Why I Am a Cessationist

[Ritajanice]

Ezekiel 36:26-27

King James Version

​

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

 

[Johann]

@Lizbeth

The next gift on Paul’s list is the gift of “knowledge” (I Cor. 12:7), and speaks of a knowledge of God’s Word. Thankfully, although the gift of knowledge has been withdrawn, a knowledge of God’s Word is still available to God’s people through diligent study of Scripture. However, if indeed this list is given in order of priority, it should be pointed out that knowledge here takes second place to wisdom in God’s eyes. Many Christians feel that knowledge of God’s Word is the pinnacle to which we should aspire, but in the mind of God wisdom, the application of Bible knowledge, is “the principal thing” (Prov. 4:7).

“To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit” (I Cor. 12:9).

The mountain-moving gift of faith of which Paul speaks here and in I Corinthians 13:2 reminds us of the mountain-moving kind of faith that the Lord said was needed to cast out devils (Matt. 17:18-20). Demon possession was still a problem around the time of the writing of I Corinthians (cf. Acts 19:15,16), and so the gift of faith enabled the Corinthians to cast out devils and serve the Lord in other ways that were specific to that day and time in God’s program. While there is no supernatural gift of faith available to men today, Paul says that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). In the measure that we study God’s Word and believe it, in that measure we will be able to serve God in ways that are specific to our day and time in God’s program, such as proclaiming His Word by faith (II Cor. 4:13) and using “the shield of faith” to quench “all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Eph. 6:16).

The gift of “healing” enabled a man to heal “every one” who was sick (Acts 5:16). When the so-called “healers” of today cannot demonstrate this same complete mastery over disease, they force us to conclude that they do not have a God-given gift of healing.

However, there is a healing ministry in which our Lord was involved in which believers today can happily participate. We read that the Lord was sent to “heal the brokenhearted” (Luke 4:18), and this is a ministry to which every believer should aspire. This writer recently officiated at the funeral of a Christian man who took his own life. We could sense that some of his mourners believed the old fable that suicides cannot go to heaven, and so naturally were brokenhearted at the loss of their loved one by his own hand. It was our privilege to heal the brokenhearted that day with the sound teaching of the eternal security of the believer (Rom. 8:35-39; II Tim. 2:13).

“To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (I Cor. 12:10).

A “miracle” in Scripture is a “wonder” or a “sign” (Acts 2:22), and miraculous signs belonged to Israel (Psa. 74:9). God taught Israel to “require” a sign (I Cor. 1:22), and then gave them plenty of signs to see over the many centuries in which He dealt with them as a nation. Now that God has set national Israel aside, the gift of miracles has been withdrawn.

For the reader who laments the loss of the gift of miracles, let’s look at some of the different ways that Paul uses the Greek word dunamis, here translated “miracles.” This word is translated “power” when Paul declares that “the gospel of Christ” is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). Hence believers today can still work the greatest miracle of all when they introduce a lost sinner to the Savior. Dunamis is also translated “power” when Paul prayed that the Romans might “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 15:13). When a believer today is able to abound in hope, filled “with all joy and peace” despite the oftentimes overwhelming adversities and heartaches of life, that’s a miracle! Lastly, Paul tells us of how the Macedonians contributed financially to the Lord’s work “beyond their power” (II Cor. 8:3). This begs the question, if they gave beyond their power, whose power prompted them to give so wonderfully yet so inexplicably? We submit that only the miracle-working power of God can cause believers to give out of “deep poverty” unto rich liberality. As you can see, God’s miracle-working power today is centered in the heart and mind of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, as he implements the Word of God into the very fabric of the details of his life.

“Prophecy” is the ability to speak authoritatively for God, and often involved predicting the future, a gift that passed with the completion of the Scriptures. Today God speaks only through His Word, and we can speak for Him and prophesy future events only as we teach His Word. But while the gift of prophecy has passed, there are still a number of predictions that we can make based on the principles of the Word of God. For instance, we can still predict the activities of the adversary, based on his modus operandi, his method of operation as exhibited in Scripture. We can foretell that He will continue to cause the believer to question God’s Word, as he did with Eve (Gen. 3:1). He even tried this tactic on the Lord Himself. When at our Lord’s baptism His Father declared, “This is My beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17), Satan immediately sought to cause Him to doubt God’s Word, saying, “If Thou be the Son of God…” (Matt. 4:3,6). And so a man need not be a prophet to predict that our adversary will continue to employ the tried and true method of attack that he has utilized for six thousand years, and to be forewarned about this is to be forearmed.

