The first book I remember ever reading on the Holy Spirit. When I first read this book, I was in a church from the Wesleyan Holiness tradition which believed in what it called “Entire Sanctification,” and also practiced tongues speaking. In that context, I found this book completely eye-opening, and very helpful. What is the role and work of the Spirit? What does he do for Christians? What does it mean to “keep in step with the Spirit” as Paul puts it? This was a foundational book for me as a newer Christian, and I still recommend it as a good place for someone to start, though I do confess there is probably an easier book on this topic that I simply haven’t read yet.

If this were not a version with modernized English, I would of course list this under the advanced category. John Owen is normally a very challenging read. These modernizations really make Owen accessible to a wider audience. This book is certainly not for beginners. It is a serious work of theology, but Owen also makes it a worshipful thing to meditate upon the third person of the Spirit here. And for that reason, it is a real feast for the mind and heart.

I don’t know of a finer book on the Holy Spirit. Many of us know Sinclair Ferguson for his excellent sermons, but many do not know the Sinclair who writes deep and serious theology. A good pastor should be capable of doing both, where his work is done behind the scenes, and what you get is a distillation of his labors and work. Ferguson gives us a glimpse behind the curtain and lets us see the capable and wonderful theologian who rests behind the memorable and Christ-exalting sermons.

This is less a book about the person of the Spirit and more about His gifts. I think every Christian needs to reckon with the argument of Gaffin here with regard to the role of gifts and their place (or lack thereof) in the church after the Apostolic era.