Who are the “Generals” of the modern Charismatic/Pentecostal movement ⁉️⁉️
“Generals” is the word chosen by Charismatic/Pentecostals 👉👉themselves👈👈 and it serves as a 👉hint👈to any uninformed Charismatic or Pentecostal reaching for the origins of their 👉👉own👈👈 Charismatic/Pentecostal history‼️‼️
Doctrine is “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true.” Biblical doctrine refers to teachings that align with the revealed Word of God, the Bible. False doctrine is any idea that adds to, takes away from, contradicts, or nullifies the doctrine given in God’s Word.
For example, any teaching about Jesus that denies His virgin birth is a false doctrine, because it contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture (Matthew 1:18).
As early as the first century AD, false doctrine was already infiltrating the church, and many of the letters in the New Testament were written to address those errors (Galatians 1:6–9; Colossians 2:20–23; Titus 1:10–11). Paul exhorted his protégé Timothy to guard against those who were peddling heresies and confusing the flock: “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing” (1 Timothy 6:3–4).
As followers of Christ, we have no excuse for remaining ignorant of theology because we have the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) available to us—the Bible is complete. As we “study to show ourselves approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15), we are less likely to be taken in by smooth talkers and false prophets. When we know God’s Word, “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).
It is important to point out the difference between false doctrine and denominational disagreements. Different congregational groups see secondary issues in Scripture differently. These differences are not always due to false doctrine on anyone’s part. Church policies, governmental decisions, style of worship, etc., are all open for discussion, since they are not directly addressed in Scripture. Even those issues that are addressed in Scripture are often debated by equally sincere disciples of Christ. Differences in interpretation or practice do not necessarily qualify as false doctrine, nor should they divide the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:10).
False doctrine is that which opposes some fundamental truth or that which is necessary for salvation. The following are some examples of false doctrine:
• The erasing of hell. The Bible describes hell as a real place of eternal torment, the destination for every unregenerate soul (Revelation 20:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:8). A denial of hell directly contradicts Jesus’ own words (Matthew 10:28; 25:46) and is therefore a false doctrine.
• The idea that there are “many paths to God.” This philosophy has become popular recently under the guise of tolerance. This false doctrine claims that, since God is love, He will accept any religious effort as long as the practitioner is sincere. Such relativism flies in the face of the entire Bible and effectively eliminates any need for the Son of God to take on flesh and be crucified for us (Jeremiah 12:17; John 3:15–18). It also contradicts Jesus’ direct words that He is the only way to God (John 14:6).
• Any teaching that redefines the person of Jesus Christ. Doctrine that denies the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, His sinless nature, His actual death, or His physical resurrection is false doctrine. A group’s errant Christology readily identifies it as a sect or cult that may claim to be Christian but is actually teaching false doctrine. Even many mainline denominations have begun the rapid slide into apostasy by declaring that they no longer hold to a literal interpretation of Scripture or the deity of Christ. First John 4:1–3 makes it clear that a denial of biblical Christology is “anti-Christ.” Jesus described false teachers within the church as “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15).
• Teaching that adds human religious works to Christ’s finished work on the cross as necessary ingredients for salvation. This teaching may pay lip service to salvation by faith alone but insists that a religious ritual (such as water baptism) is salvific. Some groups even legislate hairstyles, clothing options, and food consumption. Romans 11:6 warns against attempts to mix grace with works. Ephesians 2:8–9 says we are saved by the grace of God, through faith, and nothing we do can add to or take away from it. Galatians 1:6–9 pronounces a curse on anyone who changes the good news of salvation by grace.
• The teaching that presents grace as a license to sin. Sometimes called “easy-believism,” this false doctrine implies that all one must do for right standing with God is to believe the facts about Jesus, pray a prayer at some point, and then resume control of one’s life with the assurance of heaven at the end. Paul dealt with this thinking in Romans 6. In Matthew 7:21–23, Jesus warned those who adopt this doctrine that they did not know Him at all. Second Corinthians 5:17 states that those who are “in Christ” become “new creatures.” That transformation, in response to a believer’s faith in Christ, changes the outward behaviors. To know and love Christ is to obey Him (Luke 6:46).
