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Preface:
The Manifestations of the Gifts Do Not Prove Our Christian Justification
nor Do They Give Evidence of Our Holiness and Sanctification.
A false doctrine arose in Pentecostal
circles claiming that unless one manifested a certain or particular gift
of the Spirit [usually speaking in languages, commonly called "tongues"],
he or she was not a full or true Christian. Pentecostalism began in 1906
with the renewing and powerful experience of the Presence of God during
the Azusa Street Revival. The error in the movement's doctrine can be
attributed in part to its focus on the experiential dimension of the
faith: often the movement focused on "speaking in tongues" as
the evidence for a second work of the Holy Spirit but neglected theology
as a discipline. Born in the barns and the backyards, this movement did
not originate in seminaries or in the high brow culture of established
denominations. So some theological error is a natural and expected outcome
of an experiential Christianity divorced from the Creeds, theology, and
Church history. Pentecostalism, by and large, is a direct descendant of
the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and its emphasis on sanctification as a
second work of the Holy Spirit.
Like Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism accepts the literal
interpretation of the Bible. Such literalism is carried one step farther
in that, unlike Fundamentalists, Pentecostals also literally expect the
same manifestations of the Spirit of God today as were evident in the New
Testament Church. If miracles are indeed part and parcel of the evidences
of God on the earth and are to be accepted as historical, then why should
they also not be expected to occur today? Pentecostalism is simply
insistent that the Scriptural record be consistent with present
experience. After all God is the same "yesterday, today, and
forever," and if he worked miracles in the past, and he is the same
as yesterday, will he not do so today?
The doctrinal imbalance of Pentecostalism (the emphasis
on "tongues") may be attributed to the rough and under educated
origins of the movement itself. But before one criticizes the movement on
this basis, it we would do well to remember that the most of the disciples
were just fishermen, and of them all, only Paul went to the equivalent of
a seminary. The simple fishermen that Jesus appointed were also the ones
who walked in the power of God, doing signs and wonders, while all the
theologians, bureaucrats, and politicians of the day sat around and
criticized the disciples for being uncouth and uneducated.
Because the mainline denominations responded with
ridicule and rejection to the outpouring of the Spirit, and the signs and
wonders associated with Him, many Pentecostals responded with fervor and
partisanship. If seminary education leads you to deny the power of God,
then obviously, to the Pentecostal, there is something wrong with
seminary. If intellectualism caused people to deny the power of God, the
Pentecostals thought it better to become zealously anti-intellectual. That
zeal for the bible, however, was not always consistent with the bible
itself.
The movement went way off the mark when some leaders
insisted that unless one had the experience of a "Second Baptism in
the Holy Spirit with the accompanying sign of speaking in Tongues,"
one was not truly saved. Thankfully, Paul does not tell us we are
justified in Christ by speaking in tongues. Rather he tells us we are
justified through faith in and confession of Christ's resurrection:
"If you confess with your lips that Jesus is
Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he
confesses with his lips and so is saved." Romans 10:9,10, RSV.
Jesus also said that by faith and baptism we are saved:
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:16, RSV.
Therefore, whoever uses the manifestation of a
particular gift of the Spirit as a litmus test for true conversion, let
him be warned that he has added something contrary to the bible and has
sown division in the Body of Christ unnecessarily.
Our status in Christ does not change based upon
experiential manifestations of the Holy Spirit nor the lack thereof. Our
righteousness is of Him, and our justification does not change. We are
justified by His Blood, and through faith in His Blood, not by our
experiences of God's presence. In fact, in many revivals, people will feel
the presence of God and have manifestations without being truly converted.(1)
Even Judas did miracles of healing along with the twelve [Mark 6:7-13],
but in the end, he was not converted.
I will be the first to argue against making conformity
to emotional experiences the standard of faith. Nevertheless, I am looking
for the norm of the New Testament scripture as a pattern for the present
day church. The question then is this: Did God intend, and did the
apostolic authors of Scripture expect, that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
would be a continuing manifestation of the presence of God in the Church
until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the end of the age?
Or did God intend the Gifts to die out with the Apostolic Age?
The thesis of this paper is that God did so intend, and
the writers expected, the Gifts to continue, and that the arguments for
Cessation of the Gifts rest upon doctrines of men unsupported by the
Scriptures.
Understanding
Arguments In Favor of Cessation and Biblical Passages Used to Bolster the
Cause.
The largest theological support for the idea of
Cessation has been from those who have been influenced either by
Dispensationalism or by Benjamin Warfield, the Princeton theologian.
Warfield taught that supernatural signs, wonders, and healings had ceased
in the ministry of the Church with the end of the apostolic age and the
close of the canon of Scripture.(2)
Dispensational thought has provided a suitable foundation for those who
wish to discount the present move of God in power on the earth. Not only
do Dispensationalists hold that the miracles ceased with the close of the
canon, but Dispensational thought also holds to a doctrine that the Last
Days Church will be Laodicean - a weak, powerless, compromised, and
deceived Body out of which a true remnant will be rescued by the rapture.(3)
Hence, any sign of God's power in the Church in the present is not a sign
of the Holy Spirit, but a sign of the anti-Christ. Neither of those
doctrines are strictly outlined in the Bible, but are matters of human
interpretation imposed upon the text.(4).
