In the Evangelical Presbyterian Church's doctrinal statement of faith called 'The Essentials of the Faith," we read, "The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth and seals us for the day of redemption."
Our beliefs about the Holy Spirit, drawn from Scripture, are summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith, where the following description of the nature of the Holy Spirit is found; "the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, proceeding from the Father and the Son, of the same substance and equal in power and glory, is together with the Father and the Son, to be believed in, loved, obeyed, and worshiped throughout all ages (Chapter 34, "Of the Holy Spirit").
We understand the Holy Spirit to be fully God. His primary function in this age is to glorify Christ by reconciling lost humanity to God. "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father is ever willing to give to all who ask Him, is the only efficient agent in the application of redemption. He regenerates men by His grace, convicts them of sin, moves them to embrace Jesus Christ by faith (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 34:3).
In our redemption the Holy Spirit accomplishes several things. He convicts us of sin and brings repentance. He enables us to believe, confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. He seals the believer unto the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit functions within the life of the believer, unfolding and expressing the life of Christ in ever deepening, life-changing ways. This is the process of sanctification by which the believer is enabled to grow in grace throughout his lifetime. Sanctification is never complete short of Glorification.
Since Christians are called to "…be filled with the Spirit…" (Ephesians 5:18), all believers in Christ, having been baptized into His body by the Holy Spirit, should seek to experience the fulfillment of this command. We believe that Christians are called upon to proclaim "a grace that reaches out to forgive, to redeem, and to give new spiritual power to life through Jesus Christ and the infilling of the Holy Spirit." (Book of Worship, 1-3)
ECC affirms the gifts of God's Spirit as biblically valid. We also recognize that there are members who do not believe that all of the gifts are still operable today. Both views are embraced within our body. ECC counsels that the gifts be exercised under the guidance of God's Word and the authority of the elders. Since the Holy Spirit is the source of Christian unity, we must ever guard against any use of the gifts which would lead to division within the Church. We also affirm the priority of the fruit of the Spirit over the gifts in the Christian life.
ECC encourages every member to be devoted in the exercise of the spiritual (supernatural) gift(s) bestowed upon him or her by the Holy Spirit. God's grace is proven to be superabundant when His grace gifts to His children are in turn offered by them to fellow believers and the world. God is glorified and His people edified when the use of the gifts is governed by these guidelines given in Scripture: unity within the Body of Christ (John 17), love (I Corinthians 13), and mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21).
We do not find a distinction between "charismatic" and "non-charismatic" churches in the New Testament, and we prefer that neither label be applied to our fellowship. It is our expectation that ECC will consist of people whose experiences in the faith are diverse, and that this presents a tremendous opportunity to learn from one another. Here our attitude and behavior must be in keeping with I Peter 3:8, "…Have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart, and a humble mind."
In desiring to be open to God's work among us and being guided by Scripture, our practice is as follows regarding those gifts about which questions must often arise.
HEALING: We believe the healing ministry of the church is valid for today, and we stand as witnesses in God's gracious healing in our midst. In keeping with the teaching of James 5:14-16, every Communion Sunday we provide the opportunity for members to be anointed and prayed for by elders for healing. We encourage this practice by the body whenever the need is present, whether in public worship, small groups, or personal ministry.
TONGUES: We respect a variety of views concerning the existence and practice of tongues in personal, private, and family worship. Although the Apostle Paul allowed the practice of tongues in public worship (I Corinthians 14:2,4,14-16, 28), as well as avoiding confusion for unbelievers and the uninformed who might be attending worship. "If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God" (I Corinthians 14:28). Therefore, holding to Paul's plea on edifying the whole church, we encourage abstaining from but do not prohibit the use of tongues in any public meetings intended for the congregation and guests of ECC. In the public teaching ministry of ECC, the private devotional use of tongues will be neither promoted nor discouraged.
PROPHECY: In the New Testament, this gift functioned as a word of encouragement dification, exhortation, or direction for believers that was divinely given (occasionally through the foretelling of events). A message assumed to be prophetic by the speaker bears no independent authority but must be discerned by God's people as being consistent with the teaching of Scripture. During times set aside for personal testimony in corporate worship, meeting of ministry teams and small groups, it will be common for people to share what God is teaching them as He illumines the Scripture and quickens their hearts.
If a member believes he or she has a message from God that goes beyond illumination and involves "revelation" (i.e., a specific word from God for ECC at that particular time), it should be addressed to the appropriate persons (an individual, ministry team, elders, or the whole church). It must be recognized that the "revelatory" message is a very serious matter for God, the speaker and the hearers. In all cases, the message should be tested by those with discernment and, where it speaks to the life of the larger fellowship, reviewed by the elders. For the speaker and the body, the measure of authenticity will be truthfulness as determined by subordination to biblical truth, spiritual discernment and clear confirmation by the Elder Board.
It is our belief that God desires to minister by His Spirit to bring vision, empowered ministry, and specific direction to His church through His chosen instruments.
As a foundational principle of ECC, the truth of Scripture is to be honored, obeyed, and protected. "Deeper meaning" assigned to passages that was not intended by the author is to be rejected. "Words from the Lord" are to be tested as subordinate to God's infallible revelation in the Scriptures (II Timothy 3:16-4:2).
And may our response to His presence in our midst be pleasing to Him.
Endnote: Portions extract from the "Position Paper On The Holy Spirit" from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
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