Brian D. Longoria
March 28, 2022 / November 29, 2024
A Thesis On The Debate Between Continuationism and Cessationism,
2024 Expanded and Revised
“He is the One you praise; He is your God Who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” (Deuteronomy 10:21)
“But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before Him. He performs wonder that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” (Job 5:8-9)
“Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
There is a controversy widespread among the different denominations and sects of Christianity. This is the war between Cessationism and Continuationism. These are two differing beliefs that argue whether the gifts of the Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians have died out, or whether they are still for today. These gifts are: the gift of the word of wisdom, the gift of the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of performing miracles, the gifts of healings, the gift of prophecy, the gift of discerning between spirits, the gift of speaking in tongues, and the gift of interpreting tongues.
At times the battle between Cessationism and Continuationism gets so intense that some heretical sects of Pentecostalism incorrectly decide that you must speak in tongues to be saved. Some Cessationists believe that all Charismatics are demon possessed and are going to hell.
This paper will only be addressing the doctrines that teach either that the gifts have ceased or that they are continuing today. This does not address those who don’t believe that God did miracles at all. In that case scripture is very clear.
It is agreed among these two groups that at one point in time, God gave His followers Spiritual gifts and allowed them to perform miracles in His Name. There the agreement ends. While some say that the gifts of the Spirit are no longer active, or rather common, others believe strongly that the Holy Spirit is still very active today, and miracles are very much relevant in our lives today. By definition a true Cessationist believes that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased, and a true Continuationist believes that they still continue today. Any in-between doctrines will not be addressed.
(Benoit, Not By Ignorance) (Brown, Authentic Fire)
The continuous work of the Holy Spirit is evidenced by three factors: Eye witness reports, scriptures that speak on such matters, and events throughout history prior to the last 100 years and the advent of Pentecostalism at Azusa Street.
While we live from The Word of God and not solely from experience or lack thereof, some major evidence for the continuous work of the Holy Spirit is positive modern day experience and specifically numerous eye witness reports of miracles all over the world. Although it has been argued by some that God no longer speaks to us other than through His written Word, and that visions and prophecy have ceased, with recent events in the Middle East, especially in Iran, this seems very unlikely.
While recognizing dreams, visions, and prophecies by those of us in first world countries, the greatest evidence is found in Islamic countries, where Muslims are starting to follow Jesus. Muslims believe that God only communicates to us through dreams. Isabella Lilias Trotter, the great missionary to Algeria during the Victorian age, reported many Muslims converting to Christianity as a result of dreams they believed to have been given to them by God. In 2007 a study showed that out of 600 Muslim converts, 25 percent experienced a dream that led to their conversion. In fact the fastest growing church in the world is the church in Iran, where a majority experience a vision of Jesus and convert to Christianity before the people witnessing to them even bring up His Name.
(Carlson, The Gospel Coalition) (Richardson, Sheep Among Wolves Vol. II)
This is amazing enough as it is. Even more so are the accounts given by many of these new followers of Christ. These dreams mostly follow a similar pattern to each other: Jesus appears to them and commands them to go meet someone at a specific place and time. When they wake up, they follow His instructions and find a follower of Jesus who then leads them to Christianity. At times it has been recorded that He has quoted scripture to them, even scripture they had never before heard or read.
(Carlson, The Gospel Coalition)
This specifically happened with a Persian migrant at a refugee center who had a vision of a Man in white coming to him. He asked the Man in white Who He was and He replied, “I Am the Alpha and the Omega. I’m the Way to Heaven, No one can go to the Father except through me.” Troubled, the man went and found a Persian pastor who then showed him where Jesus says this in Revelation. The man burst down in tears and asked what he could do to follow God. The pastor prayed over him. The man proclaimed. “The Jesus that I met today, he’s more powerful than the Muslims in the camp.” An hour later he returned with 10 other Muslims saying they all wanted a Bible.
(Carlson, The Gospel Coalition)
It isn’t just Muslims either. Others are dreaming of the “Man in white” as well, including one Israeli Rabbi, who had a dream of a man in white telling him that his sins were forgiven. This account and many other powerful testimonies may seem hard to believe, but when compared to scripture, what do we see? We see God speak to many people through dreams and visions. Paul’s conversion is a great example of this, even being followed with a miraculous healing, which restored Paul’s sight.
