The work of the Spirit

My first church was an Assembly of God Pentecostal Church, Glad Tidings at

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. I attended that church because my brother led me to

Christ and he was already attending that church. We were very active in the youth

work there, called ISCA, in short for Inter-School Christ Ambassadors.

We met every Friday noon (after school) and most of us came in our school

uniforms. Pentecostal worship was typically noisy, expressive and loud. We don’t

sing the kind of songs that we use today. We sing hymns, chorus and also

community songs. We may find it hard to imagine but there was a season where

“songs for fellowship” was an essential part of the Service. We may not call

singing these songs worship, but they certainly help to foster a sense of

gathering as a community.

During the time allotted for singing, we often have two to three songs that were

worshipful and here is when hands will be raised and in between, loud tongue

speaking. Imagine the intensity from over 50 over people speaking aloud in

tongues.

The work of the Spirit was emphasized very early on in my Christian experience.

The church was teaching that the baptism of the Spirit was essential for every

Christian. That would not have been a problem except that the baptism of the

Spirit was linked to the gift of speaking in tongues. And so, one becomes a

Christian when he prays to receive Christ. Then he needs to be baptized in the

Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. If the person does not break out

in tongues, this means that he or she is not filled.

One unintended consequence of this teaching is the pressure we often felt when

praying for someone to be baptized in the Spirit. We developed all kinds of

methods from passive encouragement, to repeat after me as I speak in tongues

to “say ba-na-na backwards.” There will be a huge sigh of relief when the prayee

broke out in tongues. Job done. And we move on to pray for the next person.

This teaching was considered controversial, and Pentecostals were viewed with

caution. They tend to be the more zealous type of Christians in School Christian

Fellowships and thus admired. The teaching though is problematic. If one does

not speak in tongues, the person was not “full” Christian and missing out on

something essential. It created a FOMO complex and divided Christians.

As the work of the Spirit spread to other mainline churches, a less controversial

teaching evolved which says that the Spirit is given at the point of conversion

Subsequent Spirit experiences i.e. being endued with power, can be experienced

throughout one’s Christian life as evident by how the apostles were filled with

the Spirit again and again on various occasions. The work of the Spirit often may

not have any immediate outward evidence as can be seen by the teaching of

Scriptures. While speaking in tongues is a wonderful gift and often serves as a

sign that one is being filled, it need not be seen as the only initial evidence.

The debates continue till today, though the intensity has dropped a lot as

churches listen to each other and find greater common ground in interpreting

Scriptures. One can say that the teaching in the Alpha Course on the Holy Spirit

is held by a majority of churches.

More importantly, every Christian need to remain open to the work of the Spirit

in whatever form it may come. After all, the day of Pentecost reminds us that it

was the giving of the Spirit which gave birth to the Church. Indeed, “in Him we

live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)