Cessationism and Pentecostalism ( Part II ) "The Holy Spirit and Power"

                                                                                   

At the beginning of part II of this series, it will be necessary to take a brief look at the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The Pentecostal view concerning this doctrine is their main deviation from orthodoxy and gives substance to all the other aberrant teachings we will later discuss.

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit itself has variations within Pentecostalism. All forms hold to the experience while some would say the experience itself is a sign of Salvation, making it in some cases a salvation issue. The circles I was associated with did not hold that strict of a view. They understood a salvation experience followed by this second blessing that would be accompanied by speaking in tongues. This was called "being filled with the Spirit" or sometimes "getting the Holy Ghost." I have already covered speaking in tongues in a previous article so I will not repeat that here. If you desire to explore that subject in greater detail you can do so by following this link: Speaking In Tongues 

In Pentecostalism after having experienced this second benefit or blessing, one was to expect a much greater power in living the Christian life. Power over sin and temptations were to be greatly increased. This has its roots in the Holiness movement that preceded Pentecostalism, but that is another subject for another time. If you had asked me while I was in the movement, I would have affirmed this power to be true. Looking back now years later, I realize the only thing that has strengthened my walk or sanctification is just simple growth in the Christian life over the years. Sanctification is a true Biblical doctrine, but it is not brought about by some powerful second experience. It is brought about in the Christian's life by his or her growth in the knowledge of God and understanding of His word. 

One of the scriptures Pentecostals will point to as proof of this power claim is Acts 1:8 ESV

(8)  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Truly this did happen and the disciples did witness with great power until all the known world had heard the Gospel. However, leaving this text in its context and considering the totality of scripture that has been given to the church, we discover the true work of the Holy Spirit. It is not found in some second powerful experience that creates another class of Christians where one group has this wonderful ability and the other group does not. We do find the Holy Spirit working in all Christians' lives with power. Paul gives us some insight through one of his prayers in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 3:14-21 ERV

(14)  So I bow in prayer before the Father.

(15)  Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him.

(16)  I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit.

(17)  I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.

(18)  And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is.

(19)  Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.

(20)  With God's power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.

(21)  To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.

He does his work of sanctification in the believer through the knowledge of the scriptures. John 17:17 ESV

(17)  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV

(3)  His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

(4)  by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Secondly, in Pentecostalism, the power to heal sickness and cast out devils is also attributed to having received this second experience. I have seen hundreds of people prayed for over the years, many of which gave testimony of some measure of healing. I myself have been prayed for and then given testimony of relief from pain or some greater comfort as a result of that prayer. I have seen demons cast out while the person lay on the floor of the church making scary sounds, afterward to testify of deliverance. However, looking back now upon those times I realize nothing changed in any of the circumstances. There were no real healings or demonic deliverances. All those people continued later to be sick and the supposed devil casting resulted in no real change in the person's life. Yet at the time, all these things seemed real. How are we to understand this? 

It seems what I was seeing was the "sugar pill" effect, we have all heard how that works. Someone is instructed to take a certain medication when in reality, it is only a sugar pill, but the patient has such an expectation or belief that it will work they experience improvement. This even interferes with medical research, for it skews the results. I was recently reading some research on the effects of certain natural remedies for a specific health issue. Some of the research had shown considerable improvement through natural remedies. However, the same research was done using a placebo treatment (sugar pill) and they received nearly the same results as the natural herbs.

Those testimonies of healing, including my own, were true testimonies, but our minds were deceiving us because of our enhanced expectation of receiving the healing. Science journalist Erik Vance speaking of the brain states, " . . . it's an expectation generator. It creates these expectations. What's interesting about them is when your expectation and reality don't match, sometimes the brain will step in and make the expectation a reality. The easiest example of this is with pain. In one of my first reporting experiences, I got electrocuted in this chair for half an hour or so. Every time I got a green light I got a small shock. Every time I saw a red light I got a large shock and went back and forth." Erik goes on to explain at the end of the experiment they were shocking him equally with the larger shock on both green and red lights, yet, because of his expectation, his brain gave him the illusion the green light still felt like the smaller shock. 

