Tag Archives: Gifts of the Spirit

Comparing the Resurrection and the Miraculous Gifts

Posted on March 24, 2010 by | 11 comments

by Scott

I was thinking through some things today, as I tend to do that a lot. Well, let me start off my saying that I’ve been writing about and considering the gifts of the Spirit on a more regular basis since we launched our new blog, To Be Continued.

With regards to the gifts, there are two basic views: 1) Continuationism, which says all gifts of the Spirit have continued post-first century and 2) Cessationism, which more recently prescribes to the view that all gifts of the Spirit are to continue, but some of those gifts (mainly the ‘sign gifts’ such as prophecy, tongues, healings and miracles) are not normative since we now have the faithful testimony of the first apostles recorded in our New Testament Scripture.

No doubt each group has varying beliefs and both groups are continually reforming their views in an attempt to be faithful to Scripture. But that is a decent, general overview. And it should be clear, at least now, that I am a continuationist.

Now the thoughts that I want to share in this article are by no means deep or theological. Rather I have a simple, practical notion that came to me about the gifts. It came about this way:

Easter is approaching. So I’m thinking about the death and resurrection of Jesus, considering some things for our Easter gathering at Cornerstone. I remembered how the Scripture says that Jesus appeared to over 500 people (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-11).

Can you imagine the difficulty in those days of sharing this testimony that Jesus had risen from the grave? For us, it’s second nature, as they say. It’s part and parcel to our faith. Oh, yes, it’s the truth. But you might just find a lot of people saying, ‘Oh yeah, I know that already,’ which could lead to an unhealthy point in our faith. Not always, but it could.

But, for those first Christians, it was still something new. I mean, even those first apostles and close friends of Jesus struggled with Jesus’ resurrection. Some struggled to believe (think Thomas),some were disillusioned (think of the two on the road to Emmaus) and even the others had lost hope for those few days………until they saw the resurrected Christ.

It was absolutely awesome to know that their Lord had risen and had been faithful to His word. He had been hinting at His resurrection, but His death seemed so final. Thus, there was an honest struggle in their soul.

But once they had seen the resurrected Christ, they knew. And Jesus not only appeared to the twelve, but he appeared to over 500 people. That’s a lot!

So, can you imagine these 500+ followers of Jesus telling others:

He’s risen! We’ve seen Him! We even touched Him!

What? No, it can’t be.

Yes, it’s true. We’ve seen Him. We have SEEN Him alive!

I’m sure something like this happened because, again, it also happened to some of Jesus’ closest followers in those days between the crucifixion and resurrection. There was doubt, questioning, soul-searching. But, by the Spirit of Jesus, people’s hearts and eyes were opened to the reality of the resurrection of the Son of God.

So, what’s my point with the resurrection.

Well, with regards to the gifts of the Spirit, mainly those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, I sense the same reaction today. Not only with the world, but even with followers of Jesus.

Please know I am not trying to be derogatory, poke fun, or any other such thing. I’m just saying that this comparison between the reaction to the resurrection and the reaction to the gifts of the Spirit came to me today as I was pondering the resurrection.

This has happened in my own life. People who do not believe the gifts from 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 still exist today, or don’t think they are normative, sometimes ask for proof or real examples. So, I share about examples of prophecy and revelations I have had, or I share about healings that I have seen or that my ministry friends have been used in, but the reaction is quite the same.

Ah, that’s what you say. But I need to see it myself.

They don’t believe they can take my word on it.

Sometimes it makes me wish that these gifts were kind of accessible whenever I wanted them. But it’s not like that. I know it sounds like an excuse, but I really believe He is sovereign over His gifts, not I (i.e. 1 Corinthians 12:11).

So, when they don’t want to believe my own testimonies, I share about a couple of books to check out that record (faithfully) various miracles, healings, etc. They might check out the titles online, but most of the time I hear back that the books don’t look trustworthy or something similar.

I don’t know what to say other than, in the end, if God is as sovereign as I believe He is, then He and He alone can open the hearts of humanity to the work of His Spirit. No, the work of His Spirit is not limited to nine gifts from 1 Corinthians 12. By no means. But it is part of the Spirit’s activity, even today.

And so, I ponder the reactions of those first followers of Jesus to news of His resurrection and to those being reached with the gospel in those early years. I’m sure there was a struggle to really believe that some of these people had actually seen the resurrected Christ. But, they kept on proclaiming the truth.

Today, I look to give what I believe is solid biblical and theological evidence for the Spirit’s continuing work in things like miracles, healings, prophecy and tongues. I also look to share stories of how this has really and truly happened today in my life and the lives of others I know. But, people will still disagree, doubt or even outright deny it.

I’m not here to puff up continuationists as better than cessationists. We are all pursuing God as best we know how. We all love Jesus as best we know how. But I know what I have seen and I am convinced of what I have seen, just as those first disciples were convinced of what they had seen.

