‘Now the
Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’ (2 Cor. 3:17)
‘Quench
not the Spirit.’
(1 Thess. 5:19 AV)
AS WE saw in the previous section of
this book, the picture given to us in the book of Acts is that of a freely
working movement of the Holy Spirit, which expanded and grew as it moved out
powerfully and irresistibly from Jerusalem, eventually reaching the very heart
of the Roman Empire.
When we study carefully how the apostles
lived and acted in relation to the Holy Spirit, we can see that they saw
themselves as servants of God who were anointed and equipped for the task to
which he had called them, but at the same time they were deeply sensitive to
the Holy Spirit and to his leading. They
understood and saw him to be the real, albeit unseen leader of the work they
were involved in, and so, as they followed and cooperated with him and
gave themselves to the work of ministry, he was able to do many great and
powerful things through them.
The two verses above indicate that the
apostles honoured and gave freedom to the Holy Spirit to work through
them. They exhorted believers not only
to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but also to not quench his moving, presence
and power amongst and through them (Eph. 5:18-20, 1 Thess. 5:19). They understood the Church to be the
community of redeemed people among whom God dwelt by his Spirit, and through
whom it was God’s desire and intention to move freely and powerfully without
being hindered.
The apostles knew that the Holy Spirit was
a Person, a divine Person, the promised Comforter who had been sent by the
Father to head up the work of applying the victory of Christ’s redemption to a
lost world (John chs.14-16). So they
knew that it was his intention of working through them to win many people to
faith in Christ, and thereby to see the kingdom of God spread and increase in
this world. If you will, the Holy Spirit
was the general, and the apostles and early believers were his obedient
officers and foot-soldiers.
As a Person, the Holy Spirit has a will
and actively works; he has a mind and knows the deep things of God; he reveals
spiritual truth; he can be grieved; he can be lied to; he speaks, leads and
guides, and so on (Luke 2:26; Eph. 4:30; Acts 5:3, 8:29, 13:2,4; Rom. 8:14,27;
1 Cor. 2:10-11, 12:11; Rev. 2:7).
Therefore, the apostles and the early believers knew that they had to
honour the Holy Spirit and his role in their life, if he was to have the freedom
to be able to work through them. They
needed to live close to God and to be sensitive to his presence and moving, so
that God’s purposes could be worked out through them.
Factors which
hinder the free working of the Holy Spirit
However, as any student of church history
quickly learns, this kind of freedom and powerful working of the Holy Spirit,
which the early apostles experienced and walked in, has to a large extent been
lost in many parts of the believing church of Jesus Christ. There are many factors which have led to
this, some of which continue to affect wider church life today. Among them are the following:
·
Many
denominations do not believe in the need for believers to be filled with the
Holy Spirit as a distinct experience after conversion, and so they do not lay
hands on believers and pray to this end as the early apostles did. Effectively, they think that a believer
receives at the time of their conversion everything that God has for them. The natural consequence of this wrong belief
is the widespread powerlessness and lack of spiritual fire that is evident in
many denominational churches. The
baptism in the Holy Spirit is a crucial experience in the life of a Christian,
and it makes a huge difference to their spiritual life. It fills them with fire and joy, and it
empowers their walk with God. It fills
them with boldness to share the gospel freely and openly, and it often leads to
the development of spiritual gifts in their life.
·
Many
denominational and institutional churches embrace historical theological
systems (such as Calvinism, for example) above the broader biblical theology of
Scripture. These theological systems
have a habit of explaining away truths which have to do with the presence and
power of God, believing that they are not relevant for our day, instead of
embracing fully and freely the totality of the revelation of God’s word.
·
In
particular, cessationism (the false teaching that the Holy Spirit’s charismatic
gifts passed away and stopped functioning at the end of the apostolic age)
steals away from the Church the very charismatic gifts that God purposes to use
to build it up.[1]
·
Many
otherwise faithful churches miss out on the free presence and working of the
Holy Spirit amongst them, because of their adherence to formal and set orders
of service. This inevitably leads to a
waning of God’s presence in a church, and it may well lead to its spiritual
death and ultimate closure.
·
The
discouragement of free worship and speaking in tongues in public meetings. People are often fearful of anything that is
free or ‘new,’ especially if emotional or physical phenomena take place. Therefore, they seek to exert human
control over what happens in public meetings, so that these things do
not happen.
