On Cessationism
Introduction
The following relates my process of thinking through the cessationist question.
The question, formed most completely in the fires of the reformation, is posed to the church as the following: “is God still giving the ‘miraculous’ spiritual gifts (prophecy, healing, miracles, tongues, etc..) to the church today?”
I’m presenting my thinking because I hope it challenges you to critically consider your beliefs and - whether you change your mind or not - reach a biblically founded conclusion in the fear of the Lord.
Because I’m teaching from my own context and journey, this is necessarily a partial, rather than comprehensive, treatment.
For the interested reader I highly suggest Benjamin Warfield’s ‘Counterfeit Miracles’ and Jon Ruthven’s ‘On the cessation of the charismata : the Protestant polemic on postbiblical miracles’. Ruthven’s work requires a free account to read at this link, but the pdf can be found elsewhere without an account.
The Journey
As a younger man, in my zeal, I did not understand resistance to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. I conceptualized the cessationist/charismatic divide in terms of personality - with the cessationists of course lacking in all sense of adventure and passion.
I was immature and naive.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve also grown disillusioned with much of what I once embraced unreservedly. I’ve seen abuses of spiritual power, unrepentant false prophecy, biblical illiteracy, and sheep wandering without a shepherd in the midst of wolves wearing sheep’s clothing.
I’ve come to treasure the scriptures as the inspired word of God - my ever-trustworthy foundation for all of life. We must build our lives on the truth of scripture.
Anyone close to me knows I have been radically re-basing every facet of my life on scripture, piece by piece.
For this very reason, I cannot in good faith claim cessationism.
I must declare - whole heartedly - that God never ceased to give the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit in turn never ceased His miraculous ministry.
The heart of biblical exposition is to let the scriptures speak for themselves. Take us where they may, they comprise the very word of God and their authority is absolute. Yet it seems to me that on this issue we prefer to take our own opinions, experiences, and traditions to bear on the scriptures. This is not exposition, for we’re starting with ourselves rather than the scriptures.
The biblical authors, and the biblical narrative, do not even attempt to present the argument that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were limited in some temporal sense. In truth, they do quite the opposite.
As I was exploring the cessationist question - and I will tell you that it was an honest exploration - I found myself studying Benjamin Warfield’s ‘Counterfeit Miracles.’
Truly, I was in a place where I was happy to be convinced of cessationism. As mentioned above, I am methodically and critically analyzing every part of life and faith against the bible. No stone unturned.
Warfield’s work, written in 1918, reflected the culmination of cessationist thinking up to that point. Since then, there have arguably been no major revelations in cessationist rationale (pun intended). Additionally, Warfield’s views on the inspiration and the authority of scripture continue to be foundational for us today. What better place to be convinced?
Rather than becoming convinced, however, I was left deeply unsatisfied. My problem with Warfield’s argument - and the cessationist argument at large - is this:
Cessationism attempts to explain, not the scriptures, but perceived human experience.
The classical argument for cessationism is as follows:
That the charismata served as an authentication mechanism for the apostles and the early church. Having established the early church and verified the correct apostolic authority, the Holy Spirit ceased His miraculous works.
That the reason the early churches were characteristically miraculous is that they received the Holy Spirit from the apostles, and that though the apostles were not always present in the early churches, this too was a confirmation of the legitimacy and authority of the apostles.
Indeed, Warfield asserts that apart from the laying on of hands of the apostles nobody has ever received the charismata from the Holy Spirit (with the notable exceptions of Pentecost and the household of Cornelius).
Thus, Warfield asserts that the cessation of the charismata must have occurred with the passing away of the last person upon whom an apostle laid hands.
The logic is clear and rational, but not biblically derived.
Sidenote: I have real problems with the assertion that ‘this is true, except when it’s false’ which Warfield makes regarding the laying on of hands of the apostles. Additionally, he ignores that Paul - an apostle himself - received the Holy Spirit with the laying on of hands of Ananias in Acts 9.
In fact, the classical argument for cessationism seems usually to receive its impulse from one of the following:
- Personal experiences (I’ve never seen a miracle, I feel uncomfortable when people speak in tongues, etc…)
- Contextual agenda (responding to a perceived attack on scriptural authority, etc..)
- Tradition
- Unresolved questions
Scripture, when consulted, takes only a supporting role to the argument. It is not the driving energy behind the argument, but an attempt to spiritually justify it.
It’s worth a brief pause to consider these reasons for defending a cessationist ideal before we dive into the primary argument itself and the scriptures.
Most of the reasons people commonly hold to a cessationist belief are illogical:
Regarding our experiences - the argument can be generalized as follows:
‘I have never seen the dead raised, therefore God does not raise the dead, and therefore He has not raised the dead since biblical times.’
Few would dare claim this argument so explicitly, yet it’s often implied. When did we become omniscient?
Regarding our preferences - a dislike for the expression of spiritual gifts presupposes that they exist and therefore cannot be an argument against their existence.
Regarding our context - individuals often feel provoked to claim cessationism for fear of the consequences of the charismata or the actions of charismatics. There is a perceived attack on the authority of the scriptures. While I understand this concern, it cannot determine truth. We will explore this idea more fully.
Regarding tradition - many find security in the accepted theology of their tradition. As cessationism comes most clearly from the protestant reforming voice, I might ask ‘when did we become the very thing we sought to protest and to reform?’ We must honestly let scripture alone determine our beliefs.
