What "Charismatic" Means

What “Charismatic” means

The term “charismatic” can oftentimes be negatively associated from traditional or “conservative” Christians circles. Yet, while some of the criticism are valid, such as how some charismatic circles are inadequate with the Bible, I believe there are lots of misunderstanding towards Christians who highly emphasize the 3^rd Person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit—as well as spiritual gifts. Hence, in this article, I will define what being “Charismatic” means in biblical terms and present why there’s nothing unbiblical about being Charismatic.

Definition & Terminology:

Biblically speaking, “charismatic” comes from the word “charisma” (χάρισμα). “Charisma” is the singular form of “Charismata”, which is the word used for spiritual gifts. However, to be literal, “Charisma(ta)” means “gift(s) of grace”, as “Charisma” comes from the famous Greek word (which everyone should know) “Charis” (χάρις)—which means “grace”.

Charis = Grace

Charisma(ta) = “Gift(s) of grace” (Spiritual gifts)

**please note that “ma” does not mean gifts though**

Thus, a Charismatic Christian is a follower of Christ who believes that the power of the Holy Spirit, oftentimes revealed in charismata, is still present today, and plays an integral part in ministry.

Why Charismatic?

A question you, or one originating from a traditional church might be thinking is, “why are spiritual gifts so important—especially to the point where one needs to describe one’s faith in a way that aligns with them?”

1.  1 Corinthians 12:7 (cf. 7:7) writes: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Verses 8-10 describes the 9 manifestations of the Spirit (the “spectacular” spiritual gifts), and verse 11 writes: “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit [the Holy Spirit], who apportions to each one individually as He wills.” 1 Corinthians 7:7 writes something similar: “But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.” From the emphasized phrases, it is clearly noted that each and every (true) believer is given a spiritual gift.

This does not necessarily mean that all followers of Christ have only one of the nine gifts, as “the working of miracles” (12:10) is vague and can imply many things, and there are other biblical lists that indicate other gifts (Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11-12), such as the gift of evangelism (Eph 4:11). Also, Paul himself has a plethora of spiritual gifts as he speaks in tongues (1 Cor 14:18), works miracles such as bringing the dead back to life (Acts 20:7-11), has the gift of healing (Acts 14:8-11), has the gift of prophecy (Eph 4:12-16; 2 Thess 2:6-12 etc.), has the gift of evangelism, and has the gift of teaching. Hence, from the example of Paul as well as other apostles, we can see that one empowered by the Holy Spirit can have multiple spiritual gifts—as grace has been given to each person according to the measure of Christ’s gift (Eph 4:7).

Nonetheless, since the entire early church was charismatic as they were empowered with spiritual gifts, and it is clearly written that each dedicated minister of Christ has at least one gift, the title “charismatic” is aligned with biblical principles.

2. In the entire New Testament, power accompanied the Gospel. Whenever the Gospel was spread, there was also a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit—oftentimes through spiritual gifts. Hence, being charismatic does not imply that one cares less about the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), as some might suggest, but rather, adhering to the Great Commission through the power of the Spirit. Let’s just look at a few examples from Acts:

In Acts 3-4, a lame beggar was healed (3:1-8), reflecting the healing power of the Holy Spirit, which is also the power Christ used to heal during the First Advent. Alongside the demonstration of power came the preaching of the Word (3:11-26), and as a result, many believed (4:4). In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas demonstrated the power of God through healing a man crippled from birth (14:8-10), as well as preached the Word of God (14:15-17). In Acts chapter 28, while Scripture does not explicitly mention the preaching of the Word, the power of God was clearly visible as the healing power of God was performed through Paul (28:8).

Thus, when evangelism—the preaching of God’s grace—was frequently accompanied by spiritual gifts, being a charismatic Christian implies that one cares about the Word of God as well as the Power of God. In fact, I oftentimes find it ridiculous when many churches care a lot about charis, but not charisma. Do they not know that spiritual gifts derive from grace? Meaning, without grace there would be no spiritual gifts. Hence, since the spreading of the Word was frequently accompanied by the demonstration of power, it is unbiblical for one (whether a Christian or church or organization) to speak of charis but not charisma.

