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God, Gift, and Guide: Knowing the Holy Spirit
So often, the Third Person of the Trinity gets the least attention. He is considered confusing or mysterious.
Dr. Gregg Allison has spent his life devoted to studying and teaching theology, and this concise and practical book approaches the truth given to us in God's Word about the Holy Spirit with curiosity and wisdom.
For the everyday believer wanting to know God better, this book will broaden the reader's awareness of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit—God, Gift, and Guide. The Spirit is the best gift we are given after our salvation, the One who dwells within those who love Him.
This book is an invitation to live with an awareness of His presence in our everyday lives.
Dr. Gregg Allison has spent his life devoted to studying and teaching theology, and this concise and practical book approaches the truth given to us in God's Word about the Holy Spirit with curiosity and wisdom.
For the everyday believer wanting to know God better, this book will broaden the reader's awareness of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit—God, Gift, and Guide. The Spirit is the best gift we are given after our salvation, the One who dwells within those who love Him.
This book is an invitation to live with an awareness of His presence in our everyday lives.
213 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 6, 2023
29 people are currently reading
1482 people want to read
About the author
Gregg R. Allison
36 books61 followersGregg R. Allison (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society, a book review editor for the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, an elder at Sojourn Community Church, and a theological strategist for Sojourn Network. Allison has taught at several colleges and seminaries, including Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and is the author of numerous books, including Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine, Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church, and Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 8, 2023
Picking this book up was personal for me. A few months ago, I recognized that I needed to invest in gaining a better understanding of the Holy Spirit and His role in the believer’s life. (Quite certain the Holy Spirit Himself helped me to realize that. 😉)
Y’all, I’m so grateful to have started my deep-dive with this book! Theology professor Gregg Allison did an amazing job of making this accessible enough for everyday believers.
The book is broken out in three parts—worshipping, walking with, and working with God the Holy Spirit. In them, he discusses the Holy Spirit’s divine Personhood and divine works, what it means to walk with and be guided by the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit.
I appreciated the balance with which he addressed spiritual gifts, especially the debated gifts. He presented both the continuationist and cessationist views fairly and that’s not something that can be said often.
This is an excellent starter book for studying the Holy Spirit! It’s comprehensive, but every chapter is bite-sized. If you’re anything like me, it’ll leave you with a handful of subjects that you want to dig into more—and Allison coauthored a more extensive, academic book on the Holy Spirit that may answer a lot more of those questions. (He also has really great footnotes where he shares other books for deeper study on desired topics.)
Amazing read—highly recommend!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Y’all, I’m so grateful to have started my deep-dive with this book! Theology professor Gregg Allison did an amazing job of making this accessible enough for everyday believers.
The book is broken out in three parts—worshipping, walking with, and working with God the Holy Spirit. In them, he discusses the Holy Spirit’s divine Personhood and divine works, what it means to walk with and be guided by the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit.
I appreciated the balance with which he addressed spiritual gifts, especially the debated gifts. He presented both the continuationist and cessationist views fairly and that’s not something that can be said often.
This is an excellent starter book for studying the Holy Spirit! It’s comprehensive, but every chapter is bite-sized. If you’re anything like me, it’ll leave you with a handful of subjects that you want to dig into more—and Allison coauthored a more extensive, academic book on the Holy Spirit that may answer a lot more of those questions. (He also has really great footnotes where he shares other books for deeper study on desired topics.)
Amazing read—highly recommend!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
July 21, 2024
Very good crossover between an informational and devotional book on the Holy Spirit. Each chapter has several thoughtful application questions at the end. More studious readers or pastors will find some chapters lacking in the desired depth, but Allison has a more in-depth theology on the Spirit he wrote that can be referenced as well.
June 12, 2025
A helpful primer on the nature and works of the Holy Spirit that is both accessible for the average Christian and charitable toward believers with varying persuasions. This is a great training and discipleship resource.
July 5, 2023
In this very accessible book, Gregg R. Allison shares insights about the Holy Spirit, helping Christians better understand this member of the Trinity and the Spirit's work in their lives. Allison begins by writing about why the Spirit is an important part of the Christian life, and he unpacks key theological ideas about the Trinity. After this, he focuses on different points of doctrine and application, such as the Holy Spirit's work in salvation, conviction, illumination and intercession, and in the church. Allison is very thorough and covers a wide variety of topics, showing how integral the Holy Spirit is to every element of the Christian life. He also includes reflection questions that readers can consider alone or with a church group.
