Dr Paul Allen

When we have wrong thoughts about God, the consequences can be disastrous for every relationship – especially within the church. Many problems arise when believers’ actions are guided by inaccurate or unbiblical thinking about God. The church at Corinth is a case study in what goes wrong when people’s minds are led astray from the truth of God’s Word. The very first issue crippling the Corinthian church was disunity, which stemmed from these believers thinking with a fleshly mind, rather than with the mind of Christ. Rather than submitting to God’s wisdom and applying the mind of Christ to their daily walk, the Corinthians were enamoured with man’s thoughts, philosophies, and opinions, leading to church conflict and division. Paul, therefore, exhorted them in 1 Corinthians 1:10 to agree. When we come to 1 Corinthians 2:6-11, we discover that Paul wanted the Corinthians to adopt the very mind of Christ. As Christians, we have access to the way Christ thinks, and we know God’s wisdom. B...

With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), therefore, the answer to this question is yes. However, it is a highly qualified yes! I personally know of two people who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in English rather than in unknown tongues. Both were exceptionally sensitive, prophetic men, true spiritual giants of our time. One is Dr Frank Laubach, through whom the Holy Spirit manifested Himself supernaturally in English.  The other was Rufus Moseley, who, some months after his baptism in the Holy Spirit, began to speak in tongues and continued to witness faithfully to their value until his death. In a booklet entitled “How to Enter, Abide, and Increase in Union with Jesus Christ,” he makes this excellent statement: My feeling is that we must not be dogmatic and say that no one can have the baptism of the Holy Spirit unless he speaks in tongues. God, of course, can speak in English and in every tongue of men and angels. But He now seems a little more real ...

The only clear scriptural evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. The first Christians to be baptised in the Holy Spirit were the 120 gathered in the upper room at Pentecost. The unique evidence that the 120 received the Holy Spirit was that “they began to speak in other tongues” (Acts 2:4).  All the other spiritual gifts, such as healing and prophecy, appear in the Old Testament and in the gospels. But with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which signified God’s presence in the disciples’ lives in a new dimension, God gave a new gift: the gift of tongues. The book of Acts records five separate occasions when the Holy Spirit was received. On three of these occasions, speaking in tongues is specifically mentioned as the visible sign accompanying the experience: at Pentecost (see Acts 2:4), at the house of Cornelius (see Acts 10:44–46), and at Ephesus (see Acts 19:6).  Paul received the Holy Spirit when Ananias laid hands on him and prayed (...

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Rom. 8:23, 26–27) Christians have the best gift as we await the return of Jesus and the resurrection of our bodies: the firstfruits of the Spirit. “Firstfruits” literally refers to the initial portion of a harvest, which points to a greater harvest ahead.  Christians enjoy the firstfruits of the Spirit now (for example, the fruit of the Spirit listed in Gal. 5:22–23), as we await a greater harvest, or greater benefit of the Spirit: our adoption and redemption of our bodies.  While Paul says in verse 15...

The gifts operate by faith in God, not faith in a specific theory. They are not channelled through any doctrine except that of redemption. The Holy Spirit only glorifies the crucified Christ. Testimonies that this or that formula has brought success are always to be found, but they do not prove what they are supposed to prove. God’s mercies are “broader than the measures of our mind.”1  There is only one secret—faith. “This is the victory … our faith” (1 John 5:4). New techniques and highly publicised methods may seem to bring results, but they do not. God separates the techniques from the faith and responds only to faith. In the New Testament, whenever healings and miracles are attributed to anything at all, it is invariably to faith. Otherwise it is the sovereign action of God. “Thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace,” Jesus said to the woman with a hemorrhage (Luke 8:48, KJV).  Her “method” could not have been more simple and childlike. Those seeking healing can be he...

Essentially, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a doorway leading from a natural realm into a supernatural realm of life and experience. The average Christian, although truly professing Christ, operates largely on his own power, making his own decisions, living by his own strength, and controlling his own life.  But through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Christian steps out of this natural realm into a realm where he can begin to experience the supernatural gifts and powers of God’s Holy Spirit. The initial evidence of entering this supernatural realm is the ability to speak in other tongues. (See Part II for a discussion of tongues.) But that is just the beginning. If all that happened to the 120 people at Pentecost had been that they began to speak in tongues, their experience would soon have been forgotten.  The same is true today. If all that happens to one receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that he speaks in tongues, then he is not forging ahead in faith into...