Power from on High: The Spirit in Israel's Restoration and Witness in Luke-Acts

by Max Turner

Power from on High offers the first critical survey of scholarship on the subject of Luke's view of the Spirit, assessing the rival theories by means of three continuity with Luke's background, relationship to other aspects of Luke's theology, and Luke's place in the development of more general New Testament thinking about the Spirit. Turner provides fresh insight on specific Lukan concepts and favored terms (including such phrases as "full of the Holy Spirit" and "baptize with the Holy Spirit") that have been of significance not merely for the discipline of New Testament studies but also for confessional theologies of major streams of Christianity today, and seeks to advance a more coherent understanding of the general shape of Luke's pneumatology than has hitherto been offered.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Theology

Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

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Reviews

[Jeremy Garber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turner, a Pentecostal biblical scholar, presents an impressively researched and carefully argued survey of Luke’s concept of the Holy Spirit in Luke and Acts. Turner argues against commonly held conceptions that the idea of the Spirit in the New Testament is somehow different than that of the Hebrew Bible or the documents from the intertestamental period. He also argues that the Spirit empowers the early church not simply for preaching and witness, but to an alternative ethical life that is attractive to outside believers. Jesus’ relationship to the Spirit is connected to the Mosaic prophets and the Messiah of Isaiah. For Luke, Jesus sets Israel on a “New Exodus” which will make them an alternative community that rests in peace and sharing empowered by the Holy Spirit. Turner’s grasp of both the biblical material and the secondary literature is frankly astounding. While some of the intricacies of Pentecostal theology may elude outside readers (what is the Spirit as donum superadditum, and why does it matter that it’s not?), Turner shows a keen understanding of history and textual transmission that will aid any reader interested in the complex depiction of the Spirit in early historical texts.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

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