Gift6‹
Giver
The Holy pint Jov To&y
Craig S. Keener
Baker Academic
BAB Divi i H C
Grand Rapids, Michigan 4951 6
EX LIBRIS ELTROPICAL
@ 2001 l›y Craig S. Keener Published by Baker Academic
a divisit›n of Baker Book House Corripany
P.O. Ben 6287, Grand hapids, Ml 49516-6287
Second printing, February 2002
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may he reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans- mitted in any form or by any meanwfor example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotatit›ns in printed reviews.
To the memory of church planters
Everett and Esther Cook,
two of my earliest mentors in ministry
00-050768
Libcnry of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Keener, Craig S., 1960-
Gift and giver : the Ht›ly Spirit ftir ttnliiy / Craig S. Keener.
Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8010-2266-5 (pbk.)
1. Gifts, Spiritual. I. Title. BT767.3.K44 2001
2J4’.I 3—dc2i
Unless ‹otherwise indiciitcd, Sc ripture quotuti‹›ns iirc the authot’s triinslati‹›n.
Scripture quotiitions identiticd clv iite from the H(.0LY BlBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSIONS. NIVB. C?opyright O 1973, 1975, 1984 by lntcrniitioniil Bible S‹›ciett’. Used b)- permission of Zun‹ler- viin PublishinJ¡ Huilse. All right.s rcsen'ed.
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Contents
Acknowledgments 9
Introduction 11
Recognizing the Spirit's Voice 17
Learning to Hear God’s Heart by the Spirit 37 The Spirit Empowers Us for Evangelism 51 The Spirit and How We Live 69
Are Spiritual Gifts for Today / 89
A Closer Look at Some Spiritual Gifts 113 The Spirit and Salvation 137
S When Are We Baptized in the Spirit / 147
9 Tongues and the $pirit 171
I O Why Discern rhe Spirit / 187
(?‹ nclusic›n 205
Appendix: What Caw Bible Str›rics Teach Us / 209 Nc›tes 215
7
Acknowledgments
pecial thanks to my editors at Baker, Bob Hosack and Melinda Van Engen; also to Amanda Beckenstein and Jonathan and Melissa Fet- tig, my students at Eastern Seminary, who retyped much of the manu-
script after a disk error destroyed the computerized form of some chapters. I should also thank my colleague Kristin Frederich-Smoot, dean of spiri- tual formation at the seminary and a person of prayer, for her helpful com- ments, as well as my friend Alyn Waller, pastor of Enon Tabernacle Bap- tist Church in Philadelphia.
Because much of the material from 3 Crucial QtiestiOtls about the Holy Spirit remains in this work, I must also thank some dear friends who hold various perspectives on the more controversial questions and read through this manuscript. They include Melesse and Tadesse Woldetsadik, two charis- matic brothers from Ethiopia who led hundreds of people to Christ while living in refugee camps in Kenya. Melesse finished his degree at Columbia Biblical Seminary and has written a look about the Spirit in Amharic, Ethiopia’s main language. They also include Sharon Saunders, a former Baptist missionary with Africa Inland Mission; and Jackie Reeves, a charis- matic African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister in New Jersey. I am also grateful to my editors on that first project: Richard Jones, Grant Osborne, Jim Weaver, and Wells Turner. I learned from interacting with my listerners and students in seminars or retreats I offered for Circle Urban Ministries (Chicago); Chinese United Methodist Church (New York);
Eastern Seminary (Philadelphia); as well as in a course I taught on spiri-
9
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N eW TeS tarncnt thee It py C1‹iSSes.
Everett and Esther C‹ ok, t‹ whom this book is dedicated, spent much of the twentieth century pioneering Pentecostal churches in the western Unlted States. Afterward, they opened a street inlsslon with their retire- ment income and inentored the college students who worked w'ith them at the mission, trearing us like their own children. Although they had never been able te› attend college and I was initially more impressed with my grow- ing academic knowledge, I ultimately learned from their lives of humble faithfulness what no book could have taught me.
Introduction
Perspectives and Labels
Christians agree on much of what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit, such as the fruit of the Spirit and the Spirit’s work in salvation. Most of us also agree that the Spirir empowers us for evangelism, and we also agree on at least some spiritual gifts and some ways of hearing God’s voice. But Chris- tians often differ on details such as the importance of particular gifts (espe- cially tongues) and whether a person is baptized in the Spirit at conver- sic›n, after conversion, or (in some sense) at borh times.
