A SURVEY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT · 2019. 5. 16. · tongues speaking and tongue interpreta-tion are closely related to the prophetic gift of the apostles. Tongues

The WRS Journal 14:2, August 2007

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KEYNOTEA SURVEY OF SPIRITUAL

GIFTS IN THE NEWTESTAMENT

JOSHUA MUSYOKA

INTRODUCTION

The church as the body of Christ is afellowship of believers. Believers are re-garded as individual stones which jointlyform a spiritual building, whose founda-tion is the apostles and prophets, Christhimself being the chief corner stone.1 Therelationship of believers within the bodyof Christ is not only defined by the com-monality of spirit, faith, salvation, Lordand baptism,2 but also by the unique con-tribution of each individual believer’sgift(s) to the whole body. The effectiveworking of the body of Christ requiresthe proper use of each individual’s gift(s).To illustrate this, Paul employed the anal-ogy of the different functions of bodyorgans within the human body, whereeach organ simultaneously contributes itsability for the good of the whole.3 Thisunion is so real that when one part of thebody suffers the rest suffer with it. Inapplying this analogy to the church wemust bear in mind that the separate bodyorgans are not only representing indi-vidual members but also the different gifts(functions) of each individual member.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are there-fore basic to the existence and continu-ance of the church. Apostolic gifts arefoundational to the church’s establish-ment and the other forms of gifts are forthe building up of the body of Christ.

Smeaton points this out when he writesthat

The rich supply of EXRAORDINARYGIFTS bestowed at Pentecost was notintended to continue when they hadserved their purpose in founding theChristian Church. The other GIFTS OFAN ORDINARY CHARACTER weregiven for the permanent advantage ofthe Church, and are so essential toher edification, that without them, shewould collapse or disappear.4

SOURCE OF GIFTS

The work of bestowing gifts on thechurch is presented in Scripture as be-longing basically to the Holy Spirit. Christpromised that ‘another Comforter’ wouldcome to be with believers forever5 andthat he would teach the truth, guide themin all matters, remind them of Christ’steachings,6 and empower them for ser-vice.7 Christ commanded his disciples towait for “the promise of the Father”8 inJerusalem. This promise of the Father is areference to the Holy Spirit. The eventsof Pentecost day confirm the coming ofthe Holy Spirit, who empowered thechurch to propagate the gospel by sup-plying them with various gifts to that end.This day was significant in that the HolySpirit officially took over the administra-tion of the church Christ left. As GeorgeSmeaton states, that Pentecost day whichwas “regarded as the commemoration dayof the Sinai Covenant, . . . was a fittingoccasion . . . for the removal of the oldeconomy . . . and the espousals day ofthe Christian church.”9 It is during thisoccasion that “the Holy Spirit, as the

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promised Paraclete, took the place ofChrist’s corporeal presence.”10

Various Old Testament passages alsoattribute the conferment of gifts, bothcommon as well as special abilities, to theHoly Spirit of God. Joseph was said tohave the Spirit of God in him who enabledJoseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams(Gen 41:38). In Exod 31 God testifies thathis spirit had given certain abilities tosome individuals to help with the con-struction of the tabernacle.11 The judgeswere also empowered by the Spirit in or-der to carry out their duties, for example,Othniel, Gideon, Jephtha, Samson, andothers.12 The prophets of the OT spokeas the Holy Spirit taught and enabledthem.13 Thus both the OT and the NT tes-tify that the Holy Spirit of God is the onewho disseminates gifts to the body ofChrist.

It should, however, be borne in mindthat the whole Godhead is involved inthis work. Just as the work of creation isspecially attributed to the Father and asthe work of redemption is to the Son, evenso is the work of bestowing gifts attrib-uted to the Holy Spirit. As Smeaton pointsout, “As to divine WORKS, the Father isthe source FROM WHICH every opera-tion emanates (ex hou), the Son is themedium THROUGH WHICH (di’ hou) itis performed, and the Holy Ghost is theEXECUTIVE BY WHICH (en hoi) it iscarried into effect.”14 Hodge agrees whenhe says, “Thus, the doctrine of the Trin-ity underlies the whole scheme of redemp-tion in its execution and application aswell as in its conception.”15

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are gra-cious in nature. The general term used todesignate them, charismata, derives fromthe root charis which means grace. Thus

these gifts cannot be earned or bought;16

rather they are dispensed by the sover-eign will of the Spirit of God. Scriptureclearly mentions that they are given, notearned.17 Simon the magician was cursedfor attempting to buy the power of theHoly Spirit from the apostles. It is a mock-ery of God, a profaning of holy thingsand outright blasphemy for anyone to tryto induce God to this end or pretend tobe gifted in some way he is not. This wasa common practice at the time of the Ref-ormation, and it is commonly identifiedas Simony. Some people who were notqualified for the ministry paid money tobe appointed to certain offices by thechurch hierarchy. Reformers sought tocorrect this abuse of church ordinances.

TYPES OF GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The church under the administrationof the Holy Spirit is supplied with a vari-ety of gifts, ministries, and other generalgraces to meet all her duties sufficientlyand efficiently. There are basically threemajor passages where these gifts arelisted in the NT, all of which are in Paul’sletters: 1 Cor 12:1-11; Eph 4:1-16; and Rom12:1-8.18 A careful look at the gifts listedin these passages clearly indicates thatthe lists are not identical. It thus followsthat they are not intended as an exactcatalog of gifts. An individual may havea combination of several gifts or even amultiplicity of gifts. For instance, Paulcould speak in tongues as well as exer-cise other gifts.19 As one writer points out,“Philip had the gifts of wisdom, showingmercy, evangelism, and perhaps others.”20

These gifts are meant to meet specificneeds of the church with some needsbeing continual while others having beentemporary.


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In 1 Cor 12:4-6, Paul refers to “variet-ies of spiritual endowments peculiar tothe several members of the Church” 21 inthree terms. He calls them different gifts(ca/risma charisma), also different min-istries (diakoni/a diakonia) and differ-ent workings (e vne/rhma energema). It isdifficult to prove that Paul is categoriz-ing gifts into three groups because themajor lists of gifts in Paul’s writings re-peat some of them or even introduce newones which are of a similar nature. Thegifts listed therefore refuse to be rigidlyseparated. They refuse to be over classi-fied.22 For instance we must assume thatone who has the “gift of prophecy”should at the same time be able to “dis-tinguish between spirits”; yet these twoare listed as different gifts. It is for thisreason that Charles Hodge and other writ-ers agree that Paul was not categorizingthe gifts but rather was giving differentaspects of the gifts.

We are not to understand himhere as dividing these gifts into threeclasses, under the heads of gifts, ser-vice, and works. He is presentingthree different aspects of each andall of them. Viewed in relation to theSpirit, they are gifts; in relation to theLord, they are acts of service; in rela-tion to God, they are works—that is,effects worked by his power. 23

Gift of ProphecyThe Spirit of God bestowed this gift

at the inception of NT church. This giftinvolved the ability to tell events thatwould come to pass in the near future aswell as apocalyptic events. Agabus pre-dicted a famine in Jerusalem, leading thechurch to send relief to believers there.He also predicted Paul’s arrest.24 The NewTestament also contains the Apocalypse

in the book of Revelation and portions ofPaul’s writings.25

In both the OT and NT the gift ofprophecy was considered the most im-portant. Prophets were God’s spokesmen,specially inspired by God to infalliblydeclare his will to the people. Theytaught the knowledge, worship, and ser-vice of God. As such they were given ex-traordinary gifts to qualify them for thatoffice and make them noticeable. Concern-ing this authentication Smeaton ob-serves, “These gifts were intended toshow men generally, that in receiving theirword as a divine message, they were notmisled by cunningly devised fables.”26

The supernatural gifts, such as thegifts of knowledge, tongue speaking, in-terpretation of tongues, and working ofmiracles, were thus apostolic in nature.The gift of knowledge as relates to theapostles was a supernatural endowmentwhereby one under the supernatural in-fluence of the Spirit “understood fullywhat they were commissioned to an-nounce . . . beyond the range of the un-aided human faculties.” The gifts oftongues speaking and tongue interpreta-tion are closely related to the propheticgift of the apostles. Tongues proved thatthe “miracle of inspiration was stillpresent in the church.”27

It is a mockery of God, aprofaning of holy things and

outright blasphemy for anyoneto . . . pretend to be gifted in

some way he is not.

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With no apostles today this gift ofprophecy, in the apostolic sense, ceasedwith the completion of the canon. Theprophetic office is continued in thepreaching of the written Word of Godwhere the truth is infallibly kept for us.The Apostle Peter elevated the Wordabove his experiences with Christ.28

Gift of TonguesThe gift of tongues refers to the su-

pernatural gift of speaking in foreign lan-guages which one had not learned be-fore. It is a language gift. The Greek wordglw^ssa glossa means “language.” An-other word for language in the New Tes-tament is dia/lektov dialektos, and itsEnglish equivalent is “dialect” (Acts 1:19,2:6, 8; 21:40; 22:2; 26:14). Tongues wereintelligible languages, not ecstatic non-sensical utterances. That is why thepeople present on the day of Pentecostwere able to hear and understand whatwas being said by believers who spokein tongues (Acts 2:9-11).

This gift was given to be a sign toJews who considered themselves theprivileged people of God. God was sig-naling to the Jews that Gentiles were alsopartakers of the redemption of God. TheJews had the misconception that theywere “the only people to whom God ex-tended salvation.” The event in the lifeof the early church in Acts 10 and 11 em-phasized that tongues speaking greatlyinfluenced the Jewish believers in theearly church to accept Gentile believersas being indwelt by the Holy Spirit ofGod.29 The miraculous aspect of this giftconfirmed to the hearers that God wasthe author of the new speech30 as theylistened to the message uttered.

