Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Paperback)

~ Jack S. Deere (Author) "In my most undisciplined fantasies I would never have dreamed that a single phone call would alter the course of my life-and not just my..." (more)
Key Phrases: antisupernatural hermeneutic, miraculous charismata, revelatory ministry, New Testament, Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book presents both personal and biblical reasons why God still speaks and heals today.

From the Back Cover

What caused a former Dallas Seminary professor to believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are being given today? What convinced someone skeptical about miracles that God still speaks and heals? A dramatic change took place in Jack Deere's life when he took a fresh look at the Scriptures. He discovered that his arguments against miraculous gifts were based more on prejudice and lack of personal experience than on the Bible. As soon as Deere became a seeker instead of a skeptic, the Holy Spirit revealed himself in new and surprising ways. In Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, Deere provides a strong biblical defense for the Spirit's speaking and healing ministries today. He also describes several reliable cases of people who were miraculously healed or who heard God speak in an unmistakable way. Finally, he gives sound advice for using spiritual gifts in the church. Written in a popular style, with the care of a scholar but the passion of personal experience, this book explores: the real reason Christians do not believe in miraculous gifts, responding to charismatic abuses, whether miracles were meant to be temporary, and why God still heals.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (September 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310211271
• ISBN-13: 978-0310211273
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #11 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Soteriology
  #12 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Protestantism > Pentecostal
  #15 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Worship & Devotion > Charismatic

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Made a Difference in My Life, November 1, 2002

By	John Windsor (Eagan, Minnesota , USA) - See all my reviews

I read this book back in 1994 just after my wife and I had been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Our personal experience of the Holy Spirit had made believers out of us; a pesky quarter-sized "mosaic" verruca that my wife had tried to rid herself of for years withered away two weeks after she had received prayer to receive the fullness of the Spirit. I experienced an unusual number of opportunities in the following days to give some kind of Christian witness or other. So we were ready to learn more.

And learn we did! Jack Deere's book answered intellectually what we already know was true experientially. Deere begins with his personal journey from his professorship at Dallas Theological Seminary, a bastion of cessationism, through some rather amazing experiences, to understanding that the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit are still for today. In the latter part of his work, he shifts his approach and turns to the intellectual issues. He forcefully demolishes the cessationist position of John MacArthur, one of the leading proponents of that view, and answers in a very satisfactory way the objections raised by its advocates. (By the way, the reader should not ignore the footnotes/endnotes, especially in the later chapters of the book. Some of Deere's most powerful insights are found in the fine print.)

In my opinion, the most valuable quality of Surprised by the Power of the Spirit is the void that it fills within charismatic/pentecostal literature. For far too long, charismatics and pentecostals have been treated by other traditions within Christianity with a degree of supercilious diffidence. Indeed, many have emphasized emotionalism at the expense of sound biblical exegesis. Jack Deere brings to the charismatic/pentecostal camp a brilliant, penetrating mind that will be of great value in presenting a scholarly, intellectual apologetic for the continued existence and operation of the gifts of the Spirit.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Scriptural View of Miraculous Gifts, June 28, 2000

By	D. Simeone (Monroeville, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book provides a strong Biblical case for miraculous gifts both historically and for today. It looks at several passages that are usually fluffed off by cessessionist who commonly rely on the lack of historical events relating to the manifestation of miraculous gifts to write of the gifts. Deere looks at the Bible. No matter what your view is on this subject, this book is worth reading. This book could have been rated higher if Deere would have stayed away from references to other leaders that share his view. Unfortunately, some of these leaders can be called into question on other views that they hold. Deere should have stuck with just looking at the Bible itself instead of aligning himself with these other people. As a result, I can see where other reviewers are classifying his writing as being emotional. But with regard to Scripture, he presents a strong case (unless of course you disagree with him). Overall, it is refreshing to read this book from a well studied individual (i.e. Dallas Theological Seminary) who was educated from a conservative perspective. Usually, the only option for looking at opposing views on this subject is to read the plethera of resources by cessionist or read resources from charismatic perspectives on this issue. I think that there are abuses regarding this issue from both the cessionist and charismatic viewpoints. Our challenge should be to inductively view what Scripture is actually saying and not hold our own denomination, seminary, upbringing..etc in a higher view than Scripture. This book will challenge your view!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most balanced book I have read on "charismatic" gifts, January 5, 1998

By	G. Codrington "graeme codrington" (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jack Deere's book was recommended to me in June 1995. A few days later I saw it on a bookstore's bookshelf and bought it for mine - but there it remained for over a year. That was my loss!

This book is one of the most balanced theological books I have ever read, on any issue. Using a wonderful blend of narrative testimony and theological explanation, Deere recounts his shift from a theological professor who believed that the so-called charismatic gifts (such as tongues, healings, miracles, prophecy) had ceased with the deaths of the first-century apostles, to someone who now believes that these gifts are not only available to the church today, but should be actively encouraged and used.

The book takes the reader through the same process of experience and Biblical investigation that Deere went through as he grappled with the issues of charismatic experiences and spiritual gifts. It is an insightful book, Biblically based, clearly reasoned, humbly written, and worth every penny. It should be read by every Christian.