·
Many
churches do not believe in healing or exorcism, and some of them rarely if ever
practise the laying on of hands (except for the ordination or appointment of a
new minister).
·
Although
the ministries of many theologically conservative ministers lack the overt
demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power, yet it cannot be denied
that many of them live a godly life and display the fruit of the Spirit in
their character. However, godliness of
character, important as it is, is not a substitute for the overt demonstration
of the Spirit’s power. These are
both in the Scriptures.
·
Believers
who come from a conservative theological background can sometimes be very
polemical in their views, and they can be stridently vocal in their
denunciation of anything charismatic or Pentecostal. Sometimes missionaries who work with
theologically conservative agencies are required to sign declarations that
prohibit them from associating or working with anyone who speaks in tongues
(because they see this as being ‘from the devil’).
·
When
charismatic or Pentecostal believers attempt to co-work interdenominationally
with those of a conservative theological persuasion, they invariably find
themselves up against the same barrier time after time, that of the Holy Spirit’s
ministry. And in such attempts to work
in unity within the body of Christ, it is invariably conservative practices
that predominate, and charismatics are the ones who have to compromise what
they know to be true both in word and practice, for the sake of keeping unity.
Unfortunately, history has shown time and
time again that it is easy for believers to resist and refuse the work of the
Holy Spirit, and to use theological beliefs and doctrine to justify their
apparent lack of need for his dynamic presence and working in the Church. As a result, his free working is
quenched, and he is often grieved away.
The fear of phenomena which may occur when the Holy
Spirit is working
Being brought up in the Pentecostal
movement as a young believer made me accustomed to the truth of a believer’s
need for the baptism of the Holy Spirit after conversion. It also therefore meant that I was used to
experiencing the fresh, heart-warming presence of God in meetings. Free, open praise and praying in tongues was
encouraged in my church, and there was good, regular preaching of the gospel
and the word of God. Hands were laid on
those who sought prayer for healing, and there were also sometimes messages in
tongues with interpretation.
However, as I walked with God and followed
him more widely in life and ministry, I became aware of many of the above
factors and the effects that they have on wider church life and ministry. In particular, I understood that many believers
are reserved or confused when it comes to the active working of the Holy Spirit
in meetings, because they are afraid of phenomena that they do not understand
and which they cannot control, or because they have simply been taught that
these things are not for today or, worse, that they are from the devil. This would include the physical phenomena of
falling down,[2] and trembling or shaking, or
the emotional phenomenon of people weeping and crying or even laughing in
meetings.
Such fears have sometimes been exacerbated
by the observable practice of some charismatic preachers clearly pushing people
over when they are laying hands on them, in order to make it seem that God is
working powerfully through them. This
deceptive (and, to my mind, repugnant) practice puts many believers off from
seeking the real and genuine moving of the Holy Spirit.
An article which helped me personally in
regard to all this, is Jonathan Edwards’ The Distinguishing Marks of a Work
of the Spirit of God. He wrote this
article in 1741 as a response to phenomena which were occurring in the powerful
revivals which took place in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1734 onwards. This very helpful article is just as
relevant today as it was in the day when it was written, and it gives us
a good handle with which to be able to discern and understand phenomena which
may occur when the Holy Spirit is working powerfully. As its title suggests, it helps us to
distinguish the marks of a genuine work or operation of the Holy Spirit.
The gist of Edwards’ argument in this
article (which is based around the passage in 1 John ch.4) is that the
genuineness of a work of God, particularly when the Holy Spirit is working
powerfully, should not be judged by any of the following criteria:
·
The
degree to which people may be affected by it, particularly when it comes to
conviction of sin or showing zeal for God.
·
Any
physical effects that it may have upon people, such as emotion and tears,
trembling, groaning, crying out, the failing of physical strength, and
prostrations (i.e. falling down).
·
Any
occasional inappropriateness of conduct which may occur among believers, or
errors of judgement on their part.
·
Any
delusions which may be caused by satanic activity.
Many believers do make the mistake
of judging (or rather misjudging) a work of the Holy Spirit by the above
factors, which are precisely the ones that Edwards says should not be used as a
measuring stick. And because of their
misjudgement, they often resist or reject what God is doing.
Instead of this, the
genuineness of a work of God should be judged by the longer-term fruit that it
produces in people’s lives, according to the following criteria:
·
Does
it glorify Jesus the Son of God as Lord?
