Publisher's Synopsis
Volker Rabens answers the question of how, according to Paul, the Holy Spirit enables religious-ethical life. In the first part of the book, he discusses the view that the Spirit is a material substance which transforms people ontologically by virtue of its physical nature. In the second part, he offers a fresh approach to the ethical work of the Spirit based on a relational concept of Paul's theology. It is primarily through a deeper knowledge of, and an intimate relationship with God, Jesus Christ and the community of faith that people are transformed and empowered by the Spirit for a religious and ethical life. The author establishes this thesis on the basis of an exegetical study of a variety of passages from the Pauline corpus. In addition, he demonstrates that Paul lived in a context in which this dynamic of ethical empowering was part of the religious framework of various Jewish groups.
