Note: This is the
conclusion of a series of studies about miracles, tongues, Holy Spirit baptism,
healings, and spiritual gifts. To see the whole series, go to our Bible
Instruction website at www.gospelway.com/instruct
Introduction:
Previous articles
showed that the purposes of spiritual gifts pertained to the work of revealing
and confirming God's will for man. And that work was completed during the
lifetime of the original apostles.
Our purpose now
will be to consider whether, when this work was completed, the gifts were to
continue or did God cause them to cease?
Some people
believe that miracles and direct revelation still occur today. Is this correct,
or have the gifts ceased?
I. Evidence that
Spiritual Gifts Have Ceased.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A. No Modern
Events Have the Characteristics of Bible Miracles.
=======================================
We have already
studied the characteristics of true revelations and true miracles. Consider the
application to the existence of miracles at all today.
Modern
"revelations" have the characteristics of false prophecy, not true
prophecy.
*****************************************************
The Bible warns
about false prophets:
Matthew 7:15; 2
Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1; etc.
The teachings of
true inspired men always agreed with Scripture, and their predictions of the
future always came true.
False prophets
could be distinguished from true prophets, because teachings of false prophets
did not always harmonize with scriptures and their predictions did not always
come true (Deut. 18:20-22; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 John 9-11).
When the
revelations of modern "prophets" are examined, invariably they
eventually contradict the Bible and/or their predictions fail.
We earlier cited
many examples of this. To demonstrate this to be true in any specific case,
simply study their "revelations" according to these principles.
Hence, they must be false prophets, not true ones.
Modern
"miracles" have the characteristics of false miracles, not true
miracles.
*****************************************************
The Bible warns
about false miracles:
Acts 8:9-13; 2
Thessalonians 2:9-12; Matthew 24:24; etc.
As previously
studied, every true miracle always had all the following characteristics:
* There was
conclusive evidence that the event really occurred.
* The event
occurred instantaneously (or in exactly the limited time period God specified).
* There were
never any failures when miracles were attempted (by Jesus or by His apostles
after they received Holy Spirit baptism).
* The results
always completely and perfectly accomplished the intended purpose.
* So the event
was clearly impossible by natural law.
Men who had truly
miraculous powers could be distinguished from those who worked false miracles
by comparing the characteristics of the works performed.
To prove they
were really from God, men with truly miraculous powers were willing to work
miracles even in the presence of false teachers, and all their miracles always
had all the characteristics of true miracles. False miracle workers were known
by the fact their works lacked the characteristics of true miracles. Acts
8:5-13; 13:6-12; 19:11-17; 1 Kings 18:20-40; Ex. chaps 7-12 (esp. 8:17-19); see
other examples previously listed.
On close
examination, the works of all modern "miracle-workers" are found to
lack some or all of the characteristics of true miracles.
We earlier gave
examples of this. Again, to demonstrate it in any particular case, simply
compare the events people claim are "miracles" to the Bible
characteristics.
In practice
people will usually refuse to work miracles in the presence of those who don't
believe they can do them or those they claim are "false teachers."
They rely instead on "testimonies" of those they have
"healed." But this simply proves they are false, for men with true
miracle power did not so refuse.
We continually
hear people who claim they can do or have received miracles today. If these
gifts exist today, there should be many examples that have the characteristics
of true Bible miracles. But all we ever find are the frauds. So we must
conclude that the gifts have ceased, and all those who claim to possess the
gifts are false.
B. Spiritual
Gifts Are No Longer Needed, Because They Have Fulfilled Their Purpose.
===========================================
We have already
studied the purposes of the gifts and the fulfillment of those purposes.
*****************************************************
See earlier articles
for the specific evidence.
Some gifts were
given for the purpose of delivering the revelation of God's will.
This work was
completed by the end of the lifetime of the original apostles. The apostles
received all truth that God gave in order for man to know how to please God and
be saved. Then they recorded this message in the Scriptures.
God then promised
to preserve the message in the written word throughout all ages. So we today
have the complete revelation of God's will in the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16,17).
We need no
further revelation today. The purpose of the gifts of direct revelation has
been fulfilled.
Some gifts were
given for the purpose of confirming the revelations that God gave.
