Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874) was a prominent nineteenth century evangelist in the Wesleyan tradition. She came to the Christian faith in the midst of the Holiness revivals that followed the Great Awakening (1730s – 1740s) and the Cain Ridge Communion (1801). The spirituality of these American revival movements emphasized emotional and intense religious experiences that signified the reality of one’s conversion. This divine assurance was the foundation and motivation for the convert to go on to Christian perfection.
Palmer published The Way of Holiness in 1845. This small book is her testimony of encountering the state of holiness. It became one of the most influential books on what she termed “Holiness, sanctification, and perfect love.” This book led to her becoming a prominent leader in the Holiness movement. Palmer’s spirituality would have a profound effect on Pentecostal movement of the early twentieth century, especially on the Pentecostal doctrine of instantaneous sanctification. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that Phoebe Palmer was an apostolic matriarch of the Pentecostal movement.
Palmer suffered from a crisis of faith. She had lost two children which filled her with grief and abandonment. Furthermore, she had never experienced a validating emotional spiritual experience that was so important to her Wesleyan spirituality. This led her to great anxiety over the condition of her soul. She could not testify to the experience of divine assurance. She pondered, “whether there is not a shorter way of getting into this way of holiness than some of our brethren apprehend?” Her answer is “Yes,” brother, there is a shorter way! Furthermore, this “shorter way” is the only way. For Palmer, holiness was not something to be pursued or attained in the eschaton. Rather, God requires “present holiness.” She declared that holiness is “a state of grace in which every one of the Lord’s redeemed ones should live” – the rightful heritage of the believer.
Gracious intentions and strong desires are insufficient in bringing the convert to holiness. Rather, believers must present themselves upon the altar, which is Jesus Christ, in “entire consecration” and “purity of intention” with simple faith in God’s word, continuous acts of faithfulness, and declare the resolve to “enter into the bonds of an everlasting covenant to be wholly the Lord’s for time and eternity.”
Palmer asked, “How shall I know when I have consecrated all to God?” It is not the strangely warmed heart as testified by John Wesley, or the enthusiastic manifestations associated with the awakenings. She believed that the mistake of the revivalists was to place feeling over faith. She believed that “faith and feeling are two distinct objects, though so nearly allied.” Even so, faith must take priority over feeling. The evidence of receiving the grace of holiness is Spirit-inspired testimony, the declaration of faith in God’s holy word and the redemption work of Holy Trinity. Palmer confessed,
“O, Lord, I call heaven and earth to witness that I now lay body, soul, and spirit, with all these redeemed powers, upon thine altar, to be for ever thine! ’Tis done! Thou hast promised to receive me! Thou canst not be unfaithful! Thou dost receive me now! From this time henceforth I am thine—wholly thine!”
The believer is “a co-worker with God” in the matter of attaining holiness. Humans have natural abilities which are gifts from God. Through grace, one’s natural abilities and endowments are sanctified. The grace of holiness cannot be achieved through merit; rather it is achieved through divine enablement and acceptance. Believers cannot bring themselves into the blessed state of holiness – it is all the work of the Spirit, a gift of divine grace. The recipient of holiness is graced with a disposition to walk in the way of the Lord even though the highway to it may be by passing through trials most contrary to nature.
Palmer’s “shorter way” to the grace of holiness is (1) consecrating oneself upon the altar of Christ; (2) believing God will sanctify the consecrated person; and (3) testifying to God’s sanctifying grace. This is “performed in the might of the Spirit.” Entering into the grace of holiness is immediate. This does not imply a life of freedom from temptation or “inglorious ease.” The way of holiness is a life in which one finds “the rest of faith” in Christ as one journeys through a life of “interminable progression” and “mighty conflicts” that tested one’s endurance, but proved to be opportunities for “growth, knowledge, and spiritual stature.” The way of holiness is the transformation of human affections – “conformity to the will of God in all things” becomes the desire of one’s heart.
As a Pentecostal reading through Palmer’s work, her influence is apparent. She states outright that her greatest desire is to become a “humble Bible Christian.” There is an explicit biblicism in this spirituality in which the inspired word has priority over the traditions of men. For Palmer this meant that her “shorter way” was the only biblical way and therefore has priority over “the opinions and experience of professors,” that is, those who merely profess Christ, but have not testified to the grace of holiness.” She is skeptical of professing Christians of “various denominations” with their creeds and declared, “O! why did not every one run, with Bible in hand, raised aloft, crying, “The Bible says so! The Bible says so?”
Palmer expresses a deeply charismatic spirituality, that is, a spirituality of the Holy Spirit. She is in constant dialogue with the Spirit. The Spirit speaks to her, enlightens her, guides her, and enables her. It is the Spirit who has revealed to her the shorter way. The Holy Spirit is her “Mighty Counselor.” When the emotions of revivalism subside, the Spirit is one’s divine companion. The Spirit gave her wisdom to overcome the tempter. Because of the Holy Spirit, the concepts of holiness, sanctification, and perfect love are no longer incomprehensible. She referred to the Spirit as the “voice of God” through whom she received “direct teachings” and “gracious communications.” She testified to a visionary experience in which she “left the body, and mingled with the spirits before the throne.”
Palmer’s altar theology resonated with early Pentecostals. An early Pentecostal testified, “But when I made a complete sacrifice to God – all on the altar – bless God, He really did sanctify my soul, and gave me the real evidence; the witness of the Holy Ghost that the work was done, and the carnal mind was destroyed.” The altar is the sacred place where men and women were called to surrender themselves, to offer themselves as a “completely yielded sacrifice” so that the Holy Spirit might “operate on us, renewing spirit, mind, and body.” For Pentecostals, the altar call is the climax of the worship service in which sinners are saved, the saved are sanctified, and the sanctified are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Finally, Palmer had great influence on Pentecostal spirituality relating to the doctrine of sanctification. Pentecostals have diverse views – instantaneous or progressive, Wesleyan or finished work? Palmer’s spirituality strongly informs a modified Wesleyan instantaneous view.
