Besides the gift of apostleship, just how many spiritual gifts are there? In A Biblical Case for CessationismTom Pennington lists 18 gifts separated into two groups that may be described in various ways: miraculous and non-miraculous, temporary and permanent, sign gifts and edifying gifts. He lists eight gifts in the non-miraculous category including teaching, exhortation, evangelism, pastor-teacher, helps, giving, administration, and mercy (90). The miraculous gifts are further subdivided into gifts of revelation and gifts of confirmation. The revelatory gifts are apostle, prophecy, discerning spirits, and words of wisdom and knowledge. The confirming gifts are miracles, healings, languages [tongues], the interpretation of languages, and the gift of faith (91).
Where are these gifts described in the NT? There are only three passages which inventory them: Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; and Ephesians 4:11. None of these passages gives the same list of gifts or offers detailed definitions or descriptions of these gifts, which makes things much more difficult for the interpreter who wants to limit himself to the actual statements of Scripture.
One will search in vain for a Bible verse that breaks down the gifts into the categories Pennington uses. The closest we can come is in 1 Peter 4, where the apostle says that each one is to employ whatever gift he has received in serving one another. Then he speaks of two categories of service, when he says, “If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything” (v.11). Rather than speaking of miraculous and non-miraculous gifts, or of temporary gifts verses permanent ones, the only categories used in the NT are speaking and serving, and that only in one passage which does not list any specific gift.
Without really attempting to define the gifts further, except for a footnote explaining that the gift of faith is different from the faith that all believers are to exercise, the author moves on to focus on the gifts of tongues, prophecy, and healing. He explains that “[his] goal is to evaluate today’s charismatic versions of those gifts against the genuine biblical gifts to determine if today’s are the real New Testament miraculous gifts or spurious substitutes” (95).
The Gift of Languages (Tongues)
He begins with the gift of tongues, explaining that “Most charismatics describe tongues as a nonhuman language often expressed in corporate worship but reserved primarily for personal, private prayer” (95). But Pennington maintains that the Bible does not describe the gift of tongues this way: “Instead, Scripture only defines tongues as the miraculous ability to speak a foreign language not learned by normal human methods” (96). Charismatics see tongues as ecstatic speech that flows directly from the believer’s heart to God, bypassing the mind, the author points out that “For Paul, true worship always requires that the worshipper’s mind be engaged and that he understand the things of God” (113). After examining all of the New Testament evidence he concludes, “There is no biblical warrant for arguing that the charismatic versions of tongues are the restoration of the biblical gift” (115).
The Gift of Prophecy
In order to argue for the renewal of prophecy in modern times, charismatics distinguish between the gifts in the Old and New Testaments. While the OT prophets spoke directly for God, the NT gift does not “imply divine authority for their speech or writing” (117) according to charismatic theologian Wayne Grudem. But Pennington responds by noting that the NT writers do not ever make such a distinction: “Just as the Old Testament prophets spoke direct, infallible revelation from God, so did the New Testament prophets” (119).
The Gift of Healing
In discussing divine healing it is important, says Pennington, to differentiate between the gift of healing and the fact that God heals. No Bible believing Christian can deny that God is the healer, but Pennington explains that “[t]he biblical gift of healing was a supernatural ability to cure physical illnesses and congenital diseases or abnormalities, not indiscriminately, but when the person performing the healing was conscious it was God’s will” (124). And when the NT records the use of the gift of healing, “the results were complete, immediate, permanent, and undeniable.” In contrast to these, “The purported healings of the Charismatic Movement, including its faith healers, are the antithesis of the apostolic healings. They are incomplete, temporary at best, and unverifiable” (125).
In summary Pennington states, “When we compare the claims of the Charismatic Movement about the miraculous gifts?specifically tongues, prophecy, and healing?to the real miraculous New Testament gifts, we find they bear no resemblance to those found in Scripture” (127).
Rules for Miraculous Gifts
The same thing is true, the author argues, when we examine the rules laid down in the Bible for the use of miraculous gifts. Tongues, for example, were to be spoken in a church service by at most two or three, and then only one at a time. Furthermore, the tongues were to be used only when someone with the gift of interpreting was present to declare the meaning in language everyone could understand. Pennington says the fourth rule was that women were excluded from speaking in tongues, and then asks a simple question: “How can charismatics argue for the restoration of the gift of tongues when they refuse to follow the clear biblical rules associated with them?” (132). The same basic rules are also applied to prophesying during the church service.
The Scriptures Are Sufficient
The author’s sixth argument for the cessation of the miraculous gifts is that the Bible alone is sufficient. Charitably, Pennington admits that the majority of charismatics would confess that Scripture is enough, but he says “their promotion of miraculous gifts and revelatory experiences such as visions and dreams, attacks and undermines the sufficiency of Scripture” (137). The apostle Paul told Timothy that it was “the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” in 2 Timothy 3:15. He then goes on to say that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” We ought to confess, as Pennington does, that “The Bible equips us to deal with every spiritual issue we face in the Christian life. It fully supplies us with what we need to live for the glory of God” (145).
Miraculous Gifts and Church History
Pennington’s final argument is drawn from the history of the church. He notes that “The pastoral epistles, 1-2 Timothy and Titus, written near the end of Paul’s ministry, make no mention of tongues or any of the miraculous gifts” (161). Yet it is in those letters that Paul gave the most developed instruction about ministry in the church. When you survey the church’s history beyond the time of the apostles, it quickly becomes evident that the gifts did not continue to operate as they had in those early days. “Although there have been scattered reports of miracles throughout church history, there is consistent testimony from the church’s key leaders that the miraculous and revelatory gifts ended with the age of the apostles” (169).
Conclusion
Pennington’s book is a good introduction to the charismatic debate and offers a helpful framework for evaluating claims regarding spiritual gifts in the church today. Critics of the cessationist position must be willing to answer the biblical arguments presented here with more than their subjective experiences. Pennington’s closing advice to those still on the fence about charismatic gifts is helpful: “Do whatever is necessary to come to an informed, convinced position on what Scripture teaches” (175).