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Charismatic Movement
Preface
Today’s Charismatic Movement grew out of the Pentecostal Movement, which had its start at the beginning of the 20th Century. Associated with this movement are other similar movements that go by such names as Vineyard, World-Faith, Holy Laughter, and others. All appear to center around a genre of conduct and worship that emphasizes emotionalism, experience-oriented spiritual reality, and effusive demonstrations of worship; as opposed to the traditional doctrine and conduct of the Christian Church that has existed from its inception to today. For this discussion the term Charismatic Movement will include most forms of the Pentecostal Movement as represented by various denominations, as well as many individual assemblies throughout the world, all too numerous to mention.
The Pentecostal Movement came into being at around 1900 with the emergence of Charles Parham, a young college student from Kansas with roots in the Methodist Church. Adopting the Methodist view that sanctification was a second work of grace, separate from salvation, and the Holiness belief of a third experience, the “Baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire;” the intrigued Parham was imbued with the desire to experience divine healing and “speaking in tongues,” practices that most Christians during the nineteenth century believed had ceased at the end of the Apostolic age. In 1900, Parham opened a Bible college to promote these views, but it was Agenes Ozam, one of Parham’s students, who first spoke in an unrecognizable language (“tongues’) at a New Year’s Eve service that year. Before the week was over, about half of the 34 members of the school, including Parham, had “spoken in tongues.”
Pentecostalism has become an extremely fast growing segment of Christianity. After Roman Catholicism, it may well be the largest group under the label of Christianity worldwide. It purports the largest local church in the world, the Yoi Do Full Gospel Church in Korea, with a claimed weekly worship attendance of 240,000. Two Pentecostal churches in Buenos Aires attract together 150,000 each week.
In the 1960’s the Charismatic Movement came into being, sharing many of the basic doctrines and procedures of Pentecostalism. But there was a difference between the two movements. Whereas Pentecostals advocated a “come out” policy with regards to church affiliation, Charismatics encouraged a “stay in” strategy. The movement involves both Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. In fact, if a person was able to “speak in tongues” or had experienced a “healing,” he was accepted by Charismatics with little to no regard to church membership or doctrine.
These two movements have splintered into other similar movements, one of which is called “Power Evangelism.” This movement, while promoting the same basic doctrines and practices held by Pentecostals and Charismatics, disclaims any relationship to them. This makes it especially attractive to evangelicals and fundamentalists who do not wish to wear the label of either Pentecostal or Charismatic so as not to be identified with their deviant teachings and methods of worship.
But for this study the term “Charismatic” will be used to represent all such groups that promote as a minimum the following listed doctrines and practices that appear to be common to most of them:
History
For a better grasp of the history of the Charismatic Movement the following is an article by Gary E. Gilley, which may be found on the World Wide Web at www.rapidnet.com.
The History of the Charismatic Movement*
What began on a corner at the turn of the twentieth century is now barreling down Main Street. What was once known as the Pentecostal Movement has now splintered into numerous diverse, yet overlapping movements: Pentecostal, Charismatic, Vineyard, Word-Faith, and Holy Laughter.
While the Charismatic Movement has taken on wings during the twentieth century, similar views and manifestations can be found on occasion throughout history:
"In ancient times the practice of speaking in unintelligible languages during religious ecstasy was not unknown. From eleventh-century B.C. Egypt come reports of ecstatic speech, and later in the Greek world the prophetess of Delphi and the Sibylline priestess spoke in unknown tongues. Amongst the Roman mystery religions, the Dionysian Cult was known for this practice.
"Several of the early church fathers mention glossolalia in the church. Irenaeus (d.c. 200) and Tertullian (d. 200) speak favorably of it, Chrysostom (d. 407) disapproved, and Augustine (d. 430) declared that the gift was only for New Testament times. The Montanist movement of the late second century included prophetesses, claims of new revelation, speaking in tongues, and an ascetical and legalistic outlook; the movement was declared heretical by the official church and speaking in tongues seems to have been rare in the church after this time.
"During the middle ages speaking in tongues were reported in monasteries of the Orthodox church. In the seventeenth century it seems to have been practiced in France amongst the Huguenots (Protestants) and the Jansenists (pietistic Catholics). In the nineteenth century glossolalia was practiced in America amongst the Shakers and Mormons, and in Scotland and London amongst the followers of Edward Irving, who saw this as the latter-rain outpouring of the Holy Spirit prior to the pre-millennial return of the Lord." (Quote taken form Millard Erickson's Christian Theology and Walter Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, s.v. "Montanists," "Pentecostalism," and "Tongues, Speaking in.")
Two different things can come to mind when one hears the term "charismatic." Some think of a group of people hungry for the Lord, walking in the power of the Spirit, spiritual in worship, aggressive in evangelism, and abounding in love. Others see individuals who are experience-oriented, imperialistic in outlook (only they have the full gospel), elitist in stance, uncontrolled in worship, and devoid of any real grasp of the Bible that goes beyond mere proof-texting. The Charismatic movement has grown rapidly and has become more diversified; therefore, it would be misleading to place all under an identical banner.
Nevertheless, the majority of professing Christians who are viewed as "charismatic," i.e., Oral Roberts, Larry Lea, Earl Paulk, Dick Iverson, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Bob Tilton, etc., are proclaiming today that the "charismatic movement" is over and God's "new move" is underway. Bill Hammon, a revered "modern prophet" in the charismatic community, says:
"The 'Joshua Generation' is leading forth, and the priestly pastors are carrying the ark of God's restorational presence across Jordan. The journey of the charismatic movement has fulfilled its purpose of bringing the church to its Jordan River. Now the cloud by day and the fire by night have been taken away, and the prophets and prophetic ministers have arisen to provide protection, direction and timing for the church's moving. ... The prophets, however, are seeing on the horizon of God's purpose for His church, a restorational wave of such incomprehensibly gigantic proportions—like a thousand-foot tidal wave—that it staggers the imagination and faith of both those who have prophetically seen it and those who have heard of it. It will be greater than all previous restoration movements combined."
This new restorational movement advocated by most current Charismatics has generated a groundswell of charismatic leaders to open themselves up to "new spiritual revelations" and "deeper doctrinal truths." The theological menu served in most charismatic churches today is filled with novel ideas, new doctrinal teachings, and unusual practices.
While there are some basic differences existing between new movements arising among Charismatics, their overall theological outlook (e.g., the restoration of modern apostles and prophets) and eschatological direction is the same. The New Charismatics are proclaiming that a new supernatural move of God's Spirit is sweeping the entire globe. This new move will be so revolutionary that the entire course of human history will soon be changed. But in order for this glorious dream to work, the majority of the Christian churches must unite in philosophy and purpose. Therefore, one of the goals of the New Charismatics is to make Charismatics and non-Charismatics (and non-Christians as well), "New Charismatics." In other words, Charismatics subscribing to new restoration ideas deeply desire that all believers will taste this "new move" of the Holy Spirit and unite with them in their efforts to supernaturally transform the world.
Most refer to this thriving new development expanding throughout the world as "restorationism" or "Latter-Rain restorationism." They believe that history is moving toward a spiritual climax where God's power will be poured out on the church like never before. Restoration promoters believe that this new move could be the Lord's final move where the church will be endued with new power to Christianize the world before Jesus returns. In order for this dominion pursuit to be realized, the five-fold ministry expounded in Eph. 4:11 (apostle, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers) needs to be recognized by the Church at large and given room to exercise their supernatural gifts and God-ordained authority.
Some contemporary restoration movements that fall under the umbrella term "The New Charismatics" are: Kingdom Theology, popularized by the nebulous Bishop/prophet, Earl Paulk; the Word-Faith/Positive Confession Movement led by faith teachers like Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland; and the Third Wave or Signs and Wonders movement, popularized by controversial Vineyard pastor, John Wimber. These groups have a common bond that promotes God's moving in a new supernatural way through signs and wonders, that the church must be restored to first century apostolic Christianity before Jesus returns, and that modern apostles and prophets will play a key role in this process. To understand new developments and teachings spreading through the charismatic world, it is necessary to go back in history to briefly examine some of the influential "higher life" movements of the twentieth century, beginning with Pentecostalism. Tracing the origins of these movements will give a better insight into how certain teachings originated and developed over the years and why certain Charismatic doctrines are emphasized so strongly today.
The Pentecostal Explosion
The Azuza Street revival of 1906-13 was the launching pad for a worldwide Pentecostal renewal. The main feature of this Pentecostal outpouring was the "baptism with the Holy Spirit," an experience subsequent to salvation, which is evidenced by speaking in other tongues. This was the crown jewel restored by what many called the "second Pentecost." There were, however, spiritual flashes that preceded Azuza, which prepared the way for its inauguration. On January 1, 1901, in Topeka, Kansas, Agnes Ozman, a student at Charles Parham's Bethel Bible School, spoke in tongues. Sometime later, Parham himself had the same experience and from then on preached that all believers who sought the tongues experience diligently would be recipients of the blessing. Most recognize Parham as the founder of the Pentecostal movement.
Parham, an avid holiness preacher, was nurtured in the culture of religious experience. In his search for something more, tongues became the celebrated encounter filling that void. In 1905, a zealous black holiness preacher by the name of William J. Seymour came under the tutelage of Parham in Alvin, Texas, a few miles south of Houston. It wasn't long before Seymour received the tongues experience and took the Pentecostal message to Azuza Street in Los Angeles. While there were spiritual ignitings before the flame reached Azuza, it was there that the flame turned white hot and began to spread all over the world. After Parham and Seymour received tongues experiences, they began an ambitious effort to spread what they believed to be the restoration of a glorious apostolic doctrine: the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Parham taught that Christ's return would occur on the heels of a worldwide Latter-Rain revival in which the Holy Spirit would restore miraculous gifts generating a great end time harvest. This Latter-Rain expectation died out in the early-1920s as Pentecostalism adopted certain tenets of dispensationalism.
