Tag Archives: gifts of the spirit

Modern Spiritual Gifts as Analogous to Apostolic Gifts

For a long time I’ve been wrestling with the role of spiritual gifts in the church today. Cessation theology poses a convincing argument and I’m still slowly figuring out where I stand a midst all of it. Here’s an interesting article I’m currently reading, it may provoke some more thoughts to those who are going through a similar situation. 

The Abstract:
The Book of Revelation is inspired. Modern visions, auditions, and “prophecies” are not inspired, because the canon of the Bible is complete. However, these modern visions and auditions may be analogous to the Book of Revelation, just as modern preaching is analogous to apostolic preaching. Like modern preaching, modern intuitive speech has authority only insofar as it bases itself on the final infallible divine authority of Scripture.

A key distinction here is the distinction between rationally explicit processes, such as those involved when Luke wrote his Gospel, and intuitive processes, such as those involved with the Book of Revelation. One type of process is not inherently more “spiritual” than the other. Both the Gospel of Luke and Revelation were inspired.

Modern preaching is analogous to Luke: in composing a sermon rationally explicit processes dominate. Modern “prophecy” or intuitive speech is analogous to Revelation. Intuitive processes dominate. The general analogy between apostolic gifts and lesser gifts of the present day suggests that rationally explicit processes and intuitive processes can both be used by the Spirit today.

Cessationists argue that New Testament prophecy was inspired and has therefore ceased with the completion of the canon. But there are still noninspired intuitive gifts analogous to prophecy. Therefore, in order not to despise the gifts of the Spirit, cessationists must allow for a place for intuitive gifts in their ecclesiology.

The fact that we have analogy rather than identity means that we must respect certain restraints. Modern intuitive phenomena must be subject to the same restraints that are placed on preaching. Everything must be checked for conformity to Scripture.”

Read it here: [Link to source]

Further Reading: “What are Spiritual Gifts?” by Vern S. Poythress

Spiritual Gifts – Prophecy

Part 2 from Brian Schwertly’s writing on the spiritual gifts. This article is comprehensive in defining prophecy and its function. Here’s his introduction to this chapter:

We will learn much about New Testament prophets as we interact with the very popular Pentecostal view of this subject. Charismatic churches teach that the prophetic gift is still in operation today. That is, there are men and women who are receiving direct revelations from God. However, most Charismatic churches have a very schizophrenic view regarding this gift. On the one hand, they claim that divine revelation is not closed but continues. Yet, on the other hand they want to maintain the unique authority of Scripture. Thus, what is supposedly direct revelation from God is not treated the same as the Bible. Modern prophecy is treated as a secondary form of revelation that cannot be trusted. In Charismatic churches prophecy is not treated as an authoritative or binding “thus saith the Lord,” but as a vague exhortation or simply an exciting part of the service (like a music soloist). Charismatic intellectuals have even attempted to justify existing Charismatic practice by developing the notion that New Testament prophecy is different than Old Testament prophecy; that it is a lesser form of revelation. Is New Testament prophecy different than Old Testament prophecy? Is it somehow a lesser form of revelation? In order to answer these questions, we must first ask what is prophecy?

Read Chapter

Why the Gift of Prophecy Is Not the Usual Way of Knowing God’s Will

A sermon given by John Piper that distinguishes that the gift of prophecy is different to the prophecy that is used in the NT; scripture is super ordinate and the gift of prophecy is subordinate. Paul regards this as a gift to the church that is good for our edifying, hence we must wrestle with how it functions today.