Part I: Love, Prophecy & Words of Knowledge, An experiential Synthesis (Jon Rosene, audio + video) with a word on the Reformed position on Spiritual Gifts in light of Christian Mysticism
Here is the link to the entire session.
Part I is 31:30 -1.27:00.
(And see here and here for samples of the praise vitally associated with the conference.)
Introduction
We will present below two sections. The first comprises the theological background to spiritual gifts with key words from Scripture specifically regarding the experience of the prophetic. What you will find in the lecture is Jon then filling out these Scriptural texts in enfleshed experience (second half of the talk).
The second section will be a word on spiritual gifts from a Reformed Protestant perspective with special reference to DKF’s Systematic Theology, Volume 3: The Holy Spirit and the Church. So that you are aware up front, Dr. Kelly will place the experiences outlined in Jon’s talk in the valid category of Christian Mysticism, wherein God literally comes down and meets a person by the power of the Holy Spirit in faith. He will further divide these experiences into three categories: Illumination, cry of sonship and new fillings of the Spirit.
Enjoy the talk and thank you, Jon!
I. Theological Background with Key Scriptural Texts
Gifts given and the response of God’s people: metanoéō
He beings with the statement, “The gifts of God are meant to be given away. He gives them to you when He knows that you are going to give them away.”
Then he asks this question,
What was the primary message of Jesus?
i.e. Why does God give His people gifts in the first place and how does that relate to the coming of Jesus and His ministry among us?
He then answers this question saying that the primary message of Jesus is that the Kingdom of God has come near:
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent (metanoéō), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17).
Mark, it should be noted, says it in a little bit different way.
Rather than us beginning with metanoia so that, as it were, we can more fully receive the new reality of Christ’s transforming presence, we respond to His turning-the-world-upside-down incarnation with metanoia—as being literally the only proper response. This is Jon’s first Scriptural reference:
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying,
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent (metanoéō), and believe in the gospel.”
Regarding the Kingdom of God, Jon then asks us the simple question,
What would life be like if God were in charge?
This will be the focus of his talk.
We will simply list below the quoted Scriptural references:
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease (Mt 10:1).
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give (Mt 10:8).
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father (Jn 14:12).
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (I Cor 2:4-5).
At this point (38:00), Jon moves into a particular discussion of how we, in his words, “can have a prophetic imagination in our lives.” He describes prophecy as that which “connects people to the heart of God and the destiny of their lives.” It, as he says, “provides a grace that wasn’t there before the word was given.” And as such, it is God’s people being a “conduit of His Word to His people.”
Yet there is a warning: We cannot do this alone. We must be within the body of Christ under the authority of His Word.
With this, however, there is the further warning: To receive from God what we need for this life, we cannot relegate Him “to our bedtime prayers and our Sunday’s best.” For, as is absolutely clear from Holy Scripture, the “moments of Jesus’ miracles weren’t in the Temple and sacred spaces; they were outside the walls of where and how God was expected to move.”
What is prophecy and Why is it important?
“Prophecy,” according to Jon’s synthesis (41:00), is “simply hearing God for other people.”
It is “carrying His heart to others.”
In the words of J.C. Ryle, “prophecy expresses the heart of God through the words of man to a person or group in any situation for the purpose of building them up in the faith.”
He next quotes John Wimber: “It is the supernatural ability to speak the mind of God on a given subject at a given time by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.”
Wayne Grudem writes that prophecy is “Telling another something that God has spontaneously brought to mind.”
Mike Bickle says that “Prophecy is the testimony of Jesus’ heart for His people.”
To move this all back to Scripture, this verse will be very important for us in understanding how and why prophecy operates within the body of Christ; for “prophecy,” is not rooted in accusation and judgment, but “it is a loving thing; and must be down out of love.” For, according to I Cor 14:3,
But the one who prophesies strengthens, encourages and comforts men.
“Those are the three things that prophecy does: strengthens, encourages and comforts.” And thus, “when prophecy is being done well, the person is strengthened, encouraged and comforted.”
With these introductory words that, hopefully, place Jon’s terms in the right categories, we leave it to Jon to fill these out with the remainder in his talk, where begins (42:30) with “words of knowledge” that capture someone’s attention in a way where “their heart is seen by God” and they are drawn to Him (with, as you in medicine well know, the patient asking, “How in the world did you know that?”).
II. The Reformed position on “spiritual gifts”
If you happen to be Reformed and “prophecy” makes you a little bit nervous, you can refer to DFK, Systematic Theology (Volume 3): The Holy Spirit and the Church, where he writes the following in Part II, chapter 5 on the spiritual gifts:
It is important to note that whatever gifts may be given to one person, and withheld from another, all spiritual gifts are intended to minister to the whole body of Christ, to the Church at large. Their purpose is not primarily focused on the believer through whom they are given, but on the people of God. This larger purpose is what we see in Ephesians 4:
‘Wherefore he saith,
When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.).
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ…’ (vss. 8-13).
