"1 Corinthians Chapter 13 Teaches That Tongues and Prophecies Ended When The 'Perfect' Bible Was Completed"



The Verses That Cessationists are Referring to in This Assertion are Written Below:

12: 31 "But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."

 13: 1 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love]. I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

13: 2 "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mouintains, and have not charity, I am nothiong."

13: 3 "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

13: 4 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,"

13: 5 "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;"

13: 6 "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;"

13: 7 "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

13: 8 "Charity [love] never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowlege, it shall vanish away."

13: 9 "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part."

13: 10 "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away."

13: 11 "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

13: 12 "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

13: 13 "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

14: 1 "Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy."


There are a Number of Unscriptural Assumptions That Cessationists Contrive From The Verses Above:

First, they say that Paul, in chapter 13, is telling the Corinthians that love is more important than prophetic speech (tongues included). That is fine, but then their assumptions begin.

Cessationists assume that since Paul is teaching that love is more important than prophetic speech, that he must also be telling the Corinthians to end prophetic speaking and to instead, focus on living in a state of blissful love. But actually the cessationist idea of either/or (either love-or prophetic speech) is wrong. They may have both prophetic speech, and love.
 
Paul wants the Corinthians to use prophetic speech, but in an attitude of love. Paul's next verse (in 14: 1, above) substantiates this. The strong wording in the Greek, has Paul telling the Corinthians to actually "covet," or "jealously seek" to obtain the prophetic gifts.

Notice in the verses below, how Paul ends his three chapter pericope' (chapters 12-14) concerning spiritual gifts:
 
"Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order."
 1 Cor. 14: 39-40

Cessationists would have us believe that Paul ended his discourse concerning spiritual gifts with these words: "Wherefore, brethren, do not covet to prophesy, and forbid everyone to speak with tongues."
 
Paul most ceretainly did not tell the Corinthians to forget about the spiritual gifts in order to focus on love. Actually, both spiritual gifts, and love will be here until the heavenly age begins-- until we have perfect revelational knowledge from the mouth of Christ Himself. In that age there will be no need for partial bits of knowledge by prophetic speech--for we will be in the presence of Christ and will be able to know fully.

Paul, himself, taught the Ephesians that using the spiritual gifts is the way to build up the church--in love!
 
"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men... And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ... But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him... From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Eph. 4: 7-16

Paul's words to the Ephesians (above) that the church is a body made up of different parts (different spiritual gifts) that are used to benifit one another, are similar to what he wrote to the Corinthians:
 
"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit... But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom... to another prophecy... to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues... For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ... Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" 1 Cor. 12: 4-28


God's Temple

The first four portions of scripture (below) show what we are (God's temple--His body); and the next four portions of scripture (below) show how we are to be His temple--through the use of spiritual gifts: Spiritual gifts are here to build up (edify) the Christ's church, His temple--His body!

1) "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood" 1 Peter 2: 5

 2) "for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them" 2 Cor. 6:16
 
3) "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" 1 Cor. 3: 16

4) "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foriegners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph.2: 19-22


1) "How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine [a teaching], hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying" 1 Cor. 14: 26
 
2) "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal [ the manifestation of the Spirit is given to benifit the entire church]." 1 Cor. 12: 7

Not only are spiritual gifts given to ordinary belivers for their benifit, but they are also given for offices in the church--that leaders in the church may operate as super-charged people that have the annointing of the Holy Spirit resting upon them:

3) "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" 1 Cor. 12: 27-28

Notice, in the verses below, that the prophetic office (and others) are given to the church until we have each reached a state of giftedness that we will be like Christ (that is a goal to be sought for but not attained to until the heavenly age). If cessationists are correct in saying that the prophetic gifts died out; then we must all now be: "a perfect man, unto the measure of the fulness of Christ." This simply seems hard to believe.

4) "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:" Eph. 4: 11-13

There are some who say that there are no apostles today. After making that claim they go on to say that the verses above concerned only the apostle's times. This would then mean that the prophets spoken of above do not exist today either; which would mean that the prophetic gifts have already ceased. However, the Greek word for "apostle" is,"apostloc" it is just a verbal-noun that means "a sent one."
 
The office of "apostle" was not just for the twelve. Paul, Barnabus, and others (including Jesus Christ) are called apostles in the New Testament. If one wants to know why the ever important office of "missionary" is not listed as a spiritual gift or office in the church; that is because it actually is mentioned. Missionaries are "apostles," "sent ones."

In the 3rd chapter of Ephesians, Paul expresses that there are church-age apostles and prophets:

"Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit" Eph. 3: 4-5


When they ceased

It is intersting that while cessationists say that the Bible is clear that the prophetic gifts have ceased; when asked when the Bible states that the gifts have ceased, each cessationist gives a different answer! Some of their answers are listed below:

1) 70 A.D. when the Jewish temple was destroyed

2) 96 A.D. when they decided that John wrote the last book of the Bible

3) After the last apostle (John) died.
 
4) After the last disciple, of one of the 12 apostles died
 
5) After any of the children of the many disciples of Christ had died

6) After an "apostolic age" maybe 30- 150 A.D. who knows?

7) After the canon of Scripture was decided at the Council of Trent, Nicea, or 397 A.D. at Carthage.

8) Some unknown time in the Middle-Ages

9) After a complete Holy Bible was printed in Greek or Latin

10) After the Holy Bible was translated into German or English

11) After the "Authorized King James Version was made available to the masses of people

12) Tongues and prophecies are still dying out slowly
 
13) God works differently in different parts of the world as some new believers in third world countries might experience the prophetic gifts in ways that people of modern western countries do not.

Now, cessationists realize that they are arbitrarily picking which of the gifts have ceased and which ones are still here. Therefore, to appear legitimate, they have decided  (unscripturally) to compartmentalize the gifts into two groups. One group is called the "sign" gifts, or the "temporary" gifts, and the other group is called the "normative" or the "permenant" group. This way they do not have to admit that they have looked through the scriptures discarding any miraculous gifts that they do not like. Instead, they can simply say that one group was to cease, while the other group is to stay (as if God, Himself, divided the gifts into two groups).

Cessationists have formulated a ridiculous line of reasoning to show that 13: 8 (below) teaches that tongues were to cease before knowledge (prophetic knowledge) and prophecy. They pretend to know, in the verse below, whether or not Paul was following classical Greek tendencies in using the middle and passive form of the verbs "fail," "cease," and "vanish."
 
"Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away." 1 Cor. 13: 8

In short, they simply say that Paul, by his use of the verbs, was showing that tongues were to (soon) cease of themselves, while knowledge and prophecy would be stopped by God Himself, at a later date (this is a very desperate argument that they use on people who do not understand Koine Greek).

Their argument, though simple, will not be explained in detail here because it is a moot point, as tongues is part of the prophetic gift (as is "knowledge," "dreams," and "visions," etc.) and will cease only when prophecy ceases.
 
When Paul leaves out the word "tongues" below (as he does not say "we speak in tongues in part") he is also leaving out dreams, visions, wisdom, etc. Therefore; the words, "prophecy in part," and "know in part" include all tongues and prophetic utterances and knowledge:
 
"for we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away"  1 Cor. 13: 9-10
 
This article is continued...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. http://www.pentecostal-tongues-theology.org Peter Kent Kwiatkowski