What Does It Mean to Be “Slain in the Spirit”?

What does it mean to be slain in the Spirit? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Hi, it's Bill Meyer with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

If you've got our voicemail system, feel free to leave your name and your question there, and of course you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. I want to wish you a happy Memorial Day as we honor those who fought and died for our country, and we also want to just express our salute to all the active military and all the veterans who are listening today and let you know how much we appreciate you. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for your service, and Bill, I know that your grandfather served for some time.

Is that right? He was. He was a commander in the U.S. Navy, and he fought in both World War I and World War II, if you can believe that, on both the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean in various ships, and just such a wonderful guy. I admired him and looked up to him, and after he retired from the Navy, we would sit around his kitchen table and he would show me pictures of the various ships, places he had served, and also tell me amazing stories, some of his war stories, which you just, you know, your eyes would bulge out of your head when you heard the stories, but I appreciated him so much and his service to our country. Yeah, well thank you again, and happy Memorial Day.

And don't forget that as you enjoy, you know, swimming or barbecues or picnics or whatever you're doing this weekend, if you know someone who is serving in the military or who has served in the past, please say thank you to them today. By the way, we have a great resource for those who are currently serving in the military. It's called Call to War, the Christian and the Military. It was actually written by a military chaplain.

It's something that you can find if you go to corechristianity.com. Just look for the resource, Call to War. Well, let's go to the phones. We have Tana on the line calling from Oklahoma. Hello? Hello, can you hear me? Hi. Hi. Hi. Yes, sir.

Yes, thanks for taking my call. My question is, a lot of people is telling me that if I don't forgive, God will not forgive me. If I die without unforgiveness in my heart, that's obviously a bad thing. But four years ago, my son was murdered, and I cannot forgive those who murdered my son. I'm trying. I don't want anyone to die and go to hell, but I'm trying, but that's just too tough for me right now. And then also, because of that, you would think that my husband and I, but because of that situation, we're separated, been separated because of that.

And so I'm just a little, it's kind of tough. The 21st of this month would be four years, but I don't know who did that to my son. And I'm trying, but I have not forgiven them. And my son is a saved, he was saved. He asked the Lord to come into his heart and save him, but I just haven't him, and I miss him so much.

