Introduction
- Pentecostalism first began to appear in the late 1800, as some members of “holiness movement” in the USA, started to advocate “baptism” of the Holy Spirit, tongue speaking and miracles.
- Although there were claims of Pentecostal expereinces of tongues prior to 1906, The Azusa Street Revival led by William J. Seymour is the watershed of the Pentecostal movement in the U.S and worldwide.
- Beginning April 9, 1906 in Los Angeles, California at the home of Edward Lee who claimed the infilling of the Holy Spirit as of such date.
- William J. Seymour claimed that he was overcome with the Holy Spirit on April 12, 1906.
- On April 18, 1906, the Los Angeles Times ran a front page story on the revival, "Weird Babel of Tongues, New Sect of fanatics is breaking loose, Wild scene last night on Azusa Street, gurgle of wordless talk by a sister".
- By the third week in April, 1906, the small but growing congregation rented an abandoned African Methodist Episcopal Church at 312 Azusa Street and subsequently became organized as the Apostolic Faith Mission.
- Almost all mainline Pentecostal denominations today trace their historical roots to the Azusa Street Revival.
- Since then the modern Christian world has seen constant growth of their teachings and practices.
- Today it has gone into almost all the mainline denominations and is generally known as Charismatism.
- From the beginning they have emphasized that ecstatic and miraculous gifts as proofs of the baptism of the Spirit.
- This fast wide spreading movement has been spinning farther and farther from the proper Scriptural teachings since its inception.
Their preoccupation with the ecstatic experiences has produced some very strange, totally unbiblical phenomena in their midst, such as
- Mass hysteria of gibberish (Tongues)
- Claims of healing, signs and wonders (Faith Healing)
- Prosperity and health to all who believe and receive blessings from their anointed leaders (Health-Wealth Gospel)
- Falling backward and rolling on the ground (Slain in the Spirit)
- Uncontrolled laughter, accompanied by animal like sounds and behaviour (Holy Laughter)
Are these true manifestations of the Spiritual Gifts that the Lord Jesus Christ offered to the members of His Church?
If those modern manifestations are not consistent with the Scripture, then they are not from God, but self-generated or satanic.
The Scriptures warn us that in the last days there will be an upsurge of spiritual deception through miracle workers. The Scriptures clearly teach us that in the last days many will be deceived to follow false teachers by their wonders and signs. The false prophets would mislead people through their miraculous, ecstatic deeds. In fact, a sure sign of the end times is the form of godliness that is devoid of truth and holiness, and yet with manifestation of miraculous.
- Mathew 24:4-5, 11-13, 24
- Matthew 7:21-23;
Foundational Gifts
- These were generally miraculous gifts.
- They were given as part of the revelation of God’s Word in the early church
- They were either “revelatory gifts” or “sign gifts”
- These are non-permanent gifts. They ceased as soon as their purpose was accomplished.
Revelatory Gifts – Not to be continued
In 1 Corinthians 13:8, Paul emphasizes the permanence of love by contrasting it with spiritual gifts that are meant to be temporary.
Verse 8 says,
- “Charity never faileth” (Hē agapē oudepote piptei): Love never faileth. It is expressive of the perpetuity of love. Love survives everything.
- “but”
- “whether there be prophecies, they shall fail” ("shall fail": katargēthēsontai): First future passive of katargeō (from argos): to make idle, to be inoperative. Prophetic gift will be made inoperative (when the Bible, complete revelation of God’s truth, comes to existence cf. vv.9-10).
- “whether there be tongues, they shall cease” ("shall cease": pausontai): Future middle indicative of pauō, which means “to make cease.” The middle voice suggest that the gift of tongues shall make itself cease or automatically cease of itself.
- “whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” ("shall vanish away": This word is also from the same Greek word as “fail” (katargeō). The gift of knowledge shall no more take place.
Paul clearly said that all of these special spiritual gifts, that were given for the purpose of revelation would pass away.
The Reason for their cessation:
1 Corinthians 13:9-10
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
- Through those revelatory gifts, the early Christians were given portions of God’s truth each time when one was led to exercise them.
- The word “in part” (appears twice in v.9) is translated from the Greek word, meros, which means, “one of the constituent parts of a whole, or in a measure, or severally, or individually.”
- In the early church, the truth of God was given to edify the congregation through these revelatory gifts, but the truth was revealed in portions.
- The New Testament was not yet written. So those gifts continued until the revelation (N.T) was complete.
- After the revelation (the Scripture / the New Testament) was complete (apostolic period) and then put together (canonization 350 A.D – 451 A.D), these revelatory gifts were vanished.
- We have plenty of credible testimony from the church fathers that those revelatory gifts and the accompanied confirmatory gifts or sign gifts ceased after the completion and acceptance of the New Testament.
