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Gifts of the Holy Spirit 1

01/05/2009 at 5:35 pm · Filed under Gifts of the Holy Spirit and tagged: , , , , ,

 On the gifts of the Holy Spirit

 Section 1 

Theoretical basis

Introduction:

             There are many churches and Christian movements in existence which claim to be Evangelical. Amongst them, as they teach dogmatics based only on the Bible, there is solid agreement on basic questions of theology, although there may be differences in matters which are more difficult to determine. The Evangelical camp is divided, however, in one certain area – on the matter of one of the aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. Charismatic and Pentecostal denominations claim that the spiritual gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12-14 are still to be used in the churches, whereas many other churches hold to the Cessationist view – that God caused these to cease, or withdrew them, around the end of the first century. The practice of individual believers and churches is of course determined by their opinion in this regard, but the answer to the problem must not be sought primarily in practice or experience, but only in the Bible.

 Why are there such marked differences of opinion?

 Confusion has frequently been experienced in the Charismatic movement, and Derek Prince has written the following about mixed messages, “I have noticed that mixtures cause two things: first confusion, then division. For instance, we have a message which is partly true and partly false. People react in one of two ways: some see and concentrate on the good, and so they accept the bad too. Others concentrate on the bad, and reject the good too. In neither case are God’s purposes fulfilled.” 1

            The problem is, that people often do not examine phenomena on the basis of the Bible, but react emotionally, and two frequent reactions are: “swallow it hook, line and sinker,” or “throw the baby out with the bath water.” The Biblical approach is, “test everything, hold on to the good.” (1 Thess. 5: 21).

            One very frequent cause of problems is that rather than examining the details of a message, people look to the person who is teaching it. If the person has always taught well before, and is considered an authority, or particularly if he or she is a popular, and in the worldly sense a charismatic figure, then everything that he says tends to be accepted as correct. If for others this person is not a favourite or attractive, then what he says must be wrong. This clearly leads to division. Another difficulty is that people examine seemingly new teachings on the basis of their own traditions, or favourite theological systems, many of which involve extra-biblical presuppositions. “We have always done it this way,” is a difficult barrier to break through.

I should like to examine the teaching on spiritual gifts in the Bible, and then look at several Cessationist arguments, also in the light of Scripture. In subsequent sections I will deal with practical matters concerning the baptism in the Spirit and use of the gifts, and also examine what I consider to be unacceptable “Charismatic” phenomena.

 You will be baptised with the Holy Spirit:

             John the Baptist promised that Jesus would baptise his followers with the Holy Spirit, “I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3: 11 – see also Mark 1: 7-8; Luke 3: 16; John 1: 33).

            Before his death on the cross, Jesus also said to his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14: 16-17 – see also John 14: 26; 15: 26; 16: 7-15).

            After his resurrection, before being taken up into heaven, Jesus emphasised that for the time being the disciples should do nothing, but they should first wait for this gift, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1: 4-5). This was necessary for them to be able to bear effective witness to Jesus, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8). This was the last thing Jesus had to say before he was hidden from their sight by the cloud (Acts 1: 9).

            On another occasion, Jesus listed the signs which would follow the believers, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink poison it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16: 17-18).

These include miracles and spiritual gifts, which we read did in fact accompany the preaching of the gospel, “This salvation was first announced by the Lord… God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” (Hebrews 2: 3-4).

Pentecost:

            On the day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus had departed, the promised Holy Spirit came, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place… All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2: 1, 4). Because of this occurrence, and as many were present in Jerusalem at the feast, a crowd gathered. Peter grasped the opportunity and preached the gospel to them. He explained what had happened in this way, “These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2: 15-21).

            Peter said that “this” (the events of Pentecost, including speaking in tongues) is that which was prophesied by Joel. If we look at the prophecy, however, we can see that even now only the first part has been fulfilled. The great day of the Lord, combined with the astronomical phenomena, has not yet come. This means that we are still in the last days, which began at Pentecost. There is no indication that the prophecies or visions would cease before the end of the last days.

            At the end of his sermon, Peter says the following, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2: 38-39). It appears that this promise is completely general. As long as the day of grace lasts, it applies to every single one who repents and believes.

The new covenant:

             The promise mentioned above is particularly wonderful, as a huge change occurred in regard to the Spirit when the new covenant was established. Although a detailed study of God’s covenants is not appropriate here, I will briefly list the features of the two most significant of these.

 Mosaic covenant:

Established between God and the people of Israel
Promise God will give the people a great land
Condition they will keep the Sinaitic law
Continuing sign, festival for renewal of the covenant they remember the Sabbath day
Sign and seal of entry to the covenant each male is circumcised following natural birth

 New covenant:

Established between God and those who are “in Christ,” regardless of nationality
Promise eternal life
Condition faith in and obedience to Jesus
Continuing sign, festival for renewal of the covenant they celebrate the Lord’s supper
Sign of entry to the covenant baptism following spiritual regeneration
Seal of the covenant they receive the Holy Spirit

            The concept of baptism as a new covenant fulfilment of circumcision can be seen in the following passage, “In him (Christ) you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Col 2: 11-12).

We read of the Holy Spirit as a seal in the following verses, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1: 13-14); “He set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Cor 1: 22).

