The Power of the Cross: Introduction
Don William’s chapter investigates the biblical evidence for discipleship, showing how Jesus intended to pass on His ministry of word and deed to His disciples and, through them, to all believers. Walter Bodine’s chapter traces the evidence for power ministry in the epistles, showing that the New Testament evidence is not insignificant for ongoing regular ministry with all spiritual gifts in the Early Church. James Packer’s chapter discusses the biblical evidence of God’s power in the believer’s life. He concludes that expecting supernatural demonstrations of God’s power in evangelism and in the life of the Church is healthy and biblical, when it is within the only legitimate biblical “power scenario” which is power in weakness—humble, selfless dependence on God.
The next three chapters explore the pastoral implications of the issues. Roger Barrier, a Southern Baptist pastor, discusses the importance of praying for healing and deliverance from demons in the power of the Holy Spirit as one means a church can use to show Christ’s love to those in need. Lloyd Fretz, District Supervisor of the Missionary Church, Canada East, recounts cases of seeing the power of the gospel bring true freedom in Christ through prayer for healing and deliverance from demonic influence. Kirk Bottomly, a Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor, discusses the challenges and blessings of pursuing ministry with all spiritual gifts in one’s own life and in the life of the local church. He underscores the need in evangelicalism for a return to biblical paradigms of faith and a fundamental change from a deistic rationalistic worldview to a biblically-based worldview of God’s supernatural involvement in our lives, in our churches, and in our evangelism.
The final four chapters explore the issues from the perspective of church history, psychiatry, sociology, and missiology. Stanley Burgess’s chapter discusses evidence of the continuity of all spiritual gifts in the life and evangelism of the post-biblical Early Church. John White’s chapter offers a psychiatrist’s analysis of the unusual reactions and manifestations (trembling, falling, weeping, etc.) accompanying past and contemporary revivals. David Lewis’s chapter discusses the sociological, psychological, and medical aspects of reported cases of healing. He focuses on his own in-depth statistical analysis of 100 randomly selected cases out of a total pool of 1,890 cases of reported healings associated with prayer in Christ’s name. In their chapter, Charles Kraft and Marguerite Kraft discuss the problem of dual allegiance to Christ and to demonic power among Christian converts in Third World countries. They urge that biblical strategies be developed for cross-cultural ministry to communicate the gospel and to minister its power through prayer for healing and deliverance from demonic power.
Seven Appendices offer additional studies of the New Testament evidence and key passages related to power evangelism, Jesus’ commissions to His disciples and the Church, spiritual gifts, spiritual warfare, models of prayer for healing and related phenomena, and what Scripture shows regarding its own sufficiency.
A Fresh Outpouring of Renewal
Over the last decade, many evangelicals claim to have experienced a fresh outpouring of revival and renewal in the Holy Spirit across denominational lines. They do not identify themselves as Pentecostal or charismatic, though they affirm and support the same work of God’s Spirit in those movements. Instead they have chosen to remain and work for renewal in their own denominational traditions. New denominational movements have also arisen out of the renewal such as the Vineyard Christian Fellowship under the leadership of John Wimber, one of the leading pioneers of the recent renewal movement among evangelicals.
The recent renewal has been called “the third wave of the Holy Spirit” by Dr. C. Peter Wagner. Anglican researcher and statistician, Dr. David Barrett, has estimated that 33 million believers worldwide are a part of the third wave movement.7
The “third wave,” Wagner says, is analogous to the first two waves of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. However, third wave proponents distinguish their theology and practice from that of Pentecostals and charismatics in certain ways.8 While third wave proponents are open to all the miraculous gifts and miraculous work of God, they generally understand the baptism of the Spirit not as a second blessing but as a part of conversion (I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14; Tit. 3:5; Jn. 3:3, 5-8; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 3:26 and 4:6). At the same time they acknowledge the need to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit more than once after conversion (Eph. 5:18; Acts 4:8, 31; 7:55; 13:9, 52). They do not focus on the gift of tongues above all other spiritual gifts as the evidence of being filled with the Spirit. (Indeed, some third wave leaders who minister with miraculous gifts like healing and discerning of spirits do not speak in tongues.) Rather, they affirm the value of all spiritual gifts, whether miraculous or non-miraculous. They emphasize the potential of all Christians, not just specially gifted individuals, to minister healing and to minister with all the miraculous gifts (Jn. 14:12; I Cor. 12:7; 14:1, 5, 12-13, 24, 31; Mat. 7:7-11).9 Third wave proponents also emphasize the biblical pattern of using spiritual gifts and healing not only in the life of the Church but also in evangelism (see below and see appendix 1).
Proponents claim that the renewal has brought several positive elements to evangelicalism including a greater understanding and openness to the work and power of the Holy Spirit taught in Scripture. Many evangelicals, some say, have begun to realize that biblical Christianity is much more than they had previously known. They have begun to move from an unbalanced emphasis only on the proclaimed Word to a scripturally balanced emphasis on both the proclaimed Word and ministry in God’s power (Rom. 15:18-19; I Cor. 2:4-5; 4:20; 11:1; Gal. 3:5; I Thes. 1:5; Heb. 2:3-4; I Pet. 4:11; Jas. 5:13-16). Proponents of third wave theology and practice claim to have attempted such a biblical balance—a balance between the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, between the proclamation of the gospel and the works of healing and gift-based ministry which are said to demonstrate the power of Christ in the gospel.
Category: Pneuma Review, Spirit, Spring 2006
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