Deere's
overarching thesis in his book "Voice of God" is that the contemporary
American churches and churchgoers have lost their ability to speak to and hear
from God effectively. Christians are blind to various supernatural ways that God
still used to speak to His people even in today's 21st century churches. Deere
attributes the main cause of this blindness to "Bible deity".[1]
He claims that he has the support from the Bible and from the church history which
gave him numerous examples. He wants to prove that the language of the Holy
Spirit has been spoken and is still being spoken today through the Bible, experience,
natural means, and even through the supernatural means.
With
interesting stories and illustrations, Deere wants to show the readers that God
is still using visions, dreams, and other supernatural ways to communicate with
us today. He argued that the first century church experience can be and should
be felt today. It is our unbelief that makes us deaf to God’s voice. To support
his claim, Deere employs theological methods by going back to the Bible to find
evidence, citing Christian traditions with similar teachings, and using personal
experiences to prove his point - God is still speaking to us peculiarly in dreams
and impressions.
Deere's Four Charges on Contemporary Churches
Deere
pointed out a common problem existed in many contemporary churches -
powerlessness. Without too much hesitation, Deere accused liberal churchgoers
and orthodox evangelicals with four charges - rationalism unbelief, hypocrite
unbelief, theological unbelief, and conspiracy theory.
Deere
charged liberal Christians with rationalism
unbelief. He claimed that many liberal Christians are blind to the
supernatural revelation. He said that "many of us have been conditioned to
read the Bible in terms of our experience
rather than in terms of the experience of the people in the Bible. If we don't
hear God's voice today in special ways, we assumed he is not speaking in
special ways anymore."[2]
On the other side of the spectrum, Deere also accused conservative evangelicals
of hypocrite unbelief. He claimed
that these conservatives don't want anything to do with the rationalistic
unbelief of liberals, but they are doing the same because "They are certain
every miracle in the Bible took place just as it's recorded, yet when it comes
to applying the Bible to today's experience, many conservatives are filled with
the same kind of unbelief as the liberals." As a result of this
"de-supernaturalization", Christians today experienced very little of
God's supernatural power and, even worse, Christians "stop reading the
Bible altogether."[3]
Deere
attributed his third charge to the theological
unbelief - the unbelief caused by the very theological method we used today
to read the Bible. He argued that we were taught not to expect these supernatural
things, which left us with barely "a moralistic version of Christianity
that believes discipline is the key to the spiritual life."[4]
The last charge Deere filed was the conspiracy
theory, which Deere blamed on the Reformers. I have no reason to believe
what he claimed is true. Many theologians might have dismissed the idea of
supernatural power simply because of their convictions, but I have no reason to
believe that there were "black hands" controlling their decisions.
Deere used these charges to make his claim - if we want to be
"normal" Christians, we all need to learn the language of the Holy
Spirit.
My Response to Deere's Charges
Upon
hearing Deere's four charges, I have two questions in mind. First, do we all need
to see visions to be "normal" Christian? Second question, do we need
to "learn" the language of the Holy Spirit in order to speak to God?
Is It "Normal" to See Visions?
Do
we need to see visions or hear God's voices to be "normal"? For many
Christians who are neither the rationalism liberals nor the extreme orthodox
churchgoers, we walk our faith daily by spending time in Bible study and devotions,
praying to God for thanksgiving and for deliverance without seeing or
experiencing literal visions, dreams, voices, or special revelations. If we
don't see visions or hear voices, does that make us "abnormal"? or does
it make us an unbeliever? Didn't Jesus say, "because you have seen me, you
have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”[5]
Didn't Paul also teach us "for we walk by faith, not by sight"?[6]
I
don't think it's "normal" to see vision if we define
"normal" as something of normality - things are to be expected. Growing
up in a country full of pagan idols and demonic forces, Christians in Taiwan
had learned to keen on God and His Holy Spirit to overcome demon's control.
Although I was not at the epic center to witness the dramas, but stories were
told and circulated in many local churches about the "de-idolization"
ceremonies that pastors and elders were frequently conducting for new
believers. Numerous instances of demon overpowering new believers were reported,
indicating the demons' struggles of their leaving from their old hosts, very
much like what the Bible recorded (e.g. two demon-possessed men at Gadarenes)[7].
