The Eternal Spirit: God Living In Us, Vol. II/3 (An Evangelical Introduction to Reformational Theology, Part II: God: The Personal Source Behind Theology)

From the Author’s Preface

This is the sixth volume of our series on the “unseen, eternal” things of God (cf. 2 Cor. 4:18). It was Zophar who asked Job: “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7). Insofar as it is given to humanity to grasp these things to some extent, such is possible only through the Holy Spirit: “[A]s it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. . . . [N]o one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:9–11). At the same time, the Spirit himself is part of these depths of God. If all true theology can be performed through the Spirit alone, pneumatology (the theological study of the Holy Spirit), too, can be performed through this Spirit alone. It is through the Spirit that we know the Spirit.

This volume is a re-working and expansion of volume 1 of my Evangelisch-Dogmatische Reeks (Evangelical Dogmatic Series, published in Dutch by Medema [Heerenveen], consisting of twelve volumes in total). My intention in writing this series was, and is, to offer an Evangelical analysis of various subjects that traditionally have played a great role in Reformational—especially Calvinist—thinking: the law, the covenant, justification, predestination, the kingdom, and the Holy Spirit. The order of the volumes is rather arbitrary. I may add that especially the latter two subjects, God’s kingdom and God’s Spirit, seem to rank highly on God’s agenda since the second half of the twentieth century. It is my impression that this is realized better in many free church Evangelical circles than in many traditional Protestant circles.

Bible quotations in this book are usually from the English Standard Version.

About the Series

The set to which this volume belongs is informally entitled “The Eternal Series,” because each volume of the set unfolds an aspect of the reality of God’s relationship with humanity that reaches from eternity past to eternity future. The formal title of the series is “An Evangelical Introduction to Reformational Theology.” Here are the volume titles:

Part I: Scripture: The Revealed Source For Theology

I/1 The Eternal Word: God Speaking To Us

I/2 The Eternal Torah: Living Under God

Part II: God: The Personal Source Behind Theology

II/1 The Eternal God: God Revealing Himself To Us

II/2 The Eternal Christ: God With Us

II/3 The Eternal Spirit: God Living In Us

Part III: Redemption: The Christ-Centered Heart of Theology

III/1 The Eternal Purpose: Living In Christ

III/2 Eternal Righteousness: Living Before God

III/3 Eternal Salvation: Christ Dying For Us

III/4 Eternal Life: Christ Living In Us

Part IV: Consummation: The Lived Shape of Theology

IV/1 The Eternal People: God in Relation To Israel

IV/2 The Eternal Covenant: Living With God

IV/3 The Eternal Kingdom: Living Under Christ

These volumes have been written for the informed Christian who is somewhat familiar with both the Bible and Christian theology. As you will learn in these volumes, that order-first Bible and then theology-is crucially important. So too is the distinction (but not the separation!) between these two: the Bible is not theology, and theology is not the Bible. Both following that order and honoring that distinction are prerequisites for healthy, charitable, and enduring Christianity.

Dr. Willem J. Ouweneel is a Dutch author whose three doctorates-one each in biology, philosophy, and theology-rank him among the premier Bible scholars of this generation, and equip him with breadth of vision and depth of insight.

When these volumes are read alongside an open Bible, the patient reader will acknowledge the authority of the claims being defended. The reader's certitude will ultimately come to rest, not in any particular theological system or model, but in the inspired, infallible Word of God, and more importantly, in the God of that Word. As such, this entire series and these volumes are fresh and faithful reformulations of the essence of biblical faith and life as that was transmitted throughout the centuries, was rediscovered in the Reformation, and has come to be known as Reformational theology: sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, soli Deo gloria.