Under the old covenant, not every believer could enter God’s presence as a priest, and not everyone received the Holy Spirit. Only a few privileged people who carried out certain tasks had the Holy Spirit, like priests, kings and prophets. Under the new covenant, everything has changed. Every believer is now a priest (1 Peter 2: 9), everyone receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 38-39) and everyone can prophesy (1 Cor 14: 31).

            Since the day of Pentecost, there has been no change in the covenant by means of which God enters into relationship with his people. The new covenant in the blood of Christ (Luke 22: 20) is still in force. We have no reason to assume that, in the meantime, God has decided he will no longer give us the Holy Spirit, or even that he will give him in a different way from in the Early Church.

Speaking in tongues and prophecy:  

            Four significant cases can be found in the book of Acts, where believers were filled with the Holy Spirit: these occurred in Jerusalem (Acts 2: 1-13); Samaria (8: 14-17); at Cornelius’ house in Caesarea (10: 44-48) and in Ephesus (19: 1-7). In every case, certain visible phenomena accompanied the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

            In Jerusalem, there was the sound of a wind, tongues of fire, and speaking in tongues (1: 2-4). We hear no more of the first two manifestations, either in Acts or in the teaching of the epistles. It is not written what happened in Samaria, but it must have been something spectacular to arouse the interest of Simon Magus (8: 18-19). At Cornelius’ house they spoke in tongues (10: 46), and in Ephesus they also spoke in tongues, as well as prophesying (19: 6). In all three cases, therefore, where the Bible writes what phenomenon accompanied the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues occurred. It is not written specifically that speaking in tongues is the sign of baptism in the Holy Spirit, as is taught by many Pentecostals, but it is interesting to note that when Peter heard the Gentiles speaking in tongues, he accepted this as the work of the Holy Spirit, and immediately organised their baptism (Acts 10: 47-48).

In the first epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul teaches in detail on the use of the spiritual gifts, and in chapter 14, he emphasises speaking in tongues and prophecy. In spite of the fact that the Corinthians were disorderly in many of their practices, including the gifts of the Spirit, Paul does not forbid their use. He teaches them rather how to use these correctly, and indeed exhorts them to use the gifts. “But eagerly desire the greater gifts,” (1 Cor 12: 31); “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.” (14: 1). This following instruction of his is especially important for our subject, “Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.” (1 Cor 14: 39).

As I also mentioned above, prophecies certainly need to be examined. “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.” (1 Cor 14: 29); “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thess 5: 19-21). It follows from this that individual prophecies should be neither accepted nor rejected without judging them.

From the above brief summary, we can see that the Bible teaches about spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues, prophecy, and this teaching is found in verses which are clear and easy to understand. Pentecostals have not invented these, they are to be found in the Bible. At Pentecost, Peter preached that the gift of the Holy Spirit is, “for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God with call.” (Acts 2: 39). There is no restriction to be seen here, either in time or distance.

If God really did intend to discontinue the baptism in the Holy Spirit, therefore, or withdraw, change or modify it, as Cessationists claim, then there would have to be unequivocal teaching on this in the Bible too. Let us see if there is!

 Cessationist arguments answered:

             In this section, several common arguments raised against the use of gifts of the Spirit in the modern church are introduced, considered and refuted. Some of these I have heard personally, others, or the same ones, I have read in Legrand’s book and on the bible.ca website (see Bibliography).

1.      Spiritual gifts were in operation until the last Biblical book was finished, but there has been no need for them since then.

The argument is, that God spoke through the spiritual gifts until the Bible was written, but he has not spoken in this way since then, as we now have the final revelation. It is written in 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10, “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. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.” Here, “perfection” refers to the Bible, and after it was written, the “imperfect” spiritual gifts ceased.

            The response to this would be:

