The Confession's Charismatic Confession, part 4

I said that the puritan position was "open but irrelevant" in the last post for prophecy. This is important because it is different than a common middle position today called "open but cautious". The Puritans were not any more cautious than any continuationist or charismatic aught to be today. Some Charismatics and Pentecostals would do well to place the Bible, specifically the gospel first.

To apply this "open, but irrelevant" doctrine from the puritans would not be cessationism as we understand it today. The practice of this doctrine would rather be akin to an all-out frontal assault on the use of any prophetic microphone. It would be a siege against prophecy place in a public church service. It would not attack prophecy itself. It would not attack the content of prophecy either. Prophecy under this assault would be intended for private audiences only and meant for a select few. It would only have a few "extraordinary" exceptions. A common puritan reasoning is found in Jonathan Edwards argument against the importance of extraordinary gifts. (The most prominent being prophecy/visions not tongues in Jonathan Edwards' time.)


The ordinary sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God, are the end of all extraordinary gifts, as the apostle shows, Eph iv. 11,12,13 . . . God communicates his Spirit only in that more excellent way of which the apostle speaks, viz. charity or divine love . . . The apostle speaks of these gifts of inspiration as childish things, in comparison of the influence of the Spirit in divine love.

When the church is in an adult state, Edwards then claims, the church has no need the gifts. He plainly says —

Therefore, I do not expect a restoration of these miraculous gifts in the approaching glorious times of the church, nor do I desire it . . . I had rather enjoy the sweet influences of the Spirit, showing Christ’s spiritual divine beauty, infi­nite grace, and dying love, drawing forth the holy exercises of faith, divine love, sweet complacence, and humble joy in God, one quarter of an hour, than to have prophetical visions and revelations the whole year (II:275).


One must remember Jonathan Edwards eschatology. He was postmillenial. He thought the church would progressively grow until everything was subject to Christ. With this view of the gifts and the end times, the gifts like prophecy were not desirable but rather a prop until the church was mature. He wished that the end times church would be spiritually mature and by this reasoning he rejects gifts. This is akin to the "liquid food is not needed if one has solid food argument." The fault of this analogy is that 'liquid foods' remain beneficial in smaller portions with solid food. This does not mean they can fulfill the same roll of solid food. The contrast here is to say that we acknowledge the lesser importance of these things and hold fast to that which has a greater or first importance. In a like manner, prophecy of lesser importance can complement the ordinary means of scripture of greater importance. [Remember that Real prophecy is always informed by scripture. It is not scripture informed by prophecy. This certainly means that there can be now interchanging of the two.] Scripture is a primary means. Prophecy must play second fiddle to it.

Edwards even suggests himself that the ends of the gifts are the ordinary sanctifying influences. This is a just fancy word for the normal influences and power of the gospel to sanctify/change a life here on earth toward holiness. To conclude that the prophetic gifts are not needed is, in some cases, almost as if saying that the normal influences God brings to bear in sanctification and conviction are just as worthless as the prophecy that brought them. Edwards was generally carefuly to judge a tree by its fruits in this respect. Now, I cannot look into the providence of God in providing prophecy but it is certainly to his glory. It is certainly not without an effect specifically tailored to its effect.

Now, I feel as if i need to address the purpose of prophecy. In some applications, extraordinary means are beneficial beyond ordinary means. This is because ordinary means cannot reach such a person is lacking them. Many cases the lack of ordinary means is due to the extreme sinfulness of man. He actively supress the truth with unrighteousness. God could bring ordinary means back into someones life but he choose to but this does not show his sovereignty through grace. We can certainly say that this is right for God to do such from time to time.

They have their end and purpose in God. These prophetic gifts highlight and glorify God's providential hand. To learn knowledge from a source without a natural cause, must be seen as the exercise of supreme omnipotence and sovereignty by an active God. It certainly could be found from the bible but the mere fact that it wasn't speaks as much as the message. It is but a reminder that our God dwells among men. It is a reminder that he is not very far away. It is a reminder that he is a good shepherd keeping all of his sheep.

Next, the description of sweet influences of the spirit is close to what we would call today "being filled with the spirit". Jonathan placed this and holiness above the gifts altogether. Furthermore, he also placed these two things as existing outside of the gifts altogether. He would not say they complemented each other in any degree. It is true that may not always be related but a Charismatic would counter that spiritual gifts often attend "being filled with the spirit".

Finally, there is one more contrast that must be brought out in the puritan belief of the prophetic gifts. They held a sharp contrast between what they thought was extraordinary and the ordinary. I cannot reach this injunction without prejudice against the puritans. Extraordinary things are done by God all the time. God regenerates, convicts ones affections, governs all things for good of believers, works in us, and even wills within us. He is entirely separate.

The thing to remember is that the normal means are ordained by God to serve as the primary means of grace. In addition, anything that is an ordinary means is there because God first ordained so. Now because God ordained something, it does not mean that he ordained other things on a particular basis. God occationally uses a secondary means like prophecy to bestow grace.

With this said, I would never consider communication from God in prayer or anything else as an extraordinary thing. I feel the burden is on the cessationists to prove that God is dead. Furthermore, if we saw miracles all day, would we still consider them extraordinary? They are none the less! If we saw statistically random events all the time, would we not want call them ordinary? When they actually are never ordinary, they are the very actions of God.

This carries over into faith. Prophecy breaks any 'ordinary' classification because it cannot fit into a box no matter how much effort is used to shove it in. There are a few things that the puritans are right about when addressing prophecy. The spiritual gift has nothing to do with salvation itself because it speaks nothing of one's trust in Christ. It also has nothing to do with divine love that one is shown from God and is shed abroad in ones heart. Paul agrees in 1 Corinthians 13. (This is the other source of their belief in the irrelevancy.) I have stated early that they are not suplements to faith or divine love. They are merely complements. They cannot replace these things, nor should any one try to replace faith or divine love as being essential.