This book is a revision of Tania Harris’s dissertation in practical theology written under Jon Newton at Alphacrucis University College. It is based on her doctoral research, but it is also informed by her experience as an ordained minister of the Australian Christian Churches and as the founding director of God Conversations, a ministry that seeks to train believers and churches on actively and responsibly hearing from God. The book offers theological and practical guidance on fostering relationships with God through prayer.

The book opens by describing the events that led to Harris’s research and ministry focus. Her intent is to help build up the church as the place where believers expect to hear from God and are trained on how to respond to what they hear. This component of the Christian life is so important because, according to Harris, the Christian God is distinguished by his knowability and personhood. The self-revelation of God in Christ and in the abiding presence of the Spirit is the basis of humanity’s relationship with God. To frame her discussion, she narrates historical changes in Christian spirituality that shaped how Christians have expected or not expected to hear from God in their daily lives. Throughout the book, she provides short stories on how people have either benefited from acting on the revelation they receive or how their failure to discern properly had disastrous consequences. A central concern of the book is the potential problems that personal revelation and prophecy can cause within churches. These problems can cause some leaders to discourage such practices, yet Harris sees the problems as all the more reason to train people on the responsible exercise of the practices.

Harris’s book is compelling because it exemplifies the theology it advocates. Her understanding of pastoral leadership is such that church leadership is to help the believers under their care grow in their ability to hear from God, which she does throughout this book. The thorough research she undertakes in scripture and Christian spirituality is oriented towards fostering the maturity of readers. The book is to be commended also for its consciously ecumenical grounding. Harris herself is steeped within the Pentecostal tradition, yet she views it as a scholarly and ministerial necessity to engage Catholic and Protestant spiritual traditions in her discussion of revelation. She is more positive in her treatment of Catholic than Protestant sources; there are even times she draws on Catholic thought in critiquing trends within Pentecostal circles. She also evidences familiarity with contemporary questions and convergences within the ecumenical movement regarding divine revelation. Though the book was written by a Pentecostal scholar at a Pentecostal university, it is not confessionally narrow.

I commend the book for its serious, practical, and pastoral insight into the value of cultivating an active relationship with God. The book is written for mature Christians who are theologically literate even if not theologically trained. There are lingering questions on some doctrinal claims made, but these do not detract from the value of the book. Harris pulls off a rare accomplishment in distilling years of research and experience into a work that will contribute to the spiritual lives of churches—an example of practical theology at its best.

Reviewed by Joey Baker

Read an excerpt appearing at PneumaReview.com: “The Theological Problem of Spirit Versus Scripture”

Author’s bookstore page (where you may download and read an additional sample chapter): https://www.godconversations.com/product/the-church-who-hears-gods-voice/

From the email promotion:

Whether you are familiar with Dr. Craig Keener or this is your first introduction to his work, we are delighted to announce an upcoming Bible webinar with the professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary.

Well-known for his research on the Jewish and Greco-Roman context of the New Testament, Dr. Keener will join us for a two-day online seminar to teach us more about the Jewish context of key books and passages of the Bible. It will be a wonderful teaching series that you will not want to miss!

Here is the fourth and final session, entitled “The Jewish Context for the Book of Revelation.”

Image: Patrick Fore

That you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
— Ephesians 3:19

Revelation of God not only brings conviction, but it also brings impartation. When one gets a revelation of the love of God, that love will be shed abroad in the heart. A revelation of the holiness of God will make one holy. A revelation of the knowledge of God will impart Divine knowledge. Each revelation brings transformation.

Many people have a revelation of the love of God; that is very wonderful. But in His character, He is much more than love. The Scripture states that our God is holy, just, and faithful.

These Divine revelations bring impartations of the Divine characteristics and virtues into our lives. If we have a revelation of the God of love, impartation of the love of God comes to our souls. Even when I sense my lack of faith and yet have a revelation of the faithfulness of God, the faith of God is planted within me.

When we have a full, well-rounded revelation of God, we come to be filled with all the fullness of God. This is truly the perfection of a Christian character. Thus, we can see that the great need of this hour is to have a full revelation so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). In the same chapter, Jesus also spoke of the coming of the Comforter. By this passage, I saw that God must still manifest Himself. The glorious fullness of Divine Character must still be in operation. The present-day expression of the Godhead is the expression of the Church of Jesus Christ.

