Gift and Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today

This is a theologian that I love to read. He looks at all the arguments and critiques them based on the balance of scripture. If Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpreting scripture then Craig Keener is both an skillful artist and an analytical scientist. For every Christian wanting to enjoy their full birthright this book is a must read. Thank you Dr.Craig.

As other reviewers have indicated, this book is thoroughly biblical and Craig Keener uses Scripture accurately and comprehensively throughout the book. It is, without doubt, as others have testified, one of the best available books on this subject matter of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. I have about 80 books on this subject, and by far this is the best. I like the author's blending of theology and experience in his testimony. An excellent buy!!!!

I loved reading this book. It made me appreciate to what it means to be a person of the Spirit. It so Christ and God exalting.

Gifts and Giver is a theologically rich, Biblical-grounded look at the subject of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He gives. As a Charismatic believer who enjoys going deeper than what is popular in many Charismatic circles, this book was FAR from disappointing for me! Besides the stories from his personal life, the insightful background of the Jewish culture in the days of the gospels and Acts, and his ability to get to the heart of the matter on what he writes about, I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Keener's humble attitude and irenic approach to the often divisive topics. His call to the Body of Christ to unity and peace was refreshing. His call to Biblical interpretation with integrity is greatly needed in all denominations and especially in the subject matter he addresses in this book. If you don't know much about the subject of the gifts of the Spirit or if you've been around people who teach and flow in the gifts most of your life, this a great book to read. A few of the many quotes I liked - "An important step in getting to know God is to realize how available he is to us. In learning to hear God, it helps us to take on faith the fact that we are already in his presence. If we must make ourselves worthy of his presence first, we will never get there." "God is consistent with his nature and declared purposes in Scripture, but he is not limited to our finite understanding of him or the ways we think he should work." "Imagine visiting a town at night that appears to have no lights, no televisions—not even alarm clocks. And then imagine learning that the town’s power supply is virtually infinite, but that no one in the town had thought to turn any of their electrical appliances on. Wouldn’t that town seem like a silly place to you? Yet the Church is all too often like that town. God has given us the power of His Spirit to fulfill His mission in the world, yet few Christians have even begun to depend on His power." "Because I am committed to the truth of Scripture, I must try to understand what Scripture says, even if it transcends my own experience." "Satan does not mind trotting forth his power. If the world is to recognize that God’s power is greater, God’s representatives must believe it and act accordingly." "Unity does not mean that we agree on all details, but it does mean that we love each other and work together for the good of the gospel in spite of our differences." "Although some who claim to be spokespersons of the Spirit today emphasize how many possessions they can get from God, true people of the Spirit emphasize how much they can give to serve their brothers and sisters and the cause of Christ." "So pervasively has Enlightenment culture’s anti-supernaturalism affected the Western church, especially educated European and North American Christians, that most of us are suspicious of anything supernatural." "...the early church fathers provide abundant evidence that gifts such as prophecy and miracles continued in their own time, even if not as abundantly as in the first century.[4]Christians in the medieval and modern periods continued to embrace these activities of the Spirit.[5] It is in fact cessationism that is not well documented in earlier history; it seems no coincidence that it arose only in a culture dominated by anti-supernaturalism.[6]"(less)

This is a marvelous book about the biblical approach to understanding the work of the Holy Spirit in the church today. Dr. Craig Keener manages to take a topic that has been widely misunderstood and misrepresented on both sides in the church and breaks it down in such a way as to bring healing and unity on the subject. He emphasizes that the gifts of the spirit are for the building up of the body and must be accompanied by the fruit of the spirit as well. He addressed abuses of the gifts as well as the other end of the spectrum which is avoiding acknowledgment of the supernatural gifts altogether. He gives practical insight as to how we can operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit even in non-charismatic circles in such a way that is not disruptive or divisive but rather encouraging and edifying to all of Christ's body. What I took away from this book was that God supernaturally empowers us for what he has called us to do and this should be a natural out flowing of His Spirit within us. This was an excellent, well balanced book about this subject!

As far as I'm concerned this is the best book I've ever read on the Holy Spirit in the church today. Keenan does AN EXCELLENT job of balancing Spirit and Truth. He skillfully handles the Word of God on the subject of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and tongues. Rather than trying to prove his own narrow conviction, he helps the reader understand the strong points of both Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals. The credibility of this author is seen in the fact that Keenan is a Baptist Biblical scholar who teaches at Eastern Theological Seminary--yet he boldly shares his personal experience of speaking in tongues and practicing the gifts of the Spirit. His writings and personal experience bring out the best of both worlds--careful scholarship mixed with a hunger for the living God. I was encouraged to want the same thing. Let me say once again that this book is my HANDS DOWN favorite book on the Holy Spirit. We need more people like Keenan who are willing to look honestly at both sides of the issue and then to give honest answers about what both sides have in common.

Thoughtful, balanced and Biblical study of the Holy Spirit.

I put a 5 star rating because Keener is so well rounded with his various experiences with different denominations that his wisdom is very evident, and so everyone should read this book! One quibble though, Keener says Luke never mentions anywhere in Acts that the Spirit is concerned with salvation, but that is simply not true. Acts 15 describes how the baptism of the Spirit on Cornelius' house and Peter's seeing it was evidence that God accepted the Gentiles. This of course is a great definition of salvation, the acceptance of us, adoption, if you will, of us as His children. So it muddies the water a bit as to how Luke viewed the baptism of the Spirit. Acts 15 leans closer to what Paul was saying about it in Ephesians 1:13 - a seal, a promise. I agree with Keener that the baptism of the Spirit is technically separate from actual conversion, but it is the experential counterpart and confirmation of salvation