Nevertheless, Pentecostalism stands as a classic restoration movement spawning several new sister movements that view the church as returning to her New Testament glory. The classic restoration motif of Pentecostalism that allegedly brought a greater hunger for spiritual reality was the "baptism with the Holy Spirit" evidenced by speaking in tongues. The Neo-Pentecostal Deliverance Revival
One of the notably significant, yet controversial, phenomena to powerfully emerge with Pentecostalism is the doctrine and ministry of divine healing. Since the latter half of the nineteenth century, the practice of healing existed in America. But energizing Pentecostalism nourished independent evangelists who brought a "new" emphasis to the healing arena that attracted a popular following. The significance of the deliverance (healing) revival, reaching its zenith between 1947 and 1958, lies in its uniqueness to popularize a concept of salvation that includes health and healing as an essential part of deliverance for the believer. Pentecostal religion continued to span the globe through the 1930s, but by the mid-1940s, as the careers of many independent evangelists peaked, there was a "new" emphasis—the miraculous! "Spirit Baptism" was still preached, but it was no longer the focus of the revival meeting. The shared heartbeat of "every service was the miracle—the hypnotic moment when the Spirit moved to heal the sick and raise the dead." Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God, did not favor the revival and viewed the deliverance evangelists as "independent extremists." Pentecostal leaders were disgusted by the lack of integrity among the revivalists, who often made claims marked by absurd exaggeration. The display of alleged miracles had become so outlandish that revival meetings had turned into "personality cults." Historian David Harrell quotes one Pentecostal leader who reported:
"The healing evangelists live in constant dialogue with angels and demons, the Holy Spirit and the spirits of diseases from the abyss; some experience electric currents through their hands when they pray with the sick, others have a halo around their heads when they are photographed, and others again have oil appearing on their hands when they pray."
Many of today's "televangelists" have adopted the melodramatic preaching styles of the deliverance revivalists of the mid-twentieth-century.
The Latter-Rain Movement
Three pioneers at the forefront of the Deliverance Revival were William Branham, Oral Roberts, and Gordon Lindsey. These men bore remarkably different personalities, but were unquestionably the fuel that kept the revival running. Branham ignited the revival, stirring crowds with apparent miracles and prophetic abilities. Roberts was the popularizer with his heart-tugging message that God is good and wills that His people prosper and be healed. He was the first to bring healing crusades inside the homes of millions who had never been exposed to the healing message by initiating a national weekly television program. Lindsey was the organizer, bringing cohesion with superb administrative skills.
Branham's teachings profoundly influenced a new sect springing from the neo-Pentecostal deliverance revival known as the "New Order of the Latter-Rain." Branham also shaped the thoughts and practices of many key Pentecostal figures.
The Latter-Rain movement was a loosely directed and enthusiastic union of cobelligerents united by their fierce opposition to mainline denominations. This meteoric movement created quite a stir among Pentecostal denominations, like the Assemblies of God, and boasted of being a fresh revival displacing the "apostatized" Pentecostals. While its impact was on a small scale, its effects were nevertheless felt world-wide, and it became one of the several catalysts for the Charismatic Movement of the 1960s, the Independent Charismatic Movement (Word-Faith/Positive Confession Charismatics) of the 1970s and the New Charismatics surfacing in the 1980s and 1990s. In reaction to the spiritual dryness existing in Pentecostal circles, the "New Order of the Latter-Rain" viewed itself as a refreshing oasis returning to the "full gospel" of the first-century church.
The doctrinal system of the Latter-Rain included Pentecostalism's baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues and the New Pentecostal deliverance revivals miraculous healing thrust. But the fiery movement had its own distinctives as well. There were primarily seven new teachings that shaped the Latter-Rain:
Restorationism—This further development of restoration theology viewed God as progressively restoring truths to the church since the Reformation.
Fivefold Ministry—The teaching that God is restoring apostles and prophets to the church to function with the three other gifted offices: evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Eph. 4:11). Apostles and prophets provided direction with new revelations that would play a major role in paving the way for Christ's second coming.
Laying on of the Hands—A ritual performed by modern apostles and prophets to impart the Holy Spirit and other spiritual blessings and gifts.
Prophecy—Views the practice of "personal prophecy" as being restored to the church. Prophecy would no longer be restricted to general words of exhortation, but would include personal detailed revelations for guidance and instruction.
Recovery of True Worship—The belief that God's manifested presence is dependent upon a certain order of worship involving singing in tongues, clapping, shouting, singing prophecies, and a new order of praise dancing.
Immortalization of the Saints—The belief that those believers moving in the truth of Latter-Rain restoration, not necessarily all in the church, will attain an immortal state before Jesus returns. Unity of the Faith—The doctrine that the church, usually perceived to be a band of overcomers in neo-Pentecostal ranks, will attain unity in the faith before Christ returns.
The Old Charismatics
Most historians date the beginning of the Charismatic Movement as April 3, 1960. On this day, "Father" Dennis Bennett of St. Mark's Episcopal parish in Van Nuys, California, announced to his congregation that he had received the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit, and how this accompanied "speaking in unknown tongues." After receiving much opposition, Bennett resigned from his position at St. Mark's and accepted an invitation to become vicar of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Seattle, Washington, which grew to be one of the strongest Charismatic churches in the Northwest. For a decade, it was one of the major centers from which speaking in tongues would spread worldwide, especially in the mainline denominations.
The significance of the Charismatic Movement resides in the penetration of the Pentecostal tongues practice into mainline denominations. This created a new openness to the full range of spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues) that had never been there before. Certainly not all mainline churches supported this new movement, but thousands of people inside mainline churches were experiencing "speaking in tongues" and other spiritual manifestations. This bred a strong conviction that all of the supernatural "sign gifts" (e.g. tongues, healing, miracles, and in some cases, prophecy) were for today.
Although Charismatic outpourings continued to spread through mainline churches, many denominational leaders left traditional churches to start independent churches. Before long, these mushrooming churches came under the influence of Word-Faith/Positive Confession teaching propagated by independent Charismatics, such as Hagin, Copeland, Charles Capps, and others. Their main emphasis was faith teaching, divine healing, and financial prosperity. Believers who consistently made a positive confession about their physical and spiritual situation and demonstrated great faith would receive abundant blessings from God.
The most militant movement to rise up alongside of the Charismatic Movement was the "Manifested Sons of God." This aberration gleaned many of its doctrinal distinctives from the Latter-Rain Movement and thrived during the 1960s and 1970s. Following the teachings of William Branham, the Manifested Sons claimed that denominations were pagan organizations with a Babylonian foundation. Many who broke their denominational ties and joined the Manifest Sons of God believed they were entering the only arena where salvation was possible. The more militant Manifested Sons spiritualized the second coming by teaching that Jesus and His church would become one in nature and in essence. Being one with Christ would corporately result in a Body of "little Christ's in the flesh" manifesting Jesus Christ on earth as His ongoing incarnation.
Another movement to rise up during the Charismatic Movement became known as the "Shepherding" or "discipleship" movement. This movement grew out of the Latter-Rain/Charismatic tradition and attained its greatest impetus during the mid-1970s. Shepherding arose out of a concern for effective discipleship and put great emphasis on the need for submission to spiritual leaders. Shepherdship is an oppressive system in which a person who often perceives himself as an immature Christian submits himself to the leading of an "elder." The elders (shepherds) are appointed in much the same way as in other hierarchies, with one submitting to the next higher in a chain of command.
Total discipline is imposed on those who submit themselves to an elder. His leadership is total, even extending over the person's family life. Failure to obey the shepherd can lead to disapproval, verbal condemnation, and ultimately being put out of the fellowship. The most significant aspect of the unbiblical shepherding system is that one person submits his will completely to another individual, the shepherd or elder.
The movement originated from the ministry of five teachers out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida -- Bob Mumford, Charles Simpson, Derek Prince, Don Basham, and Ern Baxter (a Branham disciple). By the late-1970s the Shepherding movement caused a deep split within charismatic circles because of the strict control many shepherds exercised over their members. By the mid-1980s, the term "shepherding" was dropped since the movement gained a bad reputation for its cultic authoritarian abuses. Nevertheless, the "shepherding" concept still thrives in various circles today (e.g., Promise Keepers) under labels such as "mentoring" and "covering" or "covenant relationships."
The growth of the Charismatic Movement and other fringe movements springing up in the 1960s and 1970s placed more emphasis on subjective experience than on Biblical truth, and then opened up a "Pandora's box" in the Christian world. The Charismatic Movement has been harmful to the Church by opening many doors to the ever-present influence of experiential and unbiblical ideas. This will become evident upon examining some of the dangerous new trends sweeping through the charismatic community today. * Portions of this report have been excerpted and/or adapted (by Gary Gilley, Pastor, Southern View Chapel, Springfield, IL) from an article entitled "The New Charismatics," by Michael G. Moriarty, Biblical Perspectives, Vol. IV, No. 3, May-June 1991; this report has in turn been excerpted and/or adapted by Biblical Discernment Ministries from an article ("The History of the Charismatics") in Pastor Gilley's March 1999, Think on These Things.
