The Charismatic Holy Spirit Experience

In preparing for my series on Hyper-Charismaticism, I watched hours and hours of material, learning about the whole Charismatic movement.

One of the key teachings is the Holy Spirit Experience. Charismatic theology on the Holy Spirit is slightly different to the rest of the Global Church. They agree on almost everything except on how the Holy Spirit can be experienced.

Charismatics believe that when the Holy Spirit comes upon someone there could be physical manifestations. These might include crying, having a warm sensation, uncontrollable laughter, falling on the floor, feeling a heavy weight on their shoulders and many other signs.

This they believe is evidence that someone has received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and is now filled by Him. Compared to the rest of the Global Church, this isn’t the theologically common definition of this baptism.

So what is theologically going on with this Holy Spirit Experience? I know there are as many vocal detractors as there are practitioners on this topic, but I hope I can bring some clarity with this article.

Toronto Blessing

In the early 1990s, a Holy Spirit Movement began at the Toronto Airport Vineyard. Thousands and thousands of people flew to the church, from all over the World, to experience this ‘latest move of the Spirit’. Services would go on for hours, with people showing physical manifestations, with everything from laughing, barking like a dog, rolling around the floor, screaming and many other strange and bizarre behaviours. Many people were profoundly touched by this experience, increasing their passion for God. Others, however, had questions.

The main question asked by the Global Church community was, ‘Is this God?’ And it’s the question they have been asking about the Charismatic Renewal since the beginning. Is this God or something else?

I think there are three theological positions which could describe this experience.

Option 1: The True Church is Charismatic

I have heard some Charismatics say that they are the true Church. Charismatics believe they have a direct link back to the early Church through the manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders.

They see the Charismatic experience as one of the highest expressions of Christianity.

Some who hold this view even go as far as to say that unless a Christian speaks with the ‘gift of tongues’, they are not baptised in the Holy Spirit and therefore are not saved.

I find this reasoning odd, as that means for almost 1,900 years, no one was truly saved.

Option 2: Crazy Charismatics

Another theological option is to say the Charismatics are at best deluded and at worst possessed by demons.

If this is all made up by Charismatics, or demonic activity, why do we see such positive change in people’s lives? Why do people become more passionate and dedicated to God after these experiences? Why would a demon encourage this?

The Third Option

One of the main concerns I have is the language Charismatics use to describe the experience. I’m not entirely sure where it comes from, but it appears to have been there from the very early days of the movement. The terms they use can have other theological meanings or sometimes no Biblical backing at all. It therefore causes confusion for those outside of the Movement and makes it difficult to theologically define what is happening.

A key phrase they say is ‘we can feel the Holy Spirit falling’. Scripture tells us that we are a Temple of the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 6 v 19

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Unlike in the Old Testament, where He came upon people for a short periods of time to complete an action. The Holy Spirit is within every Christian. Theologically speaking, the Holy Spirit only comes on a faithful believer once. We are instructed then to continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but this relates to the continual interaction with Him rather than a re-indwelling.

Ephesians 5 v 18

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

When Charismatics say the ‘Holy Spirit is falling on you’ or ‘I can feel Him coming over me’, it therefore does not seem to fit with Biblical language. The Holy Spirit is already within them.

I think they use this terminology to try to explain a genuine experience. But the language isn’t helpful in identifying what is actually going on.

Below is my proposed model on how the Holy Spirit Experience might work.

Here we have two elements. What we know is objectively true and what we think is true through our own subjective experience.

The objective truth regarding the Holy Spirit is found in Scripture. This isn’t based upon our own subjective experiences, but grounded in the Bible.

Our personal subjective experience of the Holy Spirit is not as true as the objective truth. It is only how we experience the interaction between our internal world and the Holy Spirit.

We may experience joy in a church service. Maybe because of the moving music, a scripture comes to mind during singing or we imagine God smiling at us - these are subjective experiences. We may find a verse in the Bible to back up our experience, but it is not en par with Scripture, nor is it objectively true. It is our own personal experience.

If we say, substitute joy for shouting out praise, dancing ecstatically or falling over, these outbursts are generated by the person who is interacting with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the trigger, but the physicality of the experience is our own selves responding to Him. So, in other words, the experience is generate by the person through the interaction with the Holy Spirit.

This model allows for the person to take control of themselves, even though they are physically manifesting their interaction with the Holy Spirit. If it was the Holy Spirit taking complete control of someone, then I believe the person would not be able to overrule God.

I have heard Charismatics say, ‘The Holy Spirit is a gentlemen’, meaning He won’t force you to do anything against your will. But I struggle to see this mentioned directly in Scripture.

So are charismatics just making it all up? Not entirely. The interaction with the Holy Spirit is the trigger for the experience. Though He is not responsible for the behaviours. That’s is down to the person.

This is why not everyone exhibits the same behaviour. It depends on the person. People ‘feel God’ in different ways. During a church service, some people may get a sense of peace, some may get a warm feeling and others may feel nothing.

This also explains why not every Christian has these experiences in other denominations. It isn’t how they respond in their church culture to the Holy Spirit. I think the style of church service has a significant affect upon how the congregation experiences the Holy Spirit.

I will address whether it is always the Holy Spirit which triggers the manifestation later in the article.

What About Prophetic Words?

