Divorce is never a good thing in God’s eyes. But this silent split in the church, between Word-focused believers and Spirit-focused believers, R.T. Kendall says, has been especially detrimental to the body of Christ.
A teacher, theologian and author, Kendall says when these camps begin to realize the two elements can’t be separated, it will lead to the next Great Awakening—the next great move of God.
“I long for the day when the Word and Spirit come together. It’s my view that the simultaneous combination will result in spontaneous combustion,” Kendall told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of “Greenelines” on the Charisma Podcast Network. “Then, the awakening the world needs will finally take place.
“On the Word side, the message is we will not see the honor of God’s name restored until we earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Know your Bible, know your doctrine. Rediscover what Martin Luther gave his life for—justification of faith and assurance of doctrine. Until we get back to biblical doctrine, the honor of God’s name will not be restored. And there is nothing wrong with that emphasis; it is exactly right.
“On the Spirit side, the honor of God’s name will not be restored until we get back to the book of Acts, where there were signs, wonders, miracles, gifts of the spirit in operation where they had a prayer meeting and the place was shaken. There’s nothing wrong with that emphasis. It’s exactly right.
“I’ve traveled the world, and wherever you go, it’s either one or the other. You can tell a Word church in 10 seconds. You can tell a Spirit church in 10 seconds. Neither will learn from the other. You can’t tell the Word people they don’t have the Holy Spirit. You can’t tell the Spirit people they need better theology. Neither get it. … Some say the Bible is enough. It isn’t. We need the Holy Spirit to apply the word. For the Spirit people, you need to know the Word of God. You need both, and my heart’s cry is to see these two things come together in a massive way.”
To hear more of R.T. Kendall’s heart, listen to this podcast. {eoa}
