Faced with the present situation of the churches in China, some people worry that the churches now, compared with previous years, are going downhill. Also, it is said that there are always ups and downs in history, and at this juncture, the churches in China find themselves traversing a valley, which will inevitably go up to experience a revival.
Whether going downhill or rebounding at the bottom in the future, as Christians today, one of the most important things for us is to reflect on our times. In order to explore the way out for the churches in China, many pastors across the nation agree that current churches need to return to the status of the Apostolic Age.
Pastor Quan (pseudonym), who has been serving in northern China for many years, maintains that the churches in the apostolic era had many characteristics, the first of which was that the era attached great importance to the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Quan was raised up in the revival of a Northeast church in the early 1990s. The young pastor experienced the work of the Holy Spirit. In the early 1990s, he saw how thriving the congregations were when they were baptized and witnessed many churches beginning to pray at four or five o’clock in the morning. Frequently, he would hear the joyful or tearful testimonials of believers regarding the grace bestowed upon them and the power of the Lord after the services. He asserted that the spiritual reivval that the churches in China underwent from the late 1960s to the early 1990s could be attributed solely to the agency of the Holy Spirit.
In a relatively short span of time, he also bore witness to the gradual stagnation of the churches in Northeast China during the late 1990s, followed by a decline in the year 2000. Furthermore, he engaged in dialogues with pastors from various regions and discerned that, after 2000, churches in different regions experienced a similar descent, not limited to the Northeastern sector.
Not long after, he also witnessed the slow growth of the churches in Northeast China in the late 1990s and the downward trend in 2000. He also had communications with pastors in other regions and found that after 2000, churches in many regions had a downward trend, not only in the Northeast.
Pastor Quan said that the Holy Spirit steers the course of the church through distinct phases. On the one hand, we should admit that God’s thoughts are higher than ours, and the work of the Holy Spirit has its own due time and methods. On the other hand, the revival of the churches in China on the whole is indeed declining compared with that of decades ago. The churches should admit that, at least from the outside, the work of the Holy Spirit is not so strong, so they need to reflect on why they fail to hold on to the work of the Holy Spirit from their own perspective.
The reason is that the churches in China have a problem attaching importance to the Holy Spirit. He gave four reasons as follows.
Immaturity of the churches
Pastor Quan said that from the 1970s to the 1990s, the revival spread from Wenzhou to Henan and Anhui, and then to all parts of the country. At that time, there was indeed a group of servants who were particularly chosen by the Lord. They longed for words and eagerly prayed, and with signs and wonders, they tried their best to preach the gospel, leading many to believe in the Lord.
Pastor Quan reflected on this history and found a problem: after experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, many believers did not know how to pursue the promotion of spiritual life, but instead pursued more spiritual gifts. During the Apostolic period, when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, which might be confusing to others because people described them as “drunk with new wine”. However, the apostles were powerful when they were facing the rulers and in preaching, and the Holy Spirit made people holy and understand the truth, leading people to break through the temptation of lust and the suppression and bondage of various sins.
The disturbance of evil spirits
Secondly, Pastor Quan saw the disturbance of evil spirits. He said that the stronger the work of the Holy Spirit is, the more unwilling the evil spirits are.
Pastor Quan explained that before 2000, the gospel began to revive mainly in rural areas. At that time, people’s knowledge was limited, and there were fewer learning resources for theology books. Due to the lack of pastoral ministry, many believers would have deviations in their understanding of the truth, which also led to the distortion of the gospel when it was spread. Originally, it should have been witnessing the salvation of Jesus, but it gradually became a subjective personal experience and testimony.
Because the truth is vague, evil spirits will take the opportunity to deceive some people. Pastor Quan himself knows a sister who is opposed to the pursuit of the Holy Spirit. As a new preacher in the 1980s, she was once a minor celebrity in the Christian community. The reason she opposed the pursuit of the Holy Spirit was exactly because she wanted to be filled up by the Holy Spirit. However, due to a lack of correct teaching, she was unfortunately possessed by a demon for five years.
