JAC Online

 Glory Fits - Tempermental Rigidity,
and Punctiliousness
from JAC Issue Two
by Stephen Court

The Relationship of Wesleyan Holiness Teaching, Revival Preaching, and Physical Manifestations.

IS THIS FOR REAL?
What does a prim and proper Oxford don and Anglican priest (2) have in
common with, "People fall(ing) on their faces under the conviction of the Holy
Spirit"(3)? Is there a relationship between Wesleyan holiness teaching and
revival teaching with physical manifestations? If so, it is a neglected one. It
seems neglected for a few reasons. It is not apparent to many of the children of
Wesley, including salvationists, that there is any relationship at all between
Wesleyan teaching and physical manifestations. This is due to a lack of
familiarity with Wesley's experience with manifestations through a reliance on his
sermons and books at the expense of his Journals. Also, it is difficult to connect
one stream of doctrinal teaching with manifestations, because teachings of
various stripes lead to revival and physical manifestations.
Is there a connection? Of what nature? What can we learn from it?

WESLEY AND MANIFESTATIONS
What had Wesley to do with manifestations? More than most of us realise!
Throughout his entire Christian life, Wesley enjoyed great times of revival, and
accompanying these, various physical phenomena. "He had a relish for wonders
and supernatural stories which most educated contemporaries dismissed as
superstitious and 'old wives' tales, no longer fit for an age of reason" (4).
In one of his meetings, "some sunk down, and there seemed no strength in them;
others exceedingly trembled and quaked; some were torn with a kind of
convulsive motion in every part of their bodies" (5).
This was not rare at all. In another meeting:
Immediately one, and another, and another sunk to the earth: They dropped on
every side as thunderstruck. One of them cried aloud... One was so wounded by
the sword of the Spirit, that you would have imagined that she could not live a
moment. (6)

One worshipper was;
so overwhelmed with the love of God, that she sunk down, and appeared as one
in a pleasant sleep, only with her eyes open; yet she had often just strength to
utter, with a low voice, ejaculations of joy and praise; but no words coming up to
what she felt, she frequently laughed while she saw His glory. (7)
We understood that many were offended at the cries of those on whom the
power of God came. One of these was a physician who was afraid that these
cases might be fraud... One whom the doctor had known for many years was the
first who broke out in strong cries and tears. The physician could hardly believe
his own eyes and ears. He went over and stood close to her, observing every
symptom, till great drops of sweat ran down her face and her entire body shook.
He did not know what to think... but when both her soul and body were healed in
a moment, he acknowledged the work of God. (8) These accounts can be
multiplied through Wesley's Journals (9).

These and similar manifestations accompany revival of all sorts. There is clear
Biblical foundation for most of what takes place. Wesley Campbell documents
everything from trembling and shaking (Dan.10:1-11), to bouncing (Ez.2:2; 3:24),
blowing (Jer.20:22), being pinned to the floor (Dan.10:9,17), through laughing
(Psa.126:1-3), crying and weeping (Rom.2:4; Heb.5:7), an inability to talk
(Ez.3:26; Dan.10:15; Lk.1:22), to being drunk (Act.2:15) and having trances
(Act.10:10;11:5;22:17) (10). Wesley experienced most, if not all, of these
manifestations in his meeting through his broad preaching history (11).
That established, the next question is one of doctrinal relevance. After all, every
recorded revival in history seems to carry accounts of similar physical
phenomena. Finney, Whitefield, Edwards and the Great Awakening, The
Salvation Army revivals, the Welsh Revival, the Korean Revival, Kansas City
New Years Eve 1900, Asuza Street, the Latter Rain Movement, the Toronto
Blessing, the Pensacola Outpouring all have two things in common. Great
numbers of people came to repentance and faith, and strange physical
manifestations accompanied. What they don't have in common is doctrine.
Granted, several of these moves of God are associated with the holiness
movement, which is part of the Wesleyan heritage, but others are pretty strongly
Calvinist in perspective.
What does Wesleyan holiness teaching have to do with revival and with physical
manifestations? What does revival have to do with physical manifestations?

WESLEYAN HOLINESS
What is the Wesleyan holiness teaching? For our purposes it is worth
considering both Wesley and his Salvationist followers.
The term 'Perfect Christian' implies "The loving God with all our heart, and mind,
and soul" (Deut.6:5). It implies that all inward sin is taken away. "This implies that
no wrong temper, none contrary to love, remains in the soul; and that all the
thoughts, words, and actions are governed by pure love" (12). The Salvation
Army stands solidly in this position: We believe that it is the privilege of all
believers to be "wholly sanctified", and that their "whole spirit and soul and body"
may "be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(1Thessalonians 5:23) Doctrine #10
Holiness is living without sinning. That's the negative side. It is fullness of love.
That's the positive side.