The gifts may
have served other purposes, but this was the primary purpose and was the
determining purpose in whether or not miracles occurred. When miracles were not
needed to accomplish this purpose, they did not occur.
John 20:29-31 -
The Bible not only records the revelation of God's will, it also records the
eyewitness testimony of the miracles that confirm the message to be from God.
We do not need miracles today to convince us to believe in God and the Bible.
We have adequate evidence in the written word.
It follows that
when direct revelation was no longer needed, then the gifts of confirmation
would no longer be needed. This work was completed during the lifetime of the
original apostles, therefore these gifts are no longer needed.
Throughout the
Bible, whenever a work of God had fulfilled its purpose, it ceased.
*****************************************************
Consider some
examples:
* Creation of the world - Genesis chaps 1,2
(note 2:1,2 ).
* Universal flood - Genesis chaps. 6-9 (note
9:8-17).
* Sacrifice of a son - Genesis chap. 22.
* Animal sacrifices - Hebrews 10:1-18
* Circumcision - 1 Corinthians 7:18-20;
Galatians 5:2-8; etc.
* Virgin birth - Matthew 1:18,20; Luke 1:35
* Earthly life and death of Jesus - Hebrews
9:26,28; 10:10; 7:26,27; etc.
* Resurrection of Jesus - Romans 1:4.
All of these are
works God once did but has ceased because their purpose was accomplished. And
note that many of them involved miracles. Can you name any work, which God
continued to do after it had fulfilled its purpose, when it was no longer
needed?
We earlier
studied some attempts of people who claim miracles are needed today. But we
showed that they are claiming, either things that are not really needed today
according to the Bible, or things that never were the intended purpose of
miracles.
The clear pattern
is that God ceases to do works, including miraculous works, when their purpose
has been accomplished. All miracles have now accomplished their purpose, so the
pattern of God's past works should convince us that He ceased them all.
C. There Is No
Means by Which People Today Can Receive These Gifts.
===========================================
As we studied
earlier, the possible means no longer exist today by which people could receive
the gifts.
People received
spiritual gifts by two possible means.
*******************************************
1. Holy Spirit
baptism
Holy Spirit
baptism was never required or even promised to all people. God never implied He
would continue to give it to people throughout all ages.
The purpose of
Holy Spirit baptism was to give people miraculous powers. But these powers
fulfilled their purpose and are no longer needed. Since the gifts themselves
have ceased, it follows that Holy Spirit baptism is no longer needed to give
the powers.
Ephesians 4:3-6 -
There is one baptism today.
We learned that
water baptism is commanded for people of all ages. In fact, nearly all groups
today practice some form of water baptism, including those who also claim Holy
Spirit baptism.
Holy Spirit
baptism and water baptism are two separate and distinct baptisms (Acts 1:5).
But Ephesians 4 expressly says that, when Paul wrote the book of Ephesians,
there was only one baptism. We can no more practice two separate and distinct
baptisms today than we can worship two Heavenly Fathers!
So, whereas there
have been several baptisms practiced at various times, by the time Ephesians
was written, all these baptisms had ceased except one. But we know water
baptism was to continue for all ages. Therefore, Holy Spirit baptism must have
ceased before Ephesians was written.
2. Laying on of
apostles' hands
People also
received spiritual gifts by having apostles lay hands on them. But we have seen
that only apostles could impart gifts in this way. Even if other people had
received gifts from an apostle, they could not in turn impart or pass on
spiritual gifts to others.
This means of
receiving the gifts has also fulfilled its purpose and ceased, as we will see,
since there are no apostles today.
Apostles were
always involved, whenever people received miraculous powers.
*****************************************************
Whether by Holy
Spirit baptism or by laying on of apostles' hands, no one ever received
miraculous powers after Jesus' resurrection except with the direct, personal
involvement of an apostle.
But we have also
seen that no one today meets the qualifications of apostles.
* No one works the true signs of apostles.
* No one is directly guided by the Spirit as
apostles were.
* No one is a personal eyewitness of the
resurrected Christ.
* No one has been called directly by Jesus to
serve as an apostle.
So apostles were
always involved whenever anyone received miraculous powers of the Spirit, but
there are no apostles today. Therefore, there is no way for people to receive
the gifts today. The gifts must have ceased around the time when all apostles
had passed away. This harmonizes with the evidence presented earlier.
