The Spirit, Ethics, and Eternal Life: Paul's Vision for the Christian Life in Galatians

“Jarvis Williams has made a significant contribution with this work on the Holy Spirit in Galatians. He situates his study in the Second Temple Jewish context of Paul's day and also enters the conversation with contemporary scholarship on the role of the Spirit. At the same time, he offers a robust exegetical defense of his own reading. Williams shows the danger of false polarities and thus reads Galatians as both apocalyptic and salvation-historical, as cosmic and individual. Along the same lines, he doesn't divide theology from ethics, showing that the work of the Spirit transforms individual lives and communities.”

“For many years theologians have debated salvation issues in Galatians, such as justification and what Paul meant by works of the law. These conversations are important, but Williams widens the perspective to look at how the Spirit plays a crucial role in vertical, horizontal, and cosmic dimensions of the gospel. This carefully argued book demonstrates that Paul was passionate about human transformation by the living God in Christ Jesus through the Spirit.”

“Paul's Letter to the Galatians—a classic source for our understanding of salvation by God's grace in Christ apart from works—reaches its climax with that faith expressing itself in action. Thanks to Christ's Spirit, those in Christ are simply a different sort of people! We are grateful to Professor Williams for tracing God's energizing power through these pages.”

“In The Spirit, Ethics, and Eternal Life, Jarvis Williams provides us with a carefully researched investigation of a crucially important set of related themes in Paul's letter to the Galatians. Painstaking scholarship is applied to topics of incredible relevance for Christian theology and living in this and any age: the intersecting themes of God's Spirit, eternal life, and Christian ethics. This book will help many gain a much better grasp of Paul's life-transforming theology and ethics, for the good of the church!”

“With his customary exegetical precision, Jarvis Williams joins his voice to a growing chorus advocating the modest but still controversial proposal: how we live actually matters to God. Williams shows that the key to holding together God's initiating grace, Christ's salvific death, and our walking in newness of life is itself a gift from God—the Holy Spirit, the promised gift that would make righteous those who trust in Christ for righteousness. He articulates a gospel that makes room for all Paul has to say about God's gracious initiatives and our responsibility not to receive this grace in vain.”