Doctrine and Practices
Although probably not completely suitable to be labeled as a “doctrine or practice,” the focus by Charismatics on feelings and emotional experiences, as either validation of their method of worship or vindication of their “walk with God,” has little basis, if any, in Scripture. Such demeanor is normally displayed in their worship services by a variety of effusive and public behaviorisms, which are manifest by energetic gyrations of the body, by vocal demonstration in known and “unknown” languages, by lively singing of songs known as “praise worship,” and by other demonstrable deportments.
Such experience in these worship services, to include much of the preaching therein, lacks doctrinal foundation in the Word of God. Emphasis is normally based on personal experiences and extra-biblical revelations. Of course, since such is immersed in signs and healings, the basis of such worship in accordance with God’s Word is never questioned.
The Bible places little emphasis or value on “feeling” or “emotion” as validation for one’s spirituality. It does place great emphasis on a life of faith as one of two ingredients for a successful Christian life, the other being adherence to Bible doctrine. The Bible is clear on this, as seen in the following verses:
. . . But the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." (Galatians 3:11)
Now the just shall live by faith . . . . (Hebrews 10:38)
The genuine spiritual life is one that not only begins in faith by placing one’s total confidence (trust) in the person and work of Jesus Christ for personal salvation, but it is one that is daily characterized by a walk of faith (Colossians 2:6, 7). Additionally, it is characterized by adherence to Bible doctrine (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord [by faith], so [in the same manner, by faith] walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established [via knowledge of Bible doctrine] in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6, 7)
Sanctify (set apart as holy) them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17)
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)
Feelings and emotions have little to do with salvation or a post-salvation spiritual life. For a Christian to know that he is not only saved but also living a proper spiritual life, he would be wise to ignore his personal “feelings,” and instead rely (trust in) on the clear teachings (doctrine) of the Bible.
But other than the inordinate prominence of emotion within the Charismatic Movement, there are specific doctrines that it generally misinterprets in the Word, which result in spurious customs and procedures. Much of the movement’s scriptural basis for its interpretation of such doctrines is found in the book of Acts. And most of the refutation of the movement’s misguided interpretations comes from the remainder of the New Testament. Serious error is almost always the case when the Bible student seeks to derive any systematic theology from the historical events recounted in the book of Acts—historical events of a transitional nature between dispensations (from Law to Grace), which, for various reasons were exceptions to established theological norms. The following will not be an exhaustive apologetical study of each doctrine, but simply a presentation of it correctly presented in God’s Word.
For a more detailed apologetical study of each doctrine the reader may visit the following website: http://reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/charismt.htm.
A few of these doctrines follow:
The baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace after conversion is the cornerstone of Pentecostal theology as well as many within the Charismatic Movement. Their doctrine on this subject is primarily based on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. But unfortunately, the remainder of the New Testament refutes their conclusions in regards to this member of the Trinity. A review of the New Testament clearly reveals two types of ministries of the Holy Spirit. The unilateral ministries of the Holy Spirit are as follows:
The Believer is Anointed with the Holy Spirit
This happens at the moment of salvation and is permanent. Of the two Greek words, aleipho and chrio, used in the New Testament and translated “anoint,” it is only the latter one that is used of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is also used in secular writings for the application of a lotion to a sick animal, but in the Bible it is never used in connection to secular matters. In Scripture it is confined to “sacred and symbolical anointing,” and it always refers to the application of something for a specific purpose. In this regard it may be understood as an “empowerment,” and as an action that renders the anointed one as “holy or separated unto God.” It parallels the anointing of priests in the Old Testament (Exodus 29:7), a symbolic action instituted by God as part of the consecration ceremony establishing Aaron’s sons as permanent priests of God.
Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit for the purposes of (1) identifying Him as Deity and (2) empowering Him for His earthly ministry, including His work on the cross of Calvary. The Holy Spirit was a factor in our Lord’s life in the sense that He depended upon the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s plan; so in this, Jesus Christ is the believer’s example in how to relate to the Spirit of God.
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God [by means of the Holy Spirit] was with Him. (Acts 10:38)
The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He [God the Father] has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1)
The believer, at the moment of salvation, is also anointed with the Holy Spirit for the purposes of (1) revealing Jesus Christ to the world and (2) for empowerment to withstand evil and become (progressively) sanctified (set apart as holy) unto God.
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22)
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. (1 John 2:20)
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)
It is interesting to note that the word translated “abides” in this verse means to abide in the sense of “to remain.” Thus, the Holy Spirit never leaves the believer, which is further proof (see the study on Security of the Believer on www.bibleone.net) that the believer is saved forever—never to be lost or unsaved again.
Kenneth S. Wuest has a very important point regarding the anointing of the believer.
The anointing with the Spirit forms the basis of all His ministry to and in behalf of the believer. Let us remember that it is potential in its nature. The mere indwelling of the Spirit does not guarantee the full efficacy of His work in us, since that indwelling is not automatic in its nature. God’s ideal for the indwelling of the Spirit is found in the word translated “caused to take up His residence.” Its root is in the word “home.” The Spirit was sent to the believer’s heart to make His home there. That means that the Christian must make Him feel at home. He can do that by giving the Holy Spirit absolute liberty of action in his heart, the home in which He lives. This means that the believer is to yield himself, all of himself, to the Spirit’s control, depend upon the Spirit for guidance, teaching, strength. Then will the potential power resident in the presence of the Spirit in the heart of the believer be operative in his life. (Untranslatable Riches from the Greek New Testament)
The Believer is Baptized into the Body of Christ (United with Christ) by the Holy Spirit
This happens at the moment of salvation and is permanent. The Greek word, baptizo, is not translated in the English Bible. The English words, “baptize” and “baptism,” are transliterations. In translation the meaning of the word or words is brought over from one language to another; in transliteration the spelling is brought over. To understand the meaning of a particular word, it is advantageous to look at how it is used in various writings, both religious and secular, during the time that it was used in the original text under consideration.
To avoid duplicating a lengthy study in regards to the word, baptizo, the student is directed to Untranslatable Riches from the Greek New Testament, by Kenneth S. Wuest, to Vine’s Concise Dictionary of Bible Words by W.E. Vine, to The Complete Word Study Dictionary—New Testament by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., and to The New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words by James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D. A review of these works will show that the word, baptizo, means “to place into,” “to introduce into,” “to dip,” “to submerge,” and/or “to overwhelm.” Another Greek word is used to convey the meaning, sprinkle, e.g., the Septuagint, Leviticus 4:6.
Understanding the meaning of the word, attention will now be directed to the various passages that disclose that the believer is baptized in (placed into) the Body of Christ, or in other words, united spiritually with Jesus Christ. In studying these passages it is well to remember that Christianity is not a religion. Religion is a system of beliefs, customs, procedures and practices accomplished by man to achieve the approbation (approval) of God. On the other hand, Christianity is a spiritual union or relationship with a living Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, in which God through the Holy Spirit accomplishes what man can never do, which is to live in a manner pleasing to God. This all begins at the moment of salvation, when a person by faith alone accepts Christ alone as his personal Savior.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. (Romans 6:3-6)
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27)
"For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:5)
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with [by means of] the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11, also Mark 1:8)
The Bible teaches that at the moment of salvation, the believer is instantaneously and permanently introduced into (united with) the Body of Christ. This is a spiritual union transacted by the Holy Spirit between the believer and that mystical body of which Christ Jesus is the Head and all believers from Pentecost to the Rapture are members. An important distinction must be made regarding this matter. This is not a baptism “with or of” the Spirit, in the sense that the Holy Spirit is the element that is applied to the believer. It is a baptism “by” the Spirit, which brings the believer into vital union with Jesus Christ.
This being the case, the “baptism by the Spirit” is not for “power,” since this baptism gives or applies nothing to the believer. God the Father, through His personal Agent, the Holy Spirit, spiritually and permanently unites the believer with Christ. The emphasis is on unification and not empowerment.
This understanding may lead to confusion when one reads Matthew 3:11 (see above), where the reader is prone to see John the Baptist comparing water (the element in which one is baptized) with the Holy Spirit. The English translation of this verse leads to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is the element with which one is baptized by Christ. But a study of the Greek text in light of Greek grammatical rule indicates that the Holy Spirit is in fact the divine Agent who Himself baptizes, the purpose of which is to place the believer into vital union with the Body of Christ. For a thorough treatment of this passage in the original language, see Untranslatable Riches of the Greek New Testament by Kenneth S. Wuest (long time Greek scholar at the Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois).
The Believer is Indwelt by the Holy Spirit
This happens at the moment of salvation and is permanent. In addition to anointing the Christian and baptizing him into the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the believer. According to some Greek scholars, Wuest in particular, this indwelling has its root in the word, “home,” and is best understood as “making oneself at home.” The idea is that although the Holy Spirit never departs the believer, He can either be made to “feel at home” or “not feel at home.”
This then would be similar to the “fullness of or being controlled by the Spirit,” which will follow. If this is in fact the case, i.e., the quality of “indwelling” being changeable, then it rests upon the believer to affect the difference. This will be covered in the section on the fullness of or control by the Holy Spirit.
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:38, 39)
The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:17)
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (Romans 8:9)
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" (Galatians 4:6)
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you . . . . (1 John 2:27) Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3:24)
Without doubt God would have the believer to understand that on the day of salvation the Holy Spirit entered and made His abode in him. In this regard and in accordance with (the above) 1 Corinthians 3:16, it is important for each believer to know with absolute certainty that no matter where he goes, what he does or what he thinks or speaks, the Holy Spirit is there to experience the same. And since the Holy Spirit is in fact the Deity, it stands to reason that whatever the believer does, thinks, says, or wherever he goes, God is no less with him to experience the same. A very sobering thought!