When Paul describes the gift of “discerning of spirits,” he uses a Greek word that is also used in I Corinthians 14:29, where he instructs them to “judge” the prophets, that is, discern whether they were speaking by the Holy Spirit or by some other spirit. Not all false prophets ran around calling the Lord Jesus accursed, and the gift of discernment was vital to detect more subtle false prophets. But once again, though the gift of discernment has passed, with the Word of God the believer today is completely equipped to discern the spirit behind all who claim to speak for God.-----------

Continue

 

[Ritajanice]

Why are you stealing another persons work and not giving them credit for their work ? That is plagiarism

For those here who want to know who wrote the material that is being posted it is from this source below.

The Profit of Spiritual Gifts.

If I post a commentary...I usually head it commentary..if you see me posting another work, and forgot to put commentary , let me know.

 

[ChristisGod]

If I post a commentary...I usually head it commentary..if you see me posting another work, and forgot to put commentary , let me know.

Yes for example when I quote from got questions I will at the end of the post say this Got ?.

Everyone online in christian forums knows who Got ?'s is.

 

[Lizbeth]

This is why the cessation of spiritual gifts coincided with the completion of the perfect Word of God.

Hoo boy. Sorry but that is a stretch.

So the gifts ceased with the canon?

And the perfect word of God spends a lot of time and ink instructing about the spiritual gifts.....does His word ever cease?

 

[Johann]

@Lizbeth

Next comes the gift of tongues. Believers today do not have the miraculous power to speak in the different languages of “men of other tongues” (I Cor. 14:21), as the gift of tongues has been withdrawn. But for any who sigh for the power to speak in tongues, we would invite you to consider that it is still possible for us to speak clearly to men of all languages. We are told that there are certain universal languages that transcend all human tongues, such as music and mathematics, whose notes and figures are the same in all cultures. In a similar fashion, when a child of God displays acts of kindness, or love, or forgiveness, our meaning is readily understood by men of all tongues, and we should be forward to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” in all of these things (Titus 2:10).

Similarly, while the gift of “interpretation of tongues” is long gone, with a little practice we can learn to interpret the meaning of the words of others. Every parent knows that when a child says, “I hate math,” what he is really saying is, “I don’t understand math.” Oh, that we might learn that when someone at church says something hurtful to us, that perhaps all they are saying is, “I’m not feeling well today.” If we could only learn to interpret such snubs as perhaps expressions of, “I’m going through a rough time right now.” When once a man in our assembly expressed bewilderment over what he perceived to be the belligerence of another, I knew the cause. As his pastor, I knew that the man’s wife was divorcing him, perhaps prompting him to speak in a way that was out of character for this dear saint, which led to the quarrel. We may not have the gift of interpretation of tongues, but we can and should learn to listen to the words of others with understanding, “forbearing one another in love” (Eph. 4:2).

Paul concludes his list of spiritual gifts with the addition of a few more at the end of I Corinthians 12. Of these, we will conclude this message with the gift of “helps” (v. 28). Just prior to Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27, the sailors “used helps, undergirding the ship” (v. 17). We are told that this is a reference to how ancient mariners in threatening seas would rush to the bow of the ship and lower ropes or chains around the fragile vessel and cinch them up tightly to prevent it from breaking apart in the raging sea. It is our blessed privilege as members of the Body of Christ to act in a similar way when our brethren in Christ are struggling through the storms of life. May each and every mature saint be willing to rush to the side of his struggling brother and undergird him with the strength of God’s Word rightly divided, and share with him the compassion that we ourselves receive from the Lord (II Cor. 1:4).

Yes, the spiritual gifts are gone, but it is a blessed truth that God has replaced them with His Word, equipping us therewith with everything we need to fully function as men and women of God in the dispensation of grace. How wonderful to know that the profit of spiritual gifts is still available to the believer who studies to show himself approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

I'm not going to give the source since most here are not interested in opening links or"have to feel led" to open links.