Interpretation of Tongues

This gift was the supernatural abilityto understand and interpret the newtongues to the language listeners couldunderstand. It was the ability to explainwhat was being said. Those with this giftlacked the utterance but possessed theability to interpret the utterances (1 Cor14:5). The importance of this gift is em-phasized as Paul prioritizes edification ofthe church. Paul ruled out the use oftongues in the church in the absence ofan interpreter.31 It is implausible for Godto communicate his revelation to thechurch and yet leave the church withoutunderstanding what he said to them. Thisaspect is largely ignored in charismaticcircles.

Miraculous WorksThese words refer to the ability to

perform deeds that are extraordinary forthe purpose of authenticating both themessage and the messenger.32 Some ofthese signs are miraculous healingthrough prayer, touching, and in someinstances by contact with the shadow ofan apostle; raising the dead; and not be-ing hurt by poison (as Paul in Acts 28:3-6). These miraculous works, along withthe miraculous gift of knowledge,tongues, interpretation of tongues, weregiven to authenticate the apostolic min-istry.

CHURCH OFFICES

The Holy Spirit also gave continuinggifts for the church. These we could callministries as encapsulated in church of-fices. The officers of the church are di-vided into ruling elders, teaching elders,and deacons.

Gift of GoverningThis gift is mentioned in Rom 12:8 as

“ruling” and in 1 Cor 12:28 as “govern-ments.” This refers to the special abili-


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ties given to some men in the church toadminister church affairs. The church asa community requires leadership in deci-sion making in areas such as church min-istry, order, and discipline. The word ‘el-der’ (presbuteros) refers to maturity, so-briety, and wisdom of men gifted for thisoffice in order to carry out their duty ef-fectively. The term bishop (episkopos)refers to the administrative aspect of theirwork. Elders are therefore mature believ-ers who superintend the flock of God,being examples to the flock.33 In Tim 3:1-13 Paul gives the qualifications of an el-der. Some of the listed qualifications arealso gifts of God, for instance, the abilityto teach. A combination of several othergifts does accompany those called to beruling elders.

Gift of TeachingThis gift may be defined as the “abil-

ity to explain clearly and apply effectivelythe truth of the word of God.”34 Effectivecommunication of the truth, making thetruth understandable, and applying thetruth effectively are the abilities by whichthis gift is exercised. A certain level ofunderstanding of the truth is assumed ofthose who have this gift. We should bearin mind that this is not merely referring tothe natural talent of teaching. A talentedteacher may not necessarily possess thisgift.

Scripture encourages teaching to vari-ous groups by various persons. Teach-ing can be carried out through song;35

older women can teach younger womenand children good things.36 This gift canbe exercised by various members of thechurch as these verses indicate. However,the office of a teaching elder is speciallyset apart for the purposes of teaching.37

Paul left Timothy at Ephesus to ensure

that “no other doctrine” was taught.38

Thus he was in charge of doctrine in thechurch. The dogmatic power of thechurch is carried out through the teach-ing ministry. One of the highest forms inwhich this gift is exercised is the formula-tion of creeds and doctrinal standards ofthe church. Theological institutions andthose who teach therein are also a wayby which this gift is exercised.

GENERAL GRACES

Gift of helps refers to the ability andreadiness to lend a hand or assisting. Itis listed in I Cor 12:28. It is defined byFlynn as “the Spirit-given ability to servethe church in any supporting role, usu-ally temporal, though sometimes spiri-tual.”39 It may involve helping believerswho are gifted in certain areas with sometask in order to free them up to use theirother gifts effectively. This gift is akin tothe office of a deacon, and all believerscan exercise this gift.

Hospitality is also commanded inScripture.40 The context in which Petermentions it implies that it is also a gift (1Pet 4:9-10). It involves caring for believ-ers in need, especially lodging and feed-ing them.

Showing mercy to the suffering is aChristian imperative and another gift ofthe Holy Spirit (Rom 12:8). It involvessympathizing and empathizing with thesuffering, and doing something to allevi-ate that suffering. In the NT this gift isexemplified by Dorcas41andOnesiphorus.42 Paul commands thatshowing mercy be done with cheerful-ness.

Giving is supposed to be done by allbelievers. Paul exhorts on giving in 2 Cor9. It should be done with simplicity.

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Generosity, cheerfulness, and for goodpurposes are the manner in which thisgift is to be exercised.

The gifts listed and described here arenot exhaustive. What we learn fromthem is that gifts of the Holy Spiritdefine the character of the church bothas an organization (offices) and as anorganism (life of fellowship). Forbelievers to be equipped for the work ofthe ministry partly means that allbelievers should identify, develop, anduse the gifts they have.

1 Eph 2:20.2 Jude 1:3; Eph 4:4-5; Rom 12:4; 1 Cor12:13.3 1 Cor 12:1-11.4 George Smeaton,The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit(London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1974),276.5 John 14:16.6 John 14:26.7 Acts 1:8.8 Acts 1:4.9 George Smeaton, The Doctrine of theHoly Spirit, 53.10 Ibid.11 Exod 31:1-6, “And Jehovah spoke toMoses, saying, Behold, I, I have calledby name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, theson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And Ihave filled him with the spirit of God, inwisdom, and in understanding, and inknowledge, and in all workmanship, todevise designs; to work in gold, and insilver, and in bronze, and in cutting ofstones, to set them, and in carving oftimber, to work in all workmanship. Andbehold, I have given to him Aholiab,the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe ofDan. And I have put wisdom in the

hearts of all the wise-hearted, so thatthey may make all that I have com-manded you.”12 Judg 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6.13 Ezek 11:5; 37:1; 1 Pet 1:20-21.14 George Smeaton, The Doctrine of theHoly Spirit, 4.15 15Charles Hodge, 1 Corinthians, TheCrossway classic commentaries(Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1995),at 1 Cor 12:4.16 Act 8:18, “And when Simon saw thatthe Holy Spirit was given throughlaying on of the apostles’ hands, heoffered them money, saying, Give methis power also, that on whomever I layhands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.But Peter said to him, May your silverperish with you, because you havethought that the gift of God may bepurchased with money.”18 (Rom 12:1-8; 1 Cor 12:1-11; Eph 4:11):Rom 12:6 - ProphecyRom 12:7 - Ministry, TeachingRom 12:8 - Exhortation, Giving, Ruling,Showing mercy1 Cor 12:8 - Word of wisdom, Word ofknowledge1Cor 12:9 - Faith, Gifts of healing1Cor 12:10 - Working of miracles,Prophecy, Discerning of spirits,Tongues, Interpretation of tonguesEph 4:11 - Apostles, Prophets, Evange-lists, Pastors and teachers17 1 Cor 12:11; Eph 4:7-8.19 1 Cor 14:18, “I thank my God, I speakwith tongues more than you all.”20 Leslie B. Flynn, 19 Gifts of the HolySpirit (Illinois: Victor Books PublicationInc., 1985), 14.21 Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, andDavid Brown, A Commentary, Criticaland Explanatory, on the Old and NewTestaments (Oak Harbor, Wash.: Logos


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Research Systems, Inc., 1997), at 1 Cor12:4.22 “One should be careful not to overdefine the gifts, because they mayresist over-classification,” JohnMacArthur, 1 Corinthians (Chicago:Moody Press, 1996, c1984).23 Charles Hodge, 1 Corinthians, The Crossway Classic Commentaries(Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1995),at 1 Cor 12:4.24 Acts 11; 21.25 1 Cor 15; 1 Thess (whole epistle).26 George Smeaton, The Doctrine of theHoly Spirit, 148.27 Ibid., 150.28 2 Pet 1:18-19, “And this voice whichcame from heaven we heard, when wewere with him in the holy mount. Wehave also a more sure word of proph-ecy; whereunto ye do well that ye takeheed, as unto a light that shineth in adark place, until the day dawn, and theday star arise in your hearts.”29 Jeffrey Khoo, Charismatism Q & A:Biblical Answers to Frequently AskedQuestions on Charismatic Phenom-enon (Singapore: Far Eastern BibleCollege Press), 31-33.30 Acts 2:7, “And they were all amazedand marveled, saying one to another,Behold, are not all these which speakGalileans?”31 1 Cor 14:5, “I would that ye all spakewith tongues, but rather that yeprophesied: for greater is he thatprophesieth than he that speaketh withtongues, except he interpret, that thechurch may receive edifying.”32 John 4:48; Acts 2:22; Rom 15:19; 2 Cor12:12; Heb 2:4.33 1 Pet 5:1-3, “The elders which areamong you I exhort, who am also anelder, and a witness of the sufferings ofChrist, and also a partaker of the glory

that shall be revealed: Feed the flock ofGod which is among you, taking theoversight thereof, not by constraint,but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but ofa ready mind; Neither as being lordsover God’s heritage, but being examplesto the flock.”34 Leslie B. Flynn, 19 Gifts of the HolySpirit, p. 74.35 Col 3:16.36 2 Tim 1:5; 3:14-15; Titus 2:3.37 1 Tim 5:17, “Let the elders that rulewell be counted worthy of doublehonor, especially they who labor in theword and doctrine.”38 1 Tim 1:3, “ As I besought thee toabide still at Ephesus, when I went intoMacedonia, that thou mightest chargesome that they teach no other doc-trine.”39 Leslie B. Flynn, 19 Gifts of the HolySpirit, p. 101.40 Rom 12:13; Titus 1:8; 1 Tim 3:2; 5:10;Heb 13:2.41 Act 9:36, “Now there was at Joppa acertain disciple named Tabitha, whichby interpretation is called Dorcas: thiswoman was full of good works andalmsdeeds which she did.”42 2 Tim 1:16-18, “The Lord give mercyunto the house of Onesiphorus; for heoft refreshed me, and was not ashamedof my chain: But, when he was inRome, he sought me out very diligently,and found me. The Lord grant unto himthat he may find mercy of the Lord inthat day: and in how many things heministered unto me at Ephesus, thouknowest very well.”

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EXEGESIS & THEOLOGYTHE NEW TESTAMENT

PROPHET

CHRISTOPHER K. LENSCH1

Bible students are agreed that the NewTestament prophet was an office in thechurch that was a gift from Christ to thechurch (Eph 4:11), and that those whoheld this office were gifted by the HolySpirit for this work. What is not of uni-versal understanding are the questionsof whether (1) the office of the prophetcontinued past apostolic times into ourage, and (2) whether Christians who werenot acknowledged as holding the officecould be gifted to prophesy apart fromthat office.

This article will maintain that the of-fice of the NT prophet did not continuebeyond the apostolic period, and that theearly church did not recognize self-pro-claimed prophets, at least not thosewhose prophecies were fallible.

UNIQUENESS OF THE APOSTOLIC ERA

A major misunderstanding on the partof some Christians has been a failure torecognize that the period of the apostleswas determinatively different from sub-sequent generations of the church. Read-ing the New Testament, and especiallythe book of Acts, Christians can right-fully long for the vibrancy of the NTchurch and even may wish to see mani-festations of God’s power with his people.However, when post-apostolic Christianstry to reduplicate the same supernaturalgifts and extraordinary offices, they errin not recognizing the uniqueness of theapostolic era.

First of all, the church offices ofapostle and prophet were extraordinaryand temporary. This is because these of-fices were foundational for the establish-ment of the NT church. Ephesians 2:19-20 is quite explicit about the foundationalpurpose of these two offices: “...thehousehold of God, having been built onthe foundation of the apostles and proph-ets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chiefcornerstone.” While mortal sinners heldthese offices in the early church, it is im-portant to remember that they only couldbecome the foundation for the churchbecause, when they spoke officially forthe Lord, they spoke without error.

Expositors differ whether the founda-tional prophets in view here are OTprophets or NT prophets, or even fromboth testaments. The preferred interpre-tation is to take these prophets as NTprophets, especially due to Paul’s repeti-tion of the same phrase, “apostles andprophets,” a few verses later in Eph 3:5where the context identifies them as con-temporary with the apostles.2 This con-nection indicates that the prophets of Eph2:20 are NT prophets.

The next Pauline reference to NTprophets is in the catalog of NT officersin Eph 4:11: “And He Himself gave someto be apostles, some prophets, some evan-gelists, and some pastors and teachers.”There appears to be a hierarchy of orderin these offices, lending support to theorthodox belief that the primary officesof apostle and prophet were extraordinaryfor establishing the church before thesetemporary offices disappeared. On theother hand, the office of “pastor-teacher,”


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and perhaps that of “evangelist,” is notextraordinary and continued into thepost-apostolic church.

At the same time, note that NT proph-ets are distinguished from the apostlesin identity. The roles of these two officesoverlapped in the function of communi-cating revelation from God, but Christ’sgiving of prophets spread this gift of di-vine revelation beyond the locale of thelimited number of apostles. Still, theapostles were primary in the church, asindicated by the Antiochian church’s ap-peal to the apostolic-led church in Jerusa-lem, despite having their own prophetsin Antioch (Acts 15:2, cf. 13:1). The churchat Antioch would have liked an authori-tative answer from its own leaders, butits own prophets recognized that theycould only speak authoritatively to thechurch when God spoke infallibly to them.

While some of the office titles in Eph4:11 are unique to the NT (apostles andevangelists), two, at least, are found inthe OT: prophets and pastors. “Pastor/shepherd” in the OT is a broader descrip-tive term that encompasses both politi-cal and ecclesiastical leaders in Israel.3

With regard to the biblical prophet, thecritical question is whether the functionof NT prophets was the same as that ofOT prophets. If the role and function isthe same, then we may gain an under-standing of the NT prophet from the richprophetic background of the OT. Eccle-siastical continuity from the primitive OTchurch into the New Testament will alsobe seen in this bridge.

ROOTS OF THE NT PROPHET IN THE OTProphets are found in both the Old

and New Testaments. The gift of proph-ecy in the NT is confirmed at Pentecost

when Peter cites an OT prophet who hadpredicted that a day was coming when

God… will pour out of My Spirit onall flesh; your sons and your daugh-ters shall prophesy, your young menshall see visions, your old men shalldream dreams. And on My menser-vants and on My maidservants I willpour out My Spirit in those days; andthey shall prophesy (Acts 2:17-18).

Is it possible that the prophet Joelbelieved that these future prophets of theNew Covenant would be serving God inways strikingly dissimilar to the long tra-dition of OT prophets from Abraham toJohn the Baptist?4 That is not likely.Rather, Joel implies that prophecy will bemore universal at the outpouring of theSpirit. And what will God’s NT servantsdo? “They shall prophesy.”

Without redefining prophecy for histime, Peter corroborates Joel’s expecta-tions that began to unfold on the day ofPentecost. NT prophets prophesied in theclassic tradition of speaking for God onlywhen He spoke to them.5 Contrary to thenotion that NT prophecy can be less thanOT prophecy, Peter, and for that matter,Luke,6 understood the role of the NTprophet to be the same as that of the OTprophet.

The prophets recognizedthat they could only

speak authoritatively tothe church when God

spoke infallibly to them.

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The NT prophet was not merely aChristian with heightened sensitivities tothe Holy Spirit who might speak his some-times fallible or sometimes accurate pre-dictions based on intuitions prompted bythe Spirit in his heart. No, a prophet wasa recognized spokesman for the Lord whospoke God’s revelation when the Lorddirected him to speak.7 This precludes thepossibility of a “secondary type of proph-ecy with diminished authority,”8 bringinga fallible message for the church.

It is historically incongruous and theo-logically inconsistent to suggest a no-tion of fallible NT prophecies while af-firming the reliability of revelationsthrough the OT prophets. Few would dareteach that God-given prophecies in theOT could be subject to error. That ap-proach would undermine the authorityand reliability of all the OT prophecies,and it would have made their fallible mes-sengers liable to stoning for not accu-rately speaking the truth of God!9

On the other hand, since there is con-tinuity between the Old and New Testa-ment prophets, one would not expect acheapening of the role of prophecywhereby the NT prophet may speak di-vine revelations sometimes, but on otheroccasions also may utter divine impulsesor vague intuitions that he himself canmisinterpret in his prophesying. No, thefullness of Pentecost in the apostolicchurch meant a more universal distribu-tion of spiritual gifts to establish the cer-tainty of the gospel.10 This wider disper-sion of the Spirit’s gifts did not meanpoorer quality control in prophecy northe degeneration of the gifts, for any “un-certain sound of the trumpet” would havedefeated the purpose of the gifts.THE PASSING OF THE PROPHETS

Even before the end of the apostolicera, the exercise of apostolic gifts (2 Cor12:12) was waning.11 The foundation hadbeen laid by the apostles and NT proph-ets, and Christ the Cornerstone was build-ing his church beyond its groundwork.The work is still carried on by missionarychurch planters and by pastor-teacherswho, with other ordinary church officers,have taken over the leadership of thechurch. This is the same spiritual leader-ship that the apostles emphasized forthemselves when they declared that theyneeded to be free to give themselves to“prayer and the ministry of the word”(Acts 6:4).

After the NT prophets passed withthe apostles from the early church, therewere occasional attempts to resurrect theearlier Pentecostal gifts and power. TheMontanists of the late second centuryhad prophets, but the movement wasroundly rejected by the orthodox churchbecause the Montanists charged that themessage of the apostolic era was incom-plete.

Modern claims of alleged continuingrevelation in the church take a subtlerapproach. Charismatics practice abroadly-defined “word of knowledge,” aspiritual gift that is distinguished fromthe gift of prophecy in 1 Cor 12:8-10. Oth-ers in the so-called “Third Wave” of the

So also, after the NTprophets served theirpurpose, the prophetic

voice fell silent.


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church12 encourage prophetic utterancesthat may be fully or partially fallible dueto the mixture of human and divine im-pressions in the utterance, even thoughthese are allegedly at the prompting ofthe Holy Spirit. The test is in thecongregation’s response to know howmuch is from God. This approach well fitsthe spirit of the post-modern age byblending a subjective neo-orthodox-likeinterpretation with a disregard for theobjective truth of Scripture.

CONCLUSION

God sent special messengers andgave his revelations at key periods insacred history. After the time of Malachithere were no prophets or revelations for400 years until the coming of John theBaptist.13 So also, after the NT prophetsserved their purpose, the prophetic voicefell silent. John’s apocalypse, as the lastcanonical prophecy (Rev 1:3), looks for-ward to the resumption of prophecy atthe end of the age when two prophets(Rev. 11:3) with charismatic authority fi-nally appear. At that juncture in historyGod once again will reveal his purposesthrough his servants the prophets.