The Believer is Sealed with and by the Holy Spirit
This happens at the moment of salvation and is permanent. In fact, this is what makes salvation eternal, or, to put it another way, this is what secures the believer for all eternity. Once a person truly (by faith alone) accepts Christ as personal Savior, he can never go back to a “lost” condition. He is saved and he will stay saved.
The “security of the believer” doctrine is hotly contested by several religions and should the student of this study wish to investigate it more fully, see the study entitled “Security of the Believer” in the topical Bible study section on the web site, www.bibleone.net.
The fact is that once the Holy Spirit anoints, enters (indwells) and baptizes the believer, He also seals the believer until the day of his “completed redemption.” This doesn’t preclude the believer from limiting the Holy Spirit’s influence in his life, nor does it preclude the believer from committing sin. It only insures that eventually the believer will end up in heaven at the side of Jesus Christ.
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:22)
Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:5)
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1, 13, 14)
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
At the moment of salvation faith, the believer is instantaneously sealed by God utilizing the Holy Spirit as both the instrument of sealing and the seal Himself. This is God’s way of locking up His precious package for all eternity with a spiritual lock composed of God Himself. This is the believer’s (the “purchased position”—by the blood of Christ on the cross) guarantee of his inheritance, which is that he will be redeemed before God to the praise of God’s glory.
The Believer is Adopted by God by means of the Holy Spirit
This happens at the moment of salvation and is permanent. Upon receiving Christ as personal Savior, the believer receives the “Spirit of Adoption” and thereby inherits all the riches and benefits of being a genuine child of God.
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:15-18)
The Greek word, huiothesia, translated “adoption,” from huios, “a son,” and thesis, “a placing,” signifies to place as a son with someone to whom he does not naturally belong. Hence huiothesia is never affirmed of Christ—for He alone is the natural Son of God.
But as with Roman law, this term applies to every “born again” child of God—meaning that a son so adopted had in its entirety the position of a child by birth, with all the rights, privileges and obligations pertaining to such a birth.
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:4-7)
The believer’s relationship to God as a “son of God” is based on the grace of God, a right secured by the payment Christ Jesus made on the cross of Calvary some 2,000 plus years ago.
Because of this, the Holy Spirit who lives within each child of God bears witness with the believer’s spirit enabling the believer to claim God as Father. This is a relationship with a beginning but with never an ending.
The Believer is Granted Personal Access to God by the Holy Spirit
This happens at the moment of salvation and is permanent. Based on the all the ministries previously discussed, the believer has a personal relationship and continuous access to God the Father. It is an access that was secured by Christ and since Christ, the natural Son, has access to the Father, so each believer, as an adopted son, has this access to the Father. Each believer, as a co-equal member of the “household of God, may go freely before the Father’s presence at any time and without appointment.
For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. (Ephesians 2:18, 19)
The Believer is Provided One or More Spiritual Gifts by the Holy Spirit
This happens at the moment of salvation and is permanent; although, the development of this gift is a cooperative effort between the believer and the Holy Spirit. Every believer is “called of God” to emulate Jesus Christ in his life and to devote himself to a life of service to God. To emulate Christ by service to God, the Holy Spirit distributes at least one gift to every believer. He may in fact grant more than one or many gifts to the believer, as was the case with the Apostle Paul.
For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient-- in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. (Romans 15:18, 19)
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. (1 Corinthians 2:4)
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
The believer’s gift may be one of effectively presenting the gospel (soul-winning), it may be one of teaching God’s Word (doctrine) or it may be one of organization and leadership in financial matters as they relate to the local church. The gift may be one of writing, of preaching, or a number of other myriad talents. But all gifts are given by the Holy Spirit and are the soul purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ and building the Body of Christ.
The proper and effective utilization of God’s gift varies directly with the degree the believer allows the Holy Spirit to fill (control) his life. The use of the gift depends on the believer’s confession of known sins and continuous dependency (in faith) upon the Holy Spirit to use the gift to the glory of Christ.
The Believer Receives Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Closely associated with the gifts of the Spirit are the fruits of the Spirit. Not only does a believer obtain ministering gifts from the Holy Spirit, he will also, when controlled by the Spirit, reflect the fruits of the Spirit. They are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, righteousness, gentleness, self-control, hope [confidence], wisdom, truth and faith (Galatians 5:5, 22, 23; 2 Corinthians 4:13, 14; Romans 5:5; 15:13, 30; Ephesians 1:17-21; 5:9 and Colossians 1:8).
The Believer will be Resurrected or Changed by the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit quickened (made alive) the physical body of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit will also quicken or change the physical bodies of all believers at the Rapture. See 1 Corinthians 15:35-56 and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18.
And since we have the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. (2 Corinthians 4:13, 14)
In addition to these unilateral ministries of the Holy Spirit, He also has a few cooperative ministries, as follows:
(Note: By “cooperative,” it is meant that it takes an active participation by the believer for these ministries to be fully administered. This is the reason for the word, “may” as used in all titles.)
The Believer (may) be Controlled (“Filled”) by the Holy Spirit
This study will consider the “filling or fullness of the Holy Spirit” as the first of the “cooperative ministries,” since it is probably the one most mentioned, most abused and most misunderstood. Furthermore and at the end of this segment, specific actions will be delineated that, if taken, will insure the “fullness of the Holy Spirit” in the believer’s life.
The Apostle Paul instructs Christians to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), and to be “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18)—all such designations indicating the same thing. So what does it mean to be filled by, walk in and to be led by the Spirit of God? A detailed study of the words in various Greek-English lexicons and under the tutelage of several Greek scholars reveals clearly that these words, especially the words, “filled” and “fullness,” are best translated “controlled by.”
So instead of thinking of the Holy Spirit as a mystical substance that comes and goes, filling a believer as water fills a bottle, the Holy Spirit must be understood as a Person who may control (use) the believer in Christian service to glorify Jesus Christ. In fact, in the best known verse regarding this issue, Ephesians 5:18, Paul says, And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. Paul compares the state of being drunk with wine as the same type of state when filled by the Spirit of God. In essence he is saying that instead of being controlled by an over indulgence in alcohol, the believer should be controlled by the Spirit of God. The order is always the Person of the Spirit using the believer and never the other way around.
Since the Spirit of God indwells the believer upon the salvation experience, one may understand that at that specific moment the believer is in fact filled or controlled by Him. Unfortunately due to the young believer’s ignorance of Bible doctrine along with Satan’s attempts to immediately destroy the believer’s testimony and spiritual development, the young believer sins, failing to take God’s remedy for known sin in his life, and also fails to understand the necessity for faith (as in the salvation experience) in order to live the “Spirit-filled” Christian life. This being the case, the young Christian usually experiences a variety of failures and may even take several prodigal journeys before God through various means brings him back into proper spiritual fellowship.
To reemphasize, there are no Scriptural grounds or examples for tarrying or praying for the fullness of the Spirit. They tarried at Pentecost, but only for the Person of the Spirit. Nowhere in the Bible will you find anyone waiting and praying for the “fullness of the Spirit.” Once the Person of the Spirit came, He came in all His fullness—as a complete Person. Once a person accepts Christ as Savior, the Spirit comes completely and indwells the believer. It then is only a matter of how controlling the Spirit is in the believer’s life. It is true that there are cases recorded in the book of Acts where the Spirit came as a result of the “laying on of hands” (Acts 8:17; 19:6), but these were all events of transition involving matters consistent with the new dispensation, usually requiring the laying on of hands for proper identification before the Spirit could be given. There is no such requirement today.
The Believer’s Protocol for the Fullness of the Holy Spirit
The filling of or control by the Holy Spirit should be a daily and normal experience in the Christian’s life. It is never based on feeling or ecstatic emotions. It is not something to agonize over, nor is it something that requires lengthy hours in prayer. In fact, if anyone is in agony over a believer being controlled by God’s Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit Himself. In James 4:5, it states, “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’?” The meaning of the verse, verified by Greek exposition and a study of the context, is that the Spirit of God passionately desires to have control over the thoughts, words and deeds of these believers who, on the contrary, were allowing their sin nature to have sway in their lives. The Holy Spirit is in constant agony regarding His responsibility in controlling and sanctifying the believer to a higher plane of spirituality. The bottom line is that He wants to provide in, through and for us what we are helpless to do ourselves—which is to live a life pleasing and committed to Jesus Christ.
So what can the believer do in order to insure a continuous fullness of (control by) the Spirit of God? It is not to spend hours in prayer begging God for His fullness. It is not working oneself up into an emotional state or depriving oneself in various self-sacrificial decisions. In brief, it is not a protocol of “works.” Amazingly, it is a procedure quite similar to the way a person is saved. This should be of no surprise, since all goodness from God to man is of grace and is based on His Word. The steps follow.
First, the believer must realize that sin is the only hindrance to the Spirit’s control in the believer’s life. There is one remedy for sin in the believer’s life, and it is found stated most clearly in the book of 1 John.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
An expositional examination of this verse, using the original Greek language as a basis, renders this verse unmistakably, as follows.
If we admit to and take responsibility for our known sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our known sins and to cleanse us from all unknown and forgotten sins.
Daily, as God reveals our sins to us, we are to admit to Him and take responsibility for these sins. We are to offer no excuses or fallacious rationale for the way we have behaved. This is in direct contrast to present day methodology where no one is ever at fault for their wrong doings, since these can always be blamed on something else, such as genealogy or environment.
