Spiritual Gifts Class 2: The History of Spiritual Gifts Part 1 – From Pentecost to Azusa

Here is a summary of the lecture:

1) Key Terms & the Spectrum

• Cessationism: Some gifts of the Spirit ceased after the apostolic era (esp. the “miraculous” gifts) and are not normative in the church today.
• Continuationism: All gifts described in the NT continue throughout the church age until Christ returns.
• Charismatic(ism): A movement within continuationism that emphasizes the active practice of miraculous gifts (tongues, prophecy, healing) as normative in congregational worship.

Relationship: All charismatics are continuationists; not all continuationists are charismatic.
Instructor’s posture: Cautious (or “open”) cessationism—not denying God’s ability to do the miraculous, but questioning its normativity and insisting on discernment.

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2) A Helpful (but Extra‑Biblical) Distinction

We can observe two clusters of gifts (Scripture never labels them this way):

A. Often called “Miraculous”

• Predictive prophecy
• Tongues & interpretation
• Healing
• “Signs and wonders”

B. Often called “Ordinary / Normative”

• Teaching
• Exhortation
• Administration/leadership
• Helps (service), generosity, mercy
• Prophecy? — Some (including Keith) allow a non‑revelatory sense of “proclaiming God’s Word” here; others (e.g., Schreiner) restrict “prophecy” to revelatory/predictive.

Note: The Bible does not supply these categories; they’re observational. Use them cautiously.

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3) What the NT Emphasizes

• Where lists appear: 1 Corinthians (broadest list, written earlier); Romans 12 (more “ordinary” gifts); 1 Peter 4:10–11 (two big buckets: speaking and serving).
• Possible pattern: Early letters highlight broader manifestations; later writings and instructions (e.g., 1 Tim/2 Tim) feature ordinary means, medicine (1 Tim 5:23), etc. This suggests a shift from the extraordinary to the ordinary—not proof, but a historical observation.

Two debated passages

• 1 Corinthians 13:8–12
  • Prophecies and knowledge “pass away”; tongues “cease.”
  • When? “When the perfect comes.” Interpreted by some as the completed canon; by others (and in this course) as Christ’s return (cf. “face to face… know fully”).
• 2 Corinthians 12:12
  • “Signs of a true apostle…” authenticate an apostle’s ministry, but non‑apostles (Stephen, Philip, Agabus) also performed signs; thus signs are not limited only to apostles.

Key principle: In Scripture, miracles are never the norm; they cluster around major redemptive events (e.g., Moses, Elijah/Elisha, Christ & the apostles). Authentic miracles, when they occur, are undeniable—not ambiguous stagecraft.

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4) Church History Snapshots (Pentecost → pre‑Azusa)

Remember: Both sides can “quote‑mine.” Use history cautiously and in context.

• Early Church (2nd–5th c.)
  • Irenaeus (2nd c.) reports exorcisms, healings, prophecy, even raisings of the dead “day by day” in the church.
  • Augustine (late 4th–5th c.)—initially cautious—later documents numerous healings (e.g., restoration of sight at Milan) and urges publication of such accounts.
  • John Chrysostom (4th–5th c.), commenting on 1 Cor 12–14, says tongues had ceased in his experience and were hard to define because they were no longer occurring.
    → Takeaway: Testimony is mixed in the early centuries; some report ongoing phenomena, others report cessation (at least locally).
• Montanism (2nd c.)
  • A “proto‑charismatic” movement claiming new revelation via ecstatic prophecy, tongues, and trances; promoted two‑tier Christianity and rigorous asceticism.
  • Widely rejected by the church for equating new revelations with Scripture and dividing the body.
    → Discernment lesson: New‑revelationism and spiritual elitism are perennial dangers.
• Medieval & Roman Catholic claims
  • Ongoing miracle claims (e.g., healings/visions tied to the cult of the saints) abound, often connected to the canonization process and, problematically, to practices like indulgences.
    → Discernment lesson: Beware theological add‑ons (e.g., indulgences) hitchhiking on miracle tales.
• Post‑Reformation
  • Predominantly cessationist in theology, yet notable anecdotes persist among trusted ministers (e.g., Spurgeon’s specific “impressions” from the pulpit leading to repentance).
    → Some argue for non‑revelatory impressions rather than predictive prophecy.
• Modern missionary anecdote
  • Scott Phillips (Dao tribe, Indonesia): A prior dream among villagers prepared them to receive a never‑before‑seen messenger with life‑changing news (see Prophecies of Pale Skin).
    → Missiological note: God’s providence can precede the gospel with striking preparatory experiences without creating new Scripture.

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5) Discernment & Dangers

• Charismatic excess without guardrails (e.g., public “signs” with failed prophecies, staged “healings”) undermines witness.
• Name‑check caution: Public figures who traffic in spectacle (e.g., staged leg‑lengthening, theatrical “slain in the Spirit” acts) are not biblical benchmarks for evaluating gifts.
• Healthy posture: Humble expectancy, tethered to Scripture, accountable to the local church, and ready to test everything; hold fast to what is good (1 Thess 5:21).

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6) Bottom Lines (for this session)

1. The Bible’s purpose for gifts is edification, not entertainment.
2. The church has always wrestled with reports of the miraculous; testimony is mixed across eras and locales.
3. A biblically faithful stance can affirm God’s ongoing sovereign freedom while insisting the extraordinary is not normative and must be tested.
4. Canon is closed; no “new revelation” adds to Scripture. Non‑revelatory impressions may occur but must submit to the Word and the church.