Holiness Pentecostalism

Holiness Pentecostalism is the original branch of Pentecostalism, which is characterized by its teaching of three works of grace: [1] the New Birth (first work of grace), [2] entire sanctification (second work of grace), and [3] Spirit baptism with speaking in tongues (third work of grace).^[1]^[2]

According to church historian and theologian Ted A. Campbell, this three-part pattern is often explained by stating "Holy Spirit cannot fill an unclean vessel", so the cleansing of the heart that takes place in entire sanctification is necessary before a person can be filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit. The testimony of those who attended the Azusa Street Revival was "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost" in reference to the three works of grace of Holiness Pentecostals, the oldest branch of Pentecostalism.^[1]

Holiness Pentecostalism emerged under the work of ministers Charles Fox Parham and William Joseph Seymour, the latter of whom led the Azusa Street Revival at the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission.^[3] William Joseph Seymour and Florence Crawford published The Apostolic Faith newsletter, which disseminated the teachings of the Holiness Pentecostal movement.^[4]

Holiness Pentecostals teach that believers should dress and behave in a manner becoming unto holiness, and as such, historically, Holiness Pentecostals (such as the Apostolic Faith Church and Calvary Holiness Association) traditionally adhere to holiness standards, which include modest dress, as well as abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The holiness standards vary based on the group and while many Holiness Pentecostal denominations such as the Apostolic Faith Church have specific 'holiness standards', other denominations in the present-day, such as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, have general principles on living.^[5]

Holiness Pentecostals operate within the framework of Wesleyan (Methodist) theology with the exception of the uniquely Holiness Pentecostal belief in a third work of grace (traditional Wesleyan theology affirms two works of grace—the New Birth and entire sanctification).^[6]

History[edit]

Charles Fox Parham and William Joseph Seymour, two ministers who established the Pentecostal Christianity

Pentecostal Christianity was established under the work of Charles Fox Parham and William Joseph Seymour.^[3] Charles Fox Parham was originally a Wesleyan-Holiness preacher, and in 1901, under his ministry "a student had spoken in tongues (glossolalia)" and Parham thought this to be evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit.^[3] Parham established a Bible school to train students in what he called the "Apostolic Faith" (Holiness Pentecostalism).^[3] William Joseph Seymour, originally a Holiness Restorationist minister in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), met Charles Fox Parham in Texas through Lucy F. Farrow and there, Parham encouraged Seymour to attend his classes.^[3] Seymour did this and then accepted Parham's teaching of a third work of grace (Spirit Baptism evidenced by speaking in tongues).^[3]

At the home of Richard Asberry on Bonnie Brae Street in April 1906, Seymour and other Christians spent a month fasting and praying, after which they received the third work of grace.^[3] Word spread of this and crowds began to gather to hear Seymour's preaching.^[3] To accommodate the increasingly large number of people who wished to attend these services, William Joseph Seymour secured a deconsecrated African Methodist Episcopal church on Azusa Street, which they renamed as the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission.^[3] There, church services lasted into the nighttime.^[3] The Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission had a lower room where people became entirely sanctified and an upper room where people prayed to receive the third work of grace. William Joseph Seymour would only let believers who had received the second work of grace (entire sanctifiation) into the upper room).^[1] At the Azusa Street Revival, the testimony of those who attended the Azusa Street Revival was "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost".^[1] The reporter Frank Bartleman wrote that "Pentecost has come to Los Angeles, the American Jerusalem."^[3]

William Joseph Seymour and Florence Crawford published a newsletter titled The Apostolic Faith to spread word of Holiness Pentecostal teaching; this was distributed at no cost to recipients.^[7] At that time, the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission held three services a day, all days of the week, and there "thousands of seekers received the baptism of speaking in tongues."^[7] When Florence Crawford moved to Portland, she began the Apostolic Faith Church there.^[4]

Denominations[edit]

Bible colleges[edit]

Heritage Bible College (Savannah, Georgia)
Free Gospel Bible Institute (Export, Pennsylvania)^[9]

Camp meetings[edit]

Portland AFC Camp Meeting (Portland, Oregon)
Blanchard Holiness Camp Meeting (Blanchard, Oklahoma)
Free Gospel Camp Meeting (Export, Pennsylvania)
Dripping Springs Holiness Camp Meeting (Glenwood, Arkansas)
Muldrow Holiness Camp Meeting (Muldrow, Oklahoma)

