Ceased Doesn't Mean Deceased
... Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now ceased.What a statement! It pleased the Lord to reveal Himself to us! Amen! But sadly, as Solomon said, "Men have sought out many devices." Within the first paragraph we already see what is a hotly contested subject. In short, the position posited here is that of what is commonly known as cessationism, or to say that the miraculous and revelatory gifts of the Spirit no longer exist today. Even amongst modern Calvinistic folk the view presented by the confession is looked down upon.
Before simply dismissing the view expressed by the authors and signatories of the Confession as being puritanical and unscriptural (I mean, doesn't a straightforward reading of 1 Corinthians make it obvious that we have these spiritual gifts?), lets understand the reasoning which leads them to this conclusion.
Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His church.
A student of Scripture will quickly see the parallel of what is said here to the first verse of Hebrews, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways..." Those who are familiar with the KJV will see the correlation the best ("sundry times and divers manners"). In past times God used various means to speak to His people, most frequently through the mouth of a prophet. This was the "common" practice (though if one really thinks about it, for the millions of people who existed throughout the history of the Jews it was only a handful of people who uttered a true prophetic voice, so it really wasn't that common). But as the verse implies, God ceased speaking through prophets and instead speaks in the last days through His Son, Jesus Christ. So, from the Old to the New Testament we already begin to see a shift of the manner of speech, ceasing from former ways to communicating through better means.
And afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing
Few who have held to the Christian faith would argue against this statement. Some who claim to be of the faith, though I would say are wolves in sheep clothing, would argue against God's preservation of the Scriptures. Some also argue that the Bible is unnecessary because we have the Spirit. But the vast majority of Christian history has attested to the centrality and supremacy of the Bible as the documents preserved for the care of the church and our instruction. It is God's written Word given to us. From it all our doctrine must be established, and everything opposed to it is deemed heretical. So in the Scriptures we have supplied all necessary revelation for our faith and obedience. No further revelation is needed since the Word has been preserved for us. This is commonly called "The Sufficiency of Scripture."
which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now ceased.
Having accepted that the Holy Scriptures are "most necessary", we now come to the point of contention: the former ways of revelation have now ceased. How could such a view ever stand? We live in the age of the Spirit, having been blessed with every spiritual gift, so surely we don't want to stifle the Spirit, or worse yet, blaspheme the Spirit by denying its work?
The key to the argument is founded on what the Scriptures are. Having previously concluded that the Bible is the final authority, any further prophecy, teaching or revelation must be grounded upon it. To shift the paradigm, since everything that is necessary we already have in the established Scriptures as being our only certain, grounded rule of faith and obedience, any further revelation or prophecy is essentially unnecessary. We have the full and final revelation given to us in the Son, and that revelation is preserved for us in the Word.
Purpose of the Miraculous
What was the point of all the miraculous gifts then? Let's look at an interesting verse from a narrative passage from Acts 2. "Then fear came over everyone, and may wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles" (v43). Notice through whom the Spirit worked its miraculous gifts: the apostles. It wasn't working miraculously through the 3000 who had accepted the apostles teaching, nor does it say that daily additions were having miraculous works being performed through them (cf v47), but it was solely through the apostles that signs and wonders were being performed. A few chapters later, again we read, "At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people" (5:12). As one works through the book of Acts, the studier of this subject should notice that the vast majority of miraculous works were performed solely by the apostles. Even Simon the Sorcerer noticed it was only through the apostles that miraculous works took place and offered them money for such a gift. So why did they alone have it? It was to establish the credibility and authority of the apostles. Remember that our Lord Jesus Himself told His audience that if they didn't believe Him for His words, believe on Him at least for His miraculous works (cf. John 10:38, 14:11). His works proved the validity of His words, so too with His apostles. It was because of their works that showed the truth and power of their words, and so their written words were kept and preserved for us in our New Testament canon.
But what about the various outpourings of the Spirit, where various people began to speak in tongues? The first occurrence is in Acts 2, and that was again for the purpose of validity of the Spirit. It should also be noted that the tongue spoken wasn't some angelic tongue, but the purpose was to preach the Gospel to the various peoples who spoke different languages. You could perhaps say that the first actual miraculous work of the Spirit was Bible translation. The second great outpouring took place in Samaria, where Simon the Sorcerer became covetous of the apostles' miraculous abilities and offered money for the gift. Third, we see the outpouring of the Spirit upon the house of Cornelius, the first Gentile, God-fearing converts. The Spirit's miraculous outpouring was actually a teaching lesson for Peter: that God has brought salvation to the Gentiles. Following this, the miraculous outpourings continue in lands where the church has not yet been established to show and prove the validity of the apostolic teaching. Notice how the book of Acts moves in it's relating the miraculous outpourings of the Spirit: it follows Christ's final earthly commission to His apostles: "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The miraculous outpourings with the speaking in tongues was for the purpose of establishing the church and apostolic authority.
What about the passage in 1 Corinthians (12-14)? First, to understand this passage, I think it is best to understand the circumstance of the letter. The church in Corinth was terribly immature. These people were celebrating a man who was having intercourse with his father's wife (whether that is mother or step-mother, I don't know), saying that this shows how great God's mercy really is. These people thought grace was a license to licentiousness. Second, notice at the end of chapter 12 Paul establishes a hierarchy of gifts. Where do most of the miraculous gifts fall? Toward the end. The gifts that promoted the preaching of the gospel took the highest place, not the ones people could "ooo" and "ahh" at. Paul purposefully was downplaying the "spectacular" gifts. Moreover, he goes on to say that he would rather speak 5 words that would be intelligible to his hearers than 10,000 words in another tongue, telling those who don't have an interpreter to stay silent. Even in personal prayer and song, he said he would prefer to pray with both his mind and spirit, than just in the spirit. Now, this doesn't deny the existence of speaking in tongues and "prayer language," but Paul is going to great lengths to make sure the Corinthians understand it's lesser place in the life of a Christian and the worship of the church. Why? Because of the lack of edification that takes place in it. Think about it, someone speaking in tongues through an interpreter is nothing more than a sermon in another language being translated. But if there is no interpreter, it sounds nothing more than babbling, indistinct sounds. The pastor who can speak in the native language is naturally superior to the one speaking in another tongue, because he can speak intelligibly in order to edify the church, which is the entire reason he has been given that gift (cf 1 Cor 14:12, 26; Eph 4:11-12). (This actually is a good commendation to pastors who misuse Greek and Hebrew in their sermons to the demise of their congregation, because they use a foreign tongue to seem superior, but in the end leaves the people unedified.)
It also should be noted that it is this same church that Paul had to sarcastically deal with "super-apostles". These were apparently men who performed some sort of sign to gain a following, but they preached a different gospel than the one Paul preached to them (cf 2 Cor 11:1-15). Moses even forewarned against such false prophets:
Finally, a quick note that should be interesting. In Paul's list to the Ephesians of spiritual gifts, he doesn't even mention the miraculous gifts of tongues and healing. Considering that this letter dates later than his letters to the Corinthians, this should be understood as significant. Had Paul even noticed a "ceasing" in his own time of such gifts as churches throughout the Gentile world had become established? Also, where these gifts were used to establish the authority of the apostles and prophets, they don't show up on any list in the appointment of elders and deacons within a church. Why? The teaching had already been established with authority. the elders weren't to teach anything new that required an impressive work of the Spirit to testify to their authority. They were called to teach the Gospel as Paul and the other apostles taught it to them, and that teaching has already been established with such an authority.
Much of the modern hype of the charismatic movement preaches doctrines opposed to the Gospel. Moreover, their lives don't show the fruit of the Spirit. Many don't meet the qualifications of an elder given in Scripture. I've personally even seen them make "prophecies" that not only not come true, but the exact opposite happen. Yet, these people still remain in authority as leaders and teachers within this movement. If we were still under the Mosaic covenant, these people were to be stoned to death. Nowadays, their book sales and ministries continue to grow. This is because the churches no longer see the Scriptures as sufficient, but "seek out other devices."
I write this blog post not to denounce that miraculous works can't happen but to show that a great deal of it actually is deceptive. Whether through living a false life or preaching a false gospel, many of the "miracle workers" of today are nothing more than servants of Satan disguising themselves as servants of righteousness. Though miraculous works are still possible, I believe they are highly improbable. We have all that we need in the Scriptures. We don't need miracles to affirm the validity of the teaching, because the miracles already affirmed the validity of the apostles' teaching, establishing for us a canon of Scripture. May the churches of God listen to the Son, who is the final spokesman, and regard the Scriptures He has given to us as sufficient.
Purpose of the Miraculous
What was the point of all the miraculous gifts then? Let's look at an interesting verse from a narrative passage from Acts 2. "Then fear came over everyone, and may wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles" (v43). Notice through whom the Spirit worked its miraculous gifts: the apostles. It wasn't working miraculously through the 3000 who had accepted the apostles teaching, nor does it say that daily additions were having miraculous works being performed through them (cf v47), but it was solely through the apostles that signs and wonders were being performed. A few chapters later, again we read, "At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people" (5:12). As one works through the book of Acts, the studier of this subject should notice that the vast majority of miraculous works were performed solely by the apostles. Even Simon the Sorcerer noticed it was only through the apostles that miraculous works took place and offered them money for such a gift. So why did they alone have it? It was to establish the credibility and authority of the apostles. Remember that our Lord Jesus Himself told His audience that if they didn't believe Him for His words, believe on Him at least for His miraculous works (cf. John 10:38, 14:11). His works proved the validity of His words, so too with His apostles. It was because of their works that showed the truth and power of their words, and so their written words were kept and preserved for us in our New Testament canon.
