Clive Calver: Descending Like a Dove

Clive Calver, Descending Like a Dove: The Truth About the Holy Spirit (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2004) 177 pages, ISBN 1591852900.

More than 20 years ago, David Wilkerson voiced concern about a “Christless Pentecost.”¹ Today, the concern is about a Spiritless Pentecost, a charismatic experience that treats the Holy Spirit as a “silent partner, the forgotten member of the Trinity” (2).

In his new book, Descending Like a Dove: The Truth About the Holy Spirit, author Clive Calver invites readers to have a more intimate relationship with God through the power of the Holy Spirit. He argues that the Spirit and His workings are often misunderstood in both the charismatic and non-charismatic traditions. Calver contends that while the ministry of the Holy Spirit may differ in some ways from the ministry of Christ and the Father, He is “no less than the very Presence of the living God making His home in the life of the believer” (3).

According to Calver, the charismatic experience should not be limited to material blessings, emotional highs or speaking in tongues. He believes that “God gives us His Spirit so that we might be supernaturally equipped to live as God Himself intended that we should” (6).

Calver, a very capable writer, has been involved in Christian ministry in the United States and abroad for many years. He is president of World Relief, an organization that serves as the humanitarian aid arm of the National Association of Evangelicals. He has served as director general of the Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom, and program director of Billy Graham’s Mission England. He has also worked as national director of Youth for Christ in Britain.

Calver covers his topic from many angles. He uses 20 chapters to present a discussion of the Trinity and the role of the Godhead in salvation, holiness, spiritual growth and practical ministry. He gives particular attention to the importance of the Holy Spirit. Using colorful and sometimes heart-warming anecdotes, he shows how the Holy Spirit operates in and through believers from the moment of salvation. His opening chapter, “The Missing Person of the Trinity,” sets the stage for the theme of the book. He writes:

Tragically, our struggle to understand the nature and character of the Holy Spirit has often resulted in our unconsciously but effectively deleting Him from the Trinity. But the Holy Spirit is the One who draws us near to God; He is the Person who lives in us and is intimately connected with our lives (3).

In discussing the work of the Spirit, Calver writes about demonology and provides careful instructions for exorcisms. He also takes a look at the Spirit in divine healing. While noting that healing is for the church today, he offers a word of caution:

We must be careful not to presume that God’s intention will be to heal every person on every single occasion. Although healing should remain our expectation and hope, we must be careful to encourage faith, not foolishness. We must first seek to find God’s will and then act in obedience to that will rather than our own desires, however good they may be! (138)

With regard to the anointing, Calver believes the church is anointed to help the poor and to deliver those who are bound. He also asserts that believers are anointed for suffering: “As the people of God we have been promised two things: success and suffering. … The success that is promised in Scripture relates more to our future than to the present circumstances in which we find ourselves” (130). Calver also calls for balance, arguing that God has promised to meet all of our needs.

In Chapter 20, the final chapter, Calver offers instructions for receiving the Spirit. He presents the different views held by charismatics, Pentecostals and Evangelicals and then shows where they agree on the subject. “Evangelical Christians all agree that each one of us needs power from God with which to live the Christian life,” he writes (160). This power is available to all believers “because each of us receives the Holy Spirit at conversion” (161). The different schools of thought would also agree that the Holy Spirit “wants to achieve more in our lives than a mere one-time experience could achieve” (161). In addition to providing gifts, the Spirit produces fruit in the lives of believers (162).

The audience for this work appears to be Evangelicals or believers who are new to the charismatic experience. This is suggested because most of the teachings presented are probably familiar to most charismatics, particularly those who are mature in their faith. Using First Corinthians 12 as a reference point, he explains that the nine spiritual gifts are divided into three categories: Gifts of revelations (discerning of spirits, word of knowledge, word of wisdom), gifts of activity (gifts of healing, working of miracles, gift of faith), and gifts for communication (gift of tongues, gift of interpretation, gift of prophecy) (87). He notes, however, that these gifts “sometimes cause a problem” because they are not always accepted by the church, especially those that believe the age of miracles has past (86).

His views about the anointing to witness are also commonly held, as are his views on the Person of the Holy Spirit and His role within the Godhead.

Descending Like a Dove has a Foreword by Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals. It describes some of the issues that may have led to the book’s publication: “The Holy Spirit has often been associated with bizarre religious meetings, financial irresponsibility, and extravagant speech” (xi).

Calver addresses these issues in a way that is practical, encouraging and engaging. In doing so, he takes the works of the Spirit out of the popular realm of mysticism, doubt, and fanaticism, and places them into practical, day-to-day reality. In short, he successfully shows how the Spirit can be influential and empowering in all areas of the believer’s life.

Reviewed by Roscoe Barnes III

¹ David Wilkerson, “A Christless Pentecost! Is Christ Becoming a Stranger in Our Midst?” Sermon Online, October 1982 http://www.worldchallenge.org/pulpit_series/archive/ps82_1000.html (accessed Jan.1, 2008).

Preview Descending Like a Dove: http://books.google.com/books?id=cET7MUPE9X8C