All throughout the book, Allison uses Scripture to illustrate and support different points, helping his readers understand what the Bible teaches about the Spirit. I wish that some chapters had further unpacked controversies about issues like whether or not the Holy Spirit speaks to believers today, but Allison always summarizes people's differing opinions in fair and even-handed ways, correctly representing how people explain their different beliefs and support them with Scripture. That makes the book appropriate for people from many different denominational backgrounds.
Towards the end, Allison writes about spiritual gifts and the debated gifts, and he summarizes different positions on things like prophecy and speaking in tongues. My one critique about this section is that when he warns against an overemphasis on gifting that makes someone feel entitled to only serve in their preferred way, he says that churches need "able-bodied" workers for all kinds of ministries. I'm sure he really meant 'capable and willing,' but the unfortunate phrasing forgets how disabled people can and do serve their churches in many different ways, at many different levels of ministry.
This is great for Christians who are new to learning about the Holy Spirit, or who want to further refine their knowledge. Because this book covers so many topics, the chapters are fairly basic and don't get into esoteric theological debates, making this perfect for believers who want to learn more without doing an academic deep dive. Allison's personal touches through stories from his own life will also help engage readers who wouldn't normally read a theological work, and this book is a very helpful introduction or refresher.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
All throughout the book, Allison uses Scripture to illustrate and support different points, helping his readers understand what the Bible teaches about the Spirit. I wish that some chapters had further unpacked controversies about issues like whether or not the Holy Spirit speaks to believers today, but Allison always summarizes people's differing opinions in fair and even-handed ways, correctly representing how people explain their different beliefs and support them with Scripture. That makes the book appropriate for people from many different denominational backgrounds.
Towards the end, Allison writes about spiritual gifts and the debated gifts, and he summarizes different positions on things like prophecy and speaking in tongues. My one critique about this section is that when he warns against an overemphasis on gifting that makes someone feel entitled to only serve in their preferred way, he says that churches need "able-bodied" workers for all kinds of ministries. I'm sure he really meant 'capable and willing,' but the unfortunate phrasing forgets how disabled people can and do serve their churches in many different ways, at many different levels of ministry.
This is great for Christians who are new to learning about the Holy Spirit, or who want to further refine their knowledge. Because this book covers so many topics, the chapters are fairly basic and don't get into esoteric theological debates, making this perfect for believers who want to learn more without doing an academic deep dive. Allison's personal touches through stories from his own life will also help engage readers who wouldn't normally read a theological work, and this book is a very helpful introduction or refresher.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
November 15, 2023
Note of warning! As this is the first book that I have read concerning the Holy Spirit, I do not think that I am qualified enough to comment on most of the content of the book, so this review will mostly be a summary.
The book "God, Gift and Guide: Knowing the Holy Spirit" by Allison Gregg sheds light on the third person of the Trinity, and perhaps the most misunderstood, the Holy Spirit.
The book is divided into three main sections.
In the first section of his book, Allison Gregg presents a concise, easy to understand theology of the Holy Spirit and the works of the Holy Spirit. On one hand, the author concentrates on the personhood of the Holy Spirit, his character, in direct relation with God the Father and God the Son, stressing His coexistence with the other members of the Trinity and His unchanging nature over the course of time, similar to that of the Father and the Son. Furthermore, as Christians worship God the Father and God the Son, so should they worship the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit is fully God. On the other hand, Allison Gregg focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit in the daily lives of Christians and the work of convicting, regeneration, justification, union in Christ and adoption.
The second part focuses on the subject of being filled with the Holy Spirit, walking with the Holy Spirit, keeping up with the Holy Spirit and setting the mind on the Holy Spirit. This section of the book emphasises the yearning for the Holy Spirit and His guidance throughout the Christian life.
