Center for Biblical Theology and Eschatology
The Charismatic Movement - The Gifts have Ceased
by Rev. Keith Watkins
This is the substance of a paper
given at the Free Presbyterian Church Youth Conference, April
1996. Surely it cannot have escaped anyone's notice that a most
unwelcome tree has been growing in the garden of the professing
church of Christ. Since the 1960s this tree has experienced
phenomenal growth, and has now spread so profusely that there is
hardly a corner to which its rapidly extending branches have not
reached. And although Christian in name and evangelical in
profession, wherever it goes, it casts a dark shadow over vital
Biblical Christianity. This is the tree of the charismatic
movement, that section of Christendom which insists on the
continuance today of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit
recorded in the New Testament, such as speaking with tongues
unknown to the speaker, uttering divine prophecies and performing
miraculous healings. In New Testament Greek, the word for gifts
is charismata, which is why the movement has been called
charismatic. In fact, the New Testament uses this word for gills
of any kind, ordinary as well as extraordinary. Nevertheless, in
accordance with current usage and for purposes of clarity, this
paper will use the term charismata to speak of the special
gifts by which the charismatic movement claims to distinguish
itself. (1) There are two approaches to dealing with
an unwanted tree. The first is to lop off the branches one by one.
This we could do with the charismatic tree, beginning with some
of its wilder branches: the disorderly irreverence of its worship;
the deceitful hoax of its miracles; the blatant showmanship of
its leadership; the false inspiration of its prophecies and
revelations; the absurd manifestations of its Toronto blessing,(2) the God-dishonouring
and truth-denying embraces of its ecumenism. To cut away at its
sensational and dramatic claims might be entertaining - but not
very edifying, nor indeed altogether effective, since we would
allow the trunk of the tree to stand untouched. We might prune
some of the excessive outgrowths that way, but a pruned
charismatic is a charismatic still. The second approach is to lay the axe to the very root of the
tree and so hew down the whole altogether, root and branch. This
is the approach that is adopted in this paper. A tree-felling axe
sufficient to the task can be found only in the Biblical doctrine
of cessationism. This doctrine, held by all kinds of
orthodox Christians throughout the centuries, states that the
charismatic gifts have completely ceased. The assertion that
these gifts have not ceased lies at the very basis of the
charismatic movement - and thus the cessationist axe strikes at
the very root of the tree. Once it is seen that, according to the
Bible, God has long since ceased to give the charismata of
the Holy Spirit, then and only then is it understood that the
whole movement must be a delusion, and not of God. The axe of
cessationism is a weapon mighty through God to the pulling down
of each and every charismatic stronghold. Regrettably, in today's
doctrinal confusion, cessationism is like the axe that one of the
sons of the prophets let fall into the water. It remained hidden
out of sight until Elisha caused it to float again (see 2 Kings 6:5-7).
We need to plead with the God of Elisha to cause the doctrine of
cessationism to surface once more. Why have the charismatic gifts ceased? Surely if gifts of
tongues, prophecies and healings were needed in New Testament
times, they are still needed now? No! God, the giver of every
good and perfect gift, does nothing without a reason. When He
gave the charismata He did so for certain specific reasons
-to achieve certain defined purposes. Those reasons and purposes
are clearly taught in the Word of God - and here is the sharp
edge of our axe: when we examine those purposes we find that they
were all of a temporary nature, entirely confined to the
period of the early New Testament church. Now that those purposes
have been fulfilled it would be pointless and purposeless to give
charismatic gifts. Therefore we may be sure that the gifts have
ceased. Four purposes may be established for the charismatic gifts,
all of them temporary - proving that the gifts are no longer
needed: firstly, to mark the transition from the Old to
the New Testament; secondly, to give authentication to the
apostles; thirdly, to supply additional revelation whilst
the canon of Scripture remained incomplete; and fourthly, to
indicate a major and impending addition to the canon of
Scripture revelation. In considering these purposes, effectively
we are aiming four fatal blows to the root of the charismatic
tree, to hew down the whole, If only these purposes were
understood, there would no longer be a charismatic movement. 1. Transition to the New Testament The first purpose of the special charismatic gifts was to mark
the most important transition between the closing of the Old
Testament dispensation and the opening of the New. Too frequently
this aspect of the early history of the New Testament church has
been neglected. The period during which God gave the
extraordinary charismatic gifts was itself extraordinarily
special. It was then that God began to administer His one
covenant of grace in a new way. So momentous was this change that
God gave the charismata to the people of the new covenant
community to mark it in a most unmistakable manner. In particular, the transition saw God's saving dealings, which
previously had been confirmed ordinarily to the Jews, now
extended to the whole Gentile world. When we remember how
difficult the prophet Jonah found it to accept God's mercy being
bestowed upon the Gentiles of Nineveh in one exceptional case, we
can begin to understand how difficult it would be for a Jew to
accept the more fundamental New Testament transition to embrace
the Gentiles in general. The charismata were miracles
designed to bring the Jews to acknowledge, as the Egyptian
magicians had to do in another case: "This is the finger of
God" (Exodus 8:19). The Day of Pentecost was the official inauguration of the new
dispensation. It is no coincidence that it was also the first day
when any charismata were manifested - in this case, by the
use of tongues especially. Jews out of every nation under heaven
were amazed to hear unlearned Galileans speaking fluently in the
different languages of the nations of the earth. "What
meaneth this?" they exclaimed in bewilderment. Peter lifted
up his voice and explained that it meant the transition to the
New Testament dispensation: "This is that which was spoken
by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days,
saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your
sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:16,17). Why were they speaking in these different tongues? Because now
in the new dispensation God would be worshipped among all nations,
even by the Gentiles, so that "whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved" (verse 21). Whoever they
were, whether Jew or Gentile, and whatever language they used, it
would make no difference: if they called on the name of the Lord,
they would be saved. So exceptional was this change in God's
administration of the covenant, that the Old Testament had
promised that the Holy Spirit would mark it with charismatic
gifts: prophecies; visions; and dreams. This was the apostolic
understanding of the purpose of the charismata, on the
very first day they were given. When Gentiles in the household of Cornelius were indeed
admitted into the covenant of grace, they were led therefore to
speak in tongues (Acts 10:44-47). This was (as it were) the
Gentile Pentecost, and the charismatic gift of tongues was the
miraculous proof of transition, from the largely Jews-only
dispensation of the Old Testament to the Gentile-inclusive
dispensation of the New. Later, some of the Jews questioned what
had taken place amongst the Gentiles -how could it be of God?
Peter defended it by referring them to the transitional purpose
of the charismatic gifts: "Forasmuch then as God gave them
the like gift as he did unto us, . . . what was I, that I could
withstand God?" (Acts 11:17). This removed their doubts:
"When they heard these things, they held their peace, and
glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life" (v.18). How did they come to accept
the transition? By the evidence of the charismatic gift of
tongues. That is what tongues were intended for. Paul opened up the transitional purpose of the charismata in
1 Corinthians 14:21 when, referring to Isaiah 28:11, he wrote,
"In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and
other lips will I speak unto this people." The gift of
tongues was a sign to intimate that the Gentile dispensation had
arrived. Further, it was a sign of judgment to unbelieving Jews:
"Yet for all that will they not hear Me, saith the Lord.
