The Spirit at the Cross

Book excerpt: What was the Holy Spirit doing at the cross of Jesus Christ? Jesus' death and resurrection are central to God's reconciliation with humanity. Does the Holy Spirit's work pause between Gethsemane and the resurrection? What does the phrase "through the eternal Spirit" in Hebrews 9:14 mean? In this book, Tan examines the perspectives of John Vernon Taylor, Jürgen Moltmann, and John D. Zizioulas, from whom three views of the Spirit's role at the cross are discerned: the Spirit as the "bond of love" between the Father and the Son; the Spirit as the Son's coworker, enabler, and power; and the Spirit as the unifier who unites humanity to the Son. In addition, Karl Barth provides the intriguing concept of the Spirit as divine Judge (along with the Father and the Son) and specifically the one who carries out God's judgment in Jesus Christ, the Elect. Integrating these theological perspectives with an in-depth examination of the manuscript and exegetical and hermeneutical history of Hebrews 9:14, Tan offers another way of understanding the role of the Spirit at the cross: Christ as the Father's "pneumatic crucible" in whom sinful humanity is judged, destroyed, and reborn through the power of the Holy Spirit.