Tongues! Signs! Wonders! Are they operative in the church today? Samuel E. Waldron builds a systematic case for the complete cessation of the miraculous gifts as well as the offices of apostle and prophet. Building an insurmountable argument step by step, he shows that the Bible is quite clear on this issue. If you are struggling to come to grips with what the Bible says on this most important and oftentimes confusing topic, then this book is essential reading
Dr Sam Waldron is the academic dean of MCTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI.
Waldron's main argument in this book is that the miraculous gifts (miracles, prophecy, tongues, etc.) were all directly connected and associated with the Apostles. If the spiritual gift of apostleship has ceased (meaning, the apostles all died in the first century and there have not been any since), then there are no prophets, no tongues speakers, and no miracle workers (what he calls the Cascade Argument).
There are some very compelling components to his argument that I have had to wrestle through. One of these components is the function of the apostles being the foundation of the church so that the structure of the church could be built upon it. Thus, the gifts and works associated with the apostles also served as the foundation. This is a typical Cessationist argument, but one that is compelling theologically.
Ultimately, the Cessationist argument, I think, falls short exegetically. While Waldron's exposition of 1 Corinthians 13 was very careful and compelling, it was not ultimately convincing and lacked contextual support.
Nonetheless, this book was very pastoral and helpful. It is written for the laymen rather than the academic. I resonated with many things Waldron emphasized and will likely read this again when returning to this topic.
An interesting take on the Reformed (Cessationist) position on miraculous gifts. No living apostles > no living prophets > no tongue-speakers > no miracle-workers. The transliteration format used from Greek and Hebrew was super weird, and endnotes are a plague.
Waldron's book on the miraculous gifts is a primer that prepares you for a deeper study of the topic. This book is not exhaustive. It's not a long read at all, barely 100 pages. But Waldron does do a really good job explaining the controversy between continuationists (those who believe the miraculous gifts continue) vs cessationists (those who believe the miraculous gifts have ceased after the death of the apostles). Waldron believes that the miraculous gifts (speaking in tongues, prophecy, healings) were associated with the apostles and prophets, and now that those two offices are no longer a part of the church (only elder and deacon remain), the gifts associated with the offices of apostles and prophets have ceased as well. Waldron makes great conclusions especially about prophets and prophecy of the New Testament. Again, this is a really good primer for a deeper study.
Dr. Waldron is a respectful and good Christian scholar, but this work was not written for the big scholars, but was written for the lay Christian who is interested in topic of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I liked the book and I thought that it was a pretty good case for cessationism. He tried to interact for example with Grudem on some points.
The argument is basically:
1. There are no apostles 2. Therefore there are no prophets 3. Therefore there are no tongue-speaks 4. Therefore there are no miracle-workers
1. Apostles
First of all, by the use of Ephesians 4:9-11 he spends a paragraph or two to say that the apostolate was a gift. The word for gift in verse 9 is not the usual charismata. He does not interact with those who do not accept that the apostolate was a (spiritual) gift, but rather a ministry or an office. This in my opinion is the biggest flaw in his argument.
The Cascade Argument is built around and based upon the point that the greatest "gift" -- the apostolate has ceased in the first century. He in fact makes a good case on the cessation of the apostolate, but does not make a convincing case that it was a spiritual gift like those mentioned in 1Cor 12:7-10 for example. Therefore, his Cascading Argument becomes weak.
The argument basically starts with, if the greatest gift has ceased, it is therefore possible that the other "miraculous" gifts have also ceased.
2. Prophets
He demonstrates from the OT that a prophet was simply the mouth of God to the people (Ex 4:10-17; 7:1-2). Also, what the prophets said had to be 100% accurate according to the regulations of Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:15-22. Therefore he proceeds to the New Testament with the same definition of prophecy and this is understandable.
He first considers few passages used in support of continuationism including Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Cor 13:8-13 and the case of Agabus.
On Ephesians 4 he says that if we maintain that everything in verse 11 is needed for our maturity and unity in the faith then we are proving too much. If we follow that, then we must also say that the apostolate must continue, but we have proven that it in fact did not continue. Therefore he says that the apostles must refer to the writings and teaching of the apostles that we have in the New Testament and prophets or prophecy refers to the book of Revelation. He does not dispute if we have prophecy (i.e. the book of Revelation), rather if we have ongoing or new prophecy.
