Concerning Cessationism, by Rev. W. Reid Hankins

Concerning Cessationism

by Rev. W. Reid Hankins

(Trinity OPC Church, Novato, CA)

Concerning Cessationism : Purpose of Miracles

Sermon preached on John 20:19-31 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 2/18/2018 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

John 20:19-31 (2/18/18)

Today we begin a three-sermon miniseries advocating the biblical doctrine of cessationism. Cessationism is the doctrine that the extraordinary spiritual gifts such as tongues, prophecies, and healings, ceased with the close of the apostolic age. This is in contrast to the various somewhat recent Pentecostal or charismatic movements which believe those supernatural gifts have returned to the church. In even more general terms, the opposite doctrinal position to cessationism is called continuationism. They would believe that all the spiritual gifts seen during the apostolic age have continued to exist in the church. Reformed Christians officially and historically have affirmed a cessationist position (along with many other Christians from other denominations as well ñ itís not a position unique to the Reformed). That being said, we live in a world where we interact with various charismatic Christians. If you are not familiar with the two different positions, it can cause great confusion when someone comes up to you and tells you they have a word from the Lord for you, or asks you if you speak in tongues, or maybe invites you to some healing crusade by one of their so-called apostles. And itís often these charismatics that spend the most time trying to make a biblical case for their position, that we can forget why so many Christians have historically held a cessationist position. The charismatics also sometimes leave other Christians unsettled by suggesting that they somehow donít believe in the power of the Holy Spirit or have somehow quenched or despised the Spiritís power. The ideas of charismatics have also trickled into various Christian traditions in more subtle ways. They may not display the excess of some of the charismatic movement in so called things like ìholy laughterî and being ìslain in the Spiritî. Yet, more seemingly conservative flavors of these charismatic positions have worked themselves into many evangelicalsí understanding of the Christian experience and divine guidance. Most recently, many evangelicals whoíve come with great joy to embrace more Calvinistic and reformed teachings, have brought with them some of these continuationist ideas.

So, for at least these reasons, I wanted to be a voice to reaffirm the biblical doctrine of cessationism with these three sermons. Today, weíll speak about miracles, and talk about their purpose according to the Bible. Next week, weíll look at the foundational role in the new covenant of apostles and prophets in terms of prophecy and revelation. In the third sermon, weíll consider specifically the gift of tongues. All of these will contribute to the point that these extraordinary gifts were just that ñ extraordinary. They are not something we expect to see regularly a part of the church. We donít expect to see some Christians today gifted as supernatural healers, or with the gift of prophecy or tongues.

So then, we begin today by considering what is the purpose of miracles. Why did some saints have the ability to work miracles like healings or other wonders? What was the main purpose of those miracles? Yes, there is at least some aspect of compassion, as we see Jesus in Matthew 14:14 heal sick people because he had compassion on them. But, as weíll see itís not possible to make a Biblical case that miracle working in the Bible is primarily a mercy ministry. Others have speculated a completely different purpose for such miracles. They say that such miracles are proof to unbelievers of the validity of Godís Word, whenever the gospel is preached to some new area or people group. That proposal is getting closer to the truth, but lacks a certain precision which ultimately makes it inaccurate. Rather, what we find in the Bible is this: God gave gifts of miracle working to certain people in order to validate the revelation they received from God at that time. These miracles affirmed revelation at the time the revelation was first received and delivered. We see this in the book of John and todayís passage. We also see it elsewhere in Scripture.

Letís start elsewhere in Scripture. It would be helpful to note that in general, miracles are the exception, not the norm, in the Bible. The Bible doesnít record miracles in every era of Godís people. Rather, when look at the Bible, we really only see three main eras of miracle working in the Bible. Itís there with the time of Moses. Itís there with the time of Elijah. And itís there again with Jesus and the apostolic era. Thatís really just three main eras where we see an ability to work such miracles. (The prominence of those eras and men is surely reflected by the fact that it is Moses and Elijah that are on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus.) In other words, even though weíll show that miracles served to affirm the validity of divine revelation, there is actually a lot more revelation received than miracle working; the miracles can largely be confined to these three eras in Scripture. An example here would be Abraham, father of the faith. He received much revelation, and through him God established the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham himself even experienced a miracle from God when God opened the womb of Sarah to bring Isaac in their old age. But Abraham was not a miracle worker. He did not have that supernatural gift to work miracles like we see with these other eras in Scripture.

So then, starting with Moses, letís look at what we find there about the purpose of his ability to work miracles. In Exodus 4:1-8, we see Moses is concerned that God is commissioning him to be his prophet and go before Pharaoh. Moses is concerned that Pharaoh and the Egyptians wonít believe that God sent him. God then gives Moses three signs to show them: the staff turning into a snake and back; the hand turning leprous and back; and water being poured out from the Nile and turning to blood. The plagues that God has Moses bring on the Egyptians also served the same ultimate purpose. They showed that God was with Moses and that Godís Words through Moses must be heeded. In short, miracles at that time confirmed that Moses was a prophet of the Lord. Thatís the explicit point made there in Exodus 4 with Moses. Overall, this abundant season of miracles around the time of Moses, and to a lesser degree his successor Joshua, ultimately confirmed the Torah and the establishment of the Mosaic covenant.

We see something similar with Elijahís time. Elijah worked many miracles. We see the purpose of these miracles brought out by Elijahís dealings with Ahab in the drought. The scripture in 1 Kings 17-18 shows how Elijahís prophetic ministry to Ahab is confirmed by the drought that Elijah orders and reconfirmed when he tells Ahab the drought is lifted. This idea is also seen in the test between Elijah and the Baal prophets on Mt. Carmel. There God gave supernatural attestation of Elijah and his message, through the sign and wonder of fire coming down from heaven. We might wonder why Elijah and subsequently Elisha had these special miraculous giftings. Yet clearly, they stand as the gateway into a more formal prophetic ministry which we have especially collected in the major and minor prophetic books of the Old Testament. They begin a new era of prophetic revelation that speaks of judgment and hope to Israel. Interestingly, we donít see a lot of miracles being performed by these other prophets. Similarly, John the Baptist in the New Testament is said to be the last of such prophets, and the Bible explicitly makes that point that he didnít do any miracles (John 10:41). So, apparently, Elijah and Elishaís miracles served to affirm and validate a new era of prophetic revelation which was then recorded in writing. So then, their miracles seem not only serve to confirm their ministry, but the ministry of the old testament prophets in general.

