New Wine Articles
God's Manifest Presence

I. Introduction

When God chooses to show His power in and through the Body of Christ, opportunities are provided for both tremendous spiritual growth and tragic confusion and stumbling. Throughout both biblical and church history strange and even bizarre physical phenomena have accompanied outpourings of the Holy Spirit's power. As we write here in the spring of 1994, numerous reports have been reaching our ears over the past few months of widespread occurrences of the manifestations of the Spirit across the U.S. and Canada. Many believers are being blessed, refreshed and rejuvenated. Other believers are not so blessed! They are skeptical and questioning whether these kinds of things can actually represent a genuine work of God. And what about the obviously fleshly behavior in which some engage and try to blame on the Spirit? What shall we do with that stuff? We present this simple outline to the Body of Christ in hopes that it will help provide for some a philosophical / theological framework through which these physical phenomena may be viewed and interpreted. We hope to write more extensively on this subject in the near future which will include case studies, testimonies, and ways to administrate these manifestations in the local church.

Revised: October 19, 1995
URL: http://www.grmi.org/renewal/new-wine/articles/manifest/1.html