REPORT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE
(Adopted by the General Board of
Administration, Jane 5. 1963)

We, your committee appointed to make a study of "the Spirit filled life and the tongues movement' with a view to give guidance to our church;" beg to submit this report as the result of our study.

The Confession of Faith of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, which was developed and adopted by the founding fathers of the church, is trinitarian and clearly sets forth the essential deity and personality of the Holy Spirit.

The first paragraph is a definitive statement regarding His deity.

In the name of God we declare and confess before all men that we believe in the only true God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost; that these three are one—the Father in the Son, the Son in the Father, and the Holy Ghost equal in essence or being with both; that this triune God created the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, visible as well as invisible, and furthermore, sustains, governs, protects, and supports the same.

The personality of the Holy Spirit is presented in the third and fifth paragraphs where His work is suggested. Paragraph 5 follows:

We believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, that it contains the only true way to our salvation; that every true Christian is bound to acknowledge and receive it with the influence of the Spirit of God as the only rule and guide; and that without faith in Jesus Christ, true repentance, forgiveness of sins and following after Christ, no one can be a true Christian.

The historical occasion which brought forth this Confession of Faith in the latter part of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth century was a period of time when there was a necessity to emphasize the doctrine of the new birth and assurance of salvation. At that time it was thought unnecessary to distinguish between the many and varied ministries of the Holy Spirit. The twentieth century has prompted biblical students to make clear distinctions in the manifold work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity.

The manifold work of the Spirit may be fused in man's thinking and experience. Distinctions should be made between the gift of the Spirit (Luke 11:13; Acts 2:38,) gifts of the Spirit (Rom. 12:3-8: I Cor. 12:4, 8-10, 28; Eph. 4:11), and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).

The various ministries associated with the gift of the Spirit include the baptism of the Spirit, the anointing of the Spirit, the sealing of the Spirit, the earnest of the Spirit, the enduement of the Spirit and the infilling of the Spirit.

All the gospels include the prophecy of John the Baptist that it would be the work of Christ to baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). Christ established the Christian Church on the day of Pentecost and all were baptized into His body. The central scriptures which teach the true meaning of the baptism of the Spirit are 1 Cor. 12:13 and Eph. 4:5. Every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9), and experiences the new birth by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8).

There are seven references to the anointing of the Spirit in the New Testament (Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38; II Cor. 1:21, I John 2:20, 27 twice). The first three instances are used in telling about the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to Christ. It is thought that the word "anoint" is used in the sense of "apply" and is very appropriate since oil is symbolical of the Holy Spirit. In relation to the Christian, the use of the word anoint with the Spirit implies the initial act of indwelling. The presence of the Spirit is the result of the anointing and has the purpose of providing the believer with spiritual discernment and wisdom (I John 2:20, 27).

The sealing of the Spirit means divine approval and ownership. The seal is the Holy Spirit Himself, and this is a ministry of the Spirit which is a gracious act by God for those whom He saved. Christ was given divine approval by the Father (Matt. 3:17) and was scaled (John 6:27). The references that teach the sealing of the Christian are II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; II Tim. 2:19.

The earnest of the Spirit is referred to in II Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:14. The "earnest" is a token or part payment as a pledge that the full amount will be paid later. The indwelling Holy Spirit Himself is the earnest. This is the pledge that all future blessings which God promised will be fulfilled. He has guaranteed our complete salvation, our glorification, our likeness to Christ, our freedom from sin and its evils.

The believer is enabled or equipped for service by the enduement of the Spirit, being clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49).

The above mentioned ministries associated with the gift of the Spirit are sovereignly bestowed by God and are not to be sought as separate gifts. Frequently the believer is not aware of these ministries of the Spirit until he is guided by the Holy Spirit into a study of the Word of God where they are revealed.

The infilling of the Spirit is continuous as the believer is fully yielded to the indwelling Holy Spirit. A fresh infilling of the Spirit is available for each crisis that the Christian faces in the line of duty. The exhortation of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:18 indicates that the fullness of the Spirit is to be sought by each Christian so that he may be able to serve more effectively. The Book of Acts records that Christians were filled more than once (Acts 2:4; 4:8; 4:31; 6:3: 7:55; 9.17; 11:24; 13:0; 13:52). Through the fullness of the Spirit all the ministries of the gift of the Spirit are intensified so that the Spiritual life of the believer becomes more effective in the church and her ministry of soul winning. The fullness of the Spirit depends not upon how much of the Spirit we have, but how much of us He has.

