Do We Agree | Holy Spirit | Session 4

Cessation Arguments Examined | Part 2

Big Idea:

· Examining the Arguments

Argument #3 | Ephesians 2:20 Foundations Argument

I’ve often heard Ephesians 2:20 referred to as the cessationist’s “go-to” text.

Ephesians 2:20-22

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

“As His apostles, there's the foundation of the church, what they say, Christ says, what they assert about His ministry is true.” - Sam Waldron, President, Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary

· I agree with Sam that the Apostles of Jesus laid the foundation of the church!

· I agree with Sam that what the apostles assert is true.

Tom Schreiner speaks for most cessationists when he says that Ephesians 2:20 is a reference to all prophets and that they “have the same authority as the apostles” (Spiritual Gifts, 104). They then conclude that if prophecy still exists today, the foundation established by the apostles and prophets hasn’t been completed.

I agree with them IF that form of prophecy still exists today. However, I think Scripture gives us another picture of this, and we will examine it here. (In module 2, we will look closer at the different categories of Capital A and P vs. Lowercase a and p Apostles and Prophets.)

Vitally Important Questions to Ask:

· Does this Eph. 2:20-22 refer to all possible prophets?

· And do all who prophesy do so with apostolic authority that contributes to the foundation of the universal church?

· Do all who prophesy bind the conscience of all Christians in every age?

A close look at the NT portrayal of how prophecy functioned in the early church requires that we answer, No. (which dissolves their argument)

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone of the church. Jesus chose the apostles to further reveal the mystery of the church. And finally, God provided various other prophets within the church while the New Testament was still being written. This is the foundation of the church, according to Paul in Ephesians 2:20. The apostles and prophets with Christ as the chief cornerstone.-“ -Narrator of the Cessasstionist Documentary

Where does the narrator get the idea that “God provided various ‘other prophets’ within the church that added to what was being written in the New Testament?” I don’t see anything in Ephesians 2:20 that mentions scriptural backing for this.

Let me remind you again of the cessationist’s assertion, namely, that all prophetic revelation was inerrant and foundational to the universal church of Jesus Christ. Yet, we read in Acts 2 that when the Spirit is poured out on “all flesh” that “your sons and daughters shall prophesy,” which according to the cessationist means that every son and daughter who prophesied was contributing infallible revelation essential to the building up of the universal church of Christ. Likewise, we would conclude the same about the “young men” and “old men” and the “male servants” and “female servants.”

· Do we really believe that all of the prophetic utterances that came forth from all God’s people listed here in Acts 2 are essential to the foundation of the universal body of Christ? Since you and I are a part of that body and are required by God to submit our lives to whatever theological and ethical truths are contained in that foundation, it would be quite helpful for us to know what they are. But nowhere in Scripture are any of these revelatory experiences recorded.

· What about the prophets who “came down from Jerusalem to Antioch” (Acts 11:27)? They are anonymous and no prophetic utterance of theirs is recorded in the NT or known to anyone beyond those who encountered them in the first century. And yet the cessationist insists that they spoke with inerrant and apostolic authority that binds the conscience of all God’s people in all of history.

· I would also like to know what was said by the prophets at Antioch (Acts 13:1), since all prophetic revelation is allegedly essential to the constitution and formation of the universal church. But neither I nor anyone else knows what they said in their prophetic utterances. Are we being asked to believe that the revelation they received was foundational to the beliefs and behavior of all Christians in every age?I find that hard to believe.

· What about “Judas called Barsabbas” in Acts 15:22, 32. He is called a “prophet” but clearly was not an apostle. Did he also speak authoritatively into the foundation of the church?

· It would also be extremely beneficial to my spiritual life to know what was prophesied by the unnamed disciples of John the Baptist in Acts 19. If their words were foundational and universally binding on the conscience of all Christians in every age, it would behoove us to know what they were. But nowhere in Scripture are we told anything they said.