There is no totally inclusive list of these gifts in the New Testament, but various gifts are found in I Corinthians 12:8-11; verse 28; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11, and I Peter 4:11. In I Corinthians 12:8-11 is found the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing and miracle working, prophecy and discernment of spirits, speaking and interpreting in tongues. In I Corinthians 12:28: apostles, prophets, teachers, workers of miracles, gifts of healing and of helps, gifts of administration and of tongues. In Romans 12:6-8, we find: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy. In Ephesians 4:11: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. In I Peter 4:11: speaking and serving.
He goes on to again reinforce the central purpose of why the spiritual gifts are given: It is not for the individual alone, but for the edification of the entire body of Christ in love.
All in all, the gifts magnify and make apprehensible the love of God in Christ, our Creator and Redeemer. The gifts do not magnify the individual who receives them, but rather, they honor the Lord who gave them, and minister to the whole body, not primarily the individual. John 17:5-26 sets forth four spiritual blessings that come from the saints’ union with their Lord: glory, eternal life, knowledge of God, and sanctification. These four blessings come through “knowing Christ”; that is, through true spiritual union with him. Thus, in this high priestly prayer, Christ prays for our oneness with him, and with one another (vss. 21, 23).
There is a parallel in all of these passages: Ephesians 1:3-14 speaks of spiritual blessings, which are much the same as being shaped into his image in Romans 8:28-30, and these are parallel to the four spiritual blessings listed in John 17. All of them flow from our union to Christ.
Union with Christ and Faith
Regarding our union with Christ as the fundamental, mystical reality out of which flows the spiritual gifts, he refers us to Ronald S. Wallace’s Calvin’s Doctrine of the Christian Life.
“It is therefore the Holy Spirit alone who can effect this union, for it is the Holy Spirit alone who can so join things in heaven and things on earth that heavenly things can be grasped by human minds and that the life and virtue of what is in heaven can be shared by those who are yet on earth. It is the Holy Spirit alone who can bring into real being that wonderful relation of mystery between Christ’s heavenly body and his church on earth” (p. 20).
Faith then enters as the means by which we on earth can partake in the realities of Christ in Heaven. Again quoting Ronald S. Wallace, he writes,
“Faith enables us to partake of the life made available through the death of Christ. But all this is possible only because faith actually unites us to Christ and inserts us into his body, creating the bond that enables us to receive, possess and enjoy Christ himself – for the blessings which are his gifts cannot be received and enjoyed by us apart from communion with himself by faith” (p. 21).
“Faith is thus an entirely supernatural gift – a new capacity created within man whereby what is in heaven is really possessed and enjoyed by him. It effects such a secret and wonderful communion with Christ that even though Jesus Christ remains entire in heaven he is nevertheless grasped so firmly and possessed so completely that he may be said actually to dwell in our hearts. Faith has the power to reach through the humanity of Jesus even to God himself….faith is able to rise from the flesh of Christ to his divinity, and is able to penetrate above all the heavens, even to those mysteries which the angels behold and adore” (p. 22).
Christian Mysticism
In chapter 4, Dr. Kelly offers a helpful summation of the supernatural events that believers may experience in their Christian lives. For, again, referring back to Calvin, the entire Christian life is a “supernatural gift” given by the Holy Spirit Who enables believers on earth to “receive, possess and enjoy Christ Himself” in Heaven. As such, their experiences cannot be fully understood within a functionally deistic, materialistic framework that is cut off from the divine.
Rather than judge, therefore, whether a believer’s experiences constitute manifestations of the NT gifts of prophecy, tongues, etc., he relates their undeniable, supernatural experience of God’s presence back to a theological stream known as “Christian Mysticism.”
It may be considered a sort of mysticism, which from a Christian perspective (and mystical experiences are found in Hinduism and Islam), is any sense of meeting directly with God in his gracious presence. When it is valid Christian mysticism, it will always be accompanied by ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:22, 23), which we will discuss later. Bernard of Clairvaux, whose Sermons on the Song of Songs was so frequently drawn upon by John Calvin, would be a good illustration of a true Christian mysticism.
What it really means is an experiential sense, flowing out of our union with Christ (cf. Romans 6:1-10; Galatians 2:20, etc.). Some believers may experience it in one way, and some in another, and some may have very little sense of it, if at all. But no one is called upon to judge harshly the other. That is in higher hands!
Illumination, cry of sonship and new fillings of the Spirit
He then places these supernatural experiences flowing out of our union with Christ into three categories.
Taking them at their best, we might respond to these experiences with three observations:
(1) illumination, (2) the cry of sonship, and (3) new fillings of the Spirit.
We will quote this section in full.
