Frank Macchia is one of the most recognizable Pentecostal theologians well-known for his advocacy of Spirit baptism. Far from engagement with insider concerns that are of interest only to Pentecostals, Macchia is a constructive and ecumenical thinker with particular emphasis also on the doctrines of the Trinity and the kingdom of God. Along the demands of this broader theological engagement, his latest works have taken the theme of Spirit baptism as the basis for constructing works on Justification (Justified in the Spirit), Christology (Jesus, the Spirit Baptizer), and ecclesiology (The Spirit Baptized Church). With Tongues of Fire, Macchia now offers a comprehensive systematic theology—albeit not explicitly under the theme of Spirit baptism but under the scandalous expression of this theme taken from the “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3) in the biblical story of Pentecost. “Tongues of fire,” writes Macchia, “ultimately define our capacity to experience God” (p. 88). Still, apart from a dozen or so references throughout the text, the book has far more to say about Spirit baptism, including a dedicated section (pp. 299-317), than about “tongues.” Even the publisher’s description suggests that the book was “written with Christ’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit from the heavenly Father at Pentecost as its dominant motif.” This observation is not insignificant to a reviewer who has always encouragingly reminded Macchia that his early work on tongues will be remembered as his most evocative theology. But with the obvious reference to Spirit baptism already taken by one of Macchia’s other books (Baptized in the Spirit), the choice of title is undoubtedly a well-considered reflection of his life-long work and the underlying intentions of this systematic theology. Tongues of Fire will attract Pentecostal readers and yet challenge them to “interpret” the “tongues” differently from what they might have expected. What the book promises as a theme all-too familiar to Pentecostals is transformed into a metaphor for Pentecostal scholarship that is far more provocative.

Writing and publishing a systematic theology as a Pentecostal scholar is no easy feat. There is still a persistent stereotype among some publishers about the theological contributions of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. On the other hand, many of the once thriving series dedicated to Pentecostal scholarship are no longer published, and publishers who were once able to sustain a larger body of Pentecostal literature are forced to direct proposals towards textbooks rather than research-based monographs. That this work is published in a bespoke series “Word & Spirit: Pentecostal Investigations in Theology and History” testifies to the dilemma that integrating Pentecostal works in the established theological publishing landscape remains difficult. The challenge is hidden on the first pages in the Library of Congress subject headings which identify the content as “Pentecostal churches–doctrines” yet also “Theology, Doctrinal” (p. iv). Macchia’s path is the ambitious road between, a trail all Pentecostal theologians have to navigate with far more care than many of the theologians of other traditions. This context places the achievement of the book in a different light. What Macchia proposes is not simply a Pentecostal version of traditional doctrines but a Pentecostal approach to theology as “tongues of fire” that represent “an overload of prophetic communication” where “the fire signifies the purity of truth” (p. xvii). What Macchia is after is a declaration of the wonders of God where the Pentecostal theological language is not an exception but can be understood in all the languages of the world. “Theology, as an academic discipline, joins the church’s speech,” Macchia proposes, “in a search for fitting understanding and declaration” (p. xviii-xix). Reading the book as just an attempt to interpret the spectrum of Christian doctrines from a Pentecostal perspective therefore diminishes its intentions. That Tongues of Fire is a biblical metaphor applied to an academic endeavor should alert Pentecostals to the possibility that the Spirit poured out on all flesh can indeed be received in academic theology and publishing.

The book is comprised of six parts: the first three chapters address (1) the task of theology, followed by four chapters on (2) God, and two chapters each on (3) Christ, (4) Holy Spirit, (5) Church, and (6) final purpose. With this outline, Macchia follows the organization of traditional evangelical systematic theology. About two decades ago, Pentecostal scholars held a prolonged discussion on the idea whether there could be a “systematic” Pentecostal theology in the first place. Macchia answers this question in the affirmative. A particular debate since then has been what that systematic theology would look like, whether it follows the traditional theological patterns, and what exactly it contributes to that tradition. Macchia’s project endorses the traditional order, and this choice has the advantage that his proposal will be familiar to a wide audience, allowing them to integrate the Pentecostal perspective into an already established way of thinking. Macchia is aware of the history of systematic theology (pp. 11-16) and views it as a discussion of “doctrinal proposals in a way that shows the coherence and unity of truth across the specific topics” (p. 11). Hence, he asserts that “the loci of systematic theology rightly put God first” (14) and “the first three loci of the Triune God have prime of place” (15) followed by salvation, church, and the perfection of new creation. In the larger historical tradition, Tongues of Fire joins the modern “struggle to understand the top loci of systematic theology” (61) in what may be described as a Pentecostal commentary on the articles of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. More specifically, the Pentecostal perspective engages with the core doctrines of Christology and pneumatology. Adapted to read through a Pentecostal lens, in this theology “Christ himself is present in the presence of the Spirit and it remains by the Spirit that we confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of the Father” (16). The greatest advantage of Macchia’s approach is that it allows Pentecostals to situate their place in the history of the theological tradition and to proceed from there as an original theological trajectory that can now be further developed.

