I have debated cessationist on the
issue of modern-day gifts of the Spirit, such as speaking in tongues, for over
twenty years. In fact my very first public debate at the age of twenty-one was
on the subject of miraculous spiritual gifts. In the past twenty-plus years I
have debate several Biblical issues such as the baptismal formula, the Godhead,
music in the church, Sabbath keeping, etc.; but the one issue I have debated
more times than any is the subject of miraculous spiritual gifts in the church.
In addition to debating the issue myself, I have helped moderate public debates
on the issue of miraculous spiritual gifts. Lastly, I have studied other
debates on the issue of miraculous spiritual gifts that date back as far as the
1934 McPherson-Bogard debate on miraculous spiritual gifts.
One thing that ALL of these debates (which number into the hundreds) have in
common is that no matter what denominational beliefs they held, ALL the cessationist taught that
miraculous spiritual gifts ceased when the New Testament was completed in
writing. They ALL taught that “that
which is perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10 referred to the “perfected” or
“completed” New Testament Canon. Apparently their futile effort to prove that
“that which is perfect” refers to the completed New Testament has caused the
cessationist to reevaluate their argumentation, and they have introduced a new
type of cessationist argument. Some cessationist (partial-cessationist?) now
teach that “that which is perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10 DOES in fact refer to the “perfect state of all things to be
ushered in by the return of Christ from heaven” (Thayer), but they teach that
speaking in tongues (and apparently other miraculous gifts of which they pick
and choose) ceased at the end of the First Century – around the time of the
death of the last apostle. John MacArthur is one of the top spokesmen
advocating this view. This inconsistent view acknowledges that “prophecy” and
“word of knowledge” will “fail” and “vanish away” when that which is perfect is
come at the Second Coming, yet they teach that speaking with tongues and some
of the other miraculous gifts ceased at the end of the First Century.
“Verses 9, 10 indicate that what
will abolish knowledge and prophecy is ‘that which is perfect.’ When that
occurs, those gifts will be rendered inoperative. The ‘perfect’ is not the
completion of Scripture, since there is still operation of those two gifts and
will be in the future kingdom (cf. Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17; Rev. 11:3). The
Scriptures do not allow us to see ‘face to face’ or have perfect knowledge as
God does (v. 12) … The perfect must be the eternal state, when we in glory see
God face to face (Rev. 22:4) and have full knowledge in the eternal new heavens
and new earth.” (MacArthur Study Bible 1
Cor. 13:8).
So
in reality they teach only a partial cessation of spiritual gifts. Some
spiritual gifts have ceased, while the remaining spiritual gifts are still
active(?) in the church until the return of Christ from heaven. As proof of
this so-called partial cessation of spiritual gifts, John MacArthur makes the
following claim:
“Tongues, however, ‘will cease.’
The Greek verb used in 1 Corinthians 13:8 means ‘to cease permanently,’ and
implies that when tongues cease, they will never start up again … It should be
noted that 1 Corinthians 13:8 itself does not say when tongues were to cease.
Although 1 Corinthians 13:9-10 teaches that prophecy and knowledge will cease
when the ‘perfect’ (i.e., the eternal state) comes, the language of the passage
– particularly the middle voice of the
Greek verb translated ‘will cease’ – puts tongues in a category apart from
these gifts. Paul writes that while prophecy and knowledge will be ‘done away’
(passive voice) by the ‘perfect,’ the gift of tongues ‘will cease’ in and of
itself (middle voice) prior to the time
that ‘the perfect’ arrives.” (Emphasis JLW)
Notice that John MacArthur’s “proof”
that the gift of tongues will cease “prior to the time that ‘the perfect’
arrives” is that fact that the word “cease” in 1 Corinthians 13:8 is in the
middle voice. First of all it must be pointed out that the Voice of a verb in Greek has absolutely NOTHING to do with the time in which the verb takes place! “Voice”
in Greek typically indicates “WHO” does the action of the verb. So the fact
that “shall cease” is in the middle voice is NO indication that tongues will cease “prior to the time” that “the
perfect” will come.
Secondly, MacArthur is also mistaken
when he says that middle voice indicates that tongues will cease “in and of
itself.” In fact this is one of the “Grammatical Fallacies” covered by D. A. Carson
in his book Exegetical Fallacies pp.
75-77. Carson explains that the middle voice in Greek “has a wide range of
implications” (Carson, 76). The middle voice can mean the subject acts for
itself or sometimes it can mean that the subject allows something to be done. For example in Acts 22:16 the words
“baptize, wash away, and calling” are all in the middle voice. We certainly
wouldn’t think that “baptize” in the middle voice meant that Saul “baptized
himself.” Rather the middle voice indicates “allow yourself to be baptized” and
is translated as a passive “get yourself baptized” (A. T. Robertson, Large Grammar, p. 808).
