SPIRITS: HOLY AND UNHOLY – A SUMMARY
SUMMARY OF JACK COTTRELL’S “COLLECTED WRITINGS” SERIES:
VOLUME EIGHT: SPIRITS: HOLY AND UNHOLY, by Jack Cottrell
INTRODUCTION
After compiling volume 7 on the person and work of Jesus, it seemed natural that the next volume in this series should be about the Holy Spirit. A problem arose, however: I did not seem to have enough available material about the Spirit to fill a complete volume! This is why I decided to combine what material I did have with my even smaller amount of essays and articles on demonic spirits. Hence the title combines the HOLY Spirit and unholy spirits, or demons.
In some ways I regret that I have used this title. For one thing, it may seem somewhat impious or even profane to combine material about the Holy Spirit with material about demons in the same volume. Also, the wording of the title does not make it very clear that the main material herein is about the HOLY SPIRIT. So let it be emphasized here that three-fourths of the contents of this volume is about the Holy Spirit!
The first two sections in the book are about the Holy Spirit. The first one is five complete, written-out presentations I gave at the 2012 Michigan Christian Convention on the subject of the works of the Holy Spirit. In the volume itself I have a two-page “overview” of these five presentations; I am copying that overview below. In these five essays you can learn the gist of almost everything you need to know about the Holy Spirit. (Note: I did say almost.)
The second section on the Holy Spirit is a collection of miscellaneous studies. I will summarize a couple of these, and list the rest. (For my complete, systematic study of the Holy Spirit, see Power from on High: What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit, 506pp., published by College Press in 2007.)
Section three in the book is “Studies in Demonology.” There is much more about demons that needs to be known that what I am including here, but this is all I had that could be used for this purpose. For more on this subject, I recommend Neil T. Anderson’s book, The Bondage Breaker (Harvest House).
SECTION ONE: THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: AN OVERVIEW
ONE: The Bible View vs. Liberalism. The most important thing the Holy Spirit ever did for us is give us the Bible, through His work of inspiration. As has happened many times in the past, the church is once again being challenged by subtle attacks on the Bible’s authority. Such attacks are in effect attacks upon the Holy Spirit, and must be confronted seriously and vigorously.
TWO: The Bible View vs. Calvinism. In the New Covenant era a major work of the Holy Spirit is the saving act of regeneration, performed upon the heart of the submitting sinner. Calvinism has distorted this teaching into the false doctrine of irresistible grace; many Restorationists have overreacted to the Calvinist view and have denied Biblical regeneration altogether. Here we will examine what the Bible says on the subject.
THREE: The Bible View vs. Pentecostalism. A major aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work is to bestow upon individuals certain abilities and ministries that will enable them to meet the needs of the body of believers as a whole. In the early decades of the church some of these gifts were supernatural or miraculous in nature. Here we will examine and critique the claims of Pentecostals and Charismatics, that such gifts still exist today.
FOUR: The Bible View vs. Mysticism. Following baptism, the Holy Spirit continues to dwell personally in the life of every believer. However, many Christians do not understand the purpose of the Spirit’s indwelling. Many think He is within us to give us some kind of mystical “guidance.” Here we will see that His purpose is to give us sanctifying power—i.e., the power to be holy, and not to give us mystical or subjective knowledge of any sort.
FIVE: The Eight-fold Path to Holiness. The previous lesson emphasized the fact that the Holy Spirit dwells within us for the purpose of giving us the power to overcome sin and lead holy lives. This lesson follows up on this theme by suggesting eight practical steps that Christians should follow as the means of accessing the power of the Holy Spirit within us. This is the “how to” aspect of the general theme.
SECTION TWO: MISCELLANEOUS STUDIES ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
A. “The Promise of the Father: Acts 1:4-5” (pp. 65-80). This is a crucial subject because so much of the erroneous teaching about the Holy Spirit today is due to serious misunderstandings of the NEW work of the Spirit that began on the Day of Pentecost, as described in the Book of Acts. This new work is “what the Father had promised” (Acts 1:4-5). A right understanding of this point helps to defend the true view of baptism as a salvation event, contra Zwinglianism; and it helps to show that “baptism in the Holy Spirit” is the same as the gift of the Spirit in baptism and not a gift of miraculous powers.
1. Four Kinds of Gifts Given by the Holy Spirit. Covering the whole of Scripture, we can see that the Holy Spirit gives four kinds of gifts; he works in and through individuals in four distinct ways.
ONE. First is TRUTH gifts, as in revelation and inspiration (e.g., 2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Peter 1:21).
TWO. Second is SIGN gifts, as in the ability to perform miracles as proof of the divine origin of such revealed truth (e.g., Num. 11:16-30; 2 Cor. 2:12).
