An Open Letter to Phillip

Dear Phillip,

Thank you for your contribution to the discussion last week, as we considered whether the Holy Spirit still works today in the ways we read about in the New Testament. On reflection, I realise that there were a number of things I should have said, that did not come to mind at the time.

Firstly, with regard to your concern that many of the things I spoke about concerning the Holy Spirit had to do with experience, and were therefore suspect, I should have pointed out that the whole of the Christian life as the New Testament portrays it, has to do with experience, in which our emotions play an integral part. This is seen, for example, in Jesus’ teaching that the greatest commandment is ‘Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ (Matthew 22:37). It is true that the words for ‘love’ and ‘heart’ have to do with more than just emotion, but they still include emotion.

This is also true of the statement in Romans 5:5 that ‘God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us’. This does not just say that God loves us, but that he has ‘poured out his love into our hearts’. This is not just an intellectual fact to be noted, but something to be experienced at the very centre of our being. Unfortunately many of us are so locked up in our emotions, behind a strong protective wall that we have built, that we are unable to receive that outpouring of love.

I agree that emotions and experience by themselves are deceptive, and must be tested against God’s truth revealed in His Word. But to be afraid of experience is to be afraid of life itself. Much of the impact of Jesus’ ministry, and the ministry of the Apostles had to do with what people experienced. That is why Jesus could invite his disciples to ‘believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves’. (John 14:11) Paul could say of his ministry in Corinth that he did not come with wise and persuasive words ‘but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power’. (1 Corinthians 2:4).Allied with our experience of God’s love is the question of our expression of God’s joy, which is the second of the fruits of the Spirit. It seems to me that many of those who have difficulty receiving love also have difficulty showing joy.

You say that you seek to live by the Bible, but do you realise that the Bible calls us to exuberant uninhibited display of our praise to God? As an Anglican you will know that Psalm 95 (the Venite) is an integral part of Morning Prayer. In the old Prayer Book the call was to ‘heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation’. However, modern translations more accurately render this as ‘shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation’. When did you last hear Anglicans shouting aloud in Church? Similarly, Psalm 134:2 calls on God’s worshippers to ‘lift up your hands’, but rarely do we. Our obedience to God’s Word has its limits.On another matter, you stated emphatically your belief that ‘speaking in tongues is demonic’. However, that is not stated anywhere in the Bible. On the contrary, almost all the references to ‘speaking in tongues’ in the Bible are very positive. Firstly, tongues are evidence of the gift of the Holy Spirit and God’s acceptance in Acts 2:35; 10:44--46; and 19:6. But, more generally, tongues are part of the spiritual equipment God has given to the Church for its growth and development. In 1 Corinthians 14:4 Paul says that speaking in tongues edifies or builds up oneself. Therefore he can thank God that he speaks in in tongues more than any of the christians in Corinth (v. 18). Furthermore, he actually says ‘I would like everyone of you to speak in tongues’ (v.5). Some have tried to dismiss this by saying that Paul was merely going along with the Corinthian church who seemed to be overly fascinated by tongues. However, in the light of his claim to speak in tongues more than anyone, this can hardly be the case. Paul clearly both approves of and practices speaking in tongues, and concludes by saying ‘do not forbid speaking in tongues’. (v.39).The only negative thing that Paul says about speaking in tongues is that, unless it is interpreted it is far less important in Church than prophesying (v.5). This is because tongues are generally not understood by others, and therefore do not help to build up the congregation. The other thing Paul says about tongues, as with the other spiritual gifts, is that they are empty without love.To say that speaking in tongues is demonic is to fly in the face of the clear word of Scripture. Certainly, as with all gifts of the Spirit, the devil can counterfeit them, and we are told to ‘test the spirits’. I have witnessed a tongue that came from a demon rather than the Holy Spirit. But to dismiss all instances of speaking with tongues because of a few counterfeits is both foolish and unbiblical. God, through his Spirit, has riches of love, joy, peace and power to pour out upon us. Are you willing to trust him?

John Davies
25 March 2000