The Profit of Spiritual Gifts

(A message delivered June 20th, 2005, at the 39th annual Bible conference of the Berean Bible Fellowship in Cedar Lake, Indiana.) "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant" (I Cor. 12:1). Many Christians are uncertain about the precise definition of a spiritual gift.

bereanbiblesociety.org

Johann.

 

[ChristisGod]

Hoo boy. Sorry but that is a stretch.

So the gifts ceased with the canon?

And the perfect word of God spends a lot of time and ink instructing about the spiritual gifts.....does His word ever cease?

hopefully you will get an answer directly instead of a lengthy cut/paste.

 

[Ritajanice]

Yes for example when I quote from got questions I will at the end of the post say this Got ?.

Everyone online in christian forums knows who Got ?'s is.

Let’s hope that @Johann takes your friendly advice.

As what you advised him imo is true....you meant well and did the right thing in mentioning what you did...I hope he receives it in the good intention that is was meant.

@ChristisGod I was really grateful for you picking me up on my errors as you did....you do have the right manner in which to do it....Praise God for that.

The saying goes...it’s not what you say...” it’s how you say it”

 

[ChristisGod]

Let’s hope that @Johann takes your friendly advice.

As what you advised him imo is true....you meant well and did the right thing in mentioning what you did...I hope he receives it in the good intention that is was meant.

Yes indeed

 

[Lizbeth]

@Lizbeth

Next comes the gift of tongues. Believers today do not have the miraculous power to speak in the different languages of “men of other tongues” (I Cor. 14:21), as the gift of tongues has been withdrawn. But for any who sigh for the power to speak in tongues, we would invite you to consider that it is still possible for us to speak clearly to men of all languages. We are told that there are certain universal languages that transcend all human tongues, such as music and mathematics, whose notes and figures are the same in all cultures. In a similar fashion, when a child of God displays acts of kindness, or love, or forgiveness, our meaning is readily understood by men of all tongues, and we should be forward to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” in all of these things (Titus 2:10).

Similarly, while the gift of “interpretation of tongues” is long gone, with a little practice we can learn to interpret the meaning of the words of others. Every parent knows that when a child says, “I hate math,” what he is really saying is, “I don’t understand math.” Oh, that we might learn that when someone at church says something hurtful to us, that perhaps all they are saying is, “I’m not feeling well today.” If we could only learn to interpret such snubs as perhaps expressions of, “I’m going through a rough time right now.” When once a man in our assembly expressed bewilderment over what he perceived to be the belligerence of another, I knew the cause. As his pastor, I knew that the man’s wife was divorcing him, perhaps prompting him to speak in a way that was out of character for this dear saint, which led to the quarrel. We may not have the gift of interpretation of tongues, but we can and should learn to listen to the words of others with understanding, “forbearing one another in love” (Eph. 4:2).

Paul concludes his list of spiritual gifts with the addition of a few more at the end of I Corinthians 12. Of these, we will conclude this message with the gift of “helps” (v. 28). Just prior to Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27, the sailors “used helps, undergirding the ship” (v. 17). We are told that this is a reference to how ancient mariners in threatening seas would rush to the bow of the ship and lower ropes or chains around the fragile vessel and cinch them up tightly to prevent it from breaking apart in the raging sea. It is our blessed privilege as members of the Body of Christ to act in a similar way when our brethren in Christ are struggling through the storms of life. May each and every mature saint be willing to rush to the side of his struggling brother and undergird him with the strength of God’s Word rightly divided, and share with him the compassion that we ourselves receive from the Lord (II Cor. 1:4).

Yes, the spiritual gifts are gone, but it is a blessed truth that God has replaced them with His Word, equipping us therewith with everything we need to fully function as men and women of God in the dispensation of grace. How wonderful to know that the profit of spiritual gifts is still available to the believer who studies to show himself approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

I'm not going to give the source since most here are not interested in opening links or"have to feel led" to open links.

The Profit of Spiritual Gifts

(A message delivered June 20th, 2005, at the 39th annual Bible conference of the Berean Bible Fellowship in Cedar Lake, Indiana.) "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant" (I Cor. 12:1). Many Christians are uncertain about the precise definition of a spiritual gift.

bereanbiblesociety.org

Johann.

Hmm, brother, it should be the washing of the water of the word, not the washing of water of men's commentary and reasonings.

When I received tongues it came out in foreign languages, even Chinese, Russian, Italian and others I have forgotten or didn't know what they were. It was so funny to hear myself speaking Chinese especially. It since "settled down" into what is maybe an amalgamation of them all. It was such a gentle and lovely experience, that evening I drove all the way home from church rejoicing and praying in tongues like that in foreign languages. Sometimes there are things in my heart that I just dont' know how to put into words and praying in tongues seems to be a way to express them to God.

 

[Ritajanice]

Yes indeed

I believe the Lord picked me up x2 through you.or maybe more than x2 I’ve lost count......mind you , you do have the right manner in which you did it.

So I welcome it from you....

 

[Johann]

Man's reasoning....we always need His spiritual gifts/workings as long as we're on this earth battling a spiritual enemy....our weapons are not carnal.

When did "that which is perfect" come? And when did His Body stop being composed of divers parts?

I think I will leave you for a while, maybe someone else can teach you God's word/D'varim as the just shall live by faith, not signs and miracles-and you have a problem with that-no offense sister.
We have all we need to wage warfare, not against flesh and blood.

Literal Translation:
"For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Exegesis:
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα (For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood):

ὅτι (for) - Conjunction introducing a reason or explanation.
οὐκ ἔστιν (is not) - Verb, present indicative, third person singular. Indicates the negation of existence or possession.
ἡμῖν (for us) - Pronoun, dative, first person plural. Indicates possession or association.
ἡ πάλη (the wrestling) - Noun, feminine, nominative singular. Refers to the struggle, conflict, or wrestling match.
πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα (against flesh and blood) - Prepositional phrase indicating the target of the wrestling. πρὸς (against) - Preposition indicating opposition or conflict. αἷμα καὶ σάρκα (flesh and blood) - Nouns, neuter, accusative plural. Refers to human beings.
ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις (but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places):

ἀλλὰ (but) - Conjunction indicating contrast.
πρὸς (against) - Preposition indicating opposition or conflict.
τὰς ἀρχὰς (the rulers) - Noun, feminine, accusative plural. Refers to principalities or ruling powers.
τὰς ἐξουσίας (the authorities) - Noun, feminine, accusative plural. Refers to authorities or powers.
τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας (the cosmic powers) - Noun, masculine, accusative plural. Refers to rulers or powers in the cosmic order.
τοῦ σκότους τούτου (of this present darkness) - Genitive phrase describing the nature or realm of these powers.
τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας (the spiritual forces of evil) - Adjective (πνευματικὰ) and noun (πονηρίας), neuter, accusative plural. Refers to spiritual forces characterized by evil.
ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις (in the heavenly places) - Prepositional phrase indicating the location or realm where these spiritual forces operate.
Summary:
In Ephesians 6:12, Paul emphasizes that the primary conflict of believers is not against mere human adversaries (flesh and blood), but against spiritual powers and forces of evil that operate in the heavenly realms. This verse underscores the spiritual nature of the Christian's warfare and highlights the importance of spiritual preparedness and reliance on God's strength in confronting and overcoming spiritual opposition.

Shalom
Johann.

 

[Ritajanice]

Hmm, brother, it should be the washing of the water of the word, not the washing of water of men's commentary and reasonings.

He still speaks a lot of Gods word from within himself...I read some of his words that he posts and they are heart felt imo....straight from his spirit/ heart.

 

[Lizbeth]

hopefully you will get an answer directly instead of a lengthy cut/paste.

Honestly I'm beginning to worry our dear brother is absorbing men's commentary in place of the simple word of God. The entrance of the WORD gives light, not the entrance of comments and reasonings of men. I have two or three times been edified, but on this subject it's like men's opinions and reasonings exalting themselves over God's word. We shouldn't look at the word in light of what men say but the other way around.

And I think it's too much realistically for most people to read and parse on a forum.

 

[Johann]

Why are you stealing another persons work and not giving them credit for their work ? That is plagiarism

For those here who want to know who wrote the material that is being posted it is from this source below.

The Profit of Spiritual Gifts.