1 This article is a revision of a similarone first published in the Journal ofModern Ministry, 4:2 (Spring 2007): 147-153.2 Eph 3:5: “...the mystery of Christ,which in other ages was not madeknown to the sons of men, as it hasnow been revealed by the Spirit to Hisholy apostles and prophets: that theGentiles should be fellow heirs, of thesame body, and partakers of Hispromise in Christ through the gospel.”Daniel

Wallace offers further reasons whythese are NT prophets in GreekGrammar Beyond the Basics (GrandRapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1996),285-286.3 There is no need to prove the office ofthe prophet in the OT. “Pastor” in theOT is a term often used to representIsrael’s political leaders (Ezek 34) andoccasionally its spiritual/ecclesiasticalleaders as in Jer 23. Disobedientprophets and priests in this chapter arerepresented as false shepherds.Significantly, the role of the shepherds/pastors in Jer 3:15 is to feed the flockwith knowledge, suggesting a parallelto the NT pastor who serves as ateacher (Eph 4:11).4 God calls Abraham a prophet in Gen20:7.5 The OT is replete with condemnationsof self-styled prophets who speakfallibly when God has not sent them tospeak for Him. A prophet is God’s calledspokesman (Deut 18:18-22; cf. Exod 7:1-2).6 In the book of Acts Luke uses the titleof “prophet” for both OT prophets andfor NT prophets without qualifying hisusage. See George W. Knight’s Proph-ecy in the NT (Dallas: PresbyterianHeritage Publishers, 1988), note on p. 4.7 When a controversy arose atAntioch, the prophets there did notoffer fallible impressions but remainedsilent because the Spirit was silent (cf.Acts 15:2).8 These are the words of WayneGrudem in The Gift of Prophecy in 1Corinthians (Eugene, OR: Wifp &Stock Publishers, 1999), p. 262.9 Deut 18:20-22 says that some willspeak “presumptuously” in God’sname. A key prophetic test guardingagainst human presumption in proph-

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.

ecy is fulfillment of short-term predic-tions. If the prophet’s words do notcome to pass, he is not speaking forGod, but for other gods or for himself,and therefore must be put to death.This same passage affirms that Jesus,the Messenger of the covenant (Mal3:1), was a prophet in the model of theMosaic tradition, implying that othernew covenant prophets after Pentecostwere similar to their OT counterparts.10 Biblical sign miracles are the meansfor establishing God’s message andmessengers: John 20:30-31 and 2 Cor12:12.11 When Paul was jailed in Rome heapparently did not heal Epaphrodituseven though this servant was a greatcomfort to him (Phil 2:25-27).12 The flagship of the Third Wave is theVineyard Church, and it finds supportin the early scholarship of Dr. Grudem.F. David Farnell notes that Dr. Grudemrecently has tempered his positioncompared to his earlier claims of twokinds of NT prophecy allowing error insecondary, non-authoritative prophe-cies, The Masters Seminary Journal (Fall 2003) 241.13 1 Macc 4:44-46 records that after thetemple abomination of AntiochusEpiphanes, the religious leaders in thedays of the Maccabees determined towait for the coming of a prophet to tellthem what to do with the desecratedstones of the altar. This admissionconfirms there were no inter-testamen-tal prophets and incidentally revealsthat “writing prophets” were notinvolved in the production of theapocryphal books of that era.

THE GIFT OF HEALING INTHE SCRIPTURAL RECORD

LEONARD W. PINE

INTRODUCTION

Healing has been a universal humanpassion ever since the decay of sin en-tered the world. Disease, deformity, weak-ness are common to the human experi-ence in every region and age. The Scrip-tures are not silent on the matter ofhealings of various sorts, using the com-mon terms nearly 150 times in the Old andNew Testaments, along with many otherpassages that speak of healing events inother terms. It is not surprising that suchan activity captivates the imaginations offallen men. Men have tried to practice it,imitate it, counterfeit it, and otherwisepursue it for their own gain or the better-ment of others (for the more magnani-mous among the sons of men!). The pur-suit of healing and health has taken man-kind along the medical path of the physi-cian and surgeon as well as along themystical path of the healer and shaman,with equally passionate adherents onboth paths. Some even try to walk onboth paths at the same time, lending what-ever credibility either path possesses tothe other. Healing has marketability ga-lore, and fallen men have been eager toexploit that fact for millennia.

If that last statement sounds cynical,it should be borne in mind that Godwarned the people early on about falseprophets who would deceive them bydelivering divine-sounding messages orproducing signs and wonders. He gavespecific guidelines for determining howtrue prophets and servants of God wereto be identified in Deut 13:1-5. Moses was


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confronted by Egyptian sorcerers whoimitated God’s miracles to a degree inExod 7-8. Simon the sorcerer tried to buythe Holy Spirit so that he could performmiracles as the apostles did, as recordedin Acts 8:9-24. In Rev 13 the Antichristand the beast will perform wondrousmiracles of healings, including resurrec-tion, which will deceive the nations com-pletely. All of these examples make it clearthat wisdom dictates careful examinationof “faith healing” in light of the Word ofGod. Allow it at the outset to be said thatin writing this article the author makes noattempt to improve upon the classicworks on this subject,1 but hopes ratherto complement those excellent treatmentsas best he can.

THE RECORD OF SCRIPTURE

TermsThe Hebrew term a6p6r rapha’ means

to heal, or make healthful. Derivativeshold the idea of remedy, healing, orhealth. The TWOT entry reads in part:

This is a purely Hebrew root whichappears over sixty times in the OT….The meaning is straightforward in vir-

tually all passages. In the initial oc-currence (Gen 20:17) in which Godheals Abimelech, the Qal stem is em-ployed. The root is also used of hu-man healing, as a substantive, “phy-sician” (Gen 50:2). Rapha’ is also usedof the healing and forgiveness of Gen-tile nations (Isa 19:22; 57:18). … Ahuman subject is generally the objectof the healing (Exod 21:19), “He shallcause him to be thoroughly healed.”… The stem is also used for the res-toration of objects (2 Kgs 2:22); theturning of salt water into fresh (Jer19:11). The themes of healing and res-toration as connotations of rapha’ arecombined in the usage of Isa 53:5,“With his stripes we are healed.” Inmany of the occurrences, it is God whocauses healing or afflicts with diseaseor catastrophes which cannot behealed but by divine intervention.2

The Greek term qerapeu,w therapeuois similarly straightforward. The Louw-Nida Lexicon’s entry 23.139 notes that theword means “to cause someone to recoverhealth, often with the implication of hav-ing taken care of such a person.”3 So, theideas of service and care are part of theword’s semantic range.

When considered together, the bibli-cal terms used indicate a relatively simpleconcept of healing as restoration towholeness by the direct or indirect(through human agents) intervention ofGod. The terms are used in both physicaland spiritual contexts, as will be demon-strated below.

Divine healing in the OTThese texts describe the direct heal-

ing work of God himself and provide thefoundation for consideration of biblicalhealing:

The pursuit of healingand health has taken

mankind along the medi-cal path of the physicianand surgeon as well as

along the mystical path ofthe healer and shaman,with equally passionate

adherents on both paths.

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· Exod 15:26 – “If you diligently heedthe voice of the LORD your Godand do what is right in His sight,give ear to His commandments andkeep all His statutes, I will put noneof the diseases on you which Ihave brought on the Egyptians.For I am the LORD who healsyou.”4

· Num 12:13 – “So Moses cried out tothe LORD, saying, ‘Please heal her,O God, I pray!’” (concerning therebellious Miriam, whom the LORDsmote with leprosy, and then lether suffer in her illness for a weekbefore healing her at Moses’ re-quest)

· Deut 32:39 – “Now see that I, even I,am He, and there is no God be-sides Me; I kill and I make alive; Iwound and I heal; nor is there anywho can deliver from My hand.”

· 2 Kgs 20:5 – “Return and tell Hezekiahthe leader of My people, ‘Thussays the LORD, the God of Davidyour father: “I have heard yourprayer, I have seen your tears;surely I will heal you. On the thirdday you shall go up to the houseof the LORD.”’”

· 2 Chr 7:14 – “If My people who arecalled by My name will humblethemselves, and pray and seek Myface, and turn from their wickedways, then I will hear from heaven,and will forgive their sin and healtheir land.”

· Ps 41:4 – “I said, ‘LORD, be mercifulto me; Heal my soul, for I havesinned against You.’”

· Ps 103:3 – “Who forgives all youriniquities, Who heals all your dis-eases….”

· Isa 53:5 – “He was wounded for ourtransgressions, He was bruised forour iniquities; the chastisement forour peace was upon Him, and byHis stripes we are healed.”

· Isa 61:1 – “The Spirit of the Lord GODis upon Me, because the LORDhas anointed Me to preach goodtidings to the poor; He has sentMe to heal the brokenhearted.”

· Jer 33:6 – “Behold, I will bring ithealth and healing; I will heal themand reveal to them the abundanceof peace and truth.” (context ofnew covenant restoration)

· Hos 6:1 – “Come, and let us return tothe LORD; for He has torn, but Hewill heal us; He has stricken, butHe will bind us up.” (Spiritual heal-ing is a major theme in Hosea’sprophecy.)

From these passages it is clear the Godis the Healer; that his healing is not lim-ited to physical ailments but more sig-nificantly and frequently targets the ail-ments of the soul; and that his healingwork is always done in the context of theobedient covenant community in re-sponse to their prayers.

Healing ministry of OT saintsThe OT does not speak of specific

gifting in the same way that the NT does(with the possible exception of the arti-sans of the tabernacle furnishings, Exod35:30-36:1), but there are several examplesof healings that take place in the physi-


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cal realm by divine action through theagency of men, as well as healings in thesense of using available medical re-sources and knowledge to care for theinfirm.

· Exod 21:19 – “If he rises again andwalks about outside with his staff,then he who struck him shall be ac-quitted. He shall only pay for theloss of his time, and shall providefor him to be thoroughly healed.”

· Lev 13:18 – “If the body develops aboil in the skin, and it is healed,….”

· Lev 14:48 – “But if the priest comesin and examines it, and indeed theplague has not spread in the houseafter the house was plastered, thenthe priest shall pronounce thehouse clean, because the plague ishealed.”

· Num 21:9 – “So Moses made a bronzeserpent, and put it on a pole; andso it was, if a serpent had bittenanyone, when he looked at thebronze serpent, he lived.”

· 2 Kgs 5:11 – “Naaman became furi-ous, and went away and said, ‘In-deed, I said to myself, “He willsurely come out to me, and standand call on the name of the LORDhis God, and wave his hand overthe place, and heal the leprosy.”’”(Elisha did not employ any theat-rics, and apparently never laid eyeson Naaman.)

