Cessationism
Encyclopedia
In Christian
theology
, Cessationism is the view that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues
, prophecy
and healing
, ceased being practiced early on in Church history. The opposite of Cessationism is Continuationism
. An account of the dispute between Cessationists and Continuationists is presented in the article Cessationism versus Continuationism.
Cessationists generally believe that the miraculous gifts were given only for the foundation of the Church
, during the time between the coming of the Holy Spirit
on Pentecost
, c. AD 33 (see Acts
2) and the fulfillment of God's purposes in history, usually identified as either the completion of the last book of the New Testament
or the death of the last Apostle, i.e. John the Apostle
. Its counterpart is Continuationism
which believes that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit have been available for use by the church ever since Pentecost.
Cessationism can be classified with regard to three questions: (i) the question of the presence of God's miraculous guidance, (ii) the question of the reemergence of the gifts and (iii) the question of justification of Cessationism.
Thus while some Cessationists allow for God's miraculous guidance, the Cessationist allowance differ from the Continuationist in that a Cessationist contends that God's miraculous guidance is not through the operation of the Charismatic gifts.
Strong Cessationism denies the possibility of a reemergence of the gifts on grounds of principle; that is, the denial is on a priori
grounds: a strong Cessationist would deny the possibility of the existence or a reemergence of genuine God's prophets and healers in the post-Apostolic age, i.e. after the 1st century, no matter what – even if we met prophets or healers who prophesied/healed in the name of Jesus. A strong Cessationist would appeal to the principle of Sola Scriptura
, insisting on three propositions:
According to a strong Cessationist, a person with a gift of power is also a prophet because healings and miracles were always signs associated with the divine confirmation of the genuineness of a prophet in the periods when God revealed new truths with respect to the doctrine. A strong Cessationist might concede that prophecies might be useful in the guidance of the Church. Nevertheless, he will insist that the Church can be perfectly guided to reach the right decisions if it applies the principles, teachings and examples of the Bible.
A moderate Cessationist would also deny the possibility of gifts on a priori grounds. He would deny the existence of manifestations of genuine charismatic gifts in the Church no matter what, even in the event of seeing apparent miracles or healing. However, a moderate Cessationist allows for the possibility of a new charismatic period in the future, when God would powerfully guide His people. This openness to the possibility of a new charismatic period is motivated by premillennialist
eschatological
expectations, where it is assumed that Christ's Second Coming will occur before the establishment of Christ's millennial kingdom on Earth. Within this premillennialist conceptual framework, the Great Tribulation
is seen as a future period immediately preceding Christ's Coming. A moderate Cessationist would insist that the new charismatic period is possible only during the Great Tribulation for otherwise the genuine gifts would be in operation before the Tribulation, and, thus, charismatic gifts could not be rejected on grounds of principle. Moderate Cessationism is compatible with all premillennialist positions (pre-trib, post-trib, mid-trib and pre-wrath).
The moderate Cessationist understanding of the principle of Sola Scriptura is almost identical to the strong one. A moderate Cessationist would agree with all three propositions of Strong Cessationism, but with an important qualification: all three propositions are valid only in the post-Apostolic Age of the Church before the Great Tribulation, i.e. in the period after the 1st century until the days of the Great Tribulation. Thus, in practical terms, both strong and moderate Cessationism are the same. They differ only in eschatological terms, whether the gifts will reemerge in the last days immediately preceding the time of Christ's Second Coming. The strong Cessationist eschatological view is not a premillennialist, and, thus, does not share the premillennialist conceptual framework, such as the premillennialist view of the Great Tribulation as something belonging to the future.
Biblical grounds for moderate Cessationism is the reference to two powerful prophets of God, Rev 11:3-11. According to a moderate Cessationist, events described in Rev 11 are in the future, during the Great Tribulation. For this reason, a moderate Cessationist has a ready answer to the question why the Bible is so vague about the cessation of the charismatic gifts: the Bible is obscure on this point precisely because the gifts will reemerge during the Great Tribulation. A moderate Cessationist concludes that they will absolutely end at the Second Coming of our Lord, at the end of the Great Tribulation.
Both strong and moderate versions of Cessationism belong to the forms of Cessationism on principle because they appeal to the principle of Sola Scriptura. Their denial of the possibility of gifts is on a priori grounds, or on grounds of principle. However, an empirical Cessationist denies the possibility of charismatic gifts on empirical grounds because he does not immediately discard an apparent miracle, healing or prophecy as counterfeit. He will rather first investigate the genuineness of the manifestation of the charismatic gift in question.
According to an empirical Cessationist, there is no Christian group practicing genuine charismatic gifts because, if thoroughly investigated, many healings and other "miracles" would most certainly be shown to be false. In other words, an empirical Cessationist denial is based on observation coupled with the probabilistic expectation that apparent miracles, healings or prophecies are mostly improbable.
An example of the empirical form of Cessationism is the view propounded by biblestudying.net. They have published a series of articles about charismatic gifts dealing with several issues concerning charismata, such as the questions of the timing of the cessation of the gifts. Their cessationist view is empirical because their denial of the continuation of the gifts is based on the historical research of early Church practices. Thus, their denial is on empirical grounds and not on grounds of principle, such as the appeal to the principle of Sola Scriptura.
According to their historical study, "the charismatic gifts did indeed decline and were eventually lost sometime between the second and fourth centuries AD. An interesting thing about their Cessationist view is that it is a semi-Continuationist view; that is, the gifts could have continued until Christ's return, but instead ended "sometime between the second and fourth centuries AD." The conclusion of their historical study is as follows: "Thus, we must discard the doctrine that the gifts were supposed to pass away before Christ's return. Instead, we must accept the fact that the gifts were supposed to continue as a confirmation of sound doctrine until Christ's return but were lost as the Church deviated from that sound doctrine given by Christ to the apostles and by the apostles to the early Church of the first few centuries."
On the question of the reemergence of the gifts, they would agree with moderate Cessationists that the gifts will reemerge during the final days immediately preceding Christ's Second Coming. They unofficially call their view Conditional Cessationism because, as a spokesman for this view says, "The primary feature of our position is its assertion of the conditional nature of cessation and its positing that either a) continuation or b) cessation and restoration were possible."
1. Clement of Rome - wrote a letter to the Corinthians in 95 AD discussing all of their spiritual problems. Tongues were never mentioned even though Corinth is the one place in the New Testament where tongues were apparently commonly used.
2. Justin Martyr
wrote in an apologetic to Typhro the Jew: "If you want proof that the Spirit of God, who was with your people and left you to come to us, come into our assemblies and there you will see Him cast out demons, heal the sick, and hear Him speak in tongues and prophesy."
3. Irenaeus
was a pupil of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John. He wrote in his book "Against Heresies", Book V, vi.: "In like manner do we also hear many brethren in the church who possess prophetic gifts, and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages, and bring to light, for the general benefit, the hidden things of men and declare the mysteries of God, who also the apostles term spiritual."
"Those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform [miracles], so as to promote the welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ], and join themselves to the Church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years…. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ even now confers benefits [upon men], and cures thoroughly and effectively all who anywhere believe on Him. "
Ante Nicene Fathers, vol 1, Irenaeus Against Heresies, bk 2, chp 32, sec 4, pg 847.
4. Origen
- never mentioned tongues and even argued that the "signs" of the Apostolic Age were temporary and that no contemporary Christian exercised any of these early "sign" gifts. (AD 185-253). He professes to have been an eye-witness to many instances of exorcism, healing, and prophecy, although he refuses to record the details lest he should rouse the laughter of the unbeliever (Cent. Cels., I, ii; III, xxiv; VII, iv, lxvii).
5. Chrysostom - writing on 1 Corinthians and the gift of tongues said, "This whole place is very obscure; but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as then used to occur but now no longer take place. And why do they not happen now? Why look now, the cause too of the obscurity hath produced us again another question: namely, why did they then happen, and now do so no more?." (AD 347-407). http://www.piney.com/FathChrysHomXXIX.html
6. Augustine
- comments on Acts 2:4: "In the earliest times, "the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed; and they spake with tongues," which they had not learned, "as the Spirit gave them utterance." These were signs adapted to the time. For there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all tongues, to shew that the Gospel of God was to run through all tongues over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening, and it passed away." http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/170206.htm
7. Augustine
- "For those that are baptized do not now receive the Spirit on the imposition of hands, so as to speak in the tongues of all the peoples; neither are the sick healed by the shadow of the preachers of Christ falling on them as they pass; and other such things as were then done, are now manifestly ceased." Retractions I xiii 7, though Augustine reported extensively on a revival of miracles in his later ministry (City of God chap. 22).
Some Cessationist explanations about why gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased include:
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, Cessationism is the view that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues
Glossolalia
Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...
, prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
and healing
Healing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
, ceased being practiced early on in Church history. The opposite of Cessationism is Continuationism
Continuationism
Continuationism is a Christian theological belief that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have continued to this present age, specifically the sign gifts such as tongues and prophecy...
. An account of the dispute between Cessationists and Continuationists is presented in the article Cessationism versus Continuationism.