· And what about Philip’s four daughters who, according to Luke, “prophesied” (Acts 21:9). It would seem we are required to believe that these four single women spoke infallible truth into the foundation of the universal body of Christ. Aside from the fact that I find that quite implausible, how would complementarians feel about four young women speaking authoritative theological truth into the life of all men in the body of Christ?

· What are we to do with all the women in the church at Corinth who prayed and prophesied publicly in the meeting of the church (1 Cor. 11:5)? Where are their prophetic utterances?

· Are we to believe that when Paul urged all believers in Corinth to earnestly desire that they might prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1, 39) that he meant for them to desire and pray that they might minister with apostolic authority and contribute truth and ethical principles to the foundation of the church? I hardly think so.

· And if Schreiner and other cessationists are correct, why does Paul insist that the prophets in Corinth submit to his authority as an apostle (1 Cor. 14:36-38)? If these prophets have apostolic authority and speak infallible, foundational truths into the church, could they not have pushed back against Paul and insisted that he submit to them?

· I would also like to know what the prophets in the church at Rome (Rom. 12:6) had to say since according to cessationists everything they said constituted a contribution to the foundation of the church.

· The same may be said of the numerous prophetic utterances described in 1 Corinthians 14 (see v. 26). And how could the encouragement, edification, and consolation of believers in first-century Corinth (1 Cor. 14:3), none of which I or anybody else knows about, serve to establish the theological parameters of the universal church of Jesus Christ?

· I’m particularly curious how the disclosure of an unbeliever’s sin in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 could be foundational to the universal church. The same could be said about the hundreds, if not thousands, of unrecorded prophetic utterances in the churches at Thessalonica (1 Thess. 5) and Ephesus (1 Timothy) and Caesarea (Acts 21) and Philippi and Colossae and elsewhere.

· To be even more specific, are we being asked to believe that the “prophecies” given personally to Timothy, by which, says Paul, he is to “wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience” (1 Tim. 1:18-19) are essential to the beliefs and behavior of all Christians in every age? If so, it would have been helpful if Paul or Timothy or anyone had recorded and preserved them for us. And how does the prophetic utterance over Timothy at his “ordination” (1 Tim. 4:14) serve to build the universal body of Christ? In what possible sense could that have been foundational to the church?

Thus, to say that all prophetic revelation in the NT is infallible, inerrant, and served to establish the principles and practices of the universal church simply does not measure up to the way the spiritual gift of prophecy actually functioned in the lives of God’s people.

· Yes, some prophets functioned foundationally, but not all.

· Yes, some revelation that formed the basis and content of some prophecy was designed by God to constitute the theological and ethical foundation of the universal body of Christ. But by no means all.

The way in which prophetic ministry is described in the many churches of the first century necessarily leads me to conclude that Ephesians 2:20 only speaks of those prophets who functioned foundationally. It certainly can in no way be inclusive of every other instance of prophetic ministry recorded for us in the New Testament.

There is nothing in the NT to suggest that “the prophets” in Ephesians 2:20 is an exhaustive reference to all possible prophets in the church. Why should we conclude that the only kind of prophetic activity is “foundational” in nature, especially in light of what we’ve just seen the NT says about the extent and effect of prophetic ministry?

Suffice it here to say that many (all?) cessationists seem to believe that once apostles and prophets ceased to function foundationally, they ceased to function altogether, as if the only purpose for apostles and prophets was to lay the foundation of the church. Nowhere does the NT say this, least of all in Ephesians 2:20.

This text need say no more than that apostles and prophets laid the foundation once and for all and then ceased to function in that capacity. But nothing suggests that they ceased to function in other capacities, much less that they ceased to exist altogether. It is certainly true that only apostles and prophets lay the foundation of the church, but it is anything but certain that such is the only thing they do.

