Kenneth LaPrade, Theological Conference
2022.
What are
some of the key Scriptural indicators that genuine Christians truly have holy
spirit? Which doubtful modern paradigms about the reality of holy spirit should
be carefully avoided?
First off,
we should note briefly that “holy spirit” does not biblically mean “the
Third Person of the Trinity”, a misguided philosophical/theological paradigm,
mainly developed in the fourth century CE. It [holy spirit] never sends
greetings to Christian assemblies in any New Testament letters, and it is never
approached in prayer (or worshipped) throughout the whole Bible! Since the
earliest of creation records (Genesis 1:2) when God effectively brought order
to a disordered chaos, the “spirit of God” was active, “moving over the face of
the waters.” The term “spirit”, among its varied uses, is rendered “breath” (Job
4:9 – Hebrew: ruach) or “wind” (John 3:8 – Greek: pneuma). God’s
“breath”, so to speak, or “holy breath”, is indicative of God’s personal, active
involvement with his creation, including his intimate interaction with human
beings, created originally in His image. God’s “spirit” or “breath” is no more
a distinct “Person” - apart from God [the Father] than your “breath”, (perhaps
as a metaphor for your heartfelt thoughts), could be a separate “person” – a
“person” other than you!
Jesus was metaphorically
“baptizing” folks in holy spirit (John 1:33) throughout the gospels, as clearly
evidenced by his powerful commissioning of the twelve in Luke 9:1-2 and then
the seventy in Luke 10: 1-2, 17. He spoke prophetically in John, chapter 7 of a
future, more complete outpouring of the spirit:
“On the
great, last day of the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up and shouted out,
‘If any of you is in need of drink let him come to me and let him drink. He who
believes and obeys me, out of his heart, as Scripture has said, will come
rivers of living water.’ He meant by this the spirit which would be given to
those who believed and obeyed him. The Spirit was not yet present because Jesus
had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39 – OGF)
It is
relevant that Jesus, here in John 7, essentially used the same vocabulary about
“living water” – (as associated with “Life of the Age to Come”) which he had
used previously with the Samaritan woman (John 4:7-26). In that John, chapter 4
context Jesus and the Samaritan woman discussed the vital subject of worship.
Jesus’ striking conclusion was, “… The hour is coming when you will worship the
Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” (v. 21b) In other words, the
worship of the Father (the one true God) would no longer be confined to (or
dependent on) being at certain physical locations, such as the temple in
Jerusalem.
“‘Yet a time
is coming, and has now come, when the true worshippers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such people to worship Him.
God communicates through spirit [Literally: ‘God is spirit’], and those who
worship Him must worship Him on the basis of spirit and truth.’” (John 4:23-24
– OGF)
So, God is “spirit”,
just as “God is light” (1st John 1:5) and “God is love” (1st
John 4:8), meaning that He is full of such pure, dynamic qualities! As
reflected in the OGF translation above (in John 4:24), God is extremely capable
and desirous of communicating spiritually to true worshippers!
Notice that
true worship, in this context, has nothing at all to do with having a certain
spiritual gift! We will briefly consider a few ideas about such “gifts” toward
the end of this presentation.
Upon mentioning
solid, prerequisite information, it has to be truly grasped that the seed of
the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:1, 14-15/Mt. 13:19) must be carefully assimilated
with repentance (authentic change) for a person to experience a genuine,
biblical “new birth” – 1st Peter 1:3, 22-25! Within such repentant
Kingdom thinking, according to the Apostle Peter, “holy spirit” is given to those
who obey God (Acts 5:32), just as salvation is given to those who obey Jesus,
according to Hebrews 5:9. To vaguely proclaim that God freely gives his holy
spirit to all who latch onto a few unclear, partial truths mixed with a
batch of traditional lies would be a wildly far-fetched proposition! The
“spirit of truth” is not congruent at all with blatant falsity!
Along with
the above observation, it can be noted that bona fide Christians receive the
holy spirit by initially believing the true Gospel - and by the obedient action
of being baptized. (In Ephesians 1:13 – OGF): “In him [Messiah Jesus], after
you heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation, you believed it
and were sealed with the holy spirit of the promise, which is a down-payment on
our future inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the
praise of His glory.” (In 1st Cor. 12:13 - OGF): “For in one spirit
we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free; we
all were made to drink of one spirit.” Peter clarified these basic, ordered
ideas in Acts 2:38-39 (OGF), when he said, “Repent and be baptized, each one of
you, in the name of Jesus Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you
will receive the gift of holy spirit. This promise is for you and for your
children, and for all who are far off – as many as the Lord our God will invite
to Himself.” [The unique changed order of events (for obvious,
contextual reasons - in Acts 10:34-48) involving the first group of believing Gentiles,
does not really contradict this general order in Acts 2.] Among other things,
one sees plainly that holy spirit reception, biblically, does not
involve “a second work of grace” (or a third), according to some budding,
erroneous theologies near the year of 1900 CE. The gift of holy spirit is
obviously linked in the Bible to initial, obedient faith.
A section of
1st Corinthians chapter 2 (v. 9-16 – OGF) elucidates the essential,
enlightening benefits of having God’s spirit which is equated with “the mind of
Christ.” Having holy spirit and truly walking in it stands in stark contrast
with the natural (unspiritual) condition of others:
“But as it
is written [in a beautiful reference to our future Kingdom inheritance],
‘Things that no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, things which have not
entered the mind of man; all these God has prepared for those who love Him.’