The gifts of the Spirit as enumerated by the Apostle Paul are (1) the gift of wisdom, (2) the gift of knowledge (I Cor. 12:8); (3) the gift of faith, (4) the gift of healing (I Cor. 12:9; (5) the gift of the working of miracles, (6) the gift of prophecy. (7) the gift of the discerning of spirits, (8) the gift of tongues, (9) the gift of the interpretation of

tongues (I Cor. 12:10); (10) the gift of apostleship, (11) the gift of teaching, (12) the gift of helps (giving assistance), (13) the gift of governing (I Cor. 12:28); (14) the gift of being evangelists; (15) the gift of being pastors (Eph. 4:11); (16) the gift of ministry (Rom. 12:7); (17) the gift of exhortation, (18) the gift of liberality; (19) the gift of rulership, and (20) the gift of showing mercy (Rom. 12:8). All these gifts are sovereignly bestowed by the Holy Spirit Himself and are not to be sought (I Cor. 12:11; Heb. 2:4). No one can receive all the gifts of the Spirit, nor do all believers receive the same gift (I Cor. 12:8-10). On the other hand each believer receives a gift from the Spirit "as He will" (I Cor. 12:11; Eph. 4:7).

The purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is for the benefit of all (I Cor. 12:7) and each person in particular until the measure of the stature of Christ is attained (Eph. 4:12-16). The manifestation of spiritual gifts will edify the body of Christ and unite in faith based on a spiritual understanding of the person and work of the Son of God.

In the listing of the gifts of the Spirit, Paul states that some arc more important than others. "God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily, prophets, thirdly, teachers" (I Cor. 12:28). The Apostle also ranks the gift of prophecy as of more importance than the gift of tongues (I Cor. 14:5). Likewise he states that five understandable words are of more importance than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue. The gift of tongues is for personal edification (I Cor. 14:4). In a public meeting all things should be done unto "the edifying of the church" (I Cor. 14:12).

The admonition of Paul is to covet prophecy while permission is given to speak in tongues with certain restrictions (I Cor. 14:39). (1) There must be interpretation of the tongues for the spiritual edification of the church. A person desiring to speak in tongues should be sure that he can interpret (I Cor. 14:5) or pray that he may interpret (I Cor. 14:13) or make sure that one is present who has the gift of interpretation (I Cor. 14:27,28). Otherwise he should keep silent in the church (I Cor. 14:28). (2) Also there must be regulation in order to promote spiritual edification. There should not be more than two or at the most three persons speak in tongues in any public service, not speaking at the same time, but one after the other, each "tongue" message being interpreted before the next one speaks (I Cor. 14:27). Further the Apostle states that no speaker should feel that he cannot control himself because the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets (I Cor. 14:31). All things should be done decently and in order (I Cor. 14:40). This orderliness that is demanded is based on the fact that "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace" (I Cor. 14:33). (3) In addition, the test of the possession of a gift is subordination to authority (I Cor. 14:37). In Paul's day this meant obeying the admonition of his letter. In this day it means that the Word of God is to be our source of authority.

Abuses can creep into the church if the restrictions of Paul are not followed. Satan can appear as an angel of light and attempt to deceive even the elect by spurious manifestation of spirituality. The admonition to test the spirits is still good counsel for the church (I John 4:1-6).

It may be concluded that (1) speaking in tongues is the least important of the spiritual gifts; though it is not forbidden, it is not to be sought or encouraged; (2) speaking in tongues is not a test of salvation; (3) speaking in tongues is not an indication of spirituality; and (41 speaking in tongues is not a sign of the baptism of the Spirit, because all Christians are baptized by the Spirit (I Cor. 12:13), while speaking in tongues is one of the gifts of the Spirit and is sovereignly bestowed by the Holy Spirit.

The real test of the spiritual life is the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). No one element of the fruit of the Spirit is to be emphasized above another, but all nine elements blended into the life of the Christian are essential to make him a true witness for Jesus Christ.

Every Christian has received the gift of the Spirit, and at least one of the gifts of the Spirit, and his life should manifest the fruit of the Spirit. The present day need is to be filled with the Spirit. It is God's command and man's privilege and birthright. Spirit-filled Christians accomplished great exploits in the early church. The exhortation still stands, "Ever be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18, Williams Translation).