Back in my home church in Taiwan, we were told to fast and pray in order to
cast out demons, just as what Jesus taught His disciples to do.[8]
We
don't rely on visions to cast out demons. For many Christians in Taiwan,
especially those who lived in rural areas, spiritual warfare was very frequent
and real. God's supernatural power was felt almost every day. Most of spiritual
warfare were fought through fasting and prayers, seldom did I hear stories about
God's visions, voices, or dreams in fighting with demons. Interestingly, I did
hear many stories about visions, voices and dreams from the dead, demons, or
false gods through mediators or sorcerers.
I
don't want to dismiss any possibility of God using miraculous clear voice or literal
visions to help us fight in a spiritual warfare, but most of the de-idolization
processes I have heard were so intense and were happening so fast, visions and voices
seemed to be ineffective during these hand combat situations. More importantly,
pastors and elders who were conducting the front-line de-idolization services
had little time to discern whether the visions and voices were coming from God
or not, because they were very aware that demons could have adopted the same
techniques to give wrong directions. The only trust-worthy method to expel a
demon from a person at that very moment was a desperate prayer in the name of
Jesus, just as what Jesus told us to do.[9]
Almost all sorcerers, ghost mediators, and
demon brokers in Taiwan were involved in using visions, voices, and dreams to
communicate with pagan gods or the dead. These supernatural phenomenon were
considered demonic. In a pagan environment, the last thing you need, as a
pastor, is to confuse your believers with the teachings of God's visions,
voices, and dreams. In a quick search in the four Gospels, I haven't found a single
instance that dreams and impressions were used to cast out the demonic spirits.
Does
that mean God cannot and won't use visions, voices and dreams to communicate
with us? certainly not, God is omnipotent and He certainly can use any means to
deliver His messages to us! My concern is not whether He can or cannot, my
concern is how we discern God's visions, voices, and dreams from those of
demonic forces.
Is It Required to Learn the Language of the Holy Spirit?
Do
we need to learn the language of the Holy Spirit? and if I don't speak the
language of the Holy Spirit, am I any less spiritual than those who do?
So,
what is the language of the Holy Spirit? According to Deere, all that described
in 1 Corinthians 14:26 is the language of the Holy Spirit, which he listed as "revelation,
word of knowledge, word of wisdom, tongue, interpretation, healing, teaching,
or anything else that might edify some of those present."[10]
Deere
analogized the Bible as the "food menu" and he argued that the "Holy
Spirit and the explanation of his language" is the actual food. [11] He said people
"who devote themselves diligently to Bible study and are still spiritually
malnourished" because they are just going to the "menu club" to study
the "menu" without ordering the food. I don't know which "menu
club" church he used to go, but it's certainly not my church. He continued
to say that "if we make Bible study our goal, we will end up just like the
Pharisees who searched the Scriptures diligently but never came to Christ (John
5:39-40)."[12]
If I remember correctly, weren't there many thousands of believers who came to
Christ way before the day of Pentecost? didn't they all eagerly study the
Bible? Apparently, these early believers came to Christ and received the
eternal life even before they received the spiritual gifts.
I
agreed that the Holy Spirit may use any means to communicate with us, including
revelation, word of knowledge/wisdom, tongue, interpretation, healing, and teaching.
The Holy Spirit gave us spiritual gifts to help us edify each other in order to
build the church up. Apostle Paul used entire chapter 12, 13, and 14 in 1
Corinthians to explain the spiritual gifts and how each body part connected to
the body.[13]
I have no double that some of us may be given one or two spiritual gifts from
the Holy Spirit, but I have hard time understand how and why we can
"learn" these spiritual gifts. Can we all learn how to speak in
tongue? how about healing?
I
don't think we can "learn" the language of the Holy Spirit in the same
sense of learning a technique or a skill. If we can and if we are required to
learn it, then I believe we should be able to find many supporting evidence in
the Bible on how to learn it.
"Unbelief" in the Language of the Holy Spirit
Earlier
we said that Deere brought four charges to "regular" Christians, but
eventually he was accusing all of us only one charge - unbelief, not believing
in the power of God's voice, visions, and dreams as personal guidelines,
directions, or even divine revelations. This accusation of unbelief reminded me
of the story of the rich man and Lazarus.[14]
At the end of Lazarus' story, Abraham told the tormenting rich
man, regarding his request to send Lazarus to warm his five brothers, that ‘if
they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even
if someone rises from the dead.” Clearly, Jesus implied that the Scripture alone
was what they needed for salvation.