There are other accounts of miracles all across the world, including eye witness reports of the dead being raised. The young son of Fatima, a Muslim convert in Sri Lanka was raised from the dead when she cried out to Jesus.
Even in the West there are accounts of resurrection, one of which was the wife of evangelist Smith Wigglesworth. He came home one day to be greeted with the news that his wife had died. He immediately went upstairs where her body was laying in bed. He grabbed her and put her against the wall saying, “I command you to come to me now!” She then came back to life. In fact, when Wigglesworth’s wife finally died, she had to ask him not to bring her back. There were at least 14 resurrections of the dead in Smith Wigglesworth’s ministry.
(Sumrall, Gifts And Ministries Of The Holy Spirit)
The North Georgia Revival in Dawsonville GA has seen its fair share of miracles, including a 5 year-old boy healed from severe autism, and a woman healed from stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
(Akers, CharismaMag)
Even besides these reports throughout the world, personal experience has led me to believe in the continuation of the Holy Spirit’s power. My mother and father had been in the deliverance ministry and led to Christ a woman possessed with many demons. I myself was baptized in the Holy Spirit on January 10th of 2021.
All of this gives evidence that the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit have not ceased, but indeed continue today. And this matters to every believer, as we all tend to interpret scripture out of our own personal experience or lack of said experience. While we don’t live from it, positive experience does have a certain weight that a lack of experience cannot carry. All of these eye witness accounts show that all across the world the work of the Holy Spirit is still alive and active.
Most important to this study is the inerrant Word of God. There are many places throughout scripture that address the gifts of the Spirit and miracles in general. One of the most popular passages on this subject is 1 Corinthians 12, in which Paul explains the gifts of the Spirit to the church at Corinth. These are listed as: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues. These gifts are for the edification of the body of Christ and are given to the believer upon the infilling of the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation. Jesus says in Mark 16:15-18, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Jesus says that these things will accompany those who believe, not only the apostles, as some have argued.
Another gift given to the believer is the ability to pray in tongues. Paul himself said that he spoke more in tongues than all the Corinthians did, but he wished that they all spoke in tongues as well. He specified that when he prayed in tongues, his spirit prayed but his mind was unfruitful. He then said that when he prayed with his spirit , he also prayed with his mind. This is the same experience as those of us who still pray in tongues today. In Greek the word used is “γλώσσή” (Glōssē), specifying an unknown tongue or language. Paul tells us that one who speaks in tongues speaks not to men but to God, uttering mysteries in the spirit; ‘no one knows what he says’. This is in contrast to tongues for the edification of the body, where God speaks to His people through an unknown tongue.
There are many scriptures that concern the gifts of the Spirit, and their relevance to the believer and the Body of Christ as a whole. Paul mentions all throughout his letters the gifts of the Spirit and how it concerns each church he wrote to. And while some question the authenticity of these verses, the evidence for them is staggering. Take for example Mark 16:15-18. Just over a thousand years ago, there was one scribe named Ephraim who lived circa 900 AD. At the end of Mark 16:8 he wrote that some manuscripts did not contain verses 9-20. Today that same format is used in Bibles. But the question is how many early manuscripts did not contain these verses? The answer is only 1%. The opposition was 1,600+ manuscripts against two codices, “Sinaiticus (ℵ01)” and “Vaticanus” (B03). And out of these 1,600 early copies only 23 contain anomalies that question it’s authenticity. Lastly, 99% of all early manuscripts include Mark 16:9-20, which includes Jesus’ address to His followers. Therefore the evidence for authenticity simply far outweighs any arguments against it.
(Hixson, The Gospel Coalition)
The reason that all of this matters to us as believers today is that we can totally and completely trust the authenticity of Biblical scripture, and what it says. And we must apply what it says to our own lives and our relationship with the Holy Spirit. We must follow Christ’s example, as in the Greek He was called the Prototokos literally translated as “First Born”. We are to be Christ like and walk out our faith as He did. Philippians 2:5-8 states, “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Jesus’ ministry was done by the power of the Holy Spirit in Him, and as Christians we are to imitate Christ even in the sense of His miraculous ministry.
One last proof is of multiple accounts of the movement of the Holy Spirit throughout history, showing that these things are not just happening within the last hundred years. One fabulous example is of Jonathan Edwards, considered by some to be the greatest theologian of the Great Awakening. During some of his revival meetings he reported many crying out, falling over and lying immobile on the ground, and other such things as are commonly associated with being slain in the Spirit, which is supported Biblically in 2 Corinthians 5:14 and 1 Kings 8:10-13, where the priests are unable to stand to minister as the glory of the Lord filled the temple. John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield also during this time witnessed similar occurrences, labeled physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
(Lex Loiz)
As Jonathan Edwards stated, “Some persons [have] had such longing desires after Christ, or which have risen to such degree, as to take away their natural strength. Some have been so overcome with a sense of the dying love of Christ to such poor, wretched, and unworthy creatures, as to weaken the body. Several persons have had so great a sense of the glory of God, and excellency of Christ, that nature and life seemed almost to sink under it; and in all probability, if God had showed them a little more of Himself, it would have dissolved their frame.”
(Lex Loiz)
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement said that people all over were crying out and falling to the ground. George Whitefield reported that throughout the large crowds, sinners were crying out in repentance to their sins in groaning, shouting, yelling, and sometimes shouts of joy. He stated that the sound of it all was like the sound of Niagara Falls, and that many claimed to have been given visions.
Even far back into the early church we see reports of miracles continuing. Clement of Rome (? – 96 AD) and Ignatius of Antioch (35 AD – 107 AD) both reported miracles among average Christians. Irenaeus of Lyon (130 AD – 202 AD) told of prophecy in his church in southern Gaul. Tertullian (160 AD – 225 AD) practiced healing, prophecy, and tongues. Antony of Egypt (251? AD – 356 AD) was reported to have the gifts of healing and discerning of spirits. Hildegard of Bingen (1098 AD – 1179 AD) is associated with many reports of miracles and is said to have sung in the Spirit, and wrote many books miraculously in languages unknown to her. Gregory Palamas (1296 AD – 1359 AD) recognized the importance of laying on of hands for one to receive gifts of healing, miracles, foreknowledge, wisdom, and speaking in and interpreting tongues.
Some today may reject this and say that manifestations of the Holy Spirit are chaotic and unruly. But we must let God be God. Who are we to tell God what is acceptable? Who are we to determine in our hearts what should or shouldn’t be normal? Should we not rely on God to decide what is good? God’s words to Peter in Acts 10 are this: “What God has made clean, do not call impure.”
So what does all this mean to us as modern believers? How do historical accounts apply to how we view the power of God today? We know from Solomon that there is nothing new under the sun. God says in Malachi 3:6a “For I the Lord do not change;” So why should we then expect that His work has changed? To believe in a God that changes the way He works is to have a god made by our own imagination, thus breaking the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Some might say that God appears to have changed the way He works, especially when compared to the Old-Testament. This however is untrue. He never changed His nature. He is a just God, the same as He was back then. There is no difference in the nature of God. Instead, we see that He provided a way for our debt to be paid so that in accepting His sacrifice and choosing to surrender our lives to Him, we are free from His mighty wrath. Jesus took that wrath upon Himself. God has never changed, and He never will. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
One question may be asked about how we can tell whether a physical manifestation is of God or of the devil. After all, we we don’t want to restrict the movement of the Holy Spirit and we certainly don’t want to do as the pharisees did, attributing God’s power to that of satan. At the same time, we definitely do not want to allow unclean spirits to manifest themselves except for the purpose of driving them out. We do not want our focus to be taken away from worshiping our Heavenly Father. So how then do we reconcile with this issue? The answer comes from 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul explains the gifts. One such gift is the discernment of spirits.
(Sumrall, The Gifts And Ministries Of The Holy Spirit) (Carter, Questions And Answers On Spiritual Gifts) (Deere, Surprised By The Power Of The Spirit)
An example of this at work comes from a story of a worship session that took place at OneCamp, a Christian summer camp hosted by the Transformation Network. The Holy Spirit was at work there, revival broke out, and many were speaking in tongues and praising the Lord. However, there was a demonic manifestation as well that many of the people, including the leaders, didn’t recognize. They did not understand what was happening, nor did they do anything about it. Later, a camper revealed that it had been a demonic presence and he rebuked it in Jesus’ Name. In this case God had given this camper the gift of the discerning between spirits, as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians.
