Anointed With The Holy Spirit

Anointing with the Spirit and Power: The Holy Spirit’s Empowering Presence. By John D. Harvey. Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 2008. 191 Pages Reviewed by John Sanders John D. Harvey is currently a professor of New Testament and Greek at Columbia International University’s Seminary and School of Missions. This position marked the beginning of his formal teaching experience but is backed by a theology degree from Columbia, faculty experience from Toronto, and being a teaching fellow at Wycliffe College. Other works of Harvey include Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul’s Letters, The Structure of Paul’s Letters, Greek is Good Grief: Laying the Foundation for Exegesis and Exposition and, the focus for this critical review, Anointed with the Spirit and Power: The Holy Spirit’s Empowering Presence. Along with his previous works, in Anointed with the Spirit and Power, Harvey seeks to prove a particular thesis, a task for which he is qualified due to his extensive background in biblical teaching and vast knowledge of the work and writings of Paul. Harvey with his passion and desire for correct exegesis and the original language of the New Testament is qualified to write on such a topic and do so with clarity and precision with hopes that it will aid the church and fellow believer. Harvey in his work Anointed with the Spirit and Power seeks to clear up misconceptions about the work and role of the Holy Spirit. He accomplishes this task and proves his thesis through biblical and exegetical method of research. To be such a small book of only 190 pages, Harvey has littered his work with biblical passages all to carry the weight of Scripture in his arguments. Harvey has structured his work, Anointed with the Spirit and Power to systematically cover each section of the Bible researching the meaning, work, use, and role of the Holy Spirit. Using this structure and his method of biblical and exegetical research reveals his findings and portrays conclusions that are convincing and clear to read and understand and immediately put into practice for Christian living. In the introduction of his book Anointed with the Spirit and Power, Harvey clearly displays his purpose for the literary work and, early in his book, he exactly describes how he claims to accomplish his thesis. It is in the introduction, before he goes to the biblical text to prove his thesis, that he declares that the “Holy Spirit alone has been, is today, and always will be the source of empowerment God uses to accomplish his purpose through his people. The preceding sentence captures the premise of this book. The chapters that follow attempt to demonstrate the accuracy of that premise by tracing the theme of the Holy Spirit empowerment from Genesis to Revelation” (4). Harvey lays out his goal and his plan to achieve that goal and does so in such a way that is clear and straight forward just as his thesis was. The first section that Harvey attempts to analyze and show the Holy Spirits empowering work is entitled, The Spirit and Israel. In this section, Harvey searches through the Old Testament and shows the Spirit’s relation to the Israel’s leaders and then Israel’s prophets. In the leaders section, Harvey says “variety best describes the empowerment of the Spirit in the lives of Israel’s leaders” (25). He says this because the Holy Spirit works under a variety of names, empowers a variety of individuals, and acts in a variety of ways. The leaders in Israel came from all walks of life and only had circumstantial things in common, but they were used for God’s purpose and all came under the Holy Spirit to complete God’s will. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit among Israel’s leaders was prophesying and wisdom. From this point, Harvey moves to the prophets. The prophets of Israel were picked by God and “the Holy Spirit empowered all of them for the tasks they performed” (45). The prophets were conduits for God’s word to the masses and “along with the Spirit’s presence came his power, and that power

was most closely connected to the proclamation of God’s word (45). The prophets in Israel were called to do God’s work and proclaim His truths and way of life. It was the Sprit that “enabled them to fulfill [this] calling” showing the work of the Holy Spirit in Israel. The next section that Harvey portrays in his work Anointing with the Spirit and Power is the role and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus Christ. First, Harvey speaks of John the Baptist’s ministry and what he accomplished through the Holy Spirit. Harvey says that ‘John labored alone at a very important task: making straight the way for the Messiah” (51) and even though he worked alone, John accomplished this mighty task through the Holy Spirit. Next, Harvey travels through the text to show the work of the Holy Spirit throughout Christ’s earthly ministry starting at His baptism and finishing with His ascension. The Holy Spirit was at work in and among the life of Christ and it was evident in the things He did, the authority He had while teaching, and the power left behind for all man to carry out the Great Commission given by Christ before the ascension. With Christ leaving, and the Helper’s “coming at Pentecost, the Spirit provides the power that enable the entire church to carry out the task for which Jesus commission-the task of being His witness on a global scale. (118). Finally, Harvey moves to the work of the Spirit in the early church and in the church today. Harvey declares that the “Holy Spirit [was] the apostles’ resource when the church faced its first opposition, the source of the church’s first revival, the solution to the church’s first problem, the strength of the church’s first martyr, and the sender of the church’s first missionary team” (124). The Holy Spirit was at work in the early church with evidence of speaking with boldness, power, and effectiveness and giving strength in the face of martyrdom. The “Holy Spirit set apart individuals for special tasks and sends them out on those tasks” (139). This was done for the early church, but it is still true for today also. The Holy Spirit performs a vast number of functions for believers in the church today such as “teaching the words necessary to witness to the work of the cross. The Spirit distributes spiritual gifts and makes those gifts effective. The Spirit promotes the overall good and corporate unity of the body” (168). Without the Holy Spirit, Christians today would be powerless and not equipped to perform the actions commissioned by Christ. Harvey’s book Anointed with the Spirit and Power is a literary work that brings together biblical teaching and practical living. A major strength in the work was his explanations and analysis of key biblical texts that speaks of the Holy Spirit. Not only are the texts that he chooses key, but he travels through the entire Scriptures giving an all encompassing look at the work of the Holy Spirit. Harvey also shows a great strength in his work with his structure. In every section of his work Anointed with the Spirit and Power, Harvey walks through sections of Scripture, points out high concentration areas where the Holy Spirit is mentioned and His work explained, gives a brief analysis, and at the end of every section gives a summary and practical implications for modern application. The Holy Spirit seems to be a mystery to many people, even with all the material and research done, but Harvey replaces the mystery with confidence that the Holy Spirit was given and empowers believers to do great things for God’s kingdom. Harvey has written a profound book that is valuable to all to read but this work also comes with drawbacks. A weakness in his work could be too heavy a reliance on word studies. Harvey’s entire work of Anointed with the Sprit and Power consists of reading the Scriptures and only looking for key words such as “fill,” “empowered,” “given,” and other such words. Harvey sees these words as the focus of his work in describing the work of the Holy Spirit, but such a narrow word study could be misleading. The fruit he has produced has been great and beneficial, but such narrow scope and reliance of word studies should be exercised with caution.

John D. Harvey has written a work that is of most benefit to the evangelical community. There should never come a time when one knows every aspect and work of the Holy Spirit for His work is generous and of most benefit for all Christians. The work of the Holy Spirit has been abused by denominations and thought of a mystical in nature; however He is an asset and resource of incredible proportion. For those who are believers in Christ and those who strive to live a life that upholds the Great Commission, this book is a must-read. Harvey bases his research on Scripture and produces a literary work that teaches and informs the true power and nature of the third person of the trinity that resides in all believers. The Holy Spirit was at work in the Old Testament through Israel and the prophets, played several roles in the beginning, middle and end of Christ’s earthly ministry, served in the early church, and most certainly has a place in the church today. Harvey reveals a great deal about the Holy Spirit and all who read his work Anointed with the Spirit and Power will be forever indebted to him.