With such doctrines it is easy to excuse the present ineffectual witness
of the Church in the world, and we also give the modern scientific
community reason to question the validity of the Bible as a whole. Since
the miraculous element of the Word is not present, the scriptural texts
that record these miracles can be dismissed as primitive superstition.
Argument
1: The Gifts Have Ceased Because the Canon Has Been Written Down.
"Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will
pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass
away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but
when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away." 1 Corinthians
13:8-10, RSV.
The traditional argument for the Cessation of the Gifts
is that the Canon of Scripture is the "perfect" thing that has
come. Once the perfect has come, there is no need for the gifts of the
Spirit, miracles, healings, or tongues. The problem with this position is
that if the "perfect" were the scriptures which has already
come, there would also be no need of knowledge — no need of study of
scriptures, no need of translations, no need of pastors or teachers, for:
"For our knowledge is imperfect and our
prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will
pass away Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we
shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,
even as I am fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV.
Since the perfect has already come, according to this
line of reasoning, then we also know fully as we are fully known.
Obviously, the perfect cannot be the scripture or the Canon, since if it
were, then knowledge would also have ceased, and we would know everything
fully.
John MacArthur, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians,(5)
recognizes that the "perfect" cannot be the Canon of Scripture:
"…that idea would have been meaningless to the
Corinthians. Nowhere in this letter does he mention or allude to such a
scriptural completion. The Corinthian believers would have taken Paul's
meaning in the plainest and simplest way: as a reference to spiritual and
moral perfection…By process of elimination, the only possibility for the
perfect is the eternal heavenly state of believers." (6)
In spite of his recognition that the "perfect"
is not the scriptures, MacArthur believes that some gifts [miracles,
healings, and tongues] are no longer meant for today, and all
manifestations of these particular gifts in the present are simply demonic
counterfeits. The problem for MacArthur is that he is forced to
inconsistency. He must find a division in the gifts themselves, seeing
some as valid for today and others as already passed. Unfortunately for
him, the text does not say that some gifts have ceased while some
are still continuing, it says they will cease when the perfect comes...
MacArthur tries to justify his stance by a turn of phrase, forcing one
word of scripture to contain the evidence for an entire doctrine. He uses
one word of Paul's in a poetic passage about love [1 Cor. 13: 8-9] to
"prove" that tongues have already ceased. He makes an untenable
argument that since tongues will eventually "cease" {Greek —
pauo, future tense} by running out of steam while knowledge will be
"done away with" {Greek - katargeo} by a force outside itself,
therefore tongues have already served their purpose and have died out as
an active gift. (7) There is a tremendous
leap of logic here based upon what scripture does not say. Again,
it does not say that the cessation has already taken place, but that it will
eventually take place. In other words, he overlays the doctrine of
Cessation onto the text to make the text fit a doctrine.
MacArthur should have looked at this passage as a poet
as well as an exegete. We can see from the passage that Paul is using
parallel, poetic construction:
Love never fails [fall away or trail off — Greek
ekpipto]
as for prophecies, they will pass away [cause to cease ]
as for tongues, they will cease; [fail ]
as for knowledge, it will pass away. [cause to cease ]
…for when the perfect comes, the imperfect will
pass away.
The context of the passage strongly suggests that while
Love never ends, all gifts, whether they be tongues, knowledge or
prophecy, are imperfect in this life. They will cease but will end when
and only when the perfect comes to remove imperfection! Tongues,
like knowledge, are incomplete manifestations in fallen world of the
Spirit. They are needed because of our distance from the presence of God
while we dwell in the body [2 Cor. 5:8]. Therefore, the gifts will pass
away when we are in the full presence of Christ and know him fully.
Conversely, while we dwell in this body awaiting the glory of Christ and
the eternal state of blessedness, these gifts remain and are necessary.
I repeat: it never says in scripture, anywhere,
that any of the gifts of the Spirit have passed away. The
burden of proof therefore rests upon those who wish to assert that the
gifts have passed away, since the doctrine is not found in scripture.
It is bad exegetical practice to suck one phrase out of
its context to force it to fit a preconceived doctrine. It is even a worse
practice to make a questionable passage the justification for an entire
doctrine! Using a single word from a poetic passage poses another
difficulty: one runs the risk of over-emphasizing literal meanings in
phrases which have artistic construction as well as theological import.
The denotations and connotations of words bring nuance to the art of
poetry. Even a moderately good writer will vary his word use so as not to
become repetitive and boring. Paul was an excellent writer. To emphasize
differences of words that have the same basic meaning but are varied in
poetic context is to entertain some risk. Every word of scripture is
important, but to build an entire doctrine on one single word used in a
poetic construction is like building an entire house on top of a single,
narrow pillar. The pillar may be strong enough to hold the house, but it
is a question of balance.
In commenting on 1 Cor. 12: 8-11, MacArthur is forced
into another awkward exegetical position.
"To one is given through the Spirit the
utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according
to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts
of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits,
to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of
tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions
to each one individually as he wills." 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, RSV.
Here, in this passage, MacArthur arbitrarily decides
that some gifts are for today and others are not.. While the passage says
nothing about some gifts being temporary and some being permanent, he
decides that anything that has to do with miracles, healings and tongues
are temporary gifts:
"The temporary sign gifts were limited to the
apostolic age and therefore ceased after that time. Those gifts included
miracles, healing, languages, and the interpretation of languages. The
purpose of temporary sign gifts was to authenticate the apostolic message
as the Word of God, until the time when the Scriptures, His written Word
were completed and became self-authenticating."(8)
First of all, MacArthur disagrees with himself in the
very next chapter (1 Cor. 13, cited above), where he says that the
"ceasing" of these gifts is not related to the Scriptures
being completed and "perfect." He is inconsistent, but desperate
to find some justification for his rejection of particular gifts, so he
imposes his doctrine upon the biblical text. The doctrine, that the
gifts are only to confirm the scriptures and the apostolic witness, is
now used to interpret the passages.
But the scripture does not say or give indication
that some of these gifts are temporary and some are long lasting.
If one believes that these gifts are no longer genuine gifts to the Body
of Christ, one must find the teaching in scripture itself, not in a
doctrine about scripture, lest "for the sake of your tradition
make void the word of God," [Matt. 15:6]. In addition, nowhere
in scripture does it say that the sign gifts were merely given to confirm
the apostolic witness. It is never written that the gifts of the Spirit
are given simply to confirm the Canon of Scripture. This teaching is an
extra-biblical doctrine, a tradition of man, imposed upon the scripture.
Scripture itself does not teach it. In fact, Scripture teaches the gifts
have particular purposes, and only of them is to confirm the apostolic
ministry.
While it is true that the miracles are part of the
apostolic ministry, Paul says they are also given to the
Body of Christ for the common good to make that Body whole and
complete. All the gifts are included as part of the whole manifestation of
God in the Church. The list above [1 Cor. 12:8-11] goes from wisdom, to
healing, to prophesy, to tongues, without differentiation. Paul concludes:
"To each is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good." 1 Corinthians 12:7, RSV.
"All these are the work of one and the same
Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. The body is
a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are
many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." 1 Corinthians
12:11,12, NIV.
Paul ties the distribution of the gifts of the Spirit to
making the Body of Christ complete on the earth. By implication, those
gifts are necessary for that wholeness, for by those gifts we are built up
in the common good:
"Now you are the body of Christ and individually
members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second
prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers,
administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues." 1 Corinthians
12:27,28, RSV.
Notice that the workers of miracles are not the even
ranked with the apostles, but lower than teachers. So the miracles are
considered a more common gift among the people. The gifts function as part
of the entire ministry of the Body, each person with a role to play. Note
also that nowhere in this passage does it say that the gifts are
to confirm the apostolic witness or to confirm the scriptures. The
gifts are for the Body to build it up.
When MacArthur says, "The purpose of temporary sign
gifts was to authenticate the apostolic message as the Word of God, until
the time when the Scriptures, His written Word were completed and became
self-authenticating," John is forced to ignore what the scripture
itself says about the purpose of the gifts. When you ignore parts of
scripture to justify a doctrine, you are on tendentious ground. MacArthur
considers tongues primarily as a sign and a witness to confirm the Jews in
their unbelief.(9) Surely tongues as a sign
for unbelievers is one role, but Paul states that it is not its only role:
"For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to
men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in
the Spirit. On the other hand, he who prophesies speaks to men for their
upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. He who speaks in a tongue
edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. Now I want
you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. He who prophesies
is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so
that the church may be edified." 1 Corinthians 14:2-5, RSV.
Paul says that the gift of tongues is for communicating
to God intimately and personally so that a person may be built up, or
edify himself, in Christ. This purpose of tongues has absolutely nothing
to do with confirming the apostolic witness. In fact, Paul discourages the
use of tongues for confirming the Gospel!
"If, therefore, the whole church assembles and
all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not
say that you are mad?" 1 Corinthians 14:23, RSV.
Tongues, if coupled with interpretation, become public
prophecy and a benefit to the whole church, but if there is no
interpretation, a person is to use tongues as a means of personal and
private prayer:
"What then, brethren? When you come together,
each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an
interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If any speak in a
tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let
one interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep
silence in church and speak to himself and to God." 1 Corinthians
14:26-28, RSV.
So, Paul believes that "all should speak in
tongues" (1 Cor. 14:5), but that it is not to be used to confirm the
Gospel. It is to be used for private edification before God, and that
need in humanity did not disappear with the consolidation of scripture.