Because of the disturbance of evil spirits in the church, people dare not pursue the Holy Spirit. Pastor Quan emphasized that this is the enemy's plan: if you do not know the truth, opening to the Holy Spirit will come with certain risks.
The confusion of people’s will
When the Holy Spirit comes, some people get the anointing of the Holy Spirit: the gifts of faith, medical treatment, prophecies, or tongues. However, the Holy Spirit gives these gifts to people in accordance with His own will. If people do not stay in God’s presence for a long time, it is easy for them to do things according to men’s will.
By human standards, the Holy Spirit refers to someone chatting slogans or dancing at a service. As a pastor who has experienced the fullness of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Quan felt very sad when he saw these phenomena. “There is no problem with chanting slogans and dancing, but do not say that it is a sign of being filled by the Holy Spirit. In my opinion, it is noise! Over the years, the Charismatic churches have been too chaotic! Some people say that the Holy Spirit is like a pyramid with men and women lying on top of each other. I do not think it is good. The Holy Spirit is not confusing but gentle and obedient. The spirit of the prophet is obedient to the prophet.”
Some Charismatic churches recognize "fall-down" as a sign of being in touch with the Holy Spirit. A friend of Pastor Quan experienced it personally, but at first he was skeptical about throwing himself down. The local church invited a pastor. It is said that when people put their hands on each other in prayer, the other party would fall down. His friend stood quietly and relaxed while being prayed for, wondering how he might be pressed. However, when the pastor prayed for him, he did realize that he had the ability. When he laid his hand on him for the first time, he stepped back but continued to stand. When the pastor pressed his hand again, he really felt an irresistible force and fell down with a bang. After falling, the whole person surrendered to God.
Pastor Quan himself was invited to a “fall-down” service but never fell down. However, the speaker explained that was because some pastors were so proud that they could not surrender, however hard they were pressed. Ironically, someone else fell down because of the speaker’s bad breath.
He said, “This is a service that is confusing and gives people a handle for slander. Excessive men will just hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not work, so we just wait. When the Holy Spirit comes by himself, it is pure, which can bring about renewal and change in life.”
The wrong teaching
Pastor Quan also observed wrong teachings. After 2000, many theological classes sprang up in China, some of which were more pertinent and objective and were also helpful to the life growth of believers and workers. However, the time when some mainstream theologians advocated teaching the Holy Spirit’s anointing has passed. They advocate perfect management mode and meticulous logical thinking ability, preach more rationally, and attract the knowledgeable generation with theory, so that many elderly people and people with lower educational levels cannot understand their sermons.
Pastor Quan said that theology is indeed important, but as a subject, it cannot replace the truth. Moreover, many theological theories are also mixed with men’s will, especially in the new theology. Influenced by postmodernism, it advocates that everything is relative, even the absoluteness of the Bible, and that wrong teaching slowly extends in the church.
All those who pay attention to the Bible's truth are the servants of the revival church that the real God raised. After China's "Wesley" John Sung was awarded a doctorate in the United States, he entered a seminary where knowledge replaced faith, and he was very confused. However, after an exhilarating meeting, he began to repent of his life, so he got a “spiritual baptism”. The joy of forgiving sins made him praise God unceasingly. Sometimes shedding tears, sometimes laughing, and thanking God with words and deeds that were misunderstood, he was mistakenly sent to a mental hospital for 193 days, but he learned the way of the cross in obedience in the hospital. In half a year, he read all of the Bible forty times and deeply understood the truth of the holy book revealed by God.
The theological seminary at that time regarded his being filled with the Holy Spirit as a psychopath, and the churches in China have had the same trend since 2000, he added. Pastor Quan believed that theological education should serve the biblical truth. However, due to the immaturity of the churches in China, some theories have deviations, which eventually lead theology to be mixed with human Neo-Confucianism.
