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features VOL.24 | NO.2 | MARCH-APRIL 2015

Should We Expect Many Pentecosts? BY JE O NG WO O “JAMES” L EE

Where Have All the Spiritual Gifts Gone? A Defense of Cessationism BY RI CHA RD B. GAFFIN JR.

A Friendly Appeal

Christ’s Gifts of the Spirit

Is Your Church Spiritual Enough?

Easter Morn at the Cemetery

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY JEFF ROGERS

BY A DRI A N WARNOCK

BY NI CHO LA S T. BATZIG

BY JE FF MA LLIN S ON

BY CHA D BI RD

MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

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departments 04 05 08 11 14

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR BY E RI C LA NDRY

THEOLOGY ›› Gospel Synesthesia BY G A RRET T S O UCY

BIBLE STUDY ›› “Fall Like Lightning” BY BRI A N LE E

CHRIST & CULTURE ›› Urban Synagogue BY T E RRE NCE JO NE S

INTERVIEW ››

On the Road toward Reformation Q&A WI T H STA N WAY

47 54

BOOK REVIEWS

BACK PAGE ›› Charismatic Movements

WILS ON, KELLEY, AND GARDINER

GEEK SQUAD ›› Martin Luther on the Holy

Spirit: A Lesson in Sticking to the Basics BY RUSSE LL DAWN

in the History of the Church BY T I MOT HY W. MA SSA RO

Editor-in-Chief Michael S. Horton Executive Editor Eric Landry Managing Editor Patricia Anders Assistant Editor Brooke Ventura Marketing Director Michele Tedrick Design Director José Reyes for Metaleap Creative, metaleapcreative.com Review Editor Ryan Glomsrud Designers Tiffany Forrester, Ashley Shugart, Harold Velarde Copy Editor Elizabeth Isaac Proofreader Ann Smith Modern Reformation © 2015 All rights reserved. ISSN-1076-7169 Modern Reformation (Subscription Department) P.O. Box 460565 Escondido, CA 92046 (855) 492-1674 info@modernreformation.org www.modernreformation.org Subscription Information US 1 YR $32. 2 YR $58. US 3 YR $78. Digital Only 1 YR $25. US Student 1 YR $26. Canada add $8 per year for postage. Foreign add $9 per year for postage.

MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

LETTER from the EDITOR

ERIC LANDRY executive editor

outhern Baptists speaking in tongues. Presbyterians attending healing crusades. The old divides between charismatics and cessationists seem to be breaking down. C. Peter Wagner, former professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and known among charismatics as a modern-day “apostle,” argues that this is the fruit of a New Apostolic Reformation that God has unleashed around the world. What is God up to? Even if you doubt Wagner’s apostolic credentials, you have to admit that the face of Christianity—especially in the global south—has a decidedly Pentecostal hue. The face of American Christianity is also changing: more and more American Christians in both Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions claim to be charismatic or to belong to charismatic churches, up to nearly 40 percent according to recent Barna Group surveys. Are reformational Christians who believe that the way God acted in the early church is different from the way he acts today on the wrong side of history? Are we on the wrong side of the Holy Spirit? In this issue of Modern Reformation, we take up the important subject of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

First up is Presbyterian pastor James Lee who argues that Pentecost, like the incarnation, is a unique event in redemptive-history and not intended to be repeated throughout the church’s history in various waves of the Spirit’s work. New Testament scholar Richard Gaffin weighs in with his review of the relevant biblical passages, helping us understand how God intended the church to use the “charismatic” gifts of the Spirit to establish the church on the foundation of the word. We have also asked well-known author, blogger, and self-described “Reformed charismatic” Adrian Warnock to offer a friendly rejoinder to that point of view. Presbyterian pastor Nick Batzig then takes up the question of the ongoing relevance of the Spirit’s work in the early church for us today. Lutheran pastor Jeff Mallinson concludes our feature section by asking if perhaps we’ve misunderstood what Paul means when he describes spiritual people and spiritual churches in the New Testament. Throughout the feature section, you’ll also read brief sidebar articles from our editor-inchief Michael Horton on the work of the Spirit in the church today. We recognize that we have a number of readers on both sides of this issue. Our hope with this issue isn’t to further divide from our brothers and sisters in Christ who believe differently than we do. Instead, we hope that as you work your way through this issue, you are driven ever more deeply into Scripture to see that the same word and the same Spirit, who was at work in extraordinary ways in the early church, is at work in ordinary ways in our own times. In that respect, we’re all charismatics—benefitting from the work of the Spirit in the early church and receiving his ongoing ministry through word and sacrament today.

“ THE SAME SPIRIT.. IS AT WORK IN ORDINARY WAYS IN OUR OWN TIMES. ”

THEOLOGY

GOSPEL SYNESTHESIA by GARRETT SOUCY

THEOLOGY

an you hear color? Can you taste sound? The neurological phenomenon known as “synesthesia” refers to the connection between the stimulation of one sensory organ

and the experience of that stimulation by another organ. Even though most of us usually think of our senses as operating independently of one another, we have also all had the experience of one sense being dulled by problems or defects with another sense. We could not experience taste, for instance, without the help of our sense of smell, and yet we often don’t speak of them as a compound sense. I am reminded of a Taiwanese film that portrayed an older chef who stopped cooking because he had lost his sense of smell from years of drinking, rendering his sense of taste useless. None of our senses are processed at the sensory gates. Instead, they are processed in our brains. What this tells us is that our empirical knowledge is more a combination of senses than the collection of information from separate sensory organs. Scripture assumes the reality of what we today call synesthesia, a compound relationship of senses that gives us greater knowledge or experience of reality: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there

may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt’” (Exod. 10:21). How is darkness, traditionally processed through the gate of the eye, in this historic case, to be processed primarily through touch? This combination of senses or even replacement of senses is common in Scripture. For example, in Revelation 5:8 we read of how God receives and processes the auditory prayers of the saints: “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” The prayers of the saints,