When John MacArthur classes the power gifts [miracles
and healings] with tongues and thinks all have passed away, it makes me
wonder if he has not unknowingly adopted a modernist bias against the
miraculous elements of the text. MacArthur points to the absence of
mention of miracles and tongues by the Apostolic Fathers. He points out
that men like Origen, Chrysostom, and Augustine explained the lack of
miracles and tongues in their days by reasoning that these things had
ceased with the Apostolic age. MacArthur also points to the recurrences of
the gifts in heretical sects, which claimed new revelations greater than
or in addition to the scriptures,(10)
implying that any modern recurrence would also be a mark of a heresy or
counterfeit.
While Church history is important in reflecting on the
role of the Spirit of God in the Church, and while the interpretations of
the Fathers should be considered, if we were to take all their counsels as
Gospel then we might also agree with them on the development of the role
of bishops and popes as well. We then ought to return as one to the Roman
Church or Eastern Orthodoxy, since bishops and Patriarchs have existed
since those days when all the gifts are said to have disappeared. I doubt
seriously that brother John would be so moved by an argument from history
or experience to leave Protestantism. It is equally unconvincing to argue
from the experience, of the lack of the gifts, that God intended
them to have disappeared. It is also unconvincing to point to the
heretical counterfeits and to reason that any recurrence of the gifts must
likewise be demonic. Paul began his instruction on the gift of tongues
with a warning that there are pagan, demonic tongues, which do not
represent the true God or the genuine article. There are similarities
between the real and the false, but the exercise of the counterfeit by
pagans does not invalidate the true gift of God, administered in believers
by the Holy Spirit.
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do
not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were
led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known
to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is
accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by
the Holy Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:1-3, NAS95.
Another problem with MacArthur's use of history. is that
he is selective. He uses materials which support his view, but ignores
those examples which contradict it. While it is true that Augustine
originally considered miracles to have ceased, he changed his mind later
in life under the influence of the North African revival.(11)
Book 22, Chapter 8 of the City of God is devoted to the accounts of
miracles he had seen or verified. The Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical
History of the English People, written in AD 731 is full of miraculous
accounts interwoven with verifiable history. He quotes Gregory the Great,
who remarks in a letter in 601 AD on the effectiveness of the miracles in
producing conversion among the heathen. The miracles were apparently
considered a norm of the missionary work of the Church:
This letter is one of the most precious records in
all of the history of Christian literature. In it, Gregory does not marvel
at miracles or revel in them. He accepts them as a fact of life(12)
If MacArthur is right about the miracles having ceased
with the Apostles, then we have a problem: what of all these miracles that
led to the conversion of tribes, tongues and nations after the apostolic
age? Were they of God or the devil? Miracles occurred regularly as part of
the witness of the Church long after the Canon had been closed. If one
will do a diligent search, including the lives of the saints and martyrs,
there have been consistent periods of miracles in the Church interrupted
by times of apparent absence. What is more, there are untold numbers of
reports from present day missionaries of the outpouring of the Spirit of
God in foreign nations and among unreached peoples — many accompanied by
miracles, signs and wonders. Casting out demons and confronting satanic
powers have become part of the missionary lifestyle in many parts of the
globe. While miracles themselves do not authenticate the message as
genuine, the fruit of the miracles would tend to verify their
authenticity: lives are changed, pagans are converted and become
worshippers of Jesus Christ, idols are destroyed and fetishes are burned,
and the Church is founded.
From Church history and present missionary experience,
and even in the Church Fathers' writings, it is evident that the miracles
did not cease with the end of the apostolic age or with the close of the
Canon. The same God who worked yesterday is working today. What is more,
the passages used to justify such a belief do not obviously or literally
support such a doctrine, they have to be read into the text
Argument
2: The Miracles Were Only Done by The Apostles and Were Done Only to
Confirm Their Ministry and Message. After the Apostles, the Miracles
Ceased.
This argument is similar to Argument 1, but with a
slightly different emphasis. The argument is that the only legitimate
workers of miracles were the apostles. Hence, since the apostles have all
died, there can be no more legitimate miracles.
It is true that Paul says the miracles, signs and
wonders are evidences of his apostolic authority and calling. He says, "The
signs of a true apostle were performed among you in all patience, with
signs and wonders and mighty works." 2 Corinthians 12:12, RSV. If
we were to limit signs and wonders only to the Twelve, then we might have
reason to believe that the signs would have died out with the apostles.
However, signs and wonders were not done only by apostles in the NT; Jesus
sent out the 70 to heal the sick [Luke 10: 1-9, 17]. The deacons, Philip
and Steven, did miracles as well [Acts 6:8; 8:6]. As was noted in the
scriptures above[1 Cor. 12:27-28], in Paul's list of ministry functions,
the one who does miracles is way down the ladder from the Apostolic
office. So Paul is not arguing that signs alone prove apostleship, only
that the sign gifts accompany the ministry of the apostle.
Now the word "apostle" merely means "one
who is sent," and in the Church, apostles went and preached the
gospel in new territories and established the Church in foreign lands.
