Note: Some argue that 1 Timothy 4:14 indicates that Timothy had received a spiritual gift from a certain eldership, which establishes a precedent for the reception of supernatural powers from a non-apostolic source. However, the passage does not suggest that.
Timothy had received a gift by prophecy, with [meta] the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meta simply denotes attendant circumstances and does not suggest that the gift came by the hands of the elders (Green, 207).
This verse asserts that Timothy had received a spiritual gift on the same general occasion when elders had laid hands upon the evangelist - doubtless to appoint him to some special mission. It does not affirm that the elders themselves imparted miracle-working ability to Timothy.
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Since, therefore, there is no Holy Spirit baptism today; and further, since there are no apostles (or successors to them) in this age, it should be quite clear that men are not in possession of supernatural gifts of the Spirit in this post-apostolic era of the Christian dispensation.
Cessation of miracles: two contexts considered
Were miraculous gifts to abide with the church until the end of time, or, due to their specific design, were they only a temporary phenomena? This matter is discussed rather comprehensively in two New Testament contexts. We will consider each of these.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the inspired apostle addresses the duration of spiritual gifts in the Lords church. He commences by showing that these gifts must be exercised in love, for miraculous powers, void of love, were worthless. This theme was quite appropriate in view of the disposition of rivalry which threatened the unity of the Corinthian congregation (some exalting certain gifts above others, etc.).
From this initial instruction there is a very natural transition into the character and permanence of love, in contrast to the transitory function of spiritual gifts.
Of the nine gifts mentioned in chapter 12:8-10, Paul selects three to illustrate his argument. Significantly, all three were related directly to the revealing of Gods will to man. The apostle affirms that prophecies shall be done away; tongues shall cease; knowledge, i.e., supernatural knowledge, shall be done away. It is wonderfully clear, therefore, that these three gifts (and by implication all miraculous gifts) were not designed to be a permanent fixture within the church.
In 1 Corinthians 13:9, Paul contends that Gods will, by means of these spiritual gifts (knowledge, prophecy, etc.) was made known gradually, i.e., in part. The expression in part translates the Greek to ek merous, literally, the things in part. It denotes a part as opposed to the whole (Abbott-Smith, 284).
And so, we make the following argument;
The in part things shall be done away.
But, the in part things are the supernatural gifts by which the will of God was revealed.
Thus, the supernatural gifts, by which the will of God was made known, were to be terminated.
But the question is: when were these gifts to pass away?
The answer is: when that which is perfect is come. In the Greek Testament, the expression literally reads, to teleion, the complete thing. The term perfect, when used of quantity, is better rendered complete or whole.
A noted scholar observes: In the Pauline corpus the meaning whole is suggested at I C. 13:10 by the antithesis to ek merous (Kittel, VIII.75). In his translation of the New Testament, J. B. Phillips renders it: . . . when the Complete comes, that is the end of the Incomplete.
So, we may reason as follows:
Whatever the in part things are partially, the whole is, in completed form.
But, the in part things were the spiritual gifts employed in the revealing of Gods will (word).
Therefore, the whole was Gods will (word) - as conveyed through the gifts - completely revealed.
Within this context, therefore, the apostle actually is saying this:
Gods revelation is being made known part-by-part, through the use of spiritual gifts; when that revelation is completed, these gifts will be needed no longer, hence, will pass away from the churchs possession.
As noted scholar W. E. Vine observed:
With the completion of Apostolic testimony and the completion of the Scriptures of truth (the faith once for all delivered to the saints, Jude 3. R.V.), that which is perfect had come, and the temporary gifts were done away (184).
Remember this vital point. Spiritual gifts and the revelatory process were to be co-extensive. If men are performing miracles today, their messages are as binding as the New Testament record! If such is the case, the New Testament is not the final word.
