I wrote before on Jonathan Edwards, work on Religious Affections. I observed how Edwards, the preacher at the heart of the Great Awakening in America, gives a very astute account of the difference between truly spiritual emotions (to use our modern parlance), and those associated with merely human passions, often associated with false conversions, and occasionally even with the demonic. Careful reading of his arguments dismisses much of what passes for direct experience of God in the Charismatic movement now. My own piece ended with a sobering assessment of just how high a proportion of Edwards’ own experience of “surprising conversions” was revival as a psycho-social phenomenon rather than a truly spiritual one.
But as a pastor, Edwards’ main purpose is to show the true nature of genuine “religious affection,” and in essence his test is the spiritual fruit of any particular experience. One of his main criteria is love for God’s word as the God-breathed mind of God, and therefore as the primary source from which the Spirit communicates with us. Word and Spirit are so closely intertwined that they should not be separated, and so true experiences of God come as we are immersed in the word (in the many ways that can happen), that is as we meet God’s own mind in the Spirit.
A second test is godly behaviour. Works do not save us, but nevertheless they act as a marker, to us as well as to others, of the grace of God acting in our lives, which, of course, is the main teaching of the letter of James. This is because God is less interested in our “encountering” him, even if that means apparently hearing his immediate instructions for a situation, than he is in moulding us increasingly into his image, so that we possess his wisdom and knowledge and have it to hand for any need. The parable of teaching a man to fish rather than simply giving him a fish comes to mind.
A little thought will tell you that the great apostle or prophet who sleeps with his worship leaders, drinks to excess, is abusive to his staff, or mismanages offerings is vanishingly unlikely to be a Christian, let alone an apostle or prophet. True experience of Christ makes us increasingly like him.
Towards the end of the book, and I suppose as its climax, Edwards gives a practical test of our experience of God, which struck me so forcibly that I include it at length:
There is a sort of external religious practice, wherein is no inward experience, which no account is made of in the sight of God, but it is esteemed good for nothing. And there is what is called experience, that is without practice, being neither accompanied nor followed with a Christian behavior; and this is worse than nothing. Many persons seem to have very wrong notions of Christian experience and spiritual light and discoveries. Whenever a person finds within him a heart to treat God as God, at the time that he has the trial, and finds his disposition effectual in the experiment, that is the most proper, and most distinguishing experience. And to have, at such a time, that sense of divine things, that apprehension of the truth, importance and excellency of the things of religion, which then sways and prevails, and governs his heart and hands; this is the most excellent spiritual light, and these are the most distinguishing discoveries. Religion consists much in holy affection; but those exercises of affection which are most distinguishing of true religion, are these practical exercises. Friendship between earthly friends consists much in affection; but yet, those strong exercises of affection, that actually carry them through fire and water for each other, are the highest evidences of true friendship…
The witness or seal of the Spirit that we read of, doubtless consists in the effect of the Spirit of God on the heart, in the implantation and exercises of grace there, and so consists in experience. And it is also beyond doubt, that this seal of the Spirit, is the highest kind of evidence of the saints’ adoption, that ever they obtain. But in these exercises of grace in practice, that have been spoken of, God gives witness, and sets to his seal, in the most conspicuous, eminent, and evident manner. It has been abundantly found to be true in fact, by the experience of the Christian church, that Christ commonly gives, by his Spirit, the greatest and most joyful evidences to his saints of their sonship, in those effectual exercises of grace under trials, which have been spoken of; as is manifest in the full assurance, and unspeakable joys of many of the martyrs. Agreeable to that, 1 Pet. 4:14, “If ye are reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory, and of God resteth upon you.” And that in Rom. 5:2, 3, “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and glory in tribulations.” And agreeable to what the Apostle Paul often declares of what he experienced in his trials.
I heard a good example of the truth of this after saving this quotation. A new Christian told me that she had never in her life apologised to anyone for anything she had said, until recently, when saying something she realised was thoughtless, she found herself apologising for it (much to the surprise of her friend!). This almost unconscious change in a lifetime character trait surprised her too, and gave her a strong sense of joy that the Spirit is indeed working in her life. She is quite right to draw that conclusion, in the eyes of Jonathan Edwards.
This placing of the greatest experience of God’s grace into the trials of everyday life, rather than in the experience of the “worship service,” is of a piece with Paul’s teaching that daily life is where our sacrifice and temple worship/service are centred, through the renewing of our minds, whereas when we meet it is primarily to build each other up, not to encounter God.
Part of the attraction of the Charismatic Movement is that it purports to take religion out of the dry and impersonal and into a direct experience of God. That, after all, is why an Episcopalian Dennis Bennett sought Baptism of the Spirit and tongues from the Full Gospel Businessmen, why a George Harrisn abandoned childhood Catholicism for Transcendental Meditation, and why Bethel’s wonders remain so attractive to mainstream Evangelicals.
But Jonathan Edwards (like Jim Packer after him in the classic *Knowing God*) would explain that partly as a failure of the churches to teach fully the path to true spiritual joys, and partly as Satan’s ability to appeal to our spiritual laziness in seeking quick fixes rather than painstaking transformation. In a way it’s the difference between building a solid marriage and seeking the thrill of one night stands, as Proverbs ch5 taught long ago.
