Giver of Life, The: The Biblical Doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Salvation

For us and for our salvation

God’s Spirit unites believers to Christ, conforms them to his image, and equips them for witness and ministry. In The Giver of Life, J. V. Fesko reflects on the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the application of Christ’s work for the salvation of sinners. Through a combination of biblical, historical, and theological study, Fesko illuminates the blessing of God’s presence with his people.

Written from a confessionally Reformed perspective in dialogue with the great creeds of the church, The Giver of Life provides a thorough and trustworthy guide to the Holy Spirit’s role in salvation.

Contents

• Introduction: For Us and For Our Salvation
• Part 1: Biblical Revelation
  • Covenant Presence
  • Covenant Promise
  • Covenant Life
• Part 2: Dogmatic Development
  • The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
  • Union with Communion with Christ in Grace
  • Justification
  • Adoption
  • Sanctification
  • The Christian Life
  • Assurance and Perseverance
  • Service in the Spirit

• Part 3: Truth for Worship, Life, and Mission
  • True Conversion
  • Life in the Spirit
  • Witness and Mission
• Conclusion: Twelve Theses on Soteriology

The We Believe Series

Understand. Proclaim. Act.

We Believe is a series of eight major studies of the Christian faith’s primary doctrines as confessed in the Nicene Creed and guided by the Reformed tradition. In each volume, trusted authors engage a major creedal doctrine in light of its biblical-theological foundations and historical development, fleshing out its spiritual, ethical, and missional implications for the church today.

376 pages.

Integrating biblical and systematic theology with a missional and pastoral passion, this series promises not only to inform but to transform readers through the riches of God’s word. I highly recommend it.

—Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

Surely J. I. Packer is right to say regularly that the great need of our churches today is a renewal in catechesis. The “We Believe” series may well serve as a resource for that renewal by helping commend and clarify the faith and practice of the disciple of Jesus Christ.

—Michael Allen, John Dyer Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

A spirited soteriological synthesis, gathering up a distinctively Protestant doctrine of salvation under the sign of Nicene pneumatology. Fesko is clear in his decisions, transparent in his method, particular about his (covenantal and Reformed) confession, and generous in his scope. This volume is an exemplary entry in the We Believe series.

—Fred Sanders, professor, Torrey Honors College, Biola University

Too often an attempt to recover the resources of ‘the great tradition’ ends up effectively giving those resources priority over the biblical text. Not so in this book! It is Fesko’s determination to keep a clear focus on the teaching of Scripture throughout while taking seriously the contributions of those who have come before us that makes this a refreshing and edifying contribution.

—Mark D. Thompson, principal, Moore Theological College, Sydney