Reviewed by Wolfgang Vondey

Further Reading

Frank Macchia’s webpage: https://www.frankdmacchia.com/

Tony Richie’s review of Baptized in the Spirit: A Global Pentecostal Theology

Are you comfortable or are you ready to give up everything to make Jesus more real to people that desperately need him? Pioneer missionary Griffith John wrote A Voice in the Darkness over 100 years ago, but the challenge he wrote about laying down our lives for the kingdom of God is both timely and powerful.

“He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” Matthew 27:42

What did these men mean to express by this taunt? Did they mean to express a disbelief in the reality of our Lord’s miracles? “He professed to save others; but we have found Him out at last.”

“We know now that it was all sham, all pretension. He cannot save Himself! How could He save others?” Or is there here an admission of the fact that our Lord did save others, and a faint hope expressed that He might come down from the cross and prove Himself to be the very Christ? Did they imagine that, by taunting Him in this way, He might be induced to give this proof of His Messiahship? “He has certainly saved others. Why does He not save Himself? Let Him do so now, and all our doubts will be removed. We will crown Him king, and follow Him wheresoever He may lead.” Whatever their thoughts may have been, we know that our Lord did not gratify their vain curiosity.

In this taunt there is a great truth expressed. It is true that He saved others; it is true also that He could not save Himself. But there is another truth, and this other truth was hidden from their eyes. Why could He not save Himself? The reason was not obvious to them but it is perfectly clear to us. He could not save Himself because He would save others. To deliver others He must surrender Himself; to save others He must sacrifice Himself.

It must be one or the other. He could not do both—save others and save Himself also. And what is true of the Master is true of the disciple. We, the disciples of Jesus Christ, can be saviours to men only in so far as we are willing and ready to sacrifice ourselves on their behalf. Let us then spend a little time in devout meditation on this great truth.

“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” That is God’s voice to us, and it rests with ourselves as to whether we will respond to the Divine voice or not. But the moment we do respond and say, “Here am I, send me,” that very moment our life must become a life of service and self-sacrifice. Let me give you two or three examples as illustrations of this great truth.

There is Moses in the Old Testament. When the time had come to deliver Israel from the bondage of Egypt, God’s voice came to Moses, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

It was optional with Moses to go or stay. But the moment he resolved to obey the Divine voice, that very moment his life became a life of service and sacrifice. Having said yes, it was not optional with him as to whether his life should be a life of self-indulgence or self-abnegation. His magnificent position in Egypt had to be renounced; his brilliant prospects of future aggrandisement had to be abandoned; his dire conflict with Pharaoh, and his forty years of suffering with and for his people in that terrible wilderness, followed as a matter of course. He lived for his people, sacrificed everything for his people, and was prepared to die for them at any moment. We know the result. Israel was saved, and God’s purposes were fulfilled. Moses saved others, himself he could not save.

There is Paul in the New Testament. When the time had come to make known to the Gentiles God’s redemptive purposes, a fit agent was needed, and God’s voice came to Paul, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” It rested with Paul to decide as to whether he would or would not respond to the Divine voice; but having responded, it did not rest with him as to whether his life should or should not be a life of service and sacrifice. The moment he said, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” that moment his life became a life of self-renunciation and suffering. The hunger, the thirst, the fastings, the toil, the stripes, the imprisonments, the anxieties for the churches, and finally his martyrdom followed as a matter of course.

We know the result. The Gospel was preached to the Gentiles, many churches were established in the Roman Empire, and multitudes of men were saved. Paul saved others, himself he could not save.

This excerpt is a chapter from Griffith John, A Voice in the Darkness: Lessons from 60 Years in Ancient China (Underground Publishing, 2023).

David Livingstone saved others; himself he could not save.

And there is Jesus Himself. The time had come for the full manifestation of God’s redemptive purpose. The time had come “to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.” The voice of God is heard, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” It rested entirely with the Eternal Son of God as to whether He would respond to that voice. There was no power in the universe to compel Him to leave heaven and come down to this earth to suffer and die. But the moment He did respond, the life of sorrow and suffering, Gethsemane, and the
cross, became inevitable. The life of the world depended upon that great sacrifice. Of Jesus it may be said emphatically, He saved others; Himself He could not save.

Let us now look at this great truth as an all-pervading, all-embracing law.

As a law it pervades the whole of Nature. In Nature, receiving there always means giving here; life there means death here. The animal kingdom lives on the vegetable, and the vegetable lives on the mineral. The mineral must die to itself in order to build up the vegetable, and the vegetable must die to itself in order to build up the animal. The development of vegetable life depends upon the concurrence of certain agents, such as heat, air, moisture, light, and soil. All these must die to themselves if the tree or the plant is to live and grow.

