Miraculous gifts are a subset of spiritual gifts considered to miraculous by nature. These gifts require divine power to manifest and are remarkable when compared to the normal pattern of events. The miraculous gifts are largely considered as:
speaking in tongues
interpretation of tongues
prophecy
knowledge
wisdom
miracles
healing
Within this list of miraculous gifts are three rough groups: communication (speaking and interpretating tongues), revelation (prophecy, knowledge, wisdom), and empowerment (miracles, healing). The three most controversial of these are speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing.
I've broken this article into two sections:
Do the miraculous gifts continue today?
Some scholars argue for the continuation of miraculous signs and wonders. The gifts are granted by God to confirm the ministry of Christ - which is essential for building up the church today.
To determine for yourself whether the miraculous gifts continue requires an understanding of how and why they manifested. For example, if somebody claims to have a revelation, but you don't know what that looks like, how can you confirm or deny whether it is from God? While experience is helpful, it cannot extend or contradict the scriptures.
Pursue the Gifts
There are no verses that suggest the miraculous gifts have ceased, instead, a couple verses suggest to pursue the gifts:
But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:31 ESV
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV
However, there are some points of contention on whether these gifts constitute a command to pursue gifts. For example, Paul suggests desiring the higher gifts. Is Paul suggesting that they earnestly desire all the gifts or only a subset of gifts? Likewise, is he suggesting that they pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, or is he saying they pursue love but don't neglect the spiritual gifts? That's certainly how John Calvin took this verse:
Covet spiritual gifts. Lest the Corinthians should object that they wronged God, if they despised his gifts, the Apostle anticipates this objection by declaring, that it was not his design to draw them away even from those gifts that they had abused — nay rather he commends the pursuit of them, and wishes them to have a place in the Church.
John Calvin's commentary on 1 Corinthians 14
These verses seem far from sufficient to form doctrinal statements that enforce seeking miraculous gifts. In order to demonstrate that these verses are commandments to pursue the gifts, which would logically require gifts to remain available to be fulfilled, these passages would need to demonstrate either an explicit doctrine or implied doctrine.
It is my opinion that these verses lack the requirements to form a clear cause and effect pattern or explicit statement to pursue gifts so that something is achieved. Instead, the context of this letter seems to be pursue love so that the church is built. The makeup of love is listed in 1 Corinthians 13 and it does not include gifts. Not that they are harmful to the church - but they seem to be secondary and non-essential.
Signs Will Accompany Them
Another verse that is sometimes used to demonstrate that these gifts must exist today is taken from the gospel account of Mark:
And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 16:17-18 ESV
The line that suggests the miraculous will continue is that these signs will accompany those who believe. That would appear to be a clear statement that there will be signs and wonders as part of the normative Christian practice. However, there are two significant criticisms:
This text is not included in the original copies and seems to be added
Those that believe they can handle snakes and deadly poison have died
The first criticism is perhaps the most difficult to refute. While these verses may be useful in so far as they resonate with other scriptures, they should not be used to form the foundation for a doctrine. Indeed the second criticism lends to the first by highlighting the dangers of treating this passage as doctrine.
There are several pastors that have died as a result of handling snakes. If they can be bitten and die to snakes, despite this verse suggesting they wouldn't, we can either call into question whether they're believers, or the authenticity of the passage. In either case, a conservative believer ought to be careful in using this addition to form doctrines.
So, do the gifts continue?
With all of this said, the Bible gives no clear reason to believe that the gifts have ceased. Though it does seem to suggest they're secondary and of lesser importance. With the exception of a few small passages, the main body of the New Testament is to focus on being transformed to be like Christ in regards to his godliness, not his divinity.
Did the miraculous gifts cease?
Some scholars argue for the cessation of miraculous signs and wonders. The gifts were granted by God to confirm the ministry of Christ - which some scholars argue is no longer needed as part of the normative Christian practice.
To determine for yourself whether the miraculous gifts have ceased requires a thorough understanding of how and why they manifested. For example, if somebody claims to speak in tongues, but you don't know what that looks like, how can you confirm or deny whether it was genuine? While experience is helpful, it cannot extend or contradict the scriptures.
Miraculous signs were for authenticating God's ministry
One verse that is sometimes cited to suggest that signs and wonders were not meant to be part of the normative Christian experience comes from Acts:
So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Acts 14:3 ESV
Luke writes that the apostles spoke boldly for the Lord, bearing witness to the word of his grace. The emphasis is that they were focusing on witness to Jesus. As such, Jesus granted that signs and wonders were done by their hands. Indeed, much of the New Testament emphasises on the apostles performing the miracles.
However, it's important to note that the topic of whether they ceased is not a question on the Holy Spirit's ability to manifest the gifts. Instead, the debate is whether the gifts are dispensed as part of the normative Christian experience. We see in Paul's letter that the Holy Spirit designates gifts according to his will - not ours:
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV
Some charismatic believers prefer to dismiss this argument as a limitation of the Holy Spirit. However, doing so is a logical fallacy. By shifting the conversation off the possibility of cessationism and towards the integrity of critics; the charismatic believer deflects engaging with the debate. The reality is that the power of the Holy Spirit can be fully intact and still withholding the miraculous gifts.
One argument put forward for why this might be the case is that Christian believers have confirmed once and for all the gospel. Everything that an unbeliever needs to reach Christ is contained within the scriptures and the church. Likewise, everything the believer needs for edification is also contained within the scriptures and church. Here are three verses that support this hypothesis:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
1 Peter 1:10 ESV
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:17
If we hold the believe that scripture is sufficient (sola scriptura), then it's plausible that the gifts now operate in a limited or restricted capacity.
Manifestation of the gifts differ between then and today
It is reasonable to believe that since the gifts are outlined in scripture; what is written about the gifts is also accurate. If this is the case, some believe that a deviation from the text is an error. However, accuracy differs from completeness. The question posed against the notion that deviation is an error is "does the Bible explains how gifts should be used or how the gifts are used."
If the text is descriptive, then the gifts can be used as described, but also other ways that are not described. Therefore, there may be more to the gifts than scripture reveals and pursuit of this extrabiblical gifts do not inherently oppose what is already described in scripture.
Whereas if the text is prescriptive, then the gifts should only be used as prescribed. Using the gifts in a way that is different from the prescription may result in negative consequence or become harmful to the church. That is to say; even if there is more than described - we should only use the gifts as prescribed.
It is my belief that the gifts, particularly tongues and prophecy, are covered in enough detail that both a description and the prescription are present. However, there is not sufficient information on the other miraculous gifts. For example, Paul writes that tongues should be done orderly with one at a time and no more than two or three:
If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret.
1 Corinthians 14:27 ESV
Likewise, Paul identifies that the gift of tongues is a sign for unbelievers, not for believers:
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
1 Corinthians 14:20-22 ESV
These passages seem to leave very little room for interpretation. However, that's not the case in the book of Acts. We see in Acts that the gift of tongues is described with some detail and the question is whether the gifts can only be used that way, or whether it could be used a different way. Similarly, whether or not that's what Paul is addressing in his epistle to the Corinthians, or if it's the one and same gift. Here's the verse from Acts and note that it does not prescribe a specific use case:
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
Acts 2:5-11 ESV
To me it would appear that the gift described in 1 Corinthiand and Acts appear to be the one and same gift. Therefore, while Acts may be considered a descriptive grammar, what we learn in 1 Corinthians can be applied to the book of Acts as a prescriptive grammar. That is to say, Acts serves as a descriptive example on how the gift should be used, even though it doesn't prescribe a specific use case.
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