Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God’s Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life

by Michael Scott Horton

For the Spirit, being somewhat forgotten is an occupational hazard. The Holy Spirit is so actively involved in our lives that we can take his presence for granted. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt. Just as we take breathing for granted, we can take the Holy Spirit for granted simply because we constantly depend on him. Like the cane that soon feels like an extension of the blind man’s own body, we too easily begin to think of the Holy Spirit as an extension of ourselves.

Yet the Spirit is at the center of the action in the divine drama from Genesis 1:2 all the way to Revelation 22:17. The Spirit’s work is as essential as the Father’s and the Son’s, yet the Spirit’s work is always directed to the person and work of Christ. In fact, the efficacy of the Holy Spirit’s mission is measured by the extent to which we are focused on Christ. The Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity who brings the work of the Father, in the Son, to completion. In everything that the Triune God performs, this perfecting work is characteristic of the Spirit.

In Rediscovering the Holy Spirit, author, pastor, and theologian Mike Horton introduces readers to the neglected person of the Holy Spirit, showing that the work of God’s Spirit is far more ordinary and common than we realize. Horton argues that we need to take a step back every now and again to focus on the Spirit himself—his person and work—in order to recognize him as someone other than Jesus or ourselves, much less something in creation. Through this contemplation we can gain a fresh dependence on the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Unfinished, Faith

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Dr. Horton has taught apologetics and theology at Westminster Seminary California since 1998. In addition to his work at the Seminary, he is the president of White Horse Inn, for which he co-hosts the White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated, weekly radio talk-show exploring issues of Reformation theology in American Christianity. He is also the editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. Before coming to WSC, Dr. Horton completed a research fellowship at Yale University Divinity School. Dr. Horton is the author/editor of more than twenty books, including a series of studies in Reformed dogmatics published by Westminster John Knox.

Reviews

[Bryce Beale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew. This book is unbelievable in its breadth and depth. I mean that in a mostly postive way; the only negative is the weight of the content borne up by too little structure. My first read through had my head spinning, but when I went back through it to skim the key parts it made much more sense and I found myself rejoicing at its relevance and clarity. The parts, the snapshots are remarkable, though it takes work to take all of these in together.

Horton emphasizes the Spirit's involvement in every work of the Trinity (he is at work to perfect in every divine act). He also pushes back against charismatic excesses: "The Spirit is at work in these last days not to stir people to ecstasy and spontaneous convulsions but to put things right in a world of violently competing wills and aversion to the good, the true, and the beautiful" (p. 245). Also, he challenges the inward look of the spiritual mystic--the Spirit points us outward in love, not inward in navel-gazing.

Overall, a phenomenal and expansive treatment of pneumatology for today.

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horton at his finest. This was excellent.

[Mitchell Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best treatments I've read on the Holy Spirit.

[Alexandru Croitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book too academic for popular level and too popular for academic level. The title is definitely ironic for recent times have seen plenty of pneumatologies - he is, however, arguing for an orthodox Reformed (re)discovery of the Holy Spirit; the first 6 chapters expounds a biblical theology of the Spirit while engaging with some philosophical concepts related to modern understandings of the Holy Spirit. The next 6 chapters get a bit more systematic and theologically dense. Plenty of insights, especially regarding speech-acts and understanding the Spirit work through free human agents.

[John Kight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Horton is J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. Horton holds a PhD from the University of Coventry and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and a DD from Grove City College. Horton is the author of numerous books and essays, as well as the host of The White Horse Inn, a nation-wide radio broadcast. Most recently, Horton has produced one of the most fascinating and comprehensive explorations of the Holy Spirit from a Reformed perspective in recent times—Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God’s Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life.

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit aims to emphasize both the distinct personality and operation of the Holy Spirit. Horton begins with the basic theological parameters regarding the person and work of the Holy Spirit. This includes the basics of Trinitarianism and the historical distinction that separates such from certain heresies. Horton quickly moves to a more thematic exploration of the Holy Spirit that loosely follows the trajectory of the subtitle—creation, redemption, and everyday life. Horton is keenly aware of the broader historical theological conversations on the Holy Spirit, and his awareness and sensitivity to the Scripture is unsurpassed. Readers will appreciate the care that Horton take as he explores the above, especially when it comes to uncovering the role and function of the Holy Spirit in the ordinary, day-to-day activities of the Christian life.