which are offered in the form of sound vibrations, are received by God as an olfactory transmission. Why is it that Scripture would describe something transmitted with sound as being received by smell? Is the writer just offering up a symbolic description? Is the crossing of sensory wires arbitrary? After all, the characters in Revelation are performing a priestly function in the presence of the Holy One. Maybe there is no need to push the metaphor. If that’s true, though, how should we understand other passages such as Exodus 10 that describe historical experiences? Or how should we understand a passage such as Genesis 4:10? “And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.’” Why cross metaphors, if that is all they are? Why not say, because blood does have a smell, that the smell of his brother’s blood is a stench in his nostrils? If it is the accusative sense that is being reached for, why not say that the blood is a stain on the ground that accuses him? It is easy to suggest that the language employed is merely symbolic or exaggerated for effect, but that seems to be an inadequate response. The Bible advocates a singularity of knowledge that enables us to perceive things through lenses that otherwise would be inapplicable. In fact, much of the Holy Spirit’s work in us produces a knowledge that supersedes the concept of sense. We are to behold Christ not by sight but by faith. Our present pilgrimage is navigated by trust and specifically not by sight. At some point, though, we are told that our knowledge will be complete, just as our sight will be fulfilled: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:11). This is a clear claim that our present sight is severely lacking, based on our lack of knowledge. In The Glory of Christ (Banner of Truth, 1994), John Owen captures the necessity of the Spirit’s work of synesthesia when he says, “No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world. Grace is a necessary preparation for glory and faith for sight.” The Bible teaches us that true self-control is the result of someone else controlling you (Gal. 5:23), that we must navigate our way on this pilgrimage without eyes (2 Cor. 5:7), that we see Christ by faith (2 Cor. 3:18), and that we will know God is truly good

“THE GREATEST DANGER WE FACE IS BEING SATISFIED WITH THE COPY RATHER THAN THE ORIGINAL.” by tasting him (Ps. 34:8). It is as if God, in the new creation, is allowing us to process all our knowledge through the lens of Pentecost, which is a reversal of Babel. It is as though our senses in their fallen state speak in a confounded tongue to one another. But through the Spirit, they will all hear and feel and smell the same message in their own language. This is the gospel synesthesia to which we should aspire. We must aspire to it because society is busy offering us a cheap copy of the beautiful original that God designed and is bringing us toward. While some of the initial offerings are as clandestine as the “odorifics” of Harold and Maude, or the fun art installation of Amy Radcliffe called Madeleine, technology is rapidly moving beyond cognitive computing chips for phones and Google glasses. The greatest danger we face is being satisfied with the copy rather than the original. The gospel is the original for which the religious affections of the culture will perpetually offer a cheap facsimile. To proclaim the gospel in a wholehearted fashion, we must remember that while we cannot view our God, we can behold him—and in a glory that far exceeds what can be viewed. He loves us and compels in us a love that must be reciprocated, not only with our heart but with all of our soul, and all of our thinking, and with all of the senses with which we are endowed.

Garrett Soucy is pastor of Christ the King Church in Belfast, Maine, and is also a writer and musician.

MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

B I B L E ST U DY

“ FALL LIKE LIGHTNING” The Great Defeat and the Glorious Kingdom

by BRIAN LEE

t is common for Christians to think that there was far greater demonic activity “in Bible times” than there is today, but this isn’t exactly true. It is rather the case that a spiritual clash with demons occurs in a narrow window of time, namely, the early ministry of Jesus between his baptism and his final trip to Jerusalem. Expressed as a percentage, 85 percent of the discussion about demons takes place in just 3 percent of the Bible’s chapters.* This period of Christ’s ministry is therefore a departure both from what came before and from what comes after. Grasping the significance of this outbreak of demonic activity is crucial to understanding the role of spiritual warfare in the church today. JE SU S’ I N I T I A L ENCO U N TE R W IT H S ATAN Why is demonic activity so uniquely focused in this period? The short answer is that Jesus’

ministry should be seen as a cosmic smack down with Satan and his demonic minions. Critically, in the desert Jesus defeats Satan by his obedience, the second Adam standing strong in the word of God in place of the first Adam, who fell. Christ’s defeat of Satan in the wilderness is analogous to David’s defeat of Goliath, and the demon horde plays the part of the Philistine army, fleeing for the hills in the wake of their champion’s defeat. Demonic activity is not typical of Christ’s church but uniquely focused on this period in redemptive history when the troops meet on the field of battle. A military parallel would be the shores of Normandy on D-Day, when Allied forces landed on the mainland of northern Europe in a powerful way. While significant battles were fought on the way to Berlin, the eventual outcome was all but sealed in those first brutal and bloody days. In Mark’s Gospel, this collision between Jesus and Satan takes all of thirteen verses to develop: “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of

Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan … and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:9, 13). At the baptism of our Lord, the curtain of heaven is opened wide, or more precisely, heaven itself breaks into the created order. The clash between the kingdom of heaven—the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ—and the kingdom of this world necessarily follows on its heels. In Matthew’s account, Jesus overcomes the devil’s three temptations and declares victory with the simple command, “Be gone, Satan.” This is the exorcism in the Bible, of which the following dispossessions are mere ripples, and it is brought about by the faithful obedience of the second Adam. The angels come and minister to Jesus—again, heaven breaking in—and he proceeds to announce the coming of the kingdom of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). At this point in his Gospel, Matthew actually gives us the content of this kingdom preaching, in the form of the Sermon on the Mount, a new kingdom law for those now due to inherit the kingdom of heaven. The timing of this initial encounter is important, coming at the very beginning of Christ’s public ministry. It establishes a close connection between the breaking in of the kingdom of God and the defeat of Satan and his minions; the one follows the other as night follows day. The kingdom of God cannot abide Satan, and Satan cannot abide the blinding light of the kingdom as it shines into the darkness. In the following encounters, the demons recognize Jesus for who he is—and mostly beg for permission to flee. THE K I NG D O M O F G O D HAS CO M E U P O N YO U Jesus is the first gospel preacher, and the news of his defeat of Satan by his obedience in the wilderness is the good news he announces. This victory results directly in the preaching of the gospel and the announcement that the heavenly kingdom is now open for business to all who repent and believe. We often overlook this fact and minimize its significance. The good news was, of course, promised already in paradise and announced by the patriarchs and prophets. The content of the

promise isn’t new. But it wasn’t a reality until Christ really brought it into being, and he is the first to preach it. In fact, when talking about the gospel promises in the Old Testament, the Apostle Paul invents a word to describe how the gospel was “pre-preached,” for the justification of the Gentiles by faith was merely foreseen. Responding to charges that his power over demons is demonic, Jesus tells us that this new reality is ushered in explicitly by his defeat of Satan and his minions: “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). The presence of the kingdom in their midst is predicated upon the casting out of the demons. This announcement comes after Jesus sends out the seventy-two, two by two, in Luke 10. Recall that the seventy-two return rejoicing: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Jesus responds, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:18–19). Jesus clearly sees Satan as having fallen in the preaching ministry of his disciples. There are no more demonic encounters recorded after this point in Luke’s Gospel, and two chapters later Jesus announces, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course” (13:32). The casting out of demons is a discrete, completed portion of his ministry before he goes to his death in Jerusalem.