· 2 Chr 30:20 – “The LORD listened toHezekiah and healed the people.”

· Eccl 3:3 – “A time to kill, and a timeto heal; ….”

· 2 Kgs 4:17-37 – Though the term forhealing is not present in this pas-sage, Elisha’s raising of theShunammite’s son from the deadcertainly would qualify as a miracleof healing!

These passages demonstrate thatthose healings done by such men asMoses and Elisha were extraordinary, notcommon, parts of their ministry; that littleor no human agency other than prayerwas involved (Elisha’s raising of theShunammite’s son excepted); that medi-cal means were employed as the norm ofhealing; that it was not always God’s willthat healing take place; and that God’sservants did not adjust their methods toaccommodate the sensibilities of fallenmen.

Healing ministry of ChristThere are, of course, many examples

of Christ’s healing ministry, but a few willsuffice for the present purposes.

· Matt 4:23 – “And Jesus went aboutall G alilee, teaching in their syna-gogues, preaching the gospel ofthe kingdom, and healing all kindsof sickness and all kinds of dis-ease among the people.” (Essen-tially the same wording occurs in9:35.)

· Matt 13:15 – “The hearts of thispeople have grown dull. Their earsare hard of hearing, and their eyesthey have closed, lest they shouldsee with their eyes and hear withtheir ears, lest they should under-stand with their hearts and turn,so that I should heal them.” (Quot-ing Isa 6:10.)

· Mark 5:29 – “Immediately the foun-tain of her blood was dried up, and

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she felt in her body that she washealed of the affliction.” (See alsov. 34.)

· Luke 4:17-21 – (reading the Isaiahscroll in the synagogue ofNazareth)

· Luke 5:17 – “As He was teaching, …there were Pharisees and teachersof the law sitting by, …. And thepower of the Lord was present toheal them.” (They wouldn’t seekhealing, but the man lowered onthe bed through the roof experi-enced that power. See also Luke6:19.)

· Luke 9:11 – “He received them andspoke to them about the kingdomof God, and healed those who hadneed of healing.”

Jesus forcefully declared that he didthe works that he did so that peoplewould know that he was the Messiah sentby the Father (John 14:11). In some places,he refused to do any miracles because ofthe belligerent unbelief of those abouthim (Matt 12:38; 13:58). These represen-tative texts reveal that Jesus saw himselfas the one who fulfilled Isaiah’s proph-ecy (61:1, above); that the goal of physi-cal healing was to awaken a desire forspiritual healing; that the power was di-vine in origin; that it often came in re-sponse to prayer; that it often came atJesus’ own initiative; that it was nearlyalways connected to the ministry of theWord; that it was not about glorifyingthe healer, but God; and that this powercould be delegated to commissioned ser-vants for particular purposes.

Healing ministry of the apostlesPassages giving examples of the gift

include:

· Matt 10:1 – “When He had called Histwelve disciples to Him, He gavethem power over unclean spirits,to cast them out, and to heal allkinds of sickness and all kinds ofdisease.”

· Acts 4:23-31 – This passage clearlylays out what the apostles and dis-ciples at the time understood thepurpose of the gifting for healingto be.

· Acts 5:16 – “Also a multitude gath-ered from the surrounding citiesto Jerusalem, bringing sick peopleand those who were tormented byunclean spirits, and they were allhealed.”

· Acts 9:34 – “Peter said to him,‘Aeneas, Jesus the Christ healsyou. Arise and make your bed.’Then he arose immediately.”

· Acts 14:9-10 – “This man heard Paulspeaking. Paul, observing him in-tently and seeing that he had faithto be healed, said with a loud voice,‘Stand up straight on your feet!’And he leaped and walked.”

Jesus, through the storyof the rich man and

Lazarus, posits clearlythat the Word is supremeand sufficient. The gospelis complete even if spiri-tual gifts are not seen.


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· Acts 28:8-9 – “It happened that thefather of Publius lay sick of a feverand dysentery. Paul went in to himand prayed, and he laid his handson him and healed him. So when thiswas done, the rest of those on theisland who had diseases also cameand were healed.”

The Twelve are specifically given giftsfor their tour of the cities of Judah in Matt10:1. The Seventy of Luke 10 are not givengifts specifically, though demons were saidto be subject to them in Jesus’ name (vs.17-20). From these passages one may rea-sonably deduce that every example re-corded is of one of the apostles employ-ing the gift given to him by Christ. Noneof the healing events were revelatory, butwere to confirm the divinely commissionedstatus of the apostles and identify themwith the earthly ministry of Christ. TheActs 4 passage in particular emphasizesthe governing relationship of the Word toworks of healing and other wonders. Fi-nally, in comparison to the ministry of theWord, healing and other gifts were rela-tively miniscule in importance and fre-quency, at least as they are recorded inScripture.

NT propositions regarding healingThere are some significant New Testa-

ment passages where the specific “gift” orempowering to heal is mentioned. Thesepassages are often considered to be “prooftexts” for current faith healing practices.

· Matt 10:8 – “Heal the sick, cleanse thelepers, raise the dead, cast out de-mons.”

Matt 10:8 is clearly spoken to the twelvedisciples who would become the apostles.Even Judas experienced this commission-ing, but Judas forfeited that office and was

replaced by Matthias. The Apostle Paul,by direct appointment of the Savior,would become an apostle at a later time.

The context dictates that this commandbe understood to be applicable to thesituation at hand, and is not to be takenas a universal command for all ages ofthe Church. Jesus did not give this giftto any other disciples so far as is re-corded, and modern Christians shouldbe content with that.

· 1 Cor 12:9 – “…to another faith bythe same Spirit, to another giftsof healings by the sameSpirit….”

· 1 Cor 12:28 – “God has appointedthese in the church: firstapostles, second prophets, thirdteachers, after that miracles, thengifts of healings, helps, adminis-trations, varieties of tongues.”

· 1 Cor 12:30 – “Do all have gifts ofhealings? Do all speak withtongues? Do all interpret?”

Corinth was a congregation rife with di-vision over the arrogant, selfish, anddisorderly practice of gifts granted tothe church. Through the ministry of theapostles, first generation Christianswere very much a part of the establish-ment of the church universal. The canonof Scripture was not yet complete, andGod in his providence magnified thework of the apostles through their con-verts to spread and establish the gos-pel testimony in the known world. TheSpirit granted various gifts to the churchduring this time to empower its growthand testimony in the world. First in pri-ority was revelatory work through theapostles, then preaching, then teaching,then miracles of divine origin, and only

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then the various spiritual gifts (compare1 Cor 12:31). Significantly, in a similar listin Eph 4, Paul does not mention spiritualgifts at all, only the offices of variousministers in the Church.

· Jas 5:14-16 – “Is anyone among yousick? Let him call for the elders ofthe church, and let them pray overhim, anointing him with oil in thename of the Lord. And the prayerof faith will save the sick, and theLord will raise him up. And if hehas committed sins, he will be for-given. Confess your trespasses toone another, and pray for one an-other, that you may be healed. Theeffective, fervent prayer of a righ-teous man avails much.”

This passage from James’ epistle is amongthe most frequently cited as proof that ahealing ministry is to continue as a nor-mative practice of the Church today. Ac-tually, it is normative, but not in the waythe faith healer perspective would like itto be. The anointing with oil that is men-tioned is of the sort that refers to the ap-plication of oil medicinally.5 That weshould pray for one another when sick isnormative, and we should indeed take ourmedicine. The leadership of the churchespecially should unite before the Lordto seek the intervention of the Spirit ofGod in the life of the sick. God does an-swer prayer and heal directly when he sodesires. We should also pray for spiritualhealing during a time of physical frailty,in keeping with the emphasis upon spiri-tual healing that we have seen through-out the Scriptures. One of the effects ofdivision among the Corinthian church, forexample, was that many were sick andsome died. So confessing wrongs doneto one another and restoring relation-

ships is a good way to invoke the bless-ing of God upon needed physical resto-ration.

HOW ARE WE TO UNDERSTAND HEALING

IN THE POST-APOSTOLIC AGE?Luke 16:31 is a very important pas-

sage for this discussion. It reads, “If theydo not hear Moses and the prophets,neither will they be persuaded though onerise from the dead.” Jesus, through thestory of the rich man and Lazarus, positsclearly that the Word is supreme and suf-ficient. The gospel is complete even ifspiritual gifts are not seen.

The biblical terms referring to healingconvey the idea of restoration to healthor wholeness through care. The terms areused of the direct acts of God in physicaland spiritual contexts, and of the effortsof men acting on God’s commission orsimply on their own initiative in the careof others. Healing is an indication of theblessing of God upon his people. Prayerand humility are key factors as God re-sponds to the cries of God’s people intimes of their physical or spiritual dis-tress. The gift of healing, along with otherspiritual gifting, is particularly stated tohave been given to the disciples/apostles, and to others in the first cen-tury church under their authority. Christ’shealing ministry was for the specific pur-pose of validating his claims that he wassent from the Father. The NT gift wasgiven to confirm the sent status of theapostles and the continuity of Christian-ity with the God of Abraham, Isaac, andJacob. Healing and other spiritual giftsare relatively unimportant even in the firstcentury church, though many abused andelevated them to abnormal prominence inthe life of the church. Finally, God con-tinues to heal in response to the prayers


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of his people, either directly by his sov-ereign and immediate power or throughthe agency of medicinal means.

There is no Scriptural record that thespiritual gifts, including healing, are stillordinarily being dispensed today. In lightof such passages as Luke 16:31, Deut12:32, and Rev 22:18-19 (“For I testify toeveryone who hears the words of theprophecy of this book: if anyone adds tothese things, God will add to him theplagues that are written in this book; andif anyone takes away from the words ofthe book of this prophecy, God shall takeaway his part from the Book of Life, fromthe holy city, and from the things whichare written in this book”), contemporaryChristians can understand that the roleof the spiritual gifts has been completedwith the apostles, and that the Word ofGod validates itself through the activityof the Holy Spirit in the life of the reader/hearer (Heb 4:12).

God continues to act as God directly,with his completed revelation as ourmeans of evaluating those acts properly.

We need no further substantiation forGod’s reality and work.

1 For instance, it would be hard toimprove upon B. B. Warfield’s Counter-feit Miracles (Edinburgh: The Bannerof Truth Trust, 1972). John McArthur’swork, The Charismatics (Grand Rapids:Zondervan, 1978), also has an excellentsection on the subject of healing (pp.130-155).2 R. Laird Harris, et al., TheologicalWordbook of the Old Testament, vol. II,entry #2196. (Chicago: Moody Press,1980), p. 857.3 “Bibleworks” software database.4 All Scripture citations are taken fromthe New King James Version of theBible.5 The Greek term is simply that whichrefers to olive oil, e}laion elaion, usedin the same way as found in Luke 10:34,where the Good Samaritan uses the oiland wine to treat the wounds of theinjured traveler. The same phrase isused in such passages as Mark 6:13, inthe context of the healing ministry ofthe disciples as they went about doingthe work of the kingdom.

The leadership of thechurch especially shouldunite before the Lord toseek the intervention ofthe Spirit of God in the

life of the sick. God doesanswer prayer and heal

directly when he sodesires.

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SPEAKING IN TONGUES INTHE NEW TESTAMENT

JOHN A. BATTLE

Speaking in tongues is a person’sspeaking aloud in a language unknownto him or her, usually as a part of reli-gious prayer or worship. It is clear thatthe gift of tongues was given by God inthe times of the NT. Many Christians to-day believe that we still should seek thissupernatural gift in order to grow in Chris-tian faith and love, and to praise God.Charismatic Christians believe this andother supernatural spiritual gifts are stilloperative in the church; cessationistChristians believe that these gifts ceasedduring NT times and are not presentlyexercised in the church. A careful studyof the gift of tongues in the NT will sup-port the cessationist position.

OCCURRENCES OF TONGUES IN THE NTThere are only five occasions in

which the NT reports that Christiansspoke in tongues. All of these occurrencestook place early in the history of the NTchurch.

1. The disciples on the day of Pente-cost (Acts 2:4, 11)

2. The new believers in Samaria (Acts8:14-17); while tongues are not men-tioned in particular, that seems to beindicated because the text impliesthat the Holy Spirit “fell upon” them1

and states that they “received theHoly Spirit” in a visible fashion, andsimilar accounts in Acts mention thegift of tongues

3. The household of the Roman centu-rion Cornelius (Acts 10:44-46); thistongue-speaking was the same gift

the disciples had received on Pente-cost (v. 47)

4. The believers in Ephesus when Paularrived and taught them about Jesus(Acts 19:6)

5. The believers in Corinth after Paulhad founded the church there (1 Cor12-14)

The gift of tongues appeared in the earlyyears of the church, along with the su-pernatural gifts of prophecy, casting outdemons, and healing. All of these occur-rences took place before or during Paul’smissionary journeys and first trip toRome. There is no NT example of speak-ing in tongues (or, for that matter, ofprophecy or of casting out demons or ofsupernatural healing) from the time ofPaul’s first Roman imprisonment or be-yond.

NT TONGUES WERE HUMAN LANGUAGES

It is generally agreed that the tonguesspoken by the disciples on the day ofPentecost were actually human lan-guages of the world, but languages un-known by the speakers. This fact is ap-parent from the context of Acts 2, wherepeople from various nations heard thedisciples speak in their own “native lan-guage” (v. 8). Apparently, many discipleswere speaking at the same time, and mostpeople thought they were babbling, sincethey did not know the languages of mostof the speakers; this fits with the accusa-tion that the disciples were drunk (v. 13),and yet with the fact that foreigners fromvarious countries could understand thattheir own language was being spoken byat least some of the speakers.

When the Gentile convert Corneliusand his household were “speaking intongues and praising God,” Peter said


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that the Lord gave them the same gift thatthe disciples had at Pentecost, when for-eign languages were spoken (Acts 10:47).Peter repeated this fact to his friends inJerusalem: “As I began to speak, the HolySpirit came on them as he had come onus at the beginning” (Acts 11:15). We canthus conclude that Cornelius and his fam-ily spoke in human languages unknownby them, just as happened during Pente-cost.

It is probable that the saints inSamaria, likewise, spoke in foreign lan-guages, as that gift is called “receivingthe Holy Spirit,” identifying it with thespeaking in foreign languages by the dis-ciples on the day of Pentecost and pre-sumably later by Cornelius and his fam-ily.2

Since the tongue-speaking that tookplace in the churches in Ephesus and inCorinth date from Paul’s third missionaryjourney, several years after the earlieroccurrences mentioned in Acts, somehave suggested that this gift was differ-ent in that it was not human languages,but “heavenly” languages. Some findsupport for this idea by several state-ments in 1 Corinthians. Paul speaks of“the tongues of men and of angels,”3 thusapparently allowing for “angelic” lan-guages as a possible experience fortongue speakers. The gift may requireanother spiritual gift to interpret the mes-sage,4 perhaps indicating that it was notgiven in a human language. It is describedas speaking “not to men but to God,” and“uttering mysteries.”5

Before answering these specific argu-ments for “angelic languages,” it shouldbe noted that, on the face of it, thetongues spoken in Ephesus and Corinthappear to be human languages, just as

they were in the book of Acts. First, thesame terminology is used for the occur-rences in Corinth as for those in Acts.6

Second, when Paul discusses tonguespeaking in Corinth, he describes it interms of human languages. He quotesfrom the OT.7 Isaiah the prophet declaredthat God would speak “with othertongues” to Israel, by “the lips of for-eigners.” This was to be not a blessing,but a sign of a curse against the sinfulIsraelites. Because they rejected thewords of the prophets, which they couldunderstand, God would speak to them ina foreign language they would not un-derstand. This was done when theAssyrians invaded the land, taking cap-tive the northern kingdom of Israel andmuch of the nation of Judah. Invadingsoldiers spoke the human language ofAramaic, not the Hebrew spoken by theJews of Isaiah’s day.8 This is the reasonPaul declares the hearing of an unknowntongue (without its translation) to be a

All of these occurrencestook place before or

during Paul’s missionaryjourneys and first trip toRome. There is no NTexample of speaking in

tongues (or, for thatmatter, of prophecy or ofcasting out demons or of

supernatural healing)from the time of Paul’sfirst Roman imprison-

ment or beyond.

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sign of judgment, a “sign for unbeliev-ers.”9

The particular arguments for so-called“angelic” languages can be answeredeasily. First, the statement of Paul aboutspeaking “with the tongues of men andangels” does not imply that he or anyoneelse actually spoke “in the tongues ofangels.” In 1 Cor 13:1-3 Paul makes a se-ries of “if” statements, each of them be-ing actually unrealistic:

· “If I speak in the tongues of men andof angels”

· “If I have the gift of prophecy andcan fathom all mysteries and allknowledge”

· “If I have a faith that can move moun-tains”

· “If I give all I possess to the poorand surrender my body to theflames”

Note that Paul did none of these things.He did all these things to a certain extent,but not to the extreme mentioned at theend of each clause. He did speak in the“tongues of men”; he did possess “thegift of prophecy” and had some “knowl-edge” of “mysteries”; he did “have faith”;he did “give to the poor” and he did suf-fer in “his body” for Christ. But Paul never“fathomed all mysteries and all knowl-edge,” nor “moved mountains,” nor “gaveall his possessions to the poor,” nor “sur-rendered his body to the flames.” Theseare all examples of hyperbole—making apoint by exaggeration.10 He did none ofthese things to the extent spoken of. Inthe same way this passage would lead usto believe that, while he “spoke in thetongues of men,” he never “spoke in thetongues of angels.” “Speaking in the

tongues of angels” would be the hyper-bole, the extreme extent of tongue speak-ing—like the other examples, an extremehe never actually reached. To apply thisconcept to the Corinthians, Paul uses theargument from the greater to the lesser.He recognizes that they speak with thetongues of men, but even if they spokein the tongues of angels, they still wouldprofit nothing without love. If that is thecase, they even more certainly profit noth-ing without love, speaking only thetongues of men.

The other arguments for “angelic lan-guages” are easier to answer. The factthat there was a need for a “gift of inter-pretation” to translate the message intothe familiar language does not mean thatthe message was given in an “angelic”language. It may simply mean that no onepresent knew the specific foreign lan-guage used by the tongue speaker. Thatappears to be the case in Acts 2, whereonly the native speakers understood eachof the languages spoken by the disciplesthat day; to the rest they appeared to bebabbling, to be “drunk.”11 And when Paulwrites that the tongue speakers were

Paul did none of thesethings to the extent

spoken of. In the sameway this passage wouldlead us to believe that,while he “spoke in thetongues of men,” henever “spoke in thetongues of angels.”


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speaking “not to men but to God,” and“uttering mysteries,”12 he means that Godunderstood them, but the people did notunderstand. The “mysteries” spokenwere things previously unknown, but nowrevealed by the Spirit of God. When theinterpretation was given, people under-stood the message; and the message it-self was something revealed by God. Inthat sense, tongue speaking was a sub-set of prophecy. In fact, Peter referred totongue speaking as “prophecy” when hequoted the OT to identify what was hap-pening on the day of Pentecost.”13

CESSATION OF SUPERNATURAL SPIRITUAL

GIFTS IN THE NTWhile supernatural spiritual gifts are

fairly common in the earlier parts of theNT,14 there is not a single reference toany of them in writings from later times ofthe NT—Paul’s Prison Epistles(Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon,Philippians), Paul’s Pastoral Epistles (1Timothy, Titus, 2 Timothy), the Epistlesof Peter and of John, or the book of He-brews. The few times miracles are men-tioned in the book of Revelation are ei-ther speaking of past miracles or of fu-ture miracles that are associated with theevents of last days; they are not attrib-uted to the church of the time John waswriting15 (the gift of tongues is not men-tioned at all in Revelation).

