An Affirmative Pentecostal Theology of the Miraculous

God has given the gifts of the Spirit to the Church (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). These gifts include healings and distinguishing of spirits. They are for a purpose. They are to be used. The gifts of healing are greatly needed today.[63] Pentecostal believers can approach circumstances of sickness with the certainty of faith even while acknowledging the sovereignty of God in and over all situations. As Kydd says, “The healings flow from God, and God keeps his own good counsel. It is enough that we know that God looks with mercy on human pain.”[64] Deliverance from demonic oppression is available in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Grant McClung observes that that is the testimony of Scripture and of the Christian tradition.[65] Sickness and spiritual oppression, and therefore healing and deliverance, are often connected but are not synonymous. There are various levels of demonic influence and presence. Pastoral sensitivity is a must for dealing with the afflicted. McClung lists three necessities for actual practice: discernment, preparation, and action. Discernment includes supernatural insight (1 Corinthians 12:10) as well as looking for telltale signs of demonic presence (e.g. 1 John 4:1). Preparation includes such things as prayer, Bible study, self-examination, and team support. Action includes most particularly approaching and confronting the demonized in the name of Jesus with faith in his authority to accomplish the expulsion. However, Jesus’ name should never be used as if it is a magical formula. It is more a matter of standing under the authority of Jesus against all powers opposed to his name. In all of this process maintain an assurance that exorcism is part of the mission of the Church.

Conclusion

I have now come to that which I most wish to say. And I have already hinted at it in my introductory remarks. “I am personally fully persuaded that the Pentecostal/Charismatic movements have been raised up by God in manifestation of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit through the Lord Jesus Christ.” At one level, this statement expresses my deep commitment to my own faith community. Of course, it also expresses my profound appreciation for the Trinitarian theological orientation. In the context of this study, however, it expresses my unapologetic affirmation of the miraculous. Two ideas are uppermost in my mind at the moment. First, this essay demonstrates my conviction that an affirmation of the reality of the miraculous and its great benefit for believers is a biblically and theologically credible and defensible stance. For now, enough has been said about that. So I will focus on a second idea.

I see the Pentecostal movement as itself an amazing expression of God’s miraculous power.[66] In many ways Pentecostalism is unprecedented and unparalleled. Arising from among the marginalized and disenfranchised, Pentecostalism has not only survived but thrived in an essentially hostile environment. There has never been anything quite like it in the history of Christianity. It is not only that Pentecostals started small and grew large, or even that Pentecostals are currently the fasting growing religious movement on the face of the earth. Pentecostals have immeasurably impacted the world—especially, but not only, the religious world. The Pentecostals have made mistakes; some of them are glaring and garish. May God forgive us and lead us forward into the future. But problems aside, Pentecostalism can be marvelous to behold in its sheer energy and spiritual vitality. And belief in and experience of the miraculous is in the essence of Pentecostalism, in its very soul. The supernatural is engraved—indeed, emblazoned!—on the Pentecostal heart.

A few days ago in a serious conversation over a long lunch a good friend with an impressive Pentecostal pedigree asked me if I think our movement is going to make it. I replied with something to the effect that I am not so much concerned about the movement as such but that I am confident that the moving of God’s Spirit cannot fail. How could I say that? It is because the moving of the Holy Spirit is miraculous. It is divine power in action. And neither Pentecostals nor anyone else has a monopoly on the Spirit or on the Spirit’s power. I sometimes wrestle with what all that really means. But when I get down on my knees and lift up my voice to God the assurance of its truth is certain. Accordingly, in the end I am grateful for the conviction that as long as Pentecostals allow the Holy Spirit to move through us, then the movement is not ours but God’s. And God’s miracle working power is unstoppable.

 

PR

 

[1] Guy P. Duffield/N.M. Van Cleave, Foundations of Pentecostal Theology (Los Angeles: L.I.F.E. Bible College, 1983, 1987), 326-62.

[2] James H. Railey, Jr. and Benny C. Aker, “Theological Foundations,” 39-60, Stanley M. Horton, ed., Systematic Theology (Springfield, MO: Logion Press, 1995 revised ed.), 58.

[3] I do not doubt that most Pentecostals would heartily “Amen!” the C. S. Lewis observation that, “the more we understand what God it is who is said to be present and the purpose for which He is said to have appeared, the more credible the miracles become.” See C.S. Lewis, Miracles (New York: HarperCollins, 1947, 1960, 1996), 217.

Tags: affirmative, featured, miraculous, pentecostal, theology

Category: Spirit, Spring 2015