@Civic--the source is given at the last of this post, it is cut in three halves-you are civic Right? You wolf in sheep's clothing!

 

[Lizbeth]

I think I will leave you for a while, maybe someone else can teach you God's word/D'varim as the just shall live by faith, not signs and miracles-and you have a problem with that-no offense sister.

Of course the just shall live by faith, not by signs and miracles, I agree. But signs and miracles are of faith. I agree too many are placing signs and miracles front and centre in place of Christ and His word....but that doesn't rule out that there are signs and miracles. I hear from the Lord as do many other because of having a living relationship with Him. When Covid came on the scene, I was literally trembling believing it to be God's judgment, and I heard Him speak these words distinctly to my spirit....."nothing shall by any means hurt you." I believed Him and by faith walked through it with His peace that passes understanding. Had Covid twice too but it didn't hurt me, and I'm not afraid of it where I'm concerned.

 

[Cassandra]

No it’s not.

A Born Again is a spirit child of God.

They were chosen for Gods purpose and plan, they were chosen to do the will of the Father.

The natural man/ woman would have no understanding of what has just been said.

We are led through the written word by the power within us, he’s called the Holy Spirit, Gods Witness, he witnesses Gods truth to our heart/ spirit...then his spirit child checks what he spoke to our spirit with his written word..

Whose your teacher and helper.?

I’m 100% dependent on the Holy Spirit to bring my spirit to Gods truth.

You tend to worship the Bible.

I worship the Living God!

Is Gods witness His Living Holy Spirit Alive in your spirit?

Ezekiel 36:26-27​

​

King James Version​

​

​

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Or do you only know of God through reading your Bible @Cassandra ?

why do we have Bibles? Why did God have all of that written down?
Why did Jesus say "It is written"?Jesus quotes extensively from the OT. It is all over the NT.

Also this 2Tim 3:14-16 from Paul:

 

[Johann]

Honestly I'm beginning to worry our dear brother is absorbing men's commentary in place of the simple word of God. The entrance of the WORD gives light, not the entrance of comments and reasonings of men. I have two or three times been edified, but on this subject it's like men's opinions and reasonings exalting themselves over God's word. We shouldn't look at the word in light of what men say but the other way around.

And I think it's too much realistically for most people to read and parse on a forum.

What I post is biblically sound so I have no problem with you concurring with him since it goes "against the grain" and your need for signs and wonders-I have this "Check" in my spirit-if I'm not mistaken this is Civic from BAM you are having a conversation with-a master in Copy and Paste and very prolific at it, most of his work is not from Scripture but from online Internet sources which he claims as his own.
If this is civic from BAM he is a wolf in sheep's clothing and his Admin Mike and some of the Mods

As for you @Lizbeth since you don't heed sound doctrines I can't help you and have already picked up there is no discernment from your end.
The older we get the lazier we become, not for those who are trained in Scriptures and live a style of life in conformity WITH Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit-obeying His Imperatives.

Shalom.

 

[Johann]

Of course the just shall live by faith, not by signs and miracles, I agree. But signs and miracles are of faith. I agree too many are placing signs and miracles front and centre in place of Christ and His word....but that doesn't rule out that there are signs and miracles. I hear from the Lord as do many other because of having a living relationship with Him. When Covid came on the scene, I was literally trembling believing it to be God's judgment, and I heard Him speak these words distinctly to my spirit....."nothing shall by any means hurt you." I believed Him and by faith walked through it with His peace that passes understanding. Had Covid twice too but it didn't hurt me, and I'm not afraid of it where I'm concerned.

You and many others have a "hotline from heaven" claiming to hear directly from God or hear some kind of "voice" and cannot live without these voices or portents.
You have a blessed day-keep on listening to whatever "impressions" you may get-the just shall live by faith.
J.

 

[ChristisGod]

Honestly I'm beginning to worry our dear brother is absorbing men's commentary in place of the simple word of God. The entrance of the WORD gives light, not the entrance of comments and reasonings of men. I have two or three times been edified, but on this subject it's like men's opinions and reasonings exalting themselves over God's word. We shouldn't look at the word in light of what men say but the other way around.

And I think it's too much realistically for most people to read and parse on a forum.

all we can do is pray sister.