All with One Accord (Donald Gee) - Deal Pentecostal Church

finest intellects of the Church sought to give expression to
her belief, one cannot but be conscious of the change of
atmosphere from the language of the New Testament. It is to
be admitted that the Pauline epistles present the doctrine of
the Spirit in a variety of aspects that do not make for
simplicity of formulation. But there can be no manner of
doubt concerning the reality of the experience of the Spirit in
the daily lives of the believers. The epistles take this for
granted. It is made the basis of appeals for sanctification; His
work in regeneration is regarded as fundamental, His
government in the affairs of the churches is referred to with
unquestioning submission, and His manifested presence in
their meetings by means of spiritual gifts was an accepted
feature. All in all the Church received a satisfying sense that
her Lord had truly fulfilled His promise to send "another
Comforter." He had come, and His Presence was
indisputable.
"I believe in the Holy Spirit." How far has the Church drifted
from the enjoyment of the fact while retaining the article in
her creed? I am reminded of an eloquent passage in R. W.
Dale's classic theological work on The Atonement in which,
admittedly referring to quite another province of faith - the
relation of the Eternal Word to the created universe - he says:
"It belongs to the theologians, and not to the commonalty of
the Church. The great words of St. Paul (Colossians 1:16, 17)
give us a glimpse of vast and fruitful provinces of truth
almost unknown to us. They have been traversed from time
to time by the solitary path of adventurous speculation, but
the Church has never made her home there; the golden
harvests are unreaped; not even a wandering sect has pitched
its tents and fed its flocks on those rich and boundless plains.
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