In Nature there must be giving wherever there is receiving; this must be sacrificed if that is to be realised. It is the law of natural instinct. No sooner is the child born than natural instinct steps in, and imposes this law of self-sacrifice on the mother. From this moment, her life becomes a life of holy ministration, wherein, for the sake of the child, she cannot save herself. It is the law of family, social, and political life.

Would you be a father or a son worthy of the name? Would you be a mother or a daughter worthy of the name? Would you be a husband or a wife worthy of the name? Would you be a brother or a sister worthy of the name? Would you be a neighbour worthy of the name? Would you be a statesman worthy of the name? If you would, you must come under this law as the law of your life. It is the law of philanthropy.

A true philanthropist, a lover of mankind, is a man who cannot save himself, because he will save others. Such was Paul, such was Howard, such was Livingstone, and such have been many more whose names I might mention. It is the law of the Divine life.

Let us not fall into the delusion of supposing that, because God is omnipotent, the forth-putting of His power costs Him nothing. This is a very common supposition, but nothing can be more erroneous. Even of God Almighty it is absolutely true that He cannot save Himself. He is ever saving others; Himself He cannot save.

It is the law of the Christian life. Service, rising up to self-sacrifice for the good of men, is the ideal Christian life. Every true Christian is a priest, not merely because he stands before God alone, without the intervention of a human mediator to intercede for him, not merely because he offers to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise in daily adoration, but because his life is a life of priestly ministration for others, and that in sacrifices wherein, for the sake of others, he cannot save himself. He presents himself daily to God, on behalf of humanity, in sacrifices which save men from sin and misery. Such is the priesthood of the New Testament and such is the ideal Christian life.

Can you imagine a higher life than this? Can you imagine anything more God-like? It is the Christ-life. It is the noblest life possible to man.

It is emphatically the missionary’s true life. It was the life of Henry Martyn. “Now,” said Henry Martyn, as he set out for India, “let my life burn out for God.” And it did burn out for God. There you have the true missionary.

It was the life of William Johnson, of West Africa. “Had I ten thousand lives,” said William Johnson, “I would willingly offer them up for the sake of one poor African.” There you have the true missionary.

It was the life of Dober. “I determined,” said Dober, the Moravian, “if only one brother would go with me to the West Indies, I would give myself to be a slave, and would tell the slaves as much of the Saviour as I know myself.” There you have the true missionary.

It was the life of Francis Xavier. “Care not for me,” said Xavier; “think of me as dead to bodily comforts. My food, my rest, and my life are to rescue from the granary of Satan the souls for whom God has sent me hither from the ends of the earth. They will destroy me by poison, you say. It is an honour to which a sinner such as I am may not aspire. But this I dare to say, that whatsoever form of torture or death awaits me, I am ready to suffer it ten thousand times for a single soul.” There you have the true missionary.

This, then, is the missionary’s true life. A self-seeking, self-centred, self-indulgent missionary is a pitiable object to behold. He may call himself a missionary, the directors of his society may put him down as one of their missionaries, and speak of him as our able missionary, our highly valued missionary, our well-known missionary, and so on and so on, but in God’s sight he is a contemptible hireling.

Every missionary ought to be a self-sacrificing man, and every missionary worthy of the name is a self-sacrificing man. Still, the true missionary will not look upon himself as a self-sacrificing man, neither will he speak of his work, and the trials in connection with it, as if he looked upon God as his debtor. His sense of indebtedness to his God and Saviour will make it impossible for him to do that. “Can that be called a sacrifice,” asked Dr. Livingstone, “ which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to God which we can never repay? Say, rather it is a privilege.”

Then the missionary finds that his best work is very poor and imperfect, and that, try as he will, he can never come up to his own ideal. “My doings! my doings!” said John Elliot, the apostle of the Indians, “they have been poor and lean doings. Oh, child of the dust, lie low; it is Christ that hath triumphed.”

Such is the Christian’s true life. Such emphatically is the missionary’s true life. But how far is this life from being fully realised by Christians generally? How far from being fully realised by ministers at home and missionaries abroad? How far from being fully realised by any one of us? Some of us may have lofty ideals as to what we should be in this respect; but is there one among us who has realised his ideal?

Some will sacrifice much in one direction, but not in another. They will sacrifice in the line of their liking. But can that be called a sacrifice which a man does in the line of his liking? Ask them to step out of that line, and you will find that the idea of the Cross has never entered into their conception of the Christian life. For instance, some will talk much and talk eloquently, but are slow to do. They are born preachers, and their Christian life begins and ends in telling others what to do.

We must be prepared to sacrifice in all directions. The element of self-pleasing must be cast out, and the will of God must become to us the one law of our being. What some seek in the Christian life is the salvation of their own souls. This is a worthy aim.

PR

This excerpt is a chapter from Griffith John, A Voice in the Darkness: Lessons from 60 Years in Ancient China (Underground Publishing, 2023). Used with permission.

