I conclude posts of excerpts from Ryrie’s book with his last paragraph in Chapter 22, “History of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit.” His last chapter discusses points made in this paragraph, and I recommend his book to you.
“Thus in the sweep of church history one sees first the formulation of what has come to be known as the orthodox doctrine of the Spirit, then the definition of it in the early councils [which I discuss in my second book, The Boundless Love of God: A Holy Spirit Story], and the development of it during the Reformation. With every surge toward defining or developing the truth, there have been movements away from it, either in the form of rationalistic coldness or in the form of unbalanced enthusiasm and mysticism. History should teach us that orthodox doctrine is not only important to faith but equally vital to life. Perhaps in no doctrine is the wedding of truth and life more important than in a proper understanding and application of the doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit.”
It has been my commitment to share what I have learned in over 21 years of study about the Holy Spirit. So many people in the church today have little or an inaccurate understanding of the Holy Spirit and how He communes with us interactively as a Person. How His communion involves our neural synaptic networks has also been my interest, showing concordance between current neuroscience and properly interpreted Scripture. There is a hunger for this knowledge.