Pastor Quan reminded us to be cautious. “I’m afraid someone will take you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
面对中国教会的现状，有人担忧说相比前些年，中国教会在走下坡路；也有人说历史总是有高山有低谷，中国教会正在经历一个低谷，接下来必然会迎接复兴。
下坡也好，将来会谷底反弹也好，作为当下的基督徒，我们最重要的之一仍旧是需要反思我们的时代。为了探索中国教会的出路，各地不少牧者都一致认为：今日教会需要回归到使徒时代的教会。
一位牧养北方教会多年的权牧师（化名）认为，使徒时代的教会有许多特质，其中第一点是使徒时代非常重视圣灵的洗。
权牧师是上世纪90年代初在东北教会的复兴中被兴起来的青年牧者，本人经历过圣灵的工作。90年代初期，他多次看到批量信徒受洗的兴旺场景，也见证了很多教会在早晨四五点钟开始祷告，他还常常听到信徒在聚会后或欢喜或流泪见证主的恩典和大能……他认为，中国教会从上世纪60年代末到90年代初期所经历的属灵复兴全然是圣灵的工作。
不久之后，他也目睹了东北教会在上世纪90年代末增长变得缓慢、进入2000年之后则已经呈下滑的趋势。他也与其他地区的牧者有过交流，发现2000年之后不仅仅东北，很多地区的教会都有下滑的趋势。
权牧师表示，在不同阶段圣灵对教会的带领方式不同，一方面要承认上帝的意念高过我们的意念，圣灵的工作有自己的时候和方式、方法。但另一方面，从整体看，当下中国教会的复兴度和几十年前比确实是下滑了。教会要承认，至少从外表上看圣灵的工作没那么强了，因此教会也需要从自身角度反思为什么没能持守住圣灵的工作。
权牧师分析其原因是中国教会在重视圣灵这个方面出了问题，认为有四点原因。
教会的不成熟
权牧师表示，上个世纪70年代到90年代，中国教会复兴的火焰从温州到河南和安徽，再到全国各地。当时的确有一批被主兴起特别有恩膏的仆人，他们渴慕话语，追求祷告，也用尽自己的全力来传福音，带领了许多人信主，并且伴有神迹奇事。
权牧师反思这段历史发现一个问题，那就是很多信徒在经历圣灵的能力之后，不懂得追求属灵生命的晋升，反而沉浸在“新酒灌醉”了的状态中以及追求更多的属灵恩赐上。使徒时期五旬节圣灵降临，门徒被圣灵充满，虽然在别人看来可能也是混乱的，因为人们用“新酒灌醉了”来形容他们。但使徒们在面对官长以及传道的时候是大有能力的，而且圣灵是使人成为圣洁的和明白真理的，带领人突破情欲的试探和各样罪的压制和捆绑的。
邪灵的搅扰
其次，权牧师看到有邪灵的搅扰，他说，圣灵的工作越强，邪灵也越不甘心。
权牧师解释说，2000年之前，福音主要是在农村开始复兴，而当时人们的知识水平有限，圣经的学习资源很少，在牧养跟不上的情况下，很多信徒在真理的理解上会有一些偏差，这也导致福音在传播的时候就会出现被扭曲的现象——本来是见证耶稣的救恩，慢慢变成传播个人的主观经历和见证了。
因为在真理上模糊，邪灵就会趁机蒙蔽一些人。权牧师自己认识一个非常反对追求圣灵充满的姐妹。这个姐妹是1980年代的传道人，曾经也是小有名气，反对追求圣灵的原因恰恰是曾经追求圣灵充满，但因为没有正确的教导而意外被鬼附了五年。
因为邪灵在教会里的扰乱，人们不敢追求圣灵了。权牧师指出这是仇敌的计谋：若不认识真理，向圣灵敞开也就伴随着一定的危险。
人意的混乱
当圣灵降临，有些人得到圣灵的恩膏：信心、医病、先知或者方言的恩赐…… 但是这些恩赐都是圣灵随己意分给个人的，如果人不长久地持守在上帝的同在中，就容易用人意做事。