I can only ask that the Spirit continue to be active in the fulness of what He desires and wills. And I will leave Jesus to be the head of those whom He gave His life for.

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Posted in 1 Corinthians 12, continuationism, Gifts, Gifts of the Spirit, miracles

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Chart On Modern-Day Continuationism

Posted on March 23, 2010 by | Leave a comment

by Scott

Below is a little chart I put together looking at the more modern-day continuationist views. Of course, contrary to some views, church history is full of individuals and groups that testify of the activity of God’s Spirit in revelations, visions, prophecies, healings, miracles, etc. But this below mainly looks at the more recent moves of the past 110 years – from Pentecostalism to charismatics to neo-charismatics.

[Note: click the chart to make larger.]

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The Case For Continuationism (Part 2) – Sam Storms

Posted on March 4, 2010 by | 4 comments

Here is the second and final article from guest poster, Sam Storms, head of Enjoying God Ministries. The first article consisted of twelve bad reasons for being a cessationist. This post now concerns the positive (biblical and theological) perspective of being a continuationist. Both of these posts were originally posted at Sam’s ministry website here.

12 Good Reasons for Being a Continuationist

1. The first good reason for being a continuationist is the 12 bad reasons for being a cessationist.

2. A second good reason for being a continuationist is the consistent, indeed pervasive, and altogether positive presence throughout the NT of all spiritual gifts.

3. A third good reason for being a continuationist is the extensive NT evidence of the operation of so-called miraculous gifts among Christians who are not apostles. In other words, numerous non-apostolic men and women, young and old, across the breadth of the Roman Empire consistently exercised these gifts of the Spirit (and Stephen and Philip ministered in the power of signs and wonders).

4. A fourth good reason for being a continuationist is the explicit and oft-repeated purpose of the charismata: namely, the edification of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:7; 14:3,26).

5. The fifth good reason for being a continuationist is the fundamental continuity or spiritually organic relationship between the church in Acts and the church in subsequent centuries.

6. Very much related to the fifth point, a sixth good reason for being a continuationist is because of what Peter (Luke) says in Acts 2 concerning the operation of so-called miraculous gifts as characteristic of the New Covenant age of the Church.

7. The seventh good reason for being a continuationist is 1 Corinthians 13:8-12.

8. The eighth good reason for being a continuationist is Ephesians 4:11-13.

9. A ninth good reason for being a continuationist is the description in Revelation 11 of the ministry of the Two Witnesses.

10. A tenth good reason for being a continuationist is because the Holy Spirit in Christ is the Holy Spirit in Christians. We are indwelt, anointed, filled, and empowered by the same Spirit as was Jesus. His ministry is (with certain obvious limitations) the model for our ministry (cf. Acts 10:38).

11. An eleventh reason to be a continuationist is the absence of any explicit or implicit notion that we should view spiritual gifts any differently than we do other NT practices and ministries that are portrayed as essential for the life and well-being of the Church.

12. The twelfth and final good reason for being a continuationist is the testimony throughout most of church history concerning the operation of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit.

[Although it is technically not a reason or argument for being a continuationist like the previous twelve, I cannot ignore personal experience. The fact is that I’ve seen all spiritual gifts in operation, tested and confirmed them, and experienced them first-hand on countless occasions. As stated, this is less a reason to become a continuationist and more a confirmation (although not an infallible one) of the validity of that decision. Experience, in isolation from the biblical text, proves little. But experience must be noted, especially if it illustrates or embodies what we see in the biblical text.]

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Posted in cessationism, continuationism, Gifts of the Spirit, Sam Storms

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The Case For Continuationism – Sam Storms

Posted on March 3, 2010 by | 3 comments

As we have noted in our About page, part of our desire is to regularly post articles by guest authors. Well, here is our first post from Sam Storms, head of Enjoying God Ministries. Sam has given us permission to post these next two articles, which can originally be found here.

The first article will deal with reasons why one should not be a cessationist and the second article will deal with the reasons why one should be a continuationist.

12 Bad Reasons for Being a Cessationist

1. The first bad reason for being a cessationist is an appeal to 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 on the assumption that the “perfect” is something other or less than the fullness of the eternal state ushered in at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

2. Another bad or illegitimate reason for being a cessationist is the belief that signs and wonders as well as certain spiritual gifts served only to confirm or authenticate the original company of apostles and that when the apostles passed away so also did the gifts.

a) No biblical text ever says that signs and wonders or spiritual gifts of a particular sort authenticated the apostles. Signs and wonders authenticated Jesus and the apostolic message about him. If signs and wonders were designed exclusively to authenticate apostles, why were non-apostolic believers (such as Philip and Stephen) empowered to perform them?

b) This is a good reason for being a cessationist only if you can demonstrate that authentication or attestation of the apostolic message was the sole and exclusive purpose of such displays of divine power. However, nowhere in the NT is the purpose/function of the miraculous or the charismata reduced to that of attestation.

