Say What?: A Biblical and Historical Journey on the Connection between the Holy Spirit, Prophecy, and Tongues

By Jeremiah Campbell and Joseph Castleberry

Have you ever wondered about the gifts of tongues, prophecy, or the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? So many opinions and points of view vary on these topics. Are they for today? Did they die with the apostles? This book takes a look at these issues with a panoramic journey throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments, their effects in church history, and what that means for us today. If you have ever wondered or struggled with these topics, then this book is for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Mar 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532647017

Jeremiah Campbell

Jeremiah Campbell serves as a missionary in Bolivia with his wife Marj and their two children. Together they develop college campus ministries and train pastors. Jeremiah also serves as an Associate Professor of Christian Education at Global University, and an Adjunct Professor of Adult and Professional Studies at Northwest University. Jeremiah holds a BA and MEd from Washington State University, an MA and MDiv from Global University, and a DMin from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University.

Book preview

Say What?

A Biblical and Historical Journey on the Connection between the Holy Spirit, Prophecy, and Tongues

Jeremiah Campbell

Foreword by Joseph Castleberry

9763.png

Say What?

A Biblical and Historical Journey on the Connection between the Holy Spirit, Prophecy, and Tongues

Copyright © 2018 Jeremiah Campbell. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Wipf & Stock

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

199

W.

8

th Ave., Suite

3

Eugene, OR

97401

www.wipfandstock.com

paperback isbn: 978-15326-4699-7

hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-4700-0

ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-4701-7

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright

1986

by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Foreword

Introduction

Part I: Understanding the Role of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity

Chapter 1: Who Is the Holy Spirit?

Part II: The Filling of the Holy Spirit in the Old Covenant

Chapter 2: The Old Testament Experience

Chapter 3: The Old Testament Experience in The New Testament

Part III: The Filling of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant

Chapter 4: What Did Luke Say?

Chapter 5: What Did Paul Say?

Part IV: The Filling of the Holy Spirit in Church History

Chapter 6: The Emerging Church

Chapter 7: The Established Church

Chapter 8: The Medieval Church

Chapter 9: The Reformed Church

Part V: The Filling of the Holy Spirit and the Pentecostal Renewal

Chapter 10: Something New Brewing in The Church

Chapter 11: The Pentecostal Revival

Chapter 12: Implications

Bibliography

To John Campbell,

an amazing dad

who taught me

what it means

to be a man of God.

Foreword

The Pentecostal Movement that swept the world in the 20th Century changed the face of world Christianity forever. In short, its unashamed emphasis on the immanent power of the Holy Spirit and its unabashed testimony of Christ with signs following has led to the greatest period of expansion the Christian faith has ever seen. As a result, theologians from every corner of the church had to return to the Scriptures to see if Pentecostal teaching held true. They may not have accepted the central Pentecostal distinctive that speaking in tongues constituted the initial physical evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, but on the whole, they concluded, overwhelmingly, that miracles did not cease at the end of the apostolic age and that the Bible teaches a larger role for the Holy Spirit than they had thought. I have talked to leading theologians across denominations, and an increasing number of them grew up in Pentecostal homes or spent years in a Pentecostal of Charismatic church. Large numbers of them privately speak in tongues. Virtually all agree that they Holy Spirit still works miracles in response to the bold faith of believers. More importantly, Pentecostalism has affected the spirituality of churches across the worldwide Christian community, as a trained eye can easily observe in a random visit to almost any worship service.

Why has Pentecostalism experienced such stunning success around the world? The success does not flow from placing the Holy Spirit at the center of our theology or even our practice. Rather, it springs from the fact that our doctrine of the Spirit puts Christ at the center. The four-fold Pentecostal Christology declares that Jesus saves, heals, endues with power, and will soon come again. In saving us, Jesus works through the Holy Spirit, who convicts us of our sin and participates in our new birth. In healing us, Jesus ministers the healing power of God to our bodies through the Spirit. Jesus endues us with power by baptizing us in the Spirit, giving us access to the same power that he depended on in his life of miraculous ministry and in his resurrection from the dead. When Jesus comes again, he will raise the living and the dead by the same Spirit that raised him, and he will pour out the Holy Spirit in judgment over evil. Pentecostals do not emphasize the Holy Spirit to lower Jesus from his place of pre-eminence, but rather to exalt him to the front and center of the Christian life.

