Perspectives on Pentecost [Paperback]

Richard, Jr. Gaffin (Author), Gaffin (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: P & R Publishing (February 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875522696
• ISBN-13: 978-0875522692
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A careful and accurate study well worth reading., December 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Perspectives on Pentecost (Paperback)

Finally, a carefully written study in concise and readable form which addresses the heart of the question with respect to the cessation of the special "sign" gifts of the New Testament. Professor Gaffin has represented those with whom he disagrees clearly and fairly, and has provided the Church community with a helpful and balanced resource. Regardless of the reader's position, one cannot help but come away from this short study without a deep appreciation for the sufficiency and unity of Scripture. As a study in the basics of the doctrine of revelation, it is a definite "must-read" for every earnest believer.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on the subject, October 8, 2005

By 

The Actor (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Perspectives on Pentecost (Paperback)

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the charismatic/cessationism debate, or anyone simply interested in the function of the gifts today.

In places, the book reads almost like a commentary because of its exegetical depth and objectivity. His purpose in writing is to show what the New Testament REALLY teaches about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. His subtitle says everything - he really does do an excellent job in this regard.

His reasoning is also very good. He went far beyond the "prooftexting" and hackneyed arguments that is all too common on both sides of the debate.

I strongly recommend this book.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Distributed To Every Age, February 6, 2008

By 

Jacques Schoeman (SA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perspectives on Pentecost (Paperback)

The NT church is supposed to provoke Israel to jealousy, says the Scripture. Do we? Does the way we use the gifts contribute to or detract from this biblical injunction? All such are God's gifts to us. 'Every gift is a manifestation of grace, and any manifestation of grace can be termed a gift.' p 47

Professor Gaffin prepares a substantial portion of his book to interpreting what is to follow in the NT church, with regards to the gifts, through the interpretive grid of Pentecost. Pentecost was not primarily about the 'experiences' of the people there present. John the Baptist prophesied of Pentecost, saying that the Lamb of God would 'baptize with the Spirit and with fire' - one referring to His earthly reign through His atoning death, bringing the Spirit as blessing; the other referring to His eschatological rule, bringing judgment, which will follow with the second advent. Yes, partial fulfillment occurred at Pentecost, for there tongues of flame fell on those present, but: 'Its undeniable fulfillment at Pentecost is nonetheless component with the fiery baptism of final judgment set by the New Testament to be executed by Christ at His return.' p 17

Gaffin indicts charismatics and pentecostals: 'Even less is it the model for post-conversion, second-blessing experience of the Spirit to be sought by all believers in every generation. Therefore it (Pentecost) is no more capable of being repeated or serving as a model for Christian experience than are the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, with which it is so integrally conjoined as part of a single complex of events.' p 23

Following Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus promises that same life-giving Spirit as a gift will be given to continue to mediate Christ's presence to His church. The inauguration of the Spirit's saving presence in the life of the church in Acts, and then subsequently in the life of individuals as they turn to Christ, is a once-for-all thing. 'Emerging in our discussion then, is one of the most basic, controlling principles of both the christology and pneumatology of the New Testament, namely, the absolute coalescence, the total congruence in the church between the work of the exalted Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.' p 19

To progress from monotheism to the Trinity, accompanied by the development of the canon, would require unique and godly superintendence specific to that transition. Paul's unique experience, i.e. 'being caught up into the third heaven' (2 Cor 12: 2-4) falls into this framework, resulting in the lengthy defense of his apostleship. Professor Gaffin provides the correct contextual application: 'they are an integral, yet subordinate feature of the visions and surpassingly great revelations which lie at the base of his apostolic gospel preached to the whole church (Gal 1:11-17). These events, although of an intensely personal character, do not fall within some private sector of personal religious experience, distinct from his apostolic ministry, but are rather, as the larger context makes plain, an attendant aspect of that ministry.' p 83

Certain giftings continue today, the Spirit is not quenched - but will we need healings in heaven, will there be a need for prophecy and will the interpretation of tongues qualify any to be an elder in the church, let alone heaven one day? And may anyone, not just an apostle, 'be caught up into the third heaven'? A profusion of charismatics claim that this exact experience has come over them and whilst they insist that they do not consider themselves to be apostles, they bitterly divorce biblical content from its redemptive-historical context. On the contrary, Professor Gaffin calmly shares his knowledge of Holy Scripture: 'The gifts of the Spirit, while particular expressions of this life, are provisional expressions. In this sense then, the variously distributed workings of the Spirit, of which the healings of Jesus and the apostles are an instance, are provisional and, in some instances, function as signs. Necessitated by, bound up with, and shaped by the conditions that make up 'the form of this world which is passing away'(1 Cor 7:31), they are themselves transient, the point of 1 Cor 13:8-10.' pp. 45-46

Gaffin's initial setting-of-the-scene is the primary defense of cessationism, and the book's subsequent trajectory relates all the acts of the apostles in light of Pentecost - commonly referred to as the apostolic age or the foundational stage of the NT church. It relates to an inclusivity on a scale that only a discretionary God could foreknow and comprehend, with Pentecost being the final in a series of once-for-all events inaugurating the final eschatological stage of redemption. BB Warfield believed that there was only one historical answer for the superabundance of claimed miracles: 'They represent the infusion of heathen modes of thought into the church.' Counterfeit Miracles p 61

This study then draws a line in the sand as to WHEN the revelatory, sign gifts were in use and calls for recognition of Bible authority today. Gaffin also gains credibility as he claims that the 'perfect' in 1 Cor 13:10 is not the canon closure as held by John F Walvoord in The Holy Spirit pp. 178-179, but the Parousia, p 109. Until then, the God-breathed record holds full sway.