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but
to them that believe not" (verses 21,22). Because the Jews
were so hard of heart, therefore God would gather the Gentiles -
and the different languages spoken by the early Christians were
the death knell for the old Jewish dispensation. This transition took place almost two thousand years ago. Is
it even remotely possible that at the end of the twentieth
century God would still be marking it with the special
charismatic gifts? Of course not. God has sufficiently marked it
already with the charismata of the first century, and they
are now recorded in Scripture for us for all time. The fall of
Jerusalem in 70 AD put a decisive end to the old Jewish economy,
and since then no special gifts have been required for this
purpose, for it is very plain and very clear that the transition
has been completed. In proving that this first purpose of the charismata
was temporary and fulfilled, we have laid the first blow of
the cessationist axe to the root of the charismatic tree. The
gifts have ceased. 2.Authentication of the Apostles The second purpose of the charismatic gifts was one of
authentication - to ratify the apostles of the New Testament as
the true and authentic messengers of the Lord. When God raised up
extraordinary messengers, often He authenticated them by giving
them power to work signs and wonders. When Moses was sent to the
children of Israel in Egypt, he was afraid and said, "But,
behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice"
(Exodus 4:1). So God gave him power to work miracles - to turn
his rod into a serpent, to make his hand leprous, and to turn
water into blood. Why? That by these signs "they may believe
that the Lord God of their fathers... hath appeared unto thee"
(verse 5). These special gifts were to authenticate Moses as God's
true messenger. Again, the many miracles that Elijah and Elisha
did were to confirm and authenticate their extraordinary
prophetic mission from God. For this reason the psalmist puts
prophets and signs together in Psalm 74:9, "We see not our
signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us
any that knoweth how long." Miraculous signs were designed
to authenticate God's extraordinary messengers. This was God's method in the New Testament too. It was so with
the Saviour Himself 'The Messenger of the covenant" (Malachi
3:1), for Peter was about to preach at Pentecost of "Jesus
of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and
wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as
ye yourselves also know" (Acts 2:22). Thus was the Messiah
authenticated by the extraordinary signs that He did. Nicodemus
understood this when he came to Jesus by night and said, "We
know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do
these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" (John
3:2). In answer to the question from John the Baptist, "Art
thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" the
Saviour's words were simply, "Go and shew John again those
things which ye do hear and see." What things? The
miraculous signs that He was doing: "The blind receive their
sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up" (Mt 11:3-5). Those signs
proved Him to be the One that should come, the sent Messiah. If Moses the lawgiver, Elijah and Elisha the prophets, and
even Jesus the Messiah were all authenticated by the signs that
they did, surely we would expect that the apostles would also be
authenticated as the inspired messengers of God. And so they were.
Their divine commission was authenticated by means of the
charismatic gifts of the early New Testament church. It is vital
to understand this: that in those early days, when false apostles
abounded, the charismata were given for the purpose of
authenticating the true apostolic messengers of Christ. Paul, for
example, was able to prove his genuine apostleship by the
miraculous signs that he did: "Truly the signs of an apostle
were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders,
and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). The other apostles
- those who had heard the Lord in the days of His flesh - enjoyed
the same seal of approval and authority: "God also bearing
them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will"
(Hebrews 2:4). It is plain enough that the signs done by Paul and the other
apostles themselves authenticated their apostolic commission, but
what about the charismatic gifts exercised by others in the early
New Testament church? At first sight it would seem that neither
the healings wrought by Philip the evangelist in Samaria for
example, nor the tongues spoken by sundry believers in Corinth,
could possibly have the purpose of authenticating the apostles.
But on closer examination it is in fact the case that every charismatic
gift was the sign of an apostle! For they were all evidences of connection
with an apostle. This is made clear in the eighth chapter of Acts. Philip the
evangelist, not an apostle, had come to the city of Samaria, and
was not only preaching but also doing miracles. The charismatics
take this as proof that all preachers, even non-apostolic ones,
should expect to have their ministry authenticated by signs and
wonders. But no! Even Philip's signs were to authenticate the
apostles. For whilst Philip could exercise charismatic gifts
himself, he was altogether powerless to impart that ability to
anyone else. Only the apostles, by God-given ability, could
convey the charismata to others. The extraordinary
manifestations of the Holy Spirit could not come upon any of the
believers in Samaria by means of Philip's ministry-"as yet
he was fallen upon none of them" (verse 16) - that is, to
give them charismatic gifts as on the Day of Pentecost. Only
apostolic contact could impart the special charismatic gifts of
the Holy Spirit to others. Only when the apostles Peter and John
came, did this happen: "Then laid they their hands on them,
and they received the Holy Ghost" (verse 17). Therefore every occurrence of the charismata - whoever
it was that spoke in tongues, whoever it was that gave a prophecy,
whoever it was that worked a miracle, whoever it was that
performed a healing - was always an authentication of the
apostles, because in every case the possession of such a gift
could be traced back to apostolic contact. No one but an apostle
had instrumental ability to pass on charismatic gifts. In this
regard, Simon the sorcerer, though he had neither part nor lot in
saving grace, yet he understood far more than present-day
charismatics about charismatic gifts when he "saw that
through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given"
(verse 18). Thus, whether charismatic gifts were wrought by the
apostles themselves, or by evangelists like Philip, or by
ordinary believers like those in Corinth, it made no difference.
