Many believers do not have an adequate understanding of the Spirit of God. Certain fundamentalists emphasize doctrine. In many cases they are even afraid of talking about the Spirit. They do not pay proper attention to the two spirits in the New Testament. In particular they do not place the proper emphasis on the two spirits in the Epistles of Paul. Thus, the fundamentalists represent one extreme with respect to the Spirit of God.
Certain Christians in the Pentecostal movement or charismatic movement represent another extreme, for they overemphasize particular gifts of the Spirit, such as healing and speaking in tongues. The situation among many of these Christians is very similar to that of the believers in Corinth: they place too much emphasis on tongues and miracles. In many cases, the supposed occurrences of speaking in tongues and healing are not genuine. According to Acts 2, speaking in tongues must be the speaking of a language or dialect. Genuine tongues-speaking does not consist of the mere repetition of sounds. If the so-called speaking in tongues practiced in many charismatic groups today were recorded and studied by a linguist, the linguist would conclude that the sounds uttered are not that of any language or dialect.
In some charismatic meetings neither the tongues-speaking nor the interpretation of the tongues is genuine. For example, someone may utter certain sounds, which are given a particular interpretation. On another occasion, the same person may utter the same sounds, but they are given an altogether different interpretation. On one occasion, the interpretation may be an exhortation to be humble before the Lord, whereas on another occasion, the interpretation may be a word about an earthquake or the Lord’s coming. Certain believers devote much attention to the exercise of so-called spiritual gifts without any attempt to discern what is genuine from what is false.
In some Christian groups there is great emphasis on miraculous healing. I once attended a healing campaign in Manila purposely to see if there were any cases of genuine healing. In the meeting I attended there was not one instance of a real healing. Some claimed to be healed, but eventually this supposed healing was proved to be merely a psychological phenomenon. There was no permanent cure. After a period of time, everyone who was supposedly healed in that meeting was the same as before.
The claim has been made in some Pentecostal groups that in their meetings people’s teeth have been filled with gold miraculously. I absolutely do not believe such reports. Why would God not restore the teeth instead of filling them with gold? That would be more in agreement with the principle in the Bible. Furthermore, if such miracles had actually taken place, newsmen would learn of them and publicize them.
In 1963 I attended some meetings of a particular Pentecostal group. In one of these meetings, a woman gave a short word in tongues. Then a young man gave a long interpretation of that word. Later the leader of the group admitted to me that the interpretation given by this young man was not genuine. Much later I met this young man in another place and asked him about that interpretation he had given. In particular I asked him if he thought this interpretation was genuine. He denied that what he had spoken was intended to be the interpretation of that woman’s message in tongues. Then I reminded him that he had clearly indicated to all present that he was giving an interpretation. I went on to say, “There is no need for us to do such things. I definitely believe that you love the Lord. Why don’t you simply preach the truth and minister the riches of Christ to others?”
The situation of today’s Christianity is very much like that of the church in Corinth. There is the neglect of the human spirit and often the identification of the spirit with the soul. Furthermore, there is either the neglect of the Spirit of God because of a preoccupation with doctrine, or an overemphasis on spiritual gifts, genuine or false.
In dealing with the division and confusion at Corinth, Paul did not depend on doctrine. Instead he took as his basis the experience of Christ. In 2:1 and 2 he says, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, came not with excellence of speech or wisdom, announcing to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified.” The crucified Christ was the unique subject, center, content, and substance of the apostle’s ministry. Christ crucified is the center of God’s economy. Paul determined that, among the Corinthians, he would not know anything except this crucified Christ.