Cessationists generally believe that the miraculous gifts were given only for the foundation of the Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
, during the time between the coming of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
on Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
, c. AD 33 (see Acts
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
2) and the fulfillment of God's purposes in history, usually identified as either the completion of the last book of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
or the death of the last Apostle, i.e. John the Apostle
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
. Its counterpart is Continuationism
Continuationism
Continuationism is a Christian theological belief that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have continued to this present age, specifically the sign gifts such as tongues and prophecy...
which believes that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit have been available for use by the church ever since Pentecost.
Types of Cessationism
Cessationism has various forms and can be classified in different ways depending on the questions and issues on which Cessationists disagree.Cessationism can be classified with regard to three questions: (i) the question of the presence of God's miraculous guidance, (ii) the question of the reemergence of the gifts and (iii) the question of justification of Cessationism.
With regard to the presence of God's miraculous guidance
Cessationism can be divided into two types.- Classical Cessationism asserts that the "sign gifts" such as prophecy, healing and speaking in tongues ceased with the apostles and the finishing of the canon of Scripture. They only served as launching pads for the spreading of the Gospel; as affirmations of God's revelation. However, these Cessationists do believe that God still occasionally does miracles today, such as healings or divine guidance, so long as these "miracles" do not accredit new doctrine or add to the New Testament canon. Some Classical Cessationists believe that the miraculous gifts can take place where the message of salvation is being propagated to a tribe or nation which is unfamiliar with the Gospel. Richard GaffinRichard GaffinRichard B. Gaffin, Jr. is a Calvinist theologian, Presbyterian minister, and Charles Krahe Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:...
, John F. MacArthurJohn F. MacArthurJohn Fullerton MacArthur, Jr. is a United States evangelical writer and minister noted for his internationally known and broadcast radio program titled Grace to You...
and Daniel B. WallaceDaniel B. WallaceDaniel Baird Wallace is a professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary where he has been tenured since 1995. He is also the founder of the Center of the Study of NT Manuscripts....
are perhaps the best-known classical Cessationists. Articles on this view can be found here: link
- Full Cessationism additionally asserts that no miracles are performed by God today. This argument, of course, depends on one's understanding of the term, "miracle." B. B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, F.N. Lee.
Thus while some Cessationists allow for God's miraculous guidance, the Cessationist allowance differ from the Continuationist in that a Cessationist contends that God's miraculous guidance is not through the operation of the Charismatic gifts.
With regard to the reemergence of the gifts
With regard to the possibility of reemergence (reappearance) of charismatic gifts, we can distinguish between two versions of Cessationism: strong and moderate.Strong Cessationism
The majority of Cessationists subscribe to the strong form of Cessationism. Examples of Cessationist literature propounding strong Cessationism are from Christians belonging to various denominations such as Conservative Baptist, Reformed Churches, etc.Strong Cessationism denies the possibility of a reemergence of the gifts on grounds of principle; that is, the denial is on a priori
A Posteriori
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grounds: a strong Cessationist would deny the possibility of the existence or a reemergence of genuine God's prophets and healers in the post-Apostolic age, i.e. after the 1st century, no matter what – even if we met prophets or healers who prophesied/healed in the name of Jesus. A strong Cessationist would appeal to the principle of Sola Scriptura
Sola scriptura
Sola scriptura is the doctrine that the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. Consequently, sola scriptura demands that only those doctrines are to be admitted or confessed that are found directly within or indirectly by using valid logical deduction or valid...
, insisting on three propositions:
- the completion of the canon of the Bible
- the infallible and sufficient authority of the Bible
- the perfection of the Scriptures to guide the Church
According to a strong Cessationist, a person with a gift of power is also a prophet because healings and miracles were always signs associated with the divine confirmation of the genuineness of a prophet in the periods when God revealed new truths with respect to the doctrine. A strong Cessationist might concede that prophecies might be useful in the guidance of the Church. Nevertheless, he will insist that the Church can be perfectly guided to reach the right decisions if it applies the principles, teachings and examples of the Bible.
Moderate Cessationism
There is not much literature on Moderate Cessationism, but the view is propounded by certain Brethren groups of Christians, such as Free Brethren House Churches of Christ.A moderate Cessationist would also deny the possibility of gifts on a priori grounds. He would deny the existence of manifestations of genuine charismatic gifts in the Church no matter what, even in the event of seeing apparent miracles or healing. However, a moderate Cessationist allows for the possibility of a new charismatic period in the future, when God would powerfully guide His people. This openness to the possibility of a new charismatic period is motivated by premillennialist
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
eschatological
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
expectations, where it is assumed that Christ's Second Coming will occur before the establishment of Christ's millennial kingdom on Earth. Within this premillennialist conceptual framework, the Great Tribulation
Tribulation
The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...
is seen as a future period immediately preceding Christ's Coming. A moderate Cessationist would insist that the new charismatic period is possible only during the Great Tribulation for otherwise the genuine gifts would be in operation before the Tribulation, and, thus, charismatic gifts could not be rejected on grounds of principle. Moderate Cessationism is compatible with all premillennialist positions (pre-trib, post-trib, mid-trib and pre-wrath).