"To say 'I have not sinned' is to make God a liar; to say that 'I must sin' is to
destroy the fundamentals of Christianity. To say that 'I cannot sin' is to deceive
myself; but to say that 'I need not sin' is to acknowledge the divine provision of
Calvary." To say 'I do not sin' is the testimony that God expects and enables for
us all. "You need to be holy" (General William Booth). "He was tempted, as we
are; He triumphed, as we may" (General Albert Orsborn). General Catherine
Booth adds her considerable weight in characteristically black and white terms:
"There is a notion abroad of a sort of make-believe religion as though God would
count us righteous and deal with us as if we were righteous while He leaves us in
our unrighteousness" (13). "Christ Jesus came to save us from our sins, not in
them" (14). Holiness is a perfect love; not just the removal of sin, but the
provision of love. It is loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and
strength, and loving others as yourself. It is attainable only through the Holy
Spirit's power and life in us. "The sanctified soul has no enemies within, but has a
fierce conflict without" (15). Sin is intentional transgression of a known law of God
(16). God will not command what He does not enable. Thus, the command to be
perfect and to be holy must be enabled. Sin, thus, cannot include anything
outside the will of God, because our limitations may cause us to do something
unintentionally outside the will of God. "I lose my glasses. It is not my heart that is
wrong, but my faulty memory" (17). "I would rather drink from a faulty cup that is
clean than out of an expensive cup that is not clean" (18). The perfection
expected is one of motivation, not of performance.

You can be sanctified at a young age, filled with the Holy Spirit, and still grow in
holiness through your life. "Man's consecration must keep pace with God's
revelation" (General William Booth). A cup may be filled with water, and there
may be no room for any more water. So God increases the size of the cup,
maybe to that of a pitcher, and so it can hold more water. He can keep increasing
our capacity. The whole time though, we are full. That is the testimony of William
Booth. In the mid-1890's, thirty years after starting The Salvation Army, he
declared, "I am determined to be more faithful- more personal than I have been.
To this end, I must have more of the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit."
Commissioner George Scott Railton agrees: "We want the burning love to dying
men which feels with a terrible heart pang every sinner's misery, and forgets
danger and difficulty and discouragement in the deathless agony to pluck brands
from the burning. We want to be bigger, grander, holier, more god-like men and
women, and we must if we are to do what God expects of us" (19). As a former
Chief of the Staff invited, in revivalist, yet Wesleyan terms, "Sincerely ask the
Lord to cleanse and sanctify and anoint you with the Holy Spirit. Let God take full
possession of you; let the Divine Power be exerted upon your particular difficulty,
and seek to be wholly anointed with that Holy Spirit" (20).

The ubiquity of holiness teaching and revival preaching keeps at the forefront
introspective self-examination and God's expectations of us. Wesley's 22
Questions of the Holy Club and Booth's Self-Examination (in The Salvation Army
Orders and Regulations, 1950, 3:4) are effective at keep us aware of the
intrusion of sin. This sensitivity to both God's standards and our status can bring
about emotional responses from conviction to grief to joy. The experience of pure
love implies an intimacy with Jesus with which superhuman manifestations might
be expected. While these will not be limited to holiness doctrine, they might be
expected to be more characteristic, more usual, more regular.

SANCTIFICATION AND DELIVERANCE
The interesting next step involves the relationship between sanctification and
deliverance. Demon kicking can also cause strange physical manifestations. It
can also be important to sanctification. Current evangelists such as Carlos
Annacondia (see Ed Silvoso, 1994. THAT NONE SHALL PERISH. Ventura:
Regal Books), use deliverance tents for new converts to great effect. Although
we never consider deliverance as part of the process of sanctification, Wesley
regular saw it happen. It was one cause of the manifestations. Theologically, it is
potentially an important negative step towards sanctification. It gets rid of
demons lodged in strongholds opened up by personal sin. Demons, strongholds,
and sin all have to be dislodged before someone can be sanctified.