But to us God revealed them through the spirit, because the spirit searches all
things, even the deep things of God. Who among men knows the things of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him? In the same way no one knows the
things of God except the spirit of God. But we did not receive the spirit of
the world, but the spirit which comes from God, so that we might understand the
things that are graciously given to us by God. And we speak these things not in
words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by spirit, explaining
spiritual things with spiritual words. Now an unconverted person does not
receive the things of the spirit of God, because it is foolishness to him, and
he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The person
who is spiritual discerns all things, but he himself is evaluated by no one.
For ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?’ But we have
the mind of Messiah.”
Part of a
footnote in the OGF Translation (p. 409) states - about v. 16 here, “The Hebrew
of Isa. 40:13 cited here has ‘spirit’ and the LXX which Paul cites has ‘mind.’
This shows that mind and spirit (and often ‘heart’) are more or less
synonymous.” We might remember Jesus’ brief statement (in John 6:63) about his
own spiritual teachings: “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit
and are life.” Several similar terms like “holy spirit”, “spirit”, “the
anointing” (1st John 2:20, 26), “the spirit of God”, and “the spirit
of Jesus” (Acts 16:7) are altogether used hundreds of times in the N.T. in
multi-faceted ways to indicate God’s very personal “heart”, so to speak, being
poured into actively loving, obedient children. Such uses are never hazy or
nebulous, but they are focused on the understanding of concepts expressed with
plain words!
For example,
one can read 1st Thessalonians 4:1-8 and view how having holy spirit
is linked to absolute integrity in sexual matters, or see in 2nd
Corinthians, chapter 3 that being “written on” (metaphorically) “with the
spirit of the living God” makes us competent as servants of a new covenant “in
the spirit”, instead of the old, “fading away” Mosaic covenant which is “in the
letter.” One can perceive in Romans, chapter 8 that having God’s spirit – and
living by it - is linked to victory over the current inclinations of human
nature, and it (God’s spirit) testifies with our spirit that we are children of
God, “heirs of God” and “fellow heirs with the Messiah” in the hope to “share
in the [future] glory with him.” One can also grasp the deep hope-love
connection in Romans 5:5, “And hope does not disappoint us, because the love of
God has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit which was given to
us.” Along with that foundation of unselfish love, one can discern that in
severe contrast (Galatians 5:19-21) with dark, negative, demeaning, divisive
tendencies; one can live by fruitful, spiritual norms: “But if you are led by
the spirit, you are not under the [Mosaic] Law…. But the fruit of the spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 6:18, 22-23 –
OGF) I might add here that, according to accurate Scriptural integrity, this “fruit
of the spirit” described in Galatians (along with the other few, basic aspects
of holy spirit which we have observed so far) are simply dependent upon the
obedient, loving response of authentic faith in the words of the Gospel
of the Kingdom of God. They are not at all based on having (or not having) a
certain “spiritual gift” or operating a specific, so-called “manifestation” - other
than having the vital connection of holy spirit itself.
Slowly
reading John, (chapters 13-17) provides a full, rich context for Jesus’ last
set of instructions to his disciples before his intense time of suffering.
Within those chapters, Jesus highlights what would be given spiritually
to his followers after his death and resurrection:
“’If you
love me you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give
you another Counselor to be with you forever. This is the spirit of truth. The
world is incapable of receiving it, because it does not see it or know it, but
you do know it, because it remains with you and will be in you. I will not
leave you as orphans; I am coming to you…. If anyone loves me, he will preserve
and obey my Gospel of the Kingdom word. My Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our residence with him. I have spoken these things to you
while I am still with you. But the Counselor [parakletos], the holy
spirit, which the Father will send as representing and reproducing my presence,
will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.’” (John
14:15-18, 23b, 25-26 – OGF)
“’When the
Counselor comes, the one I will send you from the Father, the spirit of truth
which proceeds from the Father, this Counselor will testify about me.’” (John
15:26 – OGF)
“’Nevertheless
I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I am going away,
because if I do not go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will
send him to you. When he [The Counselor] comes he will convict the world about
sin, doing right, and judgment …. I still have many things to tell you, but you
are not able to bear them now. When that spirit of truth comes, it will guide
you into all the truth. The spirit will not speak on its own initiative, but it
will speak whatever it hears, and it will declare to you what is going to
happen in the future. It will glorify me because it will receive from me and
show it to you. Everything which the Father has is mine. That is why I told you
that the spirit will take from what is mine and declare it to you.’” (John
16:7-8, 12-15 – OGF)
There is a
Scriptural passage in 1st John 2:1-2 (OGF) which is intimately
linked to what we have glimpsed about the Counselor in John 14, 15, and 16. The
Counselor [parakletos] essentially means one who stands alongside
another to counsel, to guide, to comfort, to help, or to defend. “My little
children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if
anyone sins we have an advocate [parakletos] with the Father – Jesus
Messiah, the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only ours, but for the whole world.”
The “advocate”
of 1st John 2:1 should not be thought of as something distinct from
the “Counselor” of John, chapters 14-16, but as spiritually referring to the
same thing. The resurrected, ascended Jesus is “the lord” and “the spirit” in 2nd
Corinthians 3:17-18 whom we should look at as we are transformed! So,
our Counselor or Advocate is the spiritual “great high priest” Jesus - to whom
we have continual, intimate access, according to Hebrews 4:14-16.
One might
prayerfully consider how much the Counselor’s work (in accurately reminding us
of Jesus’ words and actions) was initially accomplished throughout years and
decades of early, first century folks preaching Jesus’ Gospel words - and eventually
during the actual writing and preserving of N.T. Scriptures. Nowadays, when we grow
in grace, while embracing this masterful, coherent written testimony about
Jesus’ Kingdom Gospel, holy spirit from God’s mighty heart energizes our
faithful, obedient, loving response!