For more about Underground Publishing, read the PneumaReview.com interview with Bethany Hope about rediscovering the writings of missionaries and Christian pioneers.

This present volume is the seventh book in Paul Hattaway’s “China Chronicles” series. In each book the author focuses on the Christian history of a specific province in China. As the title indicates, this latest offering focuses on Shaanxi. The book begins with some pertinent information about the province. The meaning of the word Shaanxi is “west of the mountain passes,” this area is located in northern China (page 1) and has an area of 79,500 square miles (page vi). In 2020 it had a population of 39,528,999, the Han Chinese make up the largest segment of the population, 99.5% (page vi). The land can be divided into 3 main areas: north, central, and south (pages 2-3). “Four great inventions” were used in Shaanxi well before they were used in other parts of the world, these inventions are: “the compass, paper, printing, and gunpowder” (page 4). The explorer Marco Polo briefly passed through Shaanxi on his journeys (page 5). The province has endured floods, famines, and according to a Wikipedia entry the author references, an earthquake in 1556 that is estimated to have taken the lives of 830,000 people (pages 6, 249). The current leader of China, Xi Jinping, was raised in Shaanxi (pages 9-10). Significant industries in this province include aircraft and aerospace production, electronics, and textiles (page 10-11).

In the chapter titled “The Cradle of Chinese Civilization” the author writes about the various dynasties that were in power at different times in the history of China (pages 12-35). One feature of this chapter that may be of particular interest to some readers is the material which points out the proximity of certain time periods in Chinese history to specific biblical events (pages 12-14).

Shaanxi Province within China.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

The next couple of chapters focus on Christian beginnings. Hattaway says that it is widely held belief that Christianity first entered China through the province of Shaanxi (page 42). He further says that it is commonly believed that Christianity entered China in AD 635, however, there is evidence which may indicate that Christians were in China much earlier (page 43, 54-55). Artifact evidence “suggest that Christians were in China as early as the first century” (page 55). The majority of historians believe that the Nestorians were the first Christians in China in AD 635 (page 51). The author devotes a whole chapter to discussing the Nestorians. He speaks about both their accomplishments and persecutions (pages 59-66). Due to their favorable relationship with the Emperor Taizong and his support of them, they were able to have a church and a monastery 3 years after their arrival in the province of Shaanxi (page 59). The Nestorians were persecuted at different times in their history in China (pages 61-62, 64-66).

The ancient city of Xi’an in 2022. According to the 2020 census, more than 12 million people live in the city.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

Most of the remaining chapters are devoted to looking at Christianity in Shaanxi in different decades. The first decade covered is the 1870s, this is when Evangelical missionaries first went to Shaanxi (page 72). The first missionaries who went to Shaanxi were from the China Inland mission, which was founded by Hudson Taylor, their names were Frederick Baller and George King (pages 72-73). These men were able to share the gospel with Hui Muslims (page 74). Other missionaries who served in Shaanxi during this decade included: George Easton, George Parker, and Charles Budd, James Cameron also went through the area (page 75). George King and his wife, Emily, established the first Evangelical mission in the province (page 76). Emily is believed to be the first woman from the West to live in Shaanxi (page 77). Citing Valerie Griffiths, Hattaway tells us that Emily King died from typhoid (pages 77, 254).

A significant development in the 1880s was the acceptance of the ministries of single women missionaries including: Elizabeth Wilson, Annie Faussett, and Annie Harrison (page 80-81). At a time when single women were not generally welcomed as missionaries, the China Inland Mission was open to them (page 80). The ministry of a native Chinese Christian worker named Xi Shengmo also took place during this decade (pages 85-86). He is described as “one of the greatest Chinese Christian leaders of the nineteenth century” (page 85).

The 1890s saw the arrival of a number of missions organizations. Two were Scandinavian, the Scandinavian Alliance Mission and the Swedish China Mission (pages 88-89). The third was the English Baptist Mission (pages 92-94). Amid increased missionary activity, persecution also marked this period, including the brutal beating of the American Franciscan missionary Capistran Goette who served for 35 years in China (pages 94-97).

As the 1900s dawned, the Boxer Rebellion took place. Interestingly enough, no Evangelical missionaries were killed in Shaanxi during this time because Duan Fang, the governor, protected them (page 103). However, native Chinese believers did suffer persecution and some lost their lives during this time (page 104). Missionary Jessie Gregg carried on a significant ministry in the 1910s in a number of places in China (pages 125-127). She was a single woman who served as an evangelist with the China Inland Mission (page 125). This time was also marked by violence in Shaanxi and missionaries were sometimes on the receiving end of it (pages 127-130). The 1920s was a time characterized by trouble, however, a Chinese Christian named Feng Yuxiang rose to prominence in Shaanxi and helped to bring some order (pages 134-136). In the chapter on the 1930s and 1940s the ministries of Mary Anderson, Gustaf Tornvall, and John Sung are mentioned (pages 144-148). The 1940s was also a time of trouble for believers in the province (page 153).