人意制造圣灵指的是有人在聚会中喊口号或者跳舞等方式。作为一个经历过圣灵充满的牧者来说，看到这些现象，权牧师感到很悲痛，“聚会喊口号没有问题，跳舞也没有问题，但不要说成是圣灵充满。在我看来，这是人意的嘈杂！这些年来，灵恩教会太混乱了！有人说圣灵充满像叠罗汉，无论男女倒在一起，我觉得这不好。圣灵不是混乱的，圣灵是温柔的、顺服的。先知的灵是顺服先知的。”
“扑倒”是一些灵恩教会证明被圣灵触摸的现象。权牧师的一位朋友亲身经历过，他开始却对扑倒持怀疑态度。一次聚会中，当地教会请来一位牧师，据说为人按手祷告，对方就会扑倒。这个朋友在被祷告的时候悄悄站成丁字步，心想怎么按到我。但牧师为他祷告的时候，他的确体会到有一种能力，第一次按手，他退后了几步，继续站住。当牧师再一次按手的时候，他确实感到有一股无法抵抗的力量，“砰的”一下就倒了。倒下之后，整个人就降服在上帝的面前了。
而权牧师本人也邀请去参加一次“扑倒”的聚会，却始终没被按倒。讲员却说：有些牧师特别骄傲，怎么按都不倒。可笑的是，另外有人倒下去是因为讲员的口臭。
他说，“这是掺杂人意的事奉，给人带来毁谤的把柄。事奉中太多的人意恰恰拦阻了圣灵的工作。圣灵不工作，我们就只管等待。等到圣灵自己降临，那是纯洁的，是没有掺杂的，这才能带来生命的更新和改变。”
错误的教导
权牧师在服事当中还感受到一个明显的现象，2000年之后，中国兴起很多神学班，有一些神学教的是比较中肯和客观的，所教导的对信徒和工人的生命成长也有帮助，但是有些主流神学主张教导圣灵恩膏的时代已经过去了。他们主张完善的管理模式和缜密的逻辑思维能力，讲道更加理性，用理论吸引有知识的一代，以至于很多老年人和文化水平低一点的人听不懂他们的讲道。
权牧师表示，神学的确重要，但还是作为一门学问，不能取代真理，而且很多神学也夹杂着人意，尤其是新神学，受后现代主义的影响，主张凡事都是相对的，连圣经的绝对性也是相对的，错误的教导慢慢在教会中延伸。
而真正上帝所兴起的复兴教会的仆人都是注重圣经真理的人。宋尚节在美国荣膺博士之后，曾进入知识代替信仰的神学院，内心十分迷茫。但在一次奋兴会后，他开始悔罪人生，因此他得到了“灵洗”，赦罪的喜乐使他长歌不已，他时而流泪，时而欢笑感谢上帝，加上一些令人误解的言行，致被误送入疯人院一百九十三天，但他却在疯人院学习十字架顺服之路，在半年的时间中，他把全部圣经读了四十遍，深刻领会上帝所启示的圣书真理。
宋尚节当时在读的神学院把宋尚节被圣灵充满当做神经病，2000年以后的中国教会也有这样的趋势。权牧师认为神学教育应该服务于圣经真理，但由于中国教会本身的不成熟，一些神学本身存在着一定偏差，最终导致很多神学掺杂了人的理学。
权牧师提醒我们要谨慎，“恐怕有人用他的理学和虚空的妄言，不照着基督，乃照人间的遗传和世上的小学就把你们掳去。”
回到使徒时代的健康教会 | 为何当下中国教会轻视圣灵的工作？一北方牧师从四点剖析
Faced with the present situation of the churches in China, some people worry that the churches now, compared with previous years, are going downhill. Also, it is said that there are always ups and downs in history, and at this juncture, the churches in China find themselves traversing a valley, which will inevitably go up to experience a revival.