Part Two
Before
closing this introductory “holy spirit” presentation, I would like to briefly
comment on a type of modern “spirituality” which I heartily embraced during
previous decades. Nowadays, I feel compelled to lovingly warn folks about some
possible dangers embedded in my own, once-cherished background, coupled with
strong feelings. I speak of such things from having been a long-time “insider”
(over 40 years) in Pentecostal-Charismatic activity in an intimate way.
The movement
of which I was a part is rooted in the unquestioning idea that “speaking in
tongues” is the initial evidence (potentially for all Christians)
of being “baptized in holy spirit.” With a heart full of prayerful kindness
toward my beloved, enthusiastic colleagues, I know I should respectfully challenge
this relatively modern doctrine of “initial evidence” and the assumption that “speaking
in tongues” is for all Christians. I do not engage here in an argument of
“cessationist” thinking vs. “continuationist” beliefs, but I do freely make a
few observations, while carefully comparing certain biblical standards
with the assertive mentality of a fast-growing modern movement - already for a
bit more than 120 years. This has been an area of focused personal study for me
for about five years now; frankly, before these last few years, I had only
studied such “spiritual” ideas (for decades) from a zealously defensive one-sided
view.
To give some
historical background, interested people should know that this bold “initial
evidence” theology (associated with “latter rain” symbolism) and the priority
of tongues for all believers - was specifically developed by Charles Fox Parham
(perhaps in the late 1890s) leading up to vivid claims of a new outpouring of
holy spirit, with a new outbreak of “speaking in tongues” in Topeka, Kansas on
January 1st, 1901. Parham’s new doctrinal focus and practice was soon
moved to Houston, Texas where a student named William J. Seymour accepted
Parham’s teachings. Seymour then took these ideas to Los Angeles where he
initiated the fervent Azusa Street revival from 1906 to 1909. Basically, this
whole development of 120 years of Pentecostal/ Charismatic activity stems from
the theology and practice of these two men: Parham and Seymour. To grasp the
significance of Parham’s unique, pioneering role, you might want to check out
this kindly written, thorough biography: Fields White Unto Harvest: Charles
F. Parham and the Missionary Origins of Pentecostalism by James R. Goff,
Jr. To merely get a brief overview of the notable impact of these two men, you
can read pages 42-62 of The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements: The History and
the Error by David W. Cloud.
One thing
which I have noticed about my specific background and its indoctrination in
“spiritual matters” is how certain Bible passages had to be either ignored or
vastly distorted (taking advantage of a certain KJV weakness) in order to
ardently promote the “tongues for all” bandwagon. Early in 1st
Corinthians, chapter 12, certain verses were explained in the following way,
using the KJV. Verse 7 was highly emphasized: “But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” The word “but” was adamantly
assumed to introduce a strong contrast to the overall, previous context of
diversity in gifts, services, and activities being distributed by God in
distinct ways. Nevertheless, the word “but” is not the strong contrasting Greek
word alla, but rather it is the weak connective de which is most often
translated “and.” Even though the word “manifestation” is singular, we
were taught to regard it as involving a “package deal” of the nine evidences
listed in verses 8-10. Even though the Greek text (in verses 8-10) is not at
all conducive to the following rendering, we would boldly assert that the “to
one” and “to another” had nothing to do with individual people being
designated, but that this vocabulary was connected to the word “profit” in
verse 7. So, (in v. 8) we wrongly regarded the text as saying, “For one [profit]
is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, for another [profit] the word
of knowledge, etc.” I have checked more than a hundred translations (English
and Spanish), but none corroborate this wildly distorted explanation, which
is the zealous doctrinal basis for the “all nine all the time” mentality of the
old Way ministry.
With this
incongruent “For one profit” emphasis firmly in mind, we were led to
dishonestly disregard an important clear passage in the latter part of chapter
12, (in verses 27-31 - OGF):
“Now you are
the body of Messiah, and each one is a part of it. God has appointed in the
church: first Apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then those who perform
miracles; then gifts of healings, of helping, leadership, and different
languages. Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do
all perform miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in
different languages? No. Do all interpret languages? No. But you should
earnestly desire the best gifts [collectively, as God wisely distributes them].
And now I will show you the most excellent way.”
Without reading
carefully here, and, by using deceitful suppositions to support our distorted
rendition of verses 7-10 (of 1st Cor. 12), we would lightly chalk
off verses 27-31 to mean that, even though all believers can inherently
operate all 9 “manifestations” listed in verses 8-10, they would not do so in a
church meeting, so the meetings would not run too long! How sloppy we
were to explain away this significant passage! Everyone knows that not all are Apostles
or prophets – whether at a “meeting” or not! These verses (27-31) are dynamically
compatible with the whole thematic context of chapter 12, which
indicates extremely diverse functions and gifts distributed differently
according to God’s sovereign choices. All of 1st Corinthians,
chapter 12, flows harmoniously with the distinctive giving of diverse gifts to
individual folks with quite different functions in Romans 12:4-8.
When
analyzing some phrases in chapter 14 (of 1st Cor.), we would isolate
certain partial phrases, and give them a contradictory spin. We would promote a
downright strange interpretation of a partial quote of v.4 to suggest that all
could and should speak in tongues a lot (in their private lives) in order
to edify themselves spiritually. Thus, we would violate the clear context
in which efforts at self-edification are actually being scolded; public
utterances must be to edify the whole congregation! Verse 5a (another
partial quote) was used to exalt “tongues for all” thinking, as if God wills
all believers to do it (obviously contradicting 1st Cor. 12:27-31.)
Nevertheless, Paul’s wise use of rhetoric in the whole of verse 5 is to
emphasize that even if all could speak in languages (which would be great –
hypothetically), it is of greater importance and priority that all speak
“prophecy” - in a language understood by all present!
