not all who are baptized will be saved.”[6] This is important and necessary clarification.
Letham strongly emphasises the unique historical nature of Pentecost, that it should be seen along with Christ’s “death, resurrection, ascension and exaltation” as “a theological unity”.[7] This conviction shapes his approach to some of the more controversial sections towards the end of the book. Whilst many readers will sympathise with Letham’s criticisms of Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ views in relation to a “great postconversion (sic) effusion of the Spirit”, and the latter’s overdependence on historical examples, “often in Wales,”[8] I am somewhat surprised that Letham barely engages at all with the history and theology of revival; he could easily have interacted with Jonathan Edwards’ considerable work on the subject – Edwards does not even merit a place in the Index of Names – as well as important and seminal contributions by W. B. Sprague and Iain Murray. Chapter 11, Discerning the Spirit’s Redemptive Work, is disappointingly short, a mere seven pages.[9] It is tempting to ask whether the brevity of Letham’s treatment is itself a reflection of his rejection of “post-Enlightenment individualism”.
That said, the most absorbing section of this book is the lengthy Appendix which deals with Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Renewal.[10] Tracing the history of these movements from Azusa Street, Los Angeles, in 1906, and differentiating carefully between Oneness Pentecostalism, Charismatic Renewal and the so-called ‘Third Wave’, Letham demonstrates that “Pentecostalism has no uniform theology or agreement on the details”. He refers to Frank Macchia who “underlines the point that Pentecostal theology cannot be identified with Protestantism. It is a new and different form of Christianity in addition to Rome, Orthodoxy and Protestantism.” This is a bold, if not devastating, summary, but Letham backs it up by proving that Pentecostalism is “a rejection of the classic Protestant doctrines (sic) of justification. Rather, Macchia adds, it is ‘an eschatological gift of new creation through the Spirit of God,’ a statement drawn from Ernst Käsemann.” Having already investigated the question of whether the miraculous spiritual gifts of the New Testament are substantially the same as Pentecostal and charismatic manifestations in the last century – and concluded to all intents and purposes that they are not – Letham also identifies the place of mysticism and individualism within these movements.
This portion of the book may well prove to be the one which is pored over the most, and which contributes to the greatest amount of discussion; it would be a healthy thing if this were the case. Letham is far from uncharitable; he acknowledges that “[m]any Pentecostal and charismatic churches hold firmly to the apostolic gospel. Nevertheless”, he continues, “a movement that has no discernible distinctive theology and is based not on the textuality of the Bible but rather in experience cannot, as such, be judged to be in harmony with the biblical gospel.”[11] This is a strong claim, but a timely one, and its implications need to be considered within ecclesiastical circles beyond those which identify as Pentecostal or charismatic.
Like his other works, this book is a treasure trove to be enjoyed, historically and indeed aesthetically as well as doctrinally. We await the next two instalments with great anticipation.
Footnotes:
[1] Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2005).
[2] Letham explains that “The WCF distinguishes between the Lord revealing himself to his church and, in doing so, revealing his will. While the two are inseparable, the distinction is important, for at all stages of redemptive history God progressively reveals who he is. It also distinguishes between revelation and inscripturation. The revelation precedes the Bible.” Robert Letham, Systematic Theology (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2019), 64.
[3] The Holy Spirit, 57.
[4] Ibid., 129-30.
[5] Ibid., 180.
[6] Ibid., 179-87.
[7] Ibid., 153.
[8] Ibid., 248-49.
[9] Ibid., 255-61.
[10] Ibid., 263-97.
[11] The Holy Spirit, 297.
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