Subsequence, Tongues, Seeking, Bah-Humbug!

The Charismatic Doctrine of Subsequence

Acts 2:4 is the charismatic touchstone, containing what many Pentecostals and charismatics view as the core truth of the New Testament; "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Most charismatics believe this verse teaches that at conversion Christians receive the Holy Spirit only in a limited sense.  Therefore, they believe, Christians need to seek Spirit baptism in order to move to a higher level of spiritual life, being supernaturally immersed in the power of God's Spirit.  The experience is usually -- many say always -- accompanied by speaking in tongues and results in new spiritual motivation and power.

The notion that one gets salvation at one point and the baptism of the Spirit later is often referred to as the doctrine of subsequence.  Gordon Fee lists two Pentecostal distinctives "(1) the doctrine of subsequence, i.e., that there is for Christians a baptism in the Spirit distinct from and subsequent to the experience of salvation . . . , and (2) the doctrine of tongues as the initial physical evidence of baptism in the Spirit."  

In his thorough investigation of Pentecostal theology, Frederick Dale Bruner wrote, "Pentecostals believe that the Spirit has baptized every believer into Christ (conversion), but that Christ has not baptized every believer into the Spirit (Pentecost)."  Not only do most charistmatics believe that the baptism of the Spirit happens at some point after salvation, but most also believe that Spirit baptism is something Christians must seek.  Bruner goes on to say, 

The most important characteristics of the Pentecostal understanding of the baptism in the Holy Spirit . . . are; (1) that the event is usually "distinct from and subsequent to" the new birth; (2) that it is evidenced initially by the sign of speaking in other tongues; (3) that it must be "earnestly" sought.

Those three elements -- baptism of the Spirit subsequent to conversion, the earnest seeking of those who are baptized, and the evidence of speaking in tongues -- are characteristic of nearly all charismatic doctrine.  In most other areas of theology charismatics are vague,  but here they usually speak a clear word regarding what they believe.

Charismatics attempt to support their doctrine of subsequence from the book of Acts.  First Corinthians 12:13 ("For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and we were all made to drink of one Spirit") cannot be used to prove subsequence because the verse simply says that all believers have been baptized by one Spirit into the body of Christ.  Indeed, it would seem clear that the baptism described in 1 Corinthians 12:13 cannot take place at a point in time after salvation.  Otherwise, what Paul says could not be true of all Christians.  No evidence such as tongues is mentioned, and no requirement of seeking the baptism is alluded to. 

Charismatics are also unable to use 1 Corinthians 14 to prove the tenets of subsequence, evidence, or seeking, because the chapter has nothing to say about any of those elements.  In fact, the only passages charismatics can use to support their doctrine of subsequence are found in Acts.  The epistles say nothing that can be construed to support the idea.

The truth is, even the book of Acts fails to support the charismatic view.  Only four passages mention tongues or receiving the Holy Spirit:  Chapters 2, 8, 10 and 19.  Only in Acts 2 and 8 do believers receive the Spirit after salvation.  In Acts 10 and 19, believers were baptized in the Spirit at the moment of belief.  So the doctrine of subsequence cannot be convincingly defended even from the book of Acts.

What about tongues?  Believers spoke in Acts 2, 10, and 19, but there is no record of tongues in Chapter 8.

What about the requirement of earnestly seeking the baptism?  The believers in Acts 2 simply waited prayerfully for the fulfillment of the Lord's promise (cf. 1:4, 14).  In Chapters 8, 10, or 19, no seeking is mentioned.   

The point is clear.  To say that the book of Acts presents the normal pattern for receiving the Holy Spirit presents a problem:  no consistent pattern is evident in Acts!  

It is true that Christians at Pentecost (Acts 2), Gentiles in Cornelius's household (Chapter 10), and the Jews at Ephesus who had only the baptism of John (Chapter 19) received the Holy Spirit and tongues followed.  But because those three events occurred does not mean they are to be the standard for every other Christian.  In fact, none of the passages we are discussing (Acts 2, 8, 10, or 19) imply that similar experiences are to be had by anyone else.   

If tongues were to be the normal experience, why were tongues not mentioned in Acts 8 when the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit!  Why does the text in Acts 2 through 4 not say that everyone who believed following Peter's sermons (over 5,000 people according to Acts 4:4) and received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) also spoke in tongues?  In order for something to be normative, it has to be common to everyone.  