Whether going downhill or rebounding at the bottom in the future, as Christians today, one of the most important things for us is to reflect on our times. In order to explore the way out for the churches in China, many pastors across the nation agree that current churches need to return to the status of the Apostolic Age.
Pastor Quan (pseudonym), who has been serving in northern China for many years, maintains that the churches in the apostolic era had many characteristics, the first of which was that the era attached great importance to the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Quan was raised up in the revival of a Northeast church in the early 1990s. The young pastor experienced the work of the Holy Spirit. In the early 1990s, he saw how thriving the congregations were when they were baptized and witnessed many churches beginning to pray at four or five o’clock in the morning. Frequently, he would hear the joyful or tearful testimonials of believers regarding the grace bestowed upon them and the power of the Lord after the services. He asserted that the spiritual reivval that the churches in China underwent from the late 1960s to the early 1990s could be attributed solely to the agency of the Holy Spirit.
In a relatively short span of time, he also bore witness to the gradual stagnation of the churches in Northeast China during the late 1990s, followed by a decline in the year 2000. Furthermore, he engaged in dialogues with pastors from various regions and discerned that, after 2000, churches in different regions experienced a similar descent, not limited to the Northeastern sector.
Not long after, he also witnessed the slow growth of the churches in Northeast China in the late 1990s and the downward trend in 2000. He also had communications with pastors in other regions and found that after 2000, churches in many regions had a downward trend, not only in the Northeast.
Pastor Quan said that the Holy Spirit steers the course of the church through distinct phases. On the one hand, we should admit that God’s thoughts are higher than ours, and the work of the Holy Spirit has its own due time and methods. On the other hand, the revival of the churches in China on the whole is indeed declining compared with that of decades ago. The churches should admit that, at least from the outside, the work of the Holy Spirit is not so strong, so they need to reflect on why they fail to hold on to the work of the Holy Spirit from their own perspective.
The reason is that the churches in China have a problem attaching importance to the Holy Spirit. He gave four reasons as follows.
Immaturity of the churches
Pastor Quan said that from the 1970s to the 1990s, the revival spread from Wenzhou to Henan and Anhui, and then to all parts of the country. At that time, there was indeed a group of servants who were particularly chosen by the Lord. They longed for words and eagerly prayed, and with signs and wonders, they tried their best to preach the gospel, leading many to believe in the Lord.
Pastor Quan reflected on this history and found a problem: after experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, many believers did not know how to pursue the promotion of spiritual life, but instead pursued more spiritual gifts. During the Apostolic period, when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, which might be confusing to others because people described them as “drunk with new wine”. However, the apostles were powerful when they were facing the rulers and in preaching, and the Holy Spirit made people holy and understand the truth, leading people to break through the temptation of lust and the suppression and bondage of various sins.
The disturbance of evil spirits
Secondly, Pastor Quan saw the disturbance of evil spirits. He said that the stronger the work of the Holy Spirit is, the more unwilling the evil spirits are.
Pastor Quan explained that before 2000, the gospel began to revive mainly in rural areas. At that time, people’s knowledge was limited, and there were fewer learning resources for theology books. Due to the lack of pastoral ministry, many believers would have deviations in their understanding of the truth, which also led to the distortion of the gospel when it was spread. Originally, it should have been witnessing the salvation of Jesus, but it gradually became a subjective personal experience and testimony.
Because the truth is vague, evil spirits will take the opportunity to deceive some people. Pastor Quan himself knows a sister who is opposed to the pursuit of the Holy Spirit. As a new preacher in the 1980s, she was once a minor celebrity in the Christian community. The reason she opposed the pursuit of the Holy Spirit was exactly because she wanted to be filled up by the Holy Spirit. However, due to a lack of correct teaching, she was unfortunately possessed by a demon for five years.