PR

“…one of the early 20th Century’s prophetic voices still speaks today…” — Jack W. Hayford

Reprinted with permission from Daily Seedings: A Devotional Classic for the Spirit-Filled Life by Ivan Q. Spencer (selected and edited by Edie Mourey), Furrow Press, 2008.

For more about Ivan Spencer, see “Following in His Steps” by Edie Mourey.

We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
— 1 John 3:2

When John had a vision of the glorified Lord on Patmos, John fell at His feet as dead. The same thing happened to Daniel, and he said all his comely parts turned in him into corruption. Revelation of God always brings a sense of a deep heart need. If sinners can be brought into touch with the Lord, conviction will settle upon them.

The outstanding use of miracles is to bring revelation of God to people—to show His Presence, His power, and His love. It is not merely to meet the needy. That ministry which has not the supernatural and the miraculous in it is void of revelation of God and is lacking in spiritual results. It brings a mental conception but lacks heart revelation. The most of Christianity today is a result of logic and theory. Because it is so void of the supernatural, God has not been able to manifest Himself.

Oh, for the supernatural ministry today! It will come when God’s people come into revelation and knowledge of Him as John, Paul, and Daniel had it. Powerful anointing and ministries are sure to follow the revelation of the Lord.

In these days of mental development and learning, man gets almost everything that he knows by way of mental exercise. We have acquired this method of gaining knowledge in spiritual things. But spiritual things, if they are to become understood, must be by way of the heart. As it is written, “The world through wisdom did not know God” (1 Corinthians 1:21). But with the heart man believes unto righteousness.

What one gets by revelation stays with him and becomes a part of him. What you have received of God cannot be reasoned away.

PR

“…one of the early 20th Century’s prophetic voices still speaks today…” — Jack W. Hayford

Reprinted with permission from Daily Seedings: A Devotional Classic for the Spirit-Filled Life by Ivan Q. Spencer (selected and edited by Edie Mourey), Furrow Press, 2008.

For more about Ivan Spencer, see “Following in His Steps” by Edie Mourey.

The Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

— Galatians 1: 11-12

The apostle Paul met the Lord on the Damascus road in the days of his persecution of the Church. That vision brought a complete change in him in every way.

Almost immediately, Paul began to preach Christ as the Son of God. There were other revelations of Jesus that he had in his early Christian life which shaped his Christian character and gave him the message that he would afterward call, “my gospel.”

In Galatians 1:11–12, Paul declared he neither received the gospel from man nor was he taught it, but he said it came by the revelation of Jesus Christ. In other words, the gospel was a revelation of the Person of Jesus Christ. It was a revelation of His character and perfections as the Divine Son of God. Then, the gospel is not merely a set of teachings or doctrines, but it is what is seen in the Person of Jesus.

In Romans 1:16, Paul declared that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Then, the gospel in its outworking is the Divine operation of God’s character perfections in the lives of men who believe.

Not only was Jesus revealed to Paul, but He was also revealed in him. That is, revelation of Jesus brought impartation of Him into Paul’s heart and life. What he received by revelation stayed with him and became part of him. Christ was in him the Hope of glory!

This impartation of Christ was to enable Paul to preach to the Gentiles (Ephesians 3:8). And with Paul’s preaching, there was imparted to the hearers the very life, virtues, and perfections that he had received when Christ was revealed in him.

PR

“…one of the early 20th Century’s prophetic voices still speaks today…” — Jack W. Hayford

Reprinted with permission from Daily Seedings: A Devotional Classic for the Spirit-Filled Life by Ivan Q. Spencer (selected and edited by Edie Mourey), Furrow Press, 2008.

For more about Ivan Spencer, see “Following in His Steps” by Edie Mourey.

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

— Matthew 16:16

In the first year of Jesus’ ministry, while preaching by the Sea of Galilee and being pressed into the water by the throng, Jesus asked Peter that He might get into his ship.

After preaching from the ship to the people for a time, He asked Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his net for a draft of fish.

Peter replied, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5).