We could go
on here (in verse 18) and see the same type of distortion, through another
exalted partial quote of Paul’s overall rhetoric – v. 18 (which almost
certainly uses hyperbole to make a dramatic contrast.) Verse 19
emphatically completes the thought. By the way, I am not suggesting that all
people from any Pentecostal-Charismatic background twist the Scriptures in the
same way in which I was badly misled.
Anyway, the
“initial evidence” theology of being baptized in holy spirit (with tongues for
all) can certainly be challenged in many more ways; I have merely scratched the
surface so far. One unfortunate consequence of my former mindset is that there exists
a zealous compulsion to “lead” people into the experience of tongues –
something never seen in Acts 2, 10, 19 or 1st Corinthians
12-14. I was personally involved in guiding hundreds into such an exuberant
experience! We (in our old group) would get folks to relax, open their mouths,
and engage in deep breathing for a few minutes (after having taught them our detailed,
distorted analysis of 1st Cor. 12-14.) We would then discuss the
mechanics of speech with them: how one must vocalize utterances by pushing up
sounds from the throat, while moving one’s tongue and lips to formulate unknown
“words” – supposedly. If one would follow such a procedure, and begin to emit
syllable-like noises, it was boldly assumed that they were speaking real
languages! (Of course, that is a huge assumption, especially when no evidence
of genuine language is present.) The whole system was a blatant manmade
approach to producing unintelligible sounds.
Sadly, all
this was done for decades (in my old group) among folks without any inkling of
the Scriptural Gospel of Kingdom, since we were terribly misled, convinced
dispensationalists - who regarded Jesus’ words as not addressed to
Christians. Due to the overwhelming evidence of pure gibberish among us along
with clever sounding, invented “interpretations”, it is most likely that none
of us had “holy spirit” at all.
I remember
well the strange obstacles we often faced, such as the prevalence of very, very
repetitive “tongues.” For example: “ham – ara -kava – shava / ham – ara – kava
– shava, etc., in which one vowel sound: “ah” (in this case) would be
constantly used. We would consider this as an example of “baby tongues” and
engage in repeated “practice sessions” to try to remedy the situation. In
addition to this weakness, many would speak in tongues for perhaps 30 seconds
and give an interpretation of about 5 seconds (or some other such disparity.)
So, we would practice timing. Personally, I was extremely zealous about leading
such practice sessions for years!
Also, formulaic,
bland, pedantic “interpretations” badly plagued our meetings: “My little
children”, “I love you so much”, or “I am closer to you than your very breath.”
Some phrased their messages in King James vocabulary: “Yeah, verily, thou shalt
stand fast on my word.” It did not dawn on me until many years later that we
were all involved in speaking (and falsely interpreting) sheer gobble-de-gook,
even among those of us whose tongues were more language-like than others. None
of what I have described here in our recent times even closely resembles what
was going on in Acts 2, 10, and 19 and what Paul needed to earnestly correct
among those at Corinth, where bona fide languages were truly spoken – but sadly
misused.
I know very
well how difficult it is to change after being trained for years to
follow certain mental patterns regarding spiritual matters, while confidently supposing
that one has been fully in sync with Scriptural integrity. I do not doubt the
sincerity of those who pursue the type of spirituality to which I was formerly
addicted for decades, but I did come to question the authenticity of the “fruit”
among us who have zealously assumed that modern “tongues for all” theology (and
“latter rain” assertions) are somehow parallel to records in Acts and 1st
Corinthians. For example, my old adherence to “tongues as absolute proof”
coupled with “once saved, always saved” theology – inspired me to be extremely arrogant,
rash, and even reckless in many of my decisions for years, instead of being
biblically humble (Mt. 5:3.) I am not presuming that others have been as
haughty as I once was. I even rejected obedience to God regarding getting
baptized for many years, since I proudly asserted dogmatically that my tongues
were proof of essential holy spirit baptism, as replacing water baptism
(according to a misguided theology.) I was also guilty at times of looking
down at Christians who did not speak in tongues, as if they were somehow less
spiritual than I was. In addition to my defects, I sadly witnessed the increasing,
defensive hostility of my peers when I began to question several dubious traditions
among us.
I do not expect anyone at all to change his/
her views simply because I urgently needed to undergo a dramatic paradigm shift
in my own life. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that some folks, whether from my
background or from a similar set of experiences, might be motivated to re-study
this whole “holy spirit” subject slowly and carefully, while being open-minded
toward distinct, possibly valid points of view. I know how easy it is to reject
new information out of hand, due to strong emotional attachments and being
prone to knee-jerk reactions, but I am sure that none of us really want to be
stuck in fruitless ruts of self-deception! Two books which carefully analyze
how real, miraculous speaking of previously unlearned languages powerfully
served as a striking sign to unbelievers (1st Cor. 14:22) in
1st century culture (a relatively unknown topic nowadays) are Tongues
Will Cease… But When? by Raymond C. Faircloth and Tongues Shall Cease? by
Tony Watts. Two other books which provide some keen, valuable research about
the growing, modern “tongues” movement are Speaking in Tongues: A
Cross-Cultural Study of Glossolalia by Felicitas D. Goodman and Tongues
of Men and Angels (a controversial and sympathetic analysis of Speaking in
Tongues) by William J. Samarin. Another source of thoughtful
research into the modern phenomenon is The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues
by John P. Kildahl. Finally, I attach here a website address for an online
study (presented in Two Informative Parts) which specifically offers some
thoughtful, gentle rebuttal for those whose doctrinal background in
understanding the subject of “tongues” is perhaps similar to my previous
mindset:
http://www.godskingdomfirst.org/SpeakingInTongues.htm
Vital “holy spirit” Connections
What are
some of the key Scriptural indicators that genuine Christians truly have holy
spirit? Which doubtful modern paradigms about the reality of holy spirit should
be carefully avoided?