My goal in writing this book is to help Christians better understand how rhe Spirit empowers us to live. Most tof the book, therefore, addresses prac- tical areas in which rhe Spirit helps us live the Christian life. That being said, however, I also seek to help Christlans with some of the controversial questions cc›ncerning the H‹ily Spirit, because answers to these questions also affect the church's life and ministry. In those sections ot the hr ok, I attempt to present various sites fairly, th‹ ugh in the end I make a case f‹ar what I believe are biblical positie ns. Only if Christians listen to one another's reas‹ans for holding different views will we be able to work for c‹ nsensus, or at least for unity in God's work despite our differences.
Defining Terms: Chorismntic and Evangelical
In an earlier brook, I freely described mysclf as “charismatic.” ln much of North America, this term commc›nly means Christians who affirm and prac-
11
Introduction
time spiritual gifts but are not members of a Pentec‹astal church. Sometimes it also refers somewhat metre specifically to the se who pray in ttangues; nat- urally this group also affirms and practices spiritual gifts. I have tried to allow for both of these tradltiona1 definitions, encompassing anyone who feels c‹amfortable describing themselves in this way. For the sake of one overar- ching, convenient designation, I also include in this designation Third Wave and other groups that might not use the label “charismatic”; the contours of today's church differ from when charismatic essentially meant noncessa- zionist, but so far no one term has come along to replace it.
Since I wrote 3 Crucial Questions about rhe Holy SQirtt, however, I have learned that per ple apply the term in different ways in different circles. Some Nigerian friends frs m the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) and an evangelical friend from Mexico warned me that in their circles charismatic means advocates of health and wealth teachings, people who “claim” material blessings for themselves. I would rather abandon the title than risk anyone thinking that I advocate such teachings! (In fact, I am coauthoring a book for Nigeria with a Nigerian professor and pastor, challenging those very beliefs and practices.) In his bOOk, I has W'FOllg, former health and wealth teacher Jim Bakker confesses his discovery that for years he taught exactly the opposite of Jesus' teachings. Studying the Bible in context changed his thinking and led him to renounce his former beliefs on this matter. Millions of Bible-reading Christians who today call themselves charismatics do not believe in health and wealth teachings.
I do not wish to risk confusion by using a label that means different things
t‹ different readers. Although I have used the term charismatic less fre- quently in this book, however, I have had to retain the term a number of times, for the simple reason that no other term available in English encom- passes all who affirm and practice spiritual gifts. Pentecostal usually applies specifically to those who belong to Pentecostal denominations, and as much as 1 like Pentecostal denominations (and personally share the “Pentecostal experience”), most people would not use that title to describe me: I was ordained ln a Baptist church, not a Pentecostal one. 1 should also empha- size that not all charismatics and Pentecostals agree with everything that has been practiced in the name of“charismatic.” People have wrongly jus- tified all sorts of things in the name of the Spirit (just as they have wrongly justified all sc:rts of things in the name of the Bible, or in the name of Christ). Not everyone uses the tertn evangelical in the same way either. I use the term t‹ describe those who embrace and seek to obey the Bible as God's Word and are committed to evangelizing the world because they recognize
Christ as the only way of salvatic n. It has been applied more narrowly in a denominational or subcultural sense, but 1 mean it in the broader his- toric sense. The circles in which 1 move and the largest part of this book’s audience have determined ro some extent the issues I address and in how much detail. (For example, I do not deal at length with sacramental views of the Spirit at confirmation, though many committed Christians in many parts of the world do hold these. This is not to devalue the importance of such a discussion, but many parts of that debate hinge on the needs of the early church after the completion of the New Testament; my own area of expertise and study is the New Testament itself.) 1 trust that the book will nevertheless contain enough useful information that all readers will profit from it, whether they are Pentecostal, Baptist, Anglican, or from other circles.
I have done my best to write a book that is fair to various views, but I have especially tried to be faithful to what I believe I find in the Bible. Nevertheless, because one's background and spiritual experiences (or lack of particular experiences) often help shape a Christian’s approach to the subject of the Holy Spirit, it is only fair to my readers that I recount briefly my own background.
My Background on the Subject
I have been miraculously healed, experienced supernatural gifts such as prophecy, followed the Spirit's leading in witnessing, and had deep expe- riences in the Spirit during prayer (including, regularly, prayer in tongues). I consider such experiences (and others mentioned later in the book) an advantage in writing a book on the Holy Spirit that includes controversial questions.