Peter surely must have been startled. He, an old man and fisherman all his life in these very waters, was then taking fishing instructions from a young carpenter after he had fished all night and caught nothing!

Evidently, to prove to his instructor that He was wrong, Peter yielded to Jesus’ wish. But when he and his helper could not pull in the net because of the multitude of fish and had to call for help from James and John in another ship—filling both ships until they began to sink—he fell at the feet of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8).

Why was he occupied with his sinful state? Because, with the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God, there also came to him a revelation of his own condition. No one can come in vital contact with Deity and be the same again.

PR

“…one of the early 20th Century’s prophetic voices still speaks today…” — Jack W. Hayford

Reprinted with permission from Daily Seedings: A Devotional Classic for the Spirit-Filled Life by Ivan Q. Spencer (selected and edited by Edie Mourey), Furrow Press, 2008.

For more about Ivan Spencer, see “Following in His Steps” by Edie Mourey.

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.” — John 17:6

In the ancient East, proper names had a special significance. The name of a person often presented some characteristic of that person. This is true also of the names of God. In His names, He reveals His character and His manifold relations to His creatures.

Jesus’ life and ministry were revelations of the Father. He came into the world to manifest the Father in all His manifold character. The disciples would naturally know Jesus as a man after the flesh—as a Nazarene, the son of Joseph and Mary. To come to know Him as the Son of God, they had to have a revelation.

Additionally, each New Testament character differed from the other in natural traits and characteristics, so Jesus had to be manifest to each one in some special way in order for each to actually know Him as the Son of God.

Thomas’s unbelief, for example, had to be surmounted before he could know Him. Thrusting his hand in the riven side, he cried, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

The woman of Samaria was startled by the knowledge Jesus had of her past life. Then, He carefully unfolded to her what the living water was and who it was that was offering it to her. Afterward, she had to exclaim, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29).

PR

“…one of the early 20th Century’s prophetic voices still speaks today…” — Jack W. Hayford

Reprinted with permission from Daily Seedings: A Devotional Classic for the Spirit-Filled Life by Ivan Q. Spencer (selected and edited by Edie Mourey), Furrow Press, 2008.

For more about Ivan Spencer, see “Following in His Steps” by Edie Mourey.

This is the second volume in Kärkkäinen’s five-volume series developing a constructive Christian theology. Constructive theologies differ from systematic theologies by their use of a coherentist model of truth (in contrast to a foundationalist model of truth) and their fuller engagement with different faith traditions both within Christianity as well as without. The guiding assumption for constructive theologies is that other faith traditions contain information about God because God, whether through common grace or the direct work of the Holy Spirit, connects, influences, or reveals himself to people throughout the world. By engaging other traditions, theologians purposely avoid the solipsism and biases inherent to their own context and are challenged to think of new ways to understand and articulate their faith. The result of reflective thought on this process is the creation of a theology that is both contemporary and comprehensive.

View of David’s Citadel from Hinnom Valley, Jerusalem.
Image: Gilabrand / Wikimedia Commons.

It was stated that this was probably the largest gathering of Spirit baptized Christians gathered in Jerusalem to honor the Holy Spirit since the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2. Like that important day that we are all linked to, this conference had people from most nations in the world, the majority being what we term “Third-World Nations”. Probably over 1,000 were from Asian nations, with huge delegations from China and Indonesia.

The speakers included most of the present well-known leaders in the Pentecostal movement speaking in the main sessions, as well as both famous and not so famous speakers in dozen of workshops covering virtually every subject dealing with the church and ministry to the Lord and the world. Most Christian gatherings in Jerusalem focus mostly on praise, worship, prayer and reconciliation between different peoples groups. This had all that, but was also packed with solid Biblical teaching. If we have learned anything in the past 109 years of this movement, it is that Holy Spirit led and anointed ministry will only produce lasting fruit when it is based on solid Biblical teaching. The total audio library of both general sessions and workshop teachings (over 175 talks), can be ordered on-line at http://jerusalem2015audio.com

The Hall of Names at Yad Vashem. “Yad Vashem” comes from Isaiah 56:5, giving “a place and a name” to the millions of Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust.
Image: David Shankbone / Wikimedia Commons.