Loess Plateau in Wubu County, Shaanxi.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

The focus on decades resumes with the 1950s and 1960s. The chapter that deals with these two decades is quite short, 5 pages, and touches on communism. In spite of its power, Communism could not ultimately destroy the church (page 168). Two of the great needs of the church in China in the 1970s were Bibles and good Bible teaching (pages 172, 174). A few Christian ministries sought to address the need for Bibles by smuggling them into China (page 173). In the 1980s, Christianity grew in Shaanxi largely as a result of a revival that was taking place in nearby Henan province (page 181). The Heavenly Man, Brother Yun, ministered in Shaanxi during this time period (pages 185-188). Miracles also took place in the province at this time (pages 188-192). The growth of the church continued in the 1990s due in part to the boldness and courage of the believers in spite of persecution (pages 196, 202). Specific examples of faithful Christian believers during this time are mentioned in the chapter. The chapters of the book, which deal with the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, also speak of persecution (pages 215-219, 228-229, 232-235). But the church in Shaanxi has experienced growth (page 227). The closing chapter, which looks at the future of the church in Shaanxi, notes that the province has not experienced as widespread a move of God as some of the other provinces in China (page 237).

There is a lot of information in Shaanxi: The Cradle of Chinese Civilization and there is a lot of inspiration in it. There is much to admire in the faith of our Chinese brothers and sisters. Their boldness and commitment is very strong. Most of those that you will read about in this book are people that you have probably never heard of before. As you read, be prepared to be both inspired and challenged. It is good that this Christian history is being preserved.

Reviewed by John Lathrop

Read excerpts and see more pictures at the Asia Harvest page: https://www.asiaharvest.org/shaanxi-a-new-book-by-paul-hattaway

In Mark 13 (and Matt. 24 1-51 and Luke 21:5-36) Jesus spoke of all these issues which left a very deep impression on His followers. In this story the disciples made comments on the strength of the stones the buildings were made of and Jesus replied that not one stone shall be left upon another. The Lord was teaching them how temporary such structures actually are. Then some time later He went into more detail with them how things would be in the end times. He spoke of: deception, wars, earthquakes, famines and other signs. In Mark 13:32-37, He stressed to them that no one would know the day or the hour of the end [of the age], but to be watchful and faithful in serving God.

As believers we must stand firm in our faith and look for His coming. The term “Doomsday” should not make us afraid, but instead bring us hope. We are not to put our trust in the things of this world for they are temporary. When we see these things (Mk. 13: 32-37), we are to look up for our redemption draws nigh!

Image: Jared Murray

Are you waiting for Jesus, the Uptaker or for the Mortician, the Undertaker? Regardless of whether we live to see our Lord return in the sky with glory [and take us up with Him], or whether we go down by way of the grave, we shall be victorious so long as we have put our trust in Him, Jesus [the] Christ.

From September 2023 edition of The Grapevine. Used with permission.

Friedrich Hegel in 1831

Roger E. Olson, “Hegel In a Nutshell” Patheos (September 6, 2023).

Historian of religion, Roger Olson, offers a brief introduction to the influential philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) in 7 bullet points: Hegel’s epistemology, Hegel’s ontology/metaphysics, Hegel’s religion, Hegel’s history, Hegel’s reason, Hegel’s influence on Christian theology, and Christian reactions to Hegel.

Revisiting the call to being a peacemaker in social media: Douglas S. Bursch, “Three Practical Ways to Engage in Online Peacemaking: How reflecting the servant attitude of Christ in our online engagement makes us effective ambassadors” The Better Samaritan (January 24, 2022).

PneumaReview.com author Douglas Bursch offers practical advice for engaging in social media in a Christ-like way.

Aimee Semple McPherson

Roger E. Olson, “The Almost Forgotten Story of Non-Liberal Feminist Christian Women Influences” Patheos (September 20, 2023).

Historian of religion, Roger Olson mentions some of the most influential theologically conservative Christian women that have often been ignored by those writing about medieval mystics or modern feminist theologians.

Further Reading: “Pioneer Women of Pentecostal Revivals” Leah Payne speaks with PneumaReview.com about her book, Gender and Pentecostal Revivalism.

“A Misinformation Expert’s Top Tips to Slow the Spread of Misleading Information in the 2024 Election” Georgetown University (August 31, 2023).

The subtitle of this article is “Ask a Professor: Leticia Bode on Misinformation, Technology and the 2024 Election.” “If you accidentally shared something that wasn’t true, how would you want someone to approach you? You probably want whoever is correcting you to be kind, understanding and empathetic. You’d want them to say, ‘I understand this is complicated. I was confused by it too. Here are some sources that I found that seem to say the opposite of what you’re saying. I’m happy to have a conversation with you about it.’” Thanks to PneumaReview.com author Michelle Vondey for suggesting this article.

