These are the tradition's own historic confessions, as its members would recognise them. Every tradition varies internally.
TEACHING AND SCRIPTUREWhat the Pentecostal movement restored — and what must be held
The Pentecostal movement brought back into the centre of church life many truths that for centuries had been weakened. But to open a truth is not the same as to hold it. On the left — what was restored, or where later generations begin to lose it. On the right — Scripture. Below — the conclusion.
PART ONE
What was restored
01Baptism in the Holy Spirit as an experienced reality
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDBaptism in the Holy Spirit became again an experienced reality of the Church, not only a memory of the first century.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSActs 1:4–8Jesus tells them to wait for the promise of the Father: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”Acts 2:1–4On the day of Pentecost they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.Acts 8:14–17The believers in Samaria receive the Holy Spirit after they have already believed.Acts 19:1–6In Ephesus disciples already baptised receive the Holy Spirit — and speak in tongues and prophesy.
Restored truthThe Pentecostal movement restored to the Church the expectation that the Father’s promise is experienced, not only studied.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a reality of the Church, not an archive of the first century.
02Other tongues as an operating gift of the Holy Spirit
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDOther tongues were again recognised as an operating gift of the Holy Spirit, not a ceased sign of the apostolic age.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSActs 2:4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.Acts 10:44–46The Spirit was poured out on Cornelius’s household — and they were heard speaking in tongues and magnifying God.Acts 19:6When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.1 Corinthians 14:39“Do not forbid speaking in tongues.”
Restored truthTongues are a gift of the Holy Spirit for the Church, not a museum piece. Paul does not forbid them; he places them in the order of building up.
Other tongues belong to the Church today.
03Prophecy as a normal gift for building up the Church
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDProphecy was again recognised as a normal gift of the Holy Spirit for the building up, exhortation and comfort of the Church.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSActs 2:17–18In the last days God pours out the Spirit: sons and daughters shall prophesy.1 Corinthians 14:1, 3Earnestly desire the gifts, especially that you may prophesy. The one who prophesies speaks to people for building up, encouragement and comfort.1 Corinthians 14:29–31Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. You can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn.
Restored truthProphecy is not a rare exception of holiness, but the norm of the Spirit’s outpouring and of the building up of the whole Body.
The Church must earnestly desire prophecy and give it room.
04Gifts of healings, miracles, discernment of spirits and other manifestations of the Spirit
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDThe Pentecostal movement restored to the Church the whole list of the Spirit’s manifestations: not only tongues, but healings, miracles, discernment of spirits and the other gifts.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Corinthians 12:7–11To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, interpretation. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.
Restored truthThe Holy Spirit did not give the Church one gift. He gave a diversity of gifts — to each for the common good.
Healings, miracles and discernment of spirits belong to the Church together with tongues.
05Expectation of power from on high for ministry
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDThe Church began again to wait for power from on high for witness, rather than relying only on organisation, training and natural ability.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSLuke 24:49“I am sending the promise of My Father upon you; stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”Acts 1:8“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses.”
Restored truthThe ministry of the apostolic Church begins not with a programme, but with being clothed with power from on high.
Power from on high is the condition of witness, not an ornament added to it.
06Living corporate prayer
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDThe Pentecostal movement restored living corporate prayer as the centre of the gathering, not a short frame around the sermon.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSActs 1:14They were with one accord devoted to prayer.Acts 4:24–31They lifted their voices to God; after they prayed, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
Restored truthThe apostolic Church is a Church of prayer. Pentecost comes where the Body waits on God together.
Corporate prayer is not an add-on to the gathering, but its breath.
07Holiness and separation from sin
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDThe Pentecostal movement inherited much from the Holiness movement: the Holy Spirit gives not only power, but also separation from sin.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Thessalonians 4:3“This is the will of God, your sanctification.”Hebrews 12:14“Strive for… holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”1 Peter 1:15–16“Be holy.”
Restored truthEarly Pentecostalism joined the Holy Spirit → power → holy life. This is the apostolic pairing, not a later extra.
The Spirit’s power is not separated from holiness of life.
08Expectation of the Holy Spirit’s immediate action in the gathering
THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT RESTOREDThe gathering is not only a sermon and a pre-arranged programme, but the possibility that God will speak and act through different members of the Body.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Corinthians 14:26When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
Restored truthThe apostolic gathering leaves room for the Spirit to act through the whole Body, not only through those leading on the platform.
God has the right to interrupt the programme and speak through members of the Body.
ESPECIALLY CLEARWhat was restored especially clearly
The Pentecostal movement joined again what in many traditions had been divided:
Word + Spirit; conversion + power from on high; holiness + gifts; prayer + the action of God; preaching + signs; personal faith + the life of the whole Body.
In this respect the Pentecostal revival became one of the fullest returns to the picture of the book of Acts.
THE TURNBut to open a truth is not the same as to hold it
The chief danger appears no longer in the original teaching, but in what happens to later generations.
It is possible to have a correct Pentecostal confession on paper and gradually lose Pentecostal life itself.
01The weakening of prayer
THE TRADITION TEACHESSome churches have kept the name “Pentecostal” but have lost deep corporate prayer. The gathering becomes: singing → announcements → sermon → a short prayer → the end.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSActs 1:14They “were with one accord devoted to prayer.”Acts 4:31After they prayed they “were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Gospel truthPentecost without prayer gradually remains only a name.
It is possible to have a correct Pentecostal confession on paper and gradually lose Pentecostal life itself.
02Prophecy is confessed in doctrine, but not allowed in practice
THE TRADITION TEACHESSome Pentecostal churches formally believe in prophecy, but in practice the gathering is so controlled by the programme that there is almost no room for a prophetic word.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Corinthians 14:1“Earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”1 Corinthians 14:29“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.”