There are many arguments often put forth in favor of Cessationism, one of the biggest being addressed by John MacArthur. This is the issue of abuses within some charismatic churches. These include fake healings, emotionalism/sensationalism to an extreme, and hyped up manifestations of the Spirit. While these abuses do take place in some charismatic churches, they do not go unaddressed. In fact many Pentecostal/charismatic pastors and scholars have addressed these issues many times. John Wimber, the leader of the Vineyard church, spoke against hyping up healings and miracles and even worship. He told people to not fake being slain in the Spirit or to stir up excitement where there isn’t any. He said, just as Paul did, that it is important for things to be orderly, including healing. The importance is so that we can see God’s true work and not have it be hidden by emotionalism. Additionally, Kathryn Kuhlman strictly warned against manifestations of the flesh.
(MacArthur, Strange Fire) (Brown, Authentic Fire)
Not only have many addressed these abuses, but also it is a fallacy to equate an abuse in one church to the whole movement. This is known as the part to whole fallacy. For example, are we to hold all Baptists accountable for the actions of the Westboro Baptist church? No, that would simply be unfair to the truly devoted Baptists who are serving the Lord with all their heart. In the same way, not all charismatics and Pentecostals should be held accountable for the churches that teach false doctrine, or ignore the importance of the true Gospel.
The most common case made against Continuationism is a lack of experience with miracles, visions, healings, deliverance from demons, Heavenly words of inspiration, prophecy, and speaking in tongues. We all tend to test scripture by our own experiences, whether positive or negative. If someone has been baptized by fire and has witnessed miracles, they are much more likely to accept that the gifts are for today. However, if someone has never experienced anything miraculous, they are much less likely to believe in these things. This is not because of a lack of faith, but because they have not yet had the opportunity to get to know the Holy Spirit in that way.
(Deere, Surprised By The Power Of The Spirit)
Furthermore, some have suggested that the gifts were only for the building of the church and that now that age has ended, so there is no need for them anymore. However there is nothing in scripture that supports this doctrine. In fact, how are we to say that the building of the church has ended when there are so many unreached people groups all across the world? There are too many people who have not yet heard of Christ, to then decide that the age of building up Christ’s body has ended.
(Pennington, A Case For Cessationism)
All of these common arguments are the biggest pieces of evidence for Cessationism, and yet they are invalid, as previously shown. Not only is there no scripture that states that the gifts have ceased, but instead there is much scripture that suggests the opposite. Moreover, accounts throughout history and even in modern day point to the Holy Spirit’s power at work today. Furthermore, lack of personal experience and spiritual abuses that do not go unaddressed are not valid cases for dismissing Continuationism.
Another Cessationist argument may be this: if divine revelation is real, that supports later “prophets” such as Muhammad, Joseph Smith, and others. This is another example of a part to whole fallacy. Saying that some divine revelations are true, does not equate to all claims of revelation being true. Take for example the girl in Acts who was possessed with an unclean spirit, specifically of divination (python in the Greek). It was revelatory, and yet we know that it was not from God. There are other stories throughout scripture that talk of demonic power: Pharaoh’s magicians, Elymas the sorcerer, the witch of Endor, and more. These people were not teaching the truth and yet they had miracles. Why? Because demonic power is real and disguises itself to lure people away from God. Satan is described as presenting himself as an angel of light. (Isn’t it interesting how Joseph Smith was given his visions by an “angel of light.”) So how are we to tell the difference between true revelation and fake “revelation”? Well what do all fake “revelations” have in common? They all contradict scripture. It is very important that we always go back to God’s Word for the truth. This is addressed in 1 John 4:1-3, speaking on how we should test whether a prophet is of God or not. It is also important to note that scripture tells us we now hear in part, see in part, know in part, and prophesy in part. The prophets are no longer the sole mediators between God and men. Now Jesus is our only mediator. The new spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus, and it is to our benefit that we prophesy in part, that we be united and work as one body together.
It might be asked why any of this matters to believers. Why would this be important for followers of Christ? The answer is this: There is absolutely no reason to not accept all that God has for us. To do so is to tell God, I accept You but not all of You. But who are we to decide what God should or shouldn’t do? We should seek Him out with all our heart and desire to know Him more; He has made a way for us to build up the church as well as our own relationship with Him. So we should desire His gifts, and not reject what He has for us.
“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy…and do not forbid speaking in tongues.”
1 Corinthians 14:1, 39b ESV
Sometimes faith is about stepping outside of our comfort zone; walking in boldness.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
in Christ
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