Lastly, we come to Jesus and the apostolic era. Weíll discuss Jesusí miracles in a moment when we turn to Johnís gospel and todayís passage. But in terms of the apostolic era, we see that the miraculous was first and foremost housed in the apostles themselves. Acts 5:12 says that it was specifically at the hands of the apostles that many signs and wonders were done. And though there was certainly supernatural gifting beyond the apostles themselves, the ability to impart such gifting especially seems connected to the apostles and their laying on of hands. For example, in Acts 8, the Samaritans first come to faith and are baptized at Philipís preaching, but there is no supernatural gifting of those new believers until the apostles come to lay hands on them. This is also seen very clearly in 2 Corinthians 12:12. Though the Corinthian church themselves clearly had a lot of supernatural spiritual gifting at that time, Paul speaks there about how the miracles that he had performed among them were signs of his apostleship. That reference makes the same point we keep stating, that Paulís miracles validated his apostolic ministry and message.

Hebrews 2:1 further affirms this same point by explaining the purpose for these signs and wonders done during this apostolic era. It says that God bore witness to Christ and the gospel through both these miracles and even the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Itís put in past tense there, clearly a reference to that foundational apostolic ministry; something by the time of Hebrews was already in the past!

The point is that we need to see how the Bible describes those with gifts to perform miracles. We have to see what the Bible says about the purpose of such miracles. That purpose is to affirm that the revelation they bring is from the Lord. That purpose is seen most clearly in Jesusí life. Acts 2:22 says that Jesus was attested by God with the mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him. This purpose of Jesusí miracles was especially seen in the gospel of John and even as illustrated in this passage from John. This can be seen first Johnís preferred term for miracle. John doesnít actually use the word for ìmiracleî. He uses the word ìsignî, in the Greek. The NIV helps to explain that this is a reference to his miracles by translating that word in Johnís gospel consistently as ìmiraculous sign.î The point in Johnís gospel for using the word ìsignî is that signs communicate something. A stop sign tells you to stop. The bread in the Lordís Supper says that Jesus is the bread of life that we need for our spiritual nourishment. In terms of Johnís gospel, itís clear that the signs that Jesus performs are supposed to validate his ministry, authority and message. The principle is illustrated well in Jesusí conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:2. Nicodemus says to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

And so, considering further Johnís gospel, we see in John 2:18, after Jesus cleansed the temple, the Jews demand a sign that shows he has authority to have done that. Of course, Johnís gospel is organized around those very signs. Throughout the book, the question is raised over the identify of Jesus. And so, the first half of the book contains seven of these signs. They are wonderfully laid out from lesser to greater signs; the first being changing water to wine, and the last being that he raised Lazarus from the dead. Finally, the book climaxes with the greatest sign of all: Jesus laid down his life and then took it back up again. The resurrection is the sign of signs in Johnís book. Itís actually the answer he prophetically gave them in John 2 after cleansing the temple: destroy the temple of his body and he will raise it up again in three days. Thatís his sign that he has the authority to cleanse the temple! If you read the whole book, youíll see this idea of signs keeps getting raised in Johnís gospel, and the repeated point is that Jesusí ministry is confirmed and validated by these signs as being from God.

So then, in this passage today from John, we especially see this to be the case. Here, we see Thomas doubting about this greatest of Jesusí signs: his resurrection. In verse 25, he says he wonít believe unless he can personally see the sign. once Jesus shows up and he personally witnesses the sign and proof of Jesusí own resurrection, then he believes. Verse 28, he cries out when he sees Jesus, ìMy Lord and my God!î See how the sign brings faith in Thomas even to recognize Jesus in this way, as his Lord and God! Itís important to note here that Thomas shouldnít have needed this sign. Jesus softly rebukes Thomas along these lines, first in verse 27, speaking against his unbelief. Then, in verse 29 when he basically acknowledges that Thomas only believed because he saw the sign, but then Jesus mentions how others will believe without personally seeing the sign. Thomas had heard Jesusí predictions about the resurrection. He had heard his close friendsí eye witness reports of the sign of seeing Jesus alive. He could see that the tomb was empty. Thomas had every reason to believe the report about the signs, without having to see the sign himself personally. But the point nonetheless is that when Jesus does show up to Thomas personally, that serves as a sign that does do what signs are supposed to do. Miraculous signs confirm the validity. Jesusí many signs, especially the resurrection, confirmed the validity of his ministry and words. Itís these signs, that verse 31, says come to us. Theyíve been recorded for posterity in the Bible, including this book of John. And they still serve the same purpose: to bring us to faith in Jesus and his gospel teachings. So that we can believe and have eternal life.

In our final point, Iíd like to transition to advocating that such a gifting for someone to work miracles like this ñ that has now ceased. I know that Iíve not made a full case yet for cessationism. I hope that this message along with the next two will paint a fuller picture as we put all the biblical pieces together on these supernatural giftings. But for starters weíve seen that such miracle working is intimately connected with revelation. Not all revelation comes with miracles, but such miraculous giftings always come with revelation. Thatís their very purpose. To confirm the message from God as God delivers it through his spokesman. As weíll develop in the next two sermons, we donít expect to receive more revelation. If we donít expect to receive more revelation, then we shouldnít expect to receive more miracle workers like Moses, Elijah, Jesus, or the apostles.

I love how we see this cessationist point clearly implied and illustrated in this passage. At that time, Jesus did these signs. Those first disciples, including Thomas, got to personally receive those signs. They were eye witnesses to those signs. But if these sorts of signs were going to continue in each generation, then Jesus wouldnít need to say what he says in verse 29. Jesus credits Thomas for believing because he saw the sign. But Jesus acknowledges that in the future there would be believers who donít get to see the signs. That right there assumes a cessationist position! Jesus predicts cessationism!

How then could such future believers become believers if they donít have these signs to see? The answer is simple. Itís right there in verses 30-31. John wrote down a record of the signs. In fact, he didnít even need to write down a record of all the signs; thatís what he says in verse 31. All the many signs are less important than what he has right here recorded in the Gospel of John. These signs were written down so that we might believe. Thomas and the disciples had the signs so they would believe. We have the written record of the signs, so that we would believe! Itís right here. This is the era we live in. They had the miracles so they could believe; we have the Bible, so we can believe.

So then, let us be people of the book. Think of what God does with the written Word. The Holy Spirit works to change hearts and lives as he works through the Word. The Spirit draws people to faith through that written Word. Thatís what John is talking about right here in this final verse. Thatís what you and I have experienced. God has converted us by the Spirit working through the written word, where the supernatural workings of God have been recorded for posterity. And think about this. We are all the more blessed for believing in Christ because of the Word instead of because of the sign. Thatís what Jesus said here in verse 29.

And so, I appeal even then to any who are here today that havenít put their faith yet in Jesus. The gospel says we are all sinners who need to be saved by Jesusí death on the cross for our sins. This gospel was affirmed and validated when God miraculously rose Jesus from the dead. This gospel calls us to acknowledge our sins and turn to Jesus in faith. Believe in Jesus, and be saved.

In conclusion, brothers and sisters, I remind you that multiple gospels record Jesus saying that an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign (e.g. Matt 12:38). Though Jesus did perform many signs, he lamented how miracle-craving the people were. Itís like when Jesus fed the five thousand, Johnís gospel records that they showed up the next day looking for another miracle of food. They seemed to crave signs and miracles and their benefits more than what the signs were all about. Miracles were supposed to point us to the Lord and his Word. They werenít to be an end in themselves. Sadly, so many in the charismatic movement today seem so focused on finding signs and wonders, with so comparatively little zeal for the Lordís teaching in his Word. Itís too common to find such people praying for God to give them a word from the Lord, when they havenít even read this whole Word from the Lord which heís already given (i.e. the Bible).

Let us then recognize in faith the great treasure that we have in the written Word of God. It has been given to us by divine inspiration, and confirmed by signs and wonders to be from the Lord, and is profitable and useful for our growth as Christians. Let us have much zeal to see the Spirit work through it. Let us have much passion to study it, to meditate on it, to memorize it, and look to practice it in our lives. Let us seek after how God will do amazing, even supernatural things, by the Spirit working in our hearts by his Word. Amen.

Concerning Cessationism : Apostles and Prophets of the New Covenant

Sermon preached on Ephesians 2:11-3:13 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 2/25/2018 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

Ephesians 2:11-3:13 (2/25/18)

Today we continue a three-week miniseries advocating cessationism. Cessationism is the doctrine that the supernatural gifts of prophecy, tongues, and healings have ceased with the close of the apostolic era. In other words, we don’t expect Christians to possess those gifts any longer. This is certainly a challenge as a pastor to try to handle this subject in just three expository sermons because this doctrine doesn’t come down to just a few proof texts in Scripture. Rather, the doctrine of cessationism is a good and necessary consequence that comes as you study all the Scriptures. In other words, different passages of Scripture each contribute in different ways to the subject which keep pointing us to a cessationist position. So, I am not able to make an exhaustive case for this in just three sermons. That being said, what I hope to accomplish is to set out the important principles in Scripture that are involved in a cessationist position. That will help you to notice this doctrine more in your own personal Bible reading as well. So today then, I want to talk about apostles and prophets of the new covenant. I want to make the case that they played a foundational role in the new covenant, ultimately in the forming of the New Testament cannon. Consequently, we don’t expect to receive new revelation or prophecies, either in the form of a book of the Bible, or in people receiving personal “words” from the Lord.

So then, we’ll especially be looking at chapter 2, verse 20 today. Notice with me first it speaks of a foundation. This is part of a metaphor for the church. As explained further in verse 21, the church is being built up into a temple for the Holy Spirit. Using the building metaphor, we remember that buildings have foundations. That’s what verse 20 is about. The foundation is key. The whole building has to be resting and built upon that foundation.

Well, the cornerstone of this foundation, it says, is Jesus. For Paul to say that, connects this passage to many other similar passages in the New Testament, which themselves quote the Old Testament to establish that the Messiah is a foundational rock for God’s kingdom. God was to build his people upon the Messiah. For example, 1 Peter 2:1 quotes Isaiah 28:16 and says that Jesus is the foundation cornerstone upon which God’s people are being built upon, being built into a spiritual house founded upon Jesus. And so, today’s verse reminds us Christians that our faith ultimately relies upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. That’s why we make such a big deal about Jesus actually rising from the dead. If he didn’t actually rise from the dead, the very foundation of our faith would be destroyed. But since he did rise from the dead, we know that it is foundational to our Christian faith, since the gospel that Christ paid for ours sins at the cross is foundational. And our own resurrection hope like Christ is foundational!

Starting with this, I remind you of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11. There he speaks of his work as an apostle in laying the foundation; but then he clarifies. He says that no other foundation can be laid than Jesus Christ. Similarly, in Galatians 1:8, Paul says even if he or an angel were to give a gospel contrary to what he already preached, may such a person be accursed. You see, this is the importance of laying a foundation. You lay the right one and you build off of it. You can’t keep putting new or different foundations. You can’t even imagine that in building terms. In a building, you can only have one foundation, otherwise whatever else you have, it’s not a foundation. There is something unique about a foundation.

