Truth
On
Tough
Texts
ISSUE 4 –
November/2005
Temporary
Spiritual Gifts
(2)
I Cor. 12:8–11;
13:8-13
In our last issue, we
began a study of the temporary spiritual gifts.
We first examined the “Finality of Inspiration,” second,
“The Reason Some Spiritual Gifts Were Temporary,” and
third, “The List of Spiritual Gifts.” Continuing that
list, we come to the last two temporary
gifts.
Tongues
were the supernatural ability to speak a human language
without previous knowledge of it. This gift also has
direct bearing on our study, so let us take the time to
deal with it.
First, consider exactly what tongues were.
Definitions are always essential when dealing with any
issue. The Greek for “tongues” is glossa, which
has three meanings: (1) the physical organ; (2)
figurative for speech and language; (3) an obscure
expression that needs explanation. Which one of those,
then, is meant in a discussion of the spiritual gift of
tongues? The physical organ is obviously not what is
referred to since Paul points out that there are
“different kinds of tongues” (I Cor. 12:10). Neither can this
refer to an “obscure expression” or an “unintelligible
sound” because Paul clearly and sharply criticizes the
Corinthians for using “unknown languages,” that is,
ecstatic utterances, because no one could understand
them (14:2, 9, 11, 26). All gifts are for edification,
so how can anyone be edified if they can’t understand
what is being said?
Therefore, there can
be no valid argument against “tongues” being known,
earthly languages. This is made quite plain in Acts 2:6
and 8:
. . .the multitude came together,
and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing
them speak in his own language. And how is it that we
each hear them in our own language to which we were
born?
Verses 9-11 go on to
list many of the regions from which these languages
came. The dear, sincere Christians today who claim
tongues to be “an ecstatic heavenly language” are simply
wrong. This is absolutely impossible by the words
used in Scripture. As we said,
this was exactly the practice Paul condemned in the
church at Corinth, and we’ll see this in greater depth
in a moment. Clearly, tongues were earthly languages
that people, by supernatural means, were able to speak
without having any previous knowledge of them.
Second, what was the purpose of tongues? May we say
clearly and with no mistake: the purpose of the
“sign gifts” was always and only a sign to Jews.
Throughout their history the Jews have required “signs,”
outward proofs of what God was doing. That was the
only purpose of the “sign
gifts.” This fact is proven beyond argument by the three
occurrences of tongues in
Acts.
The
first occurrence of tongues was, of course, in Acts 2.
This sign was to validate to the Jews who were present
the partial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy of the coming
Holy Spirit. Luke even quotes Joel’s prophecy in verses
16-21 (we’ll come back to Joel’s prophecy later). The
second occurrence is in Acts 10:44-47. At his conversion
to Christ, Cornelius (a Gentile) spoke in tongues. This
was not for his benefit but was for the benefit of the
Jews who were present (v. 45). This sign was for the
purpose of validating to the Jews God’s acceptance of
Gentiles. The third occurrence is in Acts 19:1-7. In
Ephesus there were some disciples of John the Baptist
who had not yet received the New Testament message of
Christ. We are told that they believed, were baptized by
Christian baptism (baptizo, which always means immersion), and spoke in
tongues. The tongues were a sign to the Jews who were
present that Paul’s message was authoritative. So, we
can conclude, these three
occurrences of tongues are the only valid occurrences on
record.
But the question
arises, “What about the occurrence of tongues in I
Corinthians?” Many base today’s “tongues movement” on
the situation in Corinth. But let us please remember
that the Christians in Corinth were not doing anything right. I once heard a charismatic preacher on
the radio who in his excitement blurted out: “Oh, I wish
all our churches were just like the one at Corinth!”
Indeed, many churches are striving for this, but what a
grave error. There is nothing in that church after which
we should pattern churches today. The believers there
had perverted everything they touched.
To answer our
question about how we should view the occurrence of
tongues in Corinth, let us carefully trace
the Biblical history. The last occurrence of tongues
(Acts 19) was at the beginning of Paul’s three year
ministry in Ephesus, and it was actually during that
time period that Paul wrote his letter to the church at
Corinth. So, since tongues had occurred in Ephesus, and
since Paul mentioned them in his letter to the
Corinthians (far down on the list, we might add),
tongues were not yet past at that time. But, as we have
pointed out already, Paul condemned the
Corinthian practice. The
“tongues” in Corinth were clearly self-produced
“ecstatic speech” only, not valid occurrences of the
supernatural gift. I Corinthians 14:6-15 makes this
clear. The tongues in Corinth were totally useless
because no one could understand them. This is, in point
of fact, exactly what we see in today’s modern “tongues
movement.” The occurrences today do not even remotely
resemble the Biblical occurrences of tongues in the book
of Acts.