The scope and emphasis of Rediscovering the Holy Spirit is reason enough to immerse oneself in its content. From the role of the Holy Spirit in creation to the application of the person and work of Christ in salvation, Horton provides readers with fresh insight rooted in historical Christianity. Some readers will undoubtably turn away from Horton’s acknowledgement that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are equally active today as they were in the New Testament, especially from the Reformed tradition, but this is no reason to overlook the magnificent demonstration of Trinitarian theology that Horton elevates on every page. Horton’s writing style is generally academic in nature, and thus he is scrupulous in his documentation. That said, Rediscovering the Holy Spirit is extremely accessible to the educated layperson and will be more than beneficial for the average pastor.

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: God’s Perfecting Presence in Creation, Redemption, and Everyday Life by Michael Horton is a thorough demonstration of the person and work of the Holy Spirit from a Reformed perspective. Horton is clear, engaging, and extremely practical. There is something for everyone in this book. It is now the first book that I will recommend when asked about books on the topic of the Holy Spirit. It comes strongly recommended!

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very thorough and had some good nuggets. However, in contradiction to the subtitle this book really never got out of the academic and historical discussions into actual boots on the ground application. Horton did well covering many of the debates and development of differing views but what I wanted more of was analysis of the many Biblical passages and less of the development of the different views by theologians. So take my rating with a grain of salt because I was looking for something this book was not really written to address. It was still a very beneficial book and one I will keep in my library.

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not agree with everything Mr. Horton teaches and preaches and we certainly have several theological views that are different, however, you will not find many who can write plainly and teach any clearer on the subject of the Bible, Theology, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and agree wholeheartedly with the author that our lack of understanding of the Holy Spirit is the source of many of the errors in modern evangelicalism. I enjoyed his views both on the Holy Spirit's role in the Old Testament as well as the diversity of views on Sacraments according to the individuals understanding of the Holy Spirit. This is a very good book and well worth the read.

[Calvin Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Lots of it over my head; I'd nearly need to read it again straight away. Still, plenty to learn here, and to recover from the clutches of modern drift.

[Patrick Poteet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. A book that one has to read more than once.

[Carl Palmateer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book but an audio format is a bad choice. This is a book you read, flip back, reread, check footnotes, take notes, cross check and all those other things you can't do with a recording. Get the book but get a print (physical or ebook) edition to get the most out of this.

[Scott Coulter]

For the 2023 #vtReadingChallenge, this is book #4, for the category "A Book about Theology".

So, there are (I think) primarily two types of "theology" books -- those that set out to teach a certain set of truths in an orderly fashion, and those that set out to agree, disagree, or both, with a collection of prior theology books. This book bounces a bit between those two types, and I prefer the parts that are more the former, while I got a bit lost in the parts that were more the latter. After the first chapter or two, I worried that the whole volume would be a tedious slog through obscure historical references and frequently-repeated points that Horton seemed to be intent on hammering home on every page.

I'm happy to report that the book improved drastically from there, and the middle of the book, chapters 3 through 7 or 8, were excellent, informative, relevant, and encouraging. Those chapters seemed to each have a clear point to make around a particular topic related to the Holy Spirit. The later chapters wandered a bit, but not so badly that I couldn't track his line of thinking, eventually.
I do think it's true that for a lot of Christians, the Holy Spirit can become the "forgotten" member of the Trinity, and it was definitely good to spend some time thinking about the whole scope of the Holy Spirit's work through all of the history of creation and redemption.

Thanks to Rev. Bob Lester for the loan of this book!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, the OCD part of my review. Goodreads has this labelled as a 240 pp book. It's not. It's 336 pp. (sorry that stuff irritates me sometimes). But on to more important things.

Alright, this is a wonderful study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It is a fantastically rich book, building from the different titles and aspects of the Spirit's ministry and unpacking them in great detail.

Horton frequently develops each chapter in a kind of biblical theology of the Spirit, tracing an aspect of the Holy Spirit's work across all of redemptive-history. If you didn't know that you could tell tend different BT's of the Holy Spirit, well this book will show you how. It's very good.

1. Lord and Life-Giver. This chapter is about more general Doctrine of God/systematic theology dimensions of the Holy Spirit.