All the charismata were authenticating the apostles. Do the apostles still need to be authenticated today? Surely
not. Scripture's testimony of the charismata is sufficient
evidence for us of their authentication from God. We must follow
the principle laid down in John 20:30,31, "And many other
signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are
not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing ye might have life through his name." If we seek
proof of apostolic commission, we must not look for miraculous
signs to be done all over again before our very eyes, but we must
believe the apostolic signs written for us in the Word of
God. Before the closing of the New Testament canon, apostolic
ability to work miracles was already declining. In his last
inspired epistle, Paul wrote, "Erastus abode at Corinth: but
Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick" (2 Timothy 4:20). Why
did Paul the apostle not heal Trophimus, if not for the reason
that the charismatic gift of healing was already being withdrawn?
Paul wrote only two more inspired verses after that one. By this
means it seemed good to the Holy Ghost to show that already the
apostles had been sufficiently confirmed and authenticated by the
miracles that they had already done. Their charismatic gifts were
no longer needed and were passing away - if not yet altogether
passed away. Some charismatics try to evade this reasoning by insisting
that the Church still has apostles today, who need their own
personal authentication just as surely as the New Testament ones
received theirs. But there cannot be apostles at the end
of the twentieth century. For one thing, a necessary
qualification of an apostle was that he had seen Christ,
concerning which Paul wrote, "And last of all he was seen of
me also, as one born out of due time" (1 Corinthians 15:8).
Further, the ministry of the apostles, together with that of the
New Testament prophets who exercised a charismatic gift of
prophecy (like Agabus in Acts 11:28), was foundational. The New
Testament Church was "built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets" Ephesians 2:20). A foundation does
not have to be laid twice! Now that the apostolic foundation has
been fully laid in the doctrines of the New Testament Scriptures
written by them and their closest associates, the extraordinary
office of apostle is no longer needed. It was a temporary office
confined to the early days of the New Testament Church. Therefore,
since there are no longer any apostles to authenticate, the
authenticating charismata are redundant. We have proved,
then, that this second, authenticating, purpose of the charismata
was temporary and long ago fulfilled. In so doing the second blow
has been laid to the root of the charismatic tree with the
cessationist axe. The gifts have ceased. 3. Revelation for an Interim Period THE third purpose of several of the charismatic gifts was one
of revelation: to supplement the canon of Scripture that was then
still incomplete. Not all the charismata were revelatory,
but some were. So in church services in Corinth, for example, one
man would bring revelation by way of prophecy, a second man by
way of another tongue with its interpretation, and a third man by
way of a word of knowledge. One gilt even went by the name of
"a revelation" in I Corinthians 14:26. Divine
revelation was being given through these revelatory charismata.
This temporary and interim revelation was necessary for the
New Testament church in her early years, before the New Testament
itself was written in its entirety. Yes, the church had the
revelation of the Old Testament, but she needed new revelation
appropriate for the new dispensation of the covenant of grace.
The Old Testament Scriptures were sufficient for believers during
that dispensation. But once the fullness of the time was come and
God had sent forth His Son to die
and rise again, thus ushering in the new dispensation, the New
Testament church needed further revelation. In the wisdom of God,
New Testament revelation would not be inscripturated in its
entirety for a number of decades. In the meantime, revelatory charismata
were given for the purpose of supplying the revelatory needs
of the early New Testament church. By definition such a purpose had to be temporary. It was an
interim measure, which would have to cease once that period came
to an end. As soon as the New Testament Scriptures were completed,
and the canon of the Bible was finished, there was no need for
revelatory sign gifts. Their purpose had been fulfilled. All the
church's revelatory needs were met now by the completed canon of
the Word of God. This truth is summarised in the first paragraph
of the Westminster Confession: "…It pleased the Lord,
at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal Himself, and to
declare that His will unto His Church; and afterwards, for the
better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more
sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the
corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world,
to commit the same wholly unto writing: which maketh the Holy
Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God's
revealing His will unto His people being now ceased." God's
former ways of revealing His will, and that includes the
revelatory charismata, have ceased, because the whole
Bible is now available. Paul wrote about the charismata in I Corinthians 13:8-13,
"Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in
part' and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is
come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a
child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as
a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then lace to lace: now I
