The Bible says "so that you are not lacking in any gift..." (1 Cor. 1:7). Can someone today have the gift of prophecy? I believe they can. However, that gift will not contain any new revelation nor
will it contradict Scripture. If someone claims to have new revelation,
or their prophetic word contradicts what Scripture says, I believe we
can write them off immediately. However, if someone comes up to me and
says, "In three months you and another guy will start a business
together in South America," and it happens exactly as that person said,
was that not prophetic? Does it make them a prophet? Probably not. Does
it mean they had a prophetic word from the Lord? I would think so. You
see, if someone claims to speak for the Lord, what that person says will come to pass. If it was not from the Lord, it will not come to pass. We need to be wise and discerning.
If someone claims to have had a dream, a vision, or a prophetic word, it will not contain new revelation nor will it contradict Scripture. The measure of its genuineness is in the validity of its occurrence. If someone has a dream that another guy and I will start our own company in South America, and that person tells me of the dream, and it happens precisely... what do you do with it? Obviously we do not want to let experience dictate or trump the Bible. However, we cannot simply say, "That was not of God. That was from the devil." You see, the fact that Christian sects and many cults counterfeit these gifts (such as speaking in tongues) is proof positive that the genuine gifts exist. If they did not, there would be no need to counterfeit them. It would be pointless to do so. Try counterfeiting money that is no longer in circulation and see how far you get.
Charismatics and Cessationists have went dangerously too far in either direction. Because they have witnessed the great corruption of such gifts by Charismatics, Cessationists have went to the extreme other end of the pendulum. The common passage used by Cessationists to claim cessationism—1 Cor. 13:8-13—does not say anything of the sort. People should try reading and interpreting that passage based on what it does say rather than forcing it to say something it does not say. The fact is, the truth of this issue is somewhere in the middle.
The reason why Cessationist churches have seen little to none of the power of God in their lives is because they have boxed God in and said, "Nope. He cannot do that. If that happens, it was from the devil." How puny is your God? Perhaps that should be a little g. Cessationists have made God powerless and denied Him the privilege of working miracles in their lives with which they can glorify Him in. If someone spoke a prophetic word over me and it occurred exactly as they said, I would have much to praise Him about (not that I do not already).
The gifts were given by the Spirit to the church. The Bible clearly declares "so that you are not lacking in any gift..." (1 Cor. 1:7). The church will not be lacking in any of the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to it. They are for the edification (building up) of the church. Rather than dismiss these gifts in ignorance, perhaps we should better understand what they are and what they refer to. See this post: Signs and Wonders vs. Charismata. There have been many non-Charismatics who have had experiences that they cannot deny. While we should never elevate our experiences above Scripture, what do we do with such experiences?
If you believe that many of the spiritual gifts have ceased, I truly pity you. How pitiful and powerless is your puny god? I was raised as a Cessationist, and I am by no means a Charismatic, but I have come to realize that the truth on this matter is somewhere in the middle. I am not going to box God up due to my fear of the unknown, nor will I blindly accept everyone's experience as legitimate. Both are grave errors. There are four ways with which you can discern with wisdom whether a person's gift is genuine or false:
If someone claims to have had a dream, a vision, or a prophetic word, it will not contain new revelation nor will it contradict Scripture. The measure of its genuineness is in the validity of its occurrence. If someone has a dream that another guy and I will start our own company in South America, and that person tells me of the dream, and it happens precisely... what do you do with it? Obviously we do not want to let experience dictate or trump the Bible. However, we cannot simply say, "That was not of God. That was from the devil." You see, the fact that Christian sects and many cults counterfeit these gifts (such as speaking in tongues) is proof positive that the genuine gifts exist. If they did not, there would be no need to counterfeit them. It would be pointless to do so. Try counterfeiting money that is no longer in circulation and see how far you get.
Charismatics and Cessationists have went dangerously too far in either direction. Because they have witnessed the great corruption of such gifts by Charismatics, Cessationists have went to the extreme other end of the pendulum. The common passage used by Cessationists to claim cessationism—1 Cor. 13:8-13—does not say anything of the sort. People should try reading and interpreting that passage based on what it does say rather than forcing it to say something it does not say. The fact is, the truth of this issue is somewhere in the middle.
The reason why Cessationist churches have seen little to none of the power of God in their lives is because they have boxed God in and said, "Nope. He cannot do that. If that happens, it was from the devil." How puny is your God? Perhaps that should be a little g. Cessationists have made God powerless and denied Him the privilege of working miracles in their lives with which they can glorify Him in. If someone spoke a prophetic word over me and it occurred exactly as they said, I would have much to praise Him about (not that I do not already).
The gifts were given by the Spirit to the church. The Bible clearly declares "so that you are not lacking in any gift..." (1 Cor. 1:7). The church will not be lacking in any of the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to it. They are for the edification (building up) of the church. Rather than dismiss these gifts in ignorance, perhaps we should better understand what they are and what they refer to. See this post: Signs and Wonders vs. Charismata. There have been many non-Charismatics who have had experiences that they cannot deny. While we should never elevate our experiences above Scripture, what do we do with such experiences?
If you believe that many of the spiritual gifts have ceased, I truly pity you. How pitiful and powerless is your puny god? I was raised as a Cessationist, and I am by no means a Charismatic, but I have come to realize that the truth on this matter is somewhere in the middle. I am not going to box God up due to my fear of the unknown, nor will I blindly accept everyone's experience as legitimate. Both are grave errors. There are four ways with which you can discern with wisdom whether a person's gift is genuine or false:
- It will contain no new revelation.
- It will not contradict God's revealed Word contained in Scripture.
- If it is from the Lord, it will come to pass.
- If it is not from the Lord, it will not come to pass.