In two short sections of chapter four in When Heaven Invades Earth, Bill Johnson made a series of statements that seem to reveal a vague, hazy anthropology, a view of human nature from a Christian perspective. For example, he said: “Much of the opposition to revival comes from soul-driven Christians.” And then, “The Holy Spirit lives in my spirit,” which is “the place of communion with God.” If true, Johnson believes these statements can help us “learn how to be Spirit led.” But as with most of his teachings, you have to look carefully to see if what he confidently declares is actually supported by Scripture.
It’s Not in the Head
The title of the first short section is: “It’s Not in the Head.” Johnson opened this section by stating: “Faith is born of the Spirit in the hearts of mankind” and is neither intellectual or anti-intellectual. However, it is superior to the intellect. The Bible does not say, “with the mind man believes!” Head, intellect and mind are all associated as are faith and heart. He doesn’t give a Scripture reference to the italic phrase he emphasized, but it’s likely Johnson was thinking of Romans 10:8-10:
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Johnson distinguishes between heart and mind, and seems to attribute “intellect” to the mind (The word “intellect” does not appear in Scripture; neither is it used in the ESV, the NIV, or the KJV translations). He said the heart is where faith is born of the Holy Spirit, which is superior to the intellect. Through faith, we are able to “come into agreement with the mind of God.” Submitting the things of God to the mind of man leads to unbelief and religion, but submitting the mind of man to the things of God leads to faith and a renewed mind. “The mind makes a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.”
This is followed by a statement that doesn’t seem to follow from the previous discussion of the heart as the place where faith is born of the Holy Spirit: “Much of the opposition to revival comes from soul-driven Christians.” These soul-driven Christians are carnal believers, who have not learned how to be led by the Holy Spirit, which, “lives in my [our] spirit.” And anything that doesn’t make sense to their rational mind is thought to be in conflict with Scripture.
It seems his thoughts here jumped back to something he said in the Introduction about revival: “My heart burns for the coming move of God. I live for the revival that is unfolding and believe it will surpass all previous moves combined, bringing more than one billion souls into the Kingdom.” Johnson made this comment in the Introduction just after recalling how he had listened to ‘older saints’ talk about “the outpouring of the Spirit during Aimee Semple McPherson’s ministry.” The revival he longs for is the revival Bob Jones “prophesied” was coming in 1975. Johnson believes it is now unfolding.
He implies the modern church resists this move of God, stating in “It’s Not in the Head,” that most of the modern church’s goals can be accomplished without God. “Little exists in church life to ensure that we are being directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.” He sees this as religion—form without power. Johnson used the word “church” here without a capital C. Yet, he did refer the “Church” in the previous paragraph, where he commented that anything that doesn’t make sense to the rational mind of the carnal Christian automatically leads them to conclude it conflicts with Scripture.
This way of thinking is accepted all throughout the Church in Western civilization, which should explain why our God so often looks just like us.
He also referred in previous passages to the “Church.” For example, in the section “A Revolution in Identity” of chapter two, Johnson critiqued a premillennial theology by stating that a cornerstone of that theology was “that the condition of the Church will always be getting worse and worse.” The four uses of the word “Church” in the paragraph were all capitalized. He went on to say we are so entrenched in unbelief, that anything contrary to this worldview is thought to be of the devil, including the postmillennial worldview Johnson adheres to: “So it is with the idea of the Church having a dominating impact before Jesus returns.”
The implication is that the “church” is filled with carnal Christians who have not learned to be led by the Spirit (and believe as Johnson does), therefore they struggle with unbelief. This church accomplishes things without God, without the Holy Spirit. But those in the Church who strive to have a dominating impact on the world before Christ returns accomplish an impact through faith. This faith is born of the Spirit in their heart. So, there are two kinds of Christians, carnal and Spirit-filled.
This seems to suggest a two-tiered view of human nature in Christians. Johnson said the apostle Paul called soul-driven Christians carnal. And then added: “They have not learned how to be led by the Spirit.” The Greek word translated in the KJV as carnal, sarkinos, means ‘of the flesh’ and is found 4 times in the New Testament (Romans 7:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 2 Corinthians 3:3; and Hebrews 7:16). The context of Johnson’s comment suggests he was thinking of 1 Corinthians 3:1: “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.”
Our spirit is where the Holy Spirit lives in our heart. Carnal or soul-driven Christians apparently are ruled by their souls, not by their spirits. In a footnote after his statement about soul-driven Christians, Johnson said, “The soul is the mind, will and emotions.” The soul is inferior to the heart where faith dwells, where the Holy Spirit lives in our spirit, according to Johnson. He does not explicitly make a distinction between carnal and Spirit-filled believers, between those who are in the church and those who are in the Church. But it is there for the taking.
