Cessationism

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Please read full post before commenting! blessings -zack hensley

There is a school of thought that says the special revelation – Prophecy, tongues, the office of the Apostle and Prophet, dreams, visions, and miracles – have ceased when the first Apostles died. The school of thought is called Cessasionism. The belief is that signs and wonders, dreams, visions, prophecy, and apostolic authority were for the purpose to give authenticity to the early apostles. I bring this point up before I continue with my posts on Revelation, because many who read here subscribe to this school of thought however strongly or loosely, and I care about us knowing the truth here.

I do not agree with this school of thought for one simple reason: There is no actual evidence in scripture. I have only seen or heard of one proof texted verse (ICor. 13:8), and two more verses (Eph.2:20 and Hebrews 1:1) where we are to assume that the gifts and offices were only for those in the early church, to give credibility to there ministry. Many founding early church fathers held Cessasionalist beleifs, but later changed their views. Here are a couple of them as an exhausted list would be to long:

• Origen (185-253 AD) He said that the gifts were signs of the “Apostolic Age”. Though He professes to have been an eye-witness to many instances of exorcism, healing, and prophecy. He states that he refused to record them however so as to not arose the laughter of the unbeliever. That’s not surprising considering Origen is the Father of the Apologetics.

• Jason The Martyr Considered by some to be a cessasionist, but further investigation reveals that this opinion is held merely because he mentions the gifts of the spirit on different occasions, but leaves out the gift of tongues. Later study finds because he didn’t understand them, he never denounced them.

• Augustine of Hippo. Augustine mentions the outpouring in Acts 2 to have been specifically for that age, and that those gifts no longer exist. However he reports signs and wonders, healing, and visions later in his ministry in chapter 22 of The City of God.

More history…

· Athanasius and Gregory of Nyssa From epic the Counsel of Nicaea, spoke openly about the Gifts. Athanasius said that “The gifts of the spirit are God’s sanctifying grace or manifestation… are the gifts of the Spirit… there is nothing that is perfected in the Word that isn’t through the Spirit. “ (from Crisis in Byzantium) Eusthius, also on the counsel, was told by God in a dream that the counsel would meet that give them understanding through the spirit to effectively decide scripture.

· Macarius and other early church leaders (400’s-600’s) received dreams and visions for God that dictated their decisions. Macarius was directed by the Lord in dreams to sift out heresies that were being preached in Christian sects by the likes of Nestorius, a famous heretic.

· Martin Luther Prophesied to Litchtenberg that he would be Judged by God For his false prophesy. Litchenberg had been declaring false things concerning the Peasants War. Luther said that he was not a Prophet that spoke by the Spirit of God. Luther said “God directs the external part of the world in part through human action and in part in an extraordinary manner through angles, omans” He later spoke about Christians not seeking only prophecy but the word, but never denounces the spirits move in the realm of prophecy. (“Martin Luther” by Martin Brecht)

· John Knox Moved in Great signs and wonders including dreams and visions in founding the Presbyterian Church.

· Jonathan Edwards Spoke and acknowledged the movement of the Spirit during the Great Awakening. He acknowledged the spirit of prophecy and the Spirit arousing the emotions while he spoke. He however distanced Himself from the “French prophets” of Heruenot. Not denouncing that they heard from God, but thought their bodily manifestations to be embarrassing to the faith, and had caused embarrassment to his contemporary John Wesley during a revival meeting. (“Myths about Jonathan Edwards” by Bary Chant)

· John Wesley on numerous occasions (In “A Biography of John Wesley” Stephen Tomkins) had dreams that directed him in ministry, and had times when he heard from the Lord.

Even those “mystics” during those times were not part of some obscure sect of the church. St. Bernard of Clairvieux had more authority than the Pope in his day. In fact he was asked to be Pope and sent his understudy to fill the role instead. Kings would come to Bernard and ask them what they should do. Bernard walked into nations and demanded they cease their wars, and they did. St. Francis another “mystic” written off because of that label by cessationists. Received the audible voice of the Lord as to where the church in Italy was going, walked into the Pope’s chambers and rebuked him. The Pope not only ad here’d to his rebuke, but gave him his own order as a result of his hearing the direction of the Lord. The point is, Cessationists appeal to church history to make their case when church history really says otherwise.

Many claim “Sola Scriptura” that all things that can and will be revealed are found solely in the Word and deny special revelation of any kind. I believe that the Word is indeed our primary source for revelation. Which is why when that Word contains prolific amounts of evidence in favor of the gifts and offices, I raise a brow at those who would ignore it. More over I raise a brow because those who claim that good doctrine is above all, have such bad doctrine concerning the gifts of the Spirit.

The Word is living and active; it’s Christ. Yet Jesus explicitly promised us His Holy Spirit to help us. Why would the Spirit cease operating in the way it did all through scripture because the first apostles died? For the answer to this question there is no scriptural answer. Thus cessasionism is not a biblical doctrine, but an extra biblical philosophy.

Please pause… here is why I care about this

Take a deep breath blessed cessationist friends for my intent is not to blast you, but offer some advice.

I understand I’m hammering away at something many have researched and many have believed in for years. I understand that the discussion surrounding this may break out into a large drawn out debate possibly never landing on any agreement. I take the risk of entering this sort of draining debate for this reason: God is active, and wants to speak to you, and us in the Church.

It is true that Edwards, Wesley, Augustine, Luther, the Counsel , and most fathers would not like much of what goes on in the Charismatic Church. But I also believe they would not like much of what goes on in reformed cessasionist camps. Had the Great Awakening of the 1600’s been today many cessasionist would have written it off. As many did indeed have emotional manifestations, dreams, open visions. When Edwards initially preached “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God” Many screamed and panted as they had open visions of the ground opening up beneath them and swallowing them into Hell. This is what punctuated Edwards’ message, and sparked people desiring conversion, not just the content of his message.

In our efforts to proclaim the gospel and the message of Christ to the ends of the Earth, if we present a God that is void of encounter we are saying God is no longer active. We are being functionally atheistic. This makes God an intellectual entity, not one who is living and active. I care because I know God is living and active. I have heard the Lord speak on many occasions. I have presented the gospel to an atheist on the street and told him, “tonight God will speak to you in a dream”. He came back the next day saying “you were right! God spoke to me! He’s real!”

I care because in our day if there was ever a need for Apostles and Prophets in our land its now. Whether eschatological or not, the times we live in our treacherous, specifically for those in the faith. As the gospel is being rapidly diminished by universal and prosperity doctrines, and the testimony of the church in this hour is that NO ONE has any revelation from heaven to offer but doctrinal disputes with one another.

I care because we have to be united on this front as a church: God is living and active. God is speaking and God will display the evidences of his reality in this day.

Thesis

I appeal to my cessationist friends this: Do not let the theological neglect concerning how to minister the gifts in one part of the body lead you to neglect those very gifts that Christ has given us to effectively minister the gospel you so vehemently and rightly wish to defend. As a church we need the gifts. We need something from God, we need to know His heart, and we desperately need wisdom from heaven. I have nothing to offer this world of unbelievers unless it’s in the Word, in Christ, or revelation from Heaven.

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Filed under Christian, Religion, faith, theology

Tags: Athanasius, Augustine, cessationists, Eusthius, God, Gregory of Nyssa, Holy Spirit, Jason the Martyr, Jesus Christ, John Knox, John Wesley, Macarius, Martin Luther, Origen, sola scriptura, the gifts of the spirit, The Gospel