Satan has been confusing and perverting the Word of God since the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1–4; Matthew 4:6). False teachers, the servants of Satan, try to appear as “servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15), but they will be known by their fruits (Matthew 7:16). A charlatan promoting false doctrine will show signs of pride, greed, and rebellion (see Jude 1:11) and will often promote or engage in sexual immorality (2 Peter 2:14; Revelation 2:20).
We are wise to recognize how vulnerable we are to heresy and make it our habit to do as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11: “They . . . examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” When we make it our goal to follow the lead of the first church, we will go far in avoiding the pitfalls of false doctrine. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Such devotion will protect us and ensure that we are on the path Jesus set for us.
In Ephesians 5:15–20, the apostle Paul teaches believers how to experience a holy relationship with God—how to live for Him, obey Him, and discover His will as we serve Him. He writes, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. . . . Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NLT).
The pagan people of Ephesus worshiped their god in drunken orgies: “They believed that to commune with their god and to be led by him, they had to be drunk. In this drunken state, they could determine the will of their god and determine how best to serve and obey him” (Anders, M., Galatians–Colossians Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 8, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999, p. 172). By contrast, Paul commanded believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit when we cautiously consider our actions and yield ourselves to the Spirit’s power, allowing Him to guide, influence, and govern our behavior. We carefully align our daily choices and decisions with the wisdom and truth Scripture teaches.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit in the context of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:18 differs from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at salvation (see John 14:16–17). Those who believe in Jesus Christ and accept His gift of salvation receive the life-giving, eternal “Living Water” of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37–39; see also 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:13). Everyone who belongs to Jesus Christ has the Spirit of God living in him or her (Romans 8:9). Nevertheless, we can hinder or stifle the work of the Spirit in our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and even “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30).
Sin and rebellion against God’s will hinder us from being filled with the Holy Spirit. When we give in to sinful temptations and worldly desires, when we lose control and do what we know is wrong, living as we did before accepting Christ’s salvation, we prevent God’s Spirit from guiding, influencing, and governing our behavior. The Holy Spirit is grieved and quenched because He is not allowed to reveal Himself in our lives as He wants to, with expressions or “fruits” of “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). When we sin, we should confess our transgressions to God as soon as possible (1 John 1:9) and renew our commitment to being filled with the Spirit.
Jesus was filled with the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:18; 10:21). So was John the Baptist (Luke 1:15), his mother Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), and his father Zechariah (Luke 1:67). Old Testament saints like Bezalel (Exodus 31:3; 35:30), Joshua (Deuteronomy 34:9), Samson (Judges 13:25; 15:14), and Micah (Micah 3:8) were filled with the Holy Spirit. The believers at Pentecost were “filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). Peter (Acts 4:8), Paul (Acts 13:9), and “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52). In contrast, Ananias allowed himself to be filled with Satan (Acts 5:3).
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) and are “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18), “live by the Spirit,” and “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). According to the apostle Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit makes the difference between life and death. When we belong to Jesus, “the power of the life-giving Spirit” frees us “from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:2, NLT). “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Instead of living in bondage to sin and fear of death, we live as God’s adopted children (Romans 8:14–15).
Spirit-filled believers trade in “fear and timidity” for “power, love, and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). They sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs . . . and [make] music to the Lord in [their] hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19–21, NLT). A heart overflowing with music, joy, and thankfulness to God usually signals a believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Finally, Paul described Spirit-filled believers as those who “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, NLT).
We can be filled with the Holy Spirit daily by yielding our will to God in submission and obedience to His Word. There is no formula to follow other than to allow Him to fill us and control every part of our lives—our thoughts, emotions, bodies, and actions. Only as we submit to Him and are filled with the Holy Spirit can we experience a harmonious relationship with God and one another.
