Preach Magazine Issue 3 - Preaching and the Holy Spirit | Page 16

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FEATURE

Keller writes: ‘One of its flashpoints
was the seventeenth-century debate
between the English puritans and
the early Quakers… For the puritans
the Spirit’s words were the Bible…
Quakers and many others following
in their footsteps have believed that
while the Scripture was inspired,
there was new current, and inner
revelation through the Spirit that
was to be sought. This would mean
that the Scripture is not required for
the conversation, we can go back
and forth with God within our own
hearts.’
The founding father of the Vineyard
movement, John Wimber, was
certainly influenced by Quaker
thought. And one of his churches
was instrumental in ushering in the
Toronto Blessing – a charismatic
revival featuring manifestations
of spiritual power more commonly
associated with the seventeenthand eighteenth-century Great
Awakenings Tim Keller refers to.
The legacy of Toronto has been
much debated, but unlike many such
revivals that have devolved into
scandal, this has been described as
enduring2 with thousands reporting
powerful encounters with God over
the years.
John Wimber’s view of the value of
Scripture has been recorded in The
Way in is the Way on, a collection of
his teaching and writing: ‘It is not
enough to be biblically literate; we
must also be biblically obedient.’
‘It is important that we understand
that the Bible is the menu, not
the meal. We don’t worship the
Scriptures, and they aren’t to take
place of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Stick to the main and the plain
themes of Scripture.” 3
So could our current ‘Word versus
Spirit’ debate be a legacy from the
charismatic renewals of the 1970s
and 80s that included Toronto? The
artist and writer Jenny Hawke, who
has attended a Vineyard church for

LWPT8693 Preach Magazine - Issue 3 v3 REPRO.indd 16

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT
WE UNDERSTAND THAT
THE BIBLE IS THE MENU,
NOT THE MEAL. WE DON’T
WORSHIP THE SCRIPTURES,
AND THEY AREN’T TO TAKE
PLACE OF THE FATHER, SON
AND HOLY SPIRIT. STICK TO
THE MAIN AND THE PLAIN
THEMES OF SCRIPTURE.

many years, thinks so, pointing to
splits and clashes, but ultimately
provides a more conciliatory
outlook. She says: ‘I’ve recently come
across a model of the four corners of
the church. It’s a square divided into
four; the top left corner is Scripture,
the right hand corner is salvation,
then signs and wonders and justice
underneath.
‘We all have a natural preference for
one of those like we have for many
things; we have a preferential way
of learning, a preferential way of
communicating and a preference
for what we feel comfortable with
within a Christian setting. I think
sometimes if a church has got a lot
of people in it and a minister who is
for the Scripture, who has a natural
preference for that, that’s going to
be the flavour of the church. But
Jesus should be at the centre of all
four corners and of course there
should be a balance.”
The entire debate is moot, however,
if you come from a stance that
spiritual gifts are not for today. For
writer and church leader David
Robertson the gifts of the Holy
Spirit are the fruit of the Spirit. He
told Preach: ‘I’m not a cessationist
because I’m a Calvinist, and I believe
God is sovereign and he can do what

he wants. However, I think a huge
amount of what people call spiritual
gifts today are not really spiritual
gifts at all. Particularly the more
dramatic ones.
‘I don’t believe Scripture can be added
to, but whether the Holy Spirit can
directly communicate with someone
so that they have words of insight and
things like that, well in theory yes; in
practice I’ve seen very little of it.
‘I remember the late David Watson
of York Cathedral saying once that if
you had the Word without the Spirit
you’d dry up and if you had the Spirit
without the Word you’d blow up and
if you have them both together you’d
grow up which was quite a neat way
of putting it. That would be my own
view but I do think that overall people
misunderstand the role of the Bible
as the living Word of God, God’s word
direct to us today.
‘I would for example engage in
prophetic preaching which is
basically that I think God’s word is
prophecy in the wider sense – it’s God’s
communication of himself to us. I
would regard preaching along those
lines and I’m very, very wary of people
who come along and say to me “God
told me this”. Because you can’t really
argue with them can you?’

17/04/2015 15:42:52