When writing to the churches inEphesus, Colossae, and Philippi, Paul wasa prisoner in Rome. Unlike the earlier days,the Lord did not miraculously deliver himfrom prison. Rather, Paul exercised hisChristian and apostolic office in that situ-ation. He even mentioned that he wasanxious about the health of Epaphroditus,whom the Philippians had sent to him,because he had been so ill he almost died;

while he undoubtedly prayed for him, hewas not able simply to heal him miracu-lously.16 He told the people in thechurches that they needed to live con-sistent Christian lives, and to be faithfulin their various vocations. Nowhere didhe encourage them to prophesy, speak intongues, or perform other miraculousworks.

To confirm the cessation of these su-pernatural gifts in the NT church, oneneed only consult the Pastoral Epistlesof Paul. During this later period of his lifePaul was unable to heal Trophimus, andhad to leave him behind in the city ofMiletus.17 In these three letters Paultaught, admonished, and encouragedTimothy and Titus as they led thechurches in Ephesus and in Crete. Paulwrote ninety imperative verbs in thesebooks; they cover all important aspectsof the minister’s life and ministry in thechurch.18 Never once in all these instruc-tions does he say the minister shouldexercise these gifts, or should encouragehis people to do so. He makes no provi-sion for them. On the other hand, repeat-edly he tells them to teach the Scriptures,cultivate Christian virtues, warn againstimmorality and heresy, and lead the peopleas an example and a teacher.

Reading carefully the epistles of Pe-ter and of John, as well as the book ofHebrews, we look in vain for any miracu-lous works going on.19 The writers them-selves are subject to the normal humanfrailties and limitations. They do not ex-pect or encourage those to whom theyare writing to exercise supernatural gifts.The Christians who received those let-ters were never expected to possess su-pernatural spiritual gifts, and they re-ceived no instructions about them. In the

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many exhortations to the believers thesebooks address, there is no mention ofseeking supernatural gifts such as heal-ing, prophecy, or tongues. Again, as withPaul, the Christians are to use their ordi-nary powers in the service of Christ,strengthened and enabled by the HolySpirit.

Since all the supernatural spiritualgifts ceased in the apostolic period, it isapparent that supernatural speaking intongues and interpretation of tongueswere included in that category and wereamong those gifts no longer exercised.

PURPOSE OF TONGUES IN THE NTGod had important reasons for giving

supernatural spiritual gifts to the Chris-tians in NT times. These gifts includedmiracles, healings, raising the dead, cast-ing out demons, and prophecy, as well asspeaking in tongues. Not all these signsneeded be present in any one person. TheNT specifies two reasons for these gifts,both of which are limited to the times ofthe initiation of the new dispensationunder the apostles.

The first purpose of these gifts wasto certify or accredit Jesus, the apostles,and the early evangelists as spokesmenfor God. Jesus said that the miracles hedid bore witness to who he was.20 SinceGod gave these miraculous signs to him,the people should receive his teachingas being from God.

The apostles likewise were giventhese supernatural gifts in order to provetheir authority to speak for God. Paul re-inforced his authority among theCorinthian Christians by reminding themthat, “truly the signs of an apostle wereaccomplished among you with all perse-verance, in signs and wonders and

mighty deeds.”21 The book of Hebrews,apparently written by a disciple of Paul,refers to this important purpose of miracu-lous gifts:

“How shall we escape if we neglectso great a salvation, which at the firstbegan to be spoken by the Lord, andwas confirmed to us by those whoheard him, God also bearing witnessboth with signs and wonders, withvarious miracles, and gifts of the HolySpirit, according to his own will?”22

Note that “gifts of the Holy Spirit” areincluded in this list of signs. The authordoes not claim these signs for himself orfor those to whom he is writing; rather,he attributes them to “those who heard”the Lord—that is, the early apostles andevangelists.

Not only did Jesus and the apostlesexercise these gifts to show their author-ity from God, but other early church lead-ers, often called evangelists, had the sameauthenticating gifts given to them. TheNT mentions two men in particular in thisregard. Stephen, the early deacon andfirst Christian martyr, is described as aman “full of faith and power,” who “didgreat wonders and signs among thepeople.” Because of these supernaturalsigns “they were not able to resist thewisdom and the Spirit by which hespoke.”23 Likewise, Philip the deacon andevangelist exercised these gifts, gifts usedto bring the Samaritans to faith: “And themultitudes with one accord heeded thethings spoken by Philip, hearing and see-ing the miracles which he did.”24

Not only did the supernatural spiri-tual gifts authenticate God’s spokesmen,but prophesying and speaking in tonguesin particular had a second important pur-


25

pose. The giving of these signs to thefirst Christians—Jews, Samaritans, God-fearing Gentiles, and formerly pagan Gen-tiles—proved that these groups were nowa part of the church of Jesus Christ, thenew Israel of God. Peter said that the Pen-tecostal gift of tongues was spoken ofby Joel the prophet: “in the last days, saysGod, I will pour out of my Spirit upon allflesh: and your sons and your daughtersshall prophesy . . .”25 While Joel did notmention tongues explicitly, Peter includedthe tongue-speaking as a type of proph-ecy. Joel’s prophecy views the coming ofthe glorious kingdom of God. Peter un-derstood these signs as the evidence thatthe kingdom promises were now given tothose with these signs, and were nowoffered to the Jews in Jerusalem—

Repent therefore and be converted,that your sins may be blotted out, sothat times of refreshing may come fromthe presence of the Lord, and that Hemay send Jesus Christ, who waspreached to you before, whomheaven must receive until the timesof restoration of all things, which God

has spoken by the mouth of all Hisholy prophets since the world be-gan.26

The promised kingdom was offered firstto the Jews. While many thousands be-lieved, the majority of the nation, togetherwith its leaders, rejected the gospel andpersecuted the apostles. Jesus had pre-dicted this rejection, and the consequentdestruction of Jerusalem in the near fu-ture.27

As the Lord had instructed the dis-ciples, the gospel was to go forth not onlyin Jerusalem, but into Judea, Samaria, andthe Gentile nations.28 This was accom-plished historically because the Jews asa nation rejected the message of Jesus,forcing the early believers to scatter, tak-ing the gospel with them.29 At each newstage in the expansion of the gospel thereis mention of the new believers’ speak-ing in tongues. Note the following cul-tural groups from which these believerscame:

Reference Cultural Group(s)

Acts 2 Palestinian & ForeignJews

Acts 8 Samaritans

Acts 10-11 God-fearing Gentiles

Acts 19 Jews & Pagan Gentilesin Asia Minor

1 Cor 12-14 Jews & Pagan Gentilesin Greece

By granting the gift of prophecy andtongues to converts from these groups,God was demonstrating to them and tothe church as a whole that they were in-cluded in the promised kingdom—thatthey were heirs with Abraham, Isaac, and

The purposes of thesegifts had been met, andthe gifts were no longernecessary. It was nowGod’s purpose that thechurch should grow in

knowledge and faith usingthe ordinary means usedby the Holy Spirit: theScriptures, the sacra-

ments, and prayer.

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Jacob to the promises made to Israel, thatthe church was one in Jesus Christ. Thechurch was truly universal. This secondpurpose of the miraculous signs, espe-cially tongue-speaking, was assertedlong ago by Augustine:

In the earliest times, “the Holy Ghostfell upon them that believed: and theyspoke with tongues,” which they hadnot learned, “as the Spirit gave themutterance.” These were signs adaptedto the time. For there behooved to bethat betokening of the Holy Spirit inall tongues, to show that the Gospelof God was to run through all tonguesover the whole earth. That thing wasdone for a betokening, and it passedaway.30

Both purposes—to accredit God’sspokesmen and to unify all culturalgroups in the church—were fulfilled bythe end of Paul’s ministry. The church wassoon to have the completed canon ofScripture, and the Jewish and Gentilesbelievers recognized each other as fellowmembers of Christ’s body. Therefore, thepurposes of these gifts had been met andthe gifts were no longer necessary. It wasnow God’s purpose that the churchshould grow in knowledge and faith us-ing the ordinary means used by the HolySpirit: the Scriptures, the sacraments, andprayer.

CONCLUSION

The gift of tongues was a kind of themore general gift of prophecy. Instead ofgiving the message from God in the com-mon language of that place, speciallygifted individuals gave that message inanother human language, unknown tothem. It was the duty of others to trans-late that message so that all could under-stand. The translator either knew the lan-

guage, or had a comparable spiritual giftto translate it. All indications in the NTpoint to the language of the tongue to bea human language.

The first purpose of divinely givensupernatural gifts in general was to vali-date the message of the new covenantand accredit the spokesman. A secondpurpose of these signs, and of prophecyand tongue-speaking in particular, was todemonstrate that each new cultural groupwas accepted by God into the church, theone body of Christ, and had a right to theprivileges and an interest in the promisesof the new covenant. No longer werethese promises reserved exclusively forJews and proselytes to Judaism.

The purposes of the supernaturalgifts have been fulfilled. While no onecan limit what God can do, or will do inthe future when Christ returns, it is ap-parent that, from the time of the begin-ning and initial growth of the Christianchurch until now, God has chosen to usethe ordinary means of grace to call outand sanctify his church. We should notbe seeking these supernatural gifts, butrather should be content with the mar-velous spiritual blessings now availableto us in Christ.