It was pioneer Salvationist, Commissioner Frederick Booth-Tucker's testimony:
"Being convinced that this was God' swill, even my sanctification, I was enabled
to break off all the devil's bonds and rejoice in full salvation" (21). Wesley
seemed less afraid of it than The Salvation Army has been in recent generations.
His audiences were described as those who, "cried as in the agonies of death,
who were struck to the ground and lay there groaning, who were released with a
visible struggle then and there from the power of the devil" (22). There are
frequent, graphic reports of dramatic deliverance sessions, some going for hours
(23). In Wesley's words is an account of a powerful deliverance for two ladies: On
Friday the 23rd God suffered satan to teach them better. Both of them were
suddenly seized in the same manner... and laughed whether they would or no,
almost without ceasing. Thus they continued, a spectacle to all, for two days; and
were then, upon prayer being made for them, delivered in a moment. (24). One
lady experienced immediate sanctification after deliverance prayer at Dowgate
Hill. "We had scarcely begun to pray when satan began to tear her so that she
screamed out, as if in the pangs of death. Our intercession was short, for within a
quarter of an hour she was full of the peace that passes all understanding" (25).
Some manifestations he confidently attributed to the devil. These symptoms I can
no more impute to any natural cause, than to the Spirit of God... It was satan
tearing them, as they were coming to Christ. And hence proceeded those
grievous cries, whereby he might design to discredit the work of God, and to
affright fearful people from hearing that word, whereby their souls might be
saved. (26) Wesley correspondent John Walsh explains the deliverance aspect
of the ministry: "Well may satan be enraged at the cries of the people, and the
prayers they make in the bitterness of their souls; seeing we know these are the
chief times at which satan is cast out" (27). To my knowledge this dynamic
between sanctification and deliverance is an overlooked relationship. As
suggested, in Argentina, it seems to work with great effect. The preceding
references suggest that Wesley also recognised the dynamic and experienced
the fruit of deliverance in sanctification.

HOLINESS TEACHING AND REVIVAL PREACHING
The notable development in the relationship is the adoption by American holiness
teachers of revivalist preaching. Revival teaching put the emphasis on the here
and now. Modeled after Charles Finney, evangelists called people to repentance
on the spot, usually inviting them to come forward to a rail, and bench, or some
other place at the front of the hall. It wasn't long before the holiness teachers
adopted this crisis pitch mentality and applied it in their meetings. For Phoebe
Palmer it was altar theology. For William Booth it was, "be ye holy, but be ye holy
now." The Methodist Circuit Riders like Peter Cartwright consistently made the
invitation for holiness and experienced wild manifestations in their meetings. That
Wesley also emphasised the immediate is usually played down, but he is known
for his 3 questions (28):
1) Have you been filled with God's Spirit since you first believed?
2) Will you ever need Him more than you do now?
3) Will God ever be more ready to fill you with His Spirit than He is now?

In his classic, A PLAIN ACCOUNT OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION, Wesley
describes this death to sin, the negative side of entire sanctification, as
instantaneous, although preceded and followed by growth (29). He further
testifies that, "An instantaneous change has been wrought in some believers;
none can deny this" (30). In a letter, he said in 1784, "A gradual work of grace
constantly precedes the instantaneous work of both of justification and
sanctification, but the work itself is undoubtedly instantaneous... you will be
sanctified in a moment" (31). That is no less crisis, immediate, emphasis than
Palmer, Finney, or Booth. It is a bit pushier than characterised Wesley in most of
his writings though. And so, strong within the Wesleyan tradition, The Salvation
Army always emphasises an immediate response to God. Such an immediate
response makes more likely physical manifestations attributable to God's
powerful impact on us, our overwhelmed response to God's work in us, or
demonic response.

You can determine a theology of a people by the emphasis of their meetings. For
some denominations, the act of communion is the featured part of the service.
For others, it is the preaching, and still others, the worship. Emphases vary
theologically from the written Word of God, to worship of God, to appeasement of
God. For The Salvation Army, the Mercy Seat is the central focus of our
meetings. It is the response to and transaction with God which is the focus of
both our meeting and our theology. This is Wesleyan. And fidelity to the truths of
Wesleyan teaching and revivalist preaching has brought physical manifestations
in our past. This is obvious in the following 'first-person' account:

THE MILE END WASTE BLESSING
Crowds of curious, cynical, and hopeful people have been flocking to The
Salvation Army to see what has been dubbed, 'The Mile End Waste Blessing.'
This reporter wanted to get to the bottom of it all, and so here present eyewitness
accounts, as well as comment from some of the Army leaders, for your
information. Said one long-time Christian, "I have seen men in our meetings, who
were raving and blaspheming when the service began, suddenly broken down as
though some physical power had laid them prostrate on the floor and after a time
of silence, weeping, and penitence, they were confessing their sins" (32).
At another meeting, "From the very first Jehovah was passing by, searching,
softening, and subduing every heart. The power of the Holy Ghost fell on
Robinson and prostrated him... he entered into full liberty, and then he shouted,
wept, clapped his hands, danced, amid a scene of the most heavenly and
glorious enthusiasm. Others meanwhile were lying prostrate on the floor, some of
them groaning aloud for perfect deliverance" (33). We approached the Chief of
the Staff, Bramwell Booth, for an explanation: "May it not be," he suggested, "that
as far as the merely physical is concerned, certainly divine influences come upon
a crowd of people... and that such persons, being overweighted as it were on the
physical, lose their balance and fall down?" (34) Indeed! And of one officer, I can
say she fell, and stayed! "She lay for nearly five hours unconscious... her
countenance was most evidently brightened... it helped her to win hundreds of
souls for God" (35).