“THE STRONG MAN HAS BEEN BOUND, AND THE CHURCH HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM.” MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

B I B L E ST U DY

THE F I NG E R O F G O D Jesus believes that the defeat of Satan and casting out of his demons is a foundational moment in the establishment of the kingdom of God. He hints further at this constitutional character of this work when he says that he casts them out “by the finger of God” (Matthew says, “by the Spirit of God”). We find this exact phrase twice in the Old Testament, both in Exodus. In 8:19, Pharaoh’s magicians bear witness that Moses brought the plague of gnats “by the finger of God.” This plague is evidence of heavenly power, and the magicians know their demonic force couldn’t compete. And next, it is by the “finger of God” that the two tablets of the testimony, given to Moses on Sinai, are written. These words of the covenant are the very first written words of Scripture, and that they are written by the “finger of God” emphasizes that God’s people are constituted by a purely divine, written word. Jesus knowingly refers to these two preeminent constitutional moments in the founding of the nation of Israel—the Exodus and drafting of the Sinai covenant—when he claims to have cast out demons and brought the kingdom by the finger of God. Not only is he claiming to have fulfilled the shadowy type by bringing the spiritual reality, but he is also drawing a similar connection between founding deed and constitutional word. The victory over Satan that brings the kingdom is extended by the preaching of the word. This typological parallel also suggests why demonic activity is relatively absent from the Old Testament. What occurred in Israel’s conquest at the typological, national level—idolatrous nations being driven out of the Holy Land by the edge of the sword—now occurs in spirit and in truth in the hearts of his people. THE CE SSAT I O N O F DE M O NIC ACTI V I T Y I N T H E G O S P E L S Is Satan an onlooker at the foot of the cross? Both Mick Jagger and Mel Gibson put him there,

along with a number of church fathers, including Augustine. Augustine called the cross “the devil’s mousetrap,” suggesting that Jesus served as a sort of bait in a device that conclusively crushed the serpent’s head. The dramatic temptation to put Satan at the scene of his ultimate demise is great, as the cross is clearly the climax of Jesus’ faithful obedience that bested Satan in the desert. Yet it is a temptation that all four evangelists resist. In the Gospels’ telling, long before the final act the evil one has already exited stage left. His absence underlines the fact that the cross is no battle casualty, but a sacrifice planned from before the foundation of the world and executed according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. The sheep is led silently to slaughter, entirely of his own will. His life is his to lay down and to take up again. That Satan has already been silenced before the march to Jerusalem and the passion and death of the Lord is significant for the church today. The spiritual encounters in Acts are minor aftershocks, connecting the apostolic ministry to the Lord, and the remainder of the New Testament gives us little instruction or expectation of any conflict like that found in Jesus’ ministry. Why? Because the strong man has been bound, and the church has been entrusted with the keys of the kingdom. Though it is true we wrestle not with flesh and blood, our weapons are truth, righteousness, faith, the word of God, and the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:10–20). This is why Paul asks for prayers from the Ephesians—not against territorial demons, but that he might boldly proclaim the gospel.

Brian Lee is pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Washington, DC, and is a regular contributor to Modern Reformation. * This is, admittedly, a fairly crude measure, based on the occurrence of the word demon in the English Standard Version. Of the seventyeight occurrences of demon, seventy-five are in the New Testament and sixty-six are in the Gospels, all in the earlier chapters. There are, of course, a smattering of spiritual encounters described in other terms that don’t use the word demon (1 Sam. 16; 1 Sam. 28; Gen. 3; Job 1–2), and aspects of idolatry are considered demonic. But it is well established that the ministry of Christ is a departure from previous Scripture in its focus on demons.

C H R I S T & C U LT U R E

URBAN SYNAGOGUE by TERRENCE JONES

ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY SHUGART

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C H R I S T & C U LT U R E

n January 2014, I attended an urban ministry class at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, through the Reformed African American Network. Dr. Carl Ellis said something there that startled me: although he has talked with countless urban ministries that target women and children, very few target men. Why is this the case? First, kids are the lowhanging fruit in the inner city. They are the most trusting and forgiving. They are the most impressionable. They are the least entrenched in street culture. They are the most attracted to the outlets that parachurch ministries offer—a safe place to play organized sports, to enjoy food, fun, trips, education, and so on. Logically, mothers are next in this continuum, as they often serve as both providers and primary caregivers on very limited incomes. Therefore, when you offer services that enrich their children or lighten financial burdens, mothers are usually receptive. Indeed, these acts of kindness and love to women and children build strong bridges for gospel ministry. For this reason I applaud those ministries that provide these services with integrity and Christ-centeredness. There is something missing, however, with this traditional approach to urban ministry—the men. Most people would agree that reaching urban men is extremely difficult, which is why the majority of urban work seems to have an unapologetic bent toward women and children. But our priorities are backwards, and we must change this for the longterm health of the communities we serve. This shuffle in priorities will be even harder and cause even more sleepless nights than afterschool programs, job training, summer camps, stores, housing, core-group development, clinics, and schools. I know it sounds outrageous, but I believe it’s worth some strong consideration. In fact, I believe so strongly in what I’m about to say that I’m staking my entire ministry on it. In urban communities, the men are often linked to the majority of crime, drugs, and destruction. Many factors play into those realities, and a lack of personal responsibility leads the list. In urban

communities, however, there are also many fathers and stepfathers who have been there for their children from the first day. There are many hardworking men who own small businesses and who love to work. Despite the media-heightened reputation of murder, crime, and extreme selfishness, there are many urban men who maintain a high level of personal responsibility and provide support to their families. If you can look past the negative stereotype, you are immediately confronted by the hardened exterior of many of these men, which can also lead us to neglect them. Just approaching them takes a certain amount of courage. They are not overly impressed by the acts of kindness that easily engage women and children. In fact, ministries that give resources and time primarily to children and women without the participation of urban men can have a crushing effect on those men. Good intentions insult them by reminding them of what they are not able to provide for their families, even though many desperately desire to do so. Men often turn to anger and isolation rather than accept handouts that make them feel humiliated. Sadly, this has led many of us to write them off, to think they are not worth our time or attention. I know that some people say working with these men requires too much work and generates far too little return. But I say we have made a terrible mistake. Targeting men isn’t easy. In my own experience, I have sometimes invested in men with very little return. Therefore, I’m not pleading with you for a “broad-net approach” to men’s ministry. I’m asking

“OUR PRIORITIES ARE BACKWARDS, AND WE MUST CHANGE THIS FOR THE LONG-TERM HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE.”