2. Creator-Spirit. This chapter is about the Spirit's work in creation and providence.

3. Preparing a Body: The Spirit in Redemptive History. This chapter is about the Spirit's work in revelation, prophecy, and covenants, culminating in the incarnation of the Son of God.

4. The Spirit of Latter-Day Judgment and Power. This chapter is about the Spirit's work in salvation, specifically bringing salvation through judgment.

5. Trading Places: The Farewell Discourse. This chapter is about the farewell discourse in John 14ff and Jesus' teaching about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

6. The Age of the Spirit. This chapter is about Pentecost, speaking in tongues and prophecy, and the differences between the Spirit's work in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

7. Baptism with the Spirit. The initial gift of the Spirit in the application of salvation.

8. The Gift of Salvation. The Spirit's application of salvation (justification, sanctification, etc)

9. The Spirit Gives. The gifts of the Spirit (including discussion of Ephesians 4:12ff).

10. How the Spirit Gives. The Spirit's ordinary work through the means of grace.

11. The Spirit of Glory. The Spirit's work in glorification and our 'in-between the times' anticipation of that work.

12. The Spirit and the Bride. The Spirit's work in the church.

This is a wonderfully rich study, but readers should be warned it's pretty heady in places. I would classify this as more academic than general audience, though lay people may still profit from it.

There were points that I quibbled with. I not entirely sold on the Eph. 4:12 exegesis, or at least I'm not sold that it really makes a material difference in the life of the church once one recognizes that there honestly is a ministry of sorts that lay Christians have towards one another, which they cannot push off onto the shoulders of their pastors and elders to do for them (a point which Horton concedes). But, whatever, that's just one small part of the book.

As far as comparing to other works on the Holy Spirit, I would put this book as a close second to Sinclair Ferguson's book on the Holy Spirit, but higher than Meredith Kline's Images of the Spirit. But due to this book's heavy academic approach, it's hard to compare it with more general audience books. This book is intentionally doing something different than, say, JD Greear's book Jesus, Continued.

Recommended to pastors, elders, and lay people who want to take a swim in some deep but meaningful theology!

[Bill Pence · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this scholarly work, the author, a seminary professor, wants to widen our vision of the Holy Spirit’s work. He looks at the mystery of the Trinity, and some of the heresies that have arisen about the Trinity throughout church history. He tells us that the Holy Spirit is polarizing in local churches today, primarily due to the Charismatic movement, and that interest in the Holy Spirit has been increasing. This renewed interest does not necessarily bring new clarity and consistency to historical teaching however. He tells us that the Holy Spirit is the first member of the Godhead that we encounter as new believers, and that most misunderstood is the Holy Spirit’s work or operation in the life of the believer.
At the same time, many (churches, believers), have their focus on Jesus, and so can sometimes attribute works of the Holy Spirit to Jesus. We need to be aware of the distinctions between the two, but not separate them.
Horton tells us that there is a depersonalization of the Holy Spirit (“It”, power, energy, etc.), instead of a person, and a member of the Trinity. He states that the Reformation brought a rediscovery of the Holy Spirit.
His emphasis in the book is:
• The distinctiveness of the Holy Spirit’s person and work, along with His unity with the Father and Son.
• Identification of the Holy Spirit’s operations in Scripture.
He begins by looking at the personal attributes of the members of the Trinity (Father is unbegotten, Son is begotten and the Holy Spirit proceeds), and then looks at the person and work of the Holy Spirit throughout redemptive history, including becoming our new advocate, Pentecost, the Ascension and the last days. He looks at the difference in the Holy Spirit’s presence before and after Pentecost, and the controversial topic of the continuation or discontinuation of the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit.
He looks at the “Golden Chain of Salvation” (Romans 8:30) and the role of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, adoption, justification, sanctification and glorification.
Among the other subjects he looks at are the Holy Spirit and the means of grace, the Holy Spirit and the Word and baptism. I would have liked him to spend some time addressing the idea of a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit in revival. I’ve read books by respected pastors and theologians who fall on both sides of that issue.
Throughout the book, he utilizes Scripture, and also quotes liberally from other authors such as Sinclair Ferguson.
Some of Horton’s books (Core Christianity, Ordinary, for example) are written for a wide audience. This book, however, is an exhaustive and scholarly look at the third person of the Trinity. I believe this book would best be appreciated by pastors and those others who have some theological training.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though, I'll admit, the title of this book caused me to avoid it for some time since it felt like a popular level treatment of the Holy Spirit. Now, popular level works are good and allow theological concepts to be accessible to a wider audience so I wouldn't want to denigrate this as a category. However, as someone that has read multiple technical works on the Holy Spirit, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book both covers the wide range of topics attending the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and does so with enough depth that it has something to offer for those more familiar with scholarly discussion. What specifically stands out to me is his discussion relationship between the Mosaic covenant and the new covenant and the relevance of this for our understanding of the Holy Spirit. Another was his discussion of the Holy Spirit in connection to the Lord's Supper. Overall, this is an excellent, even if imperfect, foray for the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