THREE. Third is SERVICE gifts, or what we usually call “spiritual gifts,” except here we limit this title to the non-truth and non-sign gifts (e.g., Exo. 31:1-11; 1 Sam. 16:13; and in Romans 12:7-8 – teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and showing mercy).
FOUR. Fourth is SALVATION gifts, as in regeneration and sanctification. There are no OT examples of such gifts, because the Spirit did not begin to give these until the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2! See Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:5. Here is how Acts 2 fits this fourfold system: (1) sign gift: speaking in tongues, vv. 4-13; (2) truth gift: Peter’s sermon, vv. 14ff.; (3) service gifts: none specified; (4) salvation gifts: from the indwelling Spirit, beginning in Christian baptism, vv. 38-39.
In Acts, it is crucial to distinguish these gifts, especially regarding Philip in Acts 8 and Cornelius in Acts 10. Zwinglians try to prove their false view of baptism by assuming that every presence of the Holy Spirit is evidence of salvation.
2. The New Way the Spirit Begins To Work on Pentecost. Long before the New Covenant began, God was promising and prophesying a NEW work of the Holy Spirit. See these texts: Isaiah 43:19-21; Isaiah 44:3-4; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Joel 2:28-32a; Matthew 3:11; John 1:32-34; John 4:7-14; John 7:37-39; Luke 24:45-49. This NEW thing is “what the Father had promised” (Acts 1:4; see 2:33). The newness is the crucial thing (see Isa. 43:19), because of the four kinds of Holy Spirit activity, only salvation was not present before Pentecost! Even the tongue-speaking in Acts 2 (a miracle—and thus not a new kind of thing) was paralleled in Numbers 11:16ff. What was promised in the OT and in the Gospels (Acts 2:33) is connected by Peter to the gift of the Spirit given in baptism (Acts 2:38-39). “The gift of the Holy Spirit” in v. 38 is “the promise” in v. 39.
3. For a further explanation of these four kinds of gifts from the Spirit (truth, sign, service, and salvation), see the essay, “The Holy Spirit and the First-Century Church,” on pp. 103ff. of this volume.
B. “Does the Spirit Give Miraculous Gifts Today? A Study of 1 Corinthians 13:8-13” (pp. 123-135). Of the many reasons to believe in cessationism, the correct understanding of 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 is at the top of the list. This is the clearest reason to affirm that the Spirit is not giving truth and sign gifts (i.e., miraculous gifts) today.
1. This Text Has Two Distinct Contrasts. One is the contrast between the temporary gifts in v. 8 (prophecy, tongues, and miraculous knowledge—see v. 2) and the permanent blessings in v. 13 (faith, hope, and love). The other contrast is in a parenthesis between v. 8 and v. 13. In these intervening verses (vv. 9-12), Paul is showing WHY the gifts in v. 8 are only temporary. I.e., they are intentionally temporary because they are only PARTIAL, and will be replaced by something that is TELEION, a Greek word that should be translated “COMPLETE” here (v. 10).
2. The Word Teleion. In v. 10 the word teleion should NOT be translated “perfect,” but as “complete,” because it is in contrast with what is PARTIAL. Also, as a neuter adjective, it does NOT refer to a (perfect) person (i.e., Jesus), but to a COMPLETE THING. Thus when this complete thing comes, the partial things will cease!
What is this complete thing? First, it is something that came only after Paul wrote this letter, since v. 10 uses future tense. Also, it will come before the second coming of Jesus, since HOPE will still be present when it comes (v. 13). Second, since it is something that replaces prophecy, tongues, and (miraculous) knowledge, the complete thing must be something in the category of revealed knowledge—but a complete revealed knowledge.
The only thing that satisfies these requirements is that the teleion must be the completed New Testament.
3. Is This Consistent with v. 12? Many take verse 12 to be referring in some way to the second coming of Christ and our final state in heaven. Some take it as referring to seeing Jesus Himself (“face to face”). But remember: the adjective teleion is neuter (not masculine), and thus is not referring to a person. Others take it as referring to just the time of the second coming. But this misses the fact that this whole phrase is an echo of Numbers 12:8, which refers to a contrast between two kinds of revelation: less clear and more clear. Either way, it is like looking into a mirror and seeing one’s own face; but when we look into the coming complete thing, we will see a more clear revelation of ourselves – and of everything else.
But doesn’t Paul say that when the teleion comes, we will know fully? Does that not have to be “in heaven,” when we will have perfect knowledge? NO, for two reasons. First, “know fully” is a faulty translation of the Greek word used here, which is shown by the way it is translated in most other places in the NT. Second, we finite human creatures will never know anything “fully” in some kind of perfect sense; that is true only of the omniscient Creator-God.