Some may object that such experiences bias my treatment of whether or not such experiences can happen today. From their standpoint, this is a legitimate objection (although many Pentecostals would respond that non- experience can also produce a sort of bias in the other direction). I could not deny that such works happen today any more than I could deny the existence of someone 1 know personally, because I have witnessed their reality firsthand. I do not, however, expect others to embrace the reality of these experiences on the basis of my testimony if they do not believe that such experiences are biblical. I can merely invlte them ro listen to my bib- lical arguments, and, if they wish, to a few of the stories I tell.
Introduction
Dut I am na cvatipclical New Test iment scholar who has published coi- ientaries ‹ n varioCiS New Testament books. God called me to understand and teach the Bible, and lf I had ft›und my experiences to be unbiblical, I would have needed tt find some other explanation for what they really were. It would not be the first time the Bible made me change my mind on something!
I am also part of the larger evangelical movement that is committed to evangelizing the world across denominational lines. Fundamental Baptists led rue to Christ, I was ordained in a black Baptist church, and I teach in an lnterracial, evangelical Baptist seminary that serves evangelical students from a broad range of denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, Menno- nite, Assemblies of God, and others). My Methodist cousins prayed me into the kingdom, and I taught for four years in an AME Zion seminary. (I there- fore sometimes jest that I am a Methobapticostal.) When I teach in Africa, I teach workers from a much wider range of denominational circles: Angli- can, Church of Christ in Northern Nigeria (COCIN), ECWA, Salvation Army, Deeper Life, and so on. I therefore move in a variety of circles. Many (perhaps mc›st) of my closest friends have not experienced the same spiri- tual gifts I have experienced, and I have good friends who teach at semi- naries such as Dallas and Westminster, which hold that some spiritual gifts have ceased.
My own church background has varied. Early in my education I studied especially under Pentecostals; later 1 studied under Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ, and other professors (and was discipled by an even wider range of writings). I pastored a charismatic congregation. L0uring seminary, 1 belonged to a nondenominational, noncharismatic con- gregation. When I relocated t‹ begin my Ph.D., 1 joined a Pentecostal church for two years until going on staff with a Baptist church. When I rclocated again to teach, I went on staff with a campus AME Zion church and later a Baptist church. At present, I belong to and minister in a black baptist church and sometimes attend a charismatic Messianic Jewish con- gregation and travel to speak in a variety of circles. My background prob- ably suggests to readers that I am eclectic—c›r hopelessly confused! But the biblical body of Christ is not circumscribed by denominational boundaries; our circles of fe11r›wship shc›uld be as wide as Christ's body.
I thus write this boc›k with the larger body of Christ in mind, from Pen- tecostals tti moderates to cessationists (those who believe supernatural gifts hive ceased)—though my cessat lonist friends may wish tc› skip a few of the later chapters! Most cut the church probably falls in the range between Pen-
Introduction
tecostal and cessationist; most Christians t‹aday seem to accept that expe- riences described in the Bible are valid today, even thc›ugh not every Chris- tian will have all c›f them. But this book will address enough practical issues that even cessationists will profit from at least some of it.
Many other charismatic or Pentecostal scholars also wrire for wide Chris- tian audiences, scholars such as Michael Brown, Peter Davids, Gordon Fee, Michael Green, Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, Wayne Grudem, Richard Hays, Michael Holmes, and Ben Witherington, as well, I am told, as some widely read writers such as Martin Lloyd-Jones.
A Different Book
Although it was an honor ro have a book in the 3 Crucial Questions series alongside authors such as Grant Osborne, Clint Arnold, and Trem- per Longman, I am grateful to Baker for the opportunity to revisit the sub- ject in a fresh way. While this book is based on the same material I used for 3 Crucial Questions nbout fhe Holy Spirit, it represents a significant reorga- nization of that material. I have written five other books between that work’s release and the present time, so hopefully I have more experience in know- ing how to write a readable book. I have tried to package the material in more interesting ways. I have also had time to grow in my own relation- ship with the Lord and my relationships with brothers and sisters who hold a wide range of views on matters of spiritual gifts. In terms of its direct value for the church, this book may be the most important book I have written, with the possible exception of The UP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament.
