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The King's Gifts and Emperor's
Clothes
from JAC Issue #11
by
Captain Stephen Court
"Eagerly
desire the greater gifts" (1 Corinthians 12:31). This
culminated his discussion of apostles, prophets, teachers,
miracles, healing, helps, administration, tongues, and
interpretation of tongues (14:27-30). These are some of the
King's gifts.
The Salvation Army is a holiness movement. Holiness is
essential to our success. Holiness presumes implicit obedience
to God. If, at any point, we are disobedient, then we are no
longer holy.
Inasmuch as we do not eagerly desire these gifts, to that
extent we are disobedient and have ruptured fellowship with
God. Insofar as we deny the King's gifts, to that degree we
are wearing the emperor's clothes, we're naked and we're
fooling ourselves that we're clothed in the righteousness that
characterizes The Salvation Army.
WHY DENY?
Gifts represent the power of God. Frequently a manifestation
of the power of God has effected opposition. Gifts represent
the presence of God. Sometimes the presence of God is
uncontrollable and so has provoked fear. Gifts represent the
grace of God. Occasionally this is bastardized such that it
spawns pride. In our concern to avoid these human responses,
opposition, fear, and pride, The Salvation Army has retreated
from obedience to God's command. It has bullied us into
rupturing our fellowship with God, into forfeiting our
holiness. In denying the King's gifts, we've put on the
emperor's clothes.
We desire unity. Inauspiciously, unity is often won at the
lowest common denominator. So as not to exclude the 'weaker
comrades' we compromise on the gifts of God. To desire unity
is good, but not at the expense of desiring gifts.
Some time after General William Booth walked the earth
spiritual authority somehow underwent declension to a spirit
of control. A spirit of control is offended when gifts
evincing the presence of God take matters out of our hands.
Opposition, fear, pride, unity, and control take their places
in battle array against healing, helps, administration,
tongues, and interpretation of tongues primed for an
engagement that will determine the Army's destiny.
IS IT ARMY?
This is the first question most Salvationists ask when
confronted with something outside their experience. Despite
what our more recent history of excommunicating officers with
more visible gifts and forbidding the use of some gifts in
public meetings might suggest, these more 'outstanding' gifts
are certainly Army. General William Booth explains:
"For this reason they were important to the world, and their
possession today might be a great blessing to mankind. There
is not a word in the Bible which proves that we might not have
them at the present time, and there is nothing in experience
to show they would not be as useful today as in any previous
period of the Church's history. No man, therefore, can be
condemned for desiring them, and the recent remarkable signs
and wonders wrought amongst us not only demand, but shall have
our most profound and sympathetic consideration" (GIFTS OF THE
SPIRIT, in the WAR CRY. March 14th, 1885).
EAGER DESIRE
I know several people in my Corps who are looking for work.
One is particularly eager to find a job. He has more than 50
resumes out and calls on prospective employers weekly. He
eagerly desires work. John Wesley comments on the gifts:
"they are all worth your pursuit" (on 1 Corinthians 12:31, NEW
TESTAMENT COMMENTARY- THE SALVATION ARMY Edition).
According to Wesley, pursuit is eager desire with legs on. If
we eagerly desire something we will pursue it. We will
continue to call on the prospective employer to ask for a job.
We will continually call on the King to ask for His gifts. If
we don't eagerly desire the gifts, then we act in disobedience
to God, and break fellowship, waiving holiness.
ARE WE FOR OR AGAINST?
General Clarence Wiseman argues that we must not seek personal
aggrandizement from gifts (LIVING AND WALKING IN THE SPIRIT.
p5). This is definitely a real temptation. But such a truth,
used at the service of arguing against tongues, is no more a
reason to forbid its exercise than to note that excellent
musicianship also brings with it the temptation to personal
aggrandizement and so conclude that cornet solos should be
forbidden in public meetings.
Wiseman admits, "Not a few Christians have found release
from personal inhibitions and new freedom and joy in the Lord
through the exercise of the gift of tongues, and no one would
wish to deny them this liberating experience" (LIVING AND
WALKING IN THE SPIRIT. p8). In 1907, General Booth noted, "It
appears that two or three corps are divided on this question
of tongues and it will be a good thing if abiding evil does
not ensue" (in Wiseman, LIVING AND WALKING IN THE SPIRIT. p6).
