Most Christians can easily understand God as Father and have no difficulty in conjuring a vivid mental image of Jesus Christ as God's Son. But few are able to summarily and succinctly describe the Holy Spirit, including its position within the Trinity or its role as helper. Miller, Beeson Divinity School professor and author of Singer Trilogy
and The Unchained Soul,
irons out what he believes are confused misconceptions surrounding the Holy Spirit. (Strangely, one of those misconceptions is about the gender of the Holy Spirit; although Miller acknowledges evidence that the Bible uses a feminine noun for the Spirit, he insists that the Holy Spirit is a "he," co-eternal and co-equal to God and Christ.) Noting the varied biblical symbols of the Holy Spirit, which include wind, fire and oil, Miller does an exemplary job combining storytelling with biblical exposition as he gently instructs readers to carefully study each mode. The fire in Acts 2, for instance, demonstrates "incendiary joy" as the Holy Spirit fell upon the early Christians and produced a passion unlike anything ever experienced. Miller claims that the Holy Spirit's work is to produce a hunger for God, an excitement that purifies the heart and ushers in energy to achieve God's will on earth. Miller exceeds expectations with this lovely and timely work, which is among the best he has written and deserves a permanent place in both professional and personal libraries. (Feb. 9)