On the other hand, God would have us be mature in our approach to Him and “own up” to those sins we know that we have committed. This is not particularly an emotional “crying out” over a protracted period of time for God’s forgiveness; although, we will surely be sorry for having committed sin against God. It is in a brief moment of time simply “taking God at His Word” (an act of faith) and believing that when we confess or admit to Him the sin, He instantly forgives us the sin. At this point there should be no doubt that He has done just that. The point is that immediately when you confess your known sins to God, you are to understand (believe) they have been totally forgiven (wiped out). You are not to then belabor the point with God. To bring them up to Him again is to doubt His Word and thereby His character.
Not only does He forgive your known sins upon your confession of them, but He also promises that He will cleanse you (forgive you) of those sins you cannot remember or have never understood as sin—all unrighteousness. To say it succinctly, He wipes the slate clean. At the moment of this forgiveness, you have removed all road blocks that would impede the full flow of God’s Spirit (John 7:38, 39) in your person and life. Yet, there is one more step for the believer to take to insure this flow.
Second, just as in the act of salvation, the believer is to accept God’s Spirit and His control by faith alone.
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. (Colossians 2:6)
An examination of this one verse within its context reveals that the principle in the Christian life is not of self-generated works or good deeds, but it is of “faith.” Just as a person can only be saved by “faith,” so is that person to live the Spirit-controlled life for Jesus Christ only by faith. If the believer feels he must do it himself, he is going back to legalism, and works or “human good” can never please God or achieve any of His objectives.
Once a Christian rids known (and unknown) sin from his life, he then only has to believe (have faith in) God’s Word, which says that the Spirit will control him. This will not be accompanied by a rush of emotion (euphoric state) or some mystical experience fraught with unknown words or confusing gyrations. It will be a calm and sure revelation of God, through His Holy Spirit, living righteously through the body of the believer.
Kenneth S. Wuest says it this way.
The believer is exhorted, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), or as we have translated it, “Be controlled by the Spirit.” The tendency of the unsaved person is seen in the words of the hymn, “I was a wandering sheep, I did not love the fold, I did not love my Shepherd’s voice, I would not be controlled.”
This tendency is broken when a sinner is saved, in that God breaks the power of the sinful nature, which nature had exerted absolute control over him, and gives him His own divine nature. The believer is then exhorted to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to maintain in the actual experience of the Christian, that which God did for him the moment He saved him. The Holy Spirit suppresses the activities of the evil nature whose power was broken, and produces His fruit in the life. The very fact that an individual is exhorted to do something, demands as a logical accompaniment, that person’s exercise of his will in the doing of that thing. That is, the believer here is not automatically controlled by the Spirit just because the Spirit indwells him. The control which the Spirit exerts over the believer is dependent upon the believer’s active and correct adjustment to the Spirit. The Lord Jesus did not save us until we recognized Him as the Savior and put our trust in Him for salvation. Just so, the Holy Spirit does not control us in the sense of permeating our will, reason, and emotions, until we recognize Him as the One who has been sent by the Father to sanctify our lives, and trust Him to perform His ministry in and through us.
There must be an ever present conscious dependence upon and definite subjection to the Holy Spirit, a constant yielding to His ministry and leaning upon Him for guidance and power, if He is to control the believer in the most efficient manner and with the largest and best results. The Lord Jesus waited for you and me to recognize Him as Savior before He saved us. The Holy Spirit indwelling a believer is waiting to be recognized as the One to come to that believer’s aid. Salvation is by faith from start to finish. It is a work of God for man. But God waits for man, unsaved or saved as the case might be, to avail himself of the salvation he needs, by means of faith. (Untranslatable Riches from the Greek New Testament.)
There is nothing more to add. There are only two steps for the Christian in achieving the Spirit-controlled life. They are the confession of sins and the acceptance of control by faith. Both steps require the Christian to believe (acts of faith in) God’s Word and therefore the process is totally one of grace through faith.
The Believer (may) be Sanctified by the Holy Spirit
As mentioned previously in this study, the Holy Spirit has a dual role when it comes to sanctification. He performs “positional sanctification” on the unbeliever by bringing him to eventual saving faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also performs “progressive sanctification” in the believer, which is His effort to increasingly mold the believer into the image of Jesus Christ. It is God’s way, utilizing His Spirit resident in each believer, in setting the believer apart, as a holy vessel pleasing to Him.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
The progressive sanctification ministry of the Holy Spirit is specifically designed to combat sin in the believer’s life and to bring the believer into a purer state of holiness. But as other “cooperative ministries” of the Holy Spirit, e.g., the fullness of the Spirit, the fellowship of the Spirit, He is only able to accomplish this ministry in cooperation with the will of the believer. As the believer is judicious in confessing any known sins in his life and as he depends (a submission of faith) upon the Holy Spirit for this ministry, the Holy Spirit is enabled to progressively transform and renew the believer into the image of Christ.
It is important to note that the primary way the Holy Spirit sanctifies or sets a believer apart unto a life of holiness is through Bible doctrine. If Bible doctrine is not resident within the believer’s soul, the Holy Spirit is limited in His ability to influence the believer to higher plateaus of spiritual maturity. It is therefore critical that a believer submerge himself in God’s Word. Nothing will take its place. If a believer is to know the “mind of Christ,” he must regularly study Bible doctrine. This was a specific prayer of Christ.
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17)
The Believer (may) have Fellowship and Communion with the Holy Spirit
The Bible informs the believer that he may have fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit. Of course the degree of this fellowship and communion is in direct proportion to the believer being controlled by God’s Spirit.
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (Philippians 2:1, 2)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
The question is, “What is meant by the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit?” Both words are a translation of the same Greek word, koinonia, and its meaning is somewhat different than the present day’s understanding of the words fellowship and communion. In today’s environment these words are more centered on the social aspects of these words, i.e., a gathering together for the sole purpose of enjoying each other’s company, a relationship centered on companionship, friendliness and sociability. This is far from the meaning of this word in the New Testament. The reader is directed to an expanded definition of this Greek word in Vine’s Concise Dictionary of Bible Words by W. E. Vine and to a most detailed study of the word in Untranslatable Riches from the Greek New Testament by Kenneth S. Wuest. Both references, and others, agree that the meaning of the word has the following meaning, “a joint-participation, belonging in common to, a partnership, association, intercourse, sharing, a relation between individuals which involves a common interest, a mutual purpose and a mutual active participation in that interest and purpose, as well as in each other.”
Therefore when one speaks of being in fellowship or communion with the Holy Spirit, it is not for companionship or the sharing of a friendship. Many go astray when they seek association with the Holy Spirit as an end in itself. Doing this, they open themselves up to the snares of Satan and the influence of evil spirits. The New Testament has no such fellowship or companionship with anyone that would be on par with that which the believer shares with Jesus Christ. Remember, the Holy Spirit’s mission (purpose) is to call attention to Jesus Christ, to glorify the Son of God, and never Himself. The Holy Spirit will always keep Himself in the background, while He insures that Jesus Christ is always central in the life of the saint.
The fellowship or communion with the Holy Spirit is a joint-participation with Him in carrying out the objectives of the plan of God to the lost and to the saved of the world. To be in fellowship or communion with the Holy Spirit is to be in “partnership” with Him in reaching the unsaved for Jesus Christ and in contributing to the progressive and continual sanctification of those who are saved.
Again, Kenneth S. Wuest says it most meaningfully. . Therefore, when Paul speaks of a certain fellowship of the Holy Spirit that obtains in the lives of the saints, he refers to the relationship between the Spirit and the saints which involves a common interest and a mutual, active participation in that interest. That is, as the result of the Spirit’s work in regeneration and in His control over the saint as the saint is definitely subjected to Him, there has been brought about in the life of the saint, a joint-participation on the part of the believer with the Holy Spirit in an interest and a mutual and active participation in the things of God and the work of God in saving lost souls. It is a partnership, so to speak between God and the believer.
Paul speaks of this in the words, “We are laborers together with God (1 Cor. 3:9). Another interest held in common is the Christian life and testimony of the believer. The Holy Spirit is desirous of producing the highest type of Christian experience in the life of the believer, and the believer has the same interest, and shows it by maintaining an attitude of dependence upon and trust in the Holy Spirit to produce that life in him.
This fellowship is a co-operation on the part of the saint with the Holy Spirit in His work of sanctification. When Paul in his apostolic benediction prays that the communion of the Holy Ghost be with all the saints, he is asking that this mutual interest and activity may continue and become more rich and effective in the lives of the saints.
In brief, the believer’s fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit isn’t a “buddy-buddy” relationship, which often characterizes earthly relationships between humans. It is more of a “business relationship,” in which the believer maintains a close and actively working partnership with the Holy Spirit in the accomplishment of God’s plan. Other cogent passages of Scripture that bear on this subject are Acts 2:42; Galatians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:16; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 8:4; 9:13; Philippians 1:5; 3:10; 1 John 1:3, 6, 7; Philemon 6; Romans 15:26; Hebrews 13:16.
The Believer (may) be Instructed in Learning Bible Doctrine by the Holy Spirit
One of the primary responsibilities of the Holy Spirit in cooperation with the believer is the teaching and leaning of Bible doctrine. It is of utmost importance that the believer, no matter his stage of spiritual maturity, continues to be formed into the image of Christ. To do this, he must progressively achieve a deeper understanding of the “mind of Christ;” and, in order for this to occur, he must learn Bible doctrine. Fortunately, for the one who is easily bored with the mundane and shallow, this will not be the case in this activity. It will be an exciting and never-ending experience. It will be one that will challenge the believer from the day of his conversion until the day he stands before Jesus Christ in heaven. But the believer must know that it is only by studying in the “fullness of the Spirit” (under the Spirit’s control) that he will be able to rightfully divide and comprehend the Word of Truth.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26)
But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:9-13)
Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1:17-21)
Nothing takes the place of studying God’s Word. In fact, believers today are able to learn the “mind of Christ” even more completely than the early apostles who walked with Jesus while He was on earth. Today the believer has the complete and infallible canon of Scripture, authored by none other than God the Holy Spirit. Not only this, but He is available at the believer’s call to instruct the believer in His holy Word.
