Due to its readability and fairness and faithfulness to the Scriptures, this book made my Top-10 list of Pentecostal/Charismatic works that support the continuation of the gifts of the Spirit and/or the baptism in the Spirit (list may be viewed on The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship's Web site, scroll to bottom and click on "more"). I heartily endorse this book for anyone interested in the Holy Spirit and his gifts.
Concerning the gifts of the Spirit, Keener does not arbitrarily divide them into supernatural ("sign") and non-supernatural gifts and declare that the supernatural gifts have ceased (a belief called "cessationism"). In fact, he believes that "cessationism would not naturally occur to someone reading the biblical text who had not already been taught the position or did not have an experiential bias that demanded it" (107).
He cogently explains how all of the main scriptures that cessationists use to truncate the gifts of the Spirit for our day are misinterpreted by the cessationists (for example, 1 Cor 13:8-12; Eph 2:20; Heb 2:3-4). He introduces his discussion of 1 Cor 13:8-12, writing, "In the course of Paul's argument that the gifts are temporary, we learn when Paul expects them to pass away. The church will no longer need such gifts when we know as we are known . . . , which is when we see Christ face to face (13:12)" (105).
But this book is not just about the gifts of the Spirit; Keener also discusses the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He correctly argues that "the whole sphere of the Spirit's work becomes available at conversion, but believers may experience some aspects of the Spirit's work only subsequent to conversion" (151). He's referring to the filling of the Holy Spirit (for empowerment to evangelize), which was considered normative in Luke's day, as he illustrates with Acts 8 and the Samaritan Christians who were lacking this empowerment but which Peter and John quickly remedied. Although this incident of Spirit reception (Luke uses various names for it) and the others (see Acts 2, 9, 10, 19) are often deemed "exceptions" by non-Pentecostals, Keener observes that "When four of our five biblical examples are "exceptions," . . . , one is tempted to question the validity of the "rule" (162).
Furthermore, Keener argues, "To be sure, most of the events Luke reports are exceptional in some sense, narrating the carrying forth of the gospel (with the attendant Christian baptism and the gift of the Spirit) to different groups of people. But this hardly means that Luke wants us to think that patterns he establishes among different groups ceased in his own day. Rather, he wants us to recognize that this pattern follows all Christians regardless of their background. Being filled with the Spirit should be a normal part of all Christians' lives" (162).
He includes a helpful discussion of the Acts-as-history argument, concluding that "We dare not underestimate the significance of Luke's testimony, because Acts is the only New Testament book that directly depicts early Christianity . . ." (158). He devotes an appendix to this discussion and in it states, "The fact that our traditional method of extracting doctrine from Scripture does not work well on narrative does not mean that Bible stories do not send clear messages. Instead, it suggests that the way we apply our traditional method of interpretation is inadequate because we are ignoring too much of God's Word. . . . The "narrative" way of interpreting Bible stories, in fact, shows us how to read the Epistles properly" (212).
Although Keener intersperses life experiences with his exegesis, this is no reason to accuse him of basing his conclusions on subjectivity. He is simply illustrating exegesis with narrative. In fact, he states, "I must conform my experience to the Bible rather than the Bible to my experience" (111) and that "Scripture is the 'canon,' the 'measuring stick,' hence, the final arbiter of revelation" (123). For Pentecostals and Charismatics, we have no "experiential bias" that drives us to dispense with the supernatural gifts. Rather, we believe that our experiences are borne out by the Scriptures and by Christ's promise that he would empower us to do our part in evangelizing the world (Acts 1:8).
Charismatics, Third Wavers, and Pentecostals can profit a lot from Keener's gentle nudging and chiding throughout. He writes that "the Spirit's coming produces gifts, but especially fruit. . . . [T]he work of the Spirit must go deeper than Spirit-led utterances and initial experiences alone" (57).
Hopefully, what I've highlighted in this review will not give you the wrong impression. This is not a negative, adversarial book, but a balanced book written in an irenic spirit about--as its subtitle says--the Holy Spirit today. So if you're interested in what the Holy Spirit can do in your life TODAY and how he can use you as his instrument TODAY, this is the book for you.
--Robert W. Graves, President, The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship