LOVE LASTS FOREVER, SPECIAL GIFTS DON T 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (Pt. 2 The Microscopic Edition)

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1 LOVE LASTS FOREVER, SPECIAL GIFTS DON T 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (Pt. 2 The Microscopic Edition) Introduction: A Summary Of Views On The Gift Of Tongues 1. The Continuationist View Tongues have continued in today s church as they have in the Book of Acts 2. The Cessanionist View The spiritual gifts of tongues have ceased as a normative experience as the New Testament was complete. 3. The Open, But Cautious View Typically non-charismatic but is open to the possibility that tongues can still exist today. I. What Is A Spiritual Gift? (1 Cor 12:7; 14:12) II. What Are The Temporary Spiritual Gifts? A. Special Gifts to enact the formation of the church (e.g. Apostleship) B. Revelatory Gifts to provide the Word of God to the fledgling church until the completion of the New Testament (Prophecy, Distinguishing Spirits, Wisdom, Knowledge) C. Sign Gifts to establish the authenticity of God s Word and work (Faith, Healing, Miracles, Tongues) III. Is The Gift Of Tongues In The Bible Different Than What Is Practiced In A Charismatic Church Today? A. The Biblical Understanding Of The Gift Of Tongues Was The Divine Ability To Speak An Actual Language Unknown To The Speaker 1. Tongues was a language, not gibberish unknown to the speaker. 2. Tongues is identified with specific languages (dialektos) (Acts 2:6,8) distinct international languages are identified in Acts 2: Tongues was a sign of judgment by God to Israel (Isa 28:11-12) as God spoke through Gentile languages 5. The Charismatics and Pentecostals have not been able to demonstrate their gift of tongues is any known language. B. The Charismatic View On The Gift Of Tongues Is A Heavenly Language Today 1. Is the tongue of angels a distinct heavenly language? (1 Cor 13:1) 2. Are the groanings of the Holy Spirit a distinct heavenly language? (Rom 8:26) 3. Is the unknown tongue in 1 Corinthians 14 a distinct heavenly language? (1 Cor 14:2,4,13,14,19,27) IV. What Is The Purpose For The Gift Of Tongues? The Gift of Tongues was not: a special language for worship and prayer that only God and angels understand a primary means of evangelism a permanent authentication of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in every believer The Gift Of Tongues Was For: A. The Authentication Of Apostles And Their Message (Eph 2:20; 3:5; Heb 2:3-4) B. The Confirmation Of The Spoken Word (Mark 16:17-20; Heb 2:3-4) C. The Witness To Unbelieving Israel (1 Cor 14:21; Cf. Isa 28:11-12) - Tongues Is A Sign To Israel In Their Unbelief 1

2 V. What Made The Sign Gifts Obsolete? (1 Cor 13:8b-12) A. The Sign Gifts Are Temporary (8) 1. The Passing Away Of Sign Gifts 2. The Problem Of New Revelation (Rev 22:18-19) B. Tongues Fulfilled Its Purpose. Knowledge And Prophecy Were Only Partially Fulfilled (9) C. The Perfect (Complete) Will Replace The Partial (Incomplete) New Testament; Jesus Rapture, 2 nd Coming; Church Age; Death of Believer; Eternal State D. The Perfect Will Come To Complete Understanding (11-12) 1. The Complete Man Replaces The Incomplete Child (11) 2. The Looking Face To Face Replaces Looking In A Dim Mirror (12a) Hazy to Clear illustration (James 1:23-25) 3. Full Knowledge Replaces Partial Knowledge (12b) Incomplete Knowledge Full Knowledge Partial gifts of revelation Completed New Testament Child s knowledge Adult s knowledge Unclear as in a mirror Clear as face to face Partial knowledge Full knowledge From Larry Pettegrew, The New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit, p. 186 E. Perspectives From History Before the 20th century, the Church did not practice the gift of tongues Tongues were only mentioned in earliest New Testament books: Mk 16:17; Acts 2:4; 10:46: 19:6; 1 Cor The last recorded miracle in Scripture was 58 AD when Paul healed Publius father in Acts 28:7-10 Epistles that were written later in time, Ephesians and Romans, dealt with the area of spiritual gifts but the sign gifts were absent It is particularly noteworthy that the Pastoral Letters do not anticipate the necessity of regulating the exercise of such gifts as prophecy and speaking in tongues. (Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, p. 230) From AD when Revelation was completed (final book), there were no miracles recorded There were no more apostles after John and the need for temporary gifts was over Conclusion: 1. The gift of tongues, as practiced in the New Testament, is no longer normative for today s church. Miracles accompanied prophecy to authenticate its divine origins (Jn 5:36; Acts 2:22; 14:3) As Apostleship was temporary, so were the miraculous gifts that authenticated their ministry. The Apostles and prophets were the foundation of the church a past tense reality, a completed foundation. (Eph 2:20) The Scriptures are God s complete revelation for us. (2 Tim 3:16) 2. Manifestations of the gift of tongues today are not biblical experiences. Ecstatic speech or gibberish is not a real language Interpretation was required in the early church and is not provided for in modern Charismania Tongues was intended for instruction and as a sign of judgment to Israel, not for private worship experience 2

3 LOVE LASTS FOREVER, SPECIAL GIFTS DON T 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (Pt. 2 The Microscopic Edition) 1 Corinthians 13: Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love Introduction: A Summary Of Views On The Gift Of Tongues 1. The Continuationist View: Tongues have continued in today s church as they have in the Book of Acts a. A Historical Survey: Pentecostal refers to any denomination or group that traces its historical origin back to the Pentecostal revival that began in the United States in 1901, and that holds the following doctrines: 1) All the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are intended for today; 2) baptism in the Holy Spirit is an empowering experience subsequent to conversion and should be sought by Christians today; and 3) when baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs, people will speak in tongues as a sign that they have received this experience. Pentecostal groups usually have their own distinct denominational structures, among which are the Assemblies of God, the Church of God in Christ, and many others. (Wayne Grudem, Are Miraculous Gifts For Today, p. 11) Charismatic, on the other hand, refers to any groups (or people) that trace their historical origin to the charismatic renewal movement of the 1960s and 1970s and that seek to practice all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament Charismatics by and large have refrained from forming their own denominations, but view themselves as a force for renewal within existing Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. (ibid) In the 1980s a third renewal movement arose, a movement called The Third Wave by missions professor C. Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary.Third Wave people encourage the equipping of all believers to use New Testament spiritual gifts today and say that the proclamation of the gospel should ordinarily be accompanied by signs, wonders, and miracles, according to the New Testament pattern. They teach, however, that baptism in the Holy Spirit happens to all Christians at conversion and the subsequent experiences are better called fillings or empowerings with the Holy Spirit. Though they believe the gift of tongues exist today, they do not emphasize it to the extent that Pentecostals and charismatics do. (ibid, pp ) 3

4 The Vineyard churches are the prominent Third Wave group today. A variant extension of this movement is the Holy Laughter movement who holds to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit through uncontrolled laughter or animal noises. b. The Basis: The gift of tongues is normative for the church today as the Book of Acts is the normative mode for the Church to operate today. Even the Pentecostal, however, has problems following the pattern found in Acts. If tongues speaking is normative, why are the rushing might wind and the tongues of fire sitting on those gathered together in the Upper Room not normative?...the other tongues-speaking passages in Acts present more problems for the normative interpretation. In Acts 2, no laying on of hands occurs, but it does in Acts 8. In Acts 10, the Spirit is received immediately at the point of salvation before water baptism and without either prayer or laying on of hands, but in Acts 8 a delay occurs between salvation and speaking in tongues. (Larry Pettegrew, p. 112) c. The Evidence: The gift of tongues is a manifestation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When Pentecostals speak of receiving the Spirit as a postconversion experience, they are speaking of the work of the Spirit in which he empowers the believer in charismatic ways for witness and service.as a Pentecostal, my own perception is that our Pneumatology includes a first, a second, a third, a fourth, and so forth, anointings. In other words, being filled with the Spirit is as characteristic of the Christian life as sanctification. (Douglas Oss, A Pentecostal/Charismatic View, Are Miraculous Gifts For Today, Grudem, ed., p ) 2. The Cessanionist View The spiritual gifts of tongues have ceased as a normative experience as the New Testament was complete. The cessationist position argues that there are no miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit today. Gifts such as prophecy, tongues, and healing were confined to the first century, and were used at the time the apostles were establishing the churches and the New Testament was not complete. (Grudem, Today, p. 10) Charismatics charge the Cessationists trinity consist of God the Father, The Son and the Holy Scripture which The Cessationist does not deny the work of the Holy Spirit, but only that His work of miraculous gifts have ceased. Tom Pennington: So cessationism does not mean that God no longer does anything miraculous. Cessationism does not mean that the Spirit cannot if He were to choose give a miraculous ability to someone today. As God, He can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants. If He were to choose to do so, He could allow someone today to speak a language he never studied. It just wouldn t be the New Testament gift because it wouldn t be revelation from God as it was then. So what do we mean by cessationism? We mean that the Spirit no longer sovereignly gives individual believers the miraculous spiritual gifts that are listed in the Scripture and 4

5 that were present in the first century church. It is neither the Spirit s plan, nor His normal pattern to distribute miraculous spiritual gifts to Christians and churches today as He did in the times of the Apostles. Those gifts ceased as normative with the apostles. ( A Case For Cessationism, Strangefire Conference, 3. The Open, But Cautious View Typically non-charismatic but is open to the possibility that tongues can still exist today. There is ye another position, held by a vast number of evangelicals who think of themselves as belonging to none of these groups. These people have not been convinced by the cessationist arguments that relegate certain gifts to the first century, but they are not really convinced by the doctrine or practice of those who emphasize such gifts today either. They are open to the possibility of miraculous gifts today, but they are concerned about the possibility of abuses that they have seen in groups that practice these gifts. They do not think speaking in tongues is ruled out by Scripture, but they see many modern examples as not conforming to scriptural guidelines; some also are concerned that it often leads to divisiveness and negative results in churches today. (Grudem, Today, pp ) My problem with the strong conservative noncharismatic position that tongues are not for today is that it boxes God into a narrow theological framework that He is not allowed to break out of. It is also, in my view, exegetically indefensible.i can t say that [tongues was strictly a temporary gift] because Paul says, Don t forbid the use of this gift. I believe the gift of tongues is still a viable gift, but it is not to be our priority focus. Notice that Paul nowhere says, Insist on the exercise of tongues. No, he permits it. So I don t deny the validity of the gift of tongues, but neither do I promote its use. That s the Holy Spirit s sovereign choice. (Tony Evans, The Promise, p. 316, 324) Of course, in evaluating Evans view, why would Paul forbid a gift that existed in that day? This does not take in account the entire purpose for the gift of tongues. If it is still a viable gift today, Evans should promote its use. I. What Is A Spiritual Gift? A spiritual gift is a God-given ability to serve God and other Christians in such a way that Christ is glorified and believers are edified. (Warren Wiersbe, Be Rich) 1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. 1 Corinthians 14:12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. Spiritual Gifts As Presented In Scripture Romans 12:3-8 1 Corinthians 12 Ephesians 4 1 Peter 4:10-11 Prophecy Helps/Service Teaching Exhoration Wisdom Knowledge Faith Healing Apostleship Prophecy Evangelism Pastoring/Teaching Speaking Serving 5

6 Giving Administration Mercy Miracles Prophecy Discernment of Spirits Tongues Interpreting Tongues Apostleship Teaching Administration Helps II. What Are The Temporary Spiritual Gifts? A. Special Gifts to enact the formation of the church Apostleship (Eph 2:20; 4:11-12; 1 Cor 15:9) - This gift was an office of the early church that laid the foundation and direction for the church. The apostles were commissioned by Christ to build the church. Apostolos is one who is sent with a commission. B. Revelatory Gifts to provide the Word of God to the fledgling church until the completion of the New Testament 1. Prophecy (Eph 4:11-12; 1 Cor 14:3, 23-25; Acts 2:17-18; 11:27-28) - Those with the gift of prophecy were channels or conduits of direct revelation of God. They were used by God to speak forth God s mind and counsel about present and future events. The gift of prophecy can be defined as the supernatural ability to receive revelation from God and to communicate it to others in the people s language. (Pettegrew, p. 164) 2. Distinguishing Spirits (1 Cor 12:10) - This gift refers to a discerning of spirits which immediately evaluates the authenticity of the prophetic utterances of others. 3. Wisdom (1 Cor 12:8) - The spiritual ability to understand the mysteries of God and to perceive truth and situations from God s perspective. 4. Knowledge (1 Cor 12:8) - A special ability to grasp objective data that results from special revelation connected with the word of wisdom to systematize it and extend its implications to new situations. (Thomas) C. Sign Gifts to establish the authenticity of God s Word and work God used the sign gifts to authenticate the revelation of His Word and source of His miraculous works. Though these gifts were mainly used to support the revelatory gifts, they were also a source of revelation as well. These gifts died out as the New Testament canon was complete. 1. Faith (1 Cor 12:9; 13:2) - The spiritual enablement to trust God to overcome certain situations. 6

7 2. Healing (1 Cor 12:9) A gifted individual is empowered by God to bring complete healing to an individual instantaneously, completely and comprehensively. 3. Miracles (1 Cor 12:10) Miracles accompanied the preaching of God s Word to authenticate that the messenger was from God Though the gift of miracles has ceased, the miracles of God have not. The fact that the Holy Spirit would do something supernatural through us for the edification of the church is a miracle in itself. 4. Tongues (1 Cor 12-14) The gift of tongues is the Holy Spirit enabled ability to speak a known language not previously known to the speaker. The gift of tongues is the supernatural ability to speak with understanding in known, foreign languages, that were previously unstudied by the speaker. (Larry Pettegrew, The New Covenant Ministry Of The Holy Spirit, p. 164) The special enabling resulting from the tongues gift meant unusual capabilities with foreign languages. A person received immediate ability to speak languages that he had never acquired by natural means. (Robert Thomas, Understanding Spiritual Gifts, p. 36) III. Is The Gift Of Tongues In The Bible Different Than What Is Practiced In A Charismatic Church Today? A. The Biblical Understanding Of The Gift Of Tongues Was The Divine Ability To Speak An Actual Language Unknown To The Speaker 1. Tongues was a language, not gibberish unknown to the speaker. Tongues = glossa though it can refer to the physical tongue, it clearly is a reference to languages 2. Tongues is identified with specific languages (dialektos) (Acts 2:6,8) This is a definite reference to a known language, not heavenly gibberish Acts 2:6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language (dialektos). The word dialektos occurs about six times in Acts, and in each occurrence it refers to a known language or dialect. In other words, the sense of a known tongue in 2:4 is made definite by the description of the phenomenon as a speaking in a dialektos in verses 6,8. (Johnson, p. 309) 7

8 Acts 2:3-4 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Other (heterais) refers to the diversity of languages spoken, as is referenced in verses 6,8, distinct international languages are identified in Acts 2:7-11 Acts 2: Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language (dialektos) in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. 4. Tongues was a sign of judgment by God to Israel (Isa 28:11-12) as God spoke through Gentile languages Israel was to be given a sign of judgment by God speaking through Gentile languages, as foretold in Isaiah 28:11-12 and realized in 1 Corinthians 28: This sign could not be done through heavenly gibberish, but actual Gentile languages. 5. The Charismatics and Pentecostals have not been able to demonstrate their gift of tongues is any known language. Early on in Pentecostalism, they understood tongues as real languages and the acquisition of them as a gift would revolutionize missions John MacArthur in Strange Fire (chapter 2) quotes Charles Fox Parham, founder of modern Pentacostalism: o Charles Parham cited in the Topeka State Journal, January 7, 1901: The Lord will give us the power of speech to talk to the people of the various nations without having to study them in schools. o Charles Parham cited in the Kansas City Times, January 27, 1901: A part of our labor will be to teach the church the uselessness of spending years of time preparing missionaries for work in foreign lands when all they have to do is ask God for power. o Charles Parham cited in the Hawaiian Gazette, May 31, 1901: There is no doubt that at this time they will have conferred on them the gift of tongues, if they are worthy and seek it in faith, believing they will thus be made able to talk to the people whom they choose to work among in their own language, which will, of course, be an inestimable advantage. The students of Bethel College do not need to study in the old way to learn the languages. They have them conferred on them miraculously... [being] able to converse with Spaniards, Italians, Bohemians, Hungarians, Germans, and 8

9 French in their own language. I have no doubt various dialects of the people of India and even the language of the savages of Africa will be received during our meeting in the same way. I expect this gathering to be the greatest since the days of Pentecost. Whatever tongues the students did acquire were not real foreign languages. This became problematic for the Pentecostals. Charismatic authors Jack Hayford and David Moore admit: Sadly, the idea of xenoglossalalic tongues [i.e. foreign languages] would later prove an embarrassing failure as Pentecostal workers went off to mission fields with their gift of tongues and found their hearers did not understand them. (The Charismatic Century, p. 42) B. The Charismatic View On The Gift Of Tongues Is A Heavenly Language Today Q: Is tongues a heavenly language? Charismatics believe that the gift of tongues is a language known only to God and angels in heaven 1. Is the tongue of angels a distinct heavenly language? 1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. Angels never spoke in their own language but always used a language known to the one they communicated to Paul was using inflated language hyperbole not identifying tongues as the language of angels (e.g. faith to move mountains, The fact that tongues required a translation (1 Cor 14) removes the possibility that tongues was merely a heavenly language Most charismatics believe that the gift of tongues is a private prayer language, a heavenly language known only to God, celestial speech, or some other kind of unearthly idiom. There is no warrant in the text itself for such a view, however.paul was speaking theoretically, suggesting that even if those things were true, without love they would be meaningless. To make his point about the necessity for love, Paul was trying to stretch his examples to the outer limits. Besides, there is no evidence in Scripture that angels use a heavenly language. Whenever angels appear in Scripture, they communicate in normal human language (e.g., Luke 1:11-20, 26-37; 2:8-14). (John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos, p. 226) Paul also insisted that tongues must be translated. This would counter the Charismatic claim of personal prayer through a heavenly language. 2. Are the groanings of the Holy Spirit a distinct heavenly language? 9

10 Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Charismatics believe that these groanings cannot be uttered in articulate speech and not only includes groanings escaping our lips in prayer, but also praying in other tongues (Kenneth Hagin, Why Tongues?, cited by MacArthur in Charismatic Chaos, p. 224, footnote 11) Yet groanings does not refer to a new language, but the heavy heart of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8, the subject is the Christian s private prayer life, and the context has no correlation with spiritual gifts. (Thomas, p. 87) Paul uses the term exclusively in the sense of sighing in the sense of longing for something. (Thomas McComiskey, Stenazo, Colin Brown, ed. Dictionary Of New Testament Theology, Vol. 2, p. 425) 3. Is the unknown tongue in 1 Corinthians 14 a distinct heavenly language? (1 Corinthians 14:2,4,13,14,19,27) Notice that each of the 6 references to unknown is italicized in the King James Version. These adjectives are editorial insertions by the English translators and are not in the original Greek. Unknown does not have to mean unknown to man. These languages were previously unknown to the speaker, but known by individuals from the language s country of origin. IV. What Is The Purpose For The Gift Of Tongues? The Gift of Tongues was not: a special language for worship and prayer that only God and angels understand a primary means of evangelism a permanent authentication of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in every believer The Gift Of Tongues Was For: A. The Authentication Of Apostles And Their Message (Eph 2:20; 3:5; Heb 2:3-4) Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets. The apostles are commissioned to receive the mystery and to convey it to believers Hebrews 2:3-4 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? 10

11 B. The Confirmation Of The Spoken Word (Mark 16:17-20; Heb 2:3-4) Prior to the completion of the revelation of the New Testament, the Word needed to be confirmed as authentic. The sign gifts brought confirmation that the preaching and revelation through the apostles were of the Lord. Tongues does not confirm Word today. If the Word still needs to be confirmed then it would be questionable as to its reliability today. Mark 16: And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Hebrews 2:2-4 the word first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? o confirmed = a legal term used to authenticate as genuine 2 Corinthians 12:12 the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds 3. The Witness To Unbelieving Israel (1 Cor 14:21; Cf. Isa 28:11-12) - Tongues Is A Sign To Israel In Their Unbelief In Acts, Jews were always present when tongues were spoken. Tongues is intended to rouse Jews to repentance even though they ignored it 1 Corinthians 14: In the law it is written: With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; and yet, for all that, they will not hear Me, says the Lord. 22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers Isaiah 28: For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, 12 To whom He said, This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest, And, This is the refreshing ; yet they would not hear Context: Isaiah 28 occurs during the reign of Hezekiah (Judah, BC). The Assyrians invaded and defeated Israel (No. Kingdom). The Jews were reprimanded by Isaiah for drunken revelry and warned them of judgment. The Jews did not listen to God when He spoke in plain Hebrew so God said that He will speak to them in a language they don t understand. Tongues is a sign of the removal of blessing from Israel. Principle: The principle was as follows: every generation of Jews to which God sends a prophet spokesman and which God judges for rejecting His message and 11

12 prophet spokesman will be forced to listen to foreign language which it cannot understand as a sign of that judgment. (Renald Showers, The Connection Of Isaiah 28:11 To The Gift Of Tongues, Israel My Glory, Feb/March 1989, p. 19) Application: Jesus was a prophet (Mt 21:11,46; Lk 7:16; 24:19; Jn 4:19; 6:14; 7:40; 9:17), even the most superior of prophets (Heb 1:2-12) Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son o Jesus was rejected as a prophet (Mt 21:33-45) by the Jewish community of His time. They would then receive the sign of judgment of tongues as determined by Isaiah 28:11. o Paul was indicating that the gift of tongues in the New Testament Church had the same God-intended purpose or function toward the generation of Jews of Jesus time as did the foreign language of Isaiah 28:11 toward the generation of Jews of Isaiah s time. In other words, Paul concluded that the gift of tongues in the New Testament Church had the God-intended purpose of functioning as a sign to that wicked, unbelieving generation of Jews which had heard and seen Jesus Christ, but then killed Him. God purposed the gift of tongues to be a sign to the effect that that generation of Jews was subject to the severe judgment of God.Because this generation of Jews has rejected God s message and killed His ultimate prophet spokesman, Jesus Christ God is now moving His base of operation for His program in the world from the nation of Israel to the Church (Mt 21:43). (Showers, p. 22) o According to Isaiah, when the Old Testament Israelites heard foreign languages spoken all around them, it would be a sign that god was judging them. It would mean that they were in captivity, out of their land, away from the promised place of blessing. Paul s point is that the gift of tongues was given as a sign of judgment to Israel. Israel had been removed from the mediatorial position during this mystery part of the kingdom. The symbolism of tongues also pointed to the international character of the church program which God had temporarily replaced Israel in its mediatorial responsibility. Thus, the gift of tongues was a dramatic sign to the unbelieving Jew (v.22). (Pettegrew, pp ) V. What Made The Sign Gifts Obsolete? (1 Cor 13:8b-12) 8b As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. A. The Sign Gifts Are Temporary (8) 12

13 1 Corinthians 13:8b 8b As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away 1. The Passing Away Of Sign Gifts Prophecy will pass away (katargeo = become inoperative, taken out of action, to render entirely idle useless [Strong s Concordance] o continually being rendered inoperative (stopping in parts) o prophecy comes in parts then ceased in part when each NT book complete Tongues will cease (pausantai, from pauo = to cease, pause, restrain; middle voice carries of ceasing itself) o The form lends itself to the thought of the gift s passing out of existence under its own power, as it were. (Thomas, p. 78) o [Pauo] means to cease permanently. It implies that when tongues ceased, they would never start up again. (MacArthur, p. 230) o needed tongues as long as needed gift of prophecy Knowledge will pass away (katargeo) o The ability to speak in a foreign language, without having studied it, stopped when the purpose for this gift was completed. Paul clearly explained this gift to be a sign (14:21`-22) that was specifically to Israel to indicate that the nation had been removed from its mediatorial position and replaced by the international church. Although the content of tongues when they were translated was the same as prophecy, the form (foreign languages) was a sign to the nation of Israel that it would lose its impact and significance after a few years. Because the nation ceased to exist in about A.D. 70, it was clear by then that God was not working with His covenant nation. The gift of tongues stopped then. The gift of foreign languages was thus a minor gift that was necessary to the infancy of the church as a sign to Israel, but it ceased when its purpose was fulfilled. (Pettegrew, p. 181) 2. The Problem Of New Revelation If tongues are still in operation today, then prophecies and knowledge are still being communicated by God to men. That is a dangerous position! Can we add new revelation to what is contained in the 66 books of the Bible? (David Hocking, Chapter 13: Where Love Begins, p. 192) Revelation 22: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 13

14 B. Tongues Fulfilled Its Purpose. Knowledge And Prophecy Were Only Partially Fulfilled (9) 1 Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. The full revelation of God was not found in one person. The revelation through the gifts of knowledge and prophesy are always incomplete. Only the completed Scriptures bring full knowledge and prophesy. The reason tongues was not considered as partial was because the emphasis of tongues was a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel. Tongues fully completed its task, whereas knowledge and prophesy did not. The nature of [tongues] did not require justification for its disappearance. Knowledge and prophecy were different, however, because they were revelatory, and clarification was necessary to tell why these two channels of divine revelation would cease to exist at some time in the future. (Thomas, p. 78) C. The Perfect (Complete) Will Replace The Partial (Incomplete) 1 Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Perfect = teleion = complete, end of the purpose, maturing, conclusion teleion is contrasted with incomplete so it can be translated here as the complete Partial knowledge and prophecy will be completed 1. Perfect used elsewhere in the New Testament Complete and without flaw God s love (1 Jn 4:18); Heavenly Father (Mt 5:48) Maturity in wisdom (Col 1:28) Maturity in physical growth, age, stature (1 Cor 14:20) Completed task (Acts 20:24 finished the race; Jn 4:24 17:24 finish the work) 2. Possible meaning of Perfect in 1 Cor 13:10 F. David Farnell ( When Will The Gift Of Prophecy Cease?, Bibliotheca Sacra,150, April-June, 1993) presents 5 views of to teleion: o The death of a believer o The eternal state o The completed New Testament Canon o Christ s second advent o The maturing of Christ s body through the course of the church age Pentecostal argument: o The perfect is Jesus Christ (Eph 4:13) o Jesus 1st coming was partial, 2nd coming He would be perfect o Rapture or Millennium or Future State o Or Body of Christ (1 Cor 12) - body = neuter, parts = spiritual gifts; therefore since universal body is here so are all the gifts 14

15 o With all these possibilities, it could mean something other than the Word of God o Some Continuists doubt that Paul or his readers were aware of a future New Testament, but how would we know if they did not anticipate a new Scripture? This is an argument from silence. Response: Neuter adjective - has to agree in gender with noun that it modified - but there is nothing in the text that it modifies - so it s open to interpretation. Jesus would necessitate a masculine adjective, the perfect could not be Jesus Perfect would have to refer to that which was partial which is similar to prophesy and knowledge because v. 9 refers to knowledge & prophecy as partial 1. The New Testament the complete is completed prophecy complete is more naturally identified with Scripture than with the person of Jesus inserting a new doctrinal point of the Rapture or Second Coming would seem forced Paul s point is that when the new covenant document is completed, the incomplete gifts of prophecy and knowledge will no longer be necessary and will thus be abolished.interpreting the completed as the New Testament is still the most natural and logical explanation of the passage far better than trying to introduce the Rapture, Second Coming, death, or eternal state into the interpretation. (Pettegrew, p. 182) Jude 3 3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. James 1:22-26 v.25 = perfect - neuter - modifies Word of God this verse corresponds with 1 Cor 13:12 2. The 2 nd Coming (Or Rapture) Not one usage of teleos (used 80x in other ways) used of rapture, 2nd coming, millennium or eternal state Prophecy is reactivated after the Rapture (Rev 11: prophecy does not end at the rapture - 2 prophets; Joel 2:28 - prophets in tribulation) We don t minister spiritual gifts to past and faraway members of the body of Christ - they are to minister to the ones available 3. The Church Matured Through The Scriptures And/Or 2 nd Coming The Church is seen as being perfected by both the Word of God and ultimately through the 2 nd Coming of Christ. 15

