Theological Development
In the Pentecostal and
Charismatic Movements
Theological Sources
• Arminian, Wesleyan, Holiness theology,
leading to a desire for an experiential religion.
• Proto-Fundamentalist thought on healing (e.g.,
A. J. Gordon, A. B. Simpson [Fourfold
Gospel]).
• Reaction against liberalism, primarily at the
level of culture and passion.
• Edward Irving’s Catholic Apostolic Church
and John Dowie’s Christian CAC.
Early Pentecostal Themes:
Three-Stage Soteriology
1. Saved by grace.
2. Emptied or sanctified (yieldedness).
3. Filled with the Spirit (the initial sign is
speaking in tongues).
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NB: the second stage was rejected by “finished
work” Pentecostalism in the A of G and the
Foursquare churches.
Early Pentecostal Themes:
The Foursquare Gospel
1. Jesus saves (John 3:16).
2. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (Acts
2:4).
3. Jesus heals bodily (James 5:15).
4. Jesus is coming again to receive those who
are saved (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Example: A of G on Spirit
Baptism (part 1)
• All believers are entitled to and should
ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise
of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit
and fire, according to the command of our
Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal
experience of all in the early Christian Church.
With it comes the enduement of power for life
and service, the bestowment of the gifts and
their uses in the work of the ministry.
Example: A of G on Spirit
Baptism (part 2)
• This experience is distinct from and
subsequent to the experience of the new birth.
• With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such
experiences as:
• an overflowing fullness of the Spirit,
• a deepened reverence for God,
• an intensified consecration to God and
dedication to His work,
• and a more active love for Christ, for His
Word and for the lost,
Example: A of G on Tongues
• The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is
witnessed by the initial physical sign of
speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of
God gives them utterance.
• The speaking in tongues in this instance is the
same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is
different in purpose and use.
Example: A of G on Healing
• Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel.
Deliverance from sickness is provided for in
the atonement, and is the privilege of all
believers.
Other Pentecostal Practices
• Prophecy (pronouncement of a message from
God).
• Words of Wisdom (supernatural guidance for
decisions).
• Words of Knowledge (reception of factual
information from the Spirit).
• Interpretation of Tongues.
• Jericho March (congregational prayer walk).
Peculiarities of Old Pentecostalism
• Cultural and denominational withdrawal.
• Doctrinal imprecision. Much of the
Pentecostal movement is anti-Trinitarian.
• Emphasis upon emotion.
• Female leadership (Maria Woodworth-Etter,
Aimee Semple McPherson).
Differences in the Charismatic
Movement (Second Wave)
• Culturally and denominationally engaged.
• Tongues is not necessarily the invariable sign
of Spirit baptism; some rethinking of Spirit
baptism.
• Stronger emphasis upon some practices, such
as being “slain in the Spirit” and “dancing in
the Spirit.”
Similarities in the Charismatic
Movement
• Female leadership (Kathryn Kuhlman).
• Emphasis upon emotion.
• Doctrinal imprecision (e.g., the Catholic
charismatic movement).
• Most practices (less Jericho March)
• Healing in the atonement (usually).
Prosperity (Health and Wealth)
Theology
• Broader than the Charismatic movement (i.e.,
Rev. Ike).
• God’s will is to bless His people and He has
made provision to do so.
• Positive confession: the believer can “name it
and claim it.” Believers can speak wealth into
existence.
• Often, some token of initial faith (i.e., a
donation) is encouraged or required.
Word of Faith Movement
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Includes a form of prosperity theology.
Comes from the teachings of E. W. Kenyon.
Early promoter was Kenneth Hagin, Sr.
Resulted in a shift away from “healing
evangelists” as leaders of the Charismatic
movement.
• Experienced explosive growth during 1980s.
• Powerful influence worldwide.
Word of Faith Theology
• Healing is included in Christ’s atonement.
• The “Blood covenant” makes us God’s family
and guarantees protection from violence,
sickness, and poverty. Positive confession.
• Believers become “little gods” because they
are born of God.
• Jesus died spiritually for sins in hell, then was
born again.
Prosperity and Word of Faith
Preachers
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Kenneth Hagin, Sr.
Hobart Freeman
Jim Bakker (early)
Robert Tilton
Kenneth Copeland
Benny Hinn
Creflo Dollar
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I. V. Hilliard
Frederick K. C. Price
Keith Butler
Clinton Utterbach
Bill Winston
T. D. Jakes
Joel Osteen
The Third Wave
• C. Peter Wagner, Fuller Seminary prof.
• John Wimber, founder of Vineyard
Fellowship.
• Gordon Fee, retired NT prof.
• Jack Deere, former Dallas Seminary prof.
• Charles Kraft, Fuller Seminary prof.
• Wayne Grudem, Phoenix Seminary prof.
• John Piper, former Minneapolis pastor.
Theological Crux:
Inaugurated Eschatology
• The Kingdom has been inaugurated and
Christians have access to Kingdom authority.
• Kingdom authority is manifested through
“power encounters” in which the Kingdom of
God confronts the kingdom of this world.
• Physical healing and exorcism are direct
manifestations of Kingdom authority.
Other Features, Variously Held
• Ongoing prophetic revelation. There is
controversy over what this means and how
authoritative it is.
• The Fivefold Ministry, including apostles.
This, too, engenders controversy.
• Resurrections as power encounters
(applications of Kingdom authority). This is
the most controversial.
Spiritual Warfare (Wagner)
• Ground-level spiritual warfare: exorcisms and
deliverances.
• Occult-level spiritual warfare: opposition to
Satanism, Freemasonry, witchcraft.
• Strategic-level spiritual warfare: confrontation
and removal of territorial spirits.
Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare
• Territorial spirits rule cities, nations, cultures,
and generations (Dan. 10:13)
• Satanic forces can be disarmed, and the
Christian is in the offensive position (Eph.
6:12).
• Satan is a strong man, but the Church is the
stronger man, and it has authority to bind
Satan and render him powerless (L. 11:21-22).
SLSW Methodology
• Experimentation is necessary. Interviewing
demons is useful.
• Spiritual mapping: research territory to
discover the inroads of Satan.
• Warfare prayer is communication with the
commander; involves confession of structural
evils.
• Souls will be won and society will improve.
What Is the Appeal?
• The attraction of the hidden, paranormal, or
paranormal.
• The desire for status, both within the
movement and by doing the remarkable.
• The yearning for experiential religion.
– Many are from formal but dead churches.
– Many are from doctrinaire Fundamentalist
environments.
What Is the Solution?
• Theological opposition, to be sure.
• Careful cultivation of the affections, a matter
that is almost entirely overlooked in
Fundamentalism today.
• Cultural awareness: some understanding of
how cultures and their expressions
communicate truth and falsehood.
• Willingness to subordinate political agendas to
spiritual wellbeing.
The Solution, Part Deux
• Commitment by pastors and other Christian
leaders themselves to spiritual discipline and
the modeling of an ordered devotional life
before God’s people.
• A shift in the focus of Christian leadership
from institutions in which the daily lives of the
leaders are not open and obvious to God’s
people, toward pastors whose lives are open to
examination.