---

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.
"This is a beautifully written book, detailed, stimulating and fresh. Its central thesis is strongly argued and makes an important contribution to understanding Paul´s ethics, theology and pneumatology."Jane Heath in The Expository Times 123 (2010), p. 138
"[The] book is an engaging read, and Rabens makes his case persuasively. [...] Rabens has provided us with a fascinating and convincing account of how the process of ´walking in the Spirit´ takes place." Gary W. Burnett in Journal for the Study of the New Testament 33.5 (2011), p. 84 "Rabens´s book is a model of thorough research, lucid argument, and careful exegesis."Peter Orr in Themelios 35 (2010), p. 455

---