In other meetings, "people went into trances from which they might not recover
for hours" (36). One in particular was noteworthy. "The Holy Spirit descended on
them. Many fell to the floor as dead, and remained thus for hours. When they
recovered consciousness they related wonderful experiences. Their faces shone
as with light from another world, and their lives afterward bore evidence of being
in close touch with their Lord" (37). All this can be supplemented with reports of
healing and even levitation! (38).

The Army Mother has gone on record thus: "Give me someone able to cast out
demons and I don't care if they can read or write, or put a grammatical sentence
together! " As if wanting to prove her point, she continued; "The Holy Spirit does
come, and sometimes He prostrates our bodies." "People have fallen on their
faces under the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our meetings." "I never did shout
in my life, but... I couldn't help it," admitted one attendee. "People drop down with
joy. People shriek with grief... The manifestation will be according to your nature.
One will fall down and weep in quietness, and the other will get up and shout and
jump. You cannot help it." "Many more of God's people might have (this
experience)... but they are not willing to be wrapped in His arms; they are not
willing to be pressed to His bosom; they are not willing to know Him in a
Scriptural sense; they are not willing to be given up and consumed by God" (39).
In explanation, her husband added, "The passion was on us and in us. We had to
go, to do, to dare. It was for our Christ, who has inspired us with this passion, to
see to the consequences" (40).

The Mile End Waste Blessing is characterised by what Salvationists call 'Glory
Fits'. To help us understand this supernatural phenomenon we asked
Commissioner Cadman: "The soul it self has nothing to do with the body. It is
wholly superior to the body. When the soul is not the first concern, it can be
hindered by the body. The soul of the saved man or woman cannot be controlled
by the body. A 'Glory Fit' is nothing more than the complete conquering of the
body by the soul in its reach upward to its Creator and Redeemer. It is the
condescension of Infinite Love in Christ to so uplift itself to Himself for a foretaste
of joy with Him in heaven. Doctors often examined people in this state but could
not explain it. The fact is, I believe, the soldiers were 'absent from the body and
present with the Lord'. These 'Fits' and bodily cures were nothing to do with any
of us. They were manifestations of the power of God... we only saw them as
signs of His presence" (41).

As the War Cry reports Cadman, "When I gave the invitation, 700 men and
women came down, and the Holy Ghost broke upon them, and fell upon us all in
such a manner, it seemed to nearly carry me out of my clothes. I had hard work
to stop on earth. Some jumped and jumped, 'til they jumped into third heaven.
When they got the blessing they swam about the floor in glory" (42).
After going into hiding for many years, the Mile End Waste Blessing is back in an
Army Hall near you! Doubts about being prayed over are being allayedwhen it is
remembered that Commissioner Ed Read, the generation's Brengle, has been
known in his meetings to ask for people to lay hands on him to pray for anointing.
If a holy man, filled with the Spirit, can ask for prayer for anointing, surely we all
can. Thus, theologically, in many instances the effect will be something apart
from sanctification. One formulation is as follows. The Spirit is in you at salvation,
filling you at sanctification, and upon you at anointing. Holy Spirit regenerates
you at conversion, purifies you at sanctification, and empowers you at anointing.
The fruit of holiness is righteousness, as seen in character. Th fruit of the
anointing seems to be fruit also- changed lives of others. It seems like an
anointing for service (43), (Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you, and you shall be My witnesses...). now some who have
been radically changed as in sanctification, some taken and shaken by God for
extended periods, rolling, laughing, crying... "No one could do the works that are
being done except God was with them. All glory to Jesus. He is enabling you to
give proof of your calling. But how much more might be done had you all
received this pentecostal baptism in all its fullness? If every soul was inflamed
and every lip touched, and every mind illuminated, and every heart purified with a
hallowed flame?" (44). What is happening is for us all. Take the plunge!