First off,
we should note briefly that “holy spirit” does not biblically mean “the
Third Person of the Trinity”, a misguided philosophical/theological paradigm,
mainly developed in the fourth century CE. It [holy spirit] never sends
greetings to Christian assemblies in any New Testament letters, and it is never
approached in prayer (or worshipped) throughout the whole Bible! Since the
earliest of creation records (Genesis 1:2) when God effectively brought order
to a disordered chaos, the “spirit of God” was active, “moving over the face of
the waters.” The term “spirit”, among its varied uses, is rendered “breath” (Job
4:9 – Hebrew: ruach) or “wind” (John 3:8 – Greek: pneuma). God’s
“breath”, so to speak, or “holy breath”, is indicative of God’s personal, active
involvement with his creation, including his intimate interaction with human
beings, created originally in His image. God’s “spirit” or “breath” is no more
a distinct “Person” - apart from God [the Father] than your “breath”, (perhaps
as a metaphor for your heartfelt thoughts), could be a separate “person” – a
“person” other than you!
Jesus was metaphorically
“baptizing” folks in holy spirit (John 1:33) throughout the gospels, as clearly
evidenced by his powerful commissioning of the twelve in Luke 9:1-2 and then
the seventy in Luke 10: 1-2, 17. He spoke prophetically in John, chapter 7 of a
future, more complete outpouring of the spirit:
“On the
great, last day of the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up and shouted out,
‘If any of you is in need of drink let him come to me and let him drink. He who
believes and obeys me, out of his heart, as Scripture has said, will come
rivers of living water.’ He meant by this the spirit which would be given to
those who believed and obeyed him. The Spirit was not yet present because Jesus
had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39 – OGF)
It is
relevant that Jesus, here in John 7, essentially used the same vocabulary about
“living water” – (as associated with “Life of the Age to Come”) which he had
used previously with the Samaritan woman (John 4:7-26). In that John, chapter 4
context Jesus and the Samaritan woman discussed the vital subject of worship.
Jesus’ striking conclusion was, “… The hour is coming when you will worship the
Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” (v. 21b) In other words, the
worship of the Father (the one true God) would no longer be confined to (or
dependent on) being at certain physical locations, such as the temple in
Jerusalem.
“‘Yet a time
is coming, and has now come, when the true worshippers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such people to worship Him.
God communicates through spirit [Literally: ‘God is spirit’], and those who
worship Him must worship Him on the basis of spirit and truth.’” (John 4:23-24
– OGF)
So, God is “spirit”,
just as “God is light” (1st John 1:5) and “God is love” (1st
John 4:8), meaning that He is full of such pure, dynamic qualities! As
reflected in the OGF translation above (in John 4:24), God is extremely capable
and desirous of communicating spiritually to true worshippers!
Notice that
true worship, in this context, has nothing at all to do with having a certain
spiritual gift! We will briefly consider a few ideas about such “gifts” toward
the end of this presentation.
Upon mentioning
solid, prerequisite information, it has to be truly grasped that the seed of
the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:1, 14-15/Mt. 13:19) must be carefully assimilated
with repentance (authentic change) for a person to experience a genuine,
biblical “new birth” – 1st Peter 1:3, 22-25! Within such repentant
Kingdom thinking, according to the Apostle Peter, “holy spirit” is given to those
who obey God (Acts 5:32), just as salvation is given to those who obey Jesus,
according to Hebrews 5:9. To vaguely proclaim that God freely gives his holy
spirit to all who latch onto a few unclear, partial truths mixed with a
batch of traditional lies would be a wildly far-fetched proposition! The
“spirit of truth” is not congruent at all with blatant falsity!
Along with
the above observation, it can be noted that bona fide Christians receive the
holy spirit by initially believing the true Gospel - and by the obedient action
of being baptized. (In Ephesians 1:13-14 – OGF): “In him [Messiah Jesus], after
you heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation, you believed it
and were sealed with the holy spirit of the promise, which is a down-payment on
our future inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the
praise of His glory.” (In 1st Cor. 12:13 - OGF): “For in one spirit
we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free; we
all were made to drink of one spirit.” Peter clarified these basic, ordered
ideas in Acts 2:38-39 (OGF), when he said, “Repent and be baptized, each one of
you, in the name of Jesus Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you
will receive the gift of holy spirit. This promise is for you and for your
children, and for all who are far off – as many as the Lord our God will invite
to Himself.” [The unique changed order of events (for obvious,
contextual reasons - in Acts 10:34-48) involving the first group of believing Gentiles,
does not really contradict this general order in Acts 2.] Among other things,
one sees plainly that holy spirit reception, biblically, does not
involve “a second work of grace” (or a third), according to some budding,
erroneous theologies near the year of 1900 CE. The gift of holy spirit is
obviously linked in the Bible to initial, obedient faith.
A section of
1st Corinthians chapter 2 (v. 9-16 – OGF) elucidates the essential,
enlightening benefits of having God’s spirit which is equated with “the mind of
Christ.” Having holy spirit and truly walking in it stands in stark contrast
with the natural (unspiritual) condition of others:
“But as it
is written [in a beautiful reference to our future Kingdom inheritance],
‘Things that no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, things which have not
entered the mind of man; all these God has prepared for those who love Him.’