[Paul Kurtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not very layman friendly with many references to theologians of almost all stripes. When I was not familiar with the theologians being referenced, it was difficult or even impossible to follow the arguments being presented. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed most of the book.

I was especially interested in Horton's defense of Reformed liturgy, which is more staid than many contemporary evangelicals would prefer. While it is true that a reserved liturgy might result in "dead orthodoxy" it is also true that the Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion. On the contrary, the bible constantly portrays the Holy Spirit as bringing order out of chaos.

Having come out of a Pentecostal church, I also found Horton's definition of baptism in the Spirit and his Reformed view of cessation of some gifts of the Spirit to be very interesting and persuasive.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this work. Horton, as is his habit, engages a wide range of scholarship and remains charitable yet forceful. You very well might disagree with his conclusions and maybe some representations, but it would take more effort to not benefit from this work than it would to benefit from it.

At the risk of a spoiler but to alleviate concerns for those who are a few chapters in and might be wondering, Christian Smith shows up. You will get your helping of “moralistic therapeutic deism” as well as some good ol’ speech-act theory. Horton always plays the hits. ;-)

In all seriousness, this is a solid volume. Someone commented that it is too academic for a popular treatment and too basic for the academics, and that might be the most serious quibble to have. But if that is your greatest gripe then you should be ok.

[Greg M. Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps an edifying tome as a reference book, but a very difficult read to endure to the end. While the author has undertaken great scholarship and has many important points, the book is very poorly organized: it jumps from topic to topic without any anticipated structure. It uses too much jargon (beyond the basic terms like “pneumatology”). It brings up a lot of viewpoints it disagrees with without making clear where the fair explanation of the alternative view ends, and the articulation of the author’s own position begins. Much of these negative effects on the listener I might blame on the production of the audiobook, as the narrator keeps constant tone on every paragraph.

[Barrett Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a local pastor and mentor. I loved it and learned so much! It helped me to see the activity of the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible and not just at Pentecost.

This book is written at a high reading level and will require a decent familiarity with the Bible. It was a slow read for me not because it was boring but because I found myself having to stop and think about what the author was intending to communicate. I do not mean this as a bad thing, but be ready to dive deep into scripture!

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthwhile and edifying read but a difficult one. Horton is not always my favorite writer, and this book requires sustained concentration and effort. He often chooses nuance and reflectivity over cut-and-dried concision, which I suppose is a plus for many, but to me can make the flow of thought harder to track at points. Nonetheless, there's a lot of good material in here and I did find it helpful.

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic read on the Holy Spirit. Horton is certainly technical, but this work is still accessible for a divinity student.

It would be five start for me but some of Horton’s idiosyncrasies flavor the work too much. Ie his Klinenian take on covenant theology and his hard two-kingdom views.

But other than those this is excellent dogmatic theology. The book is littered with sustained exegesis and is deeply informed by the Protestant tradition.

[Samuel Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Michael Horton’s comprehensive work, Rediscovering the Holy Spirit, he treats the reader to a sweeping account of the biblical data surrounding the person and work of the third member of the Trinity. Moving far beyond the hot debates in theology today about charismatic renewal, Horton paints a positive picture of how the bible portrays the Holy Spirit and His work in the narrative arc of God’s unfolding story of redemption. The Holy Spirit has a distinctive and essential role in every action of the Godhead, He gives gifts of immeasurable value as He sends His people into the world to advance the gospel, and He does this primarily through the ordinary means instituted by Christ Himself.