Roger E. Olson, “Belong, Believe, Behave?” Patheos (September 15, 2023).

Historian of religion, Roger Olson, shares his insights and observations of the so-called emerging church movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Andrew K. Gabriel, “When God Speaks Through Dreams…” AndrewKGabriel.com (October 2, 2023).

Pentecostal/charismatic theologian and educator, Andrew Gabriel talks about how to recognize if dreams have come from God, what the Bible has to say about contemporary dreams from God, and what to do with them.<<

Daniel Silliman, “Died: Loren Cunningham, Who Launched Millions on Short-Term Missions: YWAM founder saw “waves” of young people carrying the gospel to every nation” Christianity Today (October 9, 2023).

Margaret Ringgit, “Thousands to mark 50th anniversary of spiritual revival” New Sarawak Tribune (October 2, 2023).

Celebrating 50 years of God’s work in Malaysia through the Bario Revival, the Ba’kelalan Revival, and the Taginambur Revival. PneumaReview.com contributing editor John Lathrop writes: “Two men who used to attend the church I pastored are speakers at this event.” See the article by Soh Pooi Siang, “Mount Murud Prayer Gathering 2019.”

Eddie L. Hyatt, “Do Cessationists Have Any Evidence at All to Support Their Theory?” Charisma (October 18, 2023).

Michael Brown, “Let the Reformed of the Lord Say No to Cessationism: Disbelief in the Spirit’s miraculous work is gaining ground in some Christian circles, but it’s fighting a losing battle” Christianity Today (October 9, 2023).

Pastor John Lathrop notes that to read the full article you will need a CT account.

David Livermore, “How to compensate for lack of lived experience” DavidLivermore.com (October 13, 2023).

One of the founders of the Cultural Intelligence Center and PneumaReview.com author, David Livermore was asked this question by Rodger Dean Duncan when he interviewed him for Forbes: “What’s your response to someone who’s skeptical about a book about diversity written by a white man?”

Image: Eberhard Grossgasteiger

Michael L. Brown, “Stewarding God’s Holy Flames of Revival” Charisma (November 2023).

John Lathrop writes: “Here is the link to an excerpt from Dr. Michael Brown’s newest book.” Seize the Moment: How to Fuel the Fires of Revival publishes in January, 2024.

Maryam Rostampour-Keller, “Persecuted Christians Around the World Need the U.S. To Be a Safe Haven” Newsweek (October 13, 2023).

Maryam Rostampour-Keller co-authored Captive in Iran: A Remarkable True Story of Hope and Triumph amid the Horror of Tehran’s Brutal Evin Prison and “Miracles in an Iranian Prison: An interview with Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh,” which appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of The Pneuma Review.

PR

USMC Marine Renders Honors and Salutes the Mother of the Fleet of the United States Navy, Verna M. Linzey, and Captain Stanford E. Linzey, Jr. on Wreaths Across America Day

On Saturday, December 16, 2023, the United States Navy ‘Mother of the Fleet,’ the late Verna M. Linzey, D.D., was honored and saluted by PFC Gabriel Pangle, USMC at Wreaths Across America ceremony, hosted by Miramar National Cemetery. He also rendered honors to Verna’s husband, the late Captain Stanford E. Linzey, Jr., CHC, USN (Ret.), who was a World War II hero as a survivor of the sinking of the USS Yorktown in the Battle of Midway.

The mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and to teach the next generation the value of freedom. On National Wreaths Across America Day, active duty military personnel and volunteers gather in about 3,000 communities across America to place wreaths at the headstones of national heroes to commemorate them and keep the memory of them alive, lest their contributions to national security and efforts to protect American’s freedoms be forgotten.

What Verna Linzey did was build the largest Sunday School in the United States Navy at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California. Adding to this seemingly impossible task was that she did it in two years from 1968 to 1970. For this incredible feat, Admiral Frederick C. Johnson, USN, awarded Verna Linzey the title “Mother of the Fleet of the United States Navy.” “Fleet” is a metaphor for the student body of 100 students, which included all the grade levels of dependent children and active duty personnel.

How this contributes to national security is by spiritually equipping active duty personnel for war. Also, when their children’s spiritual needs are being met, their active duty fathers and mothers can better focus on deployments and national security.

Organizations that support or partner with Wreaths Across American include American Gold Star Mothers, Civil Air Patrol, Young Marines, Gold Star Wives of America, United We Stand to Win, Daughters of the American Revolution, Military Women’s Memorial and Grove, Patriot Guard Riders, United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, and Military Bible Association.

Last Saturday about 4,000 military personnel and civilians, including Chaplain (MAJ) James F. Linzey, USA (Ret.), gathered at Miramar National Cemetery just outside MCAS Miramar, San Diego, to remember Verna Linzey and about 16,000 other heroes who have fought for America and contributed in vital ways to America’s national security.

PFC Gabriel Pangle, USMC, who was selected to place the wreaths and render honors to Verna Linzey and Stanford Linzey, is considered to be the most highly distinguished and honored Marine at MCAS Miramar in San Diego, California.

