Village Schools of the Bible

TO CEASE OR NOT TO CEASE?
THAT IS THE QUESTION
Sign Gifts and Their Relevancy for Today
by Max Frazier, Jr.

Controversy has always been one of the dynamics of Church history. Issues have arisen which threatened its unity and vitality. A few short years following its birth, the Church was divided over the requirements which the new Gentile believers needed to adopt in order to be part of the Church. Tensions were high, yet the spiritual leaders, representing all sides of the issue, met in Jerusalem, and through dialogue and prayer, reached a compromise which propelled the Church forward (Acts 15).

The deity and humanity of Christ, the nature and purpose of the Holy Spirit, and the canonicity of Scripture also threatened the unity of the Church, but resolutions were found through diligent study and prayerful dialogue at various church councils. The result was the advancement of the Church.

The days of the Protestant Reformation brought new controversies. The dynamics of the communion service, the validity of eternal security of the believer, and man's free will and God's sovereignty became issues which did divide the Church, after attempts at resolution failed.

The Church has become even more fractured with the advent of the movement known as Pentecostalism which began in 1906. The centerpiece of that movement has been a renewed emphasis upon certain of the spiritual gifts. Bible scholars have debated the legitimacy of these gifts and many have concluded that these signs gifts ceased at the end of the apostolic era.

It is the purpose of this article to share the biblical position and to allow you, the reader, the right to formulate your own view based upon the biblical facts.

The Gifts Defined

Many New Testament scholars divide the spiritual gifts, as found in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 12, into three groups. First, there are those associated with speaking: apostleship, prophecy, teaching, evangelism, wisdom, knowledge, and discernment. A second group includes those equated with acts of service: giving, mercy, encouragement, helps, and administration. The third group is known as the sign gifts and includes miracles, healings, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. It is primarily with this last group that the controversies have occurred. The New Testament certainly does not deny their existence, yet their importance seems to diminish as the early Church progresses. In order for us to understand this phenomenon, we must first ask if there was a special purpose for these gifts.

Signs, Wonders, Miracles

Often within the New Testament, these three words--signs, wonders and miracles--are linked together. (Click HERE to see a listing of references.)

The Greek word for sign, semeion, meant a "distinguishing mark by which something is known." The sign or distinguishing mark of the infant Jesus was that He would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:12, the things that mark an apostle - signs, wonders and miracles - were done among you with great perseverance. Therefore, we might define a sign as "a super-human ability which authenticated God's spokespersons by convincing people that they were, in fact, bona fide servants of God" (Charles Swindoll, He Gave Gifts, p. 55).

Miracles, used in Scripture, were to draw people to God, never to bring praise to the miracle-worker. Jesus rebuked the crowd following Him, after the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, telling them that they had missed the purpose. They wanted their stomachs filled; Jesus wished to draw them to God (John 6:26).

The purpose of signs, wonder, and miracles was to authenticate the messenger and the message. This was necessary because God's written revelation was yet incomplete. Christ performed many miracles and signs which the Apostle John describes with these words: Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31). Notice, the miracles of Jesus gave attestation to His deity.

Peter and John (Acts 3:1-10, 5:15-16, 9:32-43), Philip (Acts 8:6-7), and Paul (Acts 14:3, 8-10, 16:16-18, 19:11-12, 20:9-10) are recorded as having done miracles. The very last recorded miracle in Scripture occurred in Acts 28:8 while Paul was on his way to Rome. Each occasion marked those performing the miracles as being from God.

With regard to the gift of healing, it is interesting to note that Paul did not use this gift for his own selfish purposes. He did not heal his friend Epaphroditus who was sick unto death (Philippians 2:25-27). Paul left his traveling companion Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20). Paul did not even heal his son in the faith, Timothy (1 Timothy 4:23). Why did Paul choose not to heal these friends? I believe it was because he realized that the importance of the gift was to authenticate the message, not to alleviate the sufferings of his friends.

As we have seen, by the close of the New Testament, the ministry of miracles had become increasingly infrequent. They were no longer necessary because God's written revelation was nearing completion. That written work would give final authority to its proclaimers.

What About Tongues?

The gift of tongues is mentioned three times in the Book of Acts (chapters 2, 10, and 19) and in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (chapters 12-14). There are no other references in any of the other New Testament books. The purpose of the gift of tongues is alluded to in 1 Corinthians 14:22: Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers. That truth is borne out by the use of tongues in Acts. Allow me to quote from Dr. John Walvoord, past president of Dallas Theological Seminary:

In all three instances in Acts, speaking in tongues served to prove that what was taking place was a genuine work of God. In Acts 2, of course, it was the gift of the Spirit and the beginning of the New Testament church. In Acts 10 it was necessary as an evidence to Peter of the genuineness of the work of salvation in the household of Cornelius and was designed to teach Peter that the gospel was universal in its invitation. The third instance, in Acts 19, again served to identify the twelve men mentioned as actually being converted to Christianity instead of simply being followers of John the Baptist. In all of the instances in Acts, speaking in tongues was a sign that the work of the Holy Spirit was genuine. (The Holy Spirit at Work Today, page 46-47).