And yet, even though I’ve pointed to Christ as the foundation here, our passage specifically says he’s the cornerstone of the foundation. Verse 20 actually speaks of the foundation being that of the apostles and the prophets. How then are they part of this foundation? Well, as I mentioned in that 1 Corinthians 3 passage, Paul says that he as an apostle is the one laying the foundation of Christ for the church. But that doesn’t say enough. Chapter 3, verse 5, gives us a little more insight. That verse speaks of revelation. There it has in mind a specific piece of revelation, very relevant to the context of this passage. It speaks of revelation about the Gentiles becoming one with Jews in the church of Jesus Christ. But notice in 3:5 who gets the revelation. It says its these same apostles and prophets! And then notice what they do with it in 3:9. They bring it to light. Apostles like Paul, along with the prophets, received revelation for the church that was foundational for the new covenant church. They then delivered this revelation, bringing it to light, proclaiming it to the world. The church is then built upon this revelation that they revealed. Ultimately, the revelation they received and then revealed was about Christ, and thus makes sense for Paul to speak of Christ as the cornerstone for this foundation which the apostles and prophets lay.

So then, this is our first point. To recognize this foundation. Notice what the foundation is. It’s a focus on Christ and it’s a focus on revelation. Of course, elsewhere Scripture repeatedly says that all revelation is focused on Christ. That’s our foundation: Christ as revealed. So, the point is that our foundation for the church is really the revelation received and delivered about Christ and his gospel under the new covenant. And it’s the apostles and prophets that have given us this revelation. They’ve delivered the foundation to the church under the new covenant.

That brings us to our second point. Having thought about the foundation, I want to explore next from verse 20 to think further about these apostles and prophets. Let’s begin with the apostles. An apostle was a specially commissioned messenger sent by Christ on his behalf and with his authority. When we think of the office of apostleship, it’s typical to think of the original twelve disciples who then become apostles. We see in Acts that number is special because after Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus and then kills himself, the rest of the twelve determine there is biblical warrant to replace him, to get back to the number of twelve. And in Acts 1:22, we see a major requirement they determined to be one of the twelve apostles. The person who would be the twelfth apostle must have been an eye witness from the very beginning; from the time of John the Baptist up through the resurrection and ascension. The reason they say this is needed is so they can be a witness to Christ and his resurrection. So, the eye-witness aspect was deemed very important to them. It tells us a significant role of what it means to be an apostle, as defined in the Bible. They saw the life and ministry of Jesus, especially his resurrection. They then bear witness to Christ and the gospel.

This is clearly a foundational role. It is surely why after these twelve apostles start dying, there is no record of the apostles appointing new people to replace those who died. For example, the Apostle James is martyred in Acts 12, but there is no move then to appoint a replacement like they had done with Judas Iscariot. And obviously, future generations weren’t going to be able to serve as eye witnesses to Christ since they won’t have been eye witnesses. This unique role of the twelve apostles is also reflected in Revelation 21:14. There, in looking to glory, it speaks of the wall of New Jerusalem having twelve foundation stones, with the names of the twelve apostles written on them. Again, that foundational element is seen in regard to the twelve apostles.

That being said, it would be fair to note that the New Testament does use that word of apostle beyond simply the twelve. Some of the other usages of that word in the New Testament are arguably a bit ambiguous. Some might just be referring to the twelve. Others might just use the word in a non-technical sense to refer to a messenger in general. Yet, that’s not the case with Paul who clearly is an apostle in the technical sense of an office. Possibly there are also one or two others in the New Testament like this, such as Barnabas. For example, in Acts 13, the church receives a special prophecy that tells them to set apart Paul and Barnabas for a mission to the Gentiles. Then in the next chapter, in Acts 14:14, Paul and Barnabas are referred to as apostles. Well, Scripture doesn’t tell us much more about in what sense is Barnabas an apostle, but we do learn a lot more about Paul as an official apostle in the sense used here in verse 20. For example, even in this letter, Paul begins by clearly identifying himself as holding the office of apostle. Here, in chapter 3 he is describing his unique role in receiving revelation to serve in this foundation laying function. I mentioned last week in 2 Corinthians 12:12 that Paul talked about how his apostleship had been validated with the typical signs of an apostle: through performing various miracles. In Acts 15:12 it sounds like Barnabas also was involved in the working of miracles with Paul, which might further suggest that he too held the formal office of apostle too, though I don’t think we need to be dogmatic about that.

What’s my point? The reference here to apostles makes us especially think of the twelve but here it must also include at least Paul and possibly a few other apostles beyond that. Yet, even with that wider group in view, we see the extraordinary character of the office of apostle. We see God supernaturally commissions such apostles through prophecy. They have to be called and commissioned by Christ – that’s the heart of being an apostle, you are being authorized by Christ to go in his behalf with his message and his authority! Thus, we see signs and wonders happening through such apostles to confirm their ministry. We such apostles themselves receiving revelation from God to give to the churches to lay out the foundation of divine revelation for the church. In this all, they are proclaiming Christ and the gospel and building Christ’s church. So, whatever wider group of apostles there was beyond the twelve, they were ultimately doing the same foundation laying work as the twelve. The reason why there were at least Paul and possibly Barnabas as apostles beyond the twelve seems to be captured well in Galatians 2. There Paul reflects on how the twelve had been particularly made apostles to the Jews, where he and Barnabas had been commissioned in their apostolic ministry to go to the Gentiles. But all the apostles are involved in foundation laying. That is what Paul affirms here in 2:20.