The final part of the book is revolving around the gifts that the Holy Spirit distributes to Christian believers. Allison Gregg systematically lists and offers short explanations for all the gifts that are provided by the Holy Spirit. Afterwards the author opens "Pandora's box" and presents from an impartial position the viewpoints of both Cessationism and Continuationism regarding the spiritual gifts.
In conclusion, Allison Gregg's "God, Gift and Guide: Knowing the Holy Spirit" is an excellent introductory book, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to students and laymen who wish to deepen their knowledge of the Holy Spirit and discover the Spirit-filled life.
"We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit at all times, even in the most mundane experiences of life. And He is always present with us to provide such everyday direction."
The book "God, Gift and Guide: Knowing the Holy Spirit" by Allison Gregg sheds light on the third person of the Trinity, and perhaps the most misunderstood, the Holy Spirit.
The book is divided into three main sections.
In the first section of his book, Allison Gregg presents a concise, easy to understand theology of the Holy Spirit and the works of the Holy Spirit. On one hand, the author concentrates on the personhood of the Holy Spirit, his character, in direct relation with God the Father and God the Son, stressing His coexistence with the other members of the Trinity and His unchanging nature over the course of time, similar to that of the Father and the Son. Furthermore, as Christians worship God the Father and God the Son, so should they worship the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit is fully God. On the other hand, Allison Gregg focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit in the daily lives of Christians and the work of convicting, regeneration, justification, union in Christ and adoption.
The second part focuses on the subject of being filled with the Holy Spirit, walking with the Holy Spirit, keeping up with the Holy Spirit and setting the mind on the Holy Spirit. This section of the book emphasises the yearning for the Holy Spirit and His guidance throughout the Christian life.
The final part of the book is revolving around the gifts that the Holy Spirit distributes to Christian believers. Allison Gregg systematically lists and offers short explanations for all the gifts that are provided by the Holy Spirit. Afterwards the author opens "Pandora's box" and presents from an impartial position the viewpoints of both Cessationism and Continuationism regarding the spiritual gifts.
In conclusion, Allison Gregg's "God, Gift and Guide: Knowing the Holy Spirit" is an excellent introductory book, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to students and laymen who wish to deepen their knowledge of the Holy Spirit and discover the Spirit-filled life.
"We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit at all times, even in the most mundane experiences of life. And He is always present with us to provide such everyday direction."
July 13, 2023
This book is a resourceful survey concerning God’s Holy Spirit. It includes questions to help the reader both assess their understanding of God’s Spirit, how they view Him and His “many-sided” work, and how to apply what they learn. Where there is more than one view on topics, both are presented without asserting that one or the other is correct or not, making this book more accessible to all.
I was pleased that the book is written with a conversational tone that will help believers grow in knowing the Holy Spirit’s role as the third person of the Trinity in far more aspects than many may be familiar.
My favorite chapter was 15: “The Holy Spirit Guides Us to Do God’s Will,” which contained various examples from Scripture and helpful biblical wisdom and practical instruction such as:
“Unless we adopt a posture of yieldedness to the Spirit, we should not expect Him to guide us clearly or grant us discernment regarding His direction.”
Chapter 4 on the Trinity was the most challenging chapter and I wish this could have been expounded more. I wonder if a different way of explaining it would help, or maybe it is simply just because this is a topic of theology that is beyond our understanding in many ways. I will suggest: Don’t skip the footnotes in this chapter because they do help some.
All in all, this is a great book surveying the Third Person of the Godhead, delving deep enough for most believers to learn and glean from a treasure trove of information on the Spirit of God.
Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
I was pleased that the book is written with a conversational tone that will help believers grow in knowing the Holy Spirit’s role as the third person of the Trinity in far more aspects than many may be familiar.
My favorite chapter was 15: “The Holy Spirit Guides Us to Do God’s Will,” which contained various examples from Scripture and helpful biblical wisdom and practical instruction such as:
“Unless we adopt a posture of yieldedness to the Spirit, we should not expect Him to guide us clearly or grant us discernment regarding His direction.”
Chapter 4 on the Trinity was the most challenging chapter and I wish this could have been expounded more. I wonder if a different way of explaining it would help, or maybe it is simply just because this is a topic of theology that is beyond our understanding in many ways. I will suggest: Don’t skip the footnotes in this chapter because they do help some.
