But Is it the Holy Spirit? - a different approach to unusual manifestations

1 Corinthians 12:6-8 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.


Recently someone asked me about the unusual manifestations that sometimes occur in revival meetings. They specifically were quite concerned about the strange things that happened in certain revival meetings that are not seen in the Bible. 

I live about two hours from a place where people began to manifest actions that were extremely different from anything I had every seen. I had many friends who went there and I myself went a few times. In another place where the same kind of manifestations I had wonderful friends  for several years being discipled in their School of Missions.

It was very hard for me at first to understand the wonderful changes I saw in so many that were "touched" in the meetings and the rather unusual "manifestations" that were going on.

I prayed a lot about this and felt that I did get an answer.

This is what I have come to believe about these manifestations.
I have seven children. They are all very different but they share (with their father) a common love for chocolate chip cookies!


Now to say that they love the cookies does not say they all respond the same to a plate of them set before them.

In fact their responses vary as greatly as you could imagine.

Now from time to time I pickup a bag of what we call "President's Choice Decadent Chocolate chip cookies and bring them out on a plate after supper.


They all react to the cookies. One starts begging to serve them to everyone....... One has to be threatened with mutilation to keep his hands off them....... One is very cool and acts like she could care less...... as long as she knows that dad will give them out...... One starts shrieking with joy....... one comes over and gives me a big kiss ...... knowing full well that she most likely will get the first one for doing so..... One counts the cookies to find out how many he will get...... one sneaks as many as he can under the table to be retrieved as everyone else is distracted by enjoying themselves.


The point of this little story is that the common influence of all these behaviours is the cookies.


The behaviour is not to be equated to the cookies. It is rather the response of the person who is being influenced by the cookies.


The unusual manifestations occuring at certain revival meetings are responses to something.

It may be the Holy Spirit is what they are responding to. However I have come to believe that we cannot always say the Holy Spirit caused us to do what we do, especially when it is not a biblical response seen throughout scripture. Any that do not fit into that criteria may simply be a responces to the Holy Spirit filtered through our humanity. This means that we do not claim our non-biblical actions are a direct action of the Holy Spirit but rather my response to the Holy Spirit.

It alos means that we cannot always discern just by the outweard manifestation what is happening inside the person.

I find nowhere in scripture that the Holy Spirit made people "drunk", bark, chirp, bleat or roar like animals.

The only time people fell down in convulsions was under the influence of a demonic spirit.

 I agree, and so would many of the leaders of these meetings that sometimes the influence is satan.

Sometimes the responses are the need to be a part...... kind of a group mentality which does not just occur in pentecostally oriented groups. Peer pressure is just as strong in any group and the need to conform is one of the strongest forces of imitating each other or rejecting God in any church setting.


But some responses are the humanity of the person..... sometimes even the flesh reacting to the Holy Spirit.

However some people may be genuinely responding to the Holy Spirit in this way.

It may be from God or it may be from the evil one.

I believe the true discernment comes not from the outward manifestation but the presence or absence of godly character.




If you need some scriptural basis for this take a look at the life of Saul the King of Israel.


He first went among the prophets, fell under God's power and ended up prophesying in a strange but godly manner.

1 Samuel 10:10-11 When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Only a few years later he ended up in the same group and again fell under God's power...... his character had taken some wrong turns however and this time instead of prophesying in an appropriate way he stripped off his clothes and lay down naked.

1 Samuel 19:19-24 Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" "Over in Naioth at Ramah," they said. 23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

This is not what you would expect from a move of God's Spirit in a man's life. That is just the point. Just like the cookies provoke a response in my children that reveals something of their character so the move of God exposes our character.


You could not deny that Saul was under the influence of the Holy Spirit because the text makes it clear that he was so.


Nor could you deny that the Holy Spirit would not lead a man to act in the manner that Saul did in his second encounter since it goes against God's ways clearly stated in other places. What is happening?


Saul's soul and body responded to the influence of the Spirit of God. In the first encounter it was a godly response because he was right with God. In the second encounter it was a wrong response because his heart was not right.


I found this explanation to be very helpful to me in being able to accept that some will respond in ways that I would not respond and yet still be responding appropriately to God, It also tells me sometimes people respond in ways God would never approve yet still be responding to a genuine move of God's Spirit.

It also underscores the importance that we be living in a way that is pleasing to God. If we are doing so Godly character is the key to having godly manifestations.