This essay concludes with a brief presentation of five other arguments that show that miraculous gifts have ceased.
C. The Rest of Section Two.
1. “The Deity of the Holy Spirit,” pp. 81-86.
2. “The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus,” pp. 87-98. You will be surprised at how dependent Jesus was on the presence and working of the Holy Spirit.
3. “Jesus and the Power of the Holy Spirit,” pp. 99-101.
4. “The Holy Spirit and the First-Century Church,” pp. 103-108.
5. “Are Miraculous Gifts the Blessing of Pentecost?”, pp. 109-116.
6. “The Essence of Spiritual Gifts,” pp. 117-121.
7. “The Holy Spirit in Acts 8:4-25,” pp. 137-141. This shows the error of Zwinglians who try to use this text to prove their false view of baptism.
8. “The Holy Spirit and Cornelius in Acts 10-11,” pp. 143-146. Same here.
9. “The Holy Spirit and Psalms 51:11,” pp. 147-150.
10. “Can the Holy Spirit Dwell Within Sinners?”, pp. 151-154.
SECTION THREE: STUDIES IN DEMONOLOGY
A. “All About Demons: Who? What? When?” (pp. 157-166). A common view among Christians is that demons were active only in Bible times. This is a very serious error; demons are still very active today.
1. What Are Demons? Prior to the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1ff.), and most likely prior to the creation specified in Genesis 1:1, God created an invisible (to us) spiritual universe inhabited by angels (Col. 1:16), who had free will. Some of these angels, led by the archangel we know as Satan, used their free will to sin against God (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). These are now the demons or evil spirits whom God allows to work against Him here in our physical creation.
2. What Do Demons Do? The main goal of Satan and his demons is to defeat God’s plan and purpose in whatever way possible. Today they are working to prevent individuals from believing God’s Word and thus receiving redemption (1 Peter 5:8). As a created being, Satan cannot be everywhere (omnipresent); so he works through his minions, the demons. They use three lines of attack against us: ONE: they assault our minds through deception and false teachings. TWO: They assault our wills through temptation. THREE: The assault our bodies via invasion and possession.
3. Are Demons Active Today? YES, in every aspect of their works. There is abundant evidence for this, as widely reported especially by missionaries who have observed it first-hand in their contexts. (Here I list many such sources.) This is also consistent with Biblical teaching, which solidly warns us to be on the alert against Satan’s “flaming arrows” (Eph. 6:16), which still include false teachings, temptation, and invasive possession.
B. “Can Christians Become Demonized?” (pp. 181-192). Many will say NO to this question, but the correct answer is YES.
1. This is shown by the widespread testimony of deliverance workers, who have learned how to identify indwelling demons and lead the possessed Christians to become free from this. I knew one such preacher personally, Brother Grayson Ensign, who helped deliver hundreds of Christians from demons. His conclusion was that, among possessed individuals, ONLY Christians can be delivered thus.
Another witness is the OT scholar, Merrill Unger, who at first denied possession of Christians (in his important book, Biblical Demonology, 1952); but after hearing of so many experiences otherwise from many missionaries, he changed his mind and wrote What Demons Can Do to Saints (1977).
Other examples are also cited. See especially Neil T. Anderson’s The Bondage Breaker, who said that “nothing has done greater damage to diagnosing spiritual problems than this untruth,” i.e., that demons cannot enter into Christians. His book is the best guide to deliverance.
2. Next, I analyze the reasons why many Christians still deny the truth about this, especially the ill-conceived notion that demons and the Holy Spirit cannot exist in the same body. They forget that demons and the Holy Spirit do not exist on the same level of reality. Demons as creatures are in created space, while the Spirit exists on the divine level. They are both “present” within the same (possessed) body, but in different senses. (Other arguments are also addressed here.)
3. Finally, I deal with the question of whether there are examples of demonized believers in the Bible. Some possible cases are given. The main point, though, is the very fact that the Bible warns Christians—yes, Christians—to be on guard against all Satanic attacks.
C. The Rest of Section Three.
1. “Spiritual Warfare and the Word of God,” pp. 167-180.
2. “Deliverance from Indwelling Demons,” pp. 193-202. Here are instructions, gathered from Ensign’s and Anderson’s works, on how to help someone become free from demons.
3. “Does Casting Out Demons Require Miraculous Power?” pp. 203-205. Answer: NO!
4. “Can Satan Cast Out Demons?”, pp. 207-209.
5. “ ‘Sons of God’ and ‘Daughters of Men’ in Genesis 6:1-4”, pp. 211-213.