All in all, this is a great book surveying the Third Person of the Godhead, delving deep enough for most believers to learn and glean from a treasure trove of information on the Spirit of God.
Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
November 17, 2023
A great entry level work that overviews the person and role of the Holy Spirit.
June 20, 2024
There was some good info in this book. But overall I was left feeling frustrated upon completion for a couple reasons.
1. I thought I had a decent grasp of the concept of the Trinity. But after the section with dense theology about how the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Son and the Father, I regressed into confusion and just stuck with what I have previously learned about the Trinity. But that may be just me being a simpleton.
2. Allison offers up a basic view of the 3 waves of the charismatic movement. After all the very dense theology supporting his view of the Trinity, I was excited to see how Allison used the Bible to either support or refute the charismatic movement.
He did neither. Not one verse was offered, and he while he did not outright support it, he offered nothing by way of refuting the movement.
Very disappointed with that.
3. In line with this, he offered only two options for tongues. Either you think they don’t happen or you think they do.
What follows is my opinion (which I believe to be accurate). But I wished he had at least included it as a view.
What’s so frustrating about him only giving the two options is that the actual correct definition of tongues is “languages”. It’s not the gibberish people say is tongues. To my understanding that was only popularized around 1901. So it’s relatively recent!
When you read scripture with “languages” as its meaning, then all the exhortations of Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 make more sense.
1. I thought I had a decent grasp of the concept of the Trinity. But after the section with dense theology about how the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Son and the Father, I regressed into confusion and just stuck with what I have previously learned about the Trinity. But that may be just me being a simpleton.
2. Allison offers up a basic view of the 3 waves of the charismatic movement. After all the very dense theology supporting his view of the Trinity, I was excited to see how Allison used the Bible to either support or refute the charismatic movement.
He did neither. Not one verse was offered, and he while he did not outright support it, he offered nothing by way of refuting the movement.
Very disappointed with that.
3. In line with this, he offered only two options for tongues. Either you think they don’t happen or you think they do.
What follows is my opinion (which I believe to be accurate). But I wished he had at least included it as a view.
What’s so frustrating about him only giving the two options is that the actual correct definition of tongues is “languages”. It’s not the gibberish people say is tongues. To my understanding that was only popularized around 1901. So it’s relatively recent!
When you read scripture with “languages” as its meaning, then all the exhortations of Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 make more sense.
July 6, 2023
This book provided a new framework about the Holy Spirit, with Biblical examples and excerpts. Gregg Allison is clearly an expert, but he explains things in a way that a layperson could understand. I found myself marveling at some details I had never known which deepened my understanding of my faith, and how the Holy Spirit fits into the larger narrative. I won a free paperback copy from Goodreads.
June 12, 2023
Succinct, yet jam-packed with so many great discussions on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Allison includes reflection questions that are very helpful for general and personal application. The book doesn't shy away from some more complex or controversial issues, but is still very accessible.
This will be my new go-to recommendation for a book on the Holy Spirit.
This will be my new go-to recommendation for a book on the Holy Spirit.
September 17, 2025
This book is a wonderful, thorough, accessible, and rich treatment of the Holy Spirit. It affirms him as God, distinguishes his unique role in the Godhead, and displays his purposes in and through the life of the Christian today. This is a great resource to understand a very important doctrine of the faith.
July 11, 2023
Knowing the Holy Spirit is a life changing writing. While I have always believed in the Holy Spirit, this book reveals the deep impact and wonderful gift that is the Holy Spirit. Following and praying to the Holy Spirit will now be a strong focus in my faith!
January 18, 2025
3.5/5 - A good read for what it was. Not meant to be a deep academic dive, but asked thought provoking questions that got me thinking about how I view the Holy Spirit. However, I felt like some chapters were still a little too surface-level.
March 12, 2025
Pretty good. Helpful as we consider “Walking with the Spirit” in Romans 8 on Sundays. Not as in-depth as I’d like in some places.
June 7, 2025
Great primer on the nature and roles of the Holy Spirit!
August 18, 2025
Taught me great theology and practical wisdom on the Holy Spirit. Very easy to read.
September 4, 2025
Actually more like 3.75⭐️
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews