Customer Reviews

Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I did not find this book overbalanced on the charismatic side, as one Amazon reviewer suggested. On the contrary, I feel that Richard B. Gaffin was a very wise choice for a representative of the cessationist viewpoint. His arguments move away from flimsy prooftexting and he engages well with the biblical evidence. He avoids the virile tone towards continuationists that many others on his side of the debate have exhibited, and relies on good argumentation and scholarship rather than just anti-charismatic rhetoric.

Similarly, those propounding a continuationist view of spiritual gifts raise some interesting points, Sam Storms giving the most compelling arguments in its favour.

This book will provide an excellent introduction to the current debate, and will be far more helpful to cessationists and continuationists alike than the many other books in the genre which exhibit a much more partisan, even hostile approach.

This book, required for a Systematic Theology class I'm taking, surprised me with its depth and breadth; but above all I was delighted to read four positions stated eloquently, earnestly, firmly, and courteously. Each author went out of his way to emphasize the common ground held by all four men, and each scrupulously avoided personal attacks or the use of inflammatory language, something that cannot be said for one of the reviewers of this book!

Most importantly, I believe, this book has greatly assisted in the formation of my own understanding of Scripture regarding this subject, which is often characterized by poor exegesis, over- or under-reliance on intellect, and childish attacks. In the end, I found that Storms' position dealt comprehensively and convincingly with the testimony of Scripture, but all of the views were addressed fairly and competently.

Had Evangelical scholarship kept up to date, this work could have been written 40 years ago, saving a lot of grief and controversy over a highly volatile issue. Cessationism, the doctrine that spiritual gifts ceased with the apostles, is now the focus of a disciplined, scholarly debate between scholars representing four views, ranging from "Gifts Ceased" (R. Gaffin), "Less Frequent" (R. Saucy), "Continued--3rd Wave" (C. Storms) and "Continued--Pentecostal/charismatic" (D. Oss). 17 hours of face-to-face debate forced the positions to confront each others' arguments more squarely. No one changed his mind, but the dialog broke new ground, providing a rich array of insights for those with the tenacity to work through this sophisticated work. (See full review in forthcoming Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society by Jon Ruthven, author of "On the Cessation of the Charismata: The Protestant Polemic on Post-Biblical Miracles." Sheffield, 1993).

I found this book to be a helpful explanation of the four views on Spiritual gifts. The topic is not just miracles but all of the spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and prophecy. I think the four views contain the substantial arguments for each view; however, each author also responds to the other authors' essays. I think this lends to a disjointed format. The introduction provides the method for the writing of this book. There were discussions and a meeting between the authors and the editor to share viewpoints with each other in person. I have provided summaries of each view below.

Cessationist View

Gaffin argues for the cessationist view; however, he does claim not to argue merely negatively against the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He claims that he is for the truth of Jn 3.8. Gaffin describes this truth, "in his activity the Spirit is like the blowing wind, sovereign and ultimately incalculable." (25) He asserts that in any analysis of the Holy Spirit's work there will be the element of unaccounted for mystery.

His main thrust is to define Pentecost and its related experiences as a single event in salvation history that is not normative or repeatable in Christians' lives today. In this sense, it is akin to Jesus' resurrection, ascension and reception of the Spirit. These are one-time events. Pentecost serves as the completing activity for Christ's work of salvation. He further claims that Acts intends to document not a normative pattern of the Holy Spirit's or the church's work but a unique, completed epoch in the history of redemption characterized by the work and presence of the original apostles. (37-38) Therefore, the implication is that the spiritual gifts we see in Acts are not transferable to later eras of Christianity. Gaffin admits that Luke did not intend to document the cessation of miraculous gifts and power; however, Gaffin concludes that the miraculous gifts and power illustrated in Acts cease at that time. If others demonstrated apostolic-like power and gifts, they did it due to an "apostolic umbrella," a dynamic created by the proximity of an apostle.

Gaffin argues that "word gifts" have ceased. These include the prophetic gifts: gifts of prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. Based on inferences from Scripture, Gaffin concludes that these gifts were limited to the "foundational" era of the church. Once their foundational usefulness had passed, these gifts too passed from the life of the church. (44) He claims that these gifts would produce revelatory words on par with Scripture, and since the Canon of Scripture is closed, these gifts cannot continue to exist.