In a word, the portrayal in Acts and 1 Corinthians of who could prophesy and how it was to be done in the life of the church simply does not fit with the cessationist assertion that Ephesians 2:20 describes all possible prophets, every one of whom functioned as part of the once-for-all foundation of the church. Rather, Paul is there describing a limited group of prophets who were closely connected to the apostles, both of which groups spoke Scripture-quality words essential to the foundation of the church universal.

Another View from Wayne Grudem

I’ll submit that the group of people here in Ephesians 2:20 is not all prophets but some apostles who were also gifted prophetically.

“Ephesians 2:20 and 3:5 suggest that there are not two groups in view (New Testament apostles and New Testament prophets), but only one group (New Testament apostle-prophets, or “apostles who are also prophets”). There are several reasons why such an understanding of the passage seems persuasive.

(a) First, this interpretation is certainly possible in terms of Greek grammar. Moreover, it is consistent with Paul’s grammatical usage in Ephesians 4:11 where he uses the same construction to speak of “pastor-teachers.”

(b) This interpretation best fits the historical idea that showed it was to the apostles only, not to any prophets also, that God revealed the truth of the Gentile inclusion in a new and full way in the New Covenant age. Thus Paul can rightly say: When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles who are also prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs . . . (Eph. 3:4-6, RSV).

(c) To understand the apostles alone as the “foundation” of the New Testament church is consistent with another New Testament picture of a “foundation,” a picture which clearly emphasizes the unique foundational role of the apostles alone, not of the apostles and some other group of prophets. That picture is found in the vision of the heavenly city, which was given to the apostle John in Revelation 21:14 (RSV): “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

(d) Such a designation of the apostles as “also prophets” would be appropriate for Paul’s argument here. He would be showing that the fact of Gentile inclusion was not revealed simply to some minor or insignificant Christians in some far off province, but was revealed specifically to those who were foundational in the church, the apostles themselves..” -Grudem, Wayne. The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament

“It doesn't make any sense to think that the foundation of a building goes all the way to the roof. It's the foundation. This is a historical assertion that the apostolate was limited to the foundation period of church history.” - Sam Waldron, President, Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary

Jack Deere’s Founder Argument

“The fact that the apostles had a foundational role in the establishing of the church (Eph. 2:20) does not mean that the Lord could not, or would not, give more apostles. Someone had to found the church. Would we argue that just because they founded the church, their ministry must be temporary? The founding director of a company or corporation will always be unique in the sense that he or she was the founder, but that does not mean the company would not have future directors or presidents.

Cessationists argue that the “foundation” metaphor of the apostles, prophets, and Christ somehow requires that as they died, their gifts died with them. Should we then, on that same logic, insist that the death of a founding mayor of a town require the extinction of the office, title, or function of mayor? To the contrary, his “foundational” role as mayor sets the pattern and implies the continuation of that role after him.”

True interpretation of “apostles/prophets” in 2:20 must reckon with 3:5 and 4:11-13

Ephesians 2:20-22

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 3:1-7

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

Ephesians 4:11-13

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Capital-A apostles Apostles Of The Lamb vs. lowercase-a (2 Cor. 8:23-24 If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore show to them, and before the churches the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.)

Grammatical-historical interpretation: author’s intent matters. Was Paul trying to teach cessationism? Was this his intent? If so, how could he have written 1 Cor. 13:8-12? Or Eph. 4:11-13? Or 1 Cor. 1:7? How could Luke have written Acts 1:1, 8, or 2:17? The movie fails to deal with positive arguments for continuationism.

I agree the canon is closed. The 12 are uniquely important. Their names are written on the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem. Rev. 21:14 There are other apostles in scripture. 1 Cor. 15 to the 12 and to the other apostles. 5 New Testament apostles. Paul, Titus, Barnabas, etc. 15-20. 2 Cor 8:23 (messengers of the churches is the same greek word for apostles) (missionaries church planters) (group 2 are apostle/prophets combined mainly the 12 and not simply some larger group who are prophets or apostles)

Context matters Ephesians 3:5-6 now have been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is about Gentiles and Jews’ walls being broken down. In what sense are they foundational? In the sense that God revealed to them what he hadn't in times past, the mystery that is now revealed is that Gentiles are on equal footing, and that is a new revelation. The church/temple is built upon this foundation. This is a new foundational revelation to them for the church. Then, when we get to Ephesians 4 and we see apostles and prophets again, it's a continual gift of the revelation that was given, not continual revelation and canon.