Thirdly, Carson points out that “it
(cease – middle voice) never
unambiguously bears the meaning ‘to cease of itself’ (i.e., because of
something intrinsic in the nature of the subject); and several passages rule
out such overtones as the automatic semantic force of the middle voice form of
this verb” (Carson, 77). Carson points out that cease (middle voice) is also used in Luke 8:24 where Jesus rebuked
the wind and raging water and they “ceased” (middle voice). Clearly the wind
and raging water did not cease “in and of themselves,” rather they ceased in
obedience of the command of Jesus. In Acts 21:32 the rioters “ceased” (middle
voice) from beating Paul, not “in and of themselves,” but because they saw the
soldiers and centurions. In like manner tongues will “cease,” not in and of
themselves, but like all the rest of the spiritual gifts – when that which is
perfect is come (1 Corinthians 13:8). The change from passive to middle voice
in regards to passing of the spiritual gifts may indicate the reason these gifts cease. Prophecy will “fail”
(passive) because there will be nothing left to prophesy and everything that
has been prophesied will have been fulfilled. Word of Knowledge will “vanish
away” (passive) because we will no longer have a “word” of knowledge, rather we
will “know even as we are known” (vs. 12). However with the gift of tongues
there may not be any underlying “reason” why they are done away other than they
simply “cease” (middle voice) when that which is perfect is come.
Therefore there is nothing in the
grammar of 1 Corinthians13:8 to indicate that tongues will cease “prior to the
time” that “that which is perfect” is come. In fact 1 Corinthians 1:7 Paul
stated, “So that ye come behind in no
gift (charismata); waiting for
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Several translations (CENT, ISV, LEB, etc) render this, “So that you do not
lack any spiritual gift as you
eagerly await the revelation (apokalupsis)
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God placed the spiritual gifts in the church (1
Corinthians 12:28) and they will remain in the church until the church is
caught up at the Parousia of Jesus
Christ. There is NO passage in the
Bible that indicates any spiritual gifts would cease before the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ!
The so-called
Evidence from History
In his tract “The Gift of Tongues,”
MacArthur afforded more space to the so-called historical evidence as he did to
Scriptural evidence. MacArthur began his historical treatment:
“It is significant that tongues
are mentioned only in the earliest books of the New Testament. Paul wrote at
least twelve epistles after 1 Corinthians and never mentioned tongues again.
Peter never mentioned tongues; James never mentioned tongues; John never
mentioned tongues; neither did Jude. Tongues appeared only briefly in Acts and
1 Corinthians as the new message of the gospel was being spread. But once the
church was established, tongues were gone. They stopped.”
Let
me illustrate just how unintelligent this argument of silence really is.
MacArthur is saying that because speaking in tongues is not specifically
mentioned in certain epistles (such as Peter, James, John, & Jude) that
this is an indication that “tongues were gone. They stopped.” Apparently John
MacArthur thinks the New Testament books are laid out in chronological order.
This is not the case. The epistle of James is recognized by Bible scholars to
have been the very first New Testament epistle written. It is even believed
that the very Jewish nature of the epistle of James indicates that it was
written during a time (49 A.D.) when there were only Jewish believer – before
the conversion of the Gentiles in Acts chapter 10. And because James does not
specifically mention “speaking in tongues,” John MacArthur takes this to mean
that “tongues were gone. They stopped.” So, according to John MacArthur
“tongues were gone” BEFORE the
household of Cornelius was baptized with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of
speaking in tongues (Acts 10:44-48). Also “speaking in tongues” is not
mentioned in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, however these were Paul’s FIRST epistles, written BEFORE 1 Corinthians. 1 & 2
Thessalonians (which do not mention “speaking in tongues”) were written during
Paul’s 2nd missionary journey BEFORE
Paul’s encounter with the twelve disciples of John (Acts 19:1-6) during his 3rd
journey in which we read that these disciples “SPOKE WITH TONGUES and prophesied.” So, again the fact that
“speaking in tongues” is not specifically mentioned in an epistle by no means
implies that “tongues were gone” by that time. This is a ridiculous straw-man
argument that is blown away with the slightest of ease.
Although
“speaking in tongues” is not specifically mentioned in certain epistles, we do
find references or allusions to the miraculous gifts of the Spirit: Romans
12:5f mentions “prophecy” and “proportion of faith” and parallels with 1 Corinthians
12:4f; Galatians 3:5 refers to “ministering the Spirit” and “working miracles
among you;” Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit” cf. Acts 2:4; 1
Thessalonians 5:19-20 “do not quench the Spirt, do not despise prophesying;” 1
Timothy 1:18 prophecies spoken over Timothy; Titus 3:5-6 refers to the renewing
of the Holy Spirit which He poured out cf. Acts 2:17, 33; 10:45-46; James 5:14f
mentions healing and the prayer of faith; and Jude 20 refers to “praying in the
Holy Spirit” cf. 1 Cor. 14:14-15.