The Bible is composed of 66 separate books written by the Holy Spirit through 40 plus different human authors. It is one integrated whole and centered around one event, a love letter from God written over 2,000 years ago on an old Roman rugged cross, on a peak called Golgatha on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. That love letter (event) was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, whereby He paid for the sins of the world in order that whosoever by faith alone would receive Him would gain eternal life. The Bible details the beginning of the heavens and the earth and man all the way to the eventual new heavens and new earth on which man will eventually reign with Jesus Christ. It is a very comprehensive record, and one that only the Holy Spirit can adequately teach. Why the Holy Spirit?
1. Because He is the Author of the Bible. Acts 1:16; Ephesians 3:5 2. Because He is the Author of prophecy. John 16:13; 1 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 1:10, 11; 2 Peter 1:21 3. Because He is truth. John 14:16, 17; 16:13; 1 John 2:27; 5:6-8 4. Because He is God. 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18
A recommendation from the author of this study: Secure a copy of Learn the Bible in 24 Hours by Dr. Chuck Missler (www.khouse.org). You will not regret it.
The Believer (may) be Directed by the Holy Spirit
As the believer is controlled by the Holy Spirit, he will be directed (time and place) by the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:29, 39; 10:19, 20; 11:12; 13:2; 21:4
The Believer (may) be Assisted in Worshipping God by the Holy Spirit
As the believer is controlled by the Holy Spirit, he will be assisted in his worship of God the Father.
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23, 24)
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3)
The most frequently used Greek word in the New Testament that is translated “worship,” and is used in the first passage above, is proskuneo. This word is composed of the Greek words, pros, “towards,” and kuneo, “to kiss.” This indicates that true worship is having genuine devotion toward God, an activity that is only possible when we are assisted by the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for “worship” used in the second passage is latreuo, meaning “to render service or homage.” This indicates that true worship involves serving God, and again, this is an activity that is only possible when we are assisted by the Holy Spirit. True worship relies on being controlled by the Spirit of God.
The Believer (may) be Assisted in Prayer by the Holy Spirit
Just as in worshipping God, being directed by God and being instructed in God’s Word are all contingent upon being controlled by the Spirit of God; so also is an effectual prayer life for the believer.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:17, 18)
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. (Jude 20)
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26, 27)
The word for “helps” in the above passage literally means in the Greek, “to lend a hand together with, and at the same time with one.” This goes hand-in-hand with the true concept of fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit. The believer’s prayer life is a partnership with the Spirit of God. He lends each believer a “helping hand” in not only knowing what to pray for, but in knowing how to pray for it. Additionally, and since the Holy Spirit knows the believer even better than the believer knows himself, the Holy Spirit intercedes for each believer before God in accordance with the will of God. This means not only that it is God’s will that the Holy Spirit looks after the believer and prays for him, but that each prayer is structured in total conformity to God’s plan for the believer’s life. Because of this, Paul then can say in verse 28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
The Believer’s Faith (may) be Strengthened by the Holy Spirit
The Christian life is a life of faith—not works. True works are the result of faith. The principle of faith is of critical importance in living righteously for Jesus Christ. It is not uncommon for a person, once “born again” by faith, to start the “Christian journey” on faith, only to lapse back again into legalism and works. Legalism or the need to do good works or deeds by one’s human power leads only to self-inflation (exaggerated ego or pride) and is ultimately and completely self-defeating to the spiritual life. It is important that a believer should “want” to live for Christ, not feel that he “has” to live for Him. The difference pivots on whether or not the Christian is living by faith—for to live by faith is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. The believer must look away from himself and look only to the Holy Spirit to live the life of Jesus Christ through him. And this is a product of faith—not “human good.”
And even in this, the Holy Spirit helps the believer, that is, the Holy Spirit helps the believer to understand what is and to “muster” (draw from within and exercise) the proper faith. Again, this goes hand-in-hand with being controlled by the Holy Spirit.
And since we have the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8) For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. (Galatians 5:5)
That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . . . (Ephesians 3:16, 17)
In addition to the ministries of the Holy Spirit, these additional facts regarding Him are important:
The Grieving and Quenching of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person. He has feelings just as humans have feelings. He is God (the third Person of the Trinity) and He created mankind in His image. Part of the image is the soul, that aspect of man that embodies reasoning, will and emotion (feelings). Because the believer has feelings, he can relate to the following two passages.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
In the Greek, the meaning of “grieve,” lupeo, is “to cause pain and sorrow.” The meaning of “quench,” sbennumi, is “to hinder.” In regards to these issues, the believer can affect the cooperative ministries of the Holy Spirit in his life. Both grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit are the result of sin in the believer’s life. This is why it is critical for the believer to utilize the formula in 1 John 1:9 on a daily basis. The believer must confess all known sin, so that God may forgive all known and unknown sin in the believer’s life. Then when this limiting factor, which can cause pain to the Spirit of God, is out of the way, the believer may by faith be filled (controlled) by God’s Spirit and empowered for spiritual life.
The Blaspheming of the Holy Spirit
"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; "but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation"— because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." (Mark 3:28-30)
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29)
The sin of “blaspheme against the Holy Spirit” is a sin that only an unsaved person can commit. It relates to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and most specifically, it is refusing the Holy Spirit’s convicting power in testifying that Jesus Christ is God and that His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary is efficacious (effectual) for the forgiveness of sin. Once a person turns down the workings of the Holy Spirit, which is attempting to bring him to Christ, there is no forgiveness of sin and only eternal damnation ahead. The Bible is unclear as to whether a person may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit more than once, but this is entirely possible, i.e., the unsaved may do so until the door of physical death. At that point, there is no more hope.
Both Pentecostals and Charismatics hold to the practice of speaking in what is understood as a “heavenly” language, often known only to God. They believe this signifies that a person has been baptized with the Holy Spirit; they believe it to be a proper observance during public worship services—both in revelation and edification; and many of them believe it is for private edification. Yet to all outside these movements and to most all within them (if the truth be known), such vocal exhibitions are nothing more than ecstatic unknowable gibberish that spring from and feed upon the emotional state of those involved. A review of the New Testament reveals the proper understanding and use of “tongues.” Such a review represented by an adaptation from a book by Gil Rugh, Senior Pastor of the Indian Hills Community Church, Lincoln, Nebraska, follows:
Tongues Refer to Earthly Languages
The
gift of tongues was a supernatural ability to speak an earthly foreign language
without special training. Tongues comes from the word glossa, so
the word glossalalia means "to speak in tongues." The word
tongues (glossa), when used in the New Testament, either refers to the
physical tongue and its basic meaning or to the language that the tongue speaks.
Law of First Mention
In
hermeneutics (the study of interpreting the Scripture), there is a Law of First
Mention which simply refers to the fact that the first mention of an area, a
fact or a word, becomes a pattern for subsequent uses of that word or expression
or phenomenon.
Unless there is good reason to think that God changed this particular ability and gift, we have to assume that the gift of tongues will be the same throughout the entire Bible.
Gift of Tongues Was a Sign to Unbelievers and a Sign of Judgment to Israel
"So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers." (1
Corinthians 14:22).
The particular people here who have stammering lips and a foreign tongue are the Assyrians. The presence of the Assyrian language in Israel is an indication and a sign to Israel that God is judging them for their unbelief.
Tongues Were One of the Sign Gifts
The
sign gifts, remember, were temporary gifts to validate the ministry of the
apostles (2 Corinthians 12:12). Tongues are specifically called a
sign in 1 Corinthians 14:22.
The Gift of Tongues Is not Present Today
What about the ecstatic speech that is a common phenomenon today? Speaking in tongues as it is practiced today is not Biblical tongues. (We have already established that Biblical tongues refer to foreign languages.) The babblings of today have their origin in the mystery cults of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, and it was practiced by unbelievers.
Experiences Can Be Contrary to the Bible
Be careful not to sift your Bible through what is going on—instead, know what the Bible says and determine your experiences in light of the standard—the Word of God! That can be very difficult because you cannot deny your experiences. However, a person on drugs might have beautiful mind-boggling experiences, even religious experiences, but those experiences are not bringing him closer to God. His experience is wrong and drawing him farther away from God's truth. Some experiences are distractions from God's Word.
Book of Acts Is a Transition Book from the Old Testament to the New Testament
The
Book of Acts records a transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament,
the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. God deals differently with men in the New
Testament. Throughout the Old Testament, beginning with Abraham all the way
down to Acts 2, God was dealing primarily with one group of people—the
Jews. Then in Acts 2, God begins a totally new work; He is going to deal
with all peoples and all nations and make them one people.
Tongues Were a Sign to the Jews that Gentiles Were to Be Part of the Body of Christ
In
the first part of Acts 10, God had to give Peter a special vision so that
Peter would be willing to speak to Cornelius and his household (Gentiles). "While
Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who
were listening to the message" (Acts 10:44). What was the reaction
of the Jewish believers? "And all the circumcised believers (Jews) who had
come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured
out upon the Gentiles also" (Acts 10:45). The Jews recognized this
sign and its significance (Acts 11:15 18).