I don't that the putting of Revelation under the category of "prophets" is right. John was not writing as a prophet, but was writing with the authority of an Apostle, that is the case for every NT book. It was either written by an apostle or an associate. I know of no book whose author was an Apostle.
Therefore, I do indeed agree that we have the apostles in their writings, but I know of nothing that we have from prophets, therefore it would seem that they would be necessary for the building up and achieving the unity of faith. (I don't know how this practically looks, but I just want to understand what the passage is teaching)
On 1Cor 13:8-13 contrary to some cessationist Dr. Waldron does not believe that the verse is speaking about the closing of the canon, rather it refers to the state after the coming of Christ when we will have "face to face" knowledge of God. But he says that the passage does not specify the time of the cessation of prophecy and tongues. So this question is undecided by this verse. On page he says "The conclusion must be that Paul is teaching the doing away of partial knowledge in favor of perfect knowledge in verse ten. He says nothing about when the gifts of prophecy and tongues pass away. He only refers to the passing of the present partial knowledge that was conveyed through those gifts. He leaves open the question of the time of the passing of the gifts of prophecy and tongues."
He tries to interact with Grudem on Agabus, but I don't believe that he sufficiently refuted Grudem. Basically, Grudem with the words of Richard Gaffin was accused of requiring "pedantic precision" on Agabus (p. 67).
Since according to Dr. Waldron's survey of the OT prophecy is simply the forthtelling of what God has put into the prophet's mouth and this principle he says also in the par excellence the Lord Jesus, therefore prophecy cannot exist. The canon is closed and even continuationists admit that their prophecies are not infallible.
3. Tongues
His discussion on tongues was interesting and short. Like other cessationists, he argued that tongues were always human languages. He starts with Pentecost in Acts 2 and carries that conclusion to every other text. So for example when we come to 1Cor 13:1 and read about "tongues of angels" there it means either that Paul was using a hyperbole or using the claim of his opponents (pp. 85-86).
On 1Cor 14:13, 26-28 he argues that because Paul called for the tongues-speakers to seek to interpret this meant that these were human languages. I don't find that too persuasive. Why doesn't he say pray to translate or find someone who could understand this foreign language?
He also thinks that tongues was a sign of judgment on the Jews according to 1Cor 14:21. It seems very improbable to me that the Corinthians had in their congregation unbelieving Jews for whom this would have been a sign. But rather, tongues without interpretation is a sign of judgment to the unbelieving in general as it would drive them away from the church and would give them the idea that these people are out of their minds. In this way it is a sign of judgment upon the unbelieving. It is a sign of judgment in its misuse, not in its proper use.
He identifies tongues-speaking with prophecy by using two passages Acts 2:14-18 and 1Cor 14:5.
Acts 2 was interesting as the crowd is hearing the disciples speaking in foreign human languages which they understand their wondering what is happening. Then Peter says that "this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel" (v. 16). The question for me is does the "this" refer to the prophesying mentioned in verses 17-18 or does it only refer to "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh"? If tongues was prophecy, what did they infallibly foretold? The crowd says that "we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." (v. 11) There is here no mention of prophecy. But they were merely inspired by the speech to tell the mighty deeds of God in all kinds of languages.
As a side note, I was disappointed that this passage especially with the connection with "the last days" was not brought up in the discussion about prophecy.
The next passage he uses is 1Cor 14:5 where he claims that "1 Corinthians 14:5 asserts functional equivalence of tongues-speaking with prophecy--provided that someone interprets what is said." (p. 89)
Amen, I agree. But I don't agree with what he means by prophecy. Prophecy is specifically defined for us in verse 3. It is not about telling the future or infallibly speaking the very words of God, rather "the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation." Therefore, if tongues is interpreted it has the same function for upbuilding and encouragement as prophecy is.
Since he argued in the previous part that prophecy ceased and now argued that tongues was a form of prophecy, the logical step for the waterfall is that tongues also ceased.
4. Miracle-Workers
He does not spend much time on miracles. What he is arguing against is miracle workers, not miracles per se. He tries to establish the distinction from 1 Cor 12:28-29.
Then he goes on to define miracle. Broadly speaking a miracle is "any unusual exhibition of the extraordinary providence or supernatural power of God." And he adds "In this broad sense, I am happy to affirm that God does miracles today." (p. 99) However, there is also a strict definition of miracles which he believes do not happen anymore. "A miracle is redemptive, revelatory, extraordinary, external, astonishing manifestation of the power of God." (p. 100) On the "revelatory" part he says that it is "a sign done by a prophet or apostle to attest the divine origin of his message" (p. 100) and he later gives a few reference were miracles were used for attestation. But I don't believe that miracles were restricted to attestation, though that is a major part. That I cannot deny. Rather, I believe that the stress in 1Cor 12-14 is laid upon the local church and the believers building each other up.
Then there is the question "what about those who where neither apostles nor prophets and worked miracles?" I don't believe that the answer which usually goes along the lines of "they were associated with the Apostles" in a book called the Acts of the APOSTLES is satisfying. Everyone there is in someway associated with them. What about those in Corinth to what authority they were attesting WITHIN the congregation?
But this point among others in the strict definition of miracle becomes an occasion in which strict miracle are associated with revelation, but since infallible and biblical revelation ceased with the Apostles, therefore these kinds of miracles and miracle-workers also ceased.
Conclusion
I actually really enjoyed reading this book. Dr. Waldron is a great a great teacher and writer. He challenged me and I've learned a lot from him in different areas of theology. I believe that this was a gracious and good defense of cessationism.
He doesn't go into the craziness of the charismatic movement, but rather goes simply against "continuationism" and tries to make the case that the miraculous gifts ("apostles", prophecy, tongues and miracles) have ceased.
"My form of Cessationism argues that miraculous gifts, on the one hand, and miracles, on the other hand, are distinct and that the Bible teaches the cessation of the miraculous gifts, but not all miracles." - Samuel Waldron
Excellent resource on this topic. Probably the first book I would hand someone thinking through whether miraculous gifts continue to this day. Waldron is fair to the Continuationist viewpoint, but by working through his "Cascade argument," it's hard to make a strong Biblical case for anything besides Cessationism. I especially found his treatment of 1 Cor. 13:8-13 as very helpful. I've always been unconvinced by the Cessationist argument that "the perfect" refers to the completion of the canon. Waldron argues (quite convincingly, in my opinion) that the context and specific language of the passage focuses on the partial knowledge of the present state in contrast to the perfect knowledge of the eternal state. Additionally, his treatment of Agabus in Acts 21:10-11 is also very helpful. I simply don't understand how Grudem can argue for a new subset of fallible prophecy based on Agabus. Nothing in the text would indicate he prophesied incorrectly (see also Acts 11:28!). All in all, highly recommended book. Short, accessible, and to the point. 4.5/5
Though it started a little roughly—I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style and a potentially negatively perceived tone in the introduction—it proved to be an excellent read. Concise, yet holistic in his specific approach to the topic, you walk away from this book either seriously challenged as a continuationist, or, as a cessationist, greatly blessed by a positive encouragement for the church today. My understanding of the unique quality and gift of the Apostles has been enhanced and I am grateful for this resource.
I have great respect for any book that can demonstrate thoughtfulness and thoroughness in the span of only 120 pages. Very informative. Practical where it needs to be, clinical where it needs to be, clear where it needs to be. Definitely a worthy read on the subject of Cessationism, Charismatics, Continuationism, Prophecy, Tongues, Miracles, Apostles, etc.
I sincerely appreciated the solid, full Bible perspective on these topics.
Very good book for those that hold to the continuation of sign gifts. He lays out a simple yet scriptural argument on this issue. He also deals with the rebuttals as well in a winsome and faithful manner.
Good book. Waldron's reasoning and argument are tight and compelling. He does not write in an over-your-head style. He doesn't waste a lot of words, but gets right to the point. Consequently, this is a brief book but covers a lot of material. He deals graciously with what can certainly be a contentious subject. He deals seriously with objections and arguments the opposing viewpoint raises.
While all those are commendable qualities, I don't think they are the main reason you should read this book. You should read this book because it deals with biblical truth in an area of much confusion, ignorance, and misunderstanding. Waldron goes back to foundational principles and considers the reason or purpose for the revelatory and confirming sign gifts. This aspect is seldom discussed when considering the continuance of miraculous gifts. Many start with asking what are the spiritual gifts, or how are they used? It's better to start with why are the spiritual gifts? What is the scriptural purpose? Has that purpose been fulfilled? If so, would the miraculous gifts be necessary any longer?
Simple premise with a cascade argument: the apostles have ceased, therefore the prophets have ceased, therefore tongues have ceased, therefore the gift of miracles has ceased. Logical, sound Biblical arguments, written in a surprisingly easy to read style. Concise and convincing. Does not back down, but is more irenic then polemical.