“[THEY] SIMPLY NEED OTHER PEOPLE TO WALK BESIDE THEM AND SUPPORT THEM.” you to target a subset of the whole. It’s what I have termed the “urban synagogue.” As the Apostle Paul spread the gospel and planted churches from city to city, it was his custom to go to Jewish synagogues first and reason with the Jews (Acts 17:1–5). If they received him, great; if they did not, he would move on to the Gentiles. Among a subset of men in urban communities, there is a goldmine for this kind of ministry. The “urban synagogue” will most likely not be a large group of men (initially, maybe five to ten men at the most). It probably will not be immediate “newsletter material,” nor should it be. The men in urban communities are wary of ulterior motives, and exploiting them will not go unnoticed or unaddressed. Furthermore, if these men are placed on a pedestal or in front of a church too quickly, the system may collapse, with far-reaching consequences. Generally speaking, the men most likely to respond to urban ministry attempts are usually twenty-five years old or older. They often have serious relationships and live with their wives or long-term girlfriends. Usually these relationships, while committed, have existed anywhere from five to twenty-five years and are laced with wounds and scars that will have to be redeemed. These men often take their work seriously—for them, unemployment is not an option. Whether they have odd jobs, stable employment opportunities, or their own small businesses, these men work hard and have little tolerance for laziness. Within the family structure, these men often have children in the home. They may have biological children with their partner or children they are trying to raise from extended family members. In my experience in urban ministry, I have seen these grown men cry for these kids and make tremendous sacrifices for them. If engaged, these men will engage you. They are also social commentators with indepth opinions about the state of youth, education, the justice system, church, marriage, family, and the economy. These men are also slow to violence. While

they will protect their families from any real threat, they usually keep low profiles. They will also look for tangible ways to bless their communities and the youth outside their homes. Why target these men? First, the created order tells us of the importance of the role of men in God’s plan. Adam was the one to whom God looked when things came undone in the garden. If God held Adam primarily responsible by calling him into account first after the Fall, why do we first appeal to Eve? As much as I truly love working with women and children, I believe that our ministry approach is backwards. Second, no one argues against the premise that the deterioration of families and the absence of fathers is the foundational problem in the demise of urban communities. If men are at the core of this problem, why are they not at the core of the solution? I’m profiling this subset of men because there is so much that works within this context. These men already display reflections of the character of God in how they treat their children and how they work to provide and sacrifice for their families. They do all these things in an extremely countercultural way. They are usually men who never knew their fathers and never had fatherly examples, yet they themselves are fathers. No one ever taught them how to be men, yet they walk in manhood against all odds. These men are at a stage in life where they genuinely care about their community and simply need other people to walk beside them and support them. Through the power of the gospel and the process of discipleship, these snapshots of hope can be built into community pillars. I am proposing that we spend our time, talent, and resources with these men. I believe that God has placed within them the solutions for lasting change in their communities. I believe that deep down inside they are waiting for someone to see them as the key to long-term systemic change. I believe that when this “urban synagogue”—this group of men—is reached, they will breathe life into their families and homes. They will breathe life into their communities, and they will breathe life into the younger men in their communities by being examples of what they too can accomplish if they place God at the center of their lives.

Terrence Jones is lead pastor of Strong Tower Church, an innercity church in Montgomery, Alabama.

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INTERVIEW

O N T H E R OA D TOWA R D R E FO R M AT I O N

Q&A with STAN WAY

n this interview, Michael Horton talks with Stan Way, pastor of Corner stone Christian Church in Medford, Oregon, about his journey from classic Pentecostalism to an understanding of reformational Christianity. Tell us your background and how you came to understand the gospel in a clearer way.

I was raised in a Pentecostal home— classic Pentecostalism, third generation. We attended church regularly. I became ordained

with the Assemblies of God in 1968. It was through a course of people coming through my life who had a clearer understanding of the gospel, people with a Reformed point of view. This took a long period, but it seems like the Lord planted very specific, very important people in my life to challenge and stretch me in my theological thinking. And so over a slow journey, I’ve come to a place now where I understand the distinctives and the doctrines of grace, which we’re preaching. The staff here at Cornerstone was on a similar journey—probably the last five years have been the most dramatic in seeing things really

become clear. As a staff, we’ve worked through the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dort and the Heidelberg Catechism. Now we’re in the Westminster Confession. And people are still coming.

Yes. We’ve had our losses, but the last two years have been probably the most difficult in that we’ve made changes in our structuring of worship, our approach to the music, and things of that sort. This has probably been the most delicate part of the process. But I think we are now well on our way through this, and the church is building again. Coming from a Pentecostal charismatic background, knowing that world a lot better than we do, in what ways do you see even good things like the gifts of the Spirit taking the place of Christ and him crucified?

a. As I reflect back and look through a new lens

with a better understanding of the gospel and what Christ has done, and our call as pastors to declare that good news, I realize that in those circles, there was a conviction that if I could capture the imagination and the attention of people through the miraculous and the supernatural, then perhaps I could get the gospel to them. Then they would be so taken with these phenomenal things, they would be more open to hearing the message of Christ. It’s easy to become preoccupied with that. If it’s happening in your church, you could attract a large crowd. And, of course, the way you get people is the way you keep them— so you have to keep it going. As a result, you end up focusing more on the spectacular manifestations than on just the healthy proclamation of the good news. You get this sense that things are really happening, because as long as the miracles are happening, people are there.

So what happens when people get around to talking about Christ and the cross, the atonement, the gospel? Do they—along with the five thousand who

“THOSE WHOSE MINDS AND HEARTS ARE CAPTIVATED BY THE LORD THROUGH THE GOSPEL SEE EVERYTHING PUT IN ITS PROPER PLACE.” followed Jesus after the free lunch—ask for more miracles, not this hard teaching?

Yes, absolutely. I think the problem was that I didn’t have a full understanding of the gospel, so I couldn’t even preach it. I think as you grow, and you become exposed to historic views, your heart and mind become captivated. So then you begin to preach that and preach it with passion and conviction. You find that those who stay, and to whom God speaks, come into a richer relationship with the Lord. It’s just healthier. In your ministry, have you seen people who were attached to the signs and wonders come to a deeper understanding of the gospel and become excited about it, not the new thing around the corner?

a. Yes. I would say it’s a minority, but that’s

exactly what happens to them—and that is what happened to me. It’s certainly not to deny the miraculous, but the miraculous doesn’t become the centerpiece. Those whose minds and hearts are captivated by the Lord through the gospel see everything put in its proper place. They are stronger, healthier, and have greater clarity now than ever before. MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

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features 18

SHOULD WE EXPECT MANY PENTECOSTS?

A FRIENDLY APPEAL

CHRISTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

IS YOUR CHURCH SPIRITUAL ENOUGH?

WHERE HAVE ALL THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS GONE? A DEFENSE OF CESSATIONISM

EASTER MORN AT THE CEMETERY MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

SHOULD WE EXPECT MANY PENTECOSTS? by JEONG WOO “JAMES” LEE

s we read in Acts 2 about Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles, it’s important to ask what God intended that event to be—a paradigm for church revival, or a unique, unrepeatable redemptive-historical event. Before considering the answer, it’s important to recognize that Pentecost belongs to the history of salvation (the objective work of God’s redemp-

tion in history, which can happen only once, such as Jesus’ death and resurrection) rather than the order of salvation (the ongoing, subjective application of God’s redemption in history in the hearts of men and women, such as regeneration, faith, justification, adoption, and sanctification). Most scholars accept the history-of-redemption character of Pentecost as a necessary, climactic conclusion to Christ’s once-for-all redemptive work. Nor is it under dispute whether Pentecost was the inauguration of a new era (the final era, in fact) in redemptive history. The point under discussion is the character of this age. This “new age,” as it was ushered in by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, is the age of the Holy Spirit. As such, it has to be “spiritual” or “supernatural” in character. If that’s the case, then shouldn’t we expect more Pentecosts, more “supernatural” phenomena, even more so than any other time in redemptive history? We certainly affirm Christianity to be a thoroughly supernatural religion. God is a Spirit, a supernatural being, after all. The God of the Bible is not the god of deism; he is intimately involved in the affairs of the world and of humanity. Insofar as our redemption is God’s work, it is supernatural in character. However, when discussing the nature of this age of the Holy Spirit, it is important for us to distinguish between two types of supernatural phenomena: eschatological and sub-eschatological. The term “eschatological” comes from the Greek word eschatos, which denotes “final” or “last.” Eschatological things are therefore eternal in nature and duration (since there is nothing that comes after them). In contrast, sub-eschatological phenomena refer to physical manifestations of the eschatological reality and power. Signs and wonders and

miracles belong to this sub-eschatological category. Although they originate from heaven (the eschatological realm, as it were), they are sub-eschatological because they manifest themselves in physical, temporary forms. They are like brilliant fireworks of the supernatural in the dark night of the natural. It’s important to point out that Pentecost consisted of both: the eschatological (the coming down of the Holy Spirit to dwell with his people forever, resulting in people’s conversion) and the sub-eschatological (the “signs and wonders” of a sound like a mighty rushing wind from heaven, divided tongues as of fire appearing and resting on each disciple, and the disciples speaking in tongues and prophesying). In order to see the importance of this distinction, it will be helpful to have a brief redemptive historical survey of the pattern in which God worked signs and wonders. This will shed some light on the direction in which God is driving redemptive history and what we should expect from God in these last days—and whether we should expect more than one Pentecost. T HE PAT T E RN OF GOD’S WORK The supernatural nature of our redemption doesn’t automatically imply that God flexes his omnipotent muscles, performing miracles randomly and haphazardly. When we survey the Scriptures, we discover a pattern by which God intrudes into the realm of nature and supernaturally manifests his power.

First, consider the simple fact that God is the Creator. As such, he is the author of the laws of nature. When God pronounced everything he made “very good,” the laws of nature were included. God delighted in them as a reflection of his power, wisdom, goodness, and beauty, and he established them as his ordinary, regular way of governing and sustaining the world. Should he take pleasure in suspending and interrupting them regularly then? For sure, the laws of nature serve as the backdrop against which the extraordinary, otherworldly nature of divine miracles shines. But these miracles are meant to be “extraordinary” events, not commonplace occurrences. Second, in surveying the Bible we see indeed that signs and wonders were not as common as we might expect. This is amazing when we consider the “supernatural” character of redemptive history in which God is working out his (supernatural) redemption. Even so, we see high concentrations of signs and wonders only at certain times in redemptive history. THE CLU STE R S O F M IRACL E S I N THE B IB L E Many biblical scholars have observed that there are three major “clusters” of signs and wonders in redemptive history: Israel’s exodus from Egypt; Elijah and Elisha’s prophetic ministry; and Jesus and the apostles. Understanding their function within the story of salvation and redemption will help us understand the pattern of God’s work in history, and what we should expect during our era in redemptive history. Israel’s exodus from Egypt, of course, is the redemptive event in the Old Testament. As redemption is God’s work, it is accompanied by many signs and wonders to demonstrate that fact. The same is true of the period of Jesus and the apostles. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world. And the redemption he accomplished is supernatural through and through. He is the God-man, the greatest Intrusion from heaven. Everything about him and what he does has an undeniable air of the supernatural. It is fascinating that his death and resurrection are referred to as “his departure” (Greek exodos, Luke 9:31). His work of redemption is to be understood as

a new, greater exodus, to which Israel’s lesser exodus pointed. Even more interesting is the setting—the conversation in Luke 9:31 took place among Moses, Elijah, and Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration. We see the two major prophets, who presided over the other clusters of signs and wonders in redemptive history, talking with the Christ, the true prophet, about the ultimate, greatest exodus! We can see the common theme of exodus shared between Israel’s exodus and Jesus’ life and ministry. But how does the time of Elijah and Elisha fit in? What is so significant about their ministry in redemptive history? Does it have anything to do with the theme of exodus? I believe it does, in a significant way: Elijah and Elisha’s ministry is the turning point from the old exodus to the new exodus. Elijah comes onto the stage during the reign of Ahab, the worst king in Israel’s history up to that time. He appeared as the forerunner of the Old Testament prophetic ministry, which brought God’s covenant lawsuit against the sinful Israel. As such, it signaled the failure of the old exodus to bring true redemption to the people of God (which was prophesied even before Israel entered the Promised Land; cf. Deut. 30:1–2). Elijah’s (and Elisha’s) ministry signaled the need for a greater and better exodus to accomplish that purpose. We can see this in two major ways. First is Elijah’s reversal of Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land. When the time of his departure came, he crossed the Jordan River near Jericho as Israel did long ago. Just as the Jordan River was