While the ministry of The Twelve has certainly been fulfilled, the
ministry of the apostle is still active in the Church: they are called
missionaries. Missionaries go and preach the Gospel, establish churches
and oversea them. Many missionaries today do indeed report signs and
wonders that bring pagans to Christ. I know of a former missionary for the
Christian and Missionary Alliance, Rick Sessoms, who told me that even
though he didn't believe in miracles when he went overseas, signs and
wonders happened anyway while he was there proclaiming the Gospel. If
miracles are a sign of apostleship, it might be that the missionary is
part of the continuing ministry of the apostle [small "a"].
What's more, Jesus promised that the miracles would not
just follow the apostles, but believers who preached the
gospel:
"And he said to them, "Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And
these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast
out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay
their hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord
Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down
at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs
that attended it. Amen." Mark 16:15-20, RSV.
The signs and wonders, the miracles and healings, are
not just to confirm the message of the Apostles and establish the
Scripture. No. God has a covenant with his Word, that he will confirm his
Gospel with signs and wonders. This covenant with his Word is not just for
the apostles, but for all believers! By these signs, the scripture
says, the Lord confirms his message.
The need for God to confirm his message has not abated.
Studies of Church history, missionary movements, and present day missions
show that God has regularly used miracles to convert tribes and nations.
So if the miracle gifts were indeed temporary, then not only would they
have passed away, but then all those who have come to Christ through them
have been led to the Lord through deceptions and counterfeits. Obviously,
that conclusion makes no sense. Whole nations have turned to the Lord
because of God's signs and wonders that accompanied the preaching of his
Word.
Argument
3: Dispensationalism: The Laodicean Age of the Church Means All Miracles
are Signs of Deception and the Anti-Christ.
Dispensational theology is predicated upon a type of
fatalism that assumes that most of the Church will commit apostasy, become
exceedingly weak during the last days, and will be defeated by a world
wide government headed by an anti-Christ. The Dispensationalist believes
we are in the last days. Therefore, any sign of the Church's present
strength or miraculous power in bringing testimony to Jesus is only part
of a strong delusion sent to lead believers astray. {For an in depth look
at the Scriptures and the views of Dispensationalism, see the article Dispensational
Fatalism in the End Times section}
Dispensationalism combines various passages of
apocalyptic scriptures {Daniel, Revelation, 2 Thessalonians} to justify
the fatalistic scenario of a weak and powerless Church. One of the most
questionable justifications for this view is the use of the Seven Churches
of Revelation as a typological representation of the Church Ages. Although
the Scriptures give no evidence of the Seven Churches of Revelation being
seven ages of the Church, Dispensationalists have latched onto this
interpretation of scripture as if it were the Gospel itself. While the
present Church in the West may indeed be Laodicean [corrupted by money and
spiritually compromised — Rev. 3:14], the Church in China, and in other
countries where the Church is suffering persecution, is vital and alive.
There, the people are willingly giving their lives away for the Gospel -
enduring beatings and hardships, imprisonments and poverty. The Church in
these places is more like the Church in Smyrna [Rev 2:8], where believers
suffered and died for the faith. It is surely unjust to class them with
the Laodicean church. What is true that during every age, the Seven
Churches provide examples and warnings to the Body of Christ as types of
faithfulness and failure.
Dispensationalists make much of a passage in Matthew:
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation,
and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's
sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one
another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And
because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold. But he
who endures to the end will be saved." Matthew 24:9-13, RSV.
There will be times of persecution that cause many to
fall away, but the chronology of the passage here in Matthew is uncertain.
It could be that Jesus is talking about a continuing state of affairs
until the time of the end. Or he could be talking about the time of
tribulation for the Christians in Jerusalem leading up to the time of the
fall of
Jerusalem in 70 AD. {See article on the parallel passage in Mark} He
could be talking about a final persecution, but in this passage Jesus is
trying to give his disciples the "big picture." Remember, the
disciples were expecting the immediate re-establishment of a Davidic
Kingdom, the defeat of Rome and a time of great earthly peace and
prosperity. They were not looking for a supernatural kingdom when they
asked the question, "When?" They wanted to know what signs would
speak of an immediate restoration of the nation of Israel with Jesus as
its new King. "When will you be establishing your new Dynasty Lord?
And how long will it take after Jerusalem is overthrown?" They still
were not expecting Jesus to die and be resurrected. They didn't yet
understand the scriptures that he must die [Mark 9:31-32].
The point is: even if heavy persecution is coming and
even if many fall away, the scriptures do not say that the faithful Church
will be ineffective or powerless in its witness. In fact, the opposite is
true:
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall
the end come." Matthew 24:14, KJV.
First the Church will complete its missionary task, the
Great Commission, before the end. So rather than being a weak and defeated
Church, the Church fulfills the Great Commission under the power and
anointing of the Spirit of God, who enables us to complete God's work on
the Earth.
2 Thessalonians does make it clear that there will be an
end time Man of Lawlessness, there will be persecution of believers, and
there will be a great deception upon unbelievers. The problem is assuming
that the Church will not do any genuine miracles or have active gifts of
the Spirit during this time. If we look at Jesus, it was the miracles that
caused him to be persecuted by those in religious authority. It is not a
weak and powerless Church that is persecuted, but a powerful and effective
one whose witness causes those in power to be discomforted! In fact, the
Church usually shines in times of persecution. Yes it is true that when
hard times come, many who are believers of convenience fall away, but
those who love the Lord shine with the glory of His presence, usually to
the great dismay and anger of those who oppose Him.