  1. In order to interpret the Bible, certain hermeneutical principles need to be applied, for instance, “Always interpret a particular passage of Scripture in the light of the systematic teaching on the subject. All verses which treat the subject must be considered, not just one,” and “interpret difficult verses on the basis of clear passages. A favourite trick of cults is to select a difficult passage and then construct their unique teachings on it.” 2 In the above case, these rules are broken, as a figurative passage is selected, interpreted in an arbitrary manner, and clear Biblical teaching is thus denied.
  2. If 1 Cor 13 is considered in context, Paul’s teaching is that the spiritual gifts are temporary, only to be used during our life on earth, but love remains for ever. “Perfection” thus refers to the condition following death, or the eternal state, when we see the Lord face to face and imperfect knowledge ceases. 3
  3. The Bible cannot have replaced spiritual gifts, as the purpose of the Bible is not the same as that of the spiritual gifts.
    1.  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3: 16). Scripture is for the teaching of correct doctrine and practice. It can be said that the New Testament is equivalent to the “apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2: 42), as they (or their companions) wrote it. God’s final revelation was his Son (Hebrews 1: 1), and the teaching about the Son is found in the New Testament. With this, the canon was closed, and since then God has not revealed new information on dogmatics.
    2. “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort… he who prophesies edifies the church. (1 Cor 14: 3-4). As is the case with any of the spiritual gifts, we cannot claim that prophecy is infallible, as the Scripture tells us it must be tested (1 Cor 14: 29; 1 Thess 5: 19-20). It is not written anywhere that NT prophecy will contain new doctrine, but it can be a current message to a specific congregation, for edification or exhortation. The content must be examined on the basis of Scripture, as it must not be in conflict with it. The Spirit of God does not contradict what He has already revealed. Let us look at an example, “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers, living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” (Acts 11: 27-30). Agabus’ message, that there would be a great famine, did not contain new doctrine, but simply encouraged the church to prepare for the difficult times, and to help their brothers and sisters who were struggling with these problems.
    3. Speaking in tongues is not usually understood by those present, as a foreign language is spoken supernaturally, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no-one understands him; he utters mysteries by the Spirit.” (1 Cor 14: 2); “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful… I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others that ten thousand words in a tongue.” (1 Cor 14: 14, 18-19). From these verses it is clear that speaking in tongues cannot be for teaching, as neither the speaker nor the listener understands it. On the other hand, the Bible is for teaching.
    4. Even if there is interpretation of tongues, “so that the church may be edified,” (1 Cor 14: 5), this does not contain teaching, but it is rather prayer (1 Cor 14: 14) or praise (Acts 2: 11; 1 Cor 14: 16), “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God.” (1 Cor 14: 2).
    5. Paul wants all the Corinthians to speak in tongues (1 Cor 14: 5), and he himself speaks in tongues more than them (v. 18), but not in the church (v. 19). He uses speaking in tongues for prayer and worship, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will also sing praise with my mind.” (1 Cor 14: 14-15 – see also Romans 8: 26-27; Ephesians 6: 17-18). Just because we have the Bible, it does not mean we do not need to pray or worship. Speaking in tongues helps us to do this.
    6. The Bible does not play the same role as the other spiritual gifts either, such as healing or miraculous powers (1 Cor 12: 9-10).

From the above, we can see that even if we have the Bible, we cannot claim that we do not need the spiritual gifts, as these have a different function. This is like saying that if I buy a washing machine, I do not need a vacuum cleaner, because both work by electricity. In the same way, both the Biblical writings and the gifts are inspired by the Holy Spirit, but these are different works of the Spirit. To use another illustration, this would be like saying if I have an instruction manual on how to drive my new car, I do not need to put petrol in it. The truth is, that we need both the Bible and the gifts of the Spirit in order to live balanced, effective Christian lives.

2. The Holy Spirit was only given through the apostles, by laying on of hands.

            The argument is, that the Holy Spirit was only given when the apostles laid their hands on someone. As the last apostle (John) died around AD 100, the last person who was able to use spiritual gifts cannot have lived later than AD 200.

            My response to this would be the following:

  1. It is written in Acts 8: 14-17, “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” It is not written in this passage, that exclusively the apostles had to pray for the Holy Spirit, it is just that it is what happened in this case. Perhaps even the evangelist Philip thought that it was necessary for the apostles to be present for the Holy Spirit to be given, but Paul’s later experience shows differently, see point D below.
  2. Although their ministry was unique, the twelve were not the only apostles. Paul was not one of them, but he was the apostle who prayed for the Ephesians to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 19: 1-7). Also mentioned as apostles are Barnabas (Acts 14: 14), Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16: 7) and Titus (2 Cor 8: 23). We do not know how these became apostles, how many of this type of apostles there were, or how long they lived.
  3. The baptism in the Holy Spirit did not only occur by the laying on of hands. On the day of Pentecost and in Cornelius’ house, it happened spontaneously, without anyone praying.
  4. Who prayed for the apostle Paul? “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 9: 17). Ananias was not an apostle, and not even a church leader, but according to verse 10, he was just “a disciple.”

In the light of the above verses, the claim that the Holy Spirit was only given when the apostles laid their hands on someone has no support.

 3.      Speaking in tongues is a sign for unbelievers.

 The argument is, that certain gifts were signs for unbelievers, like miracles, healing and speaking in tongues. These were only needed at the beginning of the church age, in order to accredit the message of Christ, and then they ceased. “Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers,” (1 Cor 14: 22); “where there are tongues, they will be stilled.” (1 Cor 13: 8).

I would reply to this as follows:

  1. There are still unbelievers in the world, and the vast majority of them would probably never read the Bible, even if it were available to them. In fact, huge numbers have never heard of the Bible or even the name of Jesus. The idea that these signs are no longer needed is not very convincing.
  2. The argument is that the so-called “sign gifts” have ceased, as we now have the Bible to confirm the message of the gospel. This would raise the problem that, if this were the case, there would now be only one witness to the truth. The Jewish law required that there be two or three witnesses for a matter to be established (Deut. 19: 15; cf. 1 Tim. 5: 19; Heb. 10: 28). There is also a Roman proverb which states, “Testis unus, testis nullus” (One witness is no witness).

Jesus himself stated that if people did not believe his words, they should look at the works he did as confirmation that he spoke the truth (John 10: 25-38; 14: 11). He also stated how serious a sin it was when his opponents claimed he did his miracles by demonic power (Mat 12: 24-32).

As there are many messages being proclaimed in the world today, all clamouring for adherents, it is as important now as it always was that the message of the gospel should not be just talk, but that it be confirmed with signs following, thus providing a second witness to the truth (Mark 16: 19-20; 1 Cor. 2: 1-5; Heb. 2: 3-4).

  1. One purpose of speaking in tongues is as a sign to unbelievers, but this is not its only function. For instance, Paul writes that he speaks in tongues more that any of the Corinthians (1 Cor 14: 18), but he does not wish to do this in the church (v. 19). Speaking in tongues also has an important purpose if someone is alone when he practises it, and it cannot be a sign to anyone. If someone speaks in tongues, his spirit is praying (v. 19), he prays, sings praises and gives thanks (v. 15-17), and edifies himself (v. 3). The Holy Spirit helps us to pray when we do not know how to, and speaking in tongues may be included in such a prayer, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this is mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Eph 6: 18); “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” (Rom 8: 26-27). We cannot assert that Christians since the Apostolic age have not been in need of help like this.

 4.      Tongues in the Bible were recognised languages

             Another objection that is raised, in connection with the concept of tongues being a sign to unbelievers, is that tongues in the Bible were known, recognised languages, whereas the tongues manifested in modern times in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles have been analysed by linguists and found to be non-recognisable, unstructured, repetitive successions of unconnected syllables, in other words, gobbledegook. The conclusion then drawn is that all modern tongues are of this type, and so they cannot comprise the Biblical gift.

            The following counterarguments could be mentioned:

  1. Although the idea is accepted that tongues are, or should be “real languages,” the Bible does not indicate that tongues must be understood every time they are uttered. They were understood on the day of Pentecost, or at least, the language(s) of fifteen different regions are mentioned. There were 120 people speaking in tongues at Pentecost, however, and we do not know if all the languages they spoke were understood, and in the other cases in Acts, at Cornelius’ house and in Ephesus, there is no mention that anyone understood the tongues.
  2. When writing to the Corinthians, Paul says, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no-one understands him: he utters mysteries with his spirit.” (1 Cor 14: 2). So in the case mentioned here, no-one is expected to understand the tongue. A tongue uttered in the context of a meeting must generally be interpreted (1 Cor 14: 27). This is to be done, however, with the help of another spiritual gift (1 Cor 12: 10; 14: 13), indicating that it is not understood in the natural way.
  3. There are over 5000 living languages and dialects spoken in the world today, not to mention all the dead ones there have ever been, so the Holy Spirit has plenty of languages to choose from which are unfamiliar to the speakers and the hearers. We cannot expect them all to be well known, though they do all mean something (1 Cor 14: 10-11). Paul even refers in passing to “tongues of angels” (1 Cor 13: 1), though it is questionable whether this is to be taken at face value. Even so, why should we expect always to recognise a tongue, even if it is a living language?
  4. When tongues are used for private prayer and praise, there is no real need for the utterance to be understood anyway. (1 Cor 14: 2).
  5. It appears that tongues were only understood when this was in line with God’s specific purpose, for example, at Pentecost. In this case, tongues were indeed “a sign for unbelievers,” but as mentioned above, this is not the only function of the gift.
  6. It is acknowledged by this writer that not everyone is filled with the Spirit who claims to be, just as not everyone is saved/born-again who claims to be. Due to this fact, there are undoubtedly cases of speaking in tongues which are not of the Holy Spirit. These could be of the flesh, or even demonic, in which case it is unlikely that any sense could be made of the tongue, as it may not be a real language. This situation could even be common in certain circles. It is not logical to conclude that this must be so in every case, however. This is the fallacy of extrapolation. This is like saying that, because there are some false prophets around, all prophets must be false (see below). This indicates the usual unwillingness to “test all things.”
  7. When it is God’s will and purpose for this to be the case, utterances in tongues are still recognised and understood in a natural way in the modern age.

Although I speak several modern languages, I have personally never heard speaking in tongues which I understood. I am also aware that many “urban legends” are circulating on this subject, from both sides of the camp. I should like to just mention a few cases, however, which I have heard from people I consider reliable Christians of long standing, who would have no reason to exaggerate or give a false testimony.

First of all, the following is from John Edwards, who for a time was pastor of the Bangor Assemblies of God Pentecostal Church in North Wales, and who I have known for over 20 years. His wife is Pauline Edwards, also an AOG pastor, and now missions director for unreached people groups with British Assemblies of God. He mentions the following cases, I quote:

  1. A lady we lived near to in London, who worked with the Apostolic Pentecostal Church told us that whilst in Ghana she heard an African speaking in perfect Welsh. Since the lady was Welsh, she understood the language. The African person had no knowledge of the Welsh language.
  2. I, John, used to go to a meeting in Aylesbury in the home of a doctor who was a specialist at Stoke Manderville Hospital. During one of the meetings I brought a message in tongues and someone interpreted it. One foreign lady from the hospital was very excited as I had spoken in a Malaysian dialect that she understood.
  3. My wife, Pauline, prayed for some pastors in Burundi to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. One of them began speaking in English, saying, “Jesus is king’ etc.. He had no knowledge of English, as it is a French speaking country.

5.      The spiritual gifts ceased at the end of the first century.

           It is claimed that the use of spiritual gifts in the church ceased at a very early period, approximately at the end of the Apostolic age. The conclusion is then drawn from this, that God withdrew the gifts at that time. The modern use of certain spiritual gifts only dates from the beginning of the 20th century, but these are false, they are not from the Lord, as he withdrew the real gifts a very long time before this.

This can be answered as follows:

  1. This argument is based on experience, not on the Bible. Experience should not be the basis of a theological viewpoint, though in certain cases it may be used for the sake of illustration or testimony. Experiences can be interpreted in several ways. The following alternative explanation is perfectly acceptable:
  2. God did not withdraw the Biblical gifts, but rather Christians neglected and lost them. We learn from Church History that almost every Biblical doctrine was lost or became distorted over the years, at least in the official church. Since the 16th century Reformation, God has been restoring the knowledge of Biblical truths in the universal church. This process has not proven simple, as at each step there has been resistance, as well as excesses. As part of this process of restoration, the use of the spiritual gifts has become widespread in the church since the beginning of the 20th century.
  3. What happens if we take the above argument further? Is it really true that everything that happened in the early church was according to God’s plan? If this is so, then was the mediaeval church right, and the Reformation a mistake? If the “Sola Scriptura” of the Protestant movement is correct, then the Reformation was not a mistake, but then neither was the restoration of the spiritual gifts as a subsequent step.
  4. It is not even true that the gifts ceased at the end of the first century, because there are references to be found in the writings of the early church fathers on the use of e.g. tongues and prophecy in the 3rd (Novatian) 4 and even the 4th (Hilary) 5 centuries.

 6.      Modern speaking in tongues is of the Devil.

          It follows from the previous argument, that as God withdrew the spiritual gifts at the end of the Apostolic age, then all such manifestations in modern times are an imitation of the Devil. (A less extreme view is that this could be simply gobbledegook, i.e. of the flesh).

I would answer this as follows:

  1. We have already seen that the view, according to which God discontinued the spiritual gifts after the first century, cannot be supported from the Bible.
  2. The Bible mentions speaking in tongues in five separate passages (Mark 16: 17; Acts 2: 4; 10: 46; 19: 6; 1 Cor 12-14). In every case, this is the work of the Holy Spirit. There is no case in the Bible where someone speaks in tongues under the influence of the Devil or a demon.
  3. Jesus gave the following promise, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For anyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11: 9-13). Jesus clearly stresses, that if someone asks for the Holy Spirit from his Father, this is exactly what he will receive, and not something bad instead.
  4. Certain experiences indicate that the Devil is able to imitate spiritual gifts. Apparently, some Satanists speak in tongues. Spiritists are able to heal to some extent. The Bible warns us that, as well as true ones, there will also be false prophets (Eph 4: 11; Mat 7: 15-20). Imitations do exist therefore, but Luke 11: 13 does not apply to cases like these. If someone is not born again, then God is not his Father, and if he simply opens himself up to some spiritual experience, it is possible that he will receive something from the Devil. The promise, on the other hand, definitely does apply to God’s born-again children.

In the light of the points listed above, the claim that all modern speaking in tongues is of the Devil is clearly unbiblical.

 7.      There will be false prophets.

             The argument is as follows: the Bible teaches that there will be false prophets, e.g., “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.” (Jer 23: 21); “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.” (Mat 24: 24-25). This means that the Pentecostals and Charismatics are these false prophets.

I would respond in this way:

  1. This argument “throws out the baby with the bath water.” To draw a conclusion thus: “there will be false prophets, therefore all prophets are false,” is not logical. If this were the case, then Jeremiah would have condemned his own ministry in the verse quoted above.
  2. In the epistle of Jude and in 2 Peter 2, we read that there will be false teachers, but no-one concludes on this basis that all modern Bible teachers are false.
  3. We read in the New Testament that there are also true prophets in the church, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.” (1 Cor 12: 27-28); “And it was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” (Eph 4: 11-12); “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith…” (Rom 12: 4-6).
  4. As there are both false and true prophets and prophecies, these must be tested in line with the verses already quoted (1 Cor 14: 29; 1 Thess 5: 19-21). Several criteria are to be found in the Bible, as to how we are to examine prophets. In summary, these are the tests:

i)                    A true prophet does not teach falsehood (Deut 13: 1-3; 1 John 4: 1-3). The message must be examined on the basis of the word of God.

ii)                   If a true prophet predicts something, it will happen (Deut 18: 22). Not every New Testament prophecy foretells the future, as it may be a simple word of encouragement (1 Cor 14: 3), but if it contains prediction, this can also be tested. A possible problem needs to be mentioned in this regard, however. As in Biblical times, the fulfilment of many modern prophecies is conditional. For instance, as the inhabitants of Niniveh repented on hearing Jonah’s message, God did not destroy the city. If a certain prophecy does not find fulfilment in the hearers’ lives, but the reason is that they did not meet the conditions, this does not mean that the message was spoken by a false prophet.

iii)                 A true prophet will have a Christ-like character (Mat 7: 15-16; Gal 5: 22; Phil 2: 5-8). According to the Bible, fruit is more important than gifts. The latter are free and appear instantly, but the former develops over a long period. A Christ-like character, however, remains in the eternal state too, but there will be no need for gifts then.

iv)                 In line with the previous point, a true prophet will not just have external charisma and gifts, but will actually have a relationship with Jesus, and be obedient to his teaching, i.e. be born again. On the other hand, many will claim to have prophesied and done miracles in Jesus’ name, but the Lord will state that he never knew them. (Mat 7: 21-23).