So then, what about the prophets that are mentioned here? Who do they refer to? Well, I have to confess that for much of my life, I’ve read that and thought they referred to the Old Testament prophets. That is clearly one interpretation that you will find out there for that passage. Well, though the Old Testament prophets spoke of Christ to come, I don’t think the context would allow for that meaning here. once we remember that the chapter and verse markers were a later addition to the text, we see how 3:5 clearly has in mind the same group as 2:20. And in 3:5 it is clear that the prophets mentioned are the prophets of their day, under the new covenant. There is a similar reference in 4:11, same order of “apostles and prophets” and again clearly referring to contemporary prophets at that time. The Old Testament prophets prophesied up through John the Baptist. But after that, we see in the New Testament that after the day of Pentecost, other new covenant prophets begin to serve in the church.

We don’t have a lot of data on such prophets under the new covenant. The language of prophet tells us that they received revelation from God which they then communicated to God’s people. That is what we see described in 1 Corinthians 14. There in 1 Corinthians it also describes some degree of priority in the church among its offices and gifts, mentioning apostleship first, and the ability to prophesy as second; that’s 1 Cor 12:28. That surely reflects the same order Paul uses in Ephesians, always mentioning apostles first, then prophets. That lines up well with their foundational importance that is mentioned here in 2:20. As for actual prophets mentioned in the New Testament, we don’t know of too many by name. Agabus is a prophet mentioned in Acts. Philip’s four daughters are also mentioned in Acts that they prophesied. But we really don’t have that much about these prophets’ ministries. Yet, Paul tells us of their importance here. These new covenant prophets together with the apostles provided foundational revelation for establishing the church under the new covenant.

I’d like to now turn in our third point to make some further application to the doctrine of cessationism. My main application is this: We aren’t to expect new apostles or prophets just like we aren’t to expect any new divine revelation, either corporately or personally. Their ministry was a foundation laying ministry in the new covenant, and the foundation has been laid. I mentioned that Ephesians 4:11 references apostles and prophet again, that time alongside a list of several other roles including evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Yet, it’s clear apostles and prophets are held out in a distinct way in Ephesians, and rightly so. The apostles and prophets are mentioned twice together in our passage, before Paul ever mentions those other roles in the church. The reason is clear. What distinguishes an apostle and a prophet from those other roles? The answer is revelation. Apostles and prophets both were recipients of new revelation from God that they then would communicate to the people. Evangelists, pastors, and teacher all simply work with revelation from God that has already been received. Thus, the roles of apostle and prophet involve supernatural communication from God and are inherently extraordinary ministries. Pastors and teacher in comparison have ordinary ministries. As such, we see how the apostles and prophets functioned in the church. What made their offices unique was that they were receiving new revelation. This new revelation is what made their ministry foundational. They laid the foundation with the revelation they were receiving, and you don’t keep laying a new foundation. Otherwise, if the foundation has already been lain, what sort of new revelation could a prophet or an apostle bring that wouldn’t inherently infringe upon that existing foundation? And so, since the apostles and prophets have already laid the foundation, it’s also why their ministry is no longer needed. If you get rid of the revelation component, then an apostle or prophet really would just become a pastor or teacher. Revelation is what made their ministry unique and its also what makes their office now obsolete. They’ve accomplished their job.

Now to be fair, some would say that this argument is saying too much. Just because apostles and prophets laid the foundation doesn’t necessarily mean they couldn’t go on to do other work in the church. I’ll grant that specific point theoretically, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily will either. Let’s not be presumptuous. But when we come to this question of whether to expect more apostles and prophets or not, we have to see what Scripture teaches us about their ministries. It does tell us that they play a foundational role. It does tell us that what makes their ministry unique is their receiving of divine revelation, to establish that foundation. It does speak of the apostles being eye witnesses to Christ. Not to mention the Bible does say there would come a time when the gift of prophecy will cease (1 Cor 13:8). And so, these and other statements in the Bible about the ministry of the apostles and prophets would lead us to the conclusion that they had a specific purpose in the church which has come to an end with the close of the apostolic era and the completion of the canon of Scripture.

If some would want to say otherwise, I would push back and ask where is the proof of someone today being an apostle or a prophet? Those who would claim today to be apostles, they should be producing the signs and wonders that Paul said apostles do. Some have made claims for such, but they repeatedly are debunked when put under even the most basic inquiry. This is the same for any so-called modern prophets. The Old Testament test for a prophet in Deuteronomy 18 is very helpful here. It says that if the what the prophet speaks doesn’t come to pass, then they aren’t a true prophet. It says they have spoken presumptuously and should be put to death. Well, the sad reality is that those who claim to be able to prophesy today, repeatedly have ended up giving prophecies at some point that don’t come to pass. They fail this test of being a valid prophet. Amazingly, some continuationists today (like Wayne Grudem, for example) have tried to resolve this problem by saying that new covenant prophets only get fallible prophecy; in other words, prophecy that could be incorrect. Yet, how is that biblical? How would that even be prophecy? It would only be false prophecy.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting we go out and start stoning charismatics. But as your pastor, I’m concerned to bring us Scripture’s concerns. I don’t see a good case to be made that we should expect continuing apostles or prophets or continuing new revelation. But what I do find repeatedly in the Bible is a warning that there will be false apostles and false prophets that come into the church. 2 Corinthians 11:13 and Revelation 2:2 both warn about people who declare themselves apostles but are actually liars. Mark 2:13 and 1 John 4:1 are two of several passages that warn against false prophets. Matthew 24:24 is especially scary because it says that such false prophets might even come performing signs and wonders! So, this greatly concerns me. The Bible commands me that as a pastor I have to be on the lookout for false prophets and false apostles. So, when suddenly a new Pentecostal or charismatic movement rises up, getting people to focus their Christian life more on supposed signs and wonders than on God’s Word, I get concerned. When those movements get people to somehow try to receive individual prophecies from God instead of driving people back to the written Word, I get concerned. When such movements give prophecies that fail, how can we not call them out as false prophets? Again, I’m not suggesting we start stoning people. But I do want to affirm truth from error. And I want each of us in the church to be growing as a Christian through legitimate spiritual experiences. The ordinary way the Holy Spirit works in us and grows us is through his Word. I don’t want any of us here to be taken astray by counterfeit claims of some new spurious revelation.