Will the Church be powerless and will it lack gifts
and miracles? Scripture militates against such a conclusion. In fact, the
Church appears to go out with fire and with a bang, rather than as
defeated and ashamed.
Two passages in Matthew shed light on one specific
aspect of 2 Thessalonians: the "apostasy" does not take place
until after the Great Commission is fulfilled.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" 2 Thessalonians 2:3, KJV.
The Greek idea of apostasy, "falling away," in
this text includes the idea of willful rebellion and not merely a
falling away from the truth. That interpretation makes sense in light of
the later verse of the deception which falls not upon believers but
upon those who "refuse" to love the truth [2:10]:
"The coming of the lawless one by the activity
of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and
with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they
refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon
them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false," 2
Thessalonians 2:9-11, RSV.
The Church has been given a Commission from our Lord - a
job to do. And the Lord did not say we would fail in our task:
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that
I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of
the age." (Matthew 28:18-20, NRSV).
Jesus promised he would be with the Church, with us, to
help us and enable us to carry out the Commission. Note here that we are
not charged merely to preach the word but to bring all nations into
obedience to the name of Christ — to disciple them. What is more,
Jesus said we will be successful in this task:
And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed
throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and THEN the end
will come. -Mt 24:14
So even if the Church is to be weak and a failure in the
end, it would only be at the very end, after the Gospel has been
successfully preached to all nations.
2 Thessalonians indicates the great apostasy and
rebellion takes place after the Great Commission is fulfilled! Since it is
not the believers who are led astray, but those who refuse the gospel and
refuse to love the truth, it must be that they have had the opportunity
to hear it - or they can't willfully refuse it. Therefore the Gospel must
be preached to them effectively so that they can hear it. Only then,
after they hear it, can they refuse it and be accountable:
The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the
working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind
of wicked deception for those who are perishing, BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO
LOVE THE TRUTH AND SO BE SAVED. For this reason God sends them a powerful
delusion, leading them to believe what is false, SO THAT ALL WHO HAVE NOT
BELIEVED THE TRUTH BUT TOOK PLEASURE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS WILL BE CONDEMNED.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, NRSV).
This scripture can only be fulfilled when all
nations have had the opportunity to hear and believe the gospel! It
can only take place after The Great Commission is fulfilled by the Church
through a mighty, world wide outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Then those who
have heard but still refuse God's grace are left with nothing but
to be deceived by a false christ, because they have rejected the Lord as
Savior.
It appears that the great deception falls not upon
believers but upon unbelievers. Those who refuse to love the truth are the
ones deceived, not the faithful Church. In any case, there is no solid
evidence that the Church will lack power at the end of days, at least not
until the Commission has been completed. The Anti-Christ does not come
until we, the Church, have completed our task. He is not revealed until we
have finished it! So to build a doctrine of Cessation on the presumption
that we are in the last days would require at the very least that we had
fulfilled the Great Commission, which we have not. There are still
hundreds of tribes and tongues and nations that have not had the Gospel
preached to them and who have not yet been discipled.
What
are the Gifts? The Holy Spirit Doing His Works in the Congregation.
"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O
sons of Jacob, are not consumed." Malachi 3:6, RSV.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
and for ever." Hebrews 13:8, RSV.
"To each is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good." 1 Corinthians 12:7, RSV.
What are the gifts? Each gift is the manifestation of
the Holy Spirit Himself in the midst of the people of God! [1 Cor 12:7]
The word ‘manifestation' in Latin means ‘the dancing hand.' The idea
is that of the Spirit touching down here and there as He wills in the
Congregation, first showing himself in one person and then another. In the
Greek, the word ‘manifestation' is phanerosis, which means to
"make visible or reveal what is hidden: to show oneself."
What Paul is saying is that the Holy Spirit is showing himself in and
through the gifts when he displays his glory in the congregation. It is
God the Spirit revealing himself in and among his people. For it says:
"I will put my dwelling-place among you, and I
will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will
be my people." Leviticus 26:11,12, NIV.
"I will make a covenant of peace with them; it
shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and
multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for
evermore. My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people." Ezekiel 37:26,27, RSV.
The gifts are God, the Holy Spirit, manifesting himself
in the congregation. The gifts are His expression of himself and his
nature, giving to each as "He wills." The gifts don't belong
to us and they are not our possession, they are a reflection of God among
His people.
Since God does not change, [He is "the same
yesterday, today, and forever"], for us to claim the gifts have
ceased is to say that the Holy Spirit has ceased to manifest Himself in
our Churches. And if that be the case, then woe unto us! For God has
ceased to be present with his people!
"Do you not know that you all together are God's
temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16.