The key resounding theme throughout this entire book is the recognition that every action of the Godhead carries a distinctive pattern. “Everything that God does is done by the Father, in the Son, through the Holy Spirit” (Horton, 35). This point is made clear through numerous biblical examples. All the works of God are undivided. While it is orthodox and helpful to think about the Father as creator, the Son as redeemer, and the Spirit as sanctifier, we lose something of the sense of unity in drawing these lines too sharply. The Father speaks and creation comes into being. At the same time, it can be said of the Son, “Without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). And the Spirit hovered over the waters of the deep in Genesis 1. Thus, the Spirit’s role should not be limited to His usual place in our thinking, in Sanctifying God’s redeemed people. He is critically important in the other actions of God. In this book, Horton emphasizes one of those actions that is often overlooked, namely, redemption. “The Spirit not only applies redemption but was a principal agent of it” (Horton, 103). The Spirit fully indwelt Jesus, glorifying His humanity, and in so doing, he set the pattern for those who were to follow (Horton, 101).

The Holy Spirit gives invaluable gifts to His people, not only in His redemptive role, but in His application of that redemption as the gospel goes out to every tribe, tongue, and nation. A key concept in this regard is Horton’s explication of the Spirit’s role in uniting believers to Christ. The Spirit who fully indwelt and glorified Jesus now dwells within the covenant people, not merely with or among them, and through this indwelling Spirit we are brought into union with Christ Himself (Horton, 131-132). Union with Christ in the New Testament is “the motif that encompasses all of the gifts we receive in salvation” (Horton, 191). We are brought into union with Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ promise to be ever present with His disciples “to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20) was realized with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the other “helper” promised by the Father (John 14:16). Among the other great works of the Spirit today in the application of redemption are His proclamation of the Gospel and inward persuasion of its truth (122) and His causative work in the growth of holiness in God’s people.

Finally, the way in which the Spirit brings these, and all other gifts, is ordinarily through the ways that God has ordained them to come to us. The Spirit may work wherever and however He pleases, but we can be assured that He will work where and how God has promised as much. The two primary means of grace, Word and Sacrament, are the ordinary way in which the Spirit brings unity out of chaos. He meets us in and illuminates to us the Word of God, making it effectual in communicating salvation and life. He pulls us into communion with the body of Christ in the waters of Baptism and nourishes our faith in uniting us to Christ in the Supper. “Hearing Christ preached, being baptized, and taking Communion are not substitutes for faith but are the means through which the Spirit gives us faith and confirms our faith to the end” (Horton, 279).

This book was very edifying to digest and will doubtless require a re-read in the future at a slower pace. Horton lays out a modern and readable account of the classical reformed doctrine of the Holy Spirit, while also leaving room to address some of the provocative questions of the day. And to be quite frank, the quieter theological material made far more of an impact than the controversial topics. The question this book left me asking repeatedly was “Why haven’t I ever heard the Holy Spirit really explained in depth before?” Horton strikes at a key tension in modern times between an overemphasis on the “fireworks” of the Holy Spirit and a reactive downplay of the Spirit’s person and work in the Christian life. Whether you agree with Horton who recognizes the sign-gifts of healing, tongues, and prophesy as extraordinary and not normative for our day (Horton, 242), you can’t help but recognize in every aspect of the book that the Holy Spirit is just as present today as He was in the first century. The manifestation of the Spirit is so powerful in the order of salvation that “Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, the love of God for us remains outside of us” (Horton, 223). There is so much to unpack about the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and Rediscovering the Holy Spirit is an indispensable tool for just such an unpacking.

[Michael Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book. Horton in typical fashion, continues framing his theology around the drama of redemption and speech act, but it sheds some helpful light here as to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Thankfully, Horton continues to be incredibly covenantal and insightful.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the way Horton writes. Very thorough and was able to unpack some difficult concepts.

[Enrique Villegas valerio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magistral y concisa. Horton nos ofrece un recorrido a lo largo de la Escritura para mostrarnos la majestad del Espíritu Santo, el dador de vida.

[JD Veer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very scholarly exposition. The mentions of academics in the body of the text make it harder to follow ideas, but makes for a real state of the problem.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a thorough overview of the Holy Spirit. I will return to it again and again!

[Michael Wayne Gudka · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are a Calvinst, this book will be a good read. If you follow any other theological tradition, this book will not work for you.