Using Lazarus' story, I would stand firmly and claim that Scripture
is sufficient for salvation and for godly living through the Bible's "teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work."[15] (The Greek word for "thoroughly" is ἀρτιος, which means "to being well fitted for some function, complete, capable, proficient=able
to meet all demands"[16] All requirements for a
believer to be equipped completely for every good work is in the Bible, so what
else do we need? Of course, we will need the Holy Spirit to help us understand,
comprehend, and apply the Scripture, and that's why we all need to submit to
the Holy Spirit and let Him take control of us. However, all the information
needed for salvation and a godly living is already provided in the Bible.
I agreed with Deere that pride is the number one enemy to receive
God's divine guidance, either through the Scripture or through a special divine
revelation in the forms of visions, voices, or dreams. I don't believe that
Deere is trying to invalidate the Scripture from its sufficiency, but the way
he presented in his book sounds like we need more than just the Bible.
Deere's Theological Methods on Revelation
Deere
follows the traditional theological methods by going back to the Bible and
church history to find support for his thesis and claims, along with his pastoral
experiences and personal observations. With plenty of internal and external
evidences recorded in the Bible, Deere confidently demonstrates that Jesus was
in a constant communication with the Holy Spirit and with God the Father
through His dedicated prayer life, because Jesus "listened to God, and
then as one empowered by the Holy Spirit, he spoke and acted."[17]
Indeed, Jesus is a perfect model for us to "share the same Holy Spirit who
empowered Jesus and his followers in the first century."[18]
If Deere stopped here at Chapter 4, I would have agreed with him totally that,
as a contemporary American Christian, we should also live out a spirit-filled
life in which we are to receive this "supernatural power", the same
power that Jesus and his disciples received to witness and to heal, the same power
that Jesus' followers received to communicate with the Holy Spirit freely.
Deere argued that this "supernatural power" should include the ability
to see the visions, dream the dreams, and to prophesy.[19]
Should we expect the same "supernatural power" today in our 21st century
churches?
Are We in a Different Dispensation?
From
the perspective of a dispensationalist, we want to ask whether God's
administrative method has changed since first century. Are we in a different
dispensation? Deere apparently rooted his arguments in the continuity of the same
administration in the 21st century as that in the first century. Is he right? We
want to carefully examine any evidence of an administrative change since the
days of Jesus event and after the descending of the Holy Spirit.
As
Deere did, we want to go back to the Bible, specifically going back to the four
Gospels and the Acts and see if we can find changes from what early Christians have
experienced. My thesis is that we want to root our faith in both God's Word and
the Spirit as Jesus and the early Christians did.
We
want to worship God in God's Word. As Jesus taught us, "God is a spirit,
you will worship Him in Spirit and in truth."[20]
God is truth simply because He is the very reason that we come to being and the
final destination that we come to rest in eternity. In other words, God is
truth that everything measures up.[21]
Since God revealed Himself in the Scripture, so we find truth by finding God in
God's Word.[22]
And thus, we want to worship God with the "knowledge of Him".[23]
At the same time, we also want to worship God in Spirit. Without God's Spirit
or the Holy Spirit, we won't be able to "remember, understand, interpret,
and apply" the truth we found in the Scripture.[24]
The Bible has everything we need for salvation and for a godly living,[25]
but we also need to put the Holy Spirit in the driver's seat so that we can
understand God's Word correctly.
The
balance between the study of God's Word and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit has
been demonstrated throughout the Bible. During the days that disciples and
believers were waiting in the Upper Room, they were praying. When Peter stood up among the believers and said, “Brothers and sisters, the
Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through
David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.”[26] Peter was quoting the Old Testament.[27] Apparently, they had been studying the Scripture diligently and
were obeying wholeheartedly. Similarly, in Acts 17:11, Luke recorded that Jews
in Berea "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was
true." Jesus Himself testified that " You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that
in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about
me."[28] Without the foundation of the Scripture, all the spiritual signs and
wonders we received may only give dangerous impressions that can be easily imitated by Satan.[29]
Deere
points out that Acts recorded a Holy Spirit event which "inaugurated an
age of revelation."[30]
Most dispensationalists will not deny that the Holy Spirit event on the day of
Pentecost recorded in Acts 1:8 marked a new administration of the grace and the
Holy Spirit. What is not clear is whether this administration of grace and the
Holy Spirit has changed upon the completion of the Canon.