Gospel truthThe apostolic way is not to forbid prophecy for fear of mistakes, but to give it room and to test it.
It is not enough to confess prophecy in the statement of faith if the programme leaves it no room.
03The slide into Charismatic excess
THE TRADITION TEACHESThe other danger is to keep the supernatural but lose the biblical boundaries. Then there appears: the chase after experiences → outward manifestations for their own sake → emotion without discernment → the stage instead of prayer → atmosphere instead of the Word.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Thessalonians 5:21“Test everything; hold fast what is good.”1 Corinthians 14:40“All things should be done decently and in order.”
Gospel truthSpiritual freedom without discernment turns into chaos.
The supernatural without testing is not apostolic fullness, but one of the ditches.
04The slide into rigid conservatism
THE TRADITION TEACHESIn seeking to keep holiness, a church can gradually replace the inner life of the Spirit with a system of outward rules: how to dress → what is allowed → what is forbidden → which appearance is acceptable → which form counts as spiritual. In doing so it can lose the person. Christ saw: the person → the heart → the pain → the need → the restoring of the human being.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSMark 2:27“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
Gospel truthHoliness is necessary, but it must not become a religious system in which the person exists for the sake of the rules.
Rules without life, and control instead of the Spirit’s leading, take the church away from Acts.
05Sanctification can turn into legalism
THE TRADITION TEACHESPentecostals rightly restored a strong call to a holy life. But between holiness and legalism there is a vast difference. Holiness is the fruit of God’s life in a person. Legalism is the attempt to measure a person’s spirituality first of all by outward norms.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYSGalatians 5:16“Walk by the Spirit.”Galatians 5:22–23The fruit of the Spirit appears in a changed character: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Gospel truthHoliness is the fruit of God’s life in a person, not a system of outward norms by which spirituality is measured.
The call to holiness remains true only while it is born of the Spirit, not of the law.
06Tongues can be kept while the other gifts are lost
THE TRADITION TEACHESA Pentecostal church can become so concentrated on tongues that it practically forgets the rest of the list in 1 Corinthians 12: a word of wisdom → a word of knowledge → faith → healings → miracles → prophecy → discernment of spirits → tongues → interpretation.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Corinthians 12:7–11To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The Holy Spirit apportions the gifts to each one individually as He wills — not one gift to all.
Gospel truthThe Holy Spirit did not give the Church one gift. He gave a diversity of gifts.
Tongues do not replace the other gifts, and concentration on one manifestation impoverishes the Body.
07The gifts can be kept while the fruit is lost
THE TRADITION TEACHESThe most dangerous mistake is to think that the manifestation of a gift automatically proves spiritual maturity. One can speak in tongues and not have love. One can prophesy and remain spiritually immature.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Corinthians 13:1–2If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong. If I have prophetic powers, but have not love, I am nothing.
Gospel truthPaul places between 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14 precisely 1 Corinthians 13 — love. Apostolic fullness is: gifts + fruit; power + character; anointing + love.
A gift is not maturity. A manifestation of power without the fruit of love is not apostolic fullness.
08The doctrine of the Spirit can be kept while dependence on the Spirit is lost
THE TRADITION TEACHESIn time any movement can become institutionalised. Then what once was born through prayer → waiting on God → the leading of the Spirit begins to run through structure → programme → tradition → habit.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS1 Thessalonians 5:19“Do not quench the Spirit.”
Gospel truthThis warning belongs to Pentecostals too: a correct doctrine of the Spirit does not replace living dependence on Him.
Pentecostal life is held not by the name and not by the structure, but by unceasing waiting on the Spirit.
TWO DITCHESTwo ditches
Contemporary Pentecostalism has a particular need not to fall into either of two extremes.
The Charismatic ditch: power without holiness, experiences without testing, worship instead of prayer, emotion instead of a prophetic word.
The conservative ditch: rules without life, control instead of the Spirit’s leading, fear of the gifts, tradition instead of freedom, form above the person.
Both ditches depart from apostolic fullness.
The Pentecostal movement restored a great deal: baptism in the Holy Spirit → power from on high → tongues → prophecy → healings → miracles → gifts → prayer → holiness → expectation of God’s action.
But this inheritance must be held in every generation.
The apostolic church requires at once: Word + Spirit; prayer + worship; gifts + fruit; power + holiness; freedom + order; prophecy + testing; church discipline + the worth of the person; separation from the world + love for people.
It is not enough to open a truth. It must be kept.
Pentecostalism becomes truly apostolic not when it is rightly named, but when it continues to live what the apostles lived: “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” — and the Holy Spirit acted among them.
COMPARED WITH ACTS
How it differs from the apostolic church
01Tongues as a required sign
In Acts tongues accompany the outpouring of the Spirit in Jerusalem, at Cornelius' house and in Ephesus, but not in the accounts of Samaria or Saul. Paul asks, ‘Do all speak in tongues?’ — expecting ‘no’. The initial-evidence doctrine turns a frequent case into a rule.
Acts 2:4 · 8:17 · 9:17 · 10:46 · 19:6 · 1 Corinthians 12:30A stage instead of a gathering
In many churches the service is built around a stage, a pastor and a worship band. In Acts believers meet from house to house, and the gifts work through everyone, not only through those leading.
Acts 2:46 · 1 Corinthians 14:26The prosperity teaching
In parts of the movement faith is tied to wealth and success. The apostolic church shares its possessions, and Peter tells the lame man: ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.’
Acts 2:44–45 · 3:6 · 4:32–35