“WE CAN SEE THE COMMON THEME OF EXODUS SHARED BETWEEN ISRAEL’S EXODUS AND JESUS’ LIFE AND MINISTRY.” MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

miraculously cut off when Israel had crossed it once, so it was miraculously parted when Elijah (and Elisha) crossed it. But when Elijah did it, it was in the opposite direction—from west to east, from the land of Canaan into the wilderness. It was as though Israel’s exodus was being reversed. What is more, after Elijah crossed the Jordan he was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire. It was as though the older exodus was being abandoned for a new one. The old exodus was from Egypt to the Promised Land; the new exodus would be from the Promised Land to heaven! Of course, Elisha crossed the Jordan back into the Promised Land after Elijah’s rapture, demonstrating that Elijah’s rapture was not the new exodus. Elijah’s departure pointed to a newer, greater exodus to come in Jesus Christ. Consider also another significant aspect of Elijah and Elisha’s ministry: the inclusion of Gentiles as beneficiaries of the new exodus. Our Lord highlighted the profound redemptive-historical significance of this phenomenon:

Holy Spirit subjectively applying that redemption to individuals through the instrument of faith. In this second stage, God’s people are called to “live by faith” not by sight. There is a sense, then, that the first stage is characterized by “sight” rather than by “faith.” Of course, faith is required in the first stage as well. The exodus generation perished in the wilderness because they did not unite what they witnessed (the signs and wonders) with their faith (Heb. 4:2). Even so, the first stage is when God accomplishes our redemption in history for all to see. It is then followed by a more “ordinary” period in which God’s people live by faith. Why should there be two stages? Why couldn’t there be just one stage of God saving us and applying the full benefits of that salvation all at once? A simple answer is that our salvation is eschatological in essence. Our ultimate salvation cannot be completed here in this world. It will be only when the first heaven and the first earth are no more, giving way to a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1). As long as we live in this world (and as long as there are some elect yet to be saved), there will always be an element of “not yet” in our redemption that compels us to live by faith. The death and resurrection of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit established what Vos called the “organic center for the new order of things,” out of which our redemption can grow, mature,

“But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them Q&A on the Spirit with Michael S. Horton was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:25–27)

WHAT DOES THE SPIRIT DO TODAY?

THE R ATI O NA L E FO R THE D I V I N E PATT E RN What is the rationale behind such a pattern of divine miracles? In The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline (Anson D. F. Randolph & Co., 1894), biblical scholar Geerhardus Vos points out two stages in God’s redemption: one characterized by signs and wonders through which God accomplishes the objective redemption in history; another characterized by the

ll good gifts come to us from the Father, in the Son, by the Spirit. In every work of the Trinity, the Spirit is the one who brings the work to completion. He is

especially associated with working within creation as the lifegiving and fruit-producing agent of the Godhead. The Father speaks to us today through his word. Christ, the Incarnate Word, is also the content of the Father’s saving speech. The Holy Spirit, who inspired Scripture, is at work within us to understand and embrace the gospel and to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Not only at work within us, the Holy Spirit actually indwells us as the down payment on our final salvation.

“IN THE COMING OF CHRIST, THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS COME IN A FULLER MEASURE THAN EVER BEFORE.” and be fully realized at the second coming. During this time, “the new order of things” grows as the Holy Spirit works through the “ordinary” means of grace, enabling us to live by faith (and repentance) until “faith shall be sight.” As we’ve traced the progression of redemptive history from the sub-eschatological to the eschatological, we’ve seen this movement exemplified in the development of Israel as a nation—Israel as a theocracy was a kind of sub-eschatological entity, a kingdom of heaven manifested in an earthly kingdom. Its power and glory were shown in earthly terms in its military victories, in its material abundance and wealth in the land, and so on. Even the glory of its religion was shown in the visible majesty and beauty of its temple. But the theocratic Israel is now replaced with the church under the new covenant. Unlike Israel, the church is not a geopolitical entity. Its glory is the cross, not the land. Its lot is not only to believe in Christ for eternal life, but also to suffer for his sake (Phil. 1:29)—so much so that Paul presents his sufferings as an authentication of his apostleship (2 Cor. 11). Thus endowed with an otherworldly character, the church displays more clearly (than Israel) its eschatological identity and destination. FOR A “ T HO R O UG H LY ” ES CHATO LO G I CA L E XP E CTAT IO N There is a sense in which the sub-eschatological phenomena, such as signs and wonders, are a kind of capitulation of the eschatological to the temporal. They show the superior power of the heavenly in earthly terms. This was made

necessary because of the “childish” condition of God’s people—childish because they had not yet seen the full redemption of God in his beloved Son. In the coming of Christ, the kingdom of God has come in a fuller measure than ever before. His death on the cross was our final (eschatological) judgment. His resurrection was the down payment of our (eschatological) resurrection on the last day. And his work of redemption culminated with the outpouring of the (eschatological) Holy Spirit. We now live in the last (eschatological) days. C O NCLU SI ON Should we expect many Pentecosts? No. Pentecost, consisting of both eschatological and sub-eschatological phenomena, was a unique, unrepeatable event belonging to the history of redemption. It was the culmination of Christ’s once-for-all work of redemption. But it was also the inauguration of the last days; a transition from the sub-eschatological to the eschatological era. How should we expect God to bless his people in these last (eschatological) days? In these last days, as the end is drawing near, God wants to wean us off this present age, which is already passing away (1 John 2:17), and make us fit for the age to come. So then, we should graduate from our fascination with the sub-eschatological things to an earnest desire for the thoroughly eschatological things. It is so easy to become enamored with supernatural miracles, isn’t it? But they are second-class supernatural phenomena in comparison to the thoroughly eschatological one, which is our eternal salvation in Christ Jesus—every aspect of it, from our effectual calling and regeneration all the way to our glorification and eternal life in that eschatological kingdom of heaven! That is the primary purpose for which the Holy Spirit was given to the church. Let us, then, crave for more excellent, higher gifts (1 Cor. 12:31)— the eschatological gift of eternal salvation! May the Lord bless his church with many souls converted at the preaching of God’s word as the Holy Spirit works mightily in the hearts of God’s people!