I am
not convinced there is such an administrative change[31].
If someone believes that a new administration has been inaugurated upon the completion
of the Canon, then he or she will bear the burden of proof. Do we see a change
of the New Covenant that Jesus inaugurated (by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ)? no, I don't think so. Do we see a new instruction regarding to dietary
or Sabbath changes? no, I am not aware of that either. Do we see a new
instruction to communicate with God in different ways? I don't believe so,
except that we now have iPhones and Social Media :-)
In
short, I believe we are still in this same "age of revelation". God
still wants us to study the Bible diligently and, by His divine power, we have everything we need for a godly life. I
believe the Holy Spirit still gives us visions, dreams, and the ability to see
God's revelations more clearly (aka. prophesying). Although these spiritual
gifts may not be given commonly to all churches or to all Christians in
Northern America, but that doesn't mean that the work of the Holy Spirit cannot
be seen and testified everywhere else.
So Why Can't We See Visions?
So
if it is not an administrative change as a dispensationalist would refer to it,
why can't we see visions and hear God's voice and experience God's power in a
supernatural ways? did God administer us differently based on different people
groups or different cultures? or did we have a wrong interpretation of what God
meant by "everything we need"?[32]
To
answer this latter questions, we will need to go back to what Deere claimed to
be "normal". I think Deere made a generalization move by claiming
that what he observed and experienced is true and is "normal" so that
everyone else should just follow suit. I found myself hard to accept that
claim.[33]
However, he did point a common problem faced by many Western believers and I
think Deere may have shared the same cultural experience.
God's
power may sound very distance for many Western believers, especially believers
coming from generations of Christian heritage. The "faith" part of
the "faith seeking understanding" has been largely assumed in many
Western believers, which means they may have never experienced the power of
change - the change that challenges every aspect of a person's belief, culture,
and worldview; the change that empowers believers to give up their wealth,
their social statuses, even their lives. But we have seen these changes in the
first century believers.
As a result, the "seeking
understanding" part of the equation had been emphasized for many Western
Christians, especially after the Reformation which unfortunately had been largely
tilted toward rationalism. So what caused this internal heart-level change? is
it from the knowledge of God? or from God's divine power?
I
would argue that it is from both, as Peter told us in 2 Peter 1:3.[34]
Although I agreed with what Deere said about God's always taking the initiative
and opens a person's heart to believe,[35]
but I also believe that it cannot be done without His divine power (2 Peter 1:3).
It is this divine power that helps
believers take a responsive step toward God's initiative. The greatest miracle
is the ability to see the vision of God's saving grace, to hear the voice of
God's calling to repent, and to accept the sign of God's love through the work of
Jesus. For many first generation Christians in Taiwan, especially those who were
converted from a folk religion, they had the first hand experience of intense spiritual
warfare between God and the false gods. The supernatural power from the Holy
Spirit is a daily phenomenon.
Can Dreams and Impressions be Learned?
Since
we are still in the same administrative era, I would agree with Deere that the
Holy Spirit is still communicating with believers in supernatural ways. And I
would agree that we ought to practice and learn how to communicate with the
Holy Spirit - to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. However, I would be very
careful on defining what the Holy Spirit would choose to comminute with us. Deere
singles out dreams and impressions as the language of the Holy Spirit in
Chapter 11 of his God's Voice book,
which makes me wonder if he claims that dreams and impressions are essential in
a Christian's spiritual life. Does he claim that every Christian should learn
how to speak the language of dreams and impressions.[36]
Deere wants all of us to learn it when we are young or at least learn it like a
child without feeling embarrassed or go to places where the language are spoken
such as this "School of the Spirit" in North Carolina.[37]
Can
dreams and impressions be learned? What bothers me most is the fact that Deere
didn't call dreams and impressions spiritual gifts as Paul did in 1 Corinthians
12. If Deere would have called them gifts of the Holy Spirit and have managed
to defend them biblically, then I would have no trouble believing that dreams
and impressions are indeed parts of spiritual gifts and that some of us may possess
these gifts for the purpose of edifying each other. If they are spiritual
gifts, then they will be "freely" given by the Holy Spirit. So if I
don't have them, I won't feel bad. If dreams and impressions are indeed spiritual
gifts, then whoever received them shouldn't need to learn them and whoever
don't have them shouldn't be able to learn them. So, why did Deere ask all of
us to learn them? is it simply because they are "normal"? so we ought
to learn them. It's "normal" for a 6'7" basketball player to
learn how to do dunk shots, but that doesn't mean everyone needs
to learn how to do it.