D. The Bible
Teaches That Miracles Would Cease When Their Purpose Was Fulfilled.
===========================================
1 Corinthians
13:8-11 - A prophecy that spiritual gifts would cease
******************************************************
The context -
chaps. 12,13, and 14 all discuss spiritual gifts.
Chap. 12 lists
the gifts (12:4-11) and shows they all had a useful purpose at the time they
existed. But 12:31 contrasts the gifts to a "more excellent way."
Chap. 13 shows
the "more excellent way" is love. Love is greater than spiritual
gifts primarily in that love will endure eternally, whereas the gifts were
temporary and would cease.
Chap. 14 gives
regulations regarding the proper use of the gifts for the temporary period of
time when they continued to exist.
Why and when
would spiritual gifts cease? - 13:8-10
The gifts would
cease because they were "in part" (vv 9,10) - in some sense they were
incomplete and imperfect.
They would cease
"when that which is perfect is come" (v10). Note: "That which is
perfect" is contrasted to "that which is in part" (spiritual
gifts). "That which is perfect" in some sense completes or perfects
that which is incomplete or imperfect about spiritual gifts. If we can
determine in what sense spiritual gifts were "in part," then we will
understand when and why they would cease.
In what way were
the gifts "in part"?
The only sensible
answer is that, at the time Paul wrote, the gifts had only partly accomplished their
purpose.
The gifts were
then in the process of delivering the will of God (this use of the gifts is
frequently mentioned in chaps 12-14). But the delivery was not complete when
Paul wrote.
Since "that
which is perfect (complete)" is contrasted to "that which is in
part", we conclude "that which is perfect" must refer to the
complete revelation of all truth. When the revelation had been completely
delivered, spiritual gifts would have accomplished their purpose and would no longer
be needed, so they would cease.
When did this
occur? Near the end of the lifetime of the original apostles, as we have seen!
Remember the gifts were needed because people did not have the written word. In
fact the gifts were needed to give men the written word. When the scriptures
were complete, direct revelation was no longer needed, so it ceased.
V11 - an
illustration:
A child cannot
speak or walk well. It drinks only milk, needs its diaper changed, etc. As it
grows up, it ceases these childish acts. So when God first began to reveal the
gospel, gifts of prophecy, tongues, etc., were needed to deliver the message.
But when the message became mature - i.e., completely delivered - then those
gifts that pertained to its delivery, were not needed and so ceased.
Another
illustration: While a man is building a house, he needs to hammer and saw, etc.
When the house is complete, the hammering and sawing are no longer needed, so
they cease. So the gifts were needed while the gospel was being revealed, but
ceased when the revelation was complete.
James 1:25
describes the gospel as the "perfect law of liberty."
Some think
"that which is perfect" refers to Jesus' second coming (either Jesus
Himself or some other event at Jesus' return).
* Where does the
context refer to Jesus' return? How would spiritual gifts ("that which is
in part") contrast to Jesus ("that which is perfect")? Jesus
second coming fits neither the context nor Paul's logic.
* The 3 spiritual
gifts listed (prophecy, tongues, and knowledge - v8) are also contrasted to 3
abiding qualities: faith, hope, and love (v13).
The spiritual
gifts are temporary - they cease "when that which is perfect" is come
(vl0). But faith, hope, and love are abiding compared to the gifts. Hence, they
do not cease "when that which is perfect is come."
But this cannot
refer to Jesus' second coming, for then faith and hope will cease (Romans 8:24;
2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:1). To say spiritual gifts will last till Jesus
returns would be to say that the gifts are as enduring as faith and hope; but
this is just the opposite of what the passage says.
Spiritual gifts
must cease before Jesus' second coming. The only reasonable time that could
happen is when the scriptures were completed.
For people to
insist we need spiritual gifts today would be as unreasonable as dressing a
full-grown man in a diaper and feeding him from a baby bottle!
Jude 3 - The
faith (gospel) was "once" delivered to the saints.
**************************************************
"Once"
is translated "once for all" (New King James Version, American
Standard Version, and others). It is "used of what is so done as to be of
perpetual validity and never need repetition" - Thayer.