Jeong Woo “James” Lee is pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in La Jolla, California.

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by RICHARD B. GAFFIN JR.

W H E R E H AV E A L L T H E SPIRITUAL GIFTS GONE? A D E F E N S E of C E S S AT I O N I S M

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIFFANY FORRESTER; STYLING BY ASHLEY SHUGART

ccording to the Nicene Creed, the “one holy catholic” church is also “apostolic.” What does that mean? What constitutes the apostolicity of the church? Answering that question

biblically is the important first step in the case for the cessation of certain gifts of the Spirit. Here the focus will be on those gifts most contested today—namely, prophecy and tongues. In the latter half of Ephesians 2 (vv. 11–22), Paul provides as comprehensive an outlook on the New Testament church as anywhere in his writings or, for that matter, the rest of Scripture. To use a favorite biblical metaphor for the church (cf. 1 Pet. 2:4–8), the one church composed now of Gentile as well as Jew is the great house-building project that God, the master architect-builder, is at work on in the period between Christ’s exaltation and return. The church is, Paul says, “God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (vv. 19–20). Two considerations, closely related, are noteworthy in this description. First, the foundation in view is finished; it is a historically completed entity. When a builder knows what he’s doing (as we may assume God does in this instance!), the foundation is poured once at the beginning of the project; it doesn’t need to be repeatedly relaid. The foundation’s completion is followed by the ongoing work of building the superstructure on that foundation until the building’s completion. From our vantage point today, we are in the period of the superstructure; laying the foundation is done, a thing of the past. This conclusion is reinforced, secondly, by considering exactly how, in this description, the apostles and prophets, along with Christ, are the church’s foundation. For Christ, that plainly consists in his saving work, in who he is as crucified and resurrected: “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11; cf. 15:3–4). But the apostles also belong to the foundation. That is so not because the saving work of Christ is somehow incomplete, but because

of their witness—a witness authorized by the exalted Christ himself, which is fully revelatory (e.g., Acts 1:22; Gal. 1:1; Thess. 2:13). This unique redemptive-historical role of the apostles comes to light in Ephesians 2:20. As the revelatory word focuses on redemptive deed—a correlation that marks the history of salvation throughout its unfolding to its consummation in Christ (Heb. 1:1–2a)—the situation is this: the foundational work of Christ, that is, his once-for-all and finished work, is joined with the foundational apostolic witness to that work, likewise once-for-all and finished. Indicated here is the matrix for the eventual emergence of the New Testament canon. Ephesians 2:20 then points to the temporary, noncontinuing role of the apostles in the life of the church. Their place was in the foundational era of the church’s history. Their function was to provide revelatory, infallibly authoritative, canonical witness to the consummation of salvation history in Christ’s finished work. That function does not belong to the superstructure period to follow, but provides the completed basis on which that superstructure rests, as it continues to be built. Several lines of New Testament teaching confirm the temporary role of the apostolate: one job prerequisite was to have been an eye and ear witness of Christ prior to his ascension (Acts 1:21–26). In 1 Corinthians 15:7–9 Paul sees this requirement being met in his case by an exception (see 9:1), and along with that, he is the last of the apostles. The Pastoral Epistles are largely concerned with making apostolic preparation for the post-apostolic future of the church beyond. Two of these letters

are addressed to Timothy, viewed by Paul as his personal successor more than anyone else in the New Testament. Yet Paul never calls him an apostle. “Apostolic succession” in a personal sense, for the redemptive-historical rationale already noted, is a contradiction in terms. The apostolicity of the church is not secured by an unbroken succession of officeholders that can be traced back to the apostles, but by the uninterrupted possession and maintenance of their witness or tradition (2 Thess. 2:15), inscripturated in the New Testament. Notice that in the current debate about spiritual gifts, many in the charismatic movement (but probably not most Pentecostals) agree that apostles—in the sense of those who are “first” among the gifts given to the church (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11), such as the Twelve and Paul—are not present in the church today. In that respect at least, whether or not they care to think of themselves as such, the large majority of today’s charismatics are in fact “cessationists.” Anyone then who recognizes the temporary nature of the apostolate needs to think through, in the light of other New Testament teaching, what further implications this basic cessationist position may carry. Ephesians 2:20 itself includes one such implication—and an important one at that. Along with the apostles, the prophets have a foundational role. Who are these prophets? Surely not the Old Testament prophets, as some hold. What works against that view is the word order, “apostles and prophets” (not “prophets and apostles”); Paul’s point is not that the foundation is composed of witnesses from the old as well as the new covenant. More importantly, just a few verses later and in almost identical wording, the prophets in view are said to belong to the “now” of the new covenant, in contrast to the “other generations” of past covenant history (3:5). Nor are the prophets here identical to the apostles (“the apostles who are also prophets”), as some have argued more recently. Because of the syntax of the Greek text of verse 20 and in view of Paul’s next reference to apostles and prophets beyond this context (4:11: “some to be apostles, some to be prophets”), this view is hardly plausible. Ephesians 2:20 points us to conclude that prophecy was a temporary gift for the foundational period of the church and that New Testament prophets, along with the apostles, are no longer a present part of its life.

P ROP HE CY’S SU P E RI ORI T Y TO TONGU E S First Corinthians 14 deals with prophecy and tongues in far more detail than any other New Testament passage. As a quick perusal will show, a contrast between prophecy and tongues—like a backbone—structures the entire chapter, beginning in verses 2–3, continuing throughout, and culminating in verse 39. The broad concern of this argumentation is to show the relative superiority or preferability of prophecy to tongues. Prophecy is “greater” because (as speech is intelligible to others) it edifies the church, while tongues (unintelligible to others) do not. The immediate proviso, however, is that tongues when interpreted are on par with prophecy for edifying others (vv. 4–5). Tongues when uninterpreted are eclipsed by prophecy, while interpreted tongues are functionally equivalent to prophecy. A close tie exists between prophecy and tongues. We may even say fairly that tongues, as interpretable and to be interpreted (vv. 13, 27), are a mode of prophecy. What these two gifts have in common and what makes them contrastable in this way is that both are word gifts. Specifically, both are revelation. Both bring to the church God’s word in the primary, original, nonderivative sense. That prophecy is revelation is explicit in verse 30 and also clear, among other considerations, from the only instances of prophecy existing in the New Testament—those of Agabus (see Acts 11:27–28 and 21:10–11) and the book of Revelation (see 1:1–3).