But, what about tongues? In 1 Corinthians 13:8, Paul declares, Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. The Greek work used is pauo which meant "to cease, never to start up again." The word can literally mean "to stop of themselves." Did the gift of tongues cease? Let us look at some evidence.

First, following the writing of First Corinthians, probably written in 57 AD, there is no other mention of tongues-speaking in the New Testament. Outside of this rather unusual congregation at Corinth, we read nowhere of any other early church practicing it. Second, it is significant that the gift of tongues is nowhere alluded to, hinted at or even found in any writings of the Post Apostolic Fathers (Cleon Rogers, as quoted in John MacArthur's book, The Charismatics, p. 169). In fact, until the early part of the twentieth century, every time a tongues phenomena appeared in the annals of Church history, it was usually associated with a heretical group. The evidence certainly would lead one to believe, at the very least, that the gift of tongues had lost its importance for the Church following the completion of God's written revelation, and at the very most, to say it had ceased altogether.

A Danger

So, have the sign gifts ceased, or is there a purpose for them today? How are we to interpret these events? In his volume titled, Foundations of the Christian Faith, Dr. James Montgomery Boice gives these possible alternatives. Allow me to quote at length:

The question arises as to whether such gifts exist today, a matter on which Christians are divided. We may note, on the one hand, that some gifts (such as the gifts of apostleship and prophecy) no longer occur in their biblical sense. The gifts of healings and miracles (and I might add to this list, tongues) could be like them.

Yet gifts like evangelism, teaching and faith continue to exist and clearly must continue to the end of church history. Healings and miracles (and tongues) could be like them.

A third possibility exists. Healings and miracles (and tongues) could exist but could occur infrequently. There are several reasons for preferring this interpretation. Miracles and healings (and tongues) are bracketed by other gifts which continue: in the case of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, by wisdom, knowledge and faith before, and by the discerning of spirits afterward; in the case of 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, by teaching before and the gift of helping after. The working of miracles is similar to the case of speaking in tongues, which is treated at great length two chapters later and in regard to which we receive an explicit warning: "Do not forbid speaking in tongues" (1 Cor. 14:39). Paul is not encouraging tongues-speaking, but he recognizes that God may continue to give this gift and it should therefore not be discouraged. Nowhere does Paul indicate that either healings, miracles or tongues will cease. Further, accounts of healings and other miracles exist from every period of church history. (Page 614)

Two reasons lead me to believe that there is a serious danger if we adopt the idea that these sign gifts have totally ceased. First, if the gift of tongues was to cease at the close of the Apostolic age, then why did God allow Paul to write so specifically about this gift (1 Corinthians 14)? Paul even commands the Corinthian believers to not forbid speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 14:39). Was this command only for that one particular congregation? If that be the case, perhaps other commands, such as not being unequally yoked with unbelievers was also only for the Corinthians. Yet, we claim the relevancy of the later, so why not the former? We must practice consistency in our interpretation. (Let me state that I do have very strong reservations about the modern day tongues phenomenon if it does not adhere to the directives established by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. All tongues speaking is not created equal).

Second, to state categorically that the sign gifts have ceased appears to place limitations upon God. In essence, we are telling God what He cannot do. We must not put God into a box. Leslie B. Flynn, in his book titled 19 Gifts of the Spirit, writes: Even though we may believe the gift served its major purpose in apostolic days, we dare not try to put a strait jacket on the Holy Spirit to confine Him within the borders of our traditional mold. The Spirit can give His gifts when and where He wills (page 188).

Conclusion

It is universally agreed that God has gifted His Body, the Church, with spiritual gifts. And, there is almost universal agreement as to the nature and purpose of those gifts. Those gifts - tongues, interpretation, healing, and miracles - which appear to lessen in influence as one reads the New Testament, are the ones creating most of the difficulties today. It would appear from the biblical evidence that God has deliberately chosen not to use them as He once did because of the presence of the complete written revelation of His will in the Scriptures. Therefore, we should not be expecting their appearance except for those moments when God steps onto the pages of history in a way which reveals Himself uniquely.

But, I do not believe that we should limit the workings of God by stating that these gifts are no longer functional within the Body. God is so much greater than any limitations which I could place upon Him. I have learned never to say, "God can't."

The presence of the sign gifts need not create a controversy. Within His Word, God has given to us criteria for their employment within the Church. All God asks is that we seek discernment in such instances. Then we should rejoice in what God is doing.

Return to The Philogian Archives Introduction There Will Never Be Another You