Conclusions

In dealing with these issues we need to bear in mind the following points.

1. The Sufficiency of the Cross

2 Corinthians 12:9: "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

John 5:20-24: "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

Nothing more is needed to save sinners. The work of Christ is a complete and full work of Grace. Yet in many claims that are being made today, other things are added, and it is being taught that these are necessary for the receiving of the blessing of God. That is not taught in Scripture.

2. The Sufficiency of God's Word.

2 Timothy 3:15-17: "... from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

The Bible is the full and complete revelation of God's truth. Nothing more is required for all the blessings God has promised to give us.

3. The Apostles.

Acts 1:21-22: "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."

This may not seem relevant, apart from the fact is that there is an emphasis on new prophecy and new experience. The Apostles were those who walked with Jesus, with one or two exceptions, Paul being a major one. The Biblical qualifications for apostleship must be adhered to, else we find ourselves with an 'anything goes' situation. We have no warrant to add to the teaching of Scripture, or to add experiences to the Christian life that are not taught in Scripture. The Lord is our example, and we are to model our lives on His.

4. Phenomena.

Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones gives us a balanced view. "It is not surprising perhaps if, sometimes, when the Spirit of God enters into people with great power, they should lose their self-control for a while. This should not trouble us.... We must remember also that at such a time of revival the devil is anxious to produce counterfeits and cause confusion. He turns people's attention to the phenomena, to the experiences, to the excitement; and there are always people who look only for such things. So the question arises as to how we can tell the difference between the true and the counterfeit. There are certain tests which can always be applied. True emotion produced by the Holy Ghost always leads to humility, to reverence, to a holy love of God. A man may sing, or may dance for a while; but that does not persist. It is temporary and due to the weakness of the body; but what is permanent, and what proves genuineness, is that the man is filled with a sense of awe. He has been near the Majesty of God and is of necessity humbled. This emerged clearly in the accounts of the experiences of several of the great men of God which I have quoted. They very rarely spoke about it; there was no boastfulness. What had happened to them was almost too sacred to be mentioned. It leads to humility, and to a love of God, and a rejoicing in Christ with 'a joy unspeakable and full of glory'. It must do because it is a revelation of something of 'the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge' (Ephesians 3:18-19). It is impossible to have even a glimpse of such an experience without being moved to the very depths of one's being. Yet one is humbled and at the same time is filled with a sense of awe and of reverence and amazement." (God's Ultimate Purpose, pp.287-288)

5. Signs & Wonders.

Matthew 12:38-42: "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, " Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgement with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

Matthew 16:1-4: "Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, " When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will befoul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know haw to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed."

6. Humility Before God.

This is an essential requirement for a right relationship with God. Note Job chapters 40 and 41.

7. Demanding Things of God.

Psalm 106:13: "They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul."

8. Adding To God's Word

Deuteronomy 4:2: "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."

Revelation 22:18-19: "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things. God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy. God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Cf. Deuteronomy 12:32)

9. True & False Experiences

It may be helpful to add quotations from those who have seen many claims first-hand. Though perhaps lengthy, they have an important bearing on the claims being made.

Jonathan Edwards: Speaking of the work of Revival at Northampton, he observed, "They were first led into the wilderness, and had a work of conviction; having much deeper convictions of the sins of both nature and practice, than ever before... and after great convictions and humblings, and agonizing with God, they had Christ discovered to them anew, as an all-sufficient Saviour, and in the glories of His grace, and in a far more clear manner than before; and with greater humility, self-emptiness, and brokenness of heart, and a purer, a higher joy, and greater desires after holiness of life; but with greater self-diffidence and distrust of their treacherous hearts.

"After September 1741, there seemed to be some abatement of these extraordinary appearances, yet they did not wholly cease. ... There were some very extraordinary effects of Mr Buell's labours; the people were exceedingly moved, crying out in great numbers in the meeting house, and a great part of the congregation commonly staying in the house of God, for hours after the public service. ... There were some instances of persons lying in a sort of trance, remaining perhaps for a whole twenty-four hours motionless, and with their sense locked up; but in the mean lime under strong imaginations. as though they went to heaven, and had there a vision of glorious and delightful objects. But when the people were raised to this height, Satan took the advantage, and his interposition, in many instances, soon became very apparent: and a great deal of caution and pains were found necessary, to keep the people, many of them, from running wild."  (Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1, Page lix. Banner of truth Trust)

Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones: "The Puritans taught that you can partly test the difference between the true and the spurious by investigating what they call the 'antecedents' of the experience. What they mean is that if you examine the person's life before this experience came it will be a good guide as to whether it is a true or a false experience. Of course, sometimes you cannot do so, for, as William Kelly has reminded us, the 'believing' and 'the receiving' of this experience may be almost simultaneous. Then you cannot say much about the antecedents. But that is exceptional. Speaking generally, in most cases there is a clear time-interval between becoming a Christian and knowing this testimony, or sealing, of the Spirit; and therefore you are able to concentrate on the antecedents.

"The true antecedents are a sense of sin, and a sense of failure. If you have had a sense of sin and a sense of failure, a sense of weariness and emptiness, a sense of soul need; if you have known a longing for assurance, for power and ability, then it is very good presumptive evidence that the experience you have had is a true experience. If, on the other hand, you talk about some marvellous experience you have had, but have never known what it is to be grieved about yourself; if you have never known a spirit of heaviness, a spirit of mourning, if you have never been seeking; if you have never really had a deep hunger; then it is presumptive evidence that your experience is not a true one. It does not prove it, but it is very valuable evidence....