Why would the Bible tell us to test prophecies, if they were all automatically false? The claim that all modern prophets are false is not Biblical.

 8.      False signs and wonders

 Continuing the previous thought, some make the assertion, that if Pentecostals work miracles, then it is because they are the false prophets that Jesus spoke about, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.” (Mat 24: 24-25). Another approach is to claim that true, verifiable miracles never happen.

Although the possibility of trickery carried out by “ministries” wishing to authenticate themselves cannot not excluded, healings confirmed by doctors have also occurred at campaigns held by Pentecostal/Charismatic healing evangelists, such as T. L. Osborn. 6 Let us assume that occasionally real miracles do occur. Why would miracles happen, and what do we mean by a false miracle?

It appears that in the Biblical sense, a false miracle is not so much an apparent miracle, which is faked, but a genuine occurrence for which the power source is not the true God. The Egyptian magicians performed miracles by their “secret arts” (Exodus 8: 7), and consider also, “Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs…” (Rev 16: 13-14). It is possible for the Devil to perform miracles.

The purpose of false miracles is so that man will go astray, or accept a false message, “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer…” (Deut 13: 1-3); “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect – if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” (Mark 13: 22-23); “Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth… He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and all its inhabitants worship the first beast… And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.” (Rev 13: 11).

      False prophets, therefore, proclaim a false message, and may perform wonders in order to authenticate a false Messiah, the Antichrist, or a religion of lies. This does not apply to Pentecostals. The majority of Pentecostal denominations are completely Evangelical. Pentecostal teaching is very close to that of the Evangelical Free Churches, with the one difference, that use of the spiritual gifts is accepted. Charismatic believers are to be found within many traditional churches, e.g. Baptist, Methodist, Anglican and Presbyterian. In my experience, the use of spiritual gifts in the church exalts Jesus, encourages believers to serve others, and invites unbelievers to turn to Christ; as Jesus said, “When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” (John 15: 26).

      I quote T. L. Osborn, the healing evangelist mentioned above, “Some may ask, How may I know that I am saved? How may I be sure that my sins are forgiven? This is life’s greatest question. The Philippian jailer asked, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ And they (Paul and Silas) said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.’ Jesus said, ‘The one who believes and is baptised shall be saved.’” 7

Spirit-baptised Christians preach repentance and faith in Jesus as the only way to salvation. If a miracle happens to occur, it is only this message that is supported. They are not false prophets in the Biblical sense.

9. The Bible does not teach a second blessing.

 Cessationists object to the idea that a “second blessing” exists, following the new birth. Thomas Edgar writes, “The concept of the “second blessing” or “baptism or fullness of the Spirit” presupposes that while Jesus’ death on the cross paid for sin, it is insufficient to empower for service, to enable one to be spiritual, or to give effectiveness in prayer. This differs drastically from the teaching of the New Testament.” 8

            All I can say to this, is I don’t see how this differs from the teaching of the New Testament.

  1. Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection had already happened, when the Lord commanded the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit in order to receive power. (Acts 1: 8).
  2. The events of Pentecost and the three other cases in Acts demonstrate the reality of the baptism in the Spirit.
  3. From Peter’s Pentecost sermon we see that laying the foundation of the Christian life happens in several steps, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2: 38). Here we have repentance accompanied by the new birth, water baptism, and baptism in the Holy Spirit.
  4. With Cornelius’ household, it appears that repentance and being filled with the Spirit occur at the same time, and baptism follows soon after. (Acts 10: 44-48).
  5. Also in Ephesus (Acts 19), they believed (v. 3-5), were baptised (v. 5), and were filled with the Holy Spirit when Paul laid his hands on them (v. 6).
  6. Three days after being converted on the road to Damascus, Paul was baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit through the ministry of Ananias (Acts 9: 1-19).
  7. We see most clearly from the case which happened in Samaria, that a period of time can elapse between the new birth and the baptism in the Spirit. Philip preached the gospel in Samaria, “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women.” (Acts 8: 12). After this, the apostles came down, “When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 8: 15-16). From this it is clear that accepting the message in faith and being baptised, although it was enough for them to be saved, as faith is the condition (see Mark 16: 16, “Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved”), did not mean that they automatically received the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this, in this case, they needed laying on of hands, “Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” (v. 17).
  8. In order to illustrate the distinction between the new birth and the baptism in the Spirit, Kevin Conner draws an interesting parallel with the life of Jesus, which I should like to mention here. 9 In the life of Jesus, the Holy Spirit played a vital role on two specific occasions. First of all, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit as he overshadowed the Virgin Mary (Mat. 1: 18,20; Luke 1: 35). Conceived and born in this way, Jesus always had a perfect relationship with the Father. He never sinned and always did the Father’s will. Nevertheless, at his baptism at the age of thirty, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in a special way, in the form of a dove. After receiving this “anointing,” the Lord began his public ministry.

In the case of Christian believers there are both similarities and differences with this situation. Before conversion, all men are in a state of spiritual death, the essence of which is that we are separated from God, unable to have a relationship with him (Eph. 2: 1-10). By repentance and faith we are reconciled with God, thereby coming into a relationship with him (2 Cor. 5: 16-23). This is the new birth, which is a work both of the Word and the Spirit of God (Jn. 3: 6; 1 Peter 1: 23).