(1) Illumination: It may well be the case that what some Pentecostals and Charismatic have interpreted as a sort of new revelation or prophecy, given directly to them by the Holy Spirit, was actually what the church has long called ‘illumination’ by the Spirit of what has been already revealed in Scripture. Calvin’s comments on this reality are to the point:
But I reply: the testimony of the Spirit is more excellent than all reason. For as God alone is a fit witness of his Word, so also the Word will not find acceptance in men’s hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who has spoken through the mouths of the prophets must penetrate into our hearts to persuade us that they faithfully proclaimed what has been divinely commanded. Isaiah very aptly expresses this connection in these words: “My Spirit which is in you, and the words that I have put in your mouth, and the mouths of your offspring, shall never fail” [Isa. 59:21p.].”
It is no unusual experience for a believer suddenly to understand a truth of Scripture with power. He or she has read it for many years, yet now it comes alive to them with vitality and freshness. Nothing has been added to Scripture, but something has happened inside of them to open their understanding. That is part of the work of the Holy Spirit when he illumines afresh the Word which he originally inspired. That alone can make transformative changes in one’s life, at least for the person who experiences it, it may seem like a new revelation. It is not new, for it is the ever ancient and ever fresh revelation of God. Yet it is new to them. Thus, depending on who their teachers are, they may interpret it in different ways.
(2) The Cry of Sonship is another powerful experience in the Christian life that some might believe is in the category of a new ‘baptism’ (that includes the coming down of God’s power inside one’s life) from the Spirit, or actually, they may think that it is the only spiritual baptism they have ever known! It is a direct interchange with God, that feels as much a coming into his gracious presence as something like speaking in tongues seems to mean to many. They may even confuse the two! Romans 8:14-21 declares it:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear: but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
At very least, the subject of this experience speaks one word in a foreign tongue (in this case, Aramaic) – ‘Abba’ -an intimate word for one’s father! But of course, ‘Abba’ would have been known by speakers of Hebrew and Aramaic, and so does not constitute an instance of the supernatural gift of tongues. We see here both the witness of the believer’s spirit, and that of the Holy Spirit, who gives it. This is a direct, immediate consciousness that one belongs to the family of God; that God loves him or her forever, and it would be hard to find anything greater than that blessing in all our earthly lives!
In Romans 8:16 it is the believer who says ‘Abba Father’, and In Galatians 4:6, Paul says that it is the Spirit himself who cries out ‘Abba Father.’ It is both, and we are fully conscious of this divinely given witness as to our blessed status. As to the time of this witness, I Corinthians 12:13, which speaks of our being baptized into Christ, is sufficient to indicate that we are already given the spirit of sonship when we become sons, that is, in our new birth in Christ.
Yet there may well be times beyond that when we become keenly aware of this happy relationship in a new way. Some believers may understand this witness to be a totally new ‘revelation’, and if one word is prominent in it (Abba), they may think that it is something akin to tongues. One suspects that part of this basic understanding of the spiritual life depends upon the teaching that people regularly receive in their churches: sometimes, very good, sometimes, leaving much to be desired.
(3) The ‘filling of the Spirit’ is another experience that some Christians may interpret as a new revelation, perhaps not unlike what some think happens in speaking with tongues. Paul commands in Ephesians 5:18 – ‘And be ye not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.’ Although Pentecost is once-for-all, filling of the Spirit seems to be an on-going occurrence in the Christian life.
Certainly, Paul teaches that it is repeatable by virtue of this command. The Holy Spirit brings sinners to the new birth as they have their eyes and hearts open to trust in Christ. That is foundational, and happens only one time. We have only one physical birth, and one spiritual birth.
But there is also the fulling of the Spirit, which, while always dependent on one’s original union with Christ in regeneration, can take place over and over, as needed. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit,’ We have here a clue as to what this ‘filling with the Spirit’ means by looking at what Paul opposes it to: ‘…be not drunk with wine.’ Excess of wine will definitely shape (usually in a very negative direction) the personality, who is subject to a great deal of alcohol.
But in a very different way - this time, one that is profoundly holy (unlike drunkenness), one’s personality is moved in a different direction than it would be without the extra influence. That influence is the Holy Spirit, and in the immediate context following this command, the person being filled ‘sings...and makes melody to the Lord’ (Ephesians 5:19); he or she ‘gives thanks to God for all things’ (vs. 20); and wives and husbands ‘…submit to one another in the fear of God…’ To maintain a good marriage, both Christian partners need to keep seeking the filling of the Holy Spirit!
The text does not tell us what, if any, feelings may be involved when the believer has a new filling of the Spirit. Rather, the text of Ephesians 5 deals with behavior that is moving us in a more Christ-like direction. Yet feelings may not be absent, for one has to be resolved in a new way to please the Lord, and that may well indicate a new sense of cleansing and of new impowering for service, and withal, a keener sense of what God wants from us as told us in his Word.
At times, this may not be far from what older writers spoke of as ‘the sweetness of a new surrender.’ Whether or not that would make people feel that they had had a supernatural infusion of the Holy Spirit is not easy to say. However, one suspects that some feel that it is, and may connect it to a down-coming of the Spirit, which may or may not be attended with other spiritual manifestations.
Thank you, Dr, Kelly!