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wight L Moody, evangelist and preacher (A.D. 1837-1899), was preaching
one day and lifted an empty glass. “Tell me,” he said, “How
can I get the air out of this glass?” One man answered, “Suck
it out with a pump.” Moody replied, “That would create a
vacuum and shatter the glass.” After many suggestions, Moody smiled,
picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass with water. “There,” he
said, “all the air is now removed.” Then he went on to explain
that victory in the Christian life is not by “sucking out a sin
here and there,” but rather by being filled with the Spirit. Some
teach that being filled with the Holy Spirit results in a Christian spontaneously
speaking in an unknown language. This is referred to as “tongues” among
Christians. Others believe the filling of the Holy Spirit will result
in miraculous healings and prophecy.
Confusion Today. There is a lot of confusion
today about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Some are not sure what the
Holy Spirit does or if we should even have anything to do with the Holy
Spirit. Some believe that all of the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit
are occurring today and others do not. That means some believe that all
the spiritual gifts are active today. A partial list of the spiritual
gifts includes teaching, mercy, giving, administration, tongues, healing,
and prophecy. Some advocates present scriptures to “prove” their
point, and others refer to an experience. It is common for believers
to change their viewpoint and then change churches over the issue. Some
are not sure what to believe. What is the truth? What does the Bible
teach? Why is there confusion?
Indirectly the apostle Peter told us why there is such
confusion about this subject when he said the following about the apostle
Paul,
. . . just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (NASB) 2 Peter 3:15-16 Peter said plainly that there are some truths in scripture which are
hard to understand. Even the apostle Peter was struggling to understand
some of the truths about which Paul wrote. There are Bible study guidelines
that need to be followed to help us understand the Bible. The study “How
to Study the Bible” provides an introduction. Some people are not
interested in studying the Bible to discover the truth. They want someone
to tell them. Others only want to check and see if “that is what
I have been taught.” A few are unwilling to ask, “Is it possible
that maybe, just maybe scripture does not really teach what I believe?”
Apostles & Doctrinal Error. The waters
of doctrinal error were flowing while the apostles were still alive.
Much of the New Testament was written to combat false teaching. There
were false teachings about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation by faith,
the church, and the prophetic future, to name a few. After the apostles
died, the flood gates opened wider. The apostles were no longer present
to counter the errors. False teachings about Jesus, the trinity, salvation,
the future and the Holy Spirit washed upon the church in successive waves.
Some of the major errors included Montanism (A.D. 170),
followed by Sabellianism (A.D. 215), Arianism (A.D. 325) and Macedonianism
(A.D. 381). In A.D. 156, Montanus claimed that the charismatic gifts
given by the Holy Spirit had been restored. He claimed that he spoke
for the Holy Spirit, and that he was a prophet. He declared that the
end of the world was near. His teachings did not conform to the Scriptures
according to the early church fathers. He was fanatically legalistic
and committed to asceticism. He called his followers the spiritual Christians.
The early church bishops and synods eventually declared him to be a false
teacher and rejected his teaching, calling him a heretic.
The early church also denounced Sabellianism because it
claimed that God was not a trinity. The followers believed God was like
an actor who played the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit on different
occasions. This view had a large following within the Christian church;
yet they were wrong. The unsettling reality is that thousands of people
can believe something is true and still be wrong! How many believe something
to be true does not make it true. As a result, they believed heresy and
taught heresy.
The teaching of Arianism agreed that the Son of God and
God the Holy Spirit were persons, but taught that both were created beings.
This is contrary to the teaching of the Bible. The followers also believed
the Holy Spirit was created by Christ. They were wrong. The flood waters
of doctrinal error were flowing!
Every false teaching has had its followers. Every false
doctrine must have a group of followers in order for it to be accepted
and proliferate. That occurred in Rev. 2:19-23. In that passage, the
Holy Spirit tells us that a false teacher, a prophetess, had a following.
God warned both the false teacher and those who willingly followed her
that judgment was coming unless they stopped. God held both the teacher
and the followers responsible.
Common Hearts. Some years ago, a pastor
told his friend that he was convinced his friend was a Christian even
though he did not speak in tongues. The pastor had observed his friend’s
life, spent time with the man, and knew that he loved Jesus. The friend
did not know that he was being “evaluated.” These two men
were wonderful friends. Their two families had been together on many
occasions, caring for one another’s children, and on occasions
discussing their different views. While they disagreed about several
theological issues, they spent time together, prayed together, ate many
meals together, and supported each other. They were friends. This study
is presented in that same spirit.
The Goal. The goal of this study is to
explore the teaching of scripture regarding the ministry of the Holy
Spirit. We will focus on the spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy.
Our goal is to be objective, to be balanced and to seek truth. This study
started with the author’s willingness to reevaluate what he believed
and ask, “Have I been wrong?” This study is for those who
honestly want to explore the teaching of scripture about the ministry
of the Holy Spirit: tongues and prophecy. This study is not for those
who are looking for someone to agree with them.
There are many viewpoints among non-pentecostal, Pentecostal,
charismatic, and non-charismatic denominations regarding this subject.
None of the groups fully agree with each other or among themselves, because
as the apostle Peter said, “some things are hard to understand.” So
some will disagree with the conclusions reached in this study because
the conclusions do not agree with what they already believe. Others will
agree because they already believe the conclusions. Others, those searching
for truth, will explore the study and maybe change their views. Whatever
your conclusion or your position is in the end, we hope that you will
disagree only after you have studied the scriptures yourself and know
for yourself why you disagree.
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