This guest review essay originally appeared in Trinity Journal and is reprinted here by permission of the author.

This work[1] is the result of a conference in Costa Rica (1996) devoted to a selection of issues emerging from the ongoing globalization of what Presbyterian theologian J. Rodman Williams identifies as the Pentecostal Reformation,[2] a movement which represents more than one third of the world’s practicing Christians, more than all of Protestantism combined.  In Williams’ case, for example, his many writings,[3] especially his trilogy, Renewal Theology,[4] have been of some assistance to the global Pentecostal and Charismatic renewal movements as have the biblical contributions, for example, of Arrington, Ervin, Horton, Palma and Rea[5] from within the Pentecostal sector.  These movements[6] continue to attempt to reach out to Christians in various denominations through conferences and symposia around the world, as is the case with the current effort of Dempster et al.  The estimate that the Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal movements now numerically dwarf all Protestantism combined is probably a conservative numerical estimate by Baptist statistician David Barrett’s latest tabulation[7] and accords with the belief of travelling observers that there are over a million Pentecostal churches in villages, towns and cities across the world.  Given the contributions of the Reformed/Evangelical and Catholic tradition to the Charismatic Renewal, joining Pentecostalism’s renewed emphasis on Scripture and experience in theological reflection and hermeneutics,[8] and to various former and ongoing dialogues with Pentecostals,[9] perhaps the fruits and outreach of this conference in Costa Rica, along with associated theological ramifications, may be of interest to readers of the Trinity Journal.

Dempster, Klaus, and Peterson have put together a collection of essays built around three pre-selected themes, somewhat similar in style to the earlier Charismatic Christianity as a Global Culture.[10]  Here, the editors and conference organizers come from the disciplines of social ethics (Dempster) and missiology (Klaus and Peterson).  The immensity and diversity of the Pentecostal movement and its burgeoning offspring, the international charismatic renewal (not considered in this volume), afford a wide possibility for scholarly consideration.  Those topics chosen here reflect the concerns and interests of the conveners and are grouped into three categories: Changing Paradigms in Pentecostal Scholarly Reflection, Pentecostalism as a Global Culture, and Issues Facing Pentecostalism in a Postmodern World.

As a brief assessment cannot give due consideration to all the contributions, perhaps it is appropriate to focus on some of the highlights and lowlights, as well as some backgrounds, in an effort to provide an overall perspective of the volume.  In the first category, Changing Paradigms, Wonsuk Ma, writes on “Biblical Studies in the Pentecostal Tradition: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” (52-69).  Noting that two thirds of the world’s people in the Third World are more open to the supernatural world enunciated in Scripture than in Western cultures, Ma points out that “The Pentecostal movement has long treasured Scripture.  These ‘people of the Book’ have never questioned the authority of the written word” (54), citing some of the scholarly books and journals produced in the tradition.  Use of biblical narrative is widespread and Ma seems to side with the critical interpretative methods that emphasize the legitimacy of employing narrative for doctrine and practice, “Though the use of narrative for constructive theological work and doctrinal formulation has been criticized from both within and without, narratives are still viewed by Pentecostals, not only as an effective, but also as an authentic means of communicating traditions and truths” (62).

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

22. Doesn’t the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit will never call attention to Himself, but will always direct our attention to Christ? Then how can it be right to place so much emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit today?

This objection is based on trying to force a false alternative, one not supported by Scripture. Of course the Holy Spirit does glorify Jesus (John 16:14) and bear witness to Jesus (John 15:26; Acts 5:32; 1 John 2:3; 4:2). But this does not mean He does not make His own actions and words known. The Bible has hundreds of verses talking about the work of the Holy Spirit, making His work known, and Bible is itself spoken or inspired by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19, “Make disciples …baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” suggests that the Holy Spirit is to be given equal honor with the Father and the Son in the Church.

Moreover, the Holy Spirit frequently made Himself known by some phenomenon or event that indicated His activity, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. This was true when the Holy Spirit came upon the 70 elders with Moses and they prophesied (Numbers 11:25-26), or when the Holy Spirit came upon the judges to enable them to do great works of power (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14). People could see the effect of the Holy Spirit coming on someone in these cases. This was also true when the Holy Spirit came mightily upon Saul and he prophesied with a band of prophets (1 Samuel 10:6, 10), and it was frequently true when the Holy Spirit empowered the Old Testament prophets to give public prophecies.

The Holy Spirit also made Himself known or evident in a visible way when he descended as a dove on Jesus (John 1:32), or came as a sound of a rushing wind and with visible tongues of fire on the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2:2-3). In addition, when people had the Holy Spirit poured out on them and began to speak in tongues or praise God in a remarkable and spontaneous way (see Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:6), the Holy Spirit certainly made His presence known as well. And Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit within us would be so powerful He would be like a river of living water flowing out from our inmost beings (see John 7:39): Certainly that simile suggests a kind of presence people would be aware of, a presence that would somehow be perceptible.

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

15. Why do people speak directly to demons today and command them to leave, rather than just praying and asking God to drive the demon away? Isn’t it safer just to pray to God about this?

In a way, this is similar to asking why Christians should share the gospel with another person rather than simply praying and asking God to reveal the gospel to that person directly. Or why should we speak words of encouragement to a Christian who is discouraged rather than just praying and asking God Himself to encourage that person directly? Why should we speak a word of rebuke or gentle admonition to a Christian, whom we see involved in some kind of sin, rather than just praying and asking God to take care of the sin in that person’s life?

