Among Christian theologians and rank-and-file believers, there is a diverse range of views on whether God continues to give special revelation and spiritual gifts. There are two ends of the spectrum:
- Cessationism: God has ceased to grant special revelation and spiritual gifts, after the death of apostles (after the apostolic age)
- Continuationism: God has given special revelation and spiritual gifts, since Pentecost (Acts 2), and continues today
For clarity, all professing Christians should believe that the Bible is complete. No special revelation from God will add or subtract from the Bible. Canonical revelation has ceased.
Therefore, the scope of debate is the continuation of spiritual gifts, such as prophecy and speaking in tongues.
Most Christians are either open, but cautious, or fully cessationist.
Two of my favourite contemporary Christian theologians appear to be open, but cautious toward continuationism:
- John Piper expressed his belief in the continuation of spiritual gifts, but also indicated that the office of apostleship no longer exists
- Timothy Keller reportedly described himself as an 80% cessationist, perceiving that “20% of what people report actually happens and is from God” and the rest to be “emotional excitement or mental placebo”
John Piper recognizes that many leading theologians, before his time, are 100% cessationists: Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon.
In the first volume of Reformed Systematic Theology, Beeke and Smalley appear to be also 100% cessationists. They contend that “God has given us the full revelation of himself and his will, all that we need to know in order to be saved and to glorify him, in the Holy Scriptures” (409). Therefore, “it is not biblically faithful or correct to speak of modern prophets and prophesies. Neither is it wise, for to do so inevitably compromises the unique authority of the [Bible]” (434).
Pulled between the leading theologians, I consider myself to be a 98% cessationist. I believe that the occurrence of special revelation and spiritual gifts is rare, but more frequent than we may think. Most occurrences are not publicly reported.
In my opinion, there is no “right” answer. No one can claim to fully know. However, it would be prudent and wise to be more conservative, and to exercise the utmost caution on the doctrine of revelation. We do not want to limit our perception of our all-powerful God, but we also do not want open the door to doctrinal errors.
What are the arguments for and against continuationism?
Beeke and Smalley listed ten arguments for the continuation of special revelation, to which they responded with opposing arguments. This article reorganizes the authors’ list by first addressing the Biblical and theological arguments for continuationism (1 to 8), before addressing the accounts of historical movements and personal experiences (9 to 10).
First, God had promised in the Old Testament. God promised, through prophet Joel, that he would pour out his Spirit with prophetic gifts (Joel 2:28-32), fulfilling Moses’ wish that all of God’s people would prophesy (Numbers 11:29). At Pentecost, this promise was fulfilled (Acts 2:17-18).
In response, the authors “deny that the signs mentioned by Joel must continue throughout the age for God to keep his promise. The promise speaks of ‘wonders’ and ‘sign’s related to the ‘day of the Lord’ … particularly mentioning cosmic disturbances. The day of the Lord came in a partial sense in the earthly ministry and death of Jesus, and was marked by such cosmic disturbances …. However, these disturbances do no occur throughout the new covenant era” (412). The authors contend that “God’s people do not need to prophesy to experience the fullness of the outpoured Spirit” (ibid), pointing Paul’s rhetoric that not all Christians need to be prophets (1 Corinthians 12:29).
Second, Paul taught that gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy and tongues are normal aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the church (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). In response, the authors explain that “Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians appear to speak to particular questions raised by the Corinthians. We should be careful, therefore, not to extrapolate from Paul’s lists of the Spirit’s gifts a normative experience of the Spirit for all churches in all ages … Paul includes apostles among the gifts, although not every congregation had an apostle in its midst” (414)—and there are no more apostles after the first century.
Third, some proponents cite 1 Corinthians 13 to argue that supernatural gifts will continue until Christ returns. In response, the authors point to the latter half of the chapter, where Paul wrote that prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will end—in contrast to love that will continue forever. “Paul does not tell us when prophecy and tongues will end, for his point is not chronology but the eternal endurance of love in contrast to present knowledge” (414).
Fourth, Paul commends the gifts of tongues and prophecy for building the church (1 Corinthians 14:3-5), therefore we should not expect God to suspend such gifts. In addition, Paul wrote that “Christ gave apostles and prophets to build up the church until it reaches full maturity” (Ephesians 4:11-13), but we have not yet arrived at this goal.
In response, the authors explain that “God would never remove something good from his church that it needed, but nothing prevents him from replacing that thing with something better” (415). At the end of 1 Corinthians 13, Paul explains that God will “graduate them to superior gifts that make the first gifts obsolete” (ibid). The authors point to analogies of the tabernacle and temple, and explain that we now have the Bible that no longer require new prophets to reveal more of God’s will. “The work of the apostles and prophets continues to build the church, not through their living presence, but by the deposit of truth they left behind in the New Testament Scriptures” (415).