This theme is similarly dealt with in Ephesians 4, where it is affirmed that when Christ ascended on High He gave gifts unto men (8ff). The gifts were miraculously endowed functions in the church (e.g., apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers). The design of these capacities was for the perfecting [katartismos] of the saints.
The original word denotes complete qualification for a specific purpose (Analytical Greek Lexicon, 220). Or, as Arndt & Gingrich render it, to equip the saints for service (419).
Moreover, the duration of these supernatural governments was specified. They were to continue till we all attain unto the unity of the faith (4:13). Till is from mechri, and it suggests a specification of time up to which this spiritual constitution was designed to last (Ellicott, 95).
The word unity (henotes) basically means oneness (Analytical, 119). It derives from the term hen, the neuter of heis, and it emphasizes oneness in contrast to the parts, of which a whole is made up (Arndt, 230).
Finally, the expression the faith refers to the revealed gospel system (cf. Gal. 1:23; 1 Tim. 5:8).
And so, to sum up: the apostle contends that spiritual gifts would continue until the gospel system, in its individual parts (as portrayed in 1st Corinthians 13) came together in oneness, i.e., the completed or whole revelation (New Testament record) (see MacKnight, 335). Ephesians 4 and 1st Corinthians 13 are wonderfully complimentary.
Two common objections considered
We will now consider a couple of arguments that frequently are employed in an attempt to prove that miracles did not cease with the apostolic age.
First, some contend Paul taught that spiritual gifts would continue to the very end, i.e., unto the coming of Christ. 1st Corinthians 1:6-8 is cited to establish this. We offer the following points:
It is not certain that miraculous gifts are even in view within this context. Meyer argues that spiritual blessings in general are under consideration, not miraculous gifts (I.19).
Even if miraculous gifts are in view, the text no more asserts that they will be operative until the Lords return, than it does that the Corinthians themselves would remain alive until that event.
The word end can mean to the uttermost (cf. Jn. 13:1), and thus the reference may not be to the end of time.
One may be confirmed (sustained) through the message of the inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16,17), hence, be unreprovable in the day of Christ, without needing to possess supernatural gifts.
Second, it is claimed that the Lord is as powerful today as He was in the first century; and so, He can perform signs today.
But the question is not one of Gods power; it is a matter of His will. Does He will to perform miracles today? He does not will to create men directly from the dust of the earth. He does not will to feed us with manna from heaven, etc., though He is powerful enough to do such feats. The He-has-the-power quibble proves nothing.
The scholarly T. H. Horne presented a remarkable summary statement of this matter that is worthy of consideration.
Why are not miracles now wrought? - we remark that, the design of miracles being to confirm and authorize the Christian religion, there is no longer any occasion for them, now that it is established in the world, and is daily extending its triumphs in the heathen lands by the divine blessing of the preached gospel. Besides, if they were continued, they would be of no use, because their force and influence would be lost by the frequency of them; for, miracles being a sensible suspension or controlment of - or deviation from - the established course or laws of nature, if they were repeated on every occasion, all distinctions of natural and supernatural would vanish, and we should be at a loss to say, which were the ordinary and which the extraordinary works of Providence. Moreover, it is probable that, if they were continued, they would be of no use, because those persons who refuse to be convinced by the miracles recorded in the New Testament, would not be convinced by any new ones: for it is not from want of evidence, but from want of sincerity, and out of passion and prejudice, that any man rejects the miracles related in the Scriptures; and the same want of sincerity, the same passions and prejudices, would make him resist any proof, any miracle whatever. Lastly, a perpetual power of working of miracles would in all ages give occasion to continual impostures, while it would rescind and reverse all the settled laws and constitutions of Providence. Frequent miracles would be taught to proceed more from some defect in nature than from the particular interposition of the Deity; and men would become atheists by means of them, rather than Christians (I.117).
What about modern miracles?
How does one deal with the alleged miracles of this modern age? In the first place, we really are not obligated to defend, as divine, a modern event simply because it may have certain elements that are difficult to explain. There are many illusions that modern magicians perform which the average person cannot explain; they do have natural explanations though. They are not miracles.