MacArthur
continued his historical (more like hysterical) teaching on speaking in tongues
mentioning Chrysostom (c. 400 A.D.) and Augustine (c. 420 A.D.) and that they
taught that the miraculous gifts had ceased. MacArthur went on to say:
“In fact, during the first five
hundred years of the church, the only people who claimed to have spoken in
tongues were followers of Montanus, who was branded as a heretic.”
This
statement is factually incorrect. John MacArthur is either very ignorant
concerning church history, or he is very biased. It is interesting that
MacArthur ignored several historical statements concerning the miraculous gifts
of Spirit. Justin Martyr (c. 150 A.D.) [not a Montanist] claimed that the
miraculous gifts of the Spirit were still in operation (Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew, ch. 82, 88). Irenaeus (c. 202 A.D.) [not
a Montanist], Against Heresies, book
5, chapter 6 stated:
“In the like manner we do 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…” (ANF
1:531, 1913).
Tertullian
(c. 200 A.D.), who converted to the Montanist, recorded several occurrences of
miraculous spiritual gifts being in operation, such as gifts of revelation,
visions, ecstatic utterances (ANF
3:188, 1913). Cessationists praise Tertullian as they plunder him. Tertullian
was the father of Trinitarian doctrine (he coined the term “trinitas”), yet
they must also admit that he converted to the Montanist “heresy” which claimed
to operate in spiritual gifts. Novatian (c. 240 A.D.) [not a Montanist] mentioned
tongues, healings, and other gifts of charismata in the church (Treaties Concerning the Trinity, ch.
29). Eusebius (c. 300 A.D.) testified that the miraculous
gifts WERE NOT limited to Montanist:
“As Eusebius informs us, the
charismata were not extinct in the
churches when the Phrygian imitations began to puzzle the faithful” (ANF 3:4, 1913).
MacArthur
mentioned that miraculous gifts were not present in the (Roman Catholic) church
of Chrysostom and Augustine (c. 400 – 420 A.D.). What he conveniently forgot to
mention is that Augustine debated the Donatist on the issue of speaking in tongues! The Donatist
where labeled a heresy by the Roman Catholic Church because they baptized in
Jesus’ name and taught that speaking in
tongues was the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Schaff, Select Library NPNF, 4:442, 454,
548).
MacArthur went on to say that “the
next time any significant tongue-speaking movement arose in Christianity was in
the late seventeenth century.” I’m not sure what constitutes “significant” for
John MacArthur, but the simple fact is there has never been a time in the history
of the New Testament Church from Pentecost to present that there hasn’t been a
group of believers who claimed to be Spirit filled tongue-talkers! Both the
Montanist and Donatist sects continued through the Middle Ages. There were
Celtic Apostolic churches who spoke with tongues. There were tongue-talking
churches in Europe in the Ninth Century (Martyr’s
Mirror, p. 234). It is well known that both the Waldenses and Albigenses
(12th. Cent) practiced speaking in tongues. Various sects of the
Anabaptist spoke with tongues. In an Anabaptist Confession of Faith (A.D. 1600)
a pious Christian was one that “spoke with tongues” (Martyr’s Mirror, p. 400).
The Reformers were well acquainted with Anabaptist tongue-talkers. The Dippers
Dipt (A.D. 1645) depicts various Anabaptist sects, several of which were
tongue-talkers.
Tongue-talking
groups of believers continued throughout Europe and United Kingdom, such as the
Plymouth Brethren (19th Century). This led to the tongues revivals
of the early 20th Cent in the United States, particularly Azuza St.,
Los Angeles, CA and Topeka, KS.
MacArthur
concluded his historical essay on tongue-speaking by saying:
“All of those supposed
manifestations of tongues were identified with groups that were heretical,
fanatical, or otherwise unorthodox.”
John MacArthur is really hung on the
horns of a dilemma in his appeal to history. Remember, the “orthodox” Roman
Catholic Church of that time believed in literal transubstantiation (that the
wafer literally became the flesh of Christ), celibate priesthood, they prayed to dead saints, they bowed down
to idols, paid money for penance, etc. And the “Reformers” were no better! Both
Luther and Calvin were guilty of helping sentience to death Anabaptist preachers
for rebaptizing adults by immersion! Luther was eventually referred to as the
Protestant Pope. Any group who broke away from these false doctrines was hunted
down as a “heretic.” So, John MacArthur can join hands with his idol-worshiping
“orthodox” fore-fathers if he wishes, but
like Paul in his day, “after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the
God of my fathers” (Acts 24:14). The testimony of history alone indicates that
tongue-speaking has not ceased.