Prophetic words or Words of Knowledge are common place in Charismatic church services. Sometimes someone will share what God is saying or state that if you have a bad arm, for example, come down the front, and we will pray for healing.

How does my proposed model above reflect prophetic words? Do Charismatics just make these messages up?

I have heard of a story where a Christian firm of accountants had to make a difficult decision regarding the business. The chairman asked everyone to pray over the weekend to ask God what they should do. On Monday, they reconvened and two people believed they heard God speak to them. Unfortunately, the answers were contradictory. I don’t know what the decision the chairman took, but the point is that two faithful Christians got opposite answers to the same question. So who really heard God?

In this story, they both believed they heard God. They both interacted with the Holy Spirit, asking Him what to do. And they heard different things.

Using the proposed model, we can see that a person enquiring an answer from God may receive an impression through this interaction. The person then trusts this impression is from God.

Similarly with prophetic words. Someone may receive an impression of a prophetic word through their interaction with the Holy Spirit within them. They may then ‘step out in faith’ and share it with the church. But how do we know whether this impression is truly a prophetic message from God?

This gets to the nitty gritty about what humans can actually know about what is objectively true. Fundamentally, we use logic, rationality, experience, feedback from other people and what we already know to be objectively true. In short, we could describe this as discernment. In the story of the accountants, I would hope they would discuss and discern what they needed to do through rational discussion, adding the contradictory messages to the mix.

The Process of Discernment

Many charismatics use some process of discernment to know when an impression is from God. Some use a feeling they get, like if their body makes a tick movement or they get a warm fuzziness. Others may use Scripture as a guide and embed the prophetic message within well known verses.

And even others, just let rip. They open their mouths and just fill it with whatever comes into their heads. They don’t discern whatsoever.

I recall a story about a young English man who believed he heard God say he was to go to the Netherlands to preach the Gospel. He saved up his money to buy a ticket and took the ferry to Holland. He got off the boat and stood around waiting for God to guide him. Nothing happened. He got back on the boat and went home. Did he hear God? Using the proposed model above, he interacted with God, he got an impression, but didn’t use discernment. He deceived himself.

Spiritual-Deception

In my last article about the Orthdox Church’s critique of the Charismatic Movement, I discussed spiritual-deception. If we solely rely on our own subjective experience of God, we will eventually be led astray. We need to use discernment or we will fall into self-deception.

The process of discernment should be through previous experiences, praying, fasting, aligning ourselves with Scripture and humbly sharing our inner thought life or impressions with others for feedback.

If discernment is not exercised, the Charismatic Holy Spirit experience will be fraught with pitfalls. It could easily be used to spiritually abuse others. The experience could give someone the wrong impression on what they should do in a complex situation, resulting in tremendously damaging consequences.

Discernment should be an essential part of the Charismatic Holy Spirit Experience. Without it, it will lead into a place of confusion, Hyper-Charismatic practices and eventually complete spiritual deception.

Let Go, Let God

‘Let Go, Let God’ is a known phrase in charismatics circles. People are encouraged to open themselves up to the Holy Spirit. It is obviously good to seek God, but how do we know if we are interacting with the Holy Spirit?

Here I’ve extended the model to include the person’s spirit and demonic spirits.

So when we think someone is interacting with the Holy Spirit; how do we known whether it is truly Him? Are they simply making it all up in their own spirits or are they unknowingly interacting with a demon?

By ‘letting go and letting God’, we may be opening ourselves up to interactions and impressions from sources other than the Holy Spirit.

As I’ve mentioned before, the answer is discernment. Healthy skepticism should be a necessary tool in the Charismatic experience. Without this, spiritual deception can easily happen.

In Hyper-Charismaticism, we see people who sincerely believe they can go to Heaven and sit on Father God’s lap to receive special instructions. This is clearly not the Holy Spirit. This is likely their own imagination.

We see modern day prophets who give prophecies which are treated like Scripture. Where did these messages come from? Are they from the Holy Spirit, the person’s own imagination or from some other nefarious source?

Discernment should always be used whenever we think we have had an experience or impression from God.

A Fourth Source

Finally, I want to add an additional element which may influence the experience; the environment.

The environment (purple) is another source which can either create an impression or heighten our subjective experience.

Humans can be easily manipulated by their physical environment. In a church setting, soothing music, emotional preaching and suggestive comments can all build up to an environment where the congregation can be easily manipulated and become more suggestible.

Church leaders and preachers could easily take advantage of this, knowingly or unknowingly. They need to take responsibility to manage the environment to ensure people are not being whipped up into an emotional experience, but encourage people to build a sincere and deep relationship with God.

Hyper-Charismaticism and This Model

The model can also be used to help identify Hyper-Charismatic practices. If the subjective experience is considered equal to or of greater importance than the objective truth found in Scripture, then it is hyper-charismatic.

Conclusion

The Charismatic Holy Spirit Experience can be a valid response to God. But as with all spiritual interactions, we need to use discernment to ensure the impressions we get are from the Holy Spirit and not from another source.

If congregations want engaging music and singing, passionate preaching and a church hungry after signs and wonders, then that’s great. As long as the leaders in the church are aware of how easily people can be manipulated. And then resist the temptation to use it.

As Christians, we need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, not just the experience. Otherwise, we could be easily mislead and fall into deception.

We need to primarily look to bear the Fruit of the Spirit, not focus solely on a spiritual experience.