Having never sinned, Jesus had no need to be born again, as he never came into a state of separation from the Father, but as we have seen above, he did need to be anointed by the Spirit before entering into public ministry. In a parallel fashion, after having been born again, we also need to be anointed or baptised in the Holy Spirit in a subsequent step, in order to be effective servants of the Most High. If Jesus needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I should not like to claim that I do not.

  1. I should like to repeat, that acceptance of the message about Christ, justification by faith, is sufficient for someone to be saved according to the Bible. But why should I want to do just the absolute minimum to be saved myself? I consider that selfish. I should like to do everything I can to serve my Lord and others in the most effective way possible, and for this I need the power of the Holy Spirit.

 10.  Dogmatic theology cannot be obtained from the book of Acts

 The argument has been advanced that teaching should not be based on Acts as it is a historical book and not didactic like the epistles.

Is this supposed to mean that some bits of the New Testament are more inspired than others? Or is this simply a pretext to disregard Acts, because the theology obtained from it does not conform to the preconceived ideas of certain theologians?

The following counterarguments can be mentioned:

  1. It is generally accepted by conservative Biblical theologians that the whole of Holy Scripture is inspired by God and suitable for teaching (2 Tim 3: 16-17). A great deal of dogmatic information is contained only in the historical books of the Old and New Testaments, for example, much of our understanding of God’s covenants with man.
  2. There is a very significant area of teaching which can only be found in Acts. This is the only book in the NT and in the Bible which gives an account of how people became Christians in the first place. The Gospels describe the words and works of Jesus, before the church was formed. The epistles and Revelation were written to Christians, to inform, teach, exhort, warn and correct error. So if we want a “theology” of how a non-believer becomes a believer in the church age, the only place to find it is in Acts.

The pattern for this is seen to be that people repented, were baptised in water and were filled with the Holy Spirit. (See for example Acts 2: 38-41, Acts 8: 14-17, etc.). Can it be that a disregard of the book of Acts for teaching is a contributing factor in the use of other patterns in this modern age, such as, “Give your heart to the Lord.” This formula is not to be found in Acts, but unfortunately, it is nowhere else in the Bible either.

  1. Those who use this argument may well be guilty of inconsistency. For instance, the argument that the Holy Spirit was only given when the apostles laid their hands on people, although erroneous, is based on incidents found only in the book of Acts.
  2. As a point of interest, just as the book of Acts is the only source of information on how people became Christians in the early church, the only passage where advice is given on how to conduct church meetings is 1 Corinthians 11-14. Chapter 14 verse 26 states, “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” This instruction does include encouragement for all to use spiritual gifts. Perhaps those who run their meetings in a different way to this should be challenged to justify their practices from the Word of God.

 11.  Pentecostals are bad.

 Various arguments belong in this section. I have heard the following, “Pentecostals are uneducated and anti-intellectual, so it is not worth listening to their arguments,” “Pentecostals deny the Trinity, so they are heretics anyway;” “unbiblical things happen at Charismatic meetings,” and “many famous Pentecostals fall into sin, so it is clear they are basically bad.”

It is possible to respond to these as follows:

  1. These are “ad hominem” and “strawman” arguments. Ad hominem means “against man.” The idea is, that if I can show that the representative of a certain teaching is a bad person, then that means his teaching is wrong too. This approach may be justified in certain cases, for instance, if I could show that Jesus did not live a sinless life, then Christianity would not be valid, or if I could prove Joseph Smith was a false prophet, then Mormonism could not be true. However, the Pentecostal teaching on gifts of the Spirit does not originate from a modern prophet, it is in the Bible. If a certain person calling himself Pentecostal behaves badly, it means that Christians sometimes behave in an inappropriate way – nothing more.
  2. What if we use the “ad hominem” approach against the Corinthian church? These so-called Christians behave in a carnal manner (1 Cor 3: 3): they are envious and argumentative (v. 3), they display party spirit (v. 4), tolerate immorality (5: 1), take each other to court (6: 1), get drunk (11: 21), and some of them deny the resurrection (15: 12). Are we to conclude from all this that their spiritual gifts were false? Paul writes, “You do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” (1 Cor 1: 7). Even Cessationists must admit that the Corinthians’ spiritual gifts were genuine.
  3. We must remember that the Holy Spirit is a gift from God, which even a very young Christian can receive. Cornelius and his household were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues during the first few moments of their Christian lives (Acts 10: 44-48). For this reason, the Corinthians could behave in an immature manner and still use genuine spiritual gifts. Therefore, if this problem is also encountered in the case of many modern Charismatics, this is not particularly surprising in the light of the Bible, and it definitely does not lead to the conclusion that their spiritual gifts are false. The continuous presence of the Holy Spirit in someone’s life will also produce the fruit of mature Christianity (Gal 5: 22-24), but in contrast to the gifts, this does not appear instantly.
  4. If strange things happen at certain Charismatic meetings, this may mean that a mixture of things is going on. The following is a possible explanation: Christians pray for the Holy Spirit, so God gives them the gift. They are filled and receive genuine spiritual gifts. Another group sees this: nothing happens to them, so, in order to conform to their own and others’ expectations, they imitate the manifestations. A third group also sees that something supernatural is happening, and they also long for something like that. The problem is, no-one has explained the gospel to them and they have never met Jesus. They simply open themselves up to some spiritual experience, and so expose themselves to possible demonic influence, as Luke 11: 9-13 does not apply to them. Or some may even be liberated from demons under the influence of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and these “come out of them with shrieks” (cf. Acts 8: 7). Therefore, the divine, the carnal and the demonic are all going on at the same time. Then what Derek Prince described happens: the manifestations are not tested on the basis of the Bible, but, some see the genuine gifts, and in due course, the good fruit which comes from them, and think that the strange things must also be from God. Others cannot accept that someone, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, would e.g. roll around the floor barking like a dog, so they attribute everything to the Devil. The opinion of this present author is that, in large, uncontrolled meetings, the above scenario can correspond with reality. Therefore, every single manifestation must be judged, and the good retained. This is the only correct procedure, and the church needs to grow up to this task.
  5. Not all Pentecostals are uneducated. Derek Prince, for instance, was a respected Pentecostal scholar who was highly qualified in a number of fields.
  6. A “strawman” argument means that I misrepresent the teaching of my opponent, then refute the position I myself have imagined, and the matter is considered dealt with. Perhaps unwittingly, Mohammed, the founder of Islam, used this argument against the Christians. He stated that the Christian Trinity is the Father, the Son and Mary. As Mary is a human being, she cannot be part of the Godhead, so the Christians’ teaching is false. The above accusation, according to which Pentecostals deny the Holy Trinity, is of the same type. It is true that the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) do not accept the Trinity, as they are modalists (Sabellians). The vast majority of Pentecostals and Charismatics, however, regard UPCI as a cult, and do not agree with their teachings. It would be possible to argue against Cessationists in the same way: the Jehovah’s Witnesses are Cessationists. The Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Trinity, so Cessationists are false teachers. Does this follow? No! Just a comment: if someone argues against the Pentecostals by confusing them with UPCI, he is either very badly informed as to what Pentecostals believe, or he is being deliberately deceptive. In either case, his credibility is compromised.