·
Does
it work against the interests of Satan’s kingdom?
·
Does
it create in believers a greater regard for the Scriptures and establish them
in the word of God?
·
Does
it lead people into truth and convince them of it?
·
And,
does it produce in believers a genuine love for God and for other people?
It is these criteria, which focus
on the longer-term fruit of a work of God, which help us to determine the
nature of what is happening.
In particular, physical and
emotional phenomena such as weeping, crying out, falling to the ground, and
physical trembling or shaking, can indeed sometimes have their source in the
working of the Holy Spirit, because this can certainly affect people in such
ways. The fact that we may not be
used to them occurring should not put us off from what is happening. However, these phenomena can also sometimes
be rooted in merely psychological or human action, or even, on occasion, in the
influence of evil spirits upon people. Understanding
the source or cause of these phenomena is therefore a matter for prayer,
discernment and wisdom.
However, such phenomena as
these are invariably evident to a degree whenever the Holy Spirit works in
power. The experience of
revivals in Christian history, as documented by many different writers,
testifies to the truth of this.
For example, as I noted in the
first section of this book, John Wesley honoured the presence and power of the
Holy Spirit in his ministry. He
understood and accepted that when and where the Holy Spirit is freely working,
there will invariably be manifestations of his power and its effects upon
people, and such phenomena were a regular occurrence in his meetings. As his Journal repeatedly testifies,
people would often shake, tremble, weep, cry out and/or fall prostrate on the
floor. Furthermore, there were many
cases of physical healing in his ministry, and he would also cast evil spirits
out of people when these manifested.
In other words, and put simply, we
should not be afraid of such phenomena happening, and we should not cease
praying and desiring for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully simply because
these things may occur. On the contrary,
if we are praying for God to work powerfully, then actually we should expect
that these kinds of things might sometimes occur. So when they do happen, we should respond to
them prayerfully and with wisdom, seeking God to give us discernment and
understanding as to what is happening with someone, rather than just
withdrawing and backing off. It is
vain to hope and pray that God will work among us in power, and yet at the same
time to expect that manifestations of his power and its effects upon people in
such ways will not happen. That
would be to resist the Holy Spirit, and hence to hinder his working among us.
Studying Edwards’ article, and
understanding that he was right, proved to be a great help to me in getting
some of my own questions sorted out, and as a consequence to become much freer
in trusting the Holy Spirit as he works in ministry.
So set the Holy Spirit free!
When we got married and embarked on a life
of ministry together, my wife Suela and I committed and covenanted ourselves
before God to teaching and practice which are overtly charismatic and
pentecostal. We preach and teach freely
on topics related to the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in ministry, and we
trust him to work freely through us as we step out in faith in ministering to
people. Although we are gifted
differently, yet between us we have seen God working in our own and other
people’s lives through visions and dreams; we have seen people filled with the
Holy Spirit and praying freely in tongues; we have seen the Lord heal the sick
and set people free from spiritual oppression on many occasions; people
sometimes fall down under the influence of God’s presence as we lay hands on
them, and they often tremble or shake as his power works in them.
We have seen that it is particularly
through free praise and worship, and by giving believers the freedom to pray
openly in tongues, that the Holy Spirit’s presence is felt in a tangible way
amongst us. He invariably draws very
close! As our mind and heart become one
with his through worship, we sometimes receive words of knowledge and prophetic
words for people in a meeting, and there is regular testimony as to how God is
working in people’s lives. Many
believers have found a new freedom in their walk with the Lord. They have been revived and refreshed in their
spiritual life, and they have found a new joy in their faith. Many people (including newcomers) say that
they really feel the presence of God in a strong way in our meetings. Our believers have become used to us giving
freedom to the Holy Spirit to move and seeing phenomena such as those mentioned
above take place in our meetings, and they embrace these as part of what God is
doing.
However, we do not seek after
phenomena. That would be to seek the
gift rather than the Giver, and such a misplaced focus would inevitably lead us
into deception sooner or later. We just
seek to worship God and to enjoy his presence, and to allow the Holy Spirit to
work freely among us. As he does this,
such phenomena invariably occur, and people’s lives are changed. But if they do not happen on any given
occasion, we do not worry about it, we simply move on to the next phase of our
meeting. We never try to force things in
a human way or to manipulate things into happening.