God Began a New Work in Book of Acts
In Acts 19, when Paul meets the disciples of John at Ephesus, Paul asks them if they have received the Holy Spirit and they answer, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit" (Acts 19:2). Now some people take this verse as proof that you do not receive the Holy Spirit when you first believe. However, if you read on in Acts 19, you find out they have been baptized "into John's baptism."
If
they have been part of John's ministry, they know that there is a
Holy Spirit (John 1:33), so Acts 19:2 cannot mean they did not
know about the Holy Spirit. What it obviously means is that they had not heard
whether the Holy Spirit had been given—that the Holy Spirit was here performing
His baptizing ministry.
Self-Edification Was Never the Main Purpose of Tongues
The
main purpose of tongues, as already pointed out, was to give a sign to
unbelievers. Self-edification was a side effect that the believer enjoyed for
merely exercising his gift of tongues (true of every believer who exercises his
gift). The modern day Pentecostal movement, on the other hand, stresses
edification for the individual believer and the Church, never
as a sign to unbelievers.
Now, God does not need to be edified (built up to further maturity). 1 Corinthians 14:2 does not encourage a believer to speak to God in tongues (a different language), for He will understand whatever language I use, including English. The advantage of my using English is that you and other believers will understand and that is the purpose of spiritual gifts—to communicate, to serve and to build up other believers.
Not Every Believer Was Expected to Have Gift of Tongues
"All
do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they?"
(1 Corinthians 12:30). The gift of tongues was limited to a few, even
back in the time of the apostles. How can people today say that to have the
Holy Spirit a believer must speak in tongues? In light of 1 Corinthians 12,
that is clearly unbiblical.
Why do some put the emphasis on tongues when Paul said that he had a greater desire for the people to prophesy? I do not have anyone coming around to my door saying that I need to get the gift of prophecy, but I have people praying that I will get the gift of tongues. Paul is saying that he would like them to have all the gifts, but he would rather that they have the greater gifts. Paul is not saying that speaking in tongues is the gift they should have. If they should have any, it should be the greater gift of prophecy. The gift of tongues was the least important of all the spiritual gifts. It was last on the list (see 1 Corinthians 12:28).
Interpreting Tongues
The gift of interpreting tongues was the supernatural ability to understand a foreign language without special training, and then to communicate the message to other believers. Interpreting tongues was directly related to the gift of tongues.
In the gift of tongues, God would speak directly through a person, and he would begin to speak in a language that they had never learned. Someone else would interpret even though he also had never learned that language, and the other believers were built up (edified) as they heard the special message from God.
Tongues Was of No Value Unless It Was Interpreted
Tongues had no value as a spiritual gift unless there was interpretation;
because that was the only way the message was beneficial to the Church. When a
tongue was interpreted, it basically became a form of prophecy. A person
received a message from God and gave that message in an intelligible form. If
someone preaches the Word in Italian, it does nothing for me because I do not
understand the language. Interpretation is the key, and you cannot have tongues
without interpretation.
Paul compares speaking in tongues with musical instruments producing meaningful
sounds—"Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound,
if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is
played on the flute or on the harp?" (1 Corinthians 14:7).
Summary of the Gift of Tongues
The combined purposes of the gift of tongues and interpreting tongues (you
cannot Biblically separate the two gifts) were: (1) used as a sign to confirm
the work of the apostles and (2) to edify the Church (never for personal
edification).
Both Pentecostals and Charismatics believe in modern day apostles and prophets in their endeavor to restore the “original” Church structure. Many within these movements also believe that God uses believers to both prophesy and for other “extra-biblical” revelations. All of which does not conform to God’s Word. The following, also from Gil Rugh’s work, as mentioned previously, fairly represents what the Bible says on these matters.
First Requirement of an Apostle--An Eye Witness to the Resurrection
In
Acts 1, Judas (the one who betrayed Christ) had already committed suicide
and the remaining eleven apostles want to replace him. The name apostle
is a particular name of these twelve men even though there are other men
that probably have the gift of apostleship such as Barnabas, Silas, possibly
James and a couple of others. However, the prime focal point is on these twelve
men. As the eleven apostles seek to replace Judas, there are certain
requirements that person will have to meet. The first requirement of an apostle
is that he must have had a firsthand experience of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. "One of these (apostles) must become a witness with us of His
resurrection" (Acts 1:22). Paul defends his apostleship with proof
that he, too, had seen the resurrected Christ. "Am I not free? Am I not an
apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?" (1 Corinthians 9:1).
There Are No Apostles Today
In light of the fact that a definite requirement of an apostle was that he must have seen the resurrected Christ, apostles ceased to exist when these first-century men died. Today, some will say that apostles and missionaries are the same thing. It is true that missionary is the Latin word for the Greek word apostle, and both words mean "one who is sent with a special message." However, the similarity ends there, for the twelve apostles had to have seen the resurrected Jesus Christ.
Second Requirement--Apostles Possessed Miracle Gifts (Signs, Wonders and Miracles)
The
second qualification of an apostle carries us into some of the other gifts.
Paul's second evidence that he is a true apostle is that God has given him
supernatural power in the form of miracle gifts. "The signs of a true apostle
were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and
miracles" (2 Corinthians 12:12). Now if there were all kinds of
Christians running around Corinth doing miracles, Paul's statement would lose
any validity, for then miracles cease to be a sign of a true apostle.
Miracles Validated the Apostles' Ministries
"God
also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and
by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will" (Hebrews 2:4).
Even at this point in writing (about 68 A.D.), the miracles are written as
something that is a past event— that those who heard salvation from Christ had
their ministry confirmed (validated) by signs and wonders and
different kinds of miracles. All the verbs in Hebrews 2:3 are in the
past tense (even before 70 A.D.). "After it was
(past tense) at the first
spoken (past tense)
through the Lord, it was confirmed
(past tense) to us by those who heard
(past tense)" (Hebrews 2:3).
Read Luke 16:27 31, where Abraham tells a man in Hades that if a man does not believe the written Scriptures (Moses and the prophets), he will not believe even if someone is raised from the dead. The proof of that is obvious. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and people still did not believe—and still do not believe today.
The Apostles and the Prophets Laid the Foundation of the Church
The gift of apostleship is a foundational one and the most important gift of all the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:28). The ministry of the apostles and prophets was to lay the foundation of the Church. They brought the truth regarding the one Body in Christ to mankind. In Ephesians 2:19, Paul says we are "fellow-citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."
The
importance of the apostles and prophets is explained in Ephesians 2:20, "Having
been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus
Himself being the corner stone."
The same is true in a spiritual sense. The apostles and prophets have finished the foundation of the Church and no one should be trying to lay a new foundation. The foundation is done, settled and secure. We are building on that foundation. The gift of apostleship is finished.
Summary of the Gift of Apostleship
The
gift of apostleship is the most important gift given, but it was a temporary
gift (one that has not continued down to our present day). There were two
qualifications for an apostle. First, he had to have been an eye witness to the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. (He had to have seen Jesus Christ bodily after the
resurrection.) The second qualification was that miracles had to accompany an
apostle's ministry to validate or confirm his position as an apostle. Paul met
both qualifications as an apostle.
What Is a Prophet?
Basically, a prophet had the ability to receive direct revelation from God and then to communicate that revelation to men. Some identify the gift of prophecy with the gift of preaching today, but that is not correct because the key element is missing—a preacher does not get his messages directly from God. A pastor gets his message from the Word of God (hopefully), but God does not appear to him in dreams and visions or by speaking directly to him.
Since a prophet got his message from God, it was free from error, which obviously is not the case today! God cannot communicate mistakes! If God had so garbled the message He wanted to reveal to man and there were so many mistakes that the meaning was not clear, then God would not have revealed Himself at all.
Prophecy Is Necessary Only for Additional Revelation
The gift of prophecy is only necessary when God wants to give additional revelation (when He wants to reveal more of Himself than He has revealed up to that point in time). A person who says the gift of prophecy is present today is in the same breath saying the Bible is not complete and that we need more material revealed from God. However, God says the Bible is complete and there is no additional revelation. "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book" (Revelation 22:18).
The Revelation the Apostles and Prophets Received is the Foundation of the Church
Just as the apostles received direct revelation from God, so did the prophets. That revelation is the foundation upon which the Church is built. Many times in both the Old and New Testaments, those who received the direct revelation were given the power to perform miracles and foretell the future. "One of them (the prophets) named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit (prophesy) that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius" (Acts 11:28). Later, Agabus was prophesying the imprisonment of Paul (Acts 21:11). There were female prophets as well as men. "Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses" (Acts 21:9). The Old Testament also has examples of prophetesses such as Huldah, Deborah and Miriam. Paul is classified among the prophets and teachers as well as an apostle (Acts 13:1). Not every prophet was an apostle, but in all probability every apostle had the gift of prophecy.
God Gave Prophets Direct Guidance
Connected with the gift of prophecy is direct guidance from God. "A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying 'Come over to Macedonia and help us' " (Acts 16:9). God does not communicate in visions to Christians today. There is no need for God to appear in visions. He has given us the Bible as our guide for direction in our daily lives. In a number of other places the Spirit directly reveals Himself to Paul and tells him something concerning his future activities (see Acts 18:9-10; 22:17 21; 27:23, 24).
Summary of the Gift of Prophecy
We have noted that the gift of prophecy was temporary. There are three main reasons which we have covered:
1.
When the New Testament was completed, there was no reason for additional
revelation and the gift of prophecy is always connected with receiving new
material from God. You do not find prophets getting material from God just to
reiterate what God has already done or said.