There is a sense of an unexpressed “second blessing” of faith here. He does imply within the church there is a paucity of life ensuring believers are being directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. In chapter 3 of When Heaven Invades Earth, Johnson taught there is a second stage to the life of faith when he said: “Most Christians repent enough to get forgiven, but not enough to see the Kingdom” (p. 37). We first repent to get to heaven and then we have to repent further to see the invisible Kingdom. See, “Is Repentance All About Seeing the Kingdom?”
In summary, the heart is where faith is born, where the spirit is; and it’s not in the head or mind. The intellect or rational mind of man is inferior to faith in the heart/spirit and it must be submitted to “the things of God.” The soul is a combination of mind, will, and emotions; and it is distinct from the heart. Carnal or soul-driven Christians are ruled by their intellect and automatically see anything that doesn’t make sense to their rational mind as opposed to Scripture. But when we submit our mind to the things of God, we end up with faith and a renewed mind.
Faith From a Relationship
The second section reinforces the above summary of Johnson’s view of human nature gleaned from “It’s Not in the Head.” The section begins with the statement: “The Holy Spirit lives in my spirit. That is the place of communion with God. As we learn to receive from our spirits, we learn how to be Spirit led.” Faith was born of the Spirit in our heart, so the place of communion with God in human nature must be the spirit/heart and not the intellect or mind.
“By faith, we understand,” is a partial quote of Hebrew 11:3, which Johnson then uses to go on and say faith is thus the foundation of all true intellectualism. And when we learn to learn in that way, “we open ourselves up to grow in true faith because faith does not require understanding to function.” It almost seems as if Johnson is telling us to have faith in faith, because true faith does not require intellectual understanding. But let’s examine the context of his partial quote first. Hebrews 11:1-3 says:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
The author of Hebrews said by faith we understand the universe was created by the word of God. What we see in creation was not formed of visible things, of existing matter. This restates the truth of Genesis 1:1, which says “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This creation was a special act of God, who created “ex nihilo,” out of nothing. John Owen in his commentary on Hebrews said by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command. “By faith we understand; that is, by faith we assent to its divine revelation.”
Using an example of how a verse “jumps out at you” when reading your Bible, Johnson said what happens is “your spirit received the life-giving power of the word from the Holy Spirit.” We learn to receive from our spirit, the place of communion with God, according to Johnson. Then our mind becomes the student and is subject to the Holy Spirit. This is a passive understanding of faith leading to understanding, “Through the process of revelation and experience our mind eventually obtains understanding.”
But it is not true that faith requires no understanding, as Johnson claims. Rather, by faith we understand; by faith we assent to divine revelation. True faith leads to and results in understanding. GotQuestions.org said the saying “faith seeking understanding” is one of the classical definitions of theology. It was introduced by Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) and echoed the similar thought of Augustine of Hippo (354-430), “believe that you may understand.” Faith causes believers to seek understanding. Anselm said, ““I pray thee, O God, let me know thee and love thee so that I may rejoice in thee.” Faith and heart, intellect and mind, are intimately connected.
The Bible promotes the idea of faith seeking understanding. Jesus taught that the greatest commandment adjures us to love the Lord with all our minds (Matthew 22:37). Speaking to the disciples in one of His post-resurrection appearances, Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45) [Remember, this was before Pentecost]. Faith is what overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), but that faith is accompanied by an understanding of God: “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true” (1 John 5:20).
Bill Johnson does not formally or logically describe an anthropology, a view of human nature in When Heaven Invades Earth. Admittedly, his intention was not to describe one there, even though he used terms commonly applied to the immaterial part of human nature such as heart, soul, spirit and mind. Note that he doesn’t discuss the physical, material aspect of human nature (the body) and refers to unbelief existing in what is visible or reasonable apart from God: “The natural realm is the anchor of unbelief.” Also, he did not really give supporting Scriptures to back up how he used these terms. Nevertheless, we can see a kind-of anthropology.
The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit, in our heart. The soul is inferior and distinct from the heart/spirit; and it is mind, will and emotions. The natural realm, what is visible (including the body?) and reasonable (the intellect?) anchors unbelief, if it is not submitted to God. Carnal or fleshly Christians have not submitted their minds to God, and are therefore not Spirit led. Is Johnson separating Christians into those who are Spirit-filled and those who are not? Although it’s not expressly said, these so-called carnal Christians are merely infants in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1).
In part 2, we will describe a more traditional anthropology and see if what was developed here is supported in Scripture.
