Review of Holy Spirit: An Introduction
Sanders, Fred. Holy Spirit: An Introduction Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023, 192 pages, $15.98, Paperback.
For these reasons—cogent terminology, balanced focus on the Holy Spirit within the broader Trinitarian framework, and versatility as a foundational text—Sanders’ volume stands as an invaluable introduction to pneumatology. Holy Spirit: An Introduction meets the educational needs of undergraduates and early graduate students in theology.
In The Holy Spirit: An Introduction, Fred Sanders, Systematic Theologian and Professor at Biola’s Torrey Honors College, provides a focused primer on the oft-misunderstood doctrine of the Holy Spirit, building off and drawing from his previous works, The Triune God and The Deep Things of God.
Unlike other books on the Holy Spirit, which start with the Trinity, Sanders begins and anchors his book in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because, as he argues, it is where the Spirit is known. Readers need to look no further than the Spirit’s presence within themselves. Sanders, however, is not advocating turning from Scripture but contends that the Spirit within the believer has Scriptural primacy. Regarding the Trinity, the Spirit is the “prevenient person in our experience” of the Father and the Son and is integral to knowing and understanding God (p. 11). To know God, therefore, requires the Holy Spirit; this is true not only for the people the Spirit resides within but also the world. According to Sanders, to know God is to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who clarifies divine truths.
In the second chapter, Sanders examines the Holy Spirit’s role in revealing the Trinity’s relation and personhood. For Sanders, to properly account for the Holy Spirit requires acknowledging His dual role: He is both God and in God, a concept Sanders elucidates through the analogy of breath. Another concept that arises from considering the Spirit’s role in the Trinity is His “fromness,” describing both the His eternal procession and mission. Sanders, however, is careful to emphasize the inseparable operations of the Trinity while noting each specific person’s appropriate works. Specifically, he identifies the Holy Spirit’s unique operational role as one of “consummation,” asserting that “completing acts” is particularly aligned with the Spirit’s operations (p. 52).
In the third chapter, Sanders delves into the Holy Spirit’s relation to the Father, starting with the Old Testament prophetic promise of the Spirit emanating from the Father, a promise within the larger plan of the Father to dwell with creation. Here, he expands on the concept of consummation from the previous chapter, arguing the Holy Spirit is the “fulfillment of that plan” (p. 68). Sanders then explores the concept of “indwelling,” framing it as the realization of divine immanence and its implications for worship. The chapter concludes with an examination of the Spirit’s procession from the Father, focusing on Eastern Orthodox theology and John 15:25. While Sanders, in this chapter, leaves the question of the “filioque” unresolved, he underscores the importance of the Spirit’s eternal procession from the Father and the Spirit’s corresponding earthly mission.
In the penultimate chapter, Sanders focuses on the Holy Spirit’s interactions with the second person of the Trinity, homing in on the Holy Spirit’s role in Jesus’s earthly ministry. He explores how the Spirit empowers and anoints Jesus, thereby establishing the Son’s dependence on the Holy Spirit. He also highlights the Spirit’s role in the atonement in order to teach that God’s people are not justified because of God’s work within them but by the work of the Son. At the end of the chapter, Sanders revisits the lingering question from the previous chapter surrounding the filioque, turning to Irenaeus’s assertion that “The Word articulates the Spirit” (p. 114). Sanders affirms this view, endorsing the Western formulation of procession.
In the concluding chapter, Sanders revisits the essential nature of the Holy Spirit, primarily rectifying widespread misconceptions. First, he critiques the tendency to anthropomorphize the Holy Spirit to overly concretize the Spirit’s personhood. Conversely, he criticizes painting the Spirit as an impersonal force. Sanders, instead, advocates for a nuanced approach, urging readers to engage with the “Bible’s pneumatological idiom,” which accommodates both the Spirit’s personhood and “impersonal imagery” (p. 139), turning to the multitude of names attributed to the Holy Spirit in biblical texts. He then moves to the subject of prayer, reiterating points made in the second chapter regarding how the Spirit directs believers toward both the Son and the Father while underscoring the importance of praying to the Holy Spirit—who is, after all, God. Sanders, though, cautions against prayers solely directed to the Spirit. He critiques extremes, condemning both the undue elevation of the Spirit and His substitution with other figures like Mary, Jesus, or nebulous “high spirits” (p. 150). In the chapter’s final section, Sanders examines the Spirit’s relationship with Scripture. He argues that the Bible serves not just as a textual source of divine knowledge but as a medium through which the Spirit affirms this knowledge to believers.
