Is being slain in the Spirit biblical?

Chuck Smith, Answers for Today, chapter 11: Using the Bible as our final authority for all faith and practice, we would have to confess that the Bible lacks any solid, scriptural evidence for this experience of being slain in the Spirit. Those who advocate this experience seek to point out that Daniel fell on his face before the Lord when the angel of the Lord appeared to him. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus asked the soldiers, “Whom seek ye?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He said, “I am He,” after which the soldiers fell over backward. Some people refer to that as being slain in the Spirit. Then, they refer to Paul the apostle on the road to Damascus. But none of these cases are anything like the experience that people today refer to as being slain in the Spirit. We don’t read of Jesus laying hands on people and of them being slain in the Spirit. Nor do we find any teaching on it in the Book of Acts or in the epistles. Thus, I reject it as an unscriptural experience. From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-15.

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Is being slain in the Spirit biblical? → wsb.bible/answers/is-being-slain-in-the-spirit-biblical

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