Source: Military Bible Association. Previously published at Christian Newswire.

More about the author: Commander Don Biadog, CHC, USN (Ret.) served with distinction as a former Command Chaplain of MCAS Miramar. His ministry earned him the 2018 Chaplain of the Year Award from Military Bible Association and the 2023 Veterans of Foreign Wars Chaplain of the Year Award. He was the emcee and host chaplain for the 2018 Verna Linzey Commemoration Banquet, which was an official United States Marine Corp event at MCAS Miramar, San Diego, California.

If the first DVD sold well, Verna Linzey was going to be included in the second DVD of a second group of Charismatic/Pentecostal leaders. She was selected to be interviewed in part due to the success of her book, The Baptism with the Holy Spirit which has been used, and still is from what I’ve been recently told, as a textbook in 100 Bible schools/colleges mainly in the Far East.

The Hollenweger Center had a scholar write a scholarly review of the book and they published the review. That greatly helped in the promotion of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y26dXu2pYtk

Verna Linzey’s PneumaReview.com Author page

My presentation was 18 minutes, and it begins at the 32-minute mark. You can watch it here: https://video.horizon.edu/en/c….

In my presentation I mentioned one of my articles and one of my books. I’ll note them below.

• “The Intensity of the Spirit in a Spirit-Filled World: Spirit Baptism, Subsequence, and the Spirit of Creation.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 34.3 (2012): 365-382.

• Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2019.

I also discuss the intensity of the Spirit in this essay:

• “Pneumatology: Eschatological Intensification of the Personal Presence of God,” The Routledge Handbook of Pentecostal Theology, edited by Wolfgang Vondey (London: Routledge, 2020), 206-215. [Editor’s note: preview this 2020 book]

According to the American Medical Association, clinical death is the cessation of the pumping of blood by the heart through the body, which will inevitably result in the cessation of breathing.  It is a medical emergency, in which without immediate intervention the opportunity to reverse the condition will close, and legal death will be declared.

We had been pastoring Faith Tabernacle in Russellville, Arkansas for many years. On the evening of January 20, 2006, I received a phone call from Glen and Margaret Barnnon, a couple in my church, who were at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Their fourteen-year-old daughter, Jamie Burns, had developed Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) two day earlier and was in critical condition.

A few minutes after we arrived and greeted Glen and Margaret, Dr. Bannister ran to us and said, “Jamie is in full cardiac arrest, and we cannot get her back. We want you to come back and watch, so that you can see that we are doing everything possible to save her life!” They had already shocked Jamie 13 times and had been doing CPR on her for 40 minutes.

We were not ready for what we saw. Glen and Margaret fell to the floor in shock. Chyrel, my wife, went to the front of the monitor which showed a straight line—no heartbeat! About 20 more people were in the room. Chyrel began screaming at the devil and rebuking Satan’s power over Jamie, she got louder and louder as she screamed, “I command life to come back into Jamie in Jesus’ name!”

Meanwhile, I ran to Glen and Margaret to help them get up. As I approached them, the Lord told me to prophesy to them, “This sickness is not unto death. I the Lord God will raise Jamie up this day, and you will know that I am the Lord your God!” At first, I hesitated, because I feared that if she did not come back from the dead, I would be called a false prophet. But the Lord immediately urged me again to give them that prophecy. So I did! At that moment, a doctor yelled, “We have a heartbeat!”

We rejoiced and shouted praises to God! However, the doctors regained Jamie’s heart beat several times, but kept losing it. Jamie went into full cardiac arrest five times. This meant that she died five times, clinically speaking.

As I was ministering to Glen and Margaret on the floor, Chaplain John, the hospital chaplain, was praying with me. The doctors said that Jamie had eight broken ribs from the CPR, her heart was destroyed because of the 13 times that they had given her heart shock treatment, her kidneys had shut down, all her organs were failing, and she had no oxygen to her brain for an hour and five minutes. They told Glen and Margaret that they had a choice to make—to try to keep Jamie alive and take the risk that she would be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life, or to let her die. They chose life!

We kept praying and speaking God’s Word over Jamie for the next nine days. After nine days, Jamie walked out of the hospital in a completely healed state. She had no broken ribs, no brain damage, and her heart and all her organs were perfectly functioning! All the doctors, nurses, and staff members called Jamie the “Miracle child!”

We have copies of Jamie’s cardiopulmonary arrest records from the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, photos, the newspaper article from the Batesville Daily Guard by Jon Trobaugh, and a written testimony by Glen, Jamie’s stepfather.

Many years later, we accepted the call to return to the pastorate at Emanuel Chapel in South Coffeyville, Oklahoma, because the Lord had previously given me a vision of revival in Coffeyville, Kansas just across the border. I believed that this was to be the time of the harvest that I saw in my vision. I found that it indeed was that time, and revival has been going on and spreading for a few years now in the entire region. Revival in Coffeyville has not merely been shown me in a vision, but it has also been prophesied by Oral Roberts and Kenneth Copeland.