Hebrews 9:26,28;
10:10; 7:26,27; 1 Peter 3:18 - "Once" (same Greek word) describes
Jesus' death in contrast to animal sacrifices.
Old Testament
sacrifices did not completely remove sins, so they continued to be offered. But
Jesus' death was perfect and sufficient to completely remove all sin for all
men of all ages, so it happened only "once". It did not need to be
repeated, so it never will be repeated. To say we need more sacrifice would be
to deny the perfection of Jesus' sacrifice.
Likewise, the
faith was delivered "once" (for all).
Spiritual gifts
continued as long as God's perfect testament had not been perfectly and
completely revealed. But the perfect New Testament was perfectly and completely
delivered to men in the first century. It does not need to be delivered again,
so it never will be delivered again. Therefore the spiritual gifts by which it
was delivered have ceased. To say we still need spiritual gifts would be to
deny the perfection of the New Testament.
Everything Jesus
did was perfect. He not only gave us a perfect sacrifice for sin, He also gave
us the perfect New Testament to tell us how to receive forgiveness (Hebrews
1:1,2; James 1:25). The delivery of the New Testament will not be repeated,
because the revelation we have needs no improvements, just like Jesus' death
will never be repeated because it needs no improvements.
Every person who
seeks spiritual gifts today is saying (perhaps unintentionally) that he lacks
faith in the Bible as the complete and perfect revelation of God's will. Those
who are satisfied with the Scriptures will appreciate that they need no other
revelation, so they believe God when He says there will be no other revelation.
II. Answers to
Evidence that Spiritual Gifts Are for Today.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
We have already
answered many such arguments, but here are a few remaining ones:
A. Those Who Seek
Signs Are a "Wicked and Adulterous Generation" - Matt. 12:38,39.
===========================================
This objection is
offered when we challenge people who believe in miracles to prove they exist by
working some (see also Matthew 16:lf; John 2:18; 6:26-30; 1 Cor. 1:22).
We have cited
many examples in which God's prophets deliberately worked signs to prove they
were from God.
******************************************************
And they did so
in the presence of false teachers and unbelievers, so people could examine the
miracles and see the difference between them and false miracles. Evidently they
did not believe that it was "wicked and adulterous" for people to ask
for signs, in the age when they did exist.
On the contrary,
we have shown by the Scriptures that the purpose of miracles was to confirm the
message. They were deliberately done to give people evidence.
1 John 4:1 - God
commands us to put teachers to the test to see whether or not they speak truth.
This is all we seek to do.
Jesus only
rebuked people for requesting more signs after they had seen enough they should
have believed.
*****************************************************
He did not
condemn people for sincerely wanting signs so they could determine whether He
was from God. These people had already seen many signs (see Matthew chaps 4-12,
esp. 12:9-14,22-24). But instead of believing and repenting (v41), they just
demanded more signs.
But this is not
our case. We have seen no signs at all! One is "wicked and
adulterous" only when he has already received enough evidence yet still
refuses to believe and demands more evidence.
When Jesus
refused to do miracles, He did not give testimonials or argue with those who
sought them.
*****************************************************
When we challenge
those who believe in modern miracles, they respond by citing an endless string
of testimonials and arguments to try to prove that they really do have
miracles. Some have conducted numerous public debates to prove such miracles
exist!
Jesus never
debated, argued, or gave testimonials to prove He could do miracles. If He knew
people needed the opportunity to see miracles, He just did them. If He knew
people had sufficient evidence but still did not believe, He rebuked them and
left. But He never tried to argue them into believing He could do miracles.
Even so, Jesus
still gave another sign - the RESURRECTION (v39,40).
*****************************************************
This sign will
satisfy us. Just raise people from the dead, where we can see and know it has
happened, and we won't ask for any more miracles afterward!
In reality,
Matthew 12 rebukes those who still want miracles today.
*****************************************************
They have already
been given adequate evidence of miracles as recorded in the Scripture (John
20:30,31). But they are not satisfied with those miracles, so they continue to
ask for more! That is exactly what Jesus did rebuke.
We are satisfied
with the miracles Jesus and His apostles and prophets already did. They were
adequate to accomplish God's purpose, so they ceased. People who claim miracles
still exist are the ones who are not satisfied with the miracles God has
already done.
