Chapter Ten

Unconvincing Arguments for Cessation of the Gifts

When it comes to spiritual gifts, believers disagree today on whether all the gifts still exist. Some are continuationists, arguing that virtually all the gifts still exist today. Others are open but cautious about whether certain gifts still exist. Still others are cessationists, arguing that certain gifts have ceased. Here we will consider very briefly two different arguments for the cessation of some of the gifts and argue that both of them are unconvincing.

“The Perfect” Is the Bible or Spiritual Maturity

I begin with the most common version, which is particularly found in dispensational circles. The claim is that the supernatural gifts will cease with the writing of the New Testament, and the argument is made from 1 Corinthians 13:8–12. We see in verse 8 that the gifts won’t last forever. “But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.” Some have argued that the particular verb with tongues as the subject is significant. Tongues “will cease” (pausontai), whereas prophecy and knowledge “will come to an end” (katargēthēsetai). The argument is that the middle voice with the verb pausontai (“will cease”) shows that tongues will cease in and of themselves. Of course, one could also argue that the verbs are synonyms and still see the gifts coming to an end before the second coming.

The key feature of this argument is that the gifts will end when “the perfect comes” (1 Cor. 13:10). On this view, many of the gifts (such as tongues) end when the New Testament is completed, when the canon of Scripture is completed. At that point some of the spiritual gifts are no longer needed, since in the New Testament we have God’s perfect revelation. A variant of this view is that the perfect doesn’t refer to the writing of the New Testament but to spiritual maturity. Spiritual gifts are no longer necessary because now that we have the New Testament we have all we need for spiritual maturity.

The Perfect Is the Second Coming

The arguments for cessationism from 1 Corinthians 13:8–10 aren’t exegetically convincing for a number of reasons. First, those who appeal to the difference in the verbs put too much weight on the grammatical difference. The two different verbs “come to an end” (katargeō) and “cease” (pauomai) are used for stylistic variety, and we should not press any distinction between the two verbs. I am not saying that the verbs are absolutely synonymous, but that we shouldn’t read into them a major distinction.

The key to resolving the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8–12 is what Paul means by the coming of “the perfect” (to teleion). We have seen that some understand “the perfect” to refer to spiritual maturity, but it is scarcely evident that Christians are more mature post-canonically. It isn’t clear, in other words, that we are more mature than Christians were in the first century. Such a claim is a rather bold assertion, for it could be read to say that we are even more spiritually mature than the apostles. A quick reading of church history and of the current evangelical landscape raises significant doubts about the assertion as well.

A significant problem with seeing “the perfect” as the completed canon is the historical location of Paul when he wrote 1 Corinthians. He certainly believed that his words in 1 Corinthians were authoritative and represented God’s word to his readers (1 Cor. 14:37–38). Indeed, Paul’s authority permeates all his letters (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Thess. 3:14). Reading letters orally in the congregation signified their authority, and Paul enjoins recipients to read his letters (Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27). Nevertheless, God didn’t reveal to Paul that he was writing letters that would be collected in a New Testament canon. Yes, Paul knew his letters were authoritative, but he had no vision that history would last a long time and that his letters would be collected with other New Testament writings that would function as the authority for churches down through history. Instead, Paul believed Jesus would return soon, and history would come to an end. This isn’t to take away from Paul’s authority or accuracy, for nothing he wrote is contradicted by two thousand years of history passing. The point I am making is that it is almost impossible that Paul could have meant by “the perfect” the New Testament canon.

Not only is it unlikely that Paul was referring to the canon when he speaks of “the perfect” coming, it is even more unlikely that the Corinthians would have understood the word perfect this way. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Paul is referring to the New Testament canon. The problem that immediately emerges is that there is no way that the Corinthians would have understood what Paul was talking about! Paul would have had to explain in much more detail than he does here that by “the perfect” he had in mind the completion of the New Testament. Certainly, the Corinthians never imagined or dreamt of a New Testament canon. And why would Paul write about such an idea to them since many—probably most—of them wouldn’t live to see the canon completed, and even if they did live that long, the canon wasn’t compiled together? Indeed, if this is what Paul had in mind, the Corinthians would then know that Jesus could not and would not return for a number of years, and he would only come when the New Testament was finished and accepted as authoritative.

If we look at the context of 1 Corinthians 13:8–12, the coming of “the perfect” brings what is “partial” to an end (13:10). Paul says that now we “know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known” (13:12). Presently, our knowledge is incomplete, and “we see only a reflection as in a mirror,” but then we will see “face to face” (13:12). It is clear, therefore, that “the perfect” is another way of describing “face to face,” and seeing “face to face” most naturally refers to Christ’s second coming. Understanding “the perfect” to refer to Jesus’ coming is something the Corinthians would clearly understand, and also fits with the emphasis on Jesus’ second coming in Paul’s theology.

The phrase “face to face” echoes theophanies in the Old Testament, instances where God appeared to human beings so that they encountered him. When Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord, he saw God “face to face.” Gideon feared that he was going to die since he saw the angel of the Lord “face to face” (Judg. 6:22). Moses was incomparable as a prophet because the Lord knew him “face to face” (Deut. 34:10; cf. Deut. 5:4). The idiom “face to face” in 1 Corinthians 13:12 doesn’t suggest something abstract like the New Testament canon or spiritual maturity. Instead, it represents the language of encounter with God, and so naturally refers to the second coming, since we will see Jesus “face to face” when “the perfect comes” (1 Cor. 13:10).

We will only know fully when Jesus returns, when we see him face to face.

The notion that “the perfect” refers to the canon or to spiritual maturity is also ruled out by what is said about knowledge. “When the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end” (1 Cor. 13:10). Now Paul sees imperfectly and knows partially, but when the perfect arrives he will see “face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). Partial knowledge will give way to complete knowledge (1 Cor. 13:12). If the “perfect” refers to the New Testament canon or to spiritual maturity, we no longer have partial knowledge. Those who have the canon or those who are mature know fully. Indeed, they know more than Paul who confesses that he knows only partially! But any notion that our knowledge is perfect or better than Paul’s is clearly false. Our knowledge continues to be imperfect. We know truly but not comprehensively and exhaustively. We will only know fully when Jesus returns, when we see him face to face.

Conclusion

We have seen that arguments from 1 Corinthians 13:8–12 for the cessation of the gifts fail. The “perfect” doesn’t refer to the New Testament canon or to spiritual maturity but to the second coming of Christ. If anything, Paul teaches that the spiritual gifts persist and last until the second coming. In fact, I think this is the best argument for the spiritual gifts continuing until today. And I understand why some readers may disagree with me on this very point. As I said in the introduction, I could be mistaken in arguing for cessationism. Nonetheless, I still think cessationism is true, and I turn to the reasons for this judgment in the next chapter.

Discussion Questions

1. What is “the perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13?

2. How does the knowledge that we will not know fully until Christ returns inform our lives?

3. What does it tell us about the nature of spiritual gifts that they will end when Christ returns?