WP 110: Charismatic Gifts of the Spirit

The Westside Podcast—featuring Randy Frazee

Are the Charismatic Gifts of the Spirit for today?

What are the Charismatic Gifts?

All evangelicals believe the Holy Spirit is at work in the world. All believe the Holy Spirit supernaturally works in human hearts to bring people to the point of faith in Christ. All believe the Holy Spirit gives certain gifts to people to carry out ministry, such as teaching, preaching, administration and hospitality. And all agree that God can and does at times miraculously intervene in the affairs of people. But evangelical Christians are divided on the issue of whether the charismatic gifts are for today and should be practiced today.

The charismatic gifts are a distinct class of gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8–10. Paul writes, “To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”

Were these gifts intended by God to be used throughout the entire church age until the Lord returns?

Evangelical Christians can be roughly divided into three distinct groups:

• Cessationists- Those who believe that the charismatic gifts ceased as soon as the New Testament was completed and disseminated to all the churches. They conclude that everything that passes as a charismatic experience today is in fact misguided emotionalism, at best, or demonic deception at worst.

• Continuationists- The Pentecostal, charismatic and third wave Christians who believe that the charismatic gifts are for today and thus should be pursued and practiced.

• The Cautious- Christians who are not theologically opposed to the exercise of charismatic gifts, but they are cautious. These people are often concerned with the extreme emphasis placed on the gifts in some Pentecostal, charismatic or third wave circles as well as some of the unusual practices that at times accompany these gifts (e.g., being slain in the Spirit, laughing in the Spirit, etc.). This latter group is continuationist in theology but does not emphasize or pursue the charismatic gifts the way charismatic Christians do.

And the main passage used is 1 Corinthians 13:8-12. “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

The cessationist argues that this phrase refers to the completion and distribution of the New Testament.

The continualist argues that the “complete” is referring to the second coming of Christ.

Our response:

By appealing to the Word of God. The Bible itself teaches that if an experience is not consistent with God’s Word, we must reject it, regardless of how impressive the experience may seem. “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:8)

Demons are capable of mimicking authentic spiritual experiences and masquerading as angels of light.

At the same time 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”

What is the fruit? Is Jesus glorified or is the experience glorified?

The Gospel of Grace is the great diffuser of abuses. Manifestations, behavior modification, church attendance, tongues, traditions, biblical education etc. is not salvific. We are saved by grace.

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