John Chrysostom (347-407) concerning the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians:
“This whole place is very obscure: but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to, and by their cessation, being such as then used to occur but now no longer take place” (“Homilies on 1 Corinthians,” Vol. XII, The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Hom 29:2).
John Calvin (1509-1564):
“...the gift of healing, like the rest of the miracles, which the Lord willed to be brought forth for a time, has vanished away in order to make the preaching of the Gospel marvellous for ever” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Bk IV:19, 18).
John Owen (1616-1683):
“Gifts which in their own nature exceed the whole power of all our faculties, that dispensation of the Spirit is long since ceased and where it is now pretended unto by any, it may justly be suspected as an enthusiastic delusion” (Works IV, 518).
Thomas Watson (1620-1686):
“Sure, there is as much need of ordination now as in Christ's time and in the time of the apostles, there being then extraordinary gifts in the church which are now ceased” (The Beatitudes, 140).
Matthew Henry (1662-1714):
Speaking of the ‘gift of tongues,’ he said, “These and other gifts of prophecy, being a sign, have long since ceased and been laid aside, and we have no encouragement to expect the revival of them; but, on the contrary, are directed to call the Scriptures the more sure word of prophecy, more sure than voices from Heaven; and to them we are directed to take heed, to search them, and to hold them fast ...” (Preface to Vol IV of his Exposition of the OT & NT, vii).
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758):
“Of the extraordinary gifts, they were given 'in order to the founding and establishing of the church in the world. But since the canon of Scriptures has been completed, and the Christian church fully founded and established, these extraordinary gifts have ceased” (Charity and its Fruits, 29).
George Whitefield (1714-1770):
“... the karismata, the miraculous gifts conferred on the primitive church ... have long ceased ...” (Second Letter to the Bishop of London, Works, Vol. IV, 167).
James Buchanan (1804-1870)
“The miraculous gifts of the Spirit have long since been withdrawn. They were used for a temporary purpose” (The Office and Work of the Holy Spirit, 34).
Robert L. Dabney (1820-1898)
“After the early church had been established, the same necessity for supernatural signs now no longer existed, and God, Who is never wasteful in His expedients, withdrew them ... miracles, if they became ordinary, would cease to be miracles, and would be referred by men to customary law” (‘Prelacy a Blunder,’ Discussions: Evangelical and Theological, Vol. 2, 236-237).
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
Speaking of the office of the apostles, “an office which necessarily dies out, and properly so, because the miraculous power also is withdrawn” (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit 1871, Vol. 17, 178).
Benjamin B. Warfield (1851-1921)
“These gifts were ... distinctively the authentication of the apostles. They were part of the credentials of the apostles as the authoritative agents of God in founding the church. Their function thus confirmed them to distinctively the apostolic church and they necessarily passed away with it” (Counterfeit Miracles, 6). After the revelation (the Scripture / the New Testament) was complete (apostolic period) and then put together (canonisation 350 A.D – 451 A.D), these revelatory gifts were vanished.
Sign-Gifts
Together with the revelatory gifts, the Lord also bestowed upon those who were called to be the Apostles, miraculous gifts for the confirmation of their message. These miraculous were not found with every believer. They were seen being performed only by those who were in the Apostolic band.
The following verses and all the evidences in the Acts and elsewhere in the epistles point to this truth.
- 2 Corinthians 12:12 - "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.”
- Acts 2:43 - "And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”
- Acts 5:12- "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch."
- Romans 15:19 - "Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." These signs were done by the Apostle Paul.
Conclusion
All the foundational gifts have been ceased with completion of the New Testament.
Now we must build upon that is revealed and confirmed, the Bible.
Ephesians 2:20 – “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone”
- The apostles and prophets were the two major offices of the early which the Lord has given to the church, that they may reveal the Word of God, which will be the foundation of the church. Their gifts were foundational and temporary. Those gifts have vanished with them. Today, as Paul said in Ephesians 2:20, we ought to build upon using the gifts that are for our times, such as preaching, teaching, ministering, etc.
- Anyone who claims to have those foundational gifts and their confirmatory (sign) gifts is a pretender and deceiver. Christ has already laid the foundation through the revelation of His Word through the apostles and prophets, He Himself being the chief cornerstone. The Lord is no more in the work of laying the foundation. The foundation is already laid.
- Today the members of the church, must proclaim, teach and live according to the foundational truth of His Word, which is given to us by the Apostles and prophets. If anyone today appears with the claim that he is an apostle or a prophet, we must reject such. Their miracles are not of God (Matt 7:21-23; 24:24), they are counterfeits, like those of the ancient Egyptian magicians who performed the miracles that Moses did.
- Let us therefore do not seek after the charismatic ecstasy and miracle signs because they are counterfeits. But let us seek to build upon the Word of God, which is handed down to us by the Apostles and prophets of the church.
