HAVE THE CHARISMATIC GIFTS CEASED? The issue of whether or not the charismatic spiritual gifts are still operating today has caused much debate and division in the body of Christ. The extremes are amazing. There are groups that say that if you do speak in tongues, then you are under demonic control and are not saved. On the other hand, other groups say that if you do not speak in tongues, then you are not saved. What’s more, both extremes use scripture to support their positions. Fortunately for the Christian church, whether or not the spiritual gifts are for today is not a salvation issue. Therefore, we need to be gracious and tolerant toward one another. Romans 14:5 says, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Quoted from the ESV). As you can see, the Bible leaves room for debate and differences of opinion on non-essential doctrines. The issue of whether or not the charismatic gifts are still around is a debatable issue, and charity needs to be granted from both sides of the argument. This is not an issue to divide over as many, unfortunately, have chosen to do. I am of the opinion that the charismatic spiritual gifts are still all in effect. I do not believe they ceased with the apostles or with the completion of the Bible and there are a number of reasons for this, all of them biblical. If there is disagreement, that’s fine, but let me give my reasons for why I believe what I do. To keep things simple, I will state a few of the standard objections to the continuance of the spiritual gifts and then I will give basic refutations for those arguments. Argument 1: Since we have the Bible, we do not need spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 is usually quoted as scriptural support for this position: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. The argument of this group is that the “perfect” that is spoken of in verse 10 is the completed Bible; and, therefore, the extraordinary gifts are no longer needed. However I do not believe these verses can be used to support cessationism and I’ll explain why. Verse 12 says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.” The word “then” refers back to the phrase “but when the perfect comes...” Since the only infallible interpreter of Scripture is Scripture, a quick examination of the way God uses the term “face to face” should help us understand this passage better. The phrase is used throughout the Bible and always means an encounter with a person. When God uses it in reference to Himself, it means a visual, personal encounter with Him (Gen. 32:30; Ex. 33:11; Num. 12:8; Deut. 5:4; and Jer. 32:4). Likewise in the New Testament it is also used in speaking of personal encounters (2 Cor. 10:1; 2 John 1:12; 3 John 1:14, etc.). “When the perfect comes . . . then we shall see face to face” seems, most logically, to refer a personal encounter; at least, that seems to be how God uses the phrase. If the position is taken that the “perfect” is the completed Bible, how then would an encounter with God in the manner that the phrase suggests, an encounter in a person, have been described in Scripture? Seeing Christ face-to-face occurs when He returns and this seems to me to be what verse 12 is speaking of. Another “then” is mentioned in verse 12c: “... then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” The word “then” again refers back to the phrase “but when the perfect comes.” Again, we need to look at how the Bible uses words. This time we’ll look at the word “know.” Scripture says that eternal life is to know God (John 17:3) and only the believer is known by Jesus (John 10:27; Rom. 8:29; Gal. 4:8+9), while the unbeliever is not known by Him (Matt. 7:21-23). In every verse except for one, God says He only knows believers. This is a salvific knowing; that is, it is a kind of knowing that God does of the Christians. He knows them, and they are saved and the unbelievers are not known and are, therefore, not saved. It would seem most consistent with scripture to say that “... even as I have been fully known” would refer to a salvation relationship between Jesus and the Christian. At the return of Christ, we (the ones known) shall know fully; we shall see face-to-face the One who is our Saviour. Also, we don’t “know” Jesus through the Scripture; we know about Him from the Scripture (John 5:39). Instead, we know Him by personal encounter (John 1:12; 1 Cor. 1:9) through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. We don’t know in a full sense right now even though we have the Bible because we are still corrupted by our sin nature. In our fallen state we can only see Christ through sin-clouded eyes. We see a reflection of Christ in the Word. When Jesus returns, the reflection of the truth will pass to clear understanding (the way childish thoughts give way to mature ones) when we receive our resurrected bodies, no longer have to battle sinful flesh, and can see Him face-to-face because “we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2) and then we, “... shall know fully.” The context of 1 Cor. 13:8-13 seems, in my opinion, to show that the spiritual gifts will cease when Jesus returns. Interestingly, 1 Cor. 1:7 may be consulted here as well. It says, “so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,”. The Greek word here for “revealing” is apokalupsis. It means the apocalypse, the return of Jesus. In both this verse and 1 Cor. 13:8-13 the gifts, which aren’t differentiated as to kind, are connected to the return of Christ --- not the completion of the Bible. One more thing, the word gift in the Greek is charisma. This is where we get the word “charismatic”. Argument 2: Present-day tongues are further revelation and must then be equal to Scripture and should be included in the Bible. But since the Bible is not to have anything added to it, the gift of tongues (and therefore, the rest of the spiritual gifts) must no longer be valid and have therefore ceased. This is a faulty argument because the Scripture itself recognises inspired revelation that is not to be added to the Bible: “What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” (1 Cor. 14:26). Here, in the Corinthian church, revelations were given that were not made part of the Bible. This shows that there were, for lack of a better word, “different” kinds of revelation: one from the prophets and apostles meant for canonization (becoming part of Scripture) and another through the Spirit to be used in the church for edification --- not canonization. So, in my opinion, for someone to maintain that revelation today is a threat to the Canon, does not understand 1 Corinthians 14:26 and is not applying Scripture properly. Argument 3: There is such misuse of the gifts that they couldn’t possibly be real. First of all, misuse of the gifts implies their existence, so immediately this stance is skewed as they couldn’t be misused if they did not exist. The only real position to be taken here would be that the use of the gifts really is no use but is only fakery and self-deception. I do not deny that the gifts are misused. I have heard manifestations of tongues, interpretations of tongues, and prophecy that, in my opinion, were not genuine. But I do not discredit the gifts based upon those experiences anymore than I would say that the gift of preaching is gone because I have seen it misused. Experience does not make doctrine --- the Bible does. Second, it is not a sick child that needs discipline and correction; it is the active, energetic, exploring child that needs to be guided. This was so with the Corinthian church. They were using the gifts greatly but improperly and needed to be corrected on their proper use. There is a further reason as to why the charismatic gifts have not ceased and in order to understand this we need to understand that the authority of God is vested in the Name of Jesus as found in Mark 16:17+18. Furthermore, we are told that salvation is only in the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). If then, the gift of tongues, as one of the charismatic gifts, which Jesus said will accompany all believers in His Name, has ceased, then so has the authority of the Name of Jesus, for it is “in my Name” that the gifts accompany the believers. If there is no longer authority in the Name of Jesus then it is no longer possible to find salvation as there is salvation only in the Name of Jesus, which ultimately means that anyone reading this article is unsaved as the authority of the Name of Jesus that saves us from the power of Satan has ceased! 1 Corinthians 13 is the main source for the argument that the cessationists (those who believe the gifts have ceased) go to in order to establish their position. However, upon looking at the context, I believe 1 Corinthians 13 teaches that the gifts will cease when Jesus returns.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 09:19:35 +0000
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