16 Paul, in this view, would see the sign gifts as partial and incomplete in bringing maturity to the church. The complete New Testament marks a significant milestone for the maturity of the church. The 2 nd Coming or Rapture completes the maturation process of the church. The perfect, is more accurately the mature. From the standpoint of Paul s time, no one, not even the apostle himself, could speak dogmatically about how this maturity would come to the body. Paul entertained the definite possibility that Jesus Christ would return during his own lifetime (1 Thess 4:15,17). If such an event had transpired before he died, the body would have entered a state of absolute maturity immediately.on the other, Paul was aware of another phase of the church s development That was the writing of the New Testament Scriptures to correspond with the Old Testament Scriptures.The body of Christ was to continue growing, receiving revelations through prophecy and knowledge, until a fixed body of revelation would result.for him, the future held a twofold possibility. His prime expectation was that the body s maturity would come abruptly at the return of Christ The completion of the New Testament canon, marking the cessation of knowledge, prophecy, and tongues, was only one stage in the body s progressive development.. Though the church continues to grow corporately, it will not reach its ultimate maturity until it is with the Lord and comes face to face with the knowledge now so incomplete (13:12). (Thomas, pp ) The apostle did not know which of thee would occur first, a stage of relative completeness marking adulthood in comparison to childhood or a stage of absolute completeness that would characterize those in the immediate presence of Christ. So, through inspiration of the Spirit, he portrayed his uncertainty by choosing terminology and illustrative material that were compatible with either possibility. He knew that the partial would be replaced by either the mature or the complete, and perhaps by first one and then the other. (Thomas, pp ) D. The Perfect Will Come To Complete Understanding (11-12) 1. The Complete Man Replaces The Incomplete Child (11) 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Paul uses himself as an illustration of incomplete understanding as a matter of maturity The coming of the complete revelation of God will bring a mature understanding 2. The Looking Face To Face Replaces Looking In A Dim Mirror (12a) 1 Corinthians 13:12a For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. 16

17 It could refer to face to face encounter with Jesus, but this happens at the moment of death or rapture, except for those who are alive at the end of the tribulation. Only they will see Jesus face to face at the 2nd coming. Jesus face is not mentioned here. It would have to be assumed by the Continuationist view. Then in v.10 is not there in the Greek (italicized) - they are not to be compared It seems more consistent to see the dim mirror as the incomplete NT Face to face = clear and direct revelation that believer s today possess when looking into God s completed Scripture Continuationist argument: There is a then in v.10 and a then in v.12. The two thens refer to seeing Jesus Christ face to face at the 2nd coming. Q: Is face to face a reference to eschatology or bibliology? a. Face to Face Could Mean Personal Contact Or Could Be An Illustration Some Bible scholars will interpret face to face as the time that the believer sees Christ face to face either through the rapture or 2 nd Coming. They will cite the following texts as having eschatological implications. But I don t see how this is conclusive proof for an eschatological view. The context of 1 Cor is about revelatory gifts. God s revelation is a more natural topic than introducing the completion of sanctification in a face to face with Jesus. Genesis 32:30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Judges 6:22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. b. Hazy to Clear Illustration Yet there is no definitive reason to exclude the strong possibility that face to face presents a clearer presentation of God s revelation than the hazy forms of revelation through the sign gifts. dimly = lit. in a riddle 17

18 The mirrors in biblical times were not as polished as the mirrors we have today. The images were dimmed on the polished bronze mirror. There is still a riddle remaining as to whether your hair is out of place or your mascara is applied properly. To see someone face to face is far superior. Ie/ The sailors coming home after months at sea know that seeing their loved ones in person is superior than seeing their 2- dimensional pictures. The illustration face to face might not mean a face-to-face meeting with God, or even with Jesus Christ, sometime in the future. It might be a conceptual metaphor based on being face to face with another person. If so, Paul is contrasting looking into an inferior, dim mirror with seeing another person face to face in the flesh. The reflection from these poor-quality mirrors would be hazy and incomplete. But see someone face to face would be to see him or her clearly and completely. A mirror stands for blurring a fuzzy concept. And face to face stands for clear vision mentally a lucid concept. When we see face to face, no medium interferes with our knowing.the early Christians dim grasp of spiritual matters, because of partial revelation, would one day be replaced by a vivid seeing of spiritual and doctrinal matters through completed revelation. (Pettegrew, pp ) The Mirror Illustration is used to illustrate looking into the Word of God in James 1:23-25 James 1: For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 3. Full Knowledge Replaces Partial Knowledge 1 Corinthians 13:12b Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. Incomplete Knowledge Partial gifts of revelation Child s knowledge Unclear as in a mirror Partial knowledge From Pettegrew, p. 186 Full Knowledge Completed New Testament Adult s knowledge Clear as face to face Full knowledge The natural flow of the context is a focus on revelation The revelatory gifts were incomplete The Scripture brings completeness E. Perspectives From History Before the 20th century, the Church did not practice the gift of tongues 18