That is why it is so difficult to correct these misconceptions within the church because, for those who have had hands laid upon them for prayer, the experience was real. That is why the testimonies you hear are what are referred to as psychosomatic healing. (psychosomatic medicine/psychosomatic science is the study and practice of integrating mind, brain, body, and social context into medicine.) Everyone I saw prayed for with a terminal disease later died of that disease regardless of their testimony. In over 25 years in these circles, while attending conventions of some of the biggest superstars in the business, I never saw a single miracle that was verifiable. Yet, the placebo effect (The tendency of any medication or treatment, even an inert or ineffective one, to exhibit results simply because the recipient believes that it will work.) provided enough results to keep the mind deceived.

How this healing power is administered varies with Pentecostal groups, in the circles which I was associated with it came both by laying on of hands usually while anointing the person with oil, and then declaring whatever results were desired in Jesus' Name. Generally, the person prayed for would testify of healing or at least an improvement immediately. If they didn't receive it immediately, they were usually instructed to maintain that confession while exerting their faith to receive the healing they desired. In this manner, the successful improvement could be attributed to the power of prayer, and if not it could be attributed to their lack of faith. Sometimes it would become necessary to pray for someone with a serious issue where the Placebo effect could not make a difference. Such cases as broken bones or invalids. Of course, in those cases, no one got up out of a wheelchair, ever. 

Some of these aberrant teachings are produced and affirmed by using such scripture as Mark 11:22-24 ESV

(22)  And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

(23)  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

(24)  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Considering Mark 11:23-24 scripture, this was spoken by the Lord in response to the disciple's amazement at the miracle of the fig tree that had previously occurred. Sometimes this is used to teach one can receive their healing through their own faith and speaking it in confessions. Nowhere in scripture do you find this being taught by Apostolic authority or demonstrated in Church practice.

We do find in scripture the disciples doing exactly what Jesus did tell them in Matthew 11:23-24. In Acts Chapter 3 we find a man lame from birth, yet Peter is able to simply say, "rise up and walk" and the man is instantly healed without any faith on the part of the lame man. In Acts 13:11 we find Paul simply saying "you shall be blind for a season" a false teacher was blinded. Many things like these were done by the Apostles exactly like Jesus instructed in Matthew 11:23-24, but nothing was done because the Apostles decided to do something. It was not at their whims but as the Spirit willed according to His purpose and as He granted extraordinary faith. There is no one doing these things today. These isolated scriptures must be understood in the context in which they are written.

So what does scripture teach us about prayer and healing? We do find many accounts of wonderful healings and miraculous works recorded in the Gospels and Acts. However, we must understand the distinction between prescriptive and descriptive passages.

Prescriptive / prĭ-skrĭp′tĭv / adjective / Relating to or making rules, laws, or directions. 

Descriptive / dĭ-skrĭp′tĭv / adjective / Involving or characterized by description; serving to describe.

However, these accounts are of a descriptive nature and not prescriptive as the setting forth of rules that were to continue through all time as church practice. These signs and wonders were for a specific time and purpose within church history. We are told in Mark 16:20 ESV

(20)  And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. And then again we are told in Hebrews 2:3-4 ERV

(3)  So surely we also will be punished if we don't pay attention to the salvation we have that is so great. It was the Lord Jesus who first told people about it. And those who heard him proved to us that it is true.

(4)  God also proved it by using miraculous signs, wonders, and all kinds of miracles. And he proved it by giving people various gifts through the Holy Spirit in just the way he wanted.

These miraculous works were what set the Apostles and the Gospel message apart from any other competing message, and there were many claiming to be the truth delivered from God. But none received validation as the truth but that which was spoken by the Lord and His Apostles. This is how we understand the books we have in our Bible to be the word of God because they were validated to be the truth of God by signs and wonders. All other writings from that era or any other are considered outside this validation.  

In conclusion, we can confidently say we have a gracious Heavenly Father. In our sicknesses and various trials in life, we can certainly turn to him in prayer and make our petitions known. In His Providence, He certainly hears and answers our prayers and heals our bodies as it pleases Him. These things have always been a part of the Christian faith, and true testimonies of His grand Providential acts are a part of our history and continue to be an expectation within the church today. 

However, the introduction of this Pentecostal Power and its administration of the restoration of the Apostolic gifts into this present age is harmful and misleading to the body of Christ and causes much division. The means by which Pentecostalism has been delivered is very deceptive because the scriptures are lifted out of their context and given the appearance of affirming the Pentecostal doctrines. The Placebo effect and manipulative techniques compound the deception and have turned this movement into the fastest-growing sect of Christianity today. In our next post, we will continue to look at another aberrant teaching found in Pentecostalism.

David