Does this verse say the apostles laid the scriptural foundation? No it does not. It teaches the gentile jew mystery. If you are saying that all the apostles and prophets did was lay the foundation of scripture because that is the prophetic gift, then how do you handle all the other prophetic gifts being exercised in the New Testament church by women and men and being blessed by God? Were they laying the foundation of scripture or is there a broader context we need to see?

There must be different levels of apostles and prophets.

Ascension gifts Ephesians 4 (this means there were more than just the 12 that Jesus authorized)

Ex. There is only one generation of leaders who start a company, but there are many others who build upon the foundation. Directors, CEO’s, and leaders that build and expand for decades upon the foundation and fill the role that the founders established. There are no more foundational apostles or prophets, but there are some modern-day ones in a different context and different authority.

Ex. there was no other prophet like Moses (Jesus was the only one), but there were other prophets in a different category.

Deuteronomy 34:10-12

But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, 12 and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Acts 3:22-25

For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Mark 9:38-41

Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Signs of an Apostle

Four Apostolic Qualifications?

“To be a legal proxy for Jesus, to be a true apostle, four things had to be true. You had to be handpicked and chosen by Christ. You had to be taught by Christ. You had to witness the resurrected Christ. You had to see him risen. The fourth qualification is found in Matthew 10, when Jesus said, ‘I'm sending you out to represent me. And I'm going to give you the power to work miracles, to confirm the revelation that's going to come through you.’" - Tom Pennington Countryside Bible Church

Tom Pennington Is Careful Here

· Some Cessationists will state with no equivocation that miracles are only for Apostles.

· Rather, Tom says there are four criteria to be an Apostle which if his conclusion is accurate leads us to the fact that there are no more of those foundational apostles today and therefore no more miracles being witnessed.

Acts 1:21-22

“Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

1. Big picture: He’s aiming to give credentials for “the Twelve,” but there were more apostles than that which we have already seen. .

· 1 Cor. 15: “to the Twelve and then to the apostles”

· Acts 14:14 Paul and Barnabas 15:22; 16:19ff:

· Silas; 1 Thess. 2:4-7

· Gal. 1:19: James (brother of Jesus)

· 2 Cor. 8:23

2. “Handpicked, chosen by Christ.”

· This was true of the 11. Matthias was chosen by Christ from heaven but not on earth during the ministry of Jesus.

3. “Taught...Witness risen”:

· This was true of the Twelve.

· It is debatable whether Paul saw Jesus physically or only in a vision. Paul saw Jesus, but it was in a vision (Acts 26:19). He never saw Jesus during His 40 days of resurrection appearances (Acts 1:1-3). Reformed thinkers have traditionally understood Jesus as positioned at the right hand of God, not appearing physically again to people. In light of this, why could Jesus not show Himself in a vision to someone?

4. “Power to work miracles, to confirm revelation.”

· Matthew 10 never says that. Instead, it says, “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.” Then Jesus selects the Twelve, commanding them to heal and preach the kingdom is near.

· There is a big difference between “Jesus sent the apostles to work miracles” (Matt. 10) and “Jesus appointed only the apostles to do miracles as a confirmation of their message” (nowhere).

· In Luke 10, Jesus sends not just the 12 but the 72. The intent of the Synoptics does not appear to be, “This miracle-working power is limited to apostles.” Clearly, this was not just an apostolic phenomenon.

John 14:12-14

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

What greater work was done in the New Testament than by Christ? There was not any. This has to be speaking about other things. I think it has to do with manifestations on a scale greater in quantity. Acts 3 3000 were saved in one moment. We didn’t see that in Jesus ministry. I also think it could refer to the new birth and evangelism. Witnessing people come to new birth is a greater work than anything Jesus did while physically on the earth. In response to “it was only for the apostles,.” The phrase whosoever believes Greek phrase is used many times in the New Testament and always means universal to all and not a select group. And we see in Acts 2 Peter referring to the fulfillment of the spirit to be for all who will believe.

“When Paul defends his apostleship in 2 Corinthians 12, he refers to these gifts as the signs of an apostle. Miraculous abilities that, either the apostles alone had, or there were cases where they could lay hands on someone and give them those gifts, but always in the New Testament, when those miraculous gifts are manifest, it is in, in the presence of an apostle.” - Phil Johnson

· Are miracles the “signs” of the Apostles or “the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with [or better still, accompanied by] signs and wonders and mighty works.” See Understanding Spiritual Gifts By Dr. Sam Storms [f]

· Not Sola Scriptura: This Doctrine states “Miraculous abilities that either the apostles alone had, or there were cases where they could lay hands on someone and give them those gifts, but always in the New Testament, when those miraculous gifts are manifest, it is in, in the presence of an apostle” is not a “Sola Scriptura argument.” This claim can not be found in Scripture.

· This argument is an argument from silence. Did Stephen and Philip have hands laid on them to impart miracle-working power? There is no such mention. What about the churches in Corinth or Galatia? There is no such mention.

· Was Paul present for every miracle performed in Corinth and Galatia? No one was present with Philip when he cast out demons and healed the sick in Samaria. Did an apostolic delegation need to be sent?

· That we know of, no apostle was ever sent to Rome before Paul wrote his letter to the Romans. However, he mentions the gifts in Romans 12 with the assumption that they were operative in the Roman church. How? If there must be an apostle for these gifts to operate? Or further, how had these gifts been given when no apostles laid hands to impart these gifts to the Romans? In fact, Paul, at the beginning of Romans, longed to see them so that he could impart more gifts to them.

· Timothy had a gift that was imparted from elders of a church, “not apostles.” 1 Tim 4:14

· The Corinthians are told to pray for a gift of interpretation ... No laying on of hands, no apostolic impartation of that gift.

2 Corinthians 12:12

“Those in the film Cessationist appeal to 2 Corinthians 12:12 where Paul says that “the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.” If these latter phenomena were “the signs of a true apostle,” designed to confirm, attest, and authenticate the apostles as representatives of Christ, it would only make sense that once the apostles were themselves no longer present, the supernatural signs that bore witness to them (such as tongues, interpretation, prophecy, healing, and the discerning of spirits) would likewise disappear. Or so they insist. Many believe that his argument is patently false, as we’ll shortly see.

Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth is largely devoted to a defense of his apostolic calling and authority. The false apostles in Corinth had argued that someone lacking verbal eloquence, like Paul, who also failed to demand financial support for his ministry, couldn’t possibly be a true apostle. When Paul turns to defend himself, he doesn’t appeal to the criteria the Corinthians had come to expect as essential for apostolic authority. Instead, Paul points to those things that “show” his “weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.). He hopes that the believers in Corinth will come to recognize that he is “not at all inferior to these super-apostles” (2 Cor. 12:11). In fact, “the signs of a true apostle were performed among” the Corinthians “with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works” (2 Cor. 12:12).

But does this text refer to the miraculous as “signs” of the apostles? No. The NIV contributes to the confusion by translating as follows: “The things that mark an apostle – signs, wonders and miracles – were done among you with great perseverance.” This rendering leads one to believe that Paul is identifying the “signs” or “marks” of an apostle with the miraculous phenomena performed among the Corinthians.