The theological contribution of Pentecostals over the past century offers a great blessing to the church. This book offers an outstanding summary of Pentecostal thinking about the Holy Spirit, beginning with its reading of the Bible’s teaching. It continues to read the history of the Church in terms of Pentecostal perspectives on the Spirit. Whether readers encounter this text as seminary students, as serious, thirsty believers, or as fully-formed professional theologians, they will find a valuable trove of information and wisdom. I pray for every reader that this text will drive them into the presence of God, where the Holy Spirit will make Christ known to them more than ever before.

Joseph Castleberry, Ed.D.

President, Northwest University

Kirkland, Washington

Introduction

A Boy and a Life-Changing Moment

My Story

I remember the first time I almost cut off my finger. As a little boy, my dad’s hunting knife always seemed so big. He taught me that knives are tools and we should always keep them very sharp, like a razor. If he really wanted to, my dad could shave his face with his hunting knife. One of my most clear childhood memories happened with that very same knife. My dad took me camping, and as an eight-year-old boy, I was in heaven. He taught me how to properly use a knife while I carved a piece of wood by the fire. As I struggled to whittle, I switched the blade and angled it toward my hand. It slipped and I sliced my knuckle. To this day, decades later, I still have the scar.

It’s amazing how things stay with you for life, like a scar. I love camping and the outdoors. Growing up in church, we had a program that focused on just that—Royal Rangers. The program reflected the traditional Boy Scouts, but with a spiritual emphasis too. My dad happened to command our outpost, and I remember another time he took me camping, just as vivid in my mind. This time though, more than a thousand other boys had joined us. We had competitions shooting, archery, throwing tomahawks, canoeing, tying knots, making fires, first aide, and all kinds of other survival skills. I loved it.

Each night at the camp we would also have a church service. One night, as a nine-year-old boy, I remember worshiping and seeking God with all of my heart. As I prayed, something other than English began to flow from my lips. I remember the same fear and surprise as the day I almost lost my finger. I experienced such a new sensation and didn’t quite know how to process it. Fortunately, that night my dad had accompanied me. He smiled and began to teach me about what the Bible says about the gift of speaking in tongues.

As I grew older, I became aware that very different views exist about the gift of tongues and its role in the Church today. Over the years, different people told me that I had to speak in tongues to be saved, others told me that tongues ceased when the people in the New Testament died and I was demon-possessed if I spoke in tongues. I really didn’t know what to make of this gift and had more questions than answers. As I asked people what they thought, I found that most of them just regurgitated what they learned. Others only spoke from their experience, or lack thereof, and still others gave biblical support but often out of context.

Therefore, from my teenage years, I began to search the Scriptures and read all that I could on this subject. I didn’t just want to believe something because someone else taught me, or because I had, or hadn’t experienced it. I wanted to believe it because of what the Word of God showed me. Consequently, this book has been in the works for more than two decades, as it is a result of my own journey. By no means do I pretend to know all the answers. However, I give a panoramic perspective of this controversial experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and its connection with prophecy and tongues throughout the Bible and today. I hope and pray that it gives you something to consider with your own walk with God and what his Word says on the matter.

Part I

Understanding the Role of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity

Before we get into the nitty gritty of this book, and the work of the Holy Spirit, we need take some time to understand him, and his role within the Trinity. Many misunderstandings exist about the Holy Spirit, and some people just plain lack knowledge about him. So we’ll start with the basics here. This first part of the book by no means develops a comprehensive pneumatological study (a fancy way to say study of the Holy Spirit), but it does give us a good foundation to understand the rest of the book.

Chapter 1

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

The Trinity

For some people, when they talk about the God of the Bible, they think about the Father and the term Yahweh, or Jesus Christ. Few people think about the Holy Spirit. So, to understand him we need to begin with an understanding of the Trinity.

Many people easily think about God as the Father, and about Jesus the Son because he came in human form. However, they struggle to think about the Holy Spirit as a person. We have to realize that God exists far beyond our understanding. Therefore, as simple humans, we relate the different persons of the God-head to things that we can comprehend. A father is something tangible, and Jesus Christ walked with humanity; therefore, we can grasp him. However, for many people, they understand the Holy Spirit like the force in Star Wars—as an energy or power, and that