There is all the difference in the world
between ministering but being in human control of a meeting and what happens in
it, and taking steps of faith to allow the Holy Spirit himself to minister
freely in a meeting. Giving him the
freedom to work and trusting him to do his work in people’s lives, makes a huge
difference!
It is when we give freedom to the Holy
Spirit to work in whatever way he chooses, that he is then free to work among
us. It is a mistake to predetermine how
or when or in what way he can or cannot work.
If we want his blessing, then we have to surrender completely to
him and give him the freedom to work in whatever way he himself chooses. If we really do want him, then that’s the way
it has to be! If we don’t or won’t give
him this freedom, then we have no right to expect that he will work powerfully
among us. In fact, quite simply, he won’t!
So we should be encouraged to seek more of
the things of the Holy Spirit, and to recognise the place that he should have
in our life and ministry, and to give him this place. He is a divine Person, not a feeling, a
power, or an atmosphere. He was sent by
the Father to indwell us as believers and as the corporate Church, with the
specific intention that he can empower us, and move freely among and through us
to fulfil God’s purpose of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ
and to build up the Body of Christ into maturity.
In order that the Holy Spirit might be
able to fulfil his work of ministry through us, we need to recognise and honour
his place and role in the life of the Church, and we must give him
complete freedom to do whatever he wants to do amongst us and through us
(2 Cor. 3:17). We need to be courageous
enough to embrace whatever ways he desires or chooses to manifest his presence
and power in us and amongst us. We need
to become sensitive to his moving, and we need to learn to co-work with him and
to flow with him rather than quenching him, so that he can freely operate in
the ways he desires and so fulfil God’s purposes. It is he who is our real, albeit unseen
leader. If we do not do this, then he
will always be confined and his presence and power will be quenched, and so God’s
purposes for us will not be fulfilled in the way or in the fullness that he
would wish them to be. If we truly
want God to work powerfully amongst us and through us, and to be able do
everything he wants to do in people’s lives, then we have to set the Holy
Spirit free!
It is interesting, but also sad, that
believers who may otherwise be quite well-meaning, and who desire to see a move
of God and do pray for this to happen, sometimes resist or quench the move of
God’s Spirit when this does happen, on a local or a wider level. And often this happens because of the
phenomena which take place. They do not
want to be convicted of their sin; they do not want people speaking in tongues
or falling down; they do not want to pray openly for people to be healed or to
be set free from spiritual oppression; they don’t want open shows of emotion in
public; they want meetings to be routine and to end at a particular set time,
and so on. They invariably say that they
want to maintain ‘decency and order’ in public meetings, but in practice
this means that they simply want to maintain formality and human control over
what happens in meetings, and as a consequence they give God no real freedom to
work at all.
So, when God begins to move and work, this
can then become a sign spoken against by the very ones who said they would be
willing to embrace the move of God when it came, because, when it did come, it
came in a form or wrapped in a package, as it were, which did not match their
preconceived expectations. And hence
they resist and quench what the Holy Spirit is doing, and the move of God is
frustrated and comes to an end. They had
never really understood what it was they were praying for in the first place,
and what would happen if revival or a move of God did come.
We cannot put God ‘in a box’ and
effectively dictate to him that if he wants to work amongst us, then he can
only work within the confines and limitations of the box we have made for
him. This simply does not work, because
he will not honour that way of thinking. If he is to work powerfully amongst us, then
he needs to be free to do his own work in his own way. So for our part, we need to be
courageous enough to set the Holy Spirit free!
[1] The charismatic gifts of the Holy
Spirit did not pass away at the closing of the apostolic age, nor when the
canon of Scripture had been completed.
In fact, they have never passed away or ceased operating at any time,
and there is plenty of evidence for their continuance recorded in the writings
of the early Church Fathers of the first three centuries AD. However, the power of God in the Church waned
(but never died out) after the changes which Constantine introduced in the
fourth century, which led to a widespread increase in nominalism and syncretism
in the Church after this time. Although
there are plenty of testimonies from the intervening centuries of individuals
and groups of believers who experienced the power of God working amongst and
through them, yet it was only from the time of the evangelical revivals of the
seventeenth century and onwards that the power of God began to be experienced
once again in a large measure in the believing Church.
[2] Often referred to as ‘falling
under the power’ or ‘being slain in the Spirit.’
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