3. A huge reason accounting for why spiritual gifts—especially the “special/supernatural ability ones” (1 Cor 12:7-9) such as healing, prophesy, tongues etc.—are not mentioned in some non-charismatic churches is because they think they have ceased (cessationism). Clearly, this view is unbiblical as Scripture by no means affirm the ceasing of all spiritual gifts in this age but only when the perfect comes (1 Cor 13:12). In fact, the entire Bible is unified on this view in presenting that spiritual gifts will not cease until the Second Advent as 1 Corinthians 1:7 writes: “so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (cf. 1 Cor 13:8-12; Eph 4:11-12).

Joel’s famous prophecy (Joel 2:28-32) serves more than a prophecy, but a timeframe of when spiritual gifts will last. Joel’s prophecy has two parts. The first part takes place from verses 28-29, and the second part, 30-32. When Peter quoted Joel 2:28-32, he emphasized the first part of the prophecy as he changed “and it shall come to pass afterward” to “and in the last days it shall be.” This indicates that the first part of the prophecy marked the beginning of the last days—which is also marked by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts (Acts 2:15-18). Hence, the second part of Joel’s prophecy takes place before the 2^nd Coming of Christ, as Joel 2:30-32 is paralleled with Revelations 6:12-17.

Thus, since the first part of Joel’s prophecy is the beginning of the last days in which there will be spiritual gifts, the end of the last days takes place prior to Christ’s return. This carries massive importance as it shows us that all the spiritual gifts—including the “spectacular” ones such as prophecy—exists until the 2^nd coming of Christ; which perfectly corresponds with 1 Corinthians 1:7, 13:8-12 and Ephesians 4:11-12.

Conclusion:

All in all, when every Christian has a gift, when evangelism was accompanied with the demonstration of power, and when all the spiritual gifts will not cease until the end of this age, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Christian claiming to be “charismatic” as the early church was definitely charismatic. Oftentimes the reason why many people have a distaste or issue with charismatic circles is not really because of dogmatic issues, rather, their own personal experiences. For instance, one from a more traditional church background may find it very hard to adapt to an expressive, loud, and perhaps, long worship service where the congregation is actively responding. Also, some may have bad experiences with speaking in tongues and the practice of spiritual gifts. I personally know many people who “can’t stand” a charismatic service, which isn’t a problem by any means (just as I dislike services where you need to stand up and sit down and stand up and sit down -_-… I’d rather exercise myself).

Please note that I am not writing this to suggest that everyone should be, or should call themselves, charismatic. I just want to present, purely from a biblical standpoint, what being charismatic means; and that the power of God has always been an integral part of ministry—which some Christians/churches/ministries severely lack. It is massively important that as Christians, we must not downplay or suppress the Holy Spirit and His empowerment (being filled with Him—Ephesians 5:18; it is an imperative, a command). In fact, if you take a look at the early church, revival takes place through both the spreading of the Word AND the demonstration of power.

I’m not suggesting that one denomination is better than others or that there are no problems (there are tons) in Christian circles more open to the Spirit. Sometimes charismatic circles may be inadequate with the Word of God, for they care far too much on “whatever the Spirit leads”. Therefore, let us constantly yearn for both the Word of God alongside the power of the Holy Spirit to be manifested in our lives, so that we may adequately adhere to the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).

-Barnabas Kwok
Biblical and Theological Studies major at Biola University

PS: I consider myself charismatic but I’m not a charismatic as I’m not a part of the charismatic movement. I call myself charismatic because I acknowledge that I am spiritually gifted and I desire to engage in Kingdom work with His Power. Also, Charismatic does not equal with Pentecostal. I am not Pentecostal because I do not think that one who is baptized in the Spirit will speak in tongues (but that is a whole different conversation).