Yeah. Well, my dear sister, I'm so sorry to hear about the pain and the loss that you've experienced. And the first thing I want to do is just pray for you and invite our listeners to pray and ask God for his mercy and for comfort for you and for his grace to fill your heart. Our Father in heaven, we lift our sister up to you right now. And God, with the pain that she feels, the pain that she bears, I ask Lord Jesus that you would come alongside of her. You, oh God, are the God of all comfort who comforts us in the midst of our distress, in the midst of the pain and the suffering that we go through. Would you comfort our sister, Lord God, by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Would you be with her? Would you fill her heart with your grace, enabling her, Lord, to love you? Lord, working in her heart, forgiveness, but also great hope, Lord, be with her, I pray, in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Well, sister, here's what I would want to say, you know, don't want to think of forgiveness as, you know, well, God is holding this against you. I mean, you've experienced this great loss, you've been sinned against in one of the worst ways that a person can be sinned against, and so, you know, the idea that other Christians would come alongside of you and say, well, you know, you really need to forgive, and almost hold that over you and against you as if, you know, you know, now you're under the judgment of God because you're failing when it comes to forgiving in this situation. I just want you to know, one, that God sympathizes with your weakness, and that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, right, he knows the suffering that you're going through, that you've experienced, he knows what it is to stand face to face with the murderous, and he also knows what it is to say, Father, forgive, and for you, right, I don't agree with the way in which they're sort of presenting forgiveness to you here. I do think that because we have been forgiven by the Lord Jesus so much, we are called and commanded to forgive others from the heart, but that's not, you know, just something that we, you know, it's just like, well, you know, okay, no big deal. No, you know, there's pain associated with this, great pain, and especially when we've been sinned against in this, in a way like this, it's not easy, and so I think there needs to be some sensitivity here to your situation, and I think the encouragement is that through the supernatural power of the gospel, as we offer ourselves up to the Lord, our feelings, our emotions, as we come before God as sinners ourselves, saying, Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner, that the grace of God is able to work in our hearts, enabling us to extend love and forgiveness to others, that doesn't mean that we minimize what they've done, that doesn't mean that we don't hope that, you know, justice is executed, that they are held accountable for what they've done. I think that that's right, and honoring to the Lord, but forgiving is something that we do as those who have been forgiven, and it's also one of the ways that we don't allow other people's sin and evil to control us and to cause us to become bitter and full of hatred, and so my hope, my prayer for you, sister, is that the Lord would fill you with his comfort, and I'm thankful, I'm grateful to hear that your son trusted in Jesus, and so you have the greatest hope of all, that through Jesus your son is in the presence of the Lord, perfected in holiness, and so we mourn, and I know that this is a process that's been years, but there's still going to be mourning and sorrow, but we don't have to mourn, you don't have to mourn as one who is hopeless because Jesus holds your son, he holds your son, and the same Jesus who saved you, who saved your son, may he fill you with his love and with his grace, granting you healing and enabling you even to extend grace, forgiveness, to those who have sinned against you, and again, that's not, I'm not saying that as a man, you should feel really bad, you need to, you know, there's something wrong with you, no, this is going to be hard, but God is able, and so may God be with you and so may God be with you and strengthen you and fill you with his grace, and we will be praying for you here at Core Christianity. Tana, thank you for your call, and again, we grieve with you over the loss of your son, and we will be praying for you here at the Core. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can leave us a voicemail anytime 24 hours a day at 833-THE-CORE, that's 1-833-843-2673.

You can also email us your question, here's our email address, it's questions at corechristianity.com. Let's go to Mae calling in from Texas. Mae, what's your question for Adriel? Hello? Hi, Mae. Hi.

Hey, what's your question? My question is, I was abused by my father, and I think my mother knew about it. How do you honor your father?

Mae, I'm, I can hear you, I'm here. Your question is, how do you honor your father, is that, is that what you said? How do you honor your parents when they abuse you? And the psalmist says, my, my mother and father may forsake me, but God will take me up, God will watch over me. And you have experienced something horrible, you know, honoring your parents, you know, it's something we're called to, it's the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother, but that doesn't at all mean that what's happened was okay, or that that doesn't affect your perception, your ability even to honor them.

We don't honor them for the evil things that they've done, and the ways in which they've enabled or allowed evil to happen. So if you think that honoring your mother and father means overlooking this, or just saying, oh, it's not, you know, I just need to respect them, and no, I mean, I think a part of it actually can and does include confrontation and honesty, and addressing the sin, not just the sin, but the crime. And so I'm so sorry, I mean, it's devastating what you've experienced, and I want you to know that there is hope, that your situation is not hopeless, there are resources out there, and I hope that you will consider getting a hold of some of these resources and the help, the care that you need. You need that care and comfort from people who are going to be able to come alongside of you and work with you through this trauma that you've experienced. One resource that I want to recommend to you may, and maybe, you know, we can give you more information if you stay on the line, but there's a book written by Justin Holcomb called Rid of My Death, and it's called Rid of My Disgrace, Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault. And this is such an important resource because, one, you're not alone in being a victim of assault, there are so many out there who have been hurt, have experienced this sin, this trauma, and so we need resources to speak to this question.

