Nathan Busenitz

If we are to rightly understand the gifts of the Spirit we must start by going to the Scriptures which He inspired. The charismatic gift that launched the Pentecostal movement in 1901 was speaking in tongues. But does the contemporary version of that gift match the biblical data? We might also add that, while not authoritative, the universal testimony of the church fathers supports the cessationist understanding of tongues. The New testament does not present two types of tongues; but only the miraculous ability to speak perviiously unlearned foreign languages. Clearly, that does not match the contemporary phenomenon. In 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul defends his apostleship by noting that his ministry was characterized by the signs of an apostle. Now that the New Testament Canon is complete, there is no longer a need for prophetic revelation in the church today. When one considers the reason the miraculous sign gifts and revelatory gifts were given, it becomes evident that those purposes were fulfilled during the foundational age of the church… (mer)