The answer to all these questions is that in the kind of world God has created, He has given us an active role in carrying out His plans, especially His plans for advancing the Kingdom and building up the Church. In all of these cases, our direct involvement and activity is important in addition to our prayers. And so it seems to be in our dealing with demonic forces as well.

As a wise father who does not settle all of his children’s disputes for them, but sometimes sends them back out to the playground to settle a dispute themselves, so our heavenly Father encourages us to enter directly into conflict with demonic forces, in the name of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thereby He enables us to gain the joy of participating in eternally significant ministry and the joy of triumphing over the destructive power of Satan and his demons in people’s lives. God could certainly deal with demonic attacks every time we prayed and asked Him to do so, and He no doubt sometimes does. But the New Testament pattern seems to be that God ordinarily expects Christians themselves to speak directly to the unclean spirits.

We see this pattern of speaking directly to demons first in the ministry of Jesus. He spoke to the demon troubling a man in the synagogue, saying, “Be silent, and come out of Him!” (Mark 1:25). He commanded the demons in the Gadarene demoniac, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” (Mark 5:8). When Jesus encountered a young boy severely afflicted by a demon, “He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again'” (Mark 9:25). This was Jesus’ general pattern, for people said about Him, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out” (Luke 4:36).

The Power of the Cross: The Biblical Place of Healing and Gift-Based Ministry in Proclaiming the Gospel

8. Doesn’t Hebrews 2:3 tell us that miracles were restricted to the apostles, “those who heard him”?

In Hebrews 2:3-4, the author says about the message of salvation,

It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness²³  by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will.

The miracles here are said to come through those who heard the Lord firsthand (“those who heard him”), so it is argued that we should not expect them to be done through others who were not firsthand witnesses to the Lord’s teaching and ministry.²⁴

But this argument attempts to draw more from the passage than is there. First, the phrase “those who heard him” (Hebrews 2:3) is certainly not limited to the apostles, for many others heard Jesus as well (Luke 10:1 ff.; John 6:60-70; 1 Corinthians 15:6). But more importantly, this position is claiming something the text simply does not say: That the gospel message was confirmed by miracles when it was preached by those who heard Jesus says nothing at all about whether it would be confirmed by miracles when preached by others who did not hear Jesus.

Finally, this passage says the message was confirmed not only by “signs and wonders and various miracles” but also by “gifts of the Holy Spirit.” If someone argues that this passage limits miracles to the apostles and their companions, then he or she must also argue that gifts of the Holy Spirit are likewise limited to the first-century Church. But few would argue that there are no gifts of the Holy Spirit today.

9. When Paul says, “Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:22-23), doesn’t he warn us against seeking signs and say that we should just preach the gospel of Christ?

Here Paul cannot be denying that he performed miracles in connection with proclaiming the gospel. In Romans 15:18-19, a passage Paul wrote while in Corinth, he said,

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyr’icum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Should we expect the Holy Spirit to work in powerful, miraculous ways in connection with the preaching of the gospel and the life of the Church today? This has been the claim of John Wimber and the Vineyard movement, and of others within what is called the “third wave” of renewal by the Holy Spirit.¹  Similar claims have been made for years by Christians within the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. But other evangelicals have differed with this claim, and have raised several objections. In this series, I want to consider some of the most frequent objections and propose some answers from Scripture.

1. Doesn’t Jesus say, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 16:4)?²  Doesn’t this mean we should not seek miracles today—rather, we should look to “the sign of Jonah,” which means the resurrection of Christ, and emphasize that when we talk about miracles?³

The mistake made in this objection is a failure to look at the context and find whom Jesus was talking to. In the context of Matthew 16, it is the Pharisees and Sadducees who came, “and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven” (Matthew 16:1). Similarly, it was the hostile scribes and Pharisees who came in Matthew 12:38-45, the Pharisees who began to argue with him “to test him” in Mark 8:11-12, and skeptics who came “to test him” and seek a sign from heaven in Luke 11:16. (The only passage that doesn’t specify that the comment was directed against hostile unbelievers is Luke 11:29, but the parallel passage in Matthew 12:39-42 does specify that it was specifically the scribes and Pharisees against whom this word was directed.)

So in every instance the rebuke for seeking signs is addressed to hostile unbelievers. Jesus is rebuking Jewish leaders who had hard hearts and were simply seeking a pretext for criticizing Him. In no case are such rebukes addressed to genuine followers of Jesus who sought a miracle for physical healing or deliverance for themselves or others, either out of compassion for others or out of a desire to advance the gospel and see God’s name glorified. These warning verses, taken in the original contexts, apply to unbelievers, and therefore to use them to apply to genuine Christians is an illegitimate application. No New Testament passages warn against the use of miracles by genuine Christians.

It seems to me that the New Testament encourages us to believe God and seek answers to prayer in many ways, including miraculous answers to prayer. (See Acts 4:30; 1 Corinthians 14:1; Galatians 3:5 [implicitly], see also the entire pattern of gospel proclamation plus miraculous demonstration in the evangelism carried on in Acts 3:6, 12ff.; 4:29, 30; 5:12-16, 20, 21, 28, 42; 6:8 10; 8:4-7, 12; 9:17, 18 [cf. 22:13] 34, 35; 14:3, 8-10, 15ff.; 15:12, 36; 18:5, 11 [cf. 2 Corinthians 12:12, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5]; 19:8-12; compare Hebrews 2:4; James 5:13-18).