3. A third bad reason for being a cessationist is the belief that since we now have the completed canon of Scripture we no longer need the operation of so-called miraculous gifts.

4. A fourth bad reason for being a cessationist is the belief that to embrace the validity of all spiritual gifts today requires that one embrace classical Pentecostalism and its belief in Spirit-baptism as separate from and subsequent to conversion, as well as their doctrine that speaking in tongues is the initial physical evidence of having experienced this Spirit-baptism.

5. Another bad reason for being a cessationist is the idea that if one spiritual gift, such as apostleship, has ceased to be operative in the church that other, and perhaps all, miraculous gifts have ceased to be operative in the church.

6. A sixth bad reason for being a cessationist is the fear that to acknowledge the validity today of revelatory gifts such as prophecy and word of knowledge would necessarily undermine the finality and sufficiency of Holy Scripture.

7. A seventh bad reason for being a cessationist is the appeal to Ephesians 2:20 on the assumption that revelatory gifts such as prophecy were uniquely linked to the apostles and therefore designed to function only during the so-called foundational period in the early church.

8. An eighth bad reason for being a cessationist is the argument that since we typically don’t see today miracles or gifts equal in quality/intensity to those in the ministries of Jesus and the Apostles, God doesn’t intend for any miraculous gifts of a lesser quality/intensity to operate in the church among ordinary Christians (but cf. 1 Cor. 12-14; Rom. 12; 1 Thess. 5:19-22; James 5).

9. A ninth bad reason for being a cessationist is the so-called “cluster” argument.

[Note from Scott: I believe the ‘cluster’ argument referred to here is that miracles and other such gifts seem to ‘cluster’ around greater revelatory events. Since such great revelatory events no longer exist due to Christ’s coming and that we now have the full canon of Scripture, such miracles and gifts should not be expected.]

10. A tenth bad reason for being a cessationist is the appeal to the alleged absence of miraculous gifts in church history subsequent to the first century.

11. Eleventh, it is a bad reason to be a cessationist because of the absence of good experiences with spiritual gifts and the often fanatical excess of certain TV evangelists and some of those involved in the Word of Faith or Prosperity Gospel movements (as well as the anti-intellectualism often found in those movements).

12. Finally, a twelfth bad reason for being a Cessationist is fear of what embracing continuationism might entail for your life personally and the well-being of your church corporately.

The next post will look at 12 good reasons for being a continuationist.

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Posted in cessationism, continuationism, Gifts of the Spirit, Sam Storms

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More Than Openness to the Gifts of the Spirit

Posted on February 27, 2010 by | 2 comments

by Scott

Let’s admit it. Some thirty, forty, fifty or more years ago, most of the western church was not open to the gifts of the Spirit that are specifically mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Paul lists them here:

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 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. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Even in some groups, these were anthametised or seen as demonic, especially the gift of other tongues. We’ve moved far away from such a view, not because we are headed down some slippery slope into false belief and practise, but because we have begun to be more open to such. You even have churches today from more traditional, cessationist backgrounds actually open to the gifts of the Spirit. Even major theologians are purporting that they are continuationists, at least in some sense – Wayne Grudem, John Piper, Jack Deere, Gordon Fee, Sam Storms, etc.

What are some reasons for more of an openness amongst the church today? Well, there are quite of few, but here are are three major reasons that I believe we are now more open to such:

1) The more modern worship movement possibly starting with the Jesus-movement but continued on with such people like Keith Green, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Kevin Prosch, Larry Norman, Delirious, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, etc. [Just as a note, I am not promoting the idea that worship is a ‘movement’. I adamantly believe there is much more involved in being ‘living sacrifices’ (Romans 12:1-2).]

2) The afore mentioned solid theologians who are continuationists, believing all gifts from 1 Corinthians 12 are still available today. These people have faithfully, humbly and biblically looked to understand the importance of such gifts for the body of Christ.

3) There are now some 500 million plus Pentecostal, charismatic and neo-charismatics. Such leads us to at least consider that this many true followers of Jesusare not that crazy.

Again, there are other reasons, such as a more a practical reality that attended a gathering where the gifts were being actively utilised. I’ve heard tons of these stories, of which I have one to share myself and hope to soon.

Yes, I am also aware that many of us have been to gatherings where these gifts have been abused and misused. I’ve been to some myself. And it’s hard to be open when we see such. But for every abuse, I suppose there are some 100 healthy and faithful uses of these gifts. It’s just that the television happens to blur this reality. It doesn’t report on the church down the road with about 50 adult members who are being used in prophecy or words of knowledge and even healings.