There’s more I want to say here, but I will cease today’s sermon with this final encouragement and exhortation. With all our discussions today, I hope we don’t miss in this passage the glorious gospel that is presented here. God has made people like us who before were not saved, to be forgiven of their sins and made part of his covenant. He’s done this through Jesus’ blood shed on the cross for our sins, verse 2:13. I love the way he describes this in 2:12. Jews and Gentiles in Christ now make up one nation, one commonwealth, of Israel. In other words, we are all part of one redeemed kingdom ruled by Jesus, the Messiah. What a joy to be a part of this kingdom, and to have such a kingdom. What a joy it is to know the kind of peace talked about in 2:14-17. Christ’s blood has reconciled us with God and thus reconciles us with one another. Praise God for this glorious gospel that we’ve been given. Praise God that he now builds us up, founded on this glorious good news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus!

Let us then continue to build on this foundation, and not some other spurious or apocryphal foundation that would be offered through some other claim of prophecy or apostolic message. Let us rejoice to bring this apostolic Word to the world, that which we have recorded here in Scripture. Let us rejoice to see how it is this gospel which is the power of God for salvation, first for the Jew and also for the Greek, for everyone who believes. Amen.

Concerning Cessationism : The Gift of Tongues and Prophecy

Sermon preached on 1 Corinthians 14 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 3/4/2018 in Novato, CA.

Sermon manuscript

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.

1 Corinthians 14 (3/4/18)

Today we complete a three-sermon miniseries advocating the biblical doctrine of cessationism. Cessationism is the doctrine that the extraordinary spiritual gifts such as tongues, prophecies, and healings ceased with the close of the apostolic age. In our first sermon we talked about the purpose for why certain people were gifted to perform miracles and saw that it confirmed the validity of the divine revelation that was being received and delivered. In last week’s sermon, we discussed the foundational role of apostles and new testament prophets and discussed how new revelation has now ceased. In both of those sermons we were directed to the benefits of the written Word of God that we have in the Bible. Today’s message then will deal especially with the gift of tongues, and to some degree the gift of prophecy.

So then, to introduce us to todays’ topic, the question becomes should we pursue today the spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy? I ask this question because this passage starts and ends with a command to pursue prophecy and not to forbid speaking in tongues. I’ve heard it asked many times, doesn’t that answer the question for us? That we should seek these things out ourselves and support them being in the church today? Well, here’s where we need to remember the skill of application. Application is a skill, a craft, that you need to learn to do properly. We need to apply any passage to our own context and circumstances. We must not take every command in the Bible as if God were commanding that same thing of us. He might be for some commands, but we need to do proper application to come to that conclusion. Some commands do apply directly to us, like, you shall not steal. But other commands would be disastrous if we applied them directly to us. Like when God commands Israel at the time of the conquest to go and kill all the Canaanites and take over their land. God does not command that of us today. Application principles must be used to determine how a command in Scripture would apply to us today. So, in this passage, if Paul is telling them to pursue certain spiritual gifts that were available to them but have ceased to be available now, then obviously the command doesn’t directly apply. Yet, there are still applications that can be drawn even from a command that doesn’t apply to us anymore, like here about the principle of how spiritual gifts must be used to edify others. That’s the whole point of doing application. It’s a skill that must be learned and then properly executed. Many problems today stem from bad application.

So then with that introduction, let’s begin digging into today’s passage and considering what the gift of tongues is, according to the Bible. I’ll start with one non-charismatic interpretation that’s been given that I don’t agree with, but it is interesting to consider. It’s the view that everything described in this chapter is simply referring to having foreigners in the church who came to Corinth and were speaking their native tongues in the church service, and so people didn’t understand them. The idea here would be that Corinth was a hub for merchants from all over the world. Most of those people would know Greek as the common tongue but also their own native language. It’s been suggested that Paul says such people shouldn’t get up and start speaking in the church service in their native tongue unless someone can translate for them, because otherwise the rest of the congregation won’t know what they are saying. Now, I don’t agree with that interpretation in light of other passages elsewhere and even here that speak of speaking in tongues as supernatural and extraordinary. But I mention this view because it reminds us that in the Greek the way to talk about foreign languages is uses this wording of tongues. If you were to talk about someone speaking in a foreign language, you would say he spoke in a different tongue. So, I’m beginning with a lexical argument that when talking about the gift of tongues the Greek word is a word referring to languages.

That’s what I want us to recognize first here. The Bible presents the gift of tongues as an ability to speak in some language other than your own language. Part of what makes this supernatural is that the ability didn’t come from years of personal study. It was a supernatural work by the Holy Spirit that made that person able to communicate in another language. The point is that these were real languages, that if you natively knew that language, then you would understand the person as they spoke. Presumably in general, these are human languages too, though 1 Corinthians 13 does mention the possibility of angelic languages. But the context there doesn’t say that people with the gift of tongues actually did ever speak in angelic tongues. Rather, its usage there seems like a “how much more” argument to emphasize the priority of loving each other in how we use our gifts. Even if someone could speak in angelic tongues, still the same requirement would come; that using your gifts must be done in a way that loves and builds up your fellow believers. That being said, when we compare the gift of tongues here with it’s description in Acts, it’s clear in Acts that the tongues were in other known human languages in the world. Acts 2:4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Again, we can and arguably should translate tongues there as languages. They began to speak in other languages, by the Spirit. That’s confirmed in Acts 2, verses 6 and 8, where the text specifically says that the Jews from all over the known world were hearing the apostles speaking in their own native languages. There’s no good reason to think that the gift of tongues in Acts is any different than what is going on in 1 Corinthians. And in Acts, this is the clearest description of what went on. It enables the apostles to speak in other known human languages to tell them about the Lord. In Acts 2:11, it says, “We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

This view is confirmed in our chapter for today. Verses 5, 13, and 27 says these tongues can be translated if someone has the gift of interpretation, which proves that these are actual languages. Also, in verse 10, it refers to the different human languages of the world, and that they each use different sounds to give meaning and significance. This is why in verses 14-17, we see how this gift of tongues could be used for things such as prayers, praise, and thanksgiving. That means that what was coming from these people’s mouths was not gibberish and meaningless. It was real communication with real content using a real language. In terms of its purpose, we see from the start in Acts that it was meant to communicate information. There’s no reason to think that later it would become just some meaningless babble, or even some secret code, only offered to God. It was meant to be truth communicated in other actual languages. Of course, that was the problem in the Corinthian church. They were using this gift with a bunch of people that didn’t know that other language, and thus it served no good purpose.