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Synan, Vinson (30 January 2012). The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901–2001. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-1-4185-8753-6. Most of the first generation of Pentecostals were from this holiness stream that had its roots in Methodism. ... When the Pentecostal movement began, these "Holiness Pentecostals" simply added the baptism in the Holy Spirit with tongues as "initial evidence" of a "third blessing" that brought power for witnessing to those who had already been sanctified. With the news tongues experience, sanctification was seen as a prerequisite "cleansing" that qualified the seeker to experience the "third blessing" of baptism in the Holy Spirit. An early prophetic utterance stated ominously that "My Spirit will not dwell in an unclean temple." Seekers were encouraged to abandon all the roots of bitterness and original sin so that nothing would block their reception of the Spirit. In fact, it was told that Seymour would not admit seekers to enter the upper room to seek the baptism until he was satisfied that their sanctification experience had been certified downstairs. The historic Azusa Street testimony was "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost."
^ Barrett, David B. (July 1988). "The Twentieth-Century Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal in the Holy Spirit, with its Goal of World Evangelization". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 12 (3): 119–129. doi:10.1177/239693938801200303. ISSN 0272-6122. S2CID 149417223.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Synan, Vinson. "Pentecostalism: William Seymour". Christian History Institute. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b Alexander, Estrelda Y.; Yong, Amos (1 January 2009). Philip's Daughters: Women in Pentecostal-Charismatic Leadership. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-55635-832-6.
^ "Holiness in Appearance". Apostolic Faith Church. 2021. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
^ Bagheri, Alireza (13 April 2021). Abortion: Global Positions and Practices, Religious and Legal Perspectives. Springer Nature. p. 93. ISBN 978-3-030-63023-2.
^ ^a ^b Montier, Carolyn; Montier, Gerald (11 July 2011). Remembering the Past Apostolic Faith Mission Celebrating the Present Apostolic Faith Church of God. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4567-4020-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c James Leo Garrett, Systematic Theology, Volume 2, Second Edition, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2014, p. 395; "Those branches of the Pentecostal movement in the United States which arose from the Holiness movement have retained the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification and made baptism in or with the Spirit to be the third essential experience (e.g., Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee, Pentecostal Holiness Church, and Church of God in Christ)."
^ Jones, Charles Edwin (1983). A Guide to the Study of the Pentecostal Movement. Scarecrow Press. p. 705. ISBN 978-0-8108-1583-4.

External links[edit]

[Synan2012-1] Synan, Vinson (30 January 2012). The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901–2001. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-1-4185-8753-6. Most of the first generation of Pentecostals were from this holiness stream that had its roots in Methodism. ... When the Pentecostal movement began, these "Holiness Pentecostals" simply added the baptism in the Holy Spirit with tongues as "initial evidence" of a "third blessing" that brought power for witnessing to those who had already been sanctified. With the news tongues experience, sanctification was seen as a prerequisite "cleansing" that qualified the seeker to experience the "third blessing" of baptism in the Holy Spirit. An early prophetic utterance stated ominously that "My Spirit will not dwell in an unclean temple." Seekers were encouraged to abandon all the roots of bitterness and original sin so that nothing would block their reception of the Spirit. In fact, it was told that Seymour would not admit seekers to enter the upper room to seek the baptism until he was satisfied that their sanctification experience had been certified downstairs. The historic Azusa Street testimony was "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost."

[2] Barrett, David B. (July 1988). "The Twentieth-Century Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal in the Holy Spirit, with its Goal of World Evangelization". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 12 (3): 119–129. doi:10.1177/239693938801200303. ISSN 0272-6122. S2CID 149417223.

[Synan2024-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Synan, Vinson. "Pentecostalism: William Seymour". Christian History Institute. Retrieved 17 May 2024.

[AlexanderYong2009-4] Alexander, Estrelda Y.; Yong, Amos (1 January 2009). Philip's Daughters: Women in Pentecostal-Charismatic Leadership. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-55635-832-6.

[5] "Holiness in Appearance". Apostolic Faith Church. 2021. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.

[Bagheri2021-6] Bagheri, Alireza (13 April 2021). Abortion: Global Positions and Practices, Religious and Legal Perspectives. Springer Nature. p. 93. ISBN 978-3-030-63023-2.

[Montier2011-7] Montier, Carolyn; Montier, Gerald (11 July 2011). Remembering the Past Apostolic Faith Mission Celebrating the Present Apostolic Faith Church of God. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4567-4020-7.

[Garrett2014-8] James Leo Garrett, Systematic Theology, Volume 2, Second Edition, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2014, p. 395; "Those branches of the Pentecostal movement in the United States which arose from the Holiness movement have retained the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification and made baptism in or with the Spirit to be the third essential experience (e.g., Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee, Pentecostal Holiness Church, and Church of God in Christ)."

[Jones1983-9] Jones, Charles Edwin (1983). A Guide to the Study of the Pentecostal Movement. Scarecrow Press. p. 705. ISBN 978-0-8108-1583-4.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]