Dr Paul Allen

The baptism in the Holy Spirit always results in significant changes in the theology of those who receive it, for the overwhelming reality of the Holy Spirit tends to make many previously held beliefs and doctrines insignificant.  But we should remember that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to be equipped with power for Christian service, not a ticket to omniscience. At many points, Spirit-filled Christians differ. But they are 100 per cent in agreement on the importance and significance of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Even the apostles did not always agree. (See Acts 15; Galatians 2:1–15.) As great and wise as Paul was, he still admitted, “For now we see in a mirror dimly….Now I know in part” (1 Corinthians 13:12).  Yet, in spite of differences, there is a very precious fellowship and unity created among people baptised in the Holy Spirit. It is a unity born of the Holy Spirit and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Many of us believe it is in the charismatic movement that the...

  Ecclesiastes 11 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. (Eccl. 11:9–10) Ecclesiastes is bold. It deconstructs us, and it reconstructs us. It frees us from any dreamy idealism that would run smack into the brick wall of harsh reality. But it also frees us from any grim cynicism that would keep us miserably half-alive. Ecclesiastes declares our freedom to live real life, in this real world, vigorously and confidently under the smile of God. Which puts our feet on the path of profound holiness. And if you ask me, freedom of heart to live, really live, is the change we most need here in our time. We forsook idealism long ago. What hurts us now is the opposite. We have grown numb to lofty grandeur, ...

First of all, how much importance should we place on whether or not a religious practice is currently “normative”? Christianity is not the normative religion of the world today, but this does not keep Christians from proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Light of the world and believing that it is God’s will for all men to come to a saving knowledge of Him.  While the baptism in the Holy Spirit may not yet be normative in the church of our day, nevertheless, it is growing by leaps and bounds. It was much more normative in the early church than is generally understood. A study of Scripture shows that Christians in Caesarea, Samaria, Ephesus, Rome, Corinth, and Jerusalem received the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues, since either direct or indirect references point to the fact. We know that the 120 in the upper room at Pentecost spoke in tongues, as did the apostle Paul. From this group emerged almost the entire leadership of the early church.  O bviously, as they ministered in th...

A vibrant prayer life is possible for you. I know it may not seem this way, but the whole thing is rigged for triumph. That doesn’t mean that prayer will be easy or comfortable. It won’t. In fact, we should prepare for the long, slow haul of discomfort, confusion, and frustration, laced with joy, love, stability, and wholeness.  There aren’t a few techniques merely to pick up so that next week the struggle for prayer will be over. Instead, there are realities that we need to grasp that lead to pathways (rather than techniques) toward intimacy with God.  These realities—like the incarnation of Christ, our participation in Christ’s exalted status, and his participation in our troubled and lowly place—rearrange how we think about ourselves, God, and the world around us. This often means unlearning lies about ourselves, God, and the world that have shaped how we’ve lived and made decisions so far. That will take time because it’s not merely changing our minds or our perspectives b...

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” (Deut. 30:19–20). Moses’s logic here is breathtaking. May the Lord help us feel and respond appropriately to these truths. First, spiritual life does not happen on its own (see John 3:36; Eph. 2:1–3). We must choose life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus notes, “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13–14).  Impurity, dishonesty, selfishness, arrogance, laziness, rash responses, and the like— these characterise the...

  Giving is not a sacrifice purely and simply; it is a “sowing” and will be followed by a “reaping”. You reap what you sow, v. 6. No man ever loses by being generous. The harvest reaped will be proportionate to the seed sown. Sow sparingly, reap sparingly. Sow abundantly, reap abundantly. Giving is not just a contribution; it is an investment. Of course, giving must not have selfish ends in view. The motive must be right. The spirit of giving is more important than the gift, v. 7. Giving must spring out of a deliberate choice, “according as he purposeth in his heart”. There must be neither constraint nor complaint, “not grudgingly”. Everyone must be entirely free to decide what to give, “not … of necessity”. Giving must be with cheerfulness. God loves the happy giver, as characterised by a spirit of real enjoyment in his giving which sweeps away all restraint. Not only does God love a cheerful giver, but He is able in His grace to see that there shall always be the means to give, v...

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. (Jer. 46:1) I’m persuaded that much of our fear, anxiety, discouragement, and hopelessness is the result of bad theology. At its core, what is the Bible all about? The existence, character, and plan of God. Every other aspect of Scripture flows out of the reality of who God is. A bad or weak theology of God will lead to weakness in other areas of theology, and spiritual weaknesses in daily living.  I had this experience again and again in counselling. I would be working with someone who was struggling to trust God, but, as I listened to him describe who he thought God was, I immediately understood why he had trouble trusting him. I would often think, “If I thought that this was who God is, I would have trouble trusting him too.” One common mistake in our functional theology of God is thinking he is too small.   The God in our minds lacks the awesome, glorious, and incalculable power and authority th...

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. (Ps. 20:7–8) Don’t fear your weaknesses—God supplies all the strength you need. Be afraid of those moments when you think you’re independently strong. Admit it, you don’t like being weak. It’s not fun being the last one chosen to play on the team. It’s embarrassing to be asked a question you can’t answer. It’s frustrating not to be able to figure out the directions for assembling the furniture you just bought.  It’s mortifying to forget that important appointment or the name of a good friend. It’s humbling to fail at a task, to drop the ball, or to make a promise and not be able to keep it.  We don’t like getting lost or forgetting a phone number. We all hate those moments when we feel unqualified or unprepared. We don’t like being confused or not knowing. We covet the muscles and the brains of others.  We all hate being afraid an...

 

“Without the Spirit we can neither love God, nor keep His commandments.”   The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is like any other mainline doctrine, both saturated with variety and overflowing with controversies. The Holy Spirit, being God, makes a rather unruly subject matter in that He is too incomprehensibly vast for us to tackle with full authority, especially in the brevity of this paper. As Clark Pinnock writes, In fact, of the themes of theology, the Spirit may be the most elusive of all. How does one speak at all of the power that enables us to know God? How can one put the Spirit-breath into a conceptual bottle? Yet, the graciously given presence of the Spirit is surely the most wonderful thing one experiences and that which brings God unspeakably close.  Yet scripture provides both a reasonable description of what the Holy Spirit’s interaction with His creation is, and what we might have as a standard expectation for our own understanding and teaching.  Regardin...