Justified in the Spirit: Creation, Redemption, and the Triune God

Written by Frank D. Macchia Reviewed By John Anthony Dunne

In this book, Frank D. Macchia offers an interpretation of justification that is thoroughly pneumatological. Macchia, who is professor of theology at Vanguard University and the editor of Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, approaches the doctrine from the rubric of Spirit-baptism, emphasizing the embrace of God through the Spirit in a manner that fills out the Trinitarian nature of justification in the process (p. 14).

In the first part of the book, Macchia overviews the Protestant and Catholic understandings of justification, noting what he sees to be approximations of the doctrine of justification, but not the full substance. For Macchia, understanding the proper relationship between justification and pneumatology can provide the ecumenical bridge between a legalist Protestant doctrine of justification and the transformative Catholic view (p. 75). This is where the Pentecostal tradition offers the helping hand through the concept of Spirit-baptism (p. 86). Thus, the “ecumenical significance” of Macchia's view is addressed throughout the course of the book. Although Macchia does not deny the forensic and theocentric view of justification advocated by the Reformers, he attempts to supplement the Protestant view. Justification does not take place in a distant court, as Macchia says, but in the divine embrace of the Spirit (p. 202). On the other hand, in regards to the Catholic emphasis on an infusion of virtues, Macchia notes that there is no charity that possesses supernatural enabling that is distinct from the Spirit of life (p. 295). Thus, Macchia suggests that Spirit-baptism should be the proper framework for which to understand justification since it “offers a vision of justification that is both declarative and transformative because it is pneumatological in substance” (p. 99).

Beyond the overly legal interpretations offered by Protestants, Macchia is also concerned to go beyond anthropocentric interpretations as well. If pneumatology is given its proper place, then the ecclesiological dimensions find a natural fit. Of course, Macchia does not try to deny that justification pertains to conversion and initiation, yet he notes that these categories are not independent of incorporation and koinonia (p. 266). The ecclesiological and sociological nature of justification has been well emphasized by scholars like N. T. Wright (Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision; What St. Paul Really Said), and the pneumatological emphasis noted by Macchia makes these dimensions more evident.

When it comes to evaluating this book, there were a few problems. However, I find most of these to be sins of omission rather than commission, so to speak. In light of Macchia's emphasis on the divine embrace of the Spirit in justification, there appeared to be potential for speaking of a pneumatic understanding of the doctrine of imputation. In receiving the Spirit, we receive God, including his own righteousness. But this was not developed, though it appeared to provide fruitful ground for theological reflection along the lines that Macchia was advocating. I suppose these options were not available to Macchia because of his denial of imputation (p. 6) and his belief that God's righteousness refers to his covenant faithfulness (pp. 105-14).

At a more fundamental level, it would have been beneficial for Macchia to address the question of faith a bit more closely in terms of origin. Given that this book discusses justification by faith and its relationship to the Spirit, the question of whether regeneration precedes faith should have been close at hand, especially given the intriguing words of Gal 3:2 (ESV): “Did you receive the Spirit by ( ἐκ) works of the law or by ( ἐκ) hearing with faith?” Macchia never specifically addresses this issue but leaves the reader wondering. In one instance he states, “faith assumes and arises from the embrace of the Spirit” (p. 235). Yet determining which comes first, regeneration or faith, should have been addressed more explicitly in a treatise on the Spirit and justification.

Although Macchia attempts to demonstrate the eschatological benefits of the link between justification and pneumatology, there were several eschatological motifs that should have been discussed in this regard. Since Paul speaks about the future event of justification at the Last Judgment (Rom 2:1-16; 14:10-12; 2 Cor 5:10), and complete holiness at the Parousia (1 Cor 1:7-9; Phil 1:6-11; Eph 5:25-27; 1 Thess 3:11-13; 5:23-24), it would have been helpful to offer a pneumatological connection between present justification by faith and the final verdict.

Overall, I'm convinced that a focus on pneumatology is much needed for the way in which the Church articulates the doctrine of justification. Furthermore, I see potential for this link aiding ecumenical discussions, as Macchia contends. Clearly, Paul saw a link between justification and receiving the Spirit (compare Gal 2:15-16 with 3:1-5). Although there is much to be gained from this, I do not think that Macchia's model of Spirit-baptism is all that helpful. I fear that Macchia may be trying to do more with justification than is historically plausible. Also, I wonder if many non-Charismatics will find the grid of Spirit-baptism to be an odd place to orbit a discussion on justification. Given the potential for misunderstanding among Christians of other denominations, it would have been helpful to use more neutral terminology (since Spirit-baptism can be more of a technical term in Pentecostal circles and is variously conceived, as Macchia notes on pp. 86-93). Thus, it seems that some could find the grid polarizing (though, of course, this book is in a series of Pentecostal Manifestos). This however should not stultify the ecumenical s/Spirit of Macchia's work, both among Protestant denominations of charismatic and non-charismatic orientation, as well as with the traditions of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.


John Anthony Dunne

John Anthony Dunne
St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews
St Andrews, Scotland, UK

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