The moderate Cessationist understanding of the principle of Sola Scriptura is almost identical to the strong one. A moderate Cessationist would agree with all three propositions of Strong Cessationism, but with an important qualification: all three propositions are valid only in the post-Apostolic Age of the Church before the Great Tribulation, i.e. in the period after the 1st century until the days of the Great Tribulation. Thus, in practical terms, both strong and moderate Cessationism are the same. They differ only in eschatological terms, whether the gifts will reemerge in the last days immediately preceding the time of Christ's Second Coming. The strong Cessationist eschatological view is not a premillennialist, and, thus, does not share the premillennialist conceptual framework, such as the premillennialist view of the Great Tribulation as something belonging to the future.
Biblical grounds for moderate Cessationism is the reference to two powerful prophets of God, Rev 11:3-11. According to a moderate Cessationist, events described in Rev 11 are in the future, during the Great Tribulation. For this reason, a moderate Cessationist has a ready answer to the question why the Bible is so vague about the cessation of the charismatic gifts: the Bible is obscure on this point precisely because the gifts will reemerge during the Great Tribulation. A moderate Cessationist concludes that they will absolutely end at the Second Coming of our Lord, at the end of the Great Tribulation.
With regard to its justification
Two types of Cessationism can be distinguished with regard to its justification:- Principled Cessationism: founded a priori, on grounds of principle
- Empirical Cessationism: founded on a posteriori grounds, i.e. on experience or empiria.
Both strong and moderate versions of Cessationism belong to the forms of Cessationism on principle because they appeal to the principle of Sola Scriptura. Their denial of the possibility of gifts is on a priori grounds, or on grounds of principle. However, an empirical Cessationist denies the possibility of charismatic gifts on empirical grounds because he does not immediately discard an apparent miracle, healing or prophecy as counterfeit. He will rather first investigate the genuineness of the manifestation of the charismatic gift in question.
According to an empirical Cessationist, there is no Christian group practicing genuine charismatic gifts because, if thoroughly investigated, many healings and other "miracles" would most certainly be shown to be false. In other words, an empirical Cessationist denial is based on observation coupled with the probabilistic expectation that apparent miracles, healings or prophecies are mostly improbable.
An example of the empirical form of Cessationism is the view propounded by biblestudying.net. They have published a series of articles about charismatic gifts dealing with several issues concerning charismata, such as the questions of the timing of the cessation of the gifts. Their cessationist view is empirical because their denial of the continuation of the gifts is based on the historical research of early Church practices. Thus, their denial is on empirical grounds and not on grounds of principle, such as the appeal to the principle of Sola Scriptura.
According to their historical study, "the charismatic gifts did indeed decline and were eventually lost sometime between the second and fourth centuries AD. An interesting thing about their Cessationist view is that it is a semi-Continuationist view; that is, the gifts could have continued until Christ's return, but instead ended "sometime between the second and fourth centuries AD." The conclusion of their historical study is as follows: "Thus, we must discard the doctrine that the gifts were supposed to pass away before Christ's return. Instead, we must accept the fact that the gifts were supposed to continue as a confirmation of sound doctrine until Christ's return but were lost as the Church deviated from that sound doctrine given by Christ to the apostles and by the apostles to the early Church of the first few centuries."
On the question of the reemergence of the gifts, they would agree with moderate Cessationists that the gifts will reemerge during the final days immediately preceding Christ's Second Coming. They unofficially call their view Conditional Cessationism because, as a spokesman for this view says, "The primary feature of our position is its assertion of the conditional nature of cessation and its positing that either a) continuation or b) cessation and restoration were possible."
Historical Evidence
Some Cessationists, e.g., Warfield, argue that there has been no solid objective scientific reference of the working of miracles manifested within the mainstream church for the last nineteen centuries. References to miracles and spiritual gifts throughout church history, they claim, have been associated with cults and mystics. More recent studies, however, e.g., Foubister, Frost, Greer, Kelsey, Kydd, Ruthven, and Shogren, have shown that the evidence is much more positive than the citations offered by cessationists.1. Clement of Rome - wrote a letter to the Corinthians in 95 AD discussing all of their spiritual problems. Tongues were never mentioned even though Corinth is the one place in the New Testament where tongues were apparently commonly used.
2. Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
wrote in an apologetic to Typhro the Jew: "If you want proof that the Spirit of God, who was with your people and left you to come to us, come into our assemblies and there you will see Him cast out demons, heal the sick, and hear Him speak in tongues and prophesy."
3. Irenaeus
Irenaeus
Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology...
was a pupil of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John. He wrote in his book "Against Heresies", Book V, vi.: "In like manner do we also hear many brethren in the church who possess prophetic gifts, and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages, and bring to light, for the general benefit, the hidden things of men and declare the mysteries of God, who also the apostles term spiritual."
"Those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform [miracles], so as to promote the welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ], and join themselves to the Church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years…. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ even now confers benefits [upon men], and cures thoroughly and effectively all who anywhere believe on Him. "
Ante Nicene Fathers, vol 1, Irenaeus Against Heresies, bk 2, chp 32, sec 4, pg 847.
4. Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
- never mentioned tongues and even argued that the "signs" of the Apostolic Age were temporary and that no contemporary Christian exercised any of these early "sign" gifts. (AD 185-253). He professes to have been an eye-witness to many instances of exorcism, healing, and prophecy, although he refuses to record the details lest he should rouse the laughter of the unbeliever (Cent. Cels., I, ii; III, xxiv; VII, iv, lxvii).
5. Chrysostom - writing on 1 Corinthians and the gift of tongues said, "This whole place is very obscure; but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as then used to occur but now no longer take place. And why do they not happen now? Why look now, the cause too of the obscurity hath produced us again another question: namely, why did they then happen, and now do so no more?." (AD 347-407). http://www.piney.com/FathChrysHomXXIX.html
6. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
- comments on Acts 2:4: "In the earliest times, "the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed; and they spake with tongues," which they had not learned, "as the Spirit gave them utterance." These were signs adapted to the time. For there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all tongues, to shew that the Gospel of God was to run through all tongues over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening, and it passed away." http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/170206.htm
7. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
- "For those that are baptized do not now receive the Spirit on the imposition of hands, so as to speak in the tongues of all the peoples; neither are the sick healed by the shadow of the preachers of Christ falling on them as they pass; and other such things as were then done, are now manifestly ceased." Retractions I xiii 7, though Augustine reported extensively on a revival of miracles in his later ministry (City of God chap. 22).
Some Cessationist explanations about why gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased include:
- they were neglected and faded from use
- they were withdrawn with the death of the apostles
- they were taken away as a form of discipline from God on unbelief or disobedience
- they were misinterpretations or exaggeration and could instead be attributed to natural and psychological phenomena
- they were signs attesting to the truth and authority of the apostolic preaching of the gospel and are now preserved for the church in the New Testament witness
See also
- ContinuationismContinuationismContinuationism is a Christian theological belief that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have continued to this present age, specifically the sign gifts such as tongues and prophecy...
- Cessationism versus Continuationism
- Sola scripturaSola scripturaSola scriptura is the doctrine that the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. Consequently, sola scriptura demands that only those doctrines are to be admitted or confessed that are found directly within or indirectly by using valid logical deduction or valid...
- Prima scripturaPrima scripturaPrima scriptura is a doctrine that says canonized scripture is "first" or "above all" sources of divine revelation.Implicitly, this view acknowledges that, besides canonical scripture, there are other guides for what a believer should believe, and how he should live, such as the created order,...
- Spiritual giftSpiritual giftIn Christianity, spiritual gifts are endowments given by the Holy Spirit. These are the supernatural graces which individual Christians need to fulfill the mission of the church. They are described in the New Testament, primarily in , , and . also touches on the spiritual gifts...
- Slain in the SpiritSlain in the SpiritBeing "slain in the Spirit" is a term used within charismatic Christianity. It describes a religious behaviour in which an individual falls to the floor...
- Fivefold ministry
Quotations
External links
- Why I Am Not Charismatic, written by C Michael Patton at Parchment and Pen
- The Ultimate Cessationism Resource, compiled by Nathan W. Bingham
- The End of Charismatic Gifts, published by the Free Brethren House Churches of Christ. The article conveys the perspective of moderate Cessationism.
- Pentecostalism, the Charismatic and Faith Movements, a series of articles about charismata, seen from the perspective of empirical Cessationism
- Gaffin's Cessationist exegesis of Eph 2:20, R. Fowler White's article dealing with Gaffin's Cessationist exegesis of Eph. 20:20 as a reply to Grudem's book The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today