That aside, there are several possible bases for so-called modern miracles. As an example, let us focus upon alleged faith healings.
Some instances of faith healings are pure fakery. Consider the case of Peter Popoff, miracle-working cleric of Upland, California. Popoff, who claimed the supernatural ability to provide secret information about people in his audiences (in conjunction with healing them), was receiving such data through a tiny hearing aid, the messages being transmitted by his wife from backstage.
Prominent magician James Randi exposed the entire affair on nation-wide television (139-181). Randi also demonstrated that Popoff was providing rented wheelchairs for people who could actually walk; then, at his services, he was pronouncing them healed. [See this for the video footage.]
Some miracle cures are claimed by people who honestly believe that God has healed them. The fact is, however, they had nothing organically wrong with them. Their ailment was psychosomatic. This means that though some bodily feature was actually affected, the real root of the problem was mental or emotional; hence, by suggestion a cure might be effected.
It has been estimated that some 55% (or more) of the patients applying for medical treatment in the United States suffer from psychosomatic illnesses. In fact, Dr. William S. Sadler has written:
It is generally believed by experienced physicians that at least two-thirds of the ordinary cases of sickness which doctors are called upon to treat would, if left entirely alone, recover without the aid of the doctor or his medicine (15).
Taking advantage of this type of sickness, the faith-healer, in an atmosphere of hysteria and feverish emotionalism, produces some phenomenal cures. But there is nothing miraculous about such cases.
A physician in Toronto, Canada investigated thirty cases in which Oral Roberts claimed miraculous healing was effected; he found not one case that could not be attributed to psychological shock or hysteria (Randi, 288). Dr. William S. Sadler affirmed that after twenty-five years of sympathetic research into faith-healing, he had not observed a solitary case of an organic disease being healed.
It is commonly known that an African witch-doctor can literally command a believer in voodoo to die, and within the prescribed time, the victim will expire. This evidences the powerful control of the mind over the body. Surely no one will claim, though, that a witch-doctor has the Spirit of God.
Another explanation for some so-called faith cures is a phenomenon known as spontaneous remission. Spontaneous remission is an unexpected withdrawal of disease symptoms, and an inexplicable disappearance of the ailment. It occurs in about one out of every 80,000 cancer patients.
Joseph Mayerle of Bremerton, Washington had exploratory surgery; it was discovered that he was consumed with cancer. His physicians gave him only a few months to live. Months sped by and his disease utterly vanished. There was nothing miraculous about it. According to newspaper accounts, Mr. Mayerle, a bartender, made no claim to faith, prayer, or a miracle-cure. Wouldnt a faith-healer have delighted in taking credit for that case?
Conclusion
There is one final point of this presentation that needs to be pressed with great vigor. There is no alleged miracle being performed today by Pentecostals, or those of a similar Christian persuasion, that cannot be duplicated by various cults and non-Christian sects.
Those who practice Christian Science, Mormonism, Catholicism, Transcendental Meditation, Yoga, Psychic Healing, Scientology, New Age Crystal Healing, etc., claim the same type of signs as the Pentecostals. In fact, more than 20 million Americans annually report mystic experiences (including healing) in their lives (Psychology Today, 64).
Since the Scriptures clearly teach that the purpose of miracles, as evidenced in biblical days, was to confirm the message proclaimed, hence, to validate the Christian system, do the multiple alleged examples of miracle-workings indicate that the Lord has authenticated all of these woefully contradictory systems? Think of the implications of that - especially in light of Pauls affirmation that God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33).
There is abundant evidence that genuine miracles were performed by divinely appointed persons in the first century, but there is no proof whatever that such wonders are being replicated in this modern age.
If you want you can PM me with specific instances where you think I was faulty on my responsiblities as a mod and I will address them. If not then you need to retract your statement said in, what seems to be, frustration or anger.