That leads us to our second point. We’ve established that the gift of tongues is the supernatural ability to speak in other actual languages in order to communicate information. Paul then admonishes them here for how they were using the gift of tongues in a way that didn’t serve its intended purpose. In short, it should have been used to edify the church. That’s our second point then, to consider how Paul says that the gift of tongues should serve the goal of edification. The instruction that he gives, constrains how they should make use of this gift in the context of a formal worship service of the church. This, of course, implies that the gift is under the control of the person. That tells us more about this gift; it’s not something that somehow overwhelms the person or makes them lose control of themselves. Otherwise, Paul couldn’t expect them to heed his exhortation. Paul’s words here imply that the gift of tongues was under the person’s control.

So then, Paul makes the point repeatedly that he’s concerned for the church’s edification. Four times that word appears in this chapter, verses 3, 5, 12, 26. We see the principle at the end of verse 26: “Let all things be done for edification”. Edification refers to the building up of believers. Paul says that if someone with the spiritual gift of tongues wants to use his gift in a worship service setting, then it should be done so as to edify others. His point is that if someone speaks in a tongue and that is left untranslated, then it does not help edify the church. He says in verse 2 no one will understand the person if they speak in a tongue. What’s surely implied here is they are speaking in a foreign language there that no one present actually speaks. It’s like if I got up and start preaching in Japanese, no one here would be able to understand me. Verse 4 says that in such a situation, only the speaker is edified, not the congregation. In verse 2, Paul says that such a person is only speaking to God at that point, because no one else understands. So, such speaking in tongues is really worthless in that case.

Actually, Paul says its even worse than that. Look at verses 21-22. Paul quotes a passage from Isaiah that spoke of how God would bring judgment upon his people under the old covenant. Basically, when they end up conquered and exiled in a foreign land, then they will hear the speech of their captors. Of course, they won’t understand their captors, because they’ll be speaking in a foreign language. That will then a sign from God to them; a sign of God’s judgment. The point in Isaiah and the point here with Paul is that such unknown language won’t help anyone grow. To clarify, when Paul says in verse 22 that tongues are a sign to unbelievers, he means that tongues left untranslated are a sign of judgment to unbelievers. In other words, unbelievers won’t be converted through such language because left untranslated, those words not bring any understanding to them, but rather confusion. It’s kind of like how Jesus says he speaks in parables so some won’t understand and thus won’t repent. The same is with untranslated tongues. Such babble would leave unbelievers unconverted. on the other hand, Paul says in verse 24 that if an unbeliever comes to the church service and actually can understand the words that are being spoken, they could be convicted and converted.

So, this gets us to Paul’s main point here about edification. If they were going to have the gift of tongues used in the service, they needed to be translated. I love what Paul says here then. He basically says that if you do have them interpreted and translated, then they become equivalent to prophecy. See, in verses 2-3 Paul says that the gift of prophecy is better to be used in the church than untranslated tongues because the prophecy edifies and the untranslated tongues doesn’t. However, in verse 5 he adds a qualification: unless the tongues are interpreted. Then the church will be edified just like with the prophecy. This is an important point, because it shows that the gift of tongues was a form of prophecy. The gift of tongues was another way God brought revelation to people. We saw in Acts at Pentecost that it was primarily intended to be used in evangelism, in bringing prophecies to people in their native tongues. Verse 2 confirms this understanding of tongues, that it is a form of bringing divine revelation by the Spirit. There in verse 2 it talks about the person who speaks in tongues is bringing mysteries in the Spirit. That language of mysteries in the Spirit is describing prophecy and revelation. Remember, that was the language we saw Paul used last week in Ephesians 3 to talk about the revelation that the apostles and the prophets received which was foundational to the church. This is so important to understand. The spiritual gift of tongues was not just the ability to speak in other languages. It also involved receiving a prophetic message by the Spirit in that other language. It was inherently revelatory. Again, Acts helps to confirm this. For example, Acts 2:4 says they spoke in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Then at Pentecost in Acts 2, that’s when Peter gets up and explains why they were speaking in tongues and he quotes the prophet Joel which says nothing about speaking in tongues. But the passage from Joel talks about the Spirit being poured out so that they would prophesy. Peter there connects tongue speaking with prophesying. Similarly, Acts 19 again speaks of tongues and prophesying together. This is why Paul says here that they shouldn’t speak in foreign tongues to people that won’t understand the message. It defeats the purpose! The prophetic message is only helpful if it is understood. Thus, it must be translated, or it shouldn’t be given at all in the church service.

So then, Paul makes the point that the gift of tongues should be concerned about edification; if the message is understood by its recipients then it is the functional equivalent as prophecy. So then, I’d like to turn now to our third point and offer application with regard to the cessation of the gift of tongues. To be fair, this chapter doesn’t itself directly teach the cessation of tongues. Though, it is fair to ask the question because the previous chapter, in 13:8 says there would come a time when both prophecy and tongues would cease. So then the cessationist argument would be that the gift of tongues ceased at the same time as when the gift of prophecy ceased. We’ve seen today that the gift of tongues was just another form of prophecy. It was inherently revelatory. So that connects us with last week’s message on this topic. Last week we made the case from Ephesians that the gift of prophecy under the New Testament was foundational and ceased at the close of the apostolic era and with the completion of the canon of Scripture. Since tongues is a form of prophecy, that would make us conclude that they too have now ceased with the ceasing of new revelation. Tongues was part of that foundational work in the New Testament church and has now ceased.

