The Quest for a Pentecostal Theology, by Keith Warrington

There is thus an increasing readiness by Pentecostals to allow for the possibility of a phenomenon being divinely initiated even where there is no historical precedent for it, as long as its consequence has been to lead the believer concerned closer to God.⁴¹ Pentecostals are prepared to live with tensions, to accept the inexplicable and to acknowledge mystery. They recognize that one can begin to know God but never completely comprehend him. At best, he is imperfectly understood; after all, he is God. They are neither predicated to understand everything nor do they feel disposed to accommodate their spirituality within a framework that is tightly circumscribed by logic or rationality. They are much more prepared to believe that God is dynamic, not static; complex, even mystifying, but one who desires to be encountered. This issue merits a comprehensive and robust theological study that could helpfully result in the provision of a safe framework that would enable the articulation and outworking of a belief that explores the sovereign will of the Spirit as it is facilitated creatively, dynamically and with flexibility in the Church.

It is difficult, on occasions, to articulate a response to that which one perceives God is doing simply by offering theological propositions.⁴² One may tell a story easier than one may define what happened. Similarly, prophets in the past have sometimes found it difficult to explain divine encounters to others (John, Rev. 1.17) and, on occasions, have instead fallen silent (Paul, 2 Cor. 12.4). Although Peter defended the encounter with God experienced by those in Jerusalem which resulted in tongues of fire resting on them and their speaking in tongues as a fulfilment of Joel 2.28–32, it is clear that the experience went beyond the prophecy for there is no mention there of speaking in tongues or tongues of fire. Peter offers a biblical framework of sorts in which the experience may be contextualized but it is a pragmatic response rather than a careful, comprehensive treatise. The fact is that the encounter was outside the received norms of how God worked and rather than attempt to completely explain it biblically, Peter offers a minimal biblical validation of the experience. The affirmation of the authenticity of the experience was not achieved by an intellectual rationale but by its effect in causing many to be prepared to listen to Peter who presented them with the possibility of engaging personally with God. The aspiration of some to explain every experience they have with and concerning God has an inbuilt problem. It results in his being restricted from doing that which may not be explained; the Creator would be reduced to the limits of the intellectual permission of the created.

In truth, encountering God via experience is often more challenging than encountering him via the intellect. As Kelsey, who is not Pentecostal, notes,

It is far easier to deal with ideas about God than with God himself. Ideas about God rarely overwhelm the thinker … when a man does encounter God, it is not God who is put under the microscope and examined with reason, but man who finds himself under scrutiny.⁴³

One experience with God can be more life changing than an encyclopedic knowledge of God. Rather than view experiencing God as the easier, less authentic and ultimately flawed means of encountering God (when contrasted with a cerebral appreciation of him), it ought to be realized that the former is often the way that God revealed himself in the Bible and can be a powerful transforming influence in the life of a believer. At the same time, an expectation of an experiential encounter with God can provide a guard against a merely cerebral theology.

Thus, Pentecostals value experience-based encounters with God because they have the potential to transform believers. They believe that if God initiates an experience, it must be in order to positively transform the individual concerned; a lack of consequence calls into question the experience or, at least, questions whether the person has benefited fully from the potential that the experience had to offer.

Tags: encounter, featured, Keith Warrington, pentecostal, quest, theology

Category: In Depth, Pneuma Review, Winter 2013