But to us God revealed them through the spirit, because the spirit searches all
things, even the deep things of God. Who among men knows the things of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him? In the same way no one knows the
things of God except the spirit of God. But we did not receive the spirit of
the world, but the spirit which comes from God, so that we might understand the
things that are graciously given to us by God. And we speak these things not in
words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by spirit, explaining
spiritual things with spiritual words. Now an unconverted person does not
receive the things of the spirit of God, because it is foolishness to him, and
he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The person
who is spiritual discerns all things, but he himself is evaluated by no one.
For ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?’ But we have
the mind of Messiah.”
Part of a
footnote in the OGF Translation (p. 409) states - about v. 16 here, “The Hebrew
of Isa. 40:13 cited here has ‘spirit’ and the LXX which Paul cites has ‘mind.’
This shows that mind and spirit (and often ‘heart’) are more or less
synonymous.” We might remember Jesus’ brief statement (in John 6:63) about his
own spiritual teachings: “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit
and are life.” Several similar terms like “holy spirit”, “spirit”, “the
anointing” (1st John 2:20, 26), “the spirit of God”, and “the spirit
of Jesus” (Acts 16:7) are altogether used hundreds of times in the N.T. in
multi-faceted ways to indicate God’s very personal “heart”, so to speak, being
poured into actively loving, obedient children. Such uses are never hazy or
nebulous, but they are focused on the understanding of concepts expressed with
plain words!
For example,
one can read 1st Thessalonians 4:1-8 and view how having holy spirit
is linked to absolute integrity in sexual matters, or see in 2nd
Corinthians, chapter 3 that being “written on” (metaphorically) “with the
spirit of the living God” makes us competent as servants of a new covenant “in
the spirit”, instead of the old, “fading away” Mosaic covenant which is “in the
letter.” One can perceive in Romans, chapter 8 that having God’s spirit – and
living by it - is linked to victory over the current inclinations of human
nature, and it (God’s spirit) testifies with our spirit that we are children of
God, “heirs of God” and “fellow heirs with the Messiah” in the hope to “share
in the [future] glory with him.” One can also grasp the deep hope-love
connection in Romans 5:5, “And hope does not disappoint us, because the love of
God has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit which was given to
us.” Along with that foundation of unselfish love, one can discern that in
severe contrast (Galatians 5:19-21) with dark, negative, demeaning, divisive
tendencies; one can live by fruitful, spiritual norms: “But if you are led by
the spirit, you are not under the [Mosaic] Law…. But the fruit of the spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 6:18, 22-23 –
OGF) I might add here that, according to accurate Scriptural integrity, this “fruit
of the spirit” described in Galatians (along with the other few, basic aspects
of holy spirit which we have observed so far) are simply dependent upon the
obedient, loving response of authentic faith in the words of the Gospel
of the Kingdom of God. They are not at all based on having (or not having) a
certain “spiritual gift” or operating a specific, so-called “manifestation” - other
than having the vital connection of holy spirit itself.
Slowly
reading John, (chapters 13-17) provides a full, rich context for Jesus’ last
set of instructions to his disciples before his intense time of suffering.
Within those chapters, Jesus highlights what would be given spiritually
to his followers after his death and resurrection:
“’If you
love me you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give
you another Counselor to be with you forever. This is the spirit of truth. The
world is incapable of receiving it, because it does not see it or know it, but
you do know it, because it remains with you and will be in you. I will not
leave you as orphans; I am coming to you…. If anyone loves me, he will preserve
and obey my Gospel of the Kingdom word. My Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our residence with him. I have spoken these things to you
while I am still with you. But the Counselor [parakletos], the holy
spirit, which the Father will send as representing and reproducing my presence,
will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.’” (John
14:15-18, 23b, 25-26 – OGF)
“’When the
Counselor comes, the one I will send you from the Father, the spirit of truth
which proceeds from the Father, this Counselor will testify about me.’” (John
15:26 – OGF)
“’Nevertheless
I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I am going away,
because if I do not go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will
send him to you. When he [The Counselor] comes he will convict the world about
sin, doing right, and judgment …. I still have many things to tell you, but you
are not able to bear them now. When that spirit of truth comes, it will guide
you into all the truth. The spirit will not speak on its own initiative, but it
will speak whatever it hears, and it will declare to you what is going to
happen in the future. It will glorify me because it will receive from me and
show it to you. Everything which the Father has is mine. That is why I told you
that the spirit will take from what is mine and declare it to you.’” (John
16:7-8, 12-15 – OGF)
There is a
Scriptural passage in 1st John 2:1-2 (OGF) which is intimately
linked to what we have glimpsed about the Counselor in John 14, 15, and 16. The
Counselor [parakletos] essentially means one who stands alongside
another to counsel, to guide, to comfort, to help, or to defend. “My little
children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if
anyone sins we have an advocate [parakletos] with the Father – Jesus
Messiah, the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only ours, but for the whole world.”
The “advocate”
of 1st John 2:1 should not be thought of as something distinct from
the “Counselor” of John, chapters 14-16, but as spiritually referring to the
same thing. The resurrected, ascended Jesus is “the lord” and “the spirit” in 2nd
Corinthians 3:17-18 whom we should look at as we are transformed! So,
our Counselor or Advocate is the spiritual “great high priest” Jesus - to whom
we have continual, intimate access, according to Hebrews 4:14-16.
One might
prayerfully consider how much the Counselor’s work (in accurately reminding us
of Jesus’ words and actions) was initially accomplished throughout years and
decades of early, first century folks preaching Jesus’ Gospel words - and eventually
during the actual writing and preserving of N.T. Scriptures. Nowadays, when we grow
in grace, while embracing this masterful, coherent written testimony about
Jesus’ Kingdom Gospel, holy spirit from God’s mighty heart energizes our
faithful, obedient, loving response!