Open but Cautious View

Saucy affirms that all evangelicals worship a God of supernatural power. He admits that God works miraculously in spiritual gifts exercised by God's people. Because he does not see explicit teaching on spiritual gifts within Scripture, he identifies the use of spiritual gifts as being problematic. He argues that Scripture teaches that all believers receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit upon coming to faith. For Saucy, Paul's commands to "live by the Spirit" (Gal 5.16,25) and to "be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5.18) indicate an ongoing growing relationship with the Holy Spirit.

His believes that the New Testament does not teach the cessation of the spiritual gifts; however, he asserts that "several lines of evidence" demonstrate that the miraculous phenomena experienced in the early church are not intended by God to be standard for the church today. (100) He claims that miraculous activity has been concentrated in three historical episodes in salvation history: 1. Moses and the Exodus, 2. ministries of Elijah and Elisha, and 3. ministries of Christ and the apostles. (103) He considers these to be crucial turning points in salvation history. He believes that the miraculous signs and wonders during Christ's and the apostles' times were to bear witness to the verity of their message. He concludes that the spiritual gifts are not normative for the Christian church at all times. He also concludes that the workings of miracles have nothing to do with individual faith but relies solely on God's sovereignty.

For Saucy, Scripture offers no explicit teaching for or against the cessation of Spiritual gifts. Any emphasis on spiritual gifts by the church is something Saucy sees as foreign to New Testament teaching. Saucy recommends approaching spiritual gifts cautiously and avoiding mandates and doctrines that alienate Christians from one another.

A Third Wave View

Storms contends that Christians should pray for the Holy Spirit to come and minister to and through God's people by means of the full range of spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament. Storms affirms that believers receive the Holy Spirit upon salvation and may subsequently be filled, empowered, endued and overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit throughout their lives. He calls this being "filled with the Spirit" and not Spirit-baptism. (179) The Spirit is continually given to empower our ministry through Christ. He calls these events "fresh impartations" of the Spirit. (185)

For Storms and the Third Wave movement, miracles and spiritual gifts serve several purposes such as doxological, evangelistic, expressing the Lord's compassion and love and to edify and build up the body of Christ. He asserts that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were given for reasons that continue to exist today. He also argues from church history that evidence of the charismatic gifts continuing across the centuries is substantial enough to disprove the theory of cessationism or suggestions that spiritual gifts are all demonic, psychological or spurious. He argues that the absence of spiritual gifts during ages of the church does not indicate God's intending their cessation. Saucy argues as one who had once held to the doctrine of cessationism. He claims that his stance was based on fear and ignorance more than Scripture.

He concludes that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are valid for the contemporary church. For Saucy, there is no Scriptural evidence indicating otherwise; he argues Scripture provides guidelines for the gifts of the Spirit like the prophetic gifts that show they are compatible with the Canon and with God's plan for the church today. He shows how praying in tongues is a Scriptural method for edifying oneself, praying according to the Spirit and engaging in spiritual warfare. He cites the dangers associated with Spiritual gifts, mainly emotionalism, judging others and focusing on gifts rather than God.

A Pentecostal/Charismatic View

This view is similar to the Third Wave view except it emphasizes two distinguishable workings of the Holy Spirit. One work is the inner-transforming work, and the other is the empowering/charismatic work of the Spirit. Oss states that this view believes all Christians receive the Holy Spirit. Oss argues that being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not considered a once-for-all experience. His view emphasizes the need of being "refilled," a traditional Pentecostal expression to indicate that the empowering work of the Spirit is something that happens, or should happen, repeatedly in the life of a believer. Pentecostals have defined "baptism in the Holy Spirit" as the first experience of the Spirit's empowering work. This inaugurates a life of continual "anointings" by the Spirit. (243)

Oss begins with the Old Testament examples of the empowering/transforming work of the Holy Spirit that show workings of inner regeneration and outward empowering. This presages the distinct workings of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in Acts that anoints believers for witness and service. This empowerment continues for the church to this day. Oss argues that any doctrine of cessation is based not on Scripture but on experience. He also argues against dividing history since Christ's time into ages characterized by different workings of the Holy Spirit. For Oss and those sharing his view, the Holy Spirit is always a power-anointing, charismatic and transforming being who inhabits and works through his church. He interprets the New Testament teachings on gifts as indicating a continual experience for the church. Like Saucy, Oss cautions against the misuse of the gifts in manipulative, innovative, ego-centric or gift-centric environments.

I'm going to apply this commentary for the entire Counterpoint Series published by Zondervan Publishing Company. My compliments to that company for creating this series. I initially purchased "Four Views on the Book of Revelation" but soon realized it was only one in a series. I got so much out of that volume, that I decided to purchase the entire set to study and keep for reference. My spiritual growth has been remarkable as a result. Seminary students and professionals would probably enjoy this series, which seems geared for them. But this series is also excellent for those college-educated laypeople who feel inclined to enhance their understanding of Christian theology. That is, with one caveat: Buy a decent theological dictionary to refer to at first. It probably won't get used much after about the third book you choose to read, but initially you will be need it to be confident of some of the terms used among advanced theologians. Then, the Counterpoint series will give you a full understanding of many different concepts and concerns of the Christian faith which have been applicable from early on until the present. I've learned a lot, and the only way I think I could do better is if I were enrolled in Seminary. A list of all the titles I am aware of from this series is:

Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?
Five Views on Law and Gospel
Five Views on Sanctification
Four Views on Hell
Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World
Four Views on the Book of Revelation
Three Views on Creation and Evolution
Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond
Three Views on the Rapture
Two Views on Women in Ministry

I really felt that this book is a good overview to all the major issues surrounding this debate, though I felt that the book could have been better in a couple ways.
1) The Open but Cautious representative wasn't representative of most of the evangelical world, in my opinion. Gaffin was right when he said Saucy was "more cautious that open". I think they should have gotten someone a little farther removed from cessationism to argue that point of view.
2)It's probably just me, but I personally think that Grudem himself should have written the defense of the third wave P.O.V.
Other than those minor contentions, and the apparent inability for the authors to grasp some of the other arguments that were being presented, this work is an excellent introductory work that should be read by all who wish to seriously engage in the miraculous gifts debate.

Regardless if you are approaching the topic for the first time, or if you are convinced of your position, this book will help you better understand all sides of the argument. Like the other four view books, it allows you to see the opposing side defended and evaluated. This is a very thought provoking and theologically loaded book that tackles many common questions that arise regarding the miraculous. The four positions represented are...

1. A Cessationist View, By: Richard Gaffin, Jr
2. An Open but Cautious View, By: Robert L. Saucy
3. A Third Wave View, By: C. Samuel Storms
4. A Pentecostal / Charismatic View, By: Douglas A. Oss

I have read many books from different theological perspectives that are no more than a rock-throwing contest. This is not the case with this book, each of the authors demonstrated true humility, character and Christian respect within their writings. The topic of the gifts (orthodox views) is categorized as a secondary or in house debate. The authors certainly reflect this understand in the text. An example of this is seen in Storms review of cessationist position, he states, "My disagreements with his argument for cessationism, though vigorous, in no way dismiss my profound respect for him both as a scholar of the highest order and, more importantly, as a brother in Christ." This is just one example of many. All and all, this scholarly book addresses the gifts in a Christ like manner and will help the reader understand the various positions on the topic. I highly recommend it.

I took a Theology course (Eschatology and Ecclesiology) with Dr. Grudem, and when I saw this book was required, I was happy. The contributors are very able yet treat each other with respect. Read the Introduction by Grudem; it sets the stage by refusing to entertain ideas that all of the participants identified as unbiblical and destructive ("health and wealth" etc.). Saucy ("Open But Cautious") and Storms (Third Wave) present the most compelling arguments, but Oss and Gaffin are very able, too.

As with the other 4 view books, the editors lets 4 scholarly authors state their views concerning 1. Baptism in the Holy Spirit 2. whether some gifts have ceased 3. discussion on specific gifts, especially the controversial "sign gifts" 4. practical implications for church life and 5. dangers of author's position. A scholary, though not easy read, which considered views of the gifts today. The book does not talk about specific gifts but provided good views to the reader to decide for themselves about the use of gifts in the church today based on the scriptural evidence. Along with the Bobby Clinton book, probably the 2 best books on the Spiritual Gifts in print.

Before reading this book, I was already established in my belief in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, God certainly opened my eyes and my heart throughout the course of my reading. I believe that it is imperative, as believers, that we know why we believe what we believe and be able to back that up with scripture. These four authors encouraged and challenged me to dig into the Word of God and to seek His face. I came away from this book with a greater appreciation and respect for the Body of Christ and was reminded that in the end we will all be together in unity.