Both Pentecostals and Charismatics place a great emphasis on healings and miracles. In fact, many of their special events and crusades emphasize these two expressions while at the same time placing little significance in bringing the lost to a saving position in Jesus Christ. More from Gil Rugh regarding these two issues follows:
Gift of Miracles Is the Ability to Do Supernatural Works of Power
The gift of miracles is one of the most exciting gifts, along with healing and tongues. These gifts probably generate the most interest and discussion today. The gift of miracles is broad and includes much more than miraculous healing. Any act which includes God's intervention into natural processes is included in the gift of miracles.
Miracles Are Always Done in Connection With an Apostle In the New Testament
Acts 5 is the familiar account of Ananias and Sapphira with Peter as the
apostle. Ananias and Sapphira had sold some land and had given some of the
proceeds to the Church, but they pretended that they were giving all
the proceeds to the Church.
Tabitha Came Back to Life in Peter's Ministry
Tabitha (Dorcas) died and Peter the Apostle came and performed a miracle by bringing her back to life. "But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up" (Acts 9:40). This miracle might be classified as a gift of healing, but it goes beyond the scope of just healing. It goes into the realm of the gift of miracles, although the two gifts are closely related.
Paul Stops a Magician with a Miracle
Elymas the magician was causing problems for Paul and hindering his ministry. Paul looked the magician right in the eye and said, "'Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.' And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand" (Acts 13:11). This is a miracle of divine intervention by the Lord through Paul.
Other Miracles in Paul's Ministry
Paul was holding a late meeting and a certain young man named Eutychus was
listening from a third floor window. He fell asleep and fell out of the window
and was killed. Paul brought Eutychus back to life. "But Paul went down and
fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, 'Do not be troubled, for his
life is in him' " (Acts 20:10).
Three Main Periods of Miracles in the Bible
The
first period of miracles occurs during Moses' ministry and the events
surrounding it. Each time there is a miracle, the purpose of the miracle is to
validate the message and testimony of Moses.
God Does Miracles Today
God performs miracles today, but the gift of miracles is not in use today. The gift of miracles is seen in examples in the book of Acts where a given individual has a supernatural ability to do those works of power as a result of the Holy Spirit within him. God does the miraculous today in various ways, one of which is answering the prayers of believers.
Summary of Gift of Miracles
The
primary purpose of miracles was to validate the message of one of God's
spokesmen (either apostle or prophet) or their ministry. That does not mean
that others did not do miracles, but it means that the miracles were always the
result of the ministry of an apostle or a prophet. For example, the Corinthian
church had a gift of miracles, but they had that as a direct result of the
Apostle Paul's ministry.
Definition of Gift of Healing vs. Miracles
The
gift of healing is a variation of miracles, but it is more limited because
healings had to do with restoring the physical body back to health. Miracles
went beyond that. Miracles included the negative aspect in that the
supernatural power was used not just to heal blindness, but to make the seeing
blind; not just to bring to life but to put to death. The gift of healing was
limited to the positive aspect of healing all types of illnesses at will.
Gift of Healing Began to Fade During Paul's Earthly Ministry
When Paul was writing to Timothy he advised him on his health. "No longer drink
water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your
frequent ailments" (1 Timothy 5:23). Why didn't Paul just heal Timothy?
Timothy had enough problems without having stomach problems. Why didn't Paul
just use his gift of healing instead of giving him some advice on how to help
the problem?
God Does Heal Today in Response to Prayer
It is important to remember that God does heal today and He still does the miraculous in various ways. We do not put limits on God's power, but there is Biblical evidence that the gift of healing has been taken away and that there are not people today who have special power to heal. (Note: James 5:14, 15 is in the broader context of sin in the life of a believer and the illness incurred is the punishment for that sin (1 Corinthians 11:30). The calling for the elders is indicative of a desire to deal with the sin. As such, this passage is not related to the gift of healing.)
Experiences Do not Negate God's Word
Your experience does not determine what is genuine; the Word of God determines what is genuine even if you say you saw someone healed on television or as an eye witness. You must first determine what the Word says about this subject and adjust your thinking accordingly. Do not adjust God's Word to the experience.
Summary of Gift of Healing
The main purpose of the gift of healing, just as the gift of miracles, was to validate God's message. Each time the gift of healing was administered, it was done in connection with one of the apostles. Since the apostles were primarily teachers of the Word and not healers, when the message they brought was authenticated and established, there was no longer a need for the gift of healing or any of the other miraculous gifts.
Conclusion
The Charismatic Movement of today, which in this writer’s opinion includes the Pentecostals, is essentially a “religion” that is by-and-large outside the biblical parameters of Christianity. Although there are many within the movement that are truly saved, they have identified themselves with a system that basically denies the authority and necessity of the Word of God, while giving full vent to personal emotional and extra-biblical experiences.
And finally and as a bonus to this study, the following message from Jack Van Impe covers many of the points previously discussed.
A MESSAGE OF HOPE Jack Van Impe www.jvim.com First, I want to make it unquestionably clear that ALL - ALL - of God's children are born into the family of God and BAPTIZED by the Holy Spirit the moment Christ is received. John 3:5 states: . . . Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. This second birth makes all the newly born ones members of the family of God. John 1:12 says: But as many as received [Christ], to them gave he power to become the sons [and daughters] of God. Since one can only be a son or daughter through birth, it is clear that the placing into God's family by a second birth takes place at salvation. However, there is more to it because one is also BAPTIZED into the Body of Christ as the birth occurs. First Corinthians 12:13 states: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . . . . This baptism takes place at salvation and happens to every believer. Theological accurateness will not allow the BAPTISM to be a subsequent or second work of grace but the original work of grace that occurs at salvation. It is erroneous for one who is saved to seek the BAPTISM when one's salvation produced the BAPTISM. In fact, . . . if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9) and we . . . have been all made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Since ALL means ALL and since this text has to do with salvation, then ALL who are saved have the Spirit or they are lost. This Holy Spirit dwells in every believer, but He does not necessarily control each believer. Hence, there is a "filling of the Spirit" which every believer, after salvation, may enjoy many times. There is one BAPTISM, but many fillings. That is why the literal Greek for Ephesians 5:18 is: Be being filled with the Spirit. Now the filling and the baptism are two distinct things. The BAPTISM is the placing of a redeemed sinner into the Body of Christ at salvation, and the FILLING is one's yielding to the INDWELLING Spirit's control. Let's delve deeper into the subject. Not only does every believer receive the BAPTISM at salvation, but he receives one or more of the GIFTS as well. Much is heard today about the Charismatic Movement. May I shock you and boldly say that every Christian is a charismatic! You see the word charismatic or charisma only means a gift from the Holy Spirit. Every believer is a partaker of the Holy Spirit at salvation when the Holy Spirit baptizes him into Christ's body. It is at this baptism that the Spirit bestows a gift or His "charisma" upon every newborn child of God. Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 are the "charismatic" or "gift" chapters. Ephesians 4:11 describes gifted or charismatic ministers: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers. The apostles were first because the church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20). Once the foundation was laid and the original apostles died, this gift ceased. Prophets were next and the gift was not only foretelling the future but forth telling the facts of the gospel. Today gifted preachers giving forth the "good news" manifest this evidence of the Spirit. Evangelists, pastors, and teachers are self-explanatory and are also recipients of the Spirit's gifts. This often explains the failures of men who seek the ministry as a vocation. They have never been called and "charismatized" by the Spirit and therefore fail. It is not a job; it is a holy calling. Gifts for All Believers The gifts that follow are signs all believers possess. I want to again emphasize that every believer receives at least one of the gifts of the Spirit. They are freely presented to all believers as a result of the BAPTISM that placed the gifted believer into the Body of Christ. Romans 12 speaks about this Body into which all God's children are placed and states in verses 4-8: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing [yes, differing] according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity [or liberality]; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Now verse 3 states: . . . God hath dealt to EVERY man the measure of faith (emphasis mine.) Some have one of the gifts mentioned already. Others must find theirs in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11: For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: BUT ALL THESE [Hear it again: ALL THESE] worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to EVERY MAN [How many? - EVERY MAN] severally as he [the Holy Spirit] will (emphasis mine). It is not the gift one seeks that is important but the gift the Holy Spirit wills to give by grace. Please stay with the Book. Different Gifts for All Believers It is not God's will that all members of the Body should have the same gift. When one has three eyes or seven fingers, he is a misfit. So it is with the Body of Christ when there is an improper balance of gifts. That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:15-18: If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, l am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, l am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. Every part of the body is needed and every member in Christ's body has a gift that fits into the program as needed. So we again find in verse 28: And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. We will consider the gifts in their totality before concluding the book. The point I want to make now is that every believer has at least one gift, and each believer's gift differs. Verses 29-31: Are all apostles? [The answer is obviously `No!'] are all prophets? [No!] are all teachers? [No!] are all workers of miracles? [No!] Have all the gifts of healing? [No!] do all speak with tongues? [No!] do all interpret? [No!] But covet earnestly the best gifts . . . . The gifts described as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers lead to prophesying, ministering, teaching, exhorting, giving, ruling, and showing mercy. Clergy and laymen may experience these gifts. These are so understandable that we will only explain the final listing of nine gifts, described in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.
Although we have all of the Holy Spirit, He does not always have all of us. When He does, holy living becomes the believer's experience. One can have the baptism and the gifts and still be carnal because he does not have the filling. One can minister the gifts and be out of fellowship with God—evangelists, pastors, and teachers often do. It takes a Spirit-filled Christian to minister properly. The gift is for service; the filling is for spiritual service. |