Justin's book is an excellent resource, again, it's called Rid of My Disgrace, Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault. But additionally, I just want to say what happened to you was horrible, it was wrong, it was not okay or pleasing in any way to God, and God is a just judge, and not just the act but enabling it, not addressing it. Those are all ways in which you've been sinned against, but again, what I want to say in addition to that is that there is hope in and through Jesus and through the gospel that God is big enough to deal with this, to address this. I think of the psalmist crying out to God in Psalm chapter 13, and I think maybe you can identify with the psalmist here, Psalm chapter 13, it's a psalm of David. How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God. Light up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say I have prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Trust in the Lord, sister, and entrust yourself to him, and I hope that you do get that help and support. And again, going back to your initial question, Mae, with regard to how do I honor my parents in this, it doesn't mean overlooking it, it doesn't mean brushing it under the rug. I think it involves actually addressing it and confronting the issue and calling to repentance. And we can forgive from the heart those who have sinned against us, but unless they're willing to own what they've done, there can't be any real reconciliation or relationship. And so, you know, they can't hold that over you.

And so, Bill, I don't know if you want to add something. I know thinking of victims of abuse and maybe, you know, in terms of just counseling and what are some helpful resources that are out there. I love that you mentioned Justin Holcomb's book. I think, Mae, that would be wonderful for you. Another thing, just moving forward in your life, there's a great book called Safe People by doctors Henry Cloud and John Townsend. It's just a real biblical look at the people that we surround ourselves with as you kind of move forward in life and you look for more, you know, positive relationships and healing in your own life.

I would highly recommend that book. It's very, very helpful. And Mae, we will continue to pray for you. Man, some difficult situations today, Adriel, on this Memorial Day.

And, you know, it's a day where a lot of people are out celebrating and having fun and picnics. Of course, we honor those, our war dead, but just some real painful, difficult situations. It just, it's an illustration of what a fallen world we live in.

Yeah. I mean, heartbreaking with the first two calls we received, both dealing with so much pain. And I know you listening right now, many of you have your own story and things that you're wrestling with and going through today, even now. And I would just want to say to you, like I said to those first two callers, there is hope in the gospel. We believe that God is sovereign. We believe that there isn't anything that escapes his power.

You know, not a sparrow falls to the ground, Jesus says, apart from the Father's will. And we also believe that he's just. And so we know that God is going to judge evil. We don't understand why God allows certain things to take place.

The loss of a loved one or being sinned against in a horrible, we don't fully have all of those answers. But what we do know is that God is bigger than the sin and evil in the world and has purposed to conquer it and has in fact conquered it through sending his Son into the world. And Jesus Christ knows what it is to suffer at the hands of sinful men, to be ridiculed, to be mocked, to be shamed and disgraced. And he's born our suffering, our sins, so that in him we might have hope. And all those who have experienced that kind of abuse, that kind of pain, have in Jesus an advocate, someone that they can go to, someone that you can go to, who knows your pain, who knows your suffering, and who suffered and died to put away all evil, to conquer it, and to forgive our sins.

And so, you know, Bill, you mentioned that book about safe people. Jesus is the safest one of all for those who are in need of grace. And longing for help, for mercy, for healing, you can go to Jesus. And that's, you know, what we want to point people to all the time on this broadcast. Amen.

So well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, our voicemail is open 24 hours a day. You can call us and leave your name. Tell us where you're calling from, and then leave your question there at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. I also want to mention a great free resource that we have available for you. And it's actually on a fascinating topic, and that is the different names of God in the Bible. Yeah, I mean, one of the ways we can be comforted by the Lord in the midst of whatever it is that we're going through is to understand who He is and how He's revealed Himself in His Word.

He is Emmanuel. The God who is with us is our Father, Abba. God cares about us. He's a good father. He's not an evil father, a wicked father.

He's a good father who gives good gifts to his children. And so this resource, you know, we want to help you understand who God is so that you might be encouraged in your relationship with the Lord. It's called Five Names of God You Should Know, and it's a free resource. Check it out at corechristianity.com forward slash resources, or offer, I'm sorry, forward slash offer. And you can find some other great resources on our website as well, including some core guides and core questions, which are free PDF downloads, and of course, our core Bible studies. So browse around at corechristianity.com. Well, let's go to a voicemail from one of our listeners.