Unlike other books on the Holy Spirit, which start with the Trinity, Sanders begins and anchors his book in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because, as he argues, it is where the Spirit is known. Readers need to look no further than the Spirit’s presence within themselves. Sanders, however, is not advocating turning from Scripture but contends that the Spirit within the believer has Scriptural primacy. Regarding the Trinity, the Spirit is the “prevenient person in our experience” of the Father and the Son and is integral to knowing and understanding God (p. 11). To know God, therefore, requires the Holy Spirit; this is true not only for the people the Spirit resides within but also the world. According to Sanders, to know God is to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who clarifies divine truths.
Before extolling the virtues of Sanders’ book on the Holy Spirit, this review will mention two shortcomings. First, the book suffers from minor unresolved thematic strands. While Sanders introduces potent concepts—such as breath and the Spirit as consummation—these ideas are not fully elaborated. For instance, setting the stage in the second chapter with Spirit-as-breath-analogy, Sanders does not return to it, leaving the reader with a sense of incompleteness. Similarly, the notion of the Holy Spirit as the bringer of “consummation” lacks adequate space and depth in the text, which is particularly surprising given that Sanders posits this as the Spirit’s unique, appropriated role within the economy. For if the Spirit’s role is primarily consummation, how does that play out in eschatology or the atonement where Jesus consummates these events? Further, the book lacks any discussion on the eschatological role of the Holy Spirit.
The second limitation of Sanders’ book lies in a lack of clarity on problematic constructions of the Holy Spirit. While the final chapter makes some strides in addressing errant views, the book predominantly settles for implicit refutations. This methodological choice—perhaps because it is an introductory volume—has two significant drawbacks: first, the breath analogy, while helpful, is fraught with theological hazards like panentheism or problematic soteriologies which are not explicitly engaged; along these lines, Sanders is unclear he is engaging aspects of Moltmann and Pannenberg pneumatologies. Being more explicit would help the reader have a greater awareness of the field and problematic conceptions of the Holy Spirit as they move beyond his volume.
Sanders’ book, however, offers an array of commendable strengths that span both practical and theological domains. Notably, Sanders’ focus on the already-present indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers—a move that serves dual purposes by offering an immediate connection point for readers and emphasizing their personal familiarity with the Spirit. Theologically, this focus accentuates the Spirit’s revelatory role in indwelling, skirting potential confusion that can arise from overly complex or esoteric terminology. Additionally, Sanders maintains a balanced view of the Trinity while remaining focused on the Holy Spirit. This volume could function as a solid introduction to the Trinity. Particularly striking is Sanders’ adept explanations of complex theological concepts such as homologation and inseparable operations, clarifying potential ambiguities or missteps surrounding the Holy Spirit’s mission and relationship within the Trinity, enriching both scholarly discourse and lay understanding.
Another noteworthy strength of Sanders’ work is he draws from a plethora of church figures, from Athanasius to James Buchanan. His chapter on the Spirit and the Son is a striking example of balance between historical insight and biblical foundation—two approaches sometimes treated in opposition. Rather than embarking on a detailed exploration of Spirit Christology, Sanders opts for a more reserved approach by highlighting the Spirit’s clear yet undefined involvement in Jesus’s life as Scripture describes.
For these reasons—cogent terminology, balanced focus on the Holy Spirit within the broader Trinitarian framework, and versatility as a foundational text—Sanders’ volume stands as an invaluable introduction to pneumatology. Holy Spirit: An Introduction meets the educational needs of undergraduates and early graduate students in theology. The book not only clarifies often misunderstood aspects of the Holy Spirit but also wisely cautions readers on both doctrinal and practical fronts. Beyond serving novices in the field, Sanders’ unique approach—rooting the discussion in the believer’s existing relationship with the Holy Spirit—offers fertile ground for more advanced theological inquiries.