know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And
now abideth faith; hope, charity, these three; hut the greatest
of these is charity." The Corinthians were told that a time would come when the charismata
of which they made so much would be no more. Prophecies would
fail; tongues would cease; knowledge, that is, the special
charismatic gilt of extraordinary knowledge and insight, would
vanish away. Compared with faith, hope and charity, the
charismatic gifts were temporary. When Paul wrote of the time
"when that which is perfect is come", some believe that
fie was looking forward to the completion of the perfected canon
of Scripture. When all of God's intended revelation would be
committed to writing, then the Church would no longer know just
"in part" or "through a glass, darkly", but
would come "face to face" with the whole truth as it is
in Jesus. Then the Church, having reached her maturity, could
"put away childish things", meaning the temporary gifts
that were intended to be an interim measure until the perfection
of the canon. If this is the case, then this passage teaches
expressly that the gifts would cease when the last New Testament
revelation was written. However, this interpretation has been disputed by many - and
not just by the charismatics themselves. The more usual exegesis
is to understand Paul as referring to heaven when he speaks of
perfection. If this is the case, although the passage is not
telling us expressly when the revelatory charismata would
cease, nevertheless it is teaching their cessation, and further,
it is laying down a principle of great significance. Even if the
"child" of the passage is the Church militant
throughout her time in this world and the "man" is the
Church triumphant in the next world, still the principle is here
being taught that partial and less clear forms of revelation must
give way, in God's purposes, to the fuller and brighter. "When
that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall
be done away." From a revelatory point of view, the charismata
could only ever be in part. They were never intended to
supplant the place of the written Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments, which are "perfect" (see Psalm 19:7),
especially when considered as one completed whole. Applying this
principle of the passage then will lead to the same conclusion:
the charismatic gifts were no longer needed for purposes of
revelation once the whole of God's revelation for this world was perfected in the
finishing of the New Testament. And therefore revelatory charismata
were no longer given once the Bible was complete. Whilst they existed, the revelatory charismata were
signs that the Scripture was incomplete and insufficient. Every
prophecy, every tongue, every interpretation, was a statement
saying, "Scripture is incomplete and insufficient."
Such gifts have to stop as soon as Scripture's canon was finished.
To have them continue after that would undermine the sufficiency
of Scripture. So what is every pretended prophecy and tongue and
interpretation in the modern charismatic movement saying? In
effect, it is saying, "The charismatic movement thinks that
the Scripture is still incomplete and insufficient." Dissatisfaction with the Bible lies at the heart of the
charismatic craving for revelatory sign gifts. The movement does
not believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. Surely this
consideration alone should be enough to topple the charismatic
tree in the eyes of those who love the Word of God. This is a
reason why the cessationist axe needs to be rediscovered so
urgently. Nothing less than the sufficiency of Scripture is at
stake! To battle against the charismatic movement is to contend
for the precious Biblical doctrine summarised in the Westminster
Confession: "The whole counsel of God concerning all things
necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is
either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary
consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at
any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit
or the traditions of men…" (chapter 1, paragraph IV).
We are told by some that the Confession needs updating because it
is inadequate to deal with today's situations. Admittedly, it
does not contain the words "charismatic movement", but
nevertheless it is astonishing how able it is to wield the
cessationist axe and aim with great precision this third blow to
the root of the charismatic tree! With a completed Bible, there
is no longer any need for interim revelations. The gifts have
ceased. 4. Indication of Addition to Scripture The fourth purpose of the charismata was to give notice
of the impending major addition to the canon of the written,
inscripturated Word of God. Not only were the gifts an interim
measure to supplement the incomplete canon of Scripture, they
were a signal that such incompleteness was soon to be relieved by
additions to the written Word itself. The connection between Scripture and signs in the workings of
the Most High must not be overlooked. Careful observers of Bible
history will expect an impending major addition to inscripturated
revelation whenever there is a flurry of signs and miracles.
Miraculous signs were not given continuously in a constant stream
throughout history. If they had, plainly they would have ceased
to be effective signs of anything. During the Old Testament dispensation, miracles were largely
confined to just two periods, and both were connected most
intimately with major additions to the Bible. The first period
was that of Moses. His miraculous gifts served not only to
authenticate his call, but also to give a divine testimony to the
new written revelation that God was to give through him.