1 Literally, “He had fallen upon none ofthem” (hJn e vpipe/ptwkov enepipeptokos, “had fallen upon,” aperiphrastic pluperfect construction).We can infer that the Holy Spirit did“fall upon” them when Peter and Johnplaced their hands on them (v. 17).2 Acts 8:15-17.3 1 Cor 13:1.4 1 Cor 12:10.5 1 Cor 14:2.6 For example, Acts 2:4 (ete/raiv


27

glw/ssaiv heterais glossais, “withother tongues”) and 1 Cor 14:21(e`teroglw/ssoiv heteroglossois, “withother tongues”) use nearly the exactlysame Greek wording—speaking in“other tongues.”7 1 Cor 14:21 quotes Isa 28:11-12; cf.Deut 28:49.8 Note the languages spoken in Isa36:11. Aramaic was spoken also by theBabylonians who later conquered therest of Judah (cf. Jer 5:15).9 1 Cor 14:22.10 For many biblical examples of thisfigure of speech, see E. W. Bullinger,Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (1898; reprinted: Grand Rapids, BakerBook House, 1981), 423-428. Bullingerincludes this particular passage underthe subcategory of hypotheses, things“which are impossible in themselves,but are used to express the greatness ofthe subject spoken of” (p. 427).11 Acts 2:13, 15.12 1 Cor 14:2.13 Acts 2:18 quotes Joel 2:28; both theGreek of Acts and the Hebrew of Joeluse the verb “to prophesy.” Thus forPeter, “to speak in tongues” equals “toprophesy”; only the language isdifferent.14 NT books either written before Paul’sRoman imprisonment or dealing withevents during that earlier time of NThistory are the following: the Gospels,Acts, James, Jude, 1 and 2Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2Corinthians, and Romans. All NTaccounts of supernatural spiritual giftsbeing exercised at that time are limitedto these books.15 Past miracles in Rev 18:20; futuremiracles in Rev 11:10.16 Phil 2:25-28.17 2 Tim 4:20.

18 These imperative verbs are discussedin John A. Battle, “Pastoral Imperatives:Paul’s Use of the Imperative Mood inHis Letters to Timothy and Titus,”WRS Journal 12:2 (Aug 2005) 12-18.19 It is important that the term “miracle”or “miraculous” refers to events that arein some way contrary to the laws ofnature, and that these are limited to thephysical realm. When Christians prayfor God to heal someone today, he oftenanswers with remarkable providencesthat may appear “miraculous” in ageneral sense; but the gift of healing, assuch, is not now exercised in thechurch. Likewise, God still regeneratesand sanctifies human hearts—that is asupernatural spiritual work, not aphysical work, and is not normallyconsidered a “miracle” for purposes ofthis discussion.20 John 5:36; Peter made the sameconclusion about Jesus from hismiracles (Acts 2:22).21 2 Cor 12:12.22 Heb 2:3-4.23 Acts 6:8, 10.24 Acts 8:6.25 Acts 2:17, quoting Joel 2:28.26 Acts 3:19-21.27 E.g., Luke 21:24.28 Acts 1:8.29 Acts 8:3-4; the theological signifi-cance of this movement is asserted byPaul in Rom 11:11-12, 17.30 Homilies on the Epistles of St. John,6:10 (NPNF, 1st Series 7:497-498).

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BOOKSMiracles Yesterday and Today (subtitledReal and Counterfeit), by Benjamin B.Warfield (1918; Reprinted; Unicoi,Tennessee: The Trinity Foundation,2007). Reviewed by William R. Kane.

Originally published in 1918 under thetitle Counterfeit Miracles, the book isbased on six lectures delivered in October,1917 at Columbia Theological Seminary.It has been republished by the TrinityFoundation. One might question, why?Is it possible that lectures deliveredninety years ago are still relevant to theissues of today? And if so, what makesthem relevant at the current time? Wenote the continued claim in the church ofthe miracles of healing, of tongues, andof prophecy. In light of thesecircumstances, the answer to the firstquestion as to its relevance is aresounding yes. The answer to thesecond question of what makes itrelevant is the subject of this review.

Lecture one is the foundation for theseries of lectures. In this lecture, Warfieldsets forth the characteristics of theapostolic church, the purpose and natureof the miraculous gifts together with theircessation following the accomplishmentof their purpose. He finds that thepurpose of the gifts was to authenticatethe apostles and the revelation thatcomes from God through them. Thecessation of the gifts comes at the end ofthe apostolic period (particularly with thedeath of the last disciple upon whom thegifts were conferred by an apostle. Inaddition, this lecture analyzes othercessation theories which acknowledgeboth the reality of the gifts and their

cessation. The other views find thepurpose to relate to the church, to protect,nurture, and extend the church in itsinfancy. According to this view thecessation of the gifts comes much later—in the fourth century at the time ofConstantine or perhaps even later. Eventhough plausible in and of itself, it isshown by Warfield not to be compatiblewith either the scriptural or empirical data.

Lectures two through five considerthe views and evidence with respect tocontinued ecclesiastical miracles as apermanent endowment of the church.Lecture two considers the patristic andmedieval marvels mentioned in thetestimony of the church fathers from thefourth century until the Reformation.Lecture three considers Roman Catholicmiracles and includes material from thefourth century through the nineteenthcentury. Both of these lectures give usan understanding historically of theplace of miracles in the life of the church.

The heathen world was full of wonder-tales. The church grew by bringing in theheathen, but they brought theirsuperstitions with them. As the world was,so was the church. The single applicationof this principle by Warfield is withrespect to miracles, but we are left withtwo questions. What else has the worldbrought into the church? And what isthe world currently bringing into thechurch? Lecture four deals with theIrvingite gifts of the nineteenth centuryin Scotland and England. Its value is partlyhistorical with the players and the rolesthey played as they exercised ‘gifts’ ofhealing, tongues, and prophecy. The


29

Irvingite supposed gifts of prophecywere discredited by the confessions ofRobert Baxter and Mary Campbell. Thechief value of Warfield’s discussion,however, is the understanding it gives ofhow these ‘gifts’ were developed;namely, a misconception of Scripturemixed with misplaced enthusiasm and anexpectation of these ‘gifts.’ Lecture fivedeals with faith healing and is secondonly to lecture one in importance.Warfield analyzes the views of A. J.Gordon in his The Ministry of Healing,or Miracles of Cure in All Ages. The faith-healing community of today followsGordon in its misconceptions of Scriptureand its lack of judgment with respect tothe empirical evidence. The principles setforth by Warfield in his analysis ofGordon are still valid for evaluatingcurrent faith-healing movements.

Lecture six deals with mind-cure andprincipally the Christian Science teachingof Mary Baker Eddy. It is set apart fromlectures two through five because it isnot based on a continued manifestationof ecclesiastical miracles but rather on thepantheistic views of Eddy. It finds acommon thread with lectures two throughfive in that the healings performed by itspractitioners have the samecharacteristics as ecclesiastical healingssince the apostolic church age. So then,the pagan healings, the church healings,the Christian science healings, andhealings by mesmerism are not denied byWarfield as ‘healings in fact,’ but all havean element of means so that they are notmiracles per se.

Warfield examines relevant Scripturepassages which are frequently used bythe faith-healing community as the basisof permanent ecclesiastical miracles.None of the passages (Mark 16:17-18; Jas

5:14-15; John 14:12; or Matt 8:17) justifythat conclusion. The discussion of Matt8:17 relates to the question of healing inthe atonement as distorted by the faith-healers. Warfield acknowledges thatredemption is for the body as well as forthe soul; that provision is made in theatonement for the relief of man fromdisease and suffering. The error of thefaith healers is in confusing redemption,which is objective and takes place outsideof us, with the subjective effects ofredemption, which take place in us andare wrought gradually. Warfield states,“Even after we have believed in Christ,and have a title as justified men to thebenefits bought for us by His blood andrighteousness, entrance into the actualenjoyment of these several benefitsremains a process, and a long process, tobe completed in a definite order.”

In examining and analyzing theempirical evidence, Warfield emphasizesthroughout the means God uses toperform his acts, the properunderstanding of them, and their relationto the immediate acts of God. A right(biblical) view of means will enable oneto distinguish between the remarkableand wonderful on the one hand and thetruly miraculous on the other hand.Merely being inexplicable does notnecessitate an event being miraculous. Itis only the immediate works of God whichdeserve the name of miracles. Thosethings which are wrought in some partby means may be answers to prayer,wonderful and marvelous indeed, but arethe result of the special providence ofGod. The use of means does not excludeGod, but honors him who has not onlyappointed means but is also over all ofthe affairs of man. Some would look tomeans and disregard God; others will

30


depend on God, and disregard all means.The biblical view is to trust God, and useall the means which he has appointed.There is a whole class of healings whichhave been recorded where inspectionindicates the use of some means.Furthermore, healings of this type appearto be common to pre-Christian pagancultures, the patristic and medievalchurch, the Roman Catholic Church, theIrvingite movement, the faith-healers,and Christian Science practitioners.

In conclusion, remember that thepurpose of miracles in the apostolic agewas to authenticate the apostles, thatmiracles are inseparable from revelation,and that miracles are different fromwonderful works which use means. Testthe competency of the witnesses.Scrutinize the details of the testimony.Remember that nothing, no matter howinexplicable, can be a divine act, if thereis anything contrary to the nature of Godor his revelation. They must conform inall their implications to what God hasrevealed of himself.

NOTES

Thoughts or Comments on thisissue of the WRS Journal?

By all means feel free to submitletters to our editor! Letters shouldbe limited to 300 words, and eithertypewritten or sent electronically. Seeour contact information on the insidefront cover.

Thank you!


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NOTES

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Documents

A SURVEY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT · 2019. 5. 16. · tongues speaking and tongue interpreta-tion are closely related to the prophetic gift of the apostles. Tongues