Fifth, Paul told the Corinthians to earnestly desire to prophesy, and not forbid speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39). He also told the Thessalonians to not quench the Spirit and to despise prophesying (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20). This argument presupposes that the continuation of prophecy and tongues, which has been addressed in the above arguments.
Sixth, the Bible teaches that we live in a supernatural world, in which God performs miracles and makes himself known. Some proponents argue that Spirit-filled Christians are thus able to participate in this supernatural world. In response, the authors point to God’s demonstration of power and love in events also recorded in the Bible, such as for Ruth, Esther, Nehemiah.
At the same time, the authors acknowledge that “God does mysterious things to guide and provide for his people. His angels constantly attend to his people (Hebrews 1:14), and we may interact with ‘angels unawares’ (Hebrews 13:2). God grants special insight into his covenant purposes to those who fear him (Psalm 25:14). On occasion, the Lord may give his servants knowledge or comfort that transcends human explanation.” (420).
Seventh, supernatural gifts are available to Christians because the Holy Spirit is with us. In response, the authors state that “there is no necessary connection between the empowerment of the Spirit and new revelations” (413).
Eighth, the Bible does not explicitly indicate that spiritual gifts have ceased. Some proponents point to passages from the Book of Revelations, concerning a “continuing prophetic ministry in the church” (421). In response, the authors explain that “the Bible does not need to say something expressly in so many words in order to teach it” (422). The Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6 asserts that God revealed his will “by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture”.
Ninth, church history shows many instances in which God gave revelations and prophecies. Some proponents point to reports from the Montanists, Augustine of Hippo, Patrick of Ireland, Francis of Assisi, and George Fox of the Quakers. In response, the authors “urge caution regarding historical accounts of miracles, which are often marred by superstition and hagiography” (416).
“Among the wonders recorded by medieval writers are many supposedly worked by the elements of the Eucharist or by images of Christ and the saints” (417). The authors highlight the often questionable theologies of individuals from which these reports are recounted. For example, John Owen and John Bunyan took issues with the early Quakers. “Claims to new revelations and miraculous gifts have often been accompanied by serious theological errors and worldliness” (418).
Tenth, many people have testified to receiving dreams, visions, prophesies, and the ability to speak in tongues. In response, the authors “urge caution in interpreted such experiences. We must not base our faith upon experiences, but subject our understanding of our experiences to the [Bible]. People of many religions have tested to profound spiritual and supernatural experiences. If we are to credit all such experiences with divine authenticity, then we must affirm the validity of many ways to God, even those that contradict the gospel of Jesus Christ … people may experience with spirit is, demonstrations of supernatural power, and superhuman revelations that are not of God” (419).
More critically, the authors note that “speaking in tongues may be a kind of ‘free vocalization’, an exercise that children can perform and adults can quickly learn. A godly Christian might express love to God through what he believes to be from God’s Spirit but what in fact is from the human spirit …. Christians are also greatly influenced by their churches and friends, naturally imitating the behaviors of those around them. Preachers and congregations can exert tremendous psychological pressure upon conscientious Christians to follow prescribed patterns of experience when such are presented as true spirituality” (419).
What are the challenges of continuationism?
The authors are aware that the debate of cessation and continuationism of special revelation has real implications for the Christian life. However, the authors note that “when people ascribe … to mystical experiences, the results are damaging to their spiritual lives” (449).
The authors list three key challenges of continuationism:
- “Continuationism tends to put people in bondage to individual leaders … if people are convinced that someone has a regular ministry of receiving direct revelations from God, they will ascribe unusual authority to that person. They will seek his counsel more fervently, listen to him more attentively, follow his instructions more submissively, and support his ministry more generously. Granting such a person the title of apostle or prophet aggravates the problem … the moment we call someone a prophet, we invoke thoughts of Moses and Elijah in those whose minds are marinated with Scripture” (450).
- “Continuationism tends to put people to bondage to presumptuous beliefs. Someone communicates to them a supposed revelation about their future health, career, marriage, children or ministry. This encourages them to pray and act with faith that God will do this. However, their faith has no basis in God’s Word, and therefore, it is presumption. They may fall into great discouragement and doubt about God’s faithfulness when things do not go as they hope” (451-452).
- “Continuationism tends to put people in bondage to human thoughts, impressions, and feelings … when [people] view their inner experiences as potential revelations or words from God, then they enslave themselves to subjective impressions and impulses. This results in false guilt, legalism, and superstition, for our thoughts and emotions are merely human, even when sanctified by God’s spirit. We should not lean on our own understanding, but seek our wisdom from the Word of God (Proverbs 2:1-9; 3:5)” (452). When Paul said that Christians are “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18), he meant in the context of God’s leading of Christians “along the pathway of putting sin to death, embracing love and holiness, and preserving through suffering in the hope of glory (Romans 8:12-17; Galatians 5:19-24)” (ibid).
This article is part of a series on systematic theology, based upon the first of four volumes of Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley.
