The Case for Cessationism - Jesse Johnson

Jesse Johnson spoke on the topic of Cessationism 

IBC Sermon - Sep 2014

The following are notes from the sermon.  

Jesse Johnson – Sep 14, 2014
The Case for Cessationism - by Jesse Johnson - Immanuel Bible Church
Any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and is used in any ministry to build or strengthen the church. 

• They began at Pentecost; confined to the NT and required to be a believer
  • The gift of regeneration
  • At the moment of conversion, you are sealed…
• Using your gifts to build and strengthen the church…
  • 1 Cor 14:16:  All gifts used for edification
  • 1 Cor 1:7 – we are not lacking in any spiritual gifts

What are the gifts?

• Rom 12:6
• 1 Cor 12:8
• 1 Cor 12:28
• Eph 4:7, 11-12

1 Cor 7:7 – gift of singleness

1 Peter 4:11 – two kinds of gifts, those who speak and those who serve

Anything that you do under the yielding of the Holy Spirit is your way of building the church. 

• Where you enjoy serving
• They grow as you grow in maturity

Category of Gifts called Sign Gifts

• Tongues, interpretations, miracles, word of knowledge, healing, apostleship
• Tongues:  Language…
• Interpretations: 
• Miracles:
• Word of Knowledge: Speak someone into somebody’s life…
• Healing:  Healing people at will…(James calls for prayer)
• Apostleship:  Given as leadership over the whole/universal church

4 Different Views

1. Extreme cessationism – all spiritual gifts have ceased
   1. Not just sign gift, but all the gifts are gone
2. Cessationist camp – the sign gifts are done
3. Continuationism – the sign gifts are still ongoing, but not in the same way as in the early church
   1. Languages vs prayer languages
   2. Prophesy of the future or words of knowledge
   3. Apostleship is overseeing a denomination
   4. Heal at will, vs ability to pray for people
   5. They are “analogous”
4. Extreme Charismatic– all the sign gifts are still present in the same way
   1. Largest churches likely one of these; Pentecostal

Why have they ceased?

1. Because the miraculous gifts are not around right now, this fact is self-evident
   1. Not still practiced in the Church today as they were used in Acts…
   2. No one has the ability to speak in actual human languages
      
      1. Now they are mystery languages
   3. No one has the universal gift of healing, or prophesy, or …
      
      1. Miraculous, visible healing
2. The function of the sign gifts was to establish the early church—they served their purpose
   1. 1 Cor 13:8-13 – list prophesies, language, knowledge
   2. Eph 4:10 – for the training of the Saints, the working of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; developing a mature theology (very, very similar)
      
      1. Body analogy
         
      2. Describe the sign gifts; given when they are immature body (no NT, established church or leadership)
         
      3. Sign gifts held the church together at that time
3. The function of the gifts were to authenticate the early apostles—they confirmed the messenger
   1. 2 Cor 12:12 – the signs of a true apostle were performed among you (signs, wonders and miracles); he even refers to them in the past tense
4. You already see them ceasing inside the New Testament
   1. Heb 2:1-4 (spoken in the past tense; instead he would say…look around you)
   2. 2 Tim 4:7 – Trophimus remained unhealed at a time when most needed
      
      1. Acts 19:  Paul is healing EVERYBODY
         
      2. They church was established…

Does God then go in a box?  No. 

• He has the ability to do whatever he wants
• God has chosen to describe the time of miraculous gifts for building up of the church
• Regeneration is still a miracle
• God still heals—according to His will