This is where a closer look at the Greek text will help us. The word translated “signs” or “marks” (sēmeia) is in the nominative case, as one would expect. But the terms “signs, wonders and miracles” are all three in the dative. If Paul were identifying the “signs/marks” of an apostle with “signs, wonders, and miracles,” the latter three terms would also be in the nominative case. Thus, contrary to what many have thought, Paul does not say the insignia of an apostle are signs, wonders and miracles. Rather, as the ESV more accurately translates, he asserts that “the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with [or better still, accompanied by] signs and wonders and mighty works.”

Mark Seifrid rightly confirms this point by noting that “unfortunately, both the NIV and the NRSV basically ignore the datives (sēmeiois te kai terasin kai dunamesin), equating them with the ‘signs of an apostle.’ The ESV, however, rightly connects them to Paul’s perseverance” (The Second Letter to the Corinthians).”

Did the apostles minister in the power of signs, wonders, and miracles? Absolutely. But so, too, did numerous non-apostolic believers. (More on this below.)

I think what Paul is saying, here and elsewhere in the NT, is that miraculous phenomena were a necessary sign of apostolic identity but not a sufficient one. One could hardly claim to be an apostle of Jesus Christ (at least in the sense in which the original twelve, plus Paul and a handful of others were apostles) in the absence of these supernatural works. But the mere presence of such works was not in itself sufficient to prove that one was an apostle. Signs, wonders and miracles were, undoubtedly, attendant elements in Paul’s apostolic work. But they were not themselves the “signs of an apostle” as if to say that only apostles performed them.

What, then, did Paul have in mind when he spoke of “the signs of a true apostle”? [It should be pointed out that the word “true” (ESV) is not in the original Greek text.] The signs of an apostle, the distinguishing marks of true apostolic ministry were, among other things:

1. the fruit of his preaching, i.e., the salvation of the Corinthians themselves (cf. 1 Cor. 9:1b-2, “Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, as least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord”; cf. 2 Cor. 3:1-3);

2. his Christ-like life of holiness, humility, etc., (cf. 2 Cor. 1:12; 2:17; 3:4-6; 4:2; 5:11; 6:3-13; 7:2; 10:13-18; 11:6,23-28); and

3. his sufferings, hardship, persecution (cf. 2 Cor. 13:4; 4:7-15; 5:4-10; and all of chapter eleven).

The “first commendation of an apostle,” notes Seifrid, is “perseverance” or “endurance” in the midst of affliction (457). Paul patiently, in perseverance, displayed these “signs” of his apostolic authority and this was accompanied by signs, wonders and miracles he performed in their midst.

Let us also remember that Paul does not refer to the “signs” of an apostle nor to the miraculous phenomena that accompanied his ministry as a way of differentiating himself from other non-apostolic Christians, but from the false apostles who were leading the Corinthians astray (2 Cor. 11:14-15,33).

“In short,” writes Wayne Grudem, “the contrast is not between apostles who could work miracles and ordinary Christians who could not, but between genuine Christian apostles through whom the Holy Spirit worked and non-Christian pretenders to the apostolic office, through whom the Holy Spirit did not work at all” (“Should Christians Expect Miracles Today?” 67).

So, to be clear, I’m not suggesting that signs, wonders, and miraculous deeds did not, in fact, serve to authenticate or attest to the truthfulness of the message the apostles proclaimed. They most assuredly did. But nowhere in the NT are such supernatural phenomena said to be the signs or authenticating seal on the apostles themselves. That would have been impossible, given the fact that numerous non-apostolic Christians operated in the ministry of signs and wonders. We cannot easily ignore the fact that more than one-hundred non-apostolic believers on the day of Pentecost were recipients of the gift of tongues. And the clear implication of Peter’s words is that they would experience dreams and visions as a result of which they would prophesy (Acts 2:17-18).

Consider the many non-apostolic believers who were recipients of miraculous gifts of the Spirit. Stephen, a deacon, “full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). But no one would have said these supernatural phenomena were a confirming sign that Stephen was an apostle.