I have included a few more pers‹ nal stories to spice up the book; indeed, a couple stories I originally told in the third person tr› avoid talking about myself too much I am now rebelling in the firsr person. The ste ries arc tc› illustrate, not to argue a case; the case (when I am making one) depends
‹an biblical arguments. I include the stories, however, fear several reasons.
First, 1 want to underline the importance of applying biblical ptlnciples to daily life, and concrete examples are a good way to invite application. My ministry students and colleagues desire practical examples of how the principles we learn about in the Bible should influence our lives. I have found that my students respond to my perscinal illustrations because they demonstrate that I grapple wirh the task of applying the text to my own life; I don’t just teach theory.
Introduction
Further, when the stories are my own, verification beck mcs simpler. I am an eyewitness to the events and experiences I describe. If 1 am credible, my stories should be credible as well. Finally, by observing Jesus' teaching tech- niques and by noticing what contemporary books hold readers' attention, 1 have learned the value of stories for communicating points I endeavor to convey. Stories capture the attention of people in most cultures in a way that a more traditional textbook format does not.
The Need
Christians differ on their views about some aspects of the Holy Spirit's work, but we can all agree on most of the central questions. The early Chris- tians were dependent on God's Spirit from start to finish, and we must be
tOO.
Each revival in history has been the result of a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit, usually accompanied by experiences or commitments that threat- ened the comfortable status quo of religious institutions of the day. Yet the strength of the flesh, or proud human intellect that seeks to control God’s power by reducing it to terms we can explain, can pretend to be sufhcient for God’s work only when the kingdom of Satan appears to be dormant. Now is not such a time.
Those of us involved in various forms of frontline evangelism recognize that our world has little time to spare; we stand in desperate need of revival. Will we dare to submit our lives to the giver of the Spirit, regardless of what price the Spirit may call us to pay to reach our contemporaries for Christ? On the answer to that question hangs the fare of our generation.
Recognizing the Spirit’s Voice
ecently converted in high school, I began sharing Christ with other students on the way home from school. Sometimes I was afraid to witness, but I would feel the Spirit prompting me to talk wirh rhe
person behind me, or to walk to the next block and find someone there to share Christ with, or to follow up with someone I had led to Christ the pre- ceding week. Often the leading came from the Holy Spirit, but sometimes my feelings were simply the product of indigestion, and I was not very skilled ar discerning the difference.
I wanted tra know God's leading better, but to know God's leading bet- ter I had to know something metre important than his specific leading: I had to know his heart, what God was like. Too often we hold misconcep- tions about God's character. We have our own mental idols and we con- ceive of God in an image that does not correspond with the true God of the Bible. Paul says that we know in part and prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9). We may not always hear God perfectly, either in prayer or in our study of scripture, but if we know what he is like enough to love him the way he is, he has ways to work out our imperfections in hearing him. When we per- ceive and reflect his heart, especially the love that nailed jesus to the cross, we can best say we “know God” ( 1 john 4:7-12).
Gift and C iver
groundw‹ rk f‹ r knc›wing rand recr›gnizing the Splrlt; the next chapter pre vides further comments c n learning to hear the voice of the Spirit. Often we experience God's leading in evangelism (chapter 3). Chapter 4 also remains central to this issue: The fruit of the Spirit tells us about the Spirit's character, hence, enabling us to recognize him when
he speaks to HS-
Why Hear God’s Voice?
In Western Chrlstianity today, people are often far more eager to attend to controversial issues such as Spirit baptism and spiritual gifts than dis- cussions about the Spirit's character. By these priorities, however, we may miss rhe most important matter we could learn about the Spirit—learning God's heart. (Someday, when we know God fully, the gifts will not even be necessary, useful as they may be now [1 Cor. 13:8-12].)
Several years ago, when the pressures of trying to find time for teaching, writing, and speaking were overwhelming me, I walked into a worship ser- vlce and suddenly felt God's Spirit prompt me to consider something in my heart. “My son,” I felt him say, “you will not always have this ministry or that ministry. These gifts will pass away when you stand before me. But you will altroys be my son.” I wept as I felt his comfort (and perhaps a tinge of gentle reproof). I had gotten so wrapped up in all the work I was doing for God—like Martha—that I had forgotten whar mattered most: sitting at
]esus’ feet like Mary. God graciously uses us to serve others, but first he gra- ciously saves us from sin, from our selfish rebellion against him and his ways. Anything we do for God is simply the fruit of his new life within us. I felt thar God was pleased with my work, but even more than my work he desired my fellowship with him, mv continual acknowledgment of him in all my ways. 1 won't always be a teacher or a writer, but I will always be his child, and that means more to rue than anything else.
