Here are a number of important volumes on the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, tends to get less attention than the Father and the Son. He often can be the ‘forgotten God’, as Francis Chan put it. But being fully God, along with the other two persons of the Godhead, we dare not neglect the Holy Spirit.
There would be plenty of titles to choose from on this topic, so I have been rather selective here. Most of the books included in this list are penned by those within the Protestant evangelical camp. Most have appeared somewhat recently (the past 40 years).
Some are more popular level works, such as Deere and Chan. Some are much more extensive, scholarly treatments, such as Allison and Köstenberger, Letham and Thiselton. Some are penned by those in the Charismatic or Pentecostal camps, including Fee and Keener. And some are penned by those who changed their views on how the Spirit works today, such as Jack Deere.
Most of the books that I feature here are rather general in nature, covering the broader issues surrounding the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Specialised, and at times controversial, topics may well be mentioned to some extent in these volumes.
But entire books wholly devoted to such matters are for the most part not included here. Thus works discussing in great detail things like cessationism, the various sign gifts, speaking in tongues, the baptism of the Spirit, and so on, are not found here. But as I say, at least passing mention of all these matters will be found in most of these books.
Here then are 35 important books that I can recommend on this subject:
Allison, Gregg and Andreas Köstenberger, The Holy Spirit. B&H, 2020.
Bloesch, Donald, The Holy Spirit: Works and Gifts. IVP, 2000.
Brand, Chad, ed., Perspectives on Spirit Baptism: Five Views. Broadman and Holman, 2005.
Bruner, Dale Frederick, A Theology of the Holy Spirit. Eerdmans, 1970.
Burke, Trevor and Keith Warrington, eds, A Biblical Theology of the Holy Spirit. Cascade Books, 2014.
Carson, D. A., Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14. Baker, 1987.
Chan, Francis, Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. David C. Cook, 2009.
Cole, Graham, He Who Gives Life. Crossway Books, 2007.
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. Zondervan, 1993.
Dunn, James, Baptism in the Holy Spirit. SCM, 1970.
Fee, Gordon, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul. Hendrickson Publishers, 1994.
Fee, Gordon, Paul, the Spirit and the People of God. Hendrickson Publishers, 1996.
Ferguson, Sinclair, The Holy Spirit. IVP, 1997.
Green, Michael, I Believe in the Holy Spirit. Eerdmans, 1975.
Hamilton, James, God’s Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments. B&H, 2006.
Holmes, Christopher, The Holy Spirit. Zondervan, 2015.
Horton, Michael, Rediscovering the Holy Spirit. Zondervan, 2017.
Stott, John, Baptism and Fullness: The Work of the Holy Spirit Today. IVP, 1975.
Thiselton, Anthony, The Holy Spirit: In Biblical Teaching, Through the Centuries and Today. SPCK, 2013.
Thiselton, Anthony, A Shorter Guide to the Holy Spirit: Bible, Doctrine, Experience. Eerdmans, 2016.
Warrington, Keith, Discovering the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Hendrickson, 2005.
Most recommended?
I of course think that there is some value in all of the works that I have listed here – otherwise I would not have included them! And I mentioned above how some of the books and authors might differ from others in various respects. But perhaps some of the better and more thorough treatments would include those by Allison and Köstenberger, Fee, Keener, Letham, Packer, and Thiselton.
And remember that whenever we study the most important topic there is – God himself – we do not want mere head knowledge alone. We also want our hearts to be touched by God as we read and study. So let these books inform your thinking and theology, but also let them mould your heart and spirit to love God more and be more effective for Christ and the Kingdom.
Today on the social media a friend had asked what books on the Holy Spirit folks might recommend, so I posted there that earlier listing. But right away I realised I really should update that book list. So here is my most up to date version. Thanks Doug for spurring me on in this regard.
Yes David, a great biography of a great man of God. But this list is about books discussing the biblical and theological teachings on the Holy Spirit. Given that every believer has the Holy Spirit, if I listed all the great biographies and autobiographies, I would need to add thousands more titles to this list! But see an earlier piece I did on him: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/08/03/prayer-nations-rees-howells-dunkirk/
Rees Howells Intercessor
Yes David, a great biography of a great man of God. But this list is about books discussing the biblical and theological teachings on the Holy Spirit. Given that every believer has the Holy Spirit, if I listed all the great biographies and autobiographies, I would need to add thousands more titles to this list! But see an earlier piece I did on him: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/08/03/prayer-nations-rees-howells-dunkirk/