But, here is my point with this post: I think we need to be careful that we are not simply open to the gifts and we never look to see God use us in these gifts. This, I believe can leave us wanting in regards to what God would do through His Spirit.

‘Now wait a second here, Scott. Don’t forget 1 Corinthians 12:11, which states, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”‘

Oh yes! He is the one who apportions at His own will. So I am not up for some manipulation scheme. I am up for true, God-honouring use of the gifts. But let me point out two other important verses in the midst of Paul’s words on the gifts of the Spirit.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. (1 Corinthians 12:1)

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)

Paul starts out this whole section by telling the Corinthians that he does not want them to be uninformed. I could try and go into the ancient language and show how we get our word agnostic from the Greek word used in the text. Therefore, Paul is telling us to not be agnostic, or possibly apathetic, about these gifts. And I think such is valid to consider.

But with regards to the Corinthians, they were already wanting these gifts to operate in their gatherings. They were just misusing them most of the time. So Paul is challenging them to be correctly informed about the gifts and how to utilise them. Hence his practical exposition in chapter 14 in regards to the three speech gifts of prophecy, tongues and interpretation.

Still, here is a challenge for us today, to those who say they are ‘open’. I really believe it would be sad if our motto for the rest of our lives is that we were ‘open’ but we never saw the gifts utilised in our gatherings, in our lives, in our world. I don’t believe openness is the end goal with regards to these gifts of the Spirit.

I don’t want to simply be open to Jesus. I want to truly follow the divine God-Man.

I don’t want to simply be open to the gifts of the Spirit. I want to see us truly used with these gifts, for they are given for the ‘common good’ (1 Corinthians 12:7).

But to be honest, many of us don’t know where to start. Now, there is the possibility that God could simply impart the knowledge and understanding so that we are no longer uniformed. He is sovereign, so by no means do I want to deny Him such a right and privilege. But it seems the normal way, at least that I have noticed, is that God likes to use others in the body of Christ to help us understand certain spiritual aspects. Hence why I believe God gives leaders within the church – to equip the saints (see Ephesians 4:11-16). I learned how to walk with Jesus from a man that had been doing it for a couple of decades. And, oddly enough, he also taught me about the reality of the Spirit of God and His gifts.

Still, we can be left timid to take that step. Who do we trust? What do we study?

Well, we start by trusting God the Holy Spirit to be faithful and we start in Scripture. And, as we do so, we seriously ask God to start opening doors to specific people in our lives that are faithful with these gifts. I know we can turn on the television and watch a ‘Christian’ station and then we simply want to give up on this whole mess. Not all of those on the tv are bad and unhealthy. But, by far, most are. I am ashamed of this truth.

But this leaves us with the necessity of pressing into God. Remember, as we like to say in regards to the gifts, He is sovereign. So, let’s trust Him enough to connect us to people who are honest, real, authentic, biblical, wise, faithful, and walk out a whole host of other Christlike characters, as well as look to see these gifts operate today. Those guys I listed earlier on seem to fall in that vein. And you might think of a handful of others.

But I don’t want to be ‘open’ and also ‘uninformed’. I want to move towards seeing God’s people empowered in these gifts. This leads me on to the second verse, again quoted below:

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)

Openness without earnest desire will lead down an unhealthy path. I am not sure it prepares our hearts for what God would truly desire.

Interestingly, we get our English word zeal from the Greek for ‘earnestly desire’. So the verse could also read: ‘Pursue love, and be zealous for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.’

Are we zealous for these things of God, for they are of God?

Now I know the objection that is usually raised: I don’t think we should desire the gifts. We are to desire the Giver Himself.

The thing is this: we are challenged in Scripture to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. So, let’s take Paul’s words at face value. I think he really wanted God’s people to desire and be zealous for these things. And this was written to a people who were going overboard. So he simply wanted them to earnestly desire them in a healthy sense.

And this is why I believe Paul would say to earnestly desire the gifts. When the gifts of the Giver are utilised in our midst, we taste the Giver. I have no doubt about such.

So, though many can say they are open to these gifts, and I do respect such a stance, I think we cannot stop there. I don’t believe it’s the heart of God to only be open. Many are open to lots and lots of things. But, in our new life in Christ, we are not to remain open to the things of God. We are to walk them out in grace and truth.

Therefore, I believe it is God’s desire that we 1) not remain uninformed and 2) that we also earnestly desire these gifts of the Giver. For when we see these gifts operating in a faithful manner according to the heart of God, we will see the people of God built up, encouraged, strengthened, challenged and a whole lot more. As Paul said, this is all for the common good.

Let us be challenged to move past our openness and move into calling on God to stir both an understanding and a passion for His Spirit’s work.

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Posted in 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 14, Gifts of the Spirit, prophecy

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