There are at least
two other reasons why the occurrence of tongues in
Corinth was not valid. First, we repeat, tongues
(and all “sign gifts”) were for Jews and Jews only.
There is no indication that there were Jews present in
that church, nor is it even realistic to think that
there might
have been Jews in that church. How silly it is to see
Gentiles today doing something that existed centuries
ago only for the benefit of Jews. Second, in
every valid occurrence of tongues there was an Apostle
present to authenticate and validate the occurrence. In
fact, the occurrence of any “sign gift”
was either done by or, at
the very least, confirmed by an
Apostle. There were no Apostles in Corinth at this time.
If there had been, they certainly would not have allowed
the terrible things that were going on there to
continue. So, to conclude, tongues could have been valid in Corinth under the right
circumstances, but under the circumstances that existed,
they were far from
it.
Finally, a point
that is usually totally overlooked on this issue is that
if tongues are so vital, so mandatory for spirituality,
why are they not taught in at least the majority
of the New Testament Epistles if not all of them?
Why do we see them only in a single letter written to a
totally messed up church? An important principle of
Biblical interpretation is analogia
scriptuea (the analogy of
Scripture, comparing Scripture with Scripture), but here
we see an isolated practice in a twisted church that is
used to build the foundation for an entire
theology—Charismatic
Theology.
Interpretation was
the supernatural ability to translate a human language
without previous knowledge of it. Our discussion of
tongues, also applies
here.
IV. The Importance of this
Position
Why
is the position we have offered here so important? Why
is this such an important issue? There are at least four
reasons for taking the position that all the gifts
listed in I Corinthians 12:8–11 were
temporary.
First, and most important, this position emphasizes
the absolute authority, completeness, and sufficiency of
Scripture (a doctrine that is being attacked in every
way possible in our day). Without this position, we can
quite literally do anything we want with the “sign
gifts.” Why? Because many of the proponents of these
gifts today say they are receiving new revelation. But
if we accept the Word of God as authoritative and
complete, then we immediately rule out any such “new
revelation.” Are we saying that God no longer heals, for
example? Of course not. God still heals and does other
supernatural things that confound the mind of man. What
we are saying is that God no longer gives such power to
men because the Word of God replaced any such need for
outward signs.
Second,
this position is the only one that fits the context of I
Corinthians 12-14. This we have already
emphasized.
Third, this position is the only one that is
consistent. Here is an important point. Some
evangelicals go down through the list of gifts in I
Corinthians 12:8-10 and literally “pick and choose”
which gifts are valid for today and which ones are not.
Many will go through the list and say, “The gifts of
wisdom, knowledge, faith, and discernment are for today,
but the gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy
(foretelling the future), tongues, and interpretation
are not.” Those in the Charismatic Movement are quite
justified in their criticism of this practice. This kind
of Biblical interpretation is sad indeed. The position
we have presented here, however, is consistent; it
proves grammatically, contextually, and historically
that all these gifts are past and no longer needed
because we now have the completed Word of God, God’s
final revelation to
man.
Fourth, this position destroys the false teachings
about the “sign gifts” that are prevalent today. There
are many today, both charismatic and non-charismatic,
who are guilty of what we might call “Corinthianism,”
that is, the over-emphasis and/or the incorrect emphasis
on spiritual gifts. Many evangelicals, for example,
speak of “how to find your spiritual gift” and then list
principles of how to ascertain the gifts in yourself and
others. But the Word of God contains no such listing of
principles, nor does it ever say to “seek your gift.”
True, it says we should desire spiritual
gifts (I Cor. 14:1), but it never says that we should in
our own effort go out and find our gift.
We don’t need to find it because it was never lost. What
the Scripture does say is that the Holy Spirit bestows gifts as He
wills (I Cor. 12:11), and that we should earnestly
desire the best gifts (v. 31). Therefore, as we yield to
the Spirit and desire to serve the Lord, He will give us
and make us aware of the gift(s) that will best glorify
Him and edify the Church (I Cor. 12:7;
14:12).
Further, may we for
a moment examine the “sign gifts” in historical
perspective. In I Corinthians
13:8 we read that certain gifts “shall cease.” In fact,
by way of example, Paul even lists three such gifts:
prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. The Greek construction
indicates that these would literally “cease of
themselves,” that is, just fade away. The Greek also
indicates that these would not return. As one studies
Church History he finds that that is exactly what
happened—the temporary gifts faded away, never to
return. We offer the following historical
facts.
One will find not
even a hint in the writings of the Post Apostolic
Fathers that tongues were valid after the first century.
Some of the great theologians of the ancient Church
(Clement of Rome, Augustine, and others) considered
tongues to be a practice of the early Church only. In
the early centuries of the Church only followers of
Montanus (who, along with his disciple Tertullian, was
branded a heretic) spoke in “tongues.” In the
seventeenth century a group called the Cevenol priests
were also branded heretics when their “prophecies” went
unfulfilled. One of the most shocking facts is that of
the group called the Shakers. The founder, Mother Ann
Lee (1736-1784), regarded herself as the female
equivalent of Christ and established the Shaker
community in Troy, New York. She claimed that God
revealed to her that sexual intercourse, even within
marriage, was wicked. So, to “mortify the flesh” and
give victory over temptation, she had her followers, men
and women alike, dance together in the nude while they
spoke in “tongues.” There was another group, the
Irvingites (founded by Edward Irving in 1830), that
declared prophecies (which went unfulfilled), claimed
healings (which were followed by death), and practiced
“tongues.” I hope the reader notices that a supposed
“new revelation” was claimed in most of these instances.
That is one reason we strongly emphasize the passing
away of such things when the Scriptures were
completed.
But the focal point
occurred in 1901 at the Bethel Bible College in Topeka,
Kansas. A woman named Agnes Ozman claimed that she
received the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” and proceeded
to speak in “tongues.” The practice quickly became part
of the Holiness Movement and gave birth to the mainline
Pentecostal denominations. The modern Charismatic
Movement was born in an Episcopal church in Van Nuys,
California in 1960.
One of the most
disturbing and dangerous things about the Charismatic
Movement is how “tongues” can be added to one’s Theology
without affecting anything else. This practice has
spread to many denominations such as Roman Catholic,
Lutheran, Presbyterian, and even Baptist. It has become
a common and dangerous ground for
“fellowship.”
At this point a
question arises, “If tongues did cease back in the first
century, why are they so prevalent today?” Some
Pentecostals and Charismatics view Montanus and Mother
Ann Lee as their forerunners, but this puts them in an
obviously heretical position. Realizing this fact, the
majority of Charismatics say that tongues did cease but
have returned as God pours out His Spirit once more upon
the earth. Their strongest “proof” of this is Joel 2:28
and Peter’s reference to that prophecy in his sermon on
the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21). Joel prophesied
that there would be a great outpouring of the Spirit in
the last days. But as one reads those verses, he quickly
finds that Joel’s prophecy was not fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. Furthermore,
his prophecy has not been fulfilled since Pentecost nor
can it be fulfilled in the Church Age. Why? Because that
prophecy can only be fulfilled at the end of the Jewish
age, which itself cannot come as long as the Church is
on the earth. So, this prophecy will be fulfilled in
connection with Christ’s return to the earth for the
Millennium.
Why, then, did Peter
even refer to this prophecy? Peter was saying that what
the people were witnessing on the Day of Pentecost was
similar to
what Joel prophesied. The coming of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost was only an “earnest,” a first installment, of
what was to come. Paul used this very word in Ephesians
1:14 to show that the Holy Spirit is the “earnest”
(first installment) of our inheritance in Christ. The
Holy Spirit was sent to “bind the contract.”
Additionally, Peter was saying to those people who
thought the Spirit-filled believers were drunk that they
should have recognized what
they were seeing as the work of the Holy Spirit, not
drunkenness.
May we lovingly say,
the practice of speaking in tongues, as well as the
other sign gifts, is clearly not valid today. Those who
hold to these do so from incorrect exegesis and
historical ignorance. We should not try to use that
which God says is past. These gifts are from an immature
age and are retained today only by immature
Christians.