Part Two
Before
closing this introductory “holy spirit” presentation, I would like to briefly
comment on a type of modern “spirituality” which I heartily embraced during
previous decades. Nowadays, I feel compelled to lovingly warn folks about some
possible dangers embedded in my own, once-cherished background, coupled with
strong feelings. I speak of such things from having been a long-time “insider”
(over 40 years) in Pentecostal-Charismatic activity in an intimate way.
The movement
of which I was a part is rooted in the unquestioning idea that “speaking in
tongues” is the initial evidence (potentially for all Christians)
of being “baptized in holy spirit.” With a heart full of prayerful kindness
toward my beloved, enthusiastic colleagues, I know I should respectfully challenge
this relatively modern doctrine of “initial evidence” and the assumption that “speaking
in tongues” is for all Christians. I do not engage here in an argument of
“cessationist” thinking vs. “continuationist” beliefs, but I do freely make a
few observations, while carefully comparing certain biblical standards
with the assertive mentality of a fast-growing modern movement - already for a
bit more than 120 years. This has been an area of focused personal study for me
for about five years now; frankly, before these last few years, I had only
studied such “spiritual” ideas (for decades) from a zealously defensive one-sided
view.
To give some
historical background, interested people should know that this bold “initial
evidence” theology (associated with “latter rain” symbolism) and the priority
of tongues for all believers - was specifically developed by Charles Fox Parham
(perhaps in the late 1890s) leading up to vivid claims of a new outpouring of
holy spirit, with a new outbreak of “speaking in tongues” in Topeka, Kansas on
January 1st, 1901. Parham’s new doctrinal focus and practice was soon
moved to Houston, Texas where a student named William J. Seymour accepted
Parham’s teachings. Seymour then took these ideas to Los Angeles where he
initiated the fervent Azusa Street revival from 1906 to 1909. Basically, this
whole development of 120 years of Pentecostal/ Charismatic activity stems from
the theology and practice of these two men: Parham and Seymour. To grasp the
significance of Parham’s unique, pioneering role, you might want to check out
this kindly written, thorough biography: Fields White Unto Harvest: Charles
F. Parham and the Missionary Origins of Pentecostalism by James R. Goff,
Jr. To merely get a brief overview of the notable impact of these two men, you
can read pages 42-62 of The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements: The History and
the Error by David W. Cloud.
One thing
which I have noticed about my specific background and its indoctrination in
“spiritual matters” is how certain Bible passages had to be either ignored or
vastly distorted (taking advantage of a certain KJV weakness) in order to
ardently promote the “tongues for all” bandwagon. Early in 1st
Corinthians, chapter 12, certain verses were explained in the following way,
using the KJV. Verse 7 was highly emphasized: “But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” The word “but” was adamantly
assumed to introduce a strong contrast to the overall, previous context of
diversity in gifts, services, and activities being distributed by God in
distinct ways. Nevertheless, the word “but” is not the strong contrasting Greek
word alla, but rather it is the weak connective de which is most often
translated “and.” Even though the word “manifestation” is singular, we
were taught to regard it as involving a “package deal” of the nine evidences
listed in verses 8-10. Even though the Greek text (in verses 8-10) is not at
all conducive to the following rendering, we would boldly assert that the “to
one” and “to another” had nothing to do with individual people being
designated, but that this vocabulary was connected to the word “profit” in
verse 7. So, (in v. 8) we wrongly regarded the text as saying, “For one [profit]
is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, for another [profit] the word
of knowledge, etc.” I have checked more than a hundred translations (English
and Spanish), but none corroborate this wildly distorted explanation, which
is the zealous doctrinal basis for the “all nine all the time” mentality of the
old Way ministry.
With this
incongruent “For one profit” emphasis firmly in mind, we were led to
dishonestly disregard an important clear passage in the latter part of chapter
12, (in verses 27-31 - OGF):
“Now you are
the body of Messiah, and each one is a part of it. God has appointed in the
church: first Apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then those who perform
miracles; then gifts of healings, of helping, leadership, and different
languages. Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do
all perform miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in
different languages? No. Do all interpret languages? No. But you should
earnestly desire the best gifts [collectively, as God wisely distributes them].
And now I will show you the most excellent way.”
Without reading
carefully here, and, by using deceitful suppositions to support our distorted
rendition of verses 7-10 (of 1st Cor. 12), we would lightly chalk
off verses 27-31 to mean that, even though all believers can inherently
operate all 9 “manifestations” listed in verses 8-10, they would not do so in a
church meeting, so the meetings would not run too long! How sloppy we
were to explain away this significant passage! Everyone knows that not all are Apostles
or prophets – whether at a “meeting” or not! These verses (27-31) are dynamically
compatible with the whole thematic context of chapter 12, which
indicates extremely diverse functions and gifts distributed differently
according to God’s sovereign choices. All of 1st Corinthians,
chapter 12, flows harmoniously with the distinctive giving of diverse gifts to
individual folks with quite different functions in Romans 12:4-8.
When
analyzing some phrases in chapter 14 (of 1st Cor.), we would isolate
certain partial phrases, and give them a contradictory spin. We would promote a
downright strange interpretation of a partial quote of v.4 to suggest that all
could and should speak in tongues a lot (in their private lives) in order
to edify themselves spiritually. Thus, we would violate the clear context
in which efforts at self-edification are actually being scolded; public
utterances must be to edify the whole congregation! Verse 5a (another
partial quote) was used to exalt “tongues for all” thinking, as if God wills
all believers to do it (obviously contradicting 1st Cor. 12:27-31.)
Nevertheless, Paul’s wise use of rhetoric in the whole of verse 5 is to
emphasize that even if all could speak in languages (which would be great –
hypothetically), it is of greater importance and priority that all speak
“prophecy” - in a language understood by all present!