We see the foundational aspect of tongues even in Acts. When we think of this supernatural gift of tongues you might assume it is all over the New Testament. That is not the case. As a gift, its only mentioned in this letter and the book of Acts. This letter is one of the earliest written in the New Testament, and likely by the later letters it has already ceased as a spiritual gift. Even in the book of Acts, there are only a few specific occurrences and also in some way connected with the ministry of the apostles and only when the gospel first goes to some new major people group. Acts 2 has the first one, on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit is poured out on the Apostles and the Jewish disciples there in Jerusalem. The next one is in Acts 8:18 which doesn’t mention tongues but clearly there is a similar pouring out of the Spirit and surely it included tongues. In that case, it doesn’t happen when the non-apostle Philip preaches the gospel to them, even though they become believers. It only happens when the apostles are summoned, and Peter and John come and lay hands on them. The third occurrence was in Acts 10:46 with the first set of Gentiles becoming believers, there with the ministry of the Apostle Peter. Lastly, in Acts 19:6, Paul encounters a group of followers of John the Baptist who had only known John’s baptism, and hadn’t come to know Jesus yet. So, Paul teaches them, they believe, and he baptizes them into Christ. He also lays on his hands and they too begin to speak in tongues and prophesy. Acts doesn’t mention any other occurrences of the Spirit coming on like this. It only highlights this when the gospel first came to some new group, as it breached some new barrier. It was divine affirmation that they were to be a part of the new covenant people as well. In terms of such categories, there really aren’t new barriers to breach. God has confirmed now that the gospel of Jesus is for all! Add to this fact that each occurrence only happened in conjunction with the apostles and their ministry. Remember last week the point we made about the apostles ministry being a foundational ministry. All of this data contributes to the conclusion that these supernatural gifts like tongues were something a part of the foundation of the church. We do not have good reason to presume they will be an ongoing regular part of the church. They are arguably more about a part of the history of redemption, showcasing the pouring out of the Spirit on all believers, than about the application of salvation, as if receiving such supernatural gifts were just one step in the ordinary journey for a Christian.

As a final application with regard to cessationism, I would ask that even if this conclusion was wrong, do we see credible examples of this gift today? We do not. In fact, everything speaks against their credibility. For example, at the start of the modern Pentecostal movement, they claimed that the Holy Spirit had begun again to give this gift. They made claims that they could now go onto the foreign mission field without having to spend years in language training. Well, a number of such Pentecostals were sent to the mission field with that premise and they all discovered that the natives couldn’t understand them. That early embarrassment caused that movement to rethink things. Soon, you heard the argument instead that people with this gift had their own private prayer language. Yet, despite there not being good warrant for such a practice like that from Scripture, linguists have studied many recordings of such claims for tongues. They’ve always concluded that the babble passed off as tongues today doesn’t bear any known markers of language. Such experts are convinced that such examples are not a language at all, but mere gibberish. Along the line of so called interpreters, there have been cases where people have come into a charismatic church and speak in an actual foreign language and the supposed interpreters give a translation that is completely wrong and obviously made up. Similarly, there have been tests with people who claim to have the gift of interpretation that are given recordings of people speaking in tongues and they give completely different interpretations. I’ve also heard from multiple people who were in such charismatic churches that when they couldn’t speak in tongues they were counseled to “prime the pump” by just letting out whatever sounds that randomly came into their minds. That doesn’t sound like the biblical gift either. Surely there are no credible accounts of tongues today for the reasons we’ve considered from Scripture for a cessationist position.

In conclusion, I remind us why all this is important. Look at verse 25. It speaks of someone who might come into our church and hear the message and be converted. It says how they will recognize that God is truly among us. That’s what we are talking about. We want a church environment where God’s truth is going forth and we are having legitimate, life changing, experiences with the true presence of the Living God. We don’t want counterfeit or illegitimate religious experiences. The real growth will be where God is truly at work. Our Lord died on the cross to save us from our sins for all who believe in his name. The apostles and the prophets have laid a foundation of this gospel for us. Let us build upon this message. Let us use the Word we’ve received to convert others and to grow ourselves.

Today’s passage reminded us of the goal for edification when we gather. There are many other applications that come from this besides regarding cessationism. I leave us with the call to reflect on your own gifts today. Are you using them to build up others? Or are you misusing them in some way? For example, if you have the gift of encouragement, do you make time to fellowship with the saints? Or if you have been given a sharp mind for theology, do you use that just to “win” arguments or do you patiently and gently help to teach others around you? In a doctrine-loving denomination like the OPC, pastors like myself have to make sure to give a balance of both “milk” and “meat” in the sermon to help Christians of all maturities to be growing. Let us do all things for edification! And may we thank God that he commands this. What a wonderful command! He commands that we do things to help our growth! Praise the Lord as he graciously grows us even through his Word and Spirit. Amen.

Rev. W. Reid Hankins, Pastor

Pastor Reid Hankins was born and raised in Bellflower, CA. He received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, with a minor in Classical and Medieval European Studies, in June 2000 from the University of California, San Diego. In February 2003, Pastor Reid started Hankins Consulting, Inc., a web development consulting company. He continued to operate his business throughout his seminary training at Westminster Seminary California, graduating in June 2007 with a Masters of Divinity (M.Div.) degree. During his seminary studies, Pastor Reid was distinguished to receive the Samuel and Ann Van Til Scholarship Prize in Biblical Studies and the Arthur Forest Wells Memorial Scholarship. He has been married to his wife Kim since 2001, and they have two children. In his free time, Pastor Reid enjoys ice hockey, hiking, camping, fine dining, and playing board games.

From: Trinity OPC Church Homepage