V. God’s
Sovereign Control Of Spiritual Gifts (12:11)
But all these worketh that
one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as he will.
What then of the
gifts that remain? Let us close with three brief
considerations.
First,
the gifts in Romans 12:6-8 and two of the office gifts
in Ephesians 4:11 still remain. If I might interject at
this point, two gifts spoken of in I Corinthians 12:28,
even though in the same context with the gifts that are
past, are still valid today because they are mentioned
elsewhere in Scripture (namely, in the Romans list).
Second,
God wants us to manifest those gifts. Some might think,
in light of our study, that there really aren’t very
many gifts left. But these gifts are more than enough to
edify the body of Christ.
Third,
let us beware of today’s unbalanced emphasis on the
spiritual gifts. May we please remember: as we are yielded to
the Holy Spirit, He will empower us and impart to us the
spiritual gifts that will glorify God and edify the
Church. The
Holy Spirit is the one dividing to every man severally
as he will.
It’s not our place to seek
the gifts, but to be yielded and wait for Him to give
them.
In
The Next Issue:
Who
In The World Were Those “Sons of God”? (Gen. 6:4;
etc.)”
|
Dr. J. D.
Watson
Pastor-Teacher
Grace Bible
Curch
*
* *
Truth is to use.
Whatever is useful is true for the user, though for
someone else it may not be useful, so not true. The
truth of any idea is its ability to produce desirable
results. If it can show no such results it is false.
That is pragmatism stripped of its
jargon.
Now, since practicality is a marked
characteristic of the American people they naturally
lean strongly toward the philosophy of utility. Whatever
will get things done immediately with a maximum of
efficiency and a minimum of undesirable side effects
must be good. The proof is that it succeeds; no one
wants to argue with success. .
.
Right here is where the pragmatic philosophy
comes into its own. It asks no embarrassing questions
about the wisdom of what we are doing or even about the
morality of it. It accepts our chosen ends as right and
good and casts about for efficient means and ways to get
them accomplished. When it discovers something that
works it soon finds a text to justify it, “consecrates”
it to the Lord and plunges ahead. Next a magazine
article is written about it, then a book, and finally
the inventor is granted an honorary degree. After that
any question about the scripturalness of things or even
the moral validity of them is completely swept away. You
cannot argue with success. The method works; ergo, it
must be good...
What shall we do to break its power over us? The
answer is simple. We must acknowledge the right of Jesus
Christ to control the activities of His church. The New
Testament contains full instructions, not only about
what we are to believe but what we are to do and how we
are to go about doing it. Any deviation from those
instructions is a denial of the Lordship of
Christ.
I say the answer is simple, but it is not easy
for it requires that we obey God rather than man, and
that always brings down the wrath of the religious
majority. It is not a question of knowing what to do; we
can easily learn that from the Scriptures. It is a
question of whether or not we have the courage to do
it.
A. W. Tozer,
God Tells the
Man Who Cares pp.
69-71
(emphasis in the original
*
*
*
In these days, when
so many make their boast of “advanced thought,” it may
sound singular to speak of sticking to God’s testimonies
. . . Perseverance in the truth when it is unfashionable
is the test of a real believer . . . Others may gad
abroad after the novelties of human opinion; but the
true-born child of God glories in saying to his heavenly
Father, “I have stuck unto Thy
testimonies.”
Charles Spurgeon on
Ps. 119:31,
The Golden Alphabet:
A Devotional Commentary on Psalm
119
*
*
*
Scripture has its
authority from God, not from the church . . . But a most
pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only
so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of
the church. As if the eternal and inviolable truth of
God depended upon the decision of men! . . . Thus these
sacrilegious men, wishing to impose an unbridled tyranny
under the cover of the church, do not care with what
absurdities they ensnare themselves and others, provided
they can force this one idea upon the simple-minded:
that the church has authority in all
things.
But such wranglers are neatly refuted by just one
word of the apostle. He testifies that the church is
“built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles”
(Eph. 2:20). If the teaching of the prophets and
apostles is the foundation, this must have had authority
before the church began to
exist.
John
Calvin, Institutes
of the
Christian
Religion (I.VII.1,
2)
*
* *
To account for such
an amazing book with its continuity of development on
natural means would demand a greater miracle than
inspiration itself.
Louis Sperry Chafer, Major Bible
Themes, p. 13
