Jesus and the Spirit: a Study of the Religious and Charismatic Experience of Jesus and the First Christians As Reflected in the New Testament

In this fascinating book James D. G. Dunn explores the nature of the religious experiences that were at the forefront of emerging Christianity. Dunn first looks at the religious experience of Jesus, focusing especially on his experience of God in terms of his sense of sonship and his consciousness of the Spirit. He also considers the question of whether Jesus was a charismatic.

Next Dunn examines the religious experiences of the earliest Christian communities, especially the resurrection appearances, Pentecost, and the signs and wonders recounted by Luke. Finally Dunn explores the religious experiences that make Paul so influential and that subsequently shaped Pauline Christianity and the religious life of his churches.

The result is a thorough and stimulating study that not only recovers the religious experiences of Jesus and the early church but also has important implications for our experiences of the Spirit today.

First published in 1975 to much critical acclaim, this important book is now once again available to readers in the United States.