Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
–John 14:27 (KJV)–

Experiencing the felt presence of God is absolutely essential to real Christianity. While I respect Dr. John MacArthur for grounding many pastors, readers, and radio listeners in a Biblical worldview, I simply can’t agree with the essence of his walk since he said, “I’ve never felt the presence of God. I don’t even know what that means.” Jesus spoke to such a man once. His name was Nicodemus. He said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” But he didn’t understand what Jesus meant, he didn’t understand the spiritual analogy: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Now, at this point Nicodemus should’ve understood what Jesus was talking about. He explained what he meant, in both literal and symbolic analogical language. Nicodemus still didn’t understand. And the reason was the same as John MacArthur’s: both of these men probably had the same amount of theological education and status as religious leaders, but NEITHER of them had personal experience with the Holy Spirit. It makes me even wonder if MacArthur was saved, because Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” In other words, it seems to me that Jesus was saying that unless you know what its like to be Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and yes, feel the presence of God (how else could you know?)…you cannot enter the kingdom of God! That’s another way of saying, “Saved and going to Heaven,” because the same language is used in 1 Corinthians 6:10: “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Unrepentant dying criminals are put into this category. Its another way of saying these people will die and go to Hell for eternity. Jesus was surprised at Nicodemus! He really was surprised that he was basically a doctor in theology and had absolutely no experience of the Holy Spirit during his whole life: “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” (John 3:10).

I find the MacArthur phenomenon very disturbing in light of this fact. I had always been left with a depressed sort of feeling any time I’d run across his cessationist statements, but his blatant and even confident admission that he’d never felt God’s presence during his whole life, and to teach that nobody else ever has felt God’s presence, is absolutely alarming, sickening, patently false, and downright deistic. And it completely contradicts the histories of both Catholic monasticism and evangelical revivals. The Journals of George Fox, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Francis Asbury, and Charles Finney are filled with references to the felt presence of God. Much of the book of Psalms assumes the felt presence of God; as does every reference to the “Spirit” with a capital S in the Bible. What about the fruit of the Spirit? Never felt the presence of God? That would imply that the fruit of the Spirit has no emotional or felt component: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23). Try proving to a judge in a courtroom that none of these aspects of the Holy Spirit can ever be felt; or that a saved person doesn’t even know what they mean! No way, real Christianity is a relationship with the Holy Spirit influencing our thoughts and feelings, and our reaching out and “feeling after him” through prayer, closed eyes and raised hands, contemplation, worship, singing, and Biblical obedience (Acts 17:27). This is what Jesus means when he says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” Not as the world giveth! The “world” is EVERYONE, nominal Christians and nominal non-Christians, who have no experience of the Holy Spirit! “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). Well, is this you? I hope so, because Jesus died on the cross and tore the veil of the temple for this.

All of you cessationists just need to repent and be converted, “that your sins” of unbelief may be “blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). You’re flirting with atheism. The words of Dr. William Wisner, the 19th century Presbyterian pastor, are enough to give anyone pause: “Never before had I beheld so solemn an assembly, and never, before or since, have I FELT SO DEEPLY THE AWFULNESS OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE” (Incidents in the Life of a Pastor, p. 76). He is not far from each one of us; so why don’t you just humble yourself and get rid of these anti-charismatic sentiments, and “draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you!” (James 4:8). Walking in near proximity to Jesus while he talked about the Bible with them, the disciples on the road to Emmaus shared their experiences of the presence of God. “They said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32). We too should become familiar with talking about God’s presence with each other: it will only increase our faith in God, and our sensitive awareness of his felt presence in our lives.

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Jonathan Edwards, “A Day of Fasting and Prayer for the Continuance and Increase of the Gracious Presence of God.” March 16, 1742.

—. The Religious Affections (Banner of Truth, 1961).

—. Jonathan Edwards on Revival (Banner of Truth, 1984).

—, ed. The Life and Diary of David Brainerd (Baker, 1978).

John Owen, Communion with God (Banner of Truth, 1991).

Matthew Henry, Experiencing God’s Presence (Whitaker, 1997).

Charles Finney, Experiencing the Presence of God (Whitaker, 2000).

A. W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God (Bethany House, 2010).

—. The Fire of God’s Presence (Baker, 2020).

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Whitaker, 1982).