Paul says that when the people of God are joined
together as the Body of Believers, they are the Temple of God. The word
Paul uses is naos in Greek, which means the Holy Place and the Holy
of Holies — the most sacred dwelling place of God in Israel. But when
Jesus was crucified, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies was torn,
top to bottom [Mark 15:38], and the dwelling place of God's special
presence was no longer confined to the Holy of Holies. God could now dwell
inside our hearts as his Temple:
"Now this he said about the Spirit, which those
who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been
given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." John 7:39, RSV..
Now that the Holy Spirit dwells in human flesh through
rebirth through faith in Christ, we have a new nature — God living
within us. And corporate worship becomes the place where the Transcendent
Glory of the Almighty is present. It is God's House where He dwells. If
the people are willing and do not resist, God is free to do in His house,
just as he pleases, and he will manifest himself through the Gifts of The
Spirit.
Since God does not change from generation to generation,
then why would be different today than when he founded the Church? Why did
he not say, "After a little while, I will cease to manifest myself
among you until the time of the end?" No, if God did miracles in the
past, he will do them today. If he inspired people to speak in other
languages as a means of prayer and to bring glory to Jesus Christ, then he
will do so today. If He spoke prophetically in the midst of the
congregation, he will do it today. If he healed in the past, he will
continue to heal today. Why? Because "I the Lord do not change!"
For any mere man to proclaim that the gifts have ceased is to say God has
changed! Indeed, the entire Old Testament is a continuous record of God's
marvelous acts in history — his signs and wonders. The New Testament is
a record of the same, beginning with Jesus' birth and continuing through
the Church and the life of the Apostles. God doesn't change. If he did
them in the OT and he did the miracles in the Church in the NT, he acted
the same as he always has done. Why would he be any different now?
Counsel
and Advice: How then Should the Gifts Be Used?
If
the Scriptures are Indeed the Perfect, Shouldn't they be Obeyed?
To further attenuate the position that the closed Canon
is ‘the Perfect,' lets just look at what the Perfect Scriptures actually
say:
Paul, in this very same letter in which he talks about
tongues eventually ‘ceasing,' he takes several pages to instruct the
church on the proper use of prophecy and tongues in worship. If he
expected tongues to disappear in a decade, would he have written so many
pages on their use? I doubt it. Rather, he expected all the gifts to be a
continuing part of worship in the Church until Christ returned, so he gave
a lasting instructions on how the gifts should properly be used! He meant
his instructions to teach the People of God how they should live and
worship as they waited for Jesus. This focus, on the Coming Again, is
always in the forefront of Paul's mind in his writings. It is Paul's
constant eschatological hope. So it seems most natural to interpret these
passages as part of his instruction on looking forward to the appearing of
Christ who will cause us to fully know him, at which time the gifts will
cease.
Now, on the basis of the doctrine , that the bible is
the perfect, could we throw out Paul's teaching on the use of the
gifts of the Spirit in worship? Can we safely disregard his instructions
on the proper format for worship because we have determined that his words
do not apply to us today? Why don't we just cut out that chapter from the
bible, since it no longer applies to us? What other part of the NT should
we just throw away?
Instead, if God inspired the scriptures and He said
through Paul, that we should, "earnestly desire the spiritual
gifts," [and Paul included tongues in this list of gifts, he didn't
say desire all of them except tongues], who are we to say, "Forget it
God, your NT word does not apply to us today?"
"So, my brethren, earnestly desire to prophesy,
and do not forbid speaking in tongues;" 1 Corinthians 14:39, RSV.
It appears that in God's Word, that those who oppose the
gift of languages as "demonic" are actually disobeying God's
Holy written Word. They are forbidding what God says not to forbid, and
they are not seeking what God told them to seek! All because of their
doctrine that the Holy Spirit has ceased to function in the Congregations
of God.
If indeed, the Scriptures really are the perfect,
then how much more should we apply them! For they tell us to desire
the gift of prophecy, and of Paul's desire that we should all speak in
tongues [1 Cor 14:5]. The Scriptures tell us how to use prophecy in
worship and the proper order for the use of tongues and interpretation in
worship. What's more he says healings and miracles and words of knowledge
should be a regular part of the household of God:
"What then, brethren? When you come together,
each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an
interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." 1
Corinthians 14:26, RSV.
[On a side note, why do you think Paul wrote so many
pages instructing the church in the proper use of the gifts of the Spirit
if he expected them to be completely gone in the next 30 years? Do you
think that it was in his mind that when his writings and those of Peter
and others were canonized as scripture, he would consider this to be the
perfect condition on which basis prophecies and knowledge would cease? It
is hard to imagine Paul equating his own writings with scripture. Although
he knows he has authority of the Lord to speak and counsel, I doubt it was
in his mind that he saw his letters as the perfection that would cause
prophecies and knowledge to cease. Paul says, "collect all my letters
in a book, and those of the other apostles, and when you are done, then
prophecy and knowledge will cease from the earth." I don't think so.
It was not in Paul's mind when he wrote the verse.]
"Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the
spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy." 1 Corinthians
14:1, RSV.
Jesus said, "seek and you will find," [Mt.