19 Tongues were only mentioned in earliest New Testament books: Mk 16:17; Acts 2:4; 10:46: 19:6; 1 Cor o Tom Pennington: First Corinthians, the only book outside of Acts that speaks about tongues was written in 55 to 56 A.D. Now if you align the New Testament letters based when they were written, 1 Corinthians was only the fourth inspired letter that Paul wrote, following Galatians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Paul would write nine other canonical letters after 1 Corinthians to six different churches. There is never a mention of the gift of tongues again. ( A Case For Cessationism, Strange Fire Conference) The last recorded miracle in Scripture was 58 AD when Paul healed Publius father in Acts 28:7-10 Epistles that were written later in time, Ephesians and Romans, dealt with the area of spiritual gifts but the sign gifts were absent It is particularly noteworthy that the Pastoral Letters do not anticipate the necessity of regulating the exercise of such gifts as prophecy and speaking in tongues. (Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, p. 230) From AD when Revelation was completed (final book), there were no miracles recorded There were no more apostles after John and the need for temporary gifts was over History records that tongues did cease. Again, it is significant that tongues are mentioned only in the earliest books of the New Testament. Paul wrote at least twelve epistles after 1 Corinthians and never mentioned tongues again. Peter never mentioned tongues; James never mentioned tongues; John never mentioned tongues; neither did Jude. Tongues appeared only briefly in Acts and 1 Corinthians as the new message of the gospel was being spread. But once the church was established, tongues were gone. They stopped. The later books of the New Testament do not mention tongues again. Nor did anyone in the post-apostolic age. (MacArthur, p ) Historians claim that tongues have ceased Clement of Rome, Justin Martyr, Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine cite that tongues were extremely remote in early church history The practice of tongues was not revived until AD when Montanus (a heretic) & disciple Tertullian tried to revive it in ecstatic utterances Conclusion: 1. The gift of tongues, as practiced in the New Testament, is no longer normative for today s church. a. Miracles accompanied prophecy to authenticate its divine origins Moses had 10 miracles to prove what he was saying was from God John 5:36 But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John for the works which the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I do testify about me that the Father has sent me. 19

20 Acts 2:22 God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know Acts 14:3 Therefore, Paul and Barnabas spent a long time there in Iconium speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord who was testifying to the Word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. B.B. Warfield: Miracles do not appear on the pages of Scripture vagrantly here and there and elsewhere and differently, without any assignable reason. They belong to revelation periods and appear only when God is speaking to His people through accredited messengers declaring His gracious purposes. Their abundant display in the apostolic church is the mark of the richness of the Apostolic age in Revelation. And when this Revelation period closed, the period of miracle working had passed by also as a mere matter of course. b. As Apostleship was temporary, so were the miraculous gifts that authenticated their ministry. Most Continuationists concur that the gift of Apostleship was temporary, then why not the sign gifts that were used to authenticate their Apostleship? This would make the Book of Acts transitional, not normative. c. The Apostles and prophets were the foundation of the church a past tense reality, a completed foundation. Ephesians 2:20 Having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ 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. d. The Scriptures are God s complete revelation for us. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God, it s profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate equipped for every good work. 2. Manifestations of the gift of tongues today are not biblical experiences. Ecstatic speech or gibberish is not a real language Interpretation was required in the early church and is not provided for in modern Charismania Tongues was intended for instruction and as a sign of judgment to Israel, not for private worship experience It is, of course, impossible for anyone to prove experimentally that speaking in tongues cannot occur today. It may be demonstrated, however, that speaking in tongues is not essential to God s purpose now, and that there are good reasons to believe that most if not all the phenomena which are advanced as proof of modern speaking in tongues is either psychological or demonic activity. (John Walvoord, The Holy Spirit, p. 186) 20

21 MacArthur gives 3 possible explanations for the gift of tongues today: (pp ) o Tongues may be satanic or demonic o Tongues is a learned behavior o Tongues can be psychologically induced including motor automatism, ecstasy, hypnosis, psychic catharsis, collective psyche or memory excitation 21