B. Jesus Is the
Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever - Hebrews 13:8.
==========================================
So it is argued
that, if He worked miracles "yesterday," He must do so
"today."
The passage also
says He is the same "forever."
***************************************
If this argument
is valid, then God must work miracles forever. But this clearly contradicts 1
Corinthians 13:8-10, which everyone agrees says the miracles will cease
someday.
There are many
things God has done in the past but He is not doing them today.
*****************************************************
We have listed
many things He has done, including many miracles. The whole point of the
context of Hebrews is that He has ceased doing many things that He did under
the Old Testament.
If He can cease
doing these works, including these miracles, without violating Hebrews 13:8, why
can't He cease doing all miracles without violating Hebrews 13:8?
Hebrews 13:8 says
Jesus is the same, not that He does the same.
*****************************************************
His character
remains unchanged. He is always loving, merciful, just, all-powerful, etc. -
this does not change. But His deeds and His will for men have changed,
including the miracles.
C. To Say
Spiritual Gifts Have Ceased Would Limit God's Love and Make Him a Respecter of
Persons (Acts 10:34,35).
============================================
We are told that,
by His miracles, God showed love and gave blessings to people in the Old
Testament and in the first century. If He stopped, then this would indicate He
is a respecter of persons and does not love us as He did those people.
Not all people
were equally gifted even in the age of spiritual gifts - 1 Corinthians
12:28-30,4-11.
*****************************************************
Some believers
possessed no spiritual gifts at all, and those that did possess them differed
in their gifts. We have also shown that some people received miracles (such as
healings) and others did not. (See notes on the purpose of miracles.)
Did that make God
a respecter of persons? Did God not love all those people?
Among people
today who claim spiritual gifts, are all equally gifted?
*****************************************************
Do all believers
today possess all the miraculous powers just the same as all other believers?
Do all believers today receive miracles the same as all other believers?
If not, does that
make God a respecter of persons? Does He not love everyone the same today? Why
is it that people can believe God gives different gifts to different people and
that is not partiality of lack of love, but if we claim all are equal today (no
one has any gifts), then we are charged that our view makes God partial and
lacking in love?
This objection is
based on a lack of respect for the Scriptures.
**************************************************
It assumes that,
even though we have the Bible, we are at some disadvantage to people who had
spiritual gifts. It is true that we don't have gifts as those people did; but
it is also true that we do have the completed Scriptures, which they did not.
In fact, the reason the gifts ceased is that we now have the Scriptures, so the
gifts are not needed.
We are at no
disadvantage to people in the age when miracles existed, therefore God is not a
respecter of persons nor has He shown us any lack of love. To say otherwise is
to belittle the blessing of the Scriptures.
Once again, this
argument proves that those who want miracles today do not appreciate the Bible!
Love and
impartiality led God to offer salvation to all men equally, but it never
required Him to give gifts or blessings in this life to all men equally.
*****************************************************
In particular He
is not required to give equal abilities or equal blessings to all. If love and
impartiality require Him to do miracles today as in the past, why not argue
that He must bless us in all other ways equally? Must we all have the same
abilities, health, material prosperity, etc.?
The main point of
1 Corinthians 12 is that, although God gave different gifts to different
people, this should not cause problems among us. All can be pleasing to God
equally if they use the abilities He gives.
Acts 10:34,35 -
God's impartiality pertains to whether or not we are accepted by Him, not to
the abilities or blessings we have in this life.
To argue that
love and impartiality require God to give equal gifts to all is to flatly
contradict the Scripture that discuss spiritual gifts!
D. To Deny
Miracles Today Is To Deny God's Power.
================================
We are told that
God is all-powerful, so He can always do miracles. If we claim He does not do
them today, then we are denying or limiting His power.
But we have
already proved that there are things God did in the past that He is not doing
now.
*****************************************************
See the list of
points already discussed. Note that the list even includes many miracles. If
God ceased to do them, does that prove He lacks the power to do them?
Do you deny that
God has ceased to do these works? If you agree that God is not doing some of
these works, then are you limiting God's power?
