The Happen Stance

How to Make Things Happen In Your Christian Life

K. Neill Foster

THERE ARE SOME THINGS, I believe, which God intends to do for you in your Christian life, but which He will not be able to do except through a charismatic channel.

IF you are like I am, you are caught in a world-wide charismatic controversy. The gifts are assiduously promoted as a cure for all that ails the church. Or they are vigorously denounced as the source of all kinds of evil.

As I have written in The Third View of Tongues, there has to be a middle ground.¹¹ There needs to be a third view of the charismata. And though in the scope of this one brief chapter no exhaustive statements can be made, I am persuaded, nevertheless, that an emphasis on the charismatic belongs here. Many mighty events wait to happen in our day. The charismatic abilities of the Christian church will unleash them.

There are great lessons which are untaught because good and godly men have not possessed God's gifts of teaching.

There are miracles which are waiting to happen because God's children are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit's plan to work miracles today.

There are those who are bound by Satan who are not likely to gain their freedom apart from the function of the gift of discerning of spirits.

There are great churches waiting to be founded and led by men with the gift of pastor-teacher.

And we could go on.

By the word "charismatic" I mean particularly the position gifts and the power gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to the church.

These lists are found mainly in three Scripture passages: Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 28; and Ephesians 4:11,12.

"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity: he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness" (Rom. 12:6-8).

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly preachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" (1 Cor. 12:28).

"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" (Eph. 4:11,12).

BASIC PRINCIPLES

There are some basic principles which govern the usefulness of the charismatic gifts.

First, I believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today. I know that some have interpreted 1 Corinthians 13:8 to say that prophecies have failed, knowledge has passed away, and tongues have ceased. But the arguments are tenuous at best, and I think if people were not so divided over the value (or lack of value) of speaking in tongues today, no one would attempt to drum these particular gifts out of the church.

Because I find no express statement in the Bible revoking the charismatic abilities of the church, I must then believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today. Believing this way is comfortable because it allows me to read my Bible without discarding thing. No supernatural event threatens a Christian who believes in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He believes God is the same and everything which is recorded in the Bible can happen again today.

Also, it needs to be said that no one is left out in God's plan for the charismata. "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (1 Cor. 12:7). The word "profit" signifies development and improvement, so that too is basic to any teaching about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are intended to develop in our lives through use.

WITHOUT REPENTANCE

Yet another principle is that "the gifts and callings of God are without repentance" (Rom. 11:29). God never changes His mind about the gifts imparted to us and the gifts really are permanent in our lives. This principle helps to explain why so much carnal behavior is associated with spiritual gifts. The truth is that spiritual gifts were never intended to be marks of spirituality. Gifts do not make a person spiritual any more than giving a man a hoe makes him a gardener. Only Corinthian Christianity ever assumes that spiritual gifts make people spiritual.

Having said this, it would be a serious mistake to assume that spiritual gifts are unimportant. There are some battles which will never be won in our lives apart from the charismatic manifestations. They channel power, not spirituality.

DISCOVERING AND RECEIVING

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given "severally" (1 Cor. 12:11; 14:1), so no Christian should assume it is enough to discover his gifts. There is a lot of good teaching today about "discovering your gifts." But there may be spiritual gifts which God would be pleased to place in your life, either now or in the future.

Gifts do need to be discovered. How can anyone "stir up" his own gift (2 Tim. 1:6) if he does not know what gift is his? At the same time, the door is open. Believers can and do receive new spiritual gifts. To ignore the scriptural commands to "covet earnestly the best gifts" and to "desire spiritual gifts" is to limit the work of the Holy Spirit.

The emphasis on discovering is often intended to be a replacement for "seeking." And seeking is many times urged when perhaps the real need is discovering. I think, as is so often the case, the truth lies in between the two.

DEMANDING IS DANGEROUS

There is, however, a very real danger in demanding spiritual gifts when God divides them "severally, as he wills" (1 Cor. 12:11). Impudently demanding certain manifestations and dictating to Almighty God obviously opens the door to the deceptive and demonic. But at the same time the Scripture says, "Covet earnestly the best gifts" (1 Cor. 12:31). So we need to be open to the reception of spiritual gifts at all times.