There has been church growth in my church and other pastors’ churches, healings, and deliverances. Also, a new church is being birthed in this revival. Coffeyville Worship Center, pastored by Dr. James F. Linzey, will soon be opening.

The anointing by which the dead has been raised has passed on to the Assembly of God pastor, Randy DePriest. And in the Spring of 2022, a woman who Rev. DePriest prayed for at the Coffeyville Regional Medical Center was raised to life, as witnessed by Dr. Landon D. Vinson, nurses, and staff members. Dr. Linzey, who has appeared on Trinity Broadcasting Network, CBS, and Daystar Television Network, reported on this for Charisma, and it has been picked up by Christian Broadcasting Network, God TV, World Net Daily, and Pneuma Review.

Jesus said, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He will” (Jn. 5:21, MEV). Also, both Elijah and Elisha, in 1 Kings 17:20-22 and 2 Kings 4:32-35, respectively, had seen the dead raised. Even a man who had died had risen from the dead after his corpse had come into contact with the bones of Elisha, as recorded in 2 Kings 13:21.

All things are possible if we only believe!

[Editor’s note: Documentation of Jamie Burns’ miraculous recovery is available upon request.]

The title of this book may be initially off-putting to some, as though the author is proposing a view of the Holy Spirit akin to what is known as “adoptionist Christology.” But in the foreword, Matthew Bates makes it clear this is not the case: “While the revelation of the divinity of the Spirit (as part of the Christian doctrine of God) has an origin in time, nevertheless the Spirit’s divinity is not constrained by time or by our process of discovery” (xi). So, the book is not about the Spirit becoming God, as though there “was a time when he was not” God, but about how the Spirit came to be understood as being God.

The author, Kyle Hughes, apart from being an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church in North America, is also chair of the history department at Whitfield Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. He brings both a doctrinal lens and a historian’s perspective to this topic.

Chapter one, “The Problem of the Holy Spirit,” starts off by tackling some of the difficulties raised by the ways the Spirit is portrayed in Scripture. While the Father and Son are consistently portrayed in personal terms, phrases that depict the Spirit being “poured out” on people, or “filling” them, seem to suggest an inanimate substance rather than a personal being (3). Hughes then outlines how this historical study will not simply summarize the dogmatic teachings of various church fathers, but dive into how the early church’s methods of biblical interpretation that informed their declarations about the Godhead. Hughes proposes that the development of pneumatology in the first few centuries of the Christian era was based first on ideas being grounded in Scripture, while also including the church’s lived experiences of the Holy Spirit in light of Scripture.

Chapter three deals with “The Spirit and Christian Identity.” In discussing how the increasingly Gentile church came to see itself as no longer simply a messianic Jewish sect, Hughes looks at the Epistle of Barnabas and the writings of Justin Martyr. Barnabas argues that not only did the Spirit inspire the writers of the Ole Testament to look forward to Christ, but the Spirit himself looked forward to Christ, which is a personal activity rather than that of an impersonal force (42). Hughes points out that Justin wrote about the ongoing presence of the charisms in the second century, in the lives of both male and female believers, which means that the Montanists and other charismatic groups in the early church were not as innovative as some versions of history would assume (48-49). Justin also argued that just as the central Old Testament figures had gifts of the Spirit, the presence of these gifts among Christians showed that God’s Spirit was now upon them and had departed from the Jewish people as a group, indicating that the Christians had properly recognized the arrival of the Messiah.

The fifth chapter, “The Spirit and the Divine Economy,” examines Iranaeus’ presentation of the Spirit as the one who gives life, prepares believers for eternal life, reveals God across all of Scripture, and realizes the risen Christ’s presence in redeemed individuals (80-81). The work of Tertullian is further examined as well, discussing how his battle against modalistic monarchianism led to the development of trinitarian language, with Tertullian showing how that activities of the Father, Son, and Spirit are carried out by three divine Persons, and not simply one God playing three roles (85). The author also points out that Tertullian’s particular language sets up a problem for later trinitarian theologians, that of subordinationism (87). Novatian’s contribution of the eternal distinction of the Son from the Father is discussed (92), as is Origen’s articulation of the eternal existence of the Spirit with the Father and the Son (95).

I found this book to be very helpful in understanding the development over time of the doctrines we learn today in basic Christian discipleship classes and courses of systematic theology. The church’s teaching on the divine personhood of the Spirit—and thereby of the Trinity—did not descend fully-formed from heaven on golden tablets but was hammered out over the centuries through theological reflection on Scripture in the midst of the Spirit’s working among believers. I highly recommend Hughes’ volume to students of historical theology, as well as to anyone who desires to know more about “how we got here.”

Reviewed by Brian Roden

Publisher’s page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781532693748/how-the-spirit-became-god/