Philip, another deacon (Acts 6:5), performed many miraculous signs, healed the sick, drove out demons (Acts 8:7), and displayed “great miracles” (Acts 8:13), yet no one argues that on this basis he was an apostle.

Non-apostolic Christians in Antioch prophesied (Acts 13:1-3), as did anonymous disciples of the John the Baptist, who also spoke in tongues (Acts 19:6-7).

The aforementioned Philip was blessed with four daughters, all of whom prophesied.

Paul expected the average Christians in Rome to prophesy (Rom. 12:6), but never suggested that operating in this miraculous ministry meant that they were apostles.

The miraculous gifts and powers in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are said to be distributed to average believers in Corinth, none of whom would ever have been thought to be apostles.

Paul also describes how the Holy Spirit worked “miracles” among the Galatians (Gal. 3:5), apparently in the complete absence of an apostle.

My point in citing these instances again is simply to highlight once again the fact that miraculous gifts and powerful signs were not restricted to the apostles. This confirms that whatever else Paul may have meant in 2 Corinthians 12:12, he was not saying that “signs, wonders, mighty works” were the exclusive domain and authenticating mark only of apostles.

One final comment is in order. This may catch many by surprise, but the phrase “sign gift” appears nowhere in Scripture. Cessationists often (always?) create a special category for certain miraculous gifts and speak of them as “sign gifts,” believing that this will provide grounds for contending that such gifts served a unique purpose in the first century but have since been withdrawn.

The word “sign” does often appear, and likewise the word “gift” (charisma). But no spiritual gift is explicitly called a “sign gift.” And no author speaks of this category of gifts to differentiate them from the more ordinary or less miraculous charismata.

In Romans 12:6-8 the gift of prophecy (one of the cessationist’s so-called “sign gifts”) is listed alongside serving and teaching and mercy. No attempt is made to single it out or any other miraculous gift, as if they were of a different nature and purpose from those gifts that all Christians acknowledged continue in the life and ministry of the church today.

It is true that in 1 Corinthians 14:22 Paul says that “tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers.” However, as we’ll see in module 2, to speak in tongues without interpretation in the presence of unbelievers is a negative sign of judgment that Paul does not want the Christian community to give. He does not use the word “sign” to set apart tongues into a different category. In other words, he is rebuking them for a misuse of tongues, not identifying the actual purpose of tongues in the life of the believing community. And be it noted that when Paul immediately mentions prophecy, the word “sign” does not appear in the original text.

The word for “sign” (sēmeion) appears often in Acts but usually with reference to “signs and wonders.”

The latter typically refers to the abundance of miracles that were associated with Jesus and the original company of apostles (see Acts 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 8:13; 14:3; 15:12; also Rom. 15:19).

The use of the word “sign” in Hebrews 2:4 will be addressed in a later session.

Could a particular healing serve as a “sign” in some capacity? Yes (see Acts 4:16, 22; 8:6), but neither healing nor tongues nor prophecy are ever described as “sign gifts” in order to indicate that they were temporary and in a different category from other gifts that were designed by God to be permanent.

Again, although on occasion a healing may serve as a “sign,” at no time is healing called a “sign gift.” The only possible exception to this is in the long ending to Mark’s gospel, a paragraph that the majority of NT scholars do not believe is part of the original text of Scripture (see Mark 16:17-18).

“Thus, to speak of certain spiritual gifts as “sign” gifts does not serve us well. It tends to suggest a narrow and temporary purpose for some gifts, something not corroborated elsewhere in the NT.” -Sam Storms

Take Away:

1. This session spent a lot of time on one topic. However, do you understand the significance of getting this topic scripturally correct? If we don’t take the time to answer commonly repeated objections like this one, we are in danger of misapplying scripture and then passing that onto another generation of disciples.

2. Did you find this session helpful in understanding this common argument cessationists make?

3. What questions do you have that you want to study further or ask of your teacher?