STATUS.
There is a connection between holiness teaching and revival preaching and
physical manifestations. It is not an exclusive connection, but is more likely to be
a more stable phenomenon than when associated with other doctrine. It relates
with the expectation of immediate change, with sensitivity to God's standards and
our status, and with deliverance from the demonic. We can learn much from it.
This is our heritage in The Salvation Army, in the shadow of John Wesley. Large
numbers of people being saved and sanctified, and strange physical
manifestations accompanying. The one area with which we are less familiar
involves the demonic. Inasmuch as physical manifestations are limited today in
our ranks (I've seen them in a few corps first hand), have we left the holiness
teaching and revivalist preaching? There are good reasons to believe that we
have. Certainly revival is lacking in our midst. Admittedly holiness teaching is rare
and soft. Manifestations are generally absent. Though Wesley went too far in
gauging God's approval by the manifestations (45), we have erred at the other
extreme. We have largely abandoned the teaching and preaching which was
accompanied by manifestations. We have much less expectation of immediate
sanctification by the power of God. We lack revival because of it.


ENDNOTES.
1) John White. 1988. WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES WITH POWER.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. p42.
2) Steve Beard. 1996. THUNDERSTRUCK: John Wesley and the Toronto
Blessing. Wilmore:Thunderstruck Communications. p2.
3) Catherine Booth. 1986. AGGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY. Atlanta: The Salvation
Army. p55.
4) Henry D. Rack, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. p3.
5) John Wesley, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. p4. Most of the references to
Wesley cited in Beard are directly from Wesley's Works, volumes of which I've
found difficult to find in my current location.
6) John Wesley, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. p6.
7) John Walsh, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. P17.
8) John Wesley. 1987. THE NATURE OF REVIVAL. Minneapolis: Bethany
House. p84.
9) John Wesley, section in Robert Backhouse, ed. 1996. CLASSICS ON
REVIVAL. London: Hodder and Stoughton. p207-229.
10) Wesley Campbell. 1996. WELCOMING A VISITATION OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT. Orlando: Creation House.
11) Steve Beard, 1996. p22.
12) John Wesley, 1952. A PLAIN ACCOUNT OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION.
London: The Epworth Press. p33, 42.
13) Catherine Booth, 1986. LIFE AND DEATH. Atlanta: The Salvation Army.
p131.
14) Catherine Booth, 1986. PRACTICAL RELIGION, Atlanta: The Salvation
Army. p91.
15) THE SALVATION ARMY HANDBOOK OF DOCTRINE, 1940, London: The
Salvation Army 10:2c.
16) John Wesley, 1952. p45.
17) Allister Smith, THE IDEAL OF PERFECTION, p75.
18) Allister Smith, THE IDEAL OF PERFECTION, p75.
19) George Scott Railton, cited in John Rhemick, 1994. A NEW PEOPLE OF
GOD. The Salvation Army. p65.
20) T. Henry Howard, STANDARDS OF LIFE AND SERVICE, London: The
Salvation Army. P94.
21) Booth-Tucker, cited in Jean Gould, 1970, A MONTH WITH BOOTHTUCKER.
London: The Salvation Army.
22) Ronald A. Knox, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. P4.
23) John Wesley, 1987. p142-150.
24) John Wesley, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. P13.
25) John Wesley, 1987. p142.
26) John Wesley, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. p17.
27) John Walsh, cited in Steve Beard, 1996. P19.
28) Leo Cox. 1964. JOHN WESLEY'S CONCEPT OF PERFECTION. Kansas
City: Beacon Hill. p191.
29) John Wesley, 1952. p53.
30) John Wesley, 1952. p106.
31) John Wesley, cited in Robert Backhouse, 1996. p229.
32) Bramwell Booth, 1965. ECHOES AND MEMORIES. London: The Salvation
Army. p66.
33) Bramwell Booth, ibid. p68.
34) Bramwell Booth, ibid. p69.
35) Bramwell Booth, ibid. p70.
36) Minnie Carpenter, JOHN DEAN. London: The Salvation Army. p33.
37) Minnie Carpenter, ibid. '31.
38) Bramwell Booth, ibid. p71.
39) Catherine Booth, AGGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY. p55, 98, 99, 157, 158.
40) William Booth, in Catherine Bramwell-Booth, 1986. LETTERS. Tring: Lion
Publishers. p102.
41) Elijah Cadman, in H. Wallis, HAPPY WARRIOR. p110,111.
42) " , in D. Rhemick, 1994.
43) Milton Agnew, 1974. TRANSFORMED CHRISTIANS. Kansas City: Beacon
Hill Press. p63.
44) William Booth, in John Rhemick, 1994. p102.
45) Steve Beard, 1996. p9,10.

REFERENCES.
Agnew, Milton. 1974. TRANSFORMED CHRISTIANS. Kansas City: Beacon Hill.
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