Among the different understandings of the Spirit in the New Testament, Paul
’s Spirit language stands out for being at once dynamic and sometimes impersonal
—inviting comparison with the Stoic notion of spirit (
pneuma) as a substance. Volker Rabens reexamines Paul
’s statements about the Spirit in the widest possible contexts and argues that the alleged parallels with Stoic conceptions are at best ambiguous. Paul understands the work of the Spirit relationally, Rabens argues, and it is through intimate relationships that the Spirit transforms and empowers people
’s lives.