If you can
understand how God can cease doing any of these works, yet He is still
all-powerful, then you can just as easily understand how He can cease doing all
miracles yet still be all-powerful.
It is a question,
not of God's power, but of God's will.
*******************************************
There are many
things God has the power to do, but He chooses not to do them, because it is
not in accord with His will. Of the works we have proved God has ceased, the
reason He ceased them is because He wills not to do them. He does not lack the
power to do them.
We have shown all
along that God ceases to do works, when their purpose is accomplished. It is
not that He lacks the power to do them, but they simply no longer accomplish
His purpose. So He stops.
We have shown by
the Scriptures that one of the works God does not will to do today is miracles.
And we have shown why He does not work them.
*****************************************************
We don't deny
God's power. If it was His will to do them, He could do them. But is it not His
will.
The problem is
not that we are denying God's power. The problem is that those who insist on
miracles for today are denying God's will!
E. Mark 16:17,18
Says Miracles Will Follow Them That Believe.
======================================
We are told that
this refers to the believers who are saved (v16). People still believe today,
so we are told that signs must still exist today.
This argument
requires that miracles must continue as long as faith continues.
*****************************************************
Yet 1 Corinthians
13:8-13 definitely says that the gifts would cease at a time when faith yet
exists.
This argument on
Mark 16 flatly contradicts 1 Corinthians 13!
This argument
also requires that all saved people must do miracles.
*****************************************************
If "them
that believe" in vv 17,18, means all saved believers (v16), then all saved
believers must do the signs listed.
It follows that
those who don't do miracles must be unbelievers, so they are condemned! Is this
what you really believe?
In fact, many
people who make this argument know many people whom they believe are saved but
who do not do miracles. Many of them do not do miracles themselves!
Even in the first
century there were believers who did no signs or did not do them all (1
Corinthians 12; Acts 8; etc.)
*****************************************************
But if Mark
16:17,18 refers to all believers, then we have a contradiction with other
passages.
Most modern
"miracle-workers" do only 1 or 2 of the signs of Mark 16.
*****************************************************
If these signs
shall follow those who believe, and that means the saved people of v16, then
all these signs should be present among believers.
Yet many who make
the argument do not do all the signs and have never seen some of them done. Why
not?
The purpose of
the signs was to confirm the message preached (v20).
*****************************************************
Yet many who
claim modern miracles don't truly believe what v16 says about the necessity of
baptism, or they contradict other Bible teachings.
Further, those
who claim to do signs often contradict one another, despite the fact they all
tell similar testimonies. Whose preaching is being confirmed? Does the Spirit
confirm false teaching?
The context
mentions two groups of people who need faith, not just one group.
*****************************************************
People, who
believe in miracles for today, argue that vv 17,18 refer to those in v16 who
need to believe. But they overlook that the context mentions another group who
needed to believe. The people Jesus commanded to preach the gospel needed faith
(v11-15) just as surely as did those who hear the gospel (v15,16). Which group
is referred to that would believe and do miracles according to vv 17,18?
Jesus is here
speaking to the apostles. They are the ones who needed the faith to do these
signs.
V20 answers
further by showing clearly who it was that did the signs. It was the preachers
who did the signs (the apostles). Therefore, they are the ones referred to in
v17,18, not those who hear and believe (v16). This harmonizes with the other
teachings on miracles we have already studied.
So Mark 16:17,18
simply means that the apostles needed faith, so they could do miracles. V20
confirms that they were the ones who did them. When people claim that the
passage is promising that all believers can do miracles, they contradict the
context, other passages, and reality.
Conclusion
=======
Miracles and
spiritual gifts played an essential role in God's plan. We must appreciate and
understand that role.
The miraculous
powers were essential to reveal the word of God, record it in the Scriptures,
and confirm it to be God's will. We need to respect and appreciate that
message.
However, when the
message was completed, the gifts were no longer needed, so they ceased. To
believe otherwise is to misunderstand God's will and show a lack of respect for
Scripture. Many false doctrines have been believed and practiced as a result.
*****************************************************
(C) Copyright
2000, David E. Pratte You are free to keep copies of this material on computer and/or in printed form for your own further study. If you have any other requests about the use of this material, please read our copyright guidelines at www.gospelway.com/copyrite.htm.
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