John Stott reasoned that:

The 3,000 do not seem to have experienced the same miraculous phenomena (the mighty rushing wind, the tongues of flame, or the speech in foreign languges).  At least nothing is said about these things.  Yet because of God's assurance through Peter they must have inherited the same promise and received the same gift (verses 33, 39).  Nevertheless, there was this difference between them:  the 120 were regenerate already, and received the baptism of the Spirit only after waiting upon God for ten days.  The 3,000 on the other hand were unbelievers, and received the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Spirit simultaneously -- and it happened immediately when they repented and believed, without any need to wait.

This distinction between the two companies, the 120 and the 3,000, is of great importance, because the norm for today must surely be the second group, the 3,000, and not (as is often supposed) the first.  The fact that the experience of the 120 was in two distinct stages was due simply to historical circumstances.  They could not have received the Pentecostal gift before Pentecost.  But those historical circumstances have long since ceased to exist.  We live after the event of Pentecost, like the 3,000.  With us, therefore, as with them, the forgiveness of sins and the "gift" or "baptism" of the Spirit are received together.

Subsequence -- not supported by Scripture !
Tongues -- grossly misinterpreted Scripture !
Earnestly Seeking -- simply false teaching !


God must be having a good laugh at what He sees Pentecostals and charismatics doing down here, or is He?

CHARISMATICS JUST DON'T GET IT!

Still looking for that book about the false teachings of the Baptist church !


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Charismatics Just Don't Get It!

Experience, as we have noted repeatedly, is the foundation upon which much of the charismatic belief system is built.  Experience is also the authority charismatics most frequently cite to validate their teachings.  Their experience-centered approach to truth even influences the way charismatics handle Scripture.  The book of Acts -- a journal of the apostles' experiences -- is where charismatics usually turn in search of biblical support for what they believe.

Acts is historical narrative, in contrast to the epistles, which are didactic.  Acts is a chronicle of the infant church's experiences, the epistles contain instructions for believers throughout the church age.  Historically, Christians committed to a biblical perspective have recognized the difference.  That is, evangelical theologians have drawn the heart of their doctrine from Bible passages penned expressly to teach the church.  They have understood Acts as an inspired historical record of the apostolic period, not necessarily viewing every event or phenomenon recorded there as normative for the entire church age.

Charismatics, however, craving the experiences described in Acts, have assembled a doctrinal system that views the extraordinary events of the early apostolic age as necessary hallmarks of the Holy Spirit's working -- tokens of spiritual power that are to be routinely expected by all Christians for all time.

That rather serious interpretive error undermines charismatics' comprehension of Scripture and muddies several key biblical issues crucial to a right understanding of the charismatic controversy.  Gordon Fee, himself a charismatic, commented on the hermeneutical difficulties posed by the way charismatics typically render the book of Acts;

If the primitive church is normative, which expression of it is normative?  Jerusalem?  Antioch?  Philippi?  Corinth?  That is, why do not all the churches sell their possessions and have all things in common?  Or further, is it at all legitimate to take [any] descriptive statements as normative.  If so, how does one distinguish those which are from those which are not?  For example, must we follow the patterns of Acts 1:26 and select leaders by lot?  Just exactly what role does historical precedent play in Christian doctrine or in the understanding of Christian experience?

But the book of Acts was never intended to be a primary basis for church doctrine.

It records only the earliest days of the church age and shows the Church in transition from the Old Covenant to the New.

The apostolic healings, miracles, signs, and wonders evident in Acts were not common, even in those days.

They were exceptional events, each with a specific purpose, always associated with the ministry of the Apostles and their frequency can be seen decreasing dramatically from the beginning of Acts to the end.

Written by Luke the physician, Acts covers a crucial period that started with the beginning of the church at Pentecost and ended some thirty years later with Paul in prison, following his third missionary journey.

Transitions are seen from beginning to end in the book of Acts.

Changes happen in almost every chapter.  The Old Covenant fades away and the New Covenant comes in all its fullness.  Even Paul was caught in the changes.  Although he was an apostle in the New Era, he still had ties to the old, as indicated by his taking Jewish vows (see Acts 18:18 and 21:26).

In Acts we move from the synagogue to the church and from law to grace.  The church is transformed from a group of Jewish believers to a body made up of Jews and Gentiles united in Christ.  Believers at the beginning of Acts were related to God under the Old Covenant; by the end, all believers were in Christ, living under the New Covenant, indwelt by the Holy Spirit in a new and unique relationship.

Acts, therefore, covers an extraordinary time in history.

The Transitions it records are never to be repeated.  
The Transitions it records are never to be repeated.  
The Transitions it records are never to be repeated.  

And so the only teachings in the book of Acts that can be called normative for the Church are those that are explicitly confirmed elsewhere in Scripture.

" Charismatics just don't get it!!"