Why did the sign gifts cease? Having seen the pattern of truth regarding the gifts, we need to ask, why did the gifts cease at this time? Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12— “Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” The gift of tongues, prophecy and knowledge during the Acts period were only “in part”—they were incomplete, they did not communicate the full knowledge that the Lord had to reveal. But the Lord revealed to Paul that “that which is perfect” was coming. In English, as in Greek, this is a neuter pronoun—”that thing which is perfect.” Paul was not writing about the coming of “He who is perfect” but of the coming of a “thing” which is perfect. When it came, then the gifts which were only “in part” would cease. It would be like the difference between being a child and becoming a grown man, or between seeing someone’s face reflected in a wavy ancient mirror, and seeing the person face-to-face. Before the end of the Book of Acts, during the Acts period, and in the letters written during the Acts period, the Lord had only revealed part of the “dispensation of grace” (Eph. 3:2) to the Apostle Paul, but He had not yet revealed the entire message to him. It was still only “in part” during the Acts period, but with the close of the Book of Acts, the Lord completed the revelation of the “Mystery” (see Eph. 3:3,4,9 and Col. 1:26,27, etc.). “That which is perfect” was finally revealed in all its fullness to the Apostle Paul and at that moment, those things which were only “in part” passed away from God’s program. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12— “Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” When Paul wrote “now I know in part,” he used the common word for “know,” the Greek word gnosis. But then, when he wrote “but then I shall know…” he changes the word from gnosis to epignosis, “to fully know.” We could paraphrase Paul’s statement: “Now, as I’m writing 1 Corinthians in Acts 19, I have gnosis—I know, in part, what God’s message is for us today in the dispensation of grace, but then—when that which is perfect has come—I shall have epignosis—the full knowledge of God’s message of grace for us today.” All through the Book of Acts Paul had only “gnosis,” partial knowledge of the message of grace, but when we turn to the Prison Letters we suddenly find Paul using that word “epignosis”—he had now received that “full knowledge” which he didn’t have when he wrote to the Corinthians: “For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge (epignosis—full knowledge) of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ” (Col. 2:1-2). “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge (epignosis—full knowledge) of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Col. 1:9-12). In all the seven letters written after the close of the Book of Acts, Paul uses this word “epignosis”—the full knowledge. What he had not yet received in 1 Corinthians 13, he now has. That which is perfect had come and so the sign gifts had passed away. The “sign gifts” were signs for God’s “sign people” The close of the Book of Acts was also the close of God’s dealings with the nation of Israel for now nearly 2000 years. Acts 28:25-28 stands as God’s last words to the nation of Israel for nearly two millennia. The Jews sought after signs (1 Cor. 1:22) so God gave them signs—among the Gentiles!—in order to provoke Israel to jealousy (Rom. 11:14). But with the close of Acts, God sets aside Israel for a time, and when God gave up on the “sign people” for a time, the sign gifts passed out of His program. I speak in tongues, what should I do? Many Christians today have had an experience that they think is the scriptural gift of tongues. After studying Paul’s letters and the scriptural teaching concerning the cessation of the gift of tongues, they ask, “What should I do now?” There are several possible explanations for the experience—it may be a psychological experience or even a spiritual experience, but clearly, from the Word of God, it is not the Spirit’s gift of tongues. What should they do? Simply: Stop! Stop speaking in the tongue because it is not from the Holy Spirit. For many this is a great relief. They’ve been taught that a person has to speak in tongues to prove that he is really saved, or that he really has the Holy Spirit dwelling within. So they’ve “learned” to speak in tongues, but when they see from Scripture that this gift is not in operation from the Lord today, they can at last cease their effort to prove their salvation and start to walk by faith and not by sight. For some, Paul’s instructions to the prophets at Corinth will be pertinent: “If anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Cor. 14:30-33). When we are having an experience that we learn from the Scriptures is not from the Lord, it is time to “keep silent,” and remember that our spirits are to be under our own control—”the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” The Lord’s warning The Lord warned that experiences can be deceiving: “Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt. 7:22-23). Yes, they really had had these experiences. They had prophesied in Jesus’ name, they had cast out demons and done miracles in His name. The Lord does not deny that they had done these things. But then He tells them that even while they were doing these things, He had never ever known them. It is important that our faith be based on the Word of God and not on experiences because experiences can deceive us. A note about the gift of healing As we have seen, Paul was able to heal many sick people all through the Book of Acts. He healed every sick person on the Island of Malta in Acts 28. And he wrote to the Corinthians about the gift of healing that was operating in their church during the Acts period (1 Cor. 12:9). But we have also seen that with the close of the Book of Acts, the gift of healing ceased to operate. Paul could no longer heal anyone—not Epaphroditus in Philippians 2, not Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23, not Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20. The gift of healing had ceased to operate, along with the other sign gifts. Today God no longer gives the gift of healing, and there are no “healers.” But we should not think that God Himself no longer heals! In Philippians 2 we read of a healing that God did after the gift of healing had ceased to operate: “Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. “For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. “Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. “Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me” (Phil. 2:25-30). Paul commends Epaphroditus very highly for his faithfulness even unto death. But when Epaphroditus fell sick—near to death—Paul was no longer able to heal him because the gift of healing had ceased to operate. But we read that Epaphroditus was healed—directly by the Lord: “He was sick unto death but the Lord had mercy on him….” There is healing today, but there is no gift of healing, there are no “divine healers.” There is no gift of healing today but God still heals… sometimes. He healed Epaphroditus, but He did not heal Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 or in Galatians 4:13-15, or Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23, or Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20. He heals according to His will today. But the promise that He gave to Paul is still our promise today in the dispensation of grace: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Whether we are well or sick, whether we are like Epaphroditus or like Timothy, we can always claim this promise from the Lord that His grace and strength are sufficient for us. He never allows us to suffer something that He doesn’t give us the strength to live through When Did the Gift of Tongues Cease? new.bereanbiblesociety.org When Did the Gift of Tongues Cease?by Pastor Dennis Kiszonas Print This ArticleNo one was more “charismatic” than the Apostle Paul. He wrote to the Corinthian church that “they came behind no other church” when
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 10:37:49 +0000
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