Regarding unresolved questions - all practical questions regarding the charismata, while important, are subsequent to their existence.
Scripture
The entirety of the biblical narrative suggests - both implicitly and explicitly - the continuance of the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit until Christ returns.
For this reason, I agree with Dr. Ruthven (“On the Cessation of the Charismata: the Protestant Polemic on Post-Biblical Miracles”) when he states that the burden of proof lies on the cessationist claim.
In order to demonstrate that the normal expression of the Christian faith is meant to be charismatic, I’ve put together the following collection of scriptures. I’ve elected to use mostly New Testament references for clarity of relation to the charismata.
My argument is that the normal Christian life is - biblically - charismatic, and thus it is cessationism, not the charismata, which must be proven.
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city… saying to them, “… heal those in [the city] who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:1-9 NASB)
He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.’ (Acts 1:4-8)
When the day of Pentecost had come… they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.
Peter, taking his stand with the other eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “…this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy… And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
…since He [Christ] has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.
…Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.’ (Acts 2:1-39 NASB)
Therefore, those who had been scattered went through places preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them. The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed. (Acts 8:4-7 NASB)
Pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1)
Do not quench the Spirit, do not utterly reject prophecies (1 Thess. 5:19-20 NASB)
However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; (Rom. 12:6 NASB)
Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and… when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. (Acts 19:1-6 NASB)
In light of the clear biblical narrative, Warfield himself readily concludes that the early church was ‘a characteristically miracle working church.’
On what basis can anyone claim that this fundamentally changed, and the Holy Spirit ceased His miraculous ministry?
We’ve refuted personal, contextual, and traditional basis for cessationism.
We’ve recognized that the scriptures must be our basis for understanding truth.
We’ve established that it is cessationism, not the charismata, which is the incumbent idea and must be clearly proven.
Therefore, we are right to expect the cessationist claim to be biblically derived and resoundingly clear - proving to us that it was the intent of the biblical authors, by the Holy Spirit, to teach us cessationism.
With this in mind, let’s look at a couple key passages used to support cessationism:
So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Eph. 2:19-22 NASB)
Cessationist argument: the apostle’s role was strictly foundational to the church and, having completed the foundation, there can therefore be no more apostles today. If the apostolic gift has ceased, other gifts may have ceased as well.
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. (Heb. 2:1-4 NASB)
Cessationist argument: the purpose of the miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit was to authenticate the apostles. The apostles having been authenticated, there can be no more miracles or gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Response: neither of these passages successfully indicates any clear intent to teach us cessationism. In fact, the charismata take only a minor role in the passages. Were we to read them without the cessationist challenge present in our minds, it’s doubtful we would even make the connection.
In light of the overwhelming biblical evidence for the charismata, we rightfully expect some clear teaching on their cessation.
Nevertheless, we look at the specific arguments:
‘the apostle’s role was strictly foundational’ - this is an illogical conclusion to make from this passage. To say that the apostles were the foundation and therefore can exist nowhere else is to say that because concrete was used in the foundation of a house, it can be used nowhere else.
‘if the apostolic gift has ceased, other gifts may have ceased as well’ - which gifts, and for what reason? If the apostle has ceased, then why not the teacher and the evangelist as well?
’the purpose of the miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit was to authenticate the apostles’- we’re actually going to explore this idea of purpose more deeply. From this passage there is no logical way to derive the argument. A clear reading of the passage shows that God was testifying to the message with signs and wonders, not the apostles. We could easily include this as another example of our well-established biblical narrative! However, even if it did say that God was testifying to the apostles (which it does not), there is no reason to conclude that God is unwilling or unable to also testify to other believers who carry the same message. As we read above, God also worked miraculously through many who were not apostles!
My conclusion is that there is no clear biblically derived cessationism. It doesn’t exist. While we aren’t covering all passages used to support a cessationist claim, the argument never gets stronger.
Dividing Belief
My suggestion is that the modern cessationist/charismatic divide boils down to our understanding of the purpose of the Charismata.
The classical argument for cessationism developed over time but found its formation most strongly amongst the reformers - Calvin in particular.
The reformers developed cessationism not out of deep biblical study but a right understanding of many abuses and errors in the Catholic church. The pope claimed to be the only legitimate successor to the apostle Peter, and thus had the authority of an original apostle.
To counter the pope’s authority, it was necessary to show that the authority of the biblical apostles was unique. The pope could not be the successor because there were no successors - not in that sense.
They argued that the original apostles were unique in that they alone had the authority to write the scriptures.
They also argued that, because the purpose of the charismata was to authenticate doctrine and messengers of doctrine (an idea which the Catholics also believed), the charismata must have ceased.
Charismata and creating doctrine went hand-in-hand, and this how we threw out the baby with the bath water.
A fierce defense of sola scriptura required a denial of all post-biblical miraculous activity because miracles were understood exclusively as authentication for the message. New miracles, new message, no way.
To this very day we carry the notion that a Christian either has a rich and deep love for the scriptures or a wild and charismatic relationship with God. To many they seem fundamentally incompatible!
It was an error to assume this purpose for the charismata, and it lead them to develop and firmly entrench cessationism in the protestant tradition.
The purpose of the charismata is outside the scope of this post, but it’s sufficient to mention that there are alternatives to ‘miracles as authentication’, namely miracles as an expression of God’s kingdom on earth. The charismata can be safely de-linked from the authority of the scriptures. New miracles, same message, all the way.
