The Simplicity of What Divides the Body of Christ and What the Holy Bible Does Say

(The Charismatic Debate: An Indictment Against God or Mankind)

The Charismatic movement and all of the baggage that comes along with it, has endeared many and
offended most. It is unfortunate that what the Word of God says regarding the dispensation of spiritual
gifts received through the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit has been overshadowed by theatrics,
showmanship, and self-edification. This is further complicated by humanistic need to understand that
which we invest in and commit to mentally. It is my prayer that this moment of sharing will enlighten
some and awaken others regarding the biblical perspective on what we have labeled Charismatic.

That said, whether we refer to it as Pentecostal, Full-Gospel, Holiness, Charismatic, or something else,
what we are truly referring to is yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us in all things and most
of all, worship. For a moment, let us set aside our presuppositions about the manifestations of the Spirit
and see what thus says the Lord prior to the Holy Spirit descending to indwell mankind.

Holy Spirit Baptism

Holy Spirit Baptism

Book Description Context
Mt 3:11
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I,
ESV John the Baptist
whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Prepares the Way
Mk 1:8
ESV John the Baptist 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Prepares the Way
Lk 3:16 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is
ESV John the Baptist coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy
Prepares the Way Spirit and with fire.
Jn 1:33
33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, „He on whom
ESV Behold, the Lamb of
you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.‟
God
Jn 1:33 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon
KJV The testimony of John whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth
concerning Christ with the Holy Ghost.

I will conclude that there is little to no debate about whether Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John got it
right. I think this also provides a clear illustration of how we receive from God. Jesus was first baptized
and then the Spirit of God descended. From this we can see the two-step process of coming into full
fellowship with God through His Son. Salvation occurs by confession of faith in Christ as the Son of God
and believing God raised Him from the dead; but, transformation of the heart to live a Holy life requires
a new birth. Am I saying that you must be filled with the Spirit to be saved? Absolutely not; because,
only the Spirit of God can bear witness to the Christ within a person’s heart. Just remember that
salvation is tied to water baptism in preparation for spiritual baptism.
The following scriptures provide support for what John affirmed in the wilderness and was foretold
through by the prophets:

Book Description Context

Pr 1:23 23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known
ESV
The Call of Wisdom to you.

Eze 39:29
29 And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of
ESV The Lord Will Restore
Israel, declares the Lord God.”
Israel

Joel 2:28 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and
ESV The Lord Will Pour your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see
Out His Spirit visions.

Joel 2:29
ESV The Lord Will Pour 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Out His Spirit

In Peter’s first sermon after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit confirmed through spoken words that the Joel
2:28 prophecy had just been fulfilled:

Acts 2:14-41 (ESV)

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let
this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour
of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and
female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs
that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and
foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death,
because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my
tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see
corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with
us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his
descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades,
nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the
right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves
are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you
crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers,
what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for
all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and
continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were
baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
There has been considerable division over the belief that manifestation of spiritual gifts was only for the
Early Church, is scary, weird, unfamiliar, uncomfortable, or for everyone else. It is the fastest growing
sector of the Christian faith worldwide. We have lost the clear biblical references to two baptisms and
many have been led to believe that with one you get the other. Jesus addressed this when talking with
Nicodemus by saying that you must be born of water and the Spirit (John 3:1-17) and as you read the
following scripture, bear in mind that this is Jesus talking to His Disciples (believers); yet the Holy Spirit
had not yet come.

John 7:37-39 (ESV)

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said
about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified.

Acts 1:8 affirms this promise of power to witness of Christ, which is essential to Holy living and results in
“effective” worship. The victory over Satan and the curse of The Law is realized through the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit which empowers us to live victorious lives. This power has been referenced in scripture
as rivers of living water that springs up and out of spirit-filled believers. This power can manifest in any
of the gifts recorded in scripture, as God wills.

The Holy Spirit Comes With Power

Book Description Context

Lk 1:35 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
ESV
Birth of Jesus Foretold High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.
Ac 1:8 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my
ESV
The Ascension witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Ac 8:19
19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the
ESV Simon the Magician
Holy Spirit.”
Believes
Ac 10:38
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about
ESV Gentiles Hear the Good
doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
News
Ro 15:13
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the
ESV Christ the Hope of Jews
Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
and Gentiles
1Th 1:5
5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and
ESV The Thessalonians‟ Faith
with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
and Example

It is important to note that scripture records an account in Acts the 19th chapter, of believers (disciples
of Christ) that were preaching and teaching in Jesus’ name. Here is that account:

Acts 19:1-7 (ESV)

1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he
found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have
not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after
 him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on
them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in
all.

The charismatic movement for all of its faults and occasional abuses of God’s authority cannot diminish
the intent of the Third Person of The Trinity entering the world. The church has somehow removed
itself from operating in the FULLNESS of the power afforded the church to overcome all the power of
the enemy (Luke 10:19). God is fully capable of calling to account those that bear false witness of these
manifestations, but we should be careful to not indict God for man’s behavior; especially if it results in
us failing to fulfill our divine purpose. Here are the gifts given for the edifying of the Body of Christ:

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (ESV)

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you
were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of
God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts,
but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the
same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to
one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he
wills.

Interestingly, the Lord had Paul address the greatest gift of all in 1 Corinthians 13. Could God have
foreknown that our self-righteous, self-actuating, self-reliant, judgmental, divisive, fleshly nature would
be a problem in yielding to the gifts that accompany His Spirit. May we remember that love saved us
and that love never fails. We need the power to fulfill the mission. If it were not so, then Jesus would
not have instructed His disciples to wait on the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for our beloved brothers and
sisters that will fall under the judgment of God and at the same time acknowledge that He has called all
of us to live a “Pentecostal” life; not as the world has portrayed it, but as the Word of God has recorded
it.