 Let’s just finish off with one or two thoughts. In my opinion, the Cessationist view is based on experience and the traditional teaching of certain denominations, not on the Bible. The greatest problem here is that Christians are immature and will not listen to each other – this comment applies to all streams of opinion.

I recently heard a couple of teachings, from which I should like to draw a few ideas: Fundamentalist, Evangelical Biblical theology is very thorough, and provides good defence against deception and the heretical teachings of the cults, but it can be somewhat theoretical and dry. The fire of the Pentecostals gives power for ministry and practical Christian living, but their Biblical knowledge may be scanty, and if they prefer to concentrate on experience, things can easily go awry. Liberal theology is based on human reason, so many Biblical teachings are denied, but many of them do emphasise the “social gospel,” which means they take care of people in need, such as the sick, the poor and the homeless.

When Jesus’ disciples asked him what the last days would be like, he indicated what his followers should be like in those days. This teaching is found in Matthew 24-25. We should take care not to be deceived by anyone (Mat 24: 4-7, 23-27), which is only possible if we are thoroughly acquainted with the word of God. We can see from the parable of the virgins that we need to have enough oil available, which is the anointing of the Holy Spirit (25: 1-13). We need to use the talents we have received from God, which are our abilities and gifts (25: 14-30), and from the story of the sheep and goats, we learn how important it is to take care of people who are suffering hardship (25: 31-46).

These teachings and practices can be adopted from the various branches of Christianity, with the condition that we test all things, and hold on to the good. It is my hope that Christians will soon realise that they all need each other. “Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Cor 12: 27).

 Footnotes:

 1. Derek Prince, Védelem a Hitetéstől, p. 235, Budapesti Autonóm Gyülekezet, 1999.

 2. Avoid Scripture twisting: eight basic rules of Bible interpretation, Watchman Fellowship Inc., On Line  http://www.watchman.org/reltop/8rules.htm

3. Norman Hillyer, Commentary on the Corinthian epistles, in The New Bible Commentary Revised, p. 1068.

 4. “This is He (the Holy Spirit) who places prophets in the Church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works, often discrimination of spirits, affords powers of government, suggests counsels, and orders and arranges whatever other gifts there are of charismata; and thus make the Lord’s Church everywhere, and in all, perfected and completed.” Treatise concerning the Trinity, XXIX, Novatian (died 257).

 5. “For God hath set same in the Church, first apostles, in whom is the word of wisdom; secondly prophets, in whom is the gift of knowledge; thirdly teachers, in whom is the doctrine of faith; next mighty works, among which are the healing of diseases, the power to help, governments by the prophets, and gifts of either speaking or interpreting divers kinds of tongues. Clearly these are the Church’s agents of ministry and work of whom the body of Christ consists; and God has ordained them.” On the Trinity, VIII, 33, Hilary of Poitiers (died 367).

 6. T. L. Osborn, Healing the sick, esp. ch. 55; see also e.g. Roberts Liardon, God’s Generals, and bibliographies.

 7. T. L. Osborn, Healing the sick, p. 240.

 8. Thomas R. Edgar, The Cessation of the Sign Gifts, On Line http://www.straitgate.com/articles/Issues/Charismaticism/edgar.html

 9. Kevin Conner, Understanding the New Birth and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Sovereign World, 1999, p. 9 ff.

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