But we should not presume to tell the sovereign God what He should do. In fact, of all the spiritual gifts, prophecy is the only one we are told to desire especially (1 Cor. 14:1). Interestingly enough, prophecy (or the prophetic office) is the only spiritual manifestation common to all four major lists of charismatic abilities.

TONGUES?

Another principle basic to the understanding of spiritual gifts is this: not all speak in "tongues." In 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 Paul asks a series of questions: "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? The answer in every case is assumed to be "no" because in the Greek the questions are preceded by the negative mé. Some Christians speak in tongues and some do not.

To evade or avoid this statement (well illustrated in the book of Acts) is to open the door to all kinds of trouble. Making tongues a twentieth-century shibboleth has all too often unlocked Pandora's box in the church. The Scripture says, in the context of an utterance gift, to "judge all things" (1 Thess. 5:21). Prophecy is to be judged (1 Cor. 14:29). The spirits are to be tried (1 John 4:1). I am persuaded that God never intended for the church to accept everything supernatural as divine just because it happens in the assembly.

And we who believe in the validity and worth of the gifts of the Holy Spirit today must be willing to admit that all too often tongues manifestations which have been assumed to be divine have collapsed into snarling satanic manifestations when challenged.

EVERY "SWEET SPIRIT" IS NOT DIVINE

Many assume every "sweet spirit" is the Holy Spirit and everything beautiful and lovely must be from God, esp.ecially when it happens in a Christian context. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When Paul exhorted his readers, he was careful not to say, "Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are true. . . think upon these things." He said instead, "Whatsoever things are true, . . . whatsoever things are lovely. . ." (Phil. 4:8). The order is truth first, beauty later. There are literally thousands of sincere Christians who have been deceived in this area.

On one occasion a missionary was appalled that I might even question that the "warm and beautiful atmosphere" in a certain assembly could be from any spirit other than the Holy Spirit. I hope the atmosphere she was describing was from the Holy Spirit. And the only reason I would question it at all is that Christians are to "prove all things." But the question does need to be raised - always.

NEW SYNCRETISM .

I believe the church has not yet learned how to deal with the dangerous syncretism which now threatens it. I have treated this subject fully in the volume referred to earlier. Historically, we have dealt with error, carnality, and sin - usually in the right way. Now, however, unusual discernment is needed. We need to discern the spirits.

We need to do more than stand agape as super-spirituals make merchandise of miracles. Hawking the supernatural is as wrong as adultery any day. I see a strange paralysis among us. If a man says he has the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we forget to ask if He knows Jesus Christ as Lord. We fail to ask him if he has been born again. We fail to ask if he prays through Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and man. We fall into the familiar error of judging a man by the supernatural which accompanies him. Instead, we ought, as Jesus said, to look for the fruit of a holy life (Matt. 7:16,20).

There is an epidemic of spurious charismata abroad in the land. But if Satan is so concerned to imitate and deceive, we should not repudiate the genuine. Thank God for true gifts from the Holy Spirit. Thank God for thousands who experience a richer and fuller Christian life through the charismatic abilities.

With regard to the gift of speaking in an unknown tongue, it should never be a trip laid on people. No one should hustle tongues. Don't promote and don't prohibit. I am persuaded this is scriptural.

All four passages which list spiritual gifts have interesting contexts. Common to all four lists is a context relating to the body of Jesus Christ and a context relating to love. The spiritual gifts, so numerous and so diversified, make the body of Jesus Christ what it is intended to be - a functioning organism.

AFLOAT ON LOVE

This whole teaching is intended to float on love. At Mouila, Gabon, I shared some of this teaching with the African pastors. Beside us flowed a wide river. The spiritual gifts are like little boats. The wide river is love. When Paul says, "Follow after love, and desire spiritual gifts," he seems to be saying, "The boats are fine, just fine, but the river is what is really important!" And boats in a dry river bed are tilted and grotesque.

The spiritual gifts reflect the various parts of Christ's body. And Christ, after all, is our victory. Sometimes our Lord gives the victory through spiritual gifts.

If you have never discovered your gifts as a Christian, if you have not been open to receive new spiritual manifestations of the Holy Spirit in your life, there are some victories you have missed.

And that is reason enough to think very carefully about this chapter.

Chapter 13