The Holy Spirit, like the Farher and the Son, is not just a doctrine, an
idea, or an experience to be tagged on to the other doctrines and experi- ences of our Christian life. He is the God who has invaded our lives with his transforming presence.
Many of us need guidance to recognize mr›re accurately when and how the Spirit speaks. Some circles in the church tend to exclude the Splrir’s work a1mc›st altogether, content to depend on human pre grams and abili- tles. As ‹one preacher remarked, “Were the Spirit to be withdrawn suddenly
Recognizing the Spirit’s Voice 19
from the earth tc day, most of the church's work would continue unabated.” In rather circles, nearly everything that happens is attributed to the Holy Spirit, though much of what happens there has nothing to do with him.
In this chapter, therefore, we begin with one of the less controversial but, nevertheless, crucially practical questions: How can we recognize the Spirit? The answer to this question must affect our discussion of the gifts of the Spirit later in the book, our discussion of the Spirit's leading in evangelism, and why discussions about the meaning of baptism in the Holy Spirit even matter. After briefly commenting on the Spirit and his character as God, we will consider some ways to improve our sensitivity to the Spirit’s voice.
Some Introductory Principles
If we desire to hear God, the best place to start is by asking him to open our ears. God often grants such gifts (compare 1 Cor. 14:13) and encour- ages us to seek them (1 Cor. 12:31). His voice may come through such means as gentle nudges, calm assurances, specifically Spirit-guided dreams, a pow- erful urge, clear wisdom, or an unyielding sense of calling or direction.
If we ask to hear, however, we must also be willing to obey what we hear. James invites us to ask for wisdom (James 1:5) but insists that we ask in faith (1:6)—a faith that elsewhere in his letter must be confirmed as genuine by obedience (2:14-26). The more we obey the Spirit’s leading, the more adept we become at hearing it. We must take it seriously and pay attention; God will not continue to give us leadings if we use them merely to gauge our spir- ituality or keep ourselves emotionally excited (compare John 14:23).
Yet this raises the question, How do we discern what is God’s leading, apart from trial and errors In situations in which it would do no harm to step out in faith, trial and error may work. In more critical matters, we may need to ask for God's confirmation or assurance (for examp1e,Judg. 6:36—40; 1 Sam. 14:9-10). But knowing God's character in Scripture is the most lmportant way to begin recognizing God's voice. Although our voices change over time, the character of God's voice has not changed in the past two thousand years.
Who Is the Spirit?
Christians today agree ‹ n many details about the Spirit. We recognlze that the Spirit is God, just as the Father and rhe Son are God. Although
20 Gift and Giver
the Father, Son, and Spirit each f‹acus ‹an some different aspects of our sal- vation, we can learn about the Spirit's ways by looking at Jesus the Scan, because the Bible reveals God's character most clearly in Jesus.
Perhaps because their Jewish contemporaries were less inclined to debate the personhood of the Spirit than, say, Christ's deity, the New Testament writers usually assume, rather than defend, the distinct personhood of the Spirit. Nevertheless, they do teach that the Spirit is personal and divine (Matt. 28:19; John 14:16-17; 16:13-15; Acts 5:3—5; Rom. 8:26—27; 2 Cor.
13:14). But while Jewish people before Jesus did not think of the Spirit as
a distinct person, as Jesus’ followers did, they all took for granted that the Spirit was divine, belonging to God’s being (see, for example, Isa. 40:13; 48:16; 63:10-11). That the Spirit was divine was never in question.
I should pause momentarily to explain why I call the Spirit “he” rather
than “it.” As early church fathers also recognized, the word for “spirit” is feminine in Hebrew, neuter in Greek, and masculine in Latin. Because the New Testament is written in Greek, it is therefore not surprising that pro- nouns for the Spirit are normally neuter in the Greek New Testament. (The
exceptions are passages in John that refer to the Spirit as the Paraclete, or counselor, a masculine term in Greek.) Because God is Spirit, Christians do not believe that God has biological gender, but neither would we describe him as neuter. 1 thus use Christian tradition's masculine pronoun for the Spirit here to remind readers that he is a divine person, an individual, not
an impersonal force.
(Note By Blogger: Due to the length of the book which this content is from I have broken it up into a short series of blog posts.)
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