Agreed. What is abiding evil in this case? Surely it is that
these corps shut out the Holy Spirit so that they can maintain
a fleshy unity. On the gift of healing, General Bramwell Booth
explains:
"For we have not merely recognized that the healing of the
sick by the power of God has from the beginning been
associated with the office of prophets, priests, teachers, and
apostles, but it has always seemed to us in perfect harmony
with the views and experience of the Army itself that God
should heal the sick after this fashion... We have insisted
that in fact God does raise up the sick in answer to our
prayers; and numerous instances... of this healing ministry
have occurred throughout our history" (ECHOES AND MEMORIES.
p71).
Turning specifically to tongues, he continues: "We have to
be suspicious of any voices or gifts which make men indisposed
to bear the Cross or to seek the salvation of others; and
although some of our people have received what is spoken of as
the gift of tongues, we have almost invariably found that one
of the consequences has been a disposition to withdraw from
hard work... I believe that these things, as I have witnessed
them, are divine in their origin" (ECHOES AND MEMORIES. p71,
72). General Bramwell Booth's handling of the issue is a
model for us today. First, he recognizes that the gift of
tongues is from God. Second, he only disciplines those who
slack in their duty. The discipline itself has nothing to do
with the tongues; it has everything to do with those who are
slack in their duty. Commissioner Samuel Logan Brengle takes a
different approach to Wiseman and Booth. He argues that the
gift of tongues is the seventh of nine gifts mentioned and
that it will eventually cease (RESURRECTION LIFE AND POWER.
p180. He intimates on page 183 that prophecy and tongues may
already have ceased. This is not an official Salvation Army
position). Brengle mentions the order to suggest that it is
not important. However, its importance results not from its
priority in Paul's list but in the fact that it is a gift of
God. And while it is true that tongues will cease, it is also
true that prophecy will cease, and every other gift of God-
but not until Jesus comes back.
General Wiseman asks, "What should be the Army's attitude
toward the gift of tongues? Surely the answer is that it
should be the attitude of Paul" (LIVING AND WALKING IN THE
SPIRIT, p6). Tongues have their place in the Bible and
therefore should not be ignored. Wiseman reminds us that Paul
said, "Forbid not the speaking of tongues," adding the
cautionary word, "Let all things be done decently and in
order" (1Corinthians 14:39, 40). The arguments of Generals
Booth, Booth, and Wiseman, and of Commissioner Brengle, if not
their final decisions, lead consensually to the conclusion
that we are for the exercise of all the gifts.
ANSWERING THE WRONG QUESTIONS
And finally, Brengle falls into the same trap that the Army
has been stuck in on the issue of sacraments, answering a
question no one is asking, defending a position that no one is
challenging. For sacraments the mistake is that the Army
argues that it is not necessary for salvation. The vast
majority of Christians will grant this point. On tongues,
Brengle argues that it is love that is important, not tongues.
Of course, no Christian is going to argue that the gift of
tongues is important and that love is not important!
With humility, we have to recognize that our heroes didn't
have the complete understanding of everything Christian. That
goes for two of my heroes, Brengle and Wesley. Wesley can only
guess at what the word of knowledge is: "perhaps an
extraordinary ability to understand and explain the Old
Testaments types and prophecies" (THE NEW TESTAMENT
COMMENTARY- THE SALVATION ARMY EDITION, 1 Corinthians 12:8).
BY ALL MEANS, TO SAVE SOME
Wesley does agree with Scripture that tongues are for
unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22), "to engage their attention,
and convince them the message is of God." One of the
difficulties in the Army's more recent tradition is that we
cannot engage sinners' attention and convince them the message
is of God through the use of tongues in public meetings if we
cannot use tongues in public meetings. Now, in my experience,
seeing people saved is hard enough as it is. But to limit us
from exercising a God-given gift for the purpose of publicly
convincing sinners is to handcuff our soldiers in their battle
with satan. No wonder he has the upper hand.
Tragically, since Scripture is not received by Salvationists
on this issue, General William Booth leaves us with this
exhortation:
"By all means let us aspire after higher gifts. Far be it,
my comrades, from me to say one word that would stay the
longing of any heart for the extraordinary gifts already
mentioned. I long for them myself. I believe in their
necessity, and I believe they are already amongst us. By all
means let us have the perfection of the Divine method of
working. The poor infidel world should be made to see all of
God that is possible, in order that it may believe" (GIFTS OF
THE SPIRIT, in the War Cry. March 14th, 1885).
If we do not accept the King's gifts, we are stuck wearing the
emperor's clothes.
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