"We almost invariably find that those who have had a false experience say that it came to them quite independently of the Word of God. That is already a most valuable point for it indicates that you are probably dealing with the false.... I remember a man who had had a striking conversion, saying once in a discussion meeting that it mattered not at all to him what Paul or anyone else said; He knew! That is what tends to happen when people claim an experience that is independent of, and apart from the Word.
"Another characteristic... is that they have much to say about visions or ecstasies or signs. They are always interested in phenomena. ... They may talk a lot about physical prostrations or curious physical sensations. They often talk graphically about sensations, as if a hot iron or an electric current were passing through them. The result is that they are always very excited about the experience itself and always ready to boast about it, and to emphasise the physical aspect, the phenomenal side.

"When we turn to the true we find the exact opposite. Here, the experience comes almost invariably with or through the Word ... generally the Word is very prominent. If the experience does not come when a person is actually reading the Word, or listening to a sermon, it is probably the case that the Spirit reminds him of a portion of Scripture and brings it back to memory. In any case it confirms the teaching of Scripture; it is always in accord with it. It is the Spirit who gives the Word, and it is the Spirit who gives this testimony; obviously, therefore, they are in agreement and work together, and each points to the other. That is a good test.

"... The hallmark of the true experience is a sense of awe, and accompanying it, a sense of unworthiness. This is inevitable because the Spirit is the Holy Spirit; and when He comes in great power, as he does in this experience [the sealing of the Spirit], He gives us some impression of the glory, the greatness, the majesty, and the holiness of God. ... The moment a person has a glimpse or sense of [the glory of God]... he is at once not only filled with a sense of awe, but also with a sense of utter unworthiness, and a deep feeling of sinfulness.... The first thing the Holy Spirit does is to make you see the blackness of your own heart, your own sinfulness. At one and the same time you are being given this great assurance, and yet you feel totally unworthy of it.

"Accompanying this sense of unworthiness is a great sense of thankfulness that such an experience has been vouchsafed to you, and that God has been gracious. Another element which is invariable is that the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified, he Himself said that he would send the Spirit, and that the Spirit would glorify Him. 'He shall glorify Me', He said, 'He shall not speak of Himself.' — that is to say, that He does not speak out of Himself— 'but He shall take of Mine and shall reveal it unto you'. This is a most thorough test, and it never fails." Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones, The Sons of God, pp.362-365.

10. History Speaks

"It is interesting to observe that when we read the history of the Christian Church, and especially in terms of this doctrine of the sealing with the Holy Ghost, we find that many of these gifts given at the beginning do not seem to have been given in subsequent ages of the Christian Church. This becomes quite clear as we recall the experiences of the great men to whom we have referred, and who lived in different centuries and places and who were so varied in their natural gifts. Not one of them ever 'spoke with tongues;' but they had other striking gifts. Some had the gift of understanding, others the gift of teaching. Wesley had this amazing gift of 'administration', and organisation. But none of them seems to have had the gift of miracles. But they clearly had the sealing with the Spirit.

"So it is important that we should differentiate between the sealing itself and the gifts that may or may not accompany it. The central truth concerning the sealing of the Spirit is that it seals the inheritance to us, that it gives the assurance of sonship, and the 'Spirit of adoption' whereby we cry 'Abba, Father'. Unfortunately many have become confused over this question of the sealing because of their confusion about the whole question of gifts. Many are even afraid to consider it merely because they know people who claim to have had this sealing with the Spirit but who insist upon some particular gift as evidence. But Scripture itself, as we have seen does not give us the right to postulate any particular gifts in connection with the sealing of the Spirit. There may be gifts, there may not be gifts. There is generally some gift, but the vital element is assurance — immediate and direct — that we are the children of God. Therefore I do not ask whether you have spoken in tongues or not; what I ask once more is whether thee love of God has been shed abroad in your heart? Are you rejoicing in Jesus Christ 'with joy unspeakable and full of glory'? Have you been given a direct witness by the Spirit that you are a child of God, an heir of eternal bless? ... The man who is justified by faith believes the Word and believes the teaching of the Word, and as a result he has this sense of rest and of satisfaction. That may often be tested and shaken, however, and he will be driven back to the Word and will have to work out the scriptural arguments to silence his doubts. But as we have seen, when the sealing with the Spirit comes there is no longer any argument. That is because this is a direct assurance, it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our Spirit in an unmistakable manner."
Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones, God's Ultimate Purpose, pp.280-283

It is not the gifts that are important, but rather the assurance and conviction given us by the Holy Spirit. We do not look for any gifts or experience as the means to have that assurance.

Final Comments

The title of this cassette "The Coming of the Holy Spirit - 2" is as good as blasphemy. (The title of a later cassette I have received does not include the number 2, yet the inference is still there to the discerning!) This title undermines the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the centuries from the time of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was first given. It suggests that His first coming was inadequate and incomplete. It implies that all the blessings of the Holy Spirit received by believers till now were of no consequence, including the times of great revival world-wide. It is saying that this is the ultimate, the real thing. It is linked with the theology behind the Vineyard churches which is "restorationist", meaning that now the church is being prepared for the second coming of the Lord, that they are preparing the church and making her ready, and when their work is complete, then Christ will come. This lays the emphasis totally on man—and gives man the prerogative which solely belongs to God Himself.
How we need discernment in these matters!

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