If
dreams and impressions are not spiritual gifts, are they important spiritual
"tools"? are they helping me become more "spiritual"? if
so, please define "spiritual"? If I am fully immersed in God's Word,
deeply touched by God's wisdom and grace, and fully controlled by the Holy
Spirit, does that make me a "Bible deitiest"? Spiritual poverty and
powerlessness[38]
cannot be cured simply by learning how to speak dreams and impressions. The
last thing you want for a believer is to use a spiritual gift as a means to boast
his or her spirituality as Paul warned us[39].
You don't want to make a believer feel powerful with a vision that no one has
or make someone feel superior with a voice that even his or her pastors cannot
hear. I feel that Deere also observed the danger of the prophetic pitfalls and
that's why he used several chapter to address them.
Summary
I
have no problem agreeing with Deere's arguments that God is still speaking to
us today through supernatural means. What I have trouble with is that Deere
made a blanket generalization of his own experience and demanded everyone to
follow suit or facing his accusation of being "Bible deity" or being
"religious proud". I think he successfully pointed out that spiritual
poverty and powerlessness are two deadly problems facing by many Northern
American churches today, but I am not convinced that we can solve the problem simply
by learning the language of dreams and impressions. Deere's way of pointing out
someone's dirty past by using a visual phrase or word is no different from what
a sorcerer did in a folk religion. I think he owes us a reasonable explanation
on how we can discern the source of that imagery. The challenge of seeing imageries
always lies on the discernment. I still believe that we have everything we need
for a godly living as Peter said, "His divine power has given us everything
we need for a godly life through our
knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness."
[1]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 251.
[2]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 26.
[3]
Deere's quote from Dallas Willard.
[4]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 27.
[5]
John 20:29
[6]
2 Corinthians 5:7
[7]
Matthew 8:28
[8]
Matthew 17:21
[9]
Mark 16:17
[10]
In 1 Corinthians 14:26, it lists as "a hymn, or a word of
instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be
done so that the church may be built up" (NIV).
[11]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 174.
[12]
Ibid., 175.
[13]
1 Corinthians 12:4-6
[14]
Luke 16:19-31
[15]
2 Timothy 3:16-17
[16]
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., &
Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English
lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed.,
p. 136). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[17]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 46.
[18]
Ibid., 47.
[19]
Acts 2:14. Peter's quoting of Joel 2:28-32.
[20]
John 4:24.
[21]
Definition by Wolterstorff. See Wolterstorff, Nicholas. True Words. from But Is It All True ed. Padgett.Eerdmans.2006
[22]
Num 23:19; Isa. 40:8; Isa 65:16; Titus 1:2; Heb 6:18.
[23]
2 Peter 1:3.
[24]
John 14:26.
[25]
2 Timothy 3:15-17.
[26]
Acts 1:15-16.
[27]
Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8.
[28]
John 5:39.
[29]
2 Thessalonians 2:9; Matthew 24:24.
[30]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 53.
[31]
or change in dispensation.
[32]
2 Peter 1:3. Everyone
may have different level of "needs". One may put his trust in Him
because of one touching hymn which melt his heart and lead him a total
surrender. Others may require years of rational persuasion to change his
worldview. Jesus' divine power gives us everything we need, but what I need may
be different from what others need.
[33]
Since professor Kreider has a God-given musical gift, should I be expected to
"learn" that musical gift?
[34]
"His divine power has given us everything
we need for a godly life through our
knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness." 2 Peter
1:3.
[35]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 60.
[36]
Deere, Jack, Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today Through Prophecies,
Dreams, and Visions (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 169.
[37]
Ibid., 170.
[38]
Ibid., 160.
[39]
1 Corinthians 12.
No comments:
Post a Comment