Because of the disturbance of evil spirits in the church, people dare not pursue the Holy Spirit. Pastor Quan emphasized that this is the enemy's plan: if you do not know the truth, opening to the Holy Spirit will come with certain risks.
The confusion of people’s will
When the Holy Spirit comes, some people get the anointing of the Holy Spirit: the gifts of faith, medical treatment, prophecies, or tongues. However, the Holy Spirit gives these gifts to people in accordance with His own will. If people do not stay in God’s presence for a long time, it is easy for them to do things according to men’s will.
By human standards, the Holy Spirit refers to someone chatting slogans or dancing at a service. As a pastor who has experienced the fullness of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Quan felt very sad when he saw these phenomena. “There is no problem with chanting slogans and dancing, but do not say that it is a sign of being filled by the Holy Spirit. In my opinion, it is noise! Over the years, the Charismatic churches have been too chaotic! Some people say that the Holy Spirit is like a pyramid with men and women lying on top of each other. I do not think it is good. The Holy Spirit is not confusing but gentle and obedient. The spirit of the prophet is obedient to the prophet.”
Some Charismatic churches recognize "fall-down" as a sign of being in touch with the Holy Spirit. A friend of Pastor Quan experienced it personally, but at first he was skeptical about throwing himself down. The local church invited a pastor. It is said that when people put their hands on each other in prayer, the other party would fall down. His friend stood quietly and relaxed while being prayed for, wondering how he might be pressed. However, when the pastor prayed for him, he did realize that he had the ability. When he laid his hand on him for the first time, he stepped back but continued to stand. When the pastor pressed his hand again, he really felt an irresistible force and fell down with a bang. After falling, the whole person surrendered to God.
Pastor Quan himself was invited to a “fall-down” service but never fell down. However, the speaker explained that was because some pastors were so proud that they could not surrender, however hard they were pressed. Ironically, someone else fell down because of the speaker’s bad breath.
He said, “This is a service that is confusing and gives people a handle for slander. Excessive men will just hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not work, so we just wait. When the Holy Spirit comes by himself, it is pure, which can bring about renewal and change in life.”
The wrong teaching
Pastor Quan also observed wrong teachings. After 2000, many theological classes sprang up in China, some of which were more pertinent and objective and were also helpful to the life growth of believers and workers. However, the time when some mainstream theologians advocated teaching the Holy Spirit’s anointing has passed. They advocate perfect management mode and meticulous logical thinking ability, preach more rationally, and attract the knowledgeable generation with theory, so that many elderly people and people with lower educational levels cannot understand their sermons.
Pastor Quan said that theology is indeed important, but as a subject, it cannot replace the truth. Moreover, many theological theories are also mixed with men’s will, especially in the new theology. Influenced by postmodernism, it advocates that everything is relative, even the absoluteness of the Bible, and that wrong teaching slowly extends in the church.
All those who pay attention to the Bible's truth are the servants of the revival church that the real God raised. After China's "Wesley" John Sung was awarded a doctorate in the United States, he entered a seminary where knowledge replaced faith, and he was very confused. However, after an exhilarating meeting, he began to repent of his life, so he got a “spiritual baptism”. The joy of forgiving sins made him praise God unceasingly. Sometimes shedding tears, sometimes laughing, and thanking God with words and deeds that were misunderstood, he was mistakenly sent to a mental hospital for 193 days, but he learned the way of the cross in obedience in the hospital. In half a year, he read all of the Bible forty times and deeply understood the truth of the holy book revealed by God.
The theological seminary at that time regarded his being filled with the Holy Spirit as a psychopath, and the churches in China have had the same trend since 2000, he added. Pastor Quan believed that theological education should serve the biblical truth. However, due to the immaturity of the churches in China, some theories have deviations, which eventually lead theology to be mixed with human Neo-Confucianism.
Pastor Quan reminded us to be cautious. “I’m afraid someone will take you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Pastor Shares Four Reasons Why Chinese Churches Tend to Despise Work of the Holy Spirit