By inspiration, Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books
of the Bible, commonly referred to as "the law". The
second period was that of the prophets. Just as the law was
signified as truly from God by miraculous gifts, so also was the
revelation given by the prophets. The miracles of Elijah and
Elisha as it were inaugurated the period of inscripturation by
means of prophets. The signs wrought through those two men
heralded the second great part of the Old Testament canon, "the
prophets". Thus both parts of the Old Testament, "the
law and the prophets" (Luke 16:16), had miracles to testify
that they were divine. So, in the New Testament also, we would expect to see miracles
to testify to the new inscripturated revelation that God then
gave. And this we do see. For the special charismata in
the days of the apostles were given to indicate another major -
and final - addition to the canon of Scripture, that is, the
gospels and epistles of the New Testament, to be written by the
apostles and their closest associates. No wonder such lengths
were gone to in order to authenticate the apostles, for they were
to be the instruments in the hands of the Lord for adding the New
Testament to the Word of God. Now, if there really were a resurgence of charismatic signs
and wonders in our day, we would have to be looking expectantly
for a major addition to the written Word of God. Yet we know that
the canon of Scripture is closed for all time. The fourth-last
verse of the Bible states, "For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this hook, If any man
shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues
that are written in this hook" (Revelation 22:18). The New Testament is not like the Old, which had an inherent
requirement for farther revelation to complete it, once the
promised Messiah would come and fulfil its promises. The New
Testament has completed the Bible and needs no supplement. It
inherently rules out any addition whatsoever. This contrast we
see at the beginning of the epistle to the Hebrews: "(3od,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto
the' fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son" (1:1-2). The New Testament is the revelation
that God has given by His Son, that is, in the Person and work of
His Son as He came into the world to fulfil all that was promised.
Through His Son's incarnation and finished work, God has spoken
to us fully, and that "speech" is recorded for us in
the New Testament. Nothing can possibly be added to God's
wondrous revelation in Christ! The charismatic movement's claim to possess the charismata is
effectively a denial of the perfection of God's revelation in
Christ. It is as if Christ and the revelation of God by Him is
not enough. In seeking farther revelations beyond what is written
in the New Testament, charismatics are in danger of expressing
dissatisfaction not only with the Bible, but with Christ Himself.
If all that is written about the Saviour in completed Scripture
is felt to be insufficient, such a soul is not satisfied with
Christ Himself. Thus, whereas in the early church the real charismatic gifts
were a confirmation of the Scripture yet to come, now the
charismatic movement's deceptive imitations serve only to undermine
the Scripture that has already been given. The modern claim
to the charismata thus serves the very opposite purpose to
that of the real charismata of old. In the days of their
divine appointment, charismatic gifts directed souls to Scripture,
and in particular to the fullness of Christ as revealed in a
completed Bible; now, in the days of human imitation, they divert
souls away from Scripture, and away from the fullness of Christ
therein revealed. "Ye shall know them by their fruits." We have aimed our fourth and final blow to the root of the
charismatic tree with the cessationist axe: any period in which
signs and wonders truly flourish is one in which major additions
to Scripture revelation will be made, but since Scripture is
altogether complete and finalised in the coming of the Son of God,
therefore the charismatic gifts must have ceased. To conclude, the gifts have ceased. The charismata
were given for four purposes: to mark the transition from the
Old ~ the New Testament dispensation; to authenticate the
apostles and their message; to supply revelation before the Bible
was completed; and to ~ the impending major addition to
Scripture of the New Testament. All four purposes were temporary.
All four have long since been fulfilled. Therefore the
charismatic gifts themselves must have ceased. They have
ceased! No longer can they achieve any divinely appointed
purpose. May God Himself arise and plead His own cause, by
raising up again the doctrine of cessationism. When He does so,
the cessationist axe will fell the charismatic tree once and for
all! ============================ (1) Pentecostalism, the forerunner of the
charismatic movement, began about the beginning of the century,
with the same central claim: to possess and practise charismatic
gifts. It took its name from the Day of Pentecost, when the
charismata were first manifested. (Back) (2) Since this paper was given, things have
gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some charismatics are
now claiming that God has turned their teeth to gold -
miraculously. (Back)
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