This is Steve from Iowa. Got a question. What's this slain in the spirit Pentecostals talk about, being slain in the spirit? Bodies start shaking, they pass out and fall to the ground. They say, that's the Spirit of God in them. I'm just wondering, what do you think of that kind of stuff, slain in the Spirit? Is that the Spirit of God, or is that the Spirit of the devil?

Alrighty, thanks. So yeah, you see this in charismatic churches, this idea of being slain in the Spirit, where maybe a minister or pastor lays hands on an individual and they lose control, and they, you know, go stiff as a board, almost it seems like, in the videos that I've seen, and fall back, even have catchers, right? People who are there getting ready to catch, you know, whoever it is that's slain by the Holy Spirit.

And sometimes they're, you know, they go to the ground like they're sleeping, or they're convulsing on the floor. What do I think about all that? Well, I don't think that it's something that we see in the New Testament churches. You know, it's interesting, because Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 talks about all things being done decently and in order. He says, you know, speaking with regard or with reference to the gift of tongues, he says, if, you know, somebody walks in from the outside and everybody's speaking in tongues, and it just is like this, you know, this circus in the church service, and nobody understands what's going on, aren't they going to say these people are out of their minds? And Paul says, yeah, let's not be like that. We want to do things decently in order. We want to be intelligible.

We want the Word of God to be platformed so that outsiders, those who don't believe in Jesus, can hear the Word and be convicted of their sins and fall down on their face saying, truly, God is among you. And so I think that there's something disordered about this. Now, you said, is this the Spirit of God? Is this the Spirit of Satan?

You know, I don't want to speculate about any of that. I just want to say, I don't think that it's biblical. I don't think that it's in line with what churches ought to be doing. It also seems to me strange, you know, this idea that, you know, this individual, this pastor, has the power to, has the power to, you know, slay people in the Spirit, that sort of a thing, you know, it just, it doesn't seem to me like that's, again, biblical. And so I would be suspicious of this, you know, if this was happening at your church or, you know, you go to a conference and it's everybody out speaking in tongues and getting slain in the Spirit, I think that falls under the exhortation, the subject of the exhortation that Paul gave the Corinthians where he says, what's going on here?

You know, this is out of order. Is God really being glorified here? Is the focus really on the glory of God and growing in our understanding of who he is, or are we putting on this ecstatic show?

And so that's what I would say. I think we really need to get back to worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth, which, I mean, that's not to say we don't have these experiences where it's like, man, I have a sense of God's presence, his Spirit, I'm so full of joy, singing to the Lord, rejoicing, that's wonderful, that's great, that's good. That happens through a proper understanding of who God is in his Word, as the Word of Christ dwells in us richly. As Paul said to the Colossians, we're speaking together in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with our hearts, with joy to the Lord. You know, so the Word of Christ and the glory of Christ needs to be central, and that's what we need to focus on in the church today.

Wouldn't you say, Bill? So well said. I mean, we often talk about the ordinary Christian life and what that entails, and there are so many people in our culture right now that are looking for, as you said, this ecstatic emotional experience, and that's not the ordinary Christian life that I read about in the Bible.

Yeah. Then you get it, right? We want to have this sort of exciting supernatural experience with God 24-7, but that's not always how it is, and if that's what you're looking for, one of the dangers is that you'll feel really dissatisfied in the Christian life and maybe even feel like, oh, am I even really a Christian? I'm not walking on water and speaking in tongues and being slain in the Spirit or slaying people in the Spirit, but you don't have to feel like you're not a real Christian or you're missing out. You trust in Jesus.

You've been sealed by the Holy Spirit, Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, so you have the Spirit of Almighty God living in you. Grow in your understanding of the Word. Open up the Bible. Get plugged into a good church. That's what you need to do, and as you do that, you'll continue to grow in your relationship with the Lord. God bless you. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, go to corechristianity.com forward slash radio, or you can call us at 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, let us know how we can be praying for you, and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.