Most of those who participated in the conference also visited many historical Biblical sites in Israel before or after the meetings. The fact of the return of the Jews to their land after being in dispersion for close to 2,000 years, and the restoration of the State of Israel itself is a proof of the Bible, and a miracle you can see with your own eyes. Those who visited Yad Vashem (The Holocaust History Museum) were deeply moved, many to tears. Throughout history the powers of darkness have used every conceivable method to destroy and exterminate God’s chosen people, the Jews, culminating in the Nazi holocaust with the murder of six million Jews living in Europe. We learned behind this was a devilish doctrine of ‘replacement theology’ that is sadly still believed by some misguided Christians.

The restoration of God’s chosen people to their ancient land, as miraculous and important as it is, reminded us of the Biblical promises of the restoration of the church and the world-wide preaching of the Kingdom of God (Acts 3:19-21, Matthew 24:14, Eph. 5:26-27, etc.) In Empowered 21 we were reminded how the Pentecostal Gospel has been preached with signs, wonders, miraculous healing and gifts of the Holy Spirit to the whole world during the past 100 years resulting in the salvation of hundreds of millions and the transformation of lives and whole societies.

However, we were also reminded that many are backsliding from the Pentecostal message that focuses on the Cross of Christ, the Word of God and the working of the Holy Spirit to a compromising man-pleasing Gospel (Jude 3). I for one heard a clear call from many of the speakers to return to this Pentecostal faith that impacted the whole world. I heard many warn of the dangerous trend in Charismatic circles to accept and preach the hyper-grace message which has admittedly been the reason for the success of many mega churches claiming to be part of this Pentecostal movement. There was a strong call to repentance, fasting and prayer, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire resulting in holiness in the lives of believers and the preaching of the Full Gospel to the whole world.

The worship leading was done mainly by young people, many from Oral Roberts University and Australia. On the last day, the leaders of this generation of youth shared the Word and ministered to everyone. The Pentecostal vision truly has been maintained and spread throughout the whole world during the past century, and now the baton has been given to this generation of young people. They very possibly will be alive to usher in the return of Christ.

Dennis Balcombe
Hong Kong

By Scott Lencke.

Continuationists believe God still speaks today. This happens not only through the word of God in Scripture, but even through specific words or what we might term as “revelations.” These revelations can come in various manners – prophecies, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, visions, dreams, etc. – but God still communicates and speaks today. He actually never desired anything less.

However, what can get easily leveled against continuationists, from a more cessationist camp, is the idea that such revelation would no longer be needed knowing we now have the completed revelation of God in Jesus Christ, which is, of course, summarized in the full canon of Scripture. This revelation is the final word and no other such revelation is needed. And I understand the concern, especially noting such doctrines as the sufficiency of Scripture. However, I believe there is a very balanced approach that allows for the God-breathed Scriptures to maintain their authoritative place as God’s written revelation while also maintaining that God still speaks, reveals and communicates today.

Here is what I believe we need to recognize.

We must confess there is no more needed revelation from God with respect to his redemptive purposes in Jesus Christ. No more! The work of Christ and the revelation concerning this work – summed up in his life, ministry, death and resurrection – are the final word on God’s redemptive revelation and purposes. And I believe the New Testament makes this quite clear.

Yet, I do not think it is out of bounds to believe God continues to communicate in what I might term as a non-redemptive measure. This is where continuationists part from cessationists.

Again, I reiterate that it would be quite detrimental to say there is still more for God to reveal concerning the redemption of humanity through Christ and the gospel of the kingdom. Christ remains the final word on such. But, to believe God still reveals today, in a non-redemptive sense, should not be seen as harmful to a faith that looks to be grounded in Christ, the gospel and the testimony of the canon of Scripture. Matter of fact, I would argue that, to not allow for God to still directly speak and reveal today, in all his various manners, would cut us off from something very dear to the heart of God.

In all, I want to give two pointers as to why I believe in continuing, non-redemptive revelation:

1) Even while the canon of Scripture was being formed, God was always speaking para-Scripture, meaning he was speaking alongside what would be included in the canon of Scripture.

A couple examples would be found in places such as 1 Samuel 10:10-13 and 1 Timothy 1:18-19.