Quotes from Frederick Dale Bruner

The abundance of the gifts of the Spirit . . . does not mean that the believer will be transferred from a struggling faith to a purely triumphant faith but that the believer will become a participant, by the Spirit, in the glorification of Christ," a glorification, we recall, that entails a Cross.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit, in either course, to bring Jesus Christ into human lives. "Into" is the key preposition for the work of the Spirit.

that the main responsibility of disciples as they head into the future is to be doctrinally careful to be attentive only to Jesus Christ and not to be "taken in" by flashy but false predictors and their plausible but false predictions of times, periods, and

Generally and understandably we think that if our ministries increase, Jesus' ministry will increase as well. John the Baptist knows better. He apparently believes that it is possible to be so consumed with Christ's increase that one can actually be content to be less significant oneself. This is the mystery of authentic ministry. Who of us can say we have attained this poised self-diminution? It is a goal greatly to be desired.