7:7]. We are commanded to "covet" the spiritual gifts. To Covet
[earnestly desire: zelou, zealously desire] isa strong word in the
Greek, which means to pursue with passion. By desiring the gifts of God,
we are in fact earnestly desiring the Presence of the Holy Spirit in the
midst of the congregation! The gifts are signs of His presence! We don't
have them in the Church apart from the Holy Spirit; or else they are false
or counterfeit. Paul says we should not forbid speaking in tongues [1 Cor
14:39] nor should we quench the Holy Spirit by despising prophecy [1 Thess
5:19-20]. Why? Because resisting the manifestations of the Holy Spirit is
resisting the Holy Spirit himself! We are telling God what He can and
cannot do. And yes, we can quench the Holy Spirit! WE can do that.
How
Should the Gifts Be Applied? - In Love!
But tongues are not something to be prideful about, nor
to be used as if they were a mark of spiritual maturity and holiness. They
are not. This self-aggrandizing over the minor gift of speaking in tongues
was the cause of so much trouble in Corinth. They boasted as if they owned
the gifts and were something special, when the gifts are God's and He is
the only one who is special. So Paul says that the gifts are great, but if
they aren't exercised with love and in love for others, for the benefit of
the whole Body, then they are worthless [1 Cor. 13, ff] and pointless.
Actually all this boasting about the gifts is a lot of prideful
self-inflation. Acting in love and for the sake of love is what is truly
important, otherwise, the worship is a waste of time, no matter how many
gifts appear to be present.
The Corinthian error was that they were focussing on the
manifestations as a mark of spiritual pride and one-upmanship over their
fellows. Those who seek signs, and not the One who gives the signs,
are prey to all sorts of errors and deceptions. But we must not create a
false dichotomy between the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our midst
and the growth of maturity and fruit within us. They most naturally occur
together, because we cannot progress to maturity without the Holy Spirit.
Remember that even in the immature Corinthians, who still lived immorally,
["there is not one spiritual gift lacking among you," 1 Cor 1:7]
the gifts were present. We must not make maturity the condition of the
Holy Spirit's manifest presence. It is only His presence that will mature
us.
Finally, by reasoning from the Word, if we are filled
with the Holy Spirit and if He is active in the midst of the congregation,
we have every right to expect the same manifestations of his presence and
power today as they did in the early NT. Jesus said, "He who believes
in me will do the works that I do and Greater works than these will he
do...." That is not a time bound promise. It is a promise based only
on one thing. It is based upon "he who believes" We have the
right to ask for the Holy Spirit to be fully manifest in us and in our
midst.
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13, RSV).
And if we ask the Father for the Holy Spirit, will he
give us a stone or serpent instead?
Conclusion
In our argument, we have shown that the main passages
customarily used to support a belief in Cessation do not actually support
the doctrine. The idea of Cessation is no where mentioned specifically in
the passages as having already happened. At most, the passage [1
Cor. 13:8-9] says that the gifts will cease, when the perfect comes. The
perfect in this case, we have shown, is not the scriptures, but appears to
be either the Second Coming and the Kingdom of God or Eternal Life. The
belief, therefore, "that the gifts have passed because the Canon is
complete" is a doctrine that has to be assumed, but which can't be
found in Scripture itself. As we have said, the interpretation of this
passage is too questionable to become the main pillar for an entire
doctrine of Cessation.
Since God is the same, "yesterday, today, and
forever," we have a right to expect God to be the same in the
Congregation today as he was in the founding of the Church. The Gifts are
the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as he reveals himself in the Church.
He wants to work within us, the Temple of His Dwelling Place. If we permit
him and allow him, we are also to exercise the Gifts in love and for love
in the building up of the Body of Christ, to bring Glory to Jesus, and not
for self aggrandizement. We are to earnestly covet the gifts, especially
to prophesy, but we are to do all things in love, for the sake of Christ.
©2000 Jefferis Kent Peterson
The Scholar's Corner
- A Treatise on Religious Affections, by Jonathan
Edwards, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids 1982, Introduction and page
215.
- Power Evangelism, by John Wimber, with Kevin
Springer, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1986, pp. ix, 119-120.
Citation: Benjamin Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles, The Banner of Truth
Trust, 1918, Carlisle, PA.
- from a note on Rev. 3: 14-22 in the Scofield
Reference Bible, 1967 edition, Oxford, and note on 2 Timothy 3:1.[cf.
http://www.hccentral.com/gkeys/darby.html ]
- Power,. p 120.
- The MacArthur New Testament Commentary 1 Corinthians,
Moody Press, Chicago, 1984., pp. 364-367.
- Ibid., p. 364, 365.
- Ibid. 359.
- Ibid. pp., 297-8.
- Ibid. p. 360.
- Ibid. pp., 360-361.
- http://www.grmi.org/Richard_Riss/evidences/37mir.html
; Augustine City of God, Book 22, Chapter 8 http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF1-02/npnf1-02-28.htm#P4329_2364369
- Ibid. See also http://www.graciouscall.org/books/history/2_ch01.htm
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