We could go
on here (in verse 18) and see the same type of distortion, through another
exalted partial quote of Paul’s overall rhetoric – v. 18 (which almost
certainly uses hyperbole to make a dramatic contrast.) Verse 19
emphatically completes the thought. By the way, I am not suggesting that all
people from any Pentecostal-Charismatic background twist the Scriptures in the
same way in which I was badly misled.
Anyway, the
“initial evidence” theology of being baptized in holy spirit (with tongues for
all) can certainly be challenged in many more ways; I have merely scratched the
surface so far. One unfortunate consequence of my former mindset is that there exists
a zealous compulsion to “lead” people into the experience of tongues –
something never seen in Acts 2, 10, 19 or 1st Corinthians
12-14. I was personally involved in guiding hundreds into such an exuberant
experience! We (in our old group) would get folks to relax, open their mouths,
and engage in deep breathing for a few minutes (after having taught them our detailed,
distorted analysis of 1st Cor. 12-14.) We would then discuss the
mechanics of speech with them: how one must vocalize utterances by pushing up
sounds from the throat, while moving one’s tongue and lips to formulate unknown
“words” – supposedly. If one would follow such a procedure, and begin to emit
syllable-like noises, it was boldly assumed that they were speaking real
languages! (Of course, that is a huge assumption, especially when no evidence
of genuine language is present.) The whole system was a blatant manmade
approach to producing unintelligible sounds.
Sadly, all
this was done for decades (in my old group) among folks without any inkling of
the Scriptural Gospel of Kingdom, since we were terribly misled, convinced
dispensationalists - who regarded Jesus’ words as not addressed to
Christians. Due to the overwhelming evidence of pure gibberish among us along
with clever sounding, invented “interpretations”, it is most likely that none
of us had “holy spirit” at all.
I remember
well the strange obstacles we often faced, such as the prevalence of very, very
repetitive “tongues.” For example: “ham – ara -kava – shava / ham – ara – kava
– shava, etc., in which one vowel sound: “ah” (in this case) would be
constantly used. We would consider this as an example of “baby tongues” and
engage in repeated “practice sessions” to try to remedy the situation. In
addition to this weakness, many would speak in tongues for perhaps 30 seconds
and give an interpretation of about 5 seconds (or some other such disparity.)
So, we would practice timing. Personally, I was extremely zealous about leading
such practice sessions for years!
Also, formulaic,
bland, pedantic “interpretations” badly plagued our meetings: “My little
children”, “I love you so much”, or “I am closer to you than your very breath.”
Some phrased their messages in King James vocabulary: “Yeah, verily, thou shalt
stand fast on my word.” It did not dawn on me until many years later that we
were all involved in speaking (and falsely interpreting) sheer gobble-de-gook,
even among those of us whose tongues were more language-like than others. None
of what I have described here in our recent times even closely resembles what
was going on in Acts 2, 10, and 19 and what Paul needed to earnestly correct
among those at Corinth, where bona fide languages were truly spoken – but sadly
misused.
I know very
well how difficult it is to change after being trained for years to
follow certain mental patterns regarding spiritual matters, while confidently supposing
that one has been fully in sync with Scriptural integrity. I do not doubt the
sincerity of those who pursue the type of spirituality to which I was formerly
addicted for decades, but I did come to question the authenticity of the “fruit”
among us who have zealously assumed that modern “tongues for all” theology (and
“latter rain” assertions) are somehow parallel to records in Acts and 1st
Corinthians. For example, my old adherence to “tongues as absolute proof”
coupled with “once saved, always saved” theology – inspired me to be extremely arrogant,
rash, and even reckless in many of my decisions for years, instead of being
biblically humble (Mt. 5:3.) I am not presuming that others have been as
haughty as I once was. I even rejected obedience to God regarding getting
baptized for many years, since I proudly asserted dogmatically that my tongues
were proof of essential holy spirit baptism, as replacing water baptism
(according to a misguided theology.) I was also guilty at times of looking
down at Christians who did not speak in tongues, as if they were somehow less
spiritual than I was. In addition to my defects, I sadly witnessed the increasing,
defensive hostility of my peers when I began to question several dubious traditions
among us.
I do not expect anyone at all to change his/
her views simply because I urgently needed to undergo a dramatic paradigm shift
in my own life. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that some folks, whether from my
background or from a similar set of experiences, might be motivated to re-study
this whole “holy spirit” subject slowly and carefully, while being open-minded
toward distinct, possibly valid points of view. I know how easy it is to reject
new information out of hand, due to strong emotional attachments and being
prone to knee-jerk reactions, but I am sure that none of us really want to be
stuck in fruitless ruts of self-deception! Two books which carefully analyze
how real, miraculous speaking of previously unlearned languages powerfully
served as a striking sign to unbelievers (1st Cor. 14:22) in
1st century culture (a relatively unknown topic nowadays) are Tongues
Will Cease… But When? by Raymond C. Faircloth and Tongues Shall Cease? by
Tony Watts. Two other books which provide some keen, valuable research about
the growing, modern “tongues” movement are Speaking in Tongues: A
Cross-Cultural Study of Glossolalia by Felicitas D. Goodman and Tongues
of Men and Angels (a controversial and sympathetic analysis of Speaking in
Tongues) by William J. Samarin. Another source of thoughtful
research into the modern phenomenon is The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues
by John P. Kildahl. Finally, I attach here a website address for an online
study (presented in Two Informative Parts) which specifically offers some
thoughtful, gentle rebuttal for those whose doctrinal background in
understanding the subject of “tongues” is perhaps similar to my previous
mindset:
http://www.godskingdomfirst.org/SpeakingInTongues.htm