But what about the various outpourings of the Spirit, where various people began to speak in tongues? The first occurrence is in Acts 2, and that was again for the purpose of validity of the Spirit. It should also be noted that the tongue spoken wasn't some angelic tongue, but the purpose was to preach the Gospel to the various peoples who spoke different languages. You could perhaps say that the first actual miraculous work of the Spirit was Bible translation. The second great outpouring took place in Samaria, where Simon the Sorcerer became covetous of the apostles' miraculous abilities and offered money for the gift. Third, we see the outpouring of the Spirit upon the house of Cornelius, the first Gentile, God-fearing converts. The Spirit's miraculous outpouring was actually a teaching lesson for Peter: that God has brought salvation to the Gentiles. Following this, the miraculous outpourings continue in lands where the church has not yet been established to show and prove the validity of the apostolic teaching. Notice how the book of Acts moves in it's relating the miraculous outpourings of the Spirit: it follows Christ's final earthly commission to His apostles: "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The miraculous outpourings with the speaking in tongues was for the purpose of establishing the church and apostolic authority.
What about the passage in 1 Corinthians (12-14)? First, to understand this passage, I think it is best to understand the circumstance of the letter. The church in Corinth was terribly immature. These people were celebrating a man who was having intercourse with his father's wife (whether that is mother or step-mother, I don't know), saying that this shows how great God's mercy really is. These people thought grace was a license to licentiousness. Second, notice at the end of chapter 12 Paul establishes a hierarchy of gifts. Where do most of the miraculous gifts fall? Toward the end. The gifts that promoted the preaching of the gospel took the highest place, not the ones people could "ooo" and "ahh" at. Paul purposefully was downplaying the "spectacular" gifts. Moreover, he goes on to say that he would rather speak 5 words that would be intelligible to his hearers than 10,000 words in another tongue, telling those who don't have an interpreter to stay silent. Even in personal prayer and song, he said he would prefer to pray with both his mind and spirit, than just in the spirit. Now, this doesn't deny the existence of speaking in tongues and "prayer language," but Paul is going to great lengths to make sure the Corinthians understand it's lesser place in the life of a Christian and the worship of the church. Why? Because of the lack of edification that takes place in it. Think about it, someone speaking in tongues through an interpreter is nothing more than a sermon in another language being translated. But if there is no interpreter, it sounds nothing more than babbling, indistinct sounds. The pastor who can speak in the native language is naturally superior to the one speaking in another tongue, because he can speak intelligibly in order to edify the church, which is the entire reason he has been given that gift (cf 1 Cor 14:12, 26; Eph 4:11-12). (This actually is a good commendation to pastors who misuse Greek and Hebrew in their sermons to the demise of their congregation, because they use a foreign tongue to seem superior, but in the end leaves the people unedified.)
It also should be noted that it is this same church that Paul had to sarcastically deal with "super-apostles". These were apparently men who performed some sort of sign to gain a following, but they preached a different gospel than the one Paul preached to them (cf 2 Cor 11:1-15). Moses even forewarned against such false prophets:
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying "Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them," you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut. 13: 1-3)Paul goes on to condemn such "super-apostles" as ultimately being false apostles and servants of Satan. As Christ teaches, you will ultimately be able to judge the tree by its fruit. All of the branches coming off of the root of Christ bear fruit according to the Spirit (Gal 5:22). That's how you can tell if one is of Christ or Satan.
Finally, a quick note that should be interesting. In Paul's list to the Ephesians of spiritual gifts, he doesn't even mention the miraculous gifts of tongues and healing. Considering that this letter dates later than his letters to the Corinthians, this should be understood as significant. Had Paul even noticed a "ceasing" in his own time of such gifts as churches throughout the Gentile world had become established? Also, where these gifts were used to establish the authority of the apostles and prophets, they don't show up on any list in the appointment of elders and deacons within a church. Why? The teaching had already been established with authority. the elders weren't to teach anything new that required an impressive work of the Spirit to testify to their authority. They were called to teach the Gospel as Paul and the other apostles taught it to them, and that teaching has already been established with such an authority.
Much of the modern hype of the charismatic movement preaches doctrines opposed to the Gospel. Moreover, their lives don't show the fruit of the Spirit. Many don't meet the qualifications of an elder given in Scripture. I've personally even seen them make "prophecies" that not only not come true, but the exact opposite happen. Yet, these people still remain in authority as leaders and teachers within this movement. If we were still under the Mosaic covenant, these people were to be stoned to death. Nowadays, their book sales and ministries continue to grow. This is because the churches no longer see the Scriptures as sufficient, but "seek out other devices."
I write this blog post not to denounce that miraculous works can't happen but to show that a great deal of it actually is deceptive. Whether through living a false life or preaching a false gospel, many of the "miracle workers" of today are nothing more than servants of Satan disguising themselves as servants of righteousness. Though miraculous works are still possible, I believe they are highly improbable. We have all that we need in the Scriptures. We don't need miracles to affirm the validity of the teaching, because the miracles already affirmed the validity of the apostles' teaching, establishing for us a canon of Scripture. May the churches of God listen to the Son, who is the final spokesman, and regard the Scriptures He has given to us as sufficient.
Comments
Post a Comment