“‘APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION’ IN A PERSONAL SENSE... IS A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS.” MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

That tongues are revelation is plain from verses 8–9) in contrast to full “face-to-face” knowledge 14–19; they are inspired speech of the most immedithat will be ours (v. 12), with the arrival of “the ate, indeed virtually unmediated kind. In its exercise, perfect” knowledge (v. 10), at Christ’s return. With the gift completely bypasses the “mind,” in the sense this accent on the partial quality of our present that the intellect of the speaker does not function knowledge, the particular media of that knowledge in the production of what is said. Speech capacity are incidental. Prophecy and tongues are no doubt and organs are so taken over by the Holy Spirit that singled out given Paul’s pastoral concern, within the the words spoken are not the speaker’s in any sense. wider context (chapters 12–14), with their proper Also, “mysteries” (v. 2), as an indication of their conexercise. But the time of their cessation is not a tent, confirm this fully revelatory understanding of concern he has here. To insist on the contrary from tongues (as well as the link with prophecy; see 13:2). verse 10 is gratuitous. His stress, rather, is on the Elsewhere in the New Testament, at least without duration, until Christ returns, of our present, opaque any clear exceptions, this word always refers to revknowledge—by whatever revelatory means that elation; more specifically, the redemptive-historical knowledge may come (including, by implication, content of revelation (e.g., Matt. 13:11; Rom. 16:25– even inscripturation) and whenever they may cease. 26; 1 Tim. 3:16). This reading is reinforced in Ephesians 4:11–13, From those passages that are most pertinent and which says that the exalted Christ “gave some to be decisive, then, the basic thread of the argument for the cessation of Q&A on the Spirit with Michael S. Horton prophecy and tongues is this: By divine design, apostles and prophets have a temporary role in the church’s history and do not continue beyond its foundational era. The redemptive-historical “specs” of the church-house are such that uthentic Christian experience runs the full spectrum they are not permanent fixtures of human circumstances and emotion, from joy and (Eph. 2:20), and so neither are vigor in the rich blessings of profound communion with tongues, tied, as we have seen they Christ and his church, to apathetic listlessness at the humdrum were, to prophecy (1 Cor. 14). They monotony of daily existence within that communion, to sorrow too pass out of the life of the church, and frustration over the seeming absence of Christ as we struggle along with the passing of the aposwith the same sins day in and day out, taking two steps back for tles and prophets (and other means every step forward. Foremost, authentic Christian experience is of bringing God’s word). determined by the written word. In the Psalms, for example, we

WHAT IS AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE?

WHAT A B O U T 1 CORI N THI A N S 1 3 ?

have a wide range of emotions with which to express our praise, laments, thanksgiving, and questions. While our experience within the Christian life will vary, it’s important to remember that what the Father has declared to the believer in Christ and made effec-

Noncessationists on prophecy and tongues feel most secure in their view biblically at 1 Corinthians 13:8–13. For them this is a “gotcha” text that by itself settles the issue. But this passage is not as unambiguous as they believe. Paul’s primary point is to compare the believer’s present and future knowledge. Present knowledge is partial and obscured (vv.

tual through the Spirit will never change. When the Father has forgiven our sins by the blood of Jesus, declared us righteous by giving to us what Christ has earned, and the Holy Spirit has made that effective by baptism and the bread and wine of the Supper, we can be assured that no matter how we feel or how greatly we struggle, our forgiveness and righteousness are forever secured by his unchangeable decree. Whether our earthly pilgrimage is easy, hard, or a complex terrain of both, we can continue on knowing that the road certainly ends in the great and unspeakable bliss of finally being in the presence of the Lord forever.

“PROPHECY AND TONGUES HAVE CEASED. WHAT REMAINS—SUPREMELY AND SOLELY SUFFICIENT AND AUTHORITATIVE UNTIL JESUS COMES—IS ‘THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKING IN THE SCRIPTURES.’”

apostles, some to be prophets . . . until we all reach unity in the faith . . . and become mature [or perfect] attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Almost certainly the “unity” or “fullness” of verse 13 is the same state of affairs as “the perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10 (echoed perhaps as well in the use of “perfect” in Eph. 4:13), namely, the situation brought by Christ’s return. On that assumption, Ephesians 4—read as noncessationists insist 1 Corinthians 13 must be read—leaves us with the unavoidable conclusion that there will be apostles, as well as prophets (and tongues), until the Parousia, or second coming of Christ, a conclusion that many (though not all) noncessationists reject. But how can they do this coherently? In terms of gifts related to the ultimate goal in view, how is this passage any different from 1 Corinthians 13:8ff ? Those noncessationists who correctly recognize that there are no apostles today, in the sense of Ephesians 2:20 and 4:11, can’t have it both ways. If these passages teach that prophecy/prophets and tongues continue until the Parousia, then so also do apostles. A sounder reading of both passages is to recognize that whether prophecy or tongues (or any other gift) will cease before the Parousia is not addressed by them but left an open question to be settled from other passages. A dilemma confronts noncessationists. If prophecy and tongues—as they function in the New

Testament—continue today, then the noncessationist is faced with the quite practical and troublesome implication that Scripture alone is not a sufficient verbal revelation from God; the canon is at best relatively closed. Alternatively, if, as most noncessationists insist, “prophecy” and “tongues” today are nonrevelatory or less than fully revelatory, then these contemporary phenomena are misnamed and are something other than the New Testament gifts. Noncessationists are caught in a redemptive-historical anachronism, seeking within the superstructure of the church’s history what belonged to its foundational era. They are involved in the contradictory effort of trying to maintain, along with a closed New Testament canon, the presence of those revelatory gifts that were for the open canon period when the New Testament documents were in the process of being written. Prophecy and tongues have ceased. What remains—supremely and solely sufficient and authoritative until Jesus comes—is “the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scriptures” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 1:10).

Richard B. Gaffin Jr. (ThD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is professor of biblical and systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is the author most recently of By Faith, Not By Sight (P&R, 2013).

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A F R I E N D LY APPEAL  by ADRIAN WARNOCK

t the heart of the Reformation was the call to go back to the Bible as our sole authority. The Bible contains clear commands to pursue spiritual gifts that were never rescinded. I would therefore argue that the charismatics are most consistent with Reformed principles. I contend that the idea that prophecy and other gifts have ceased simply cannot be argued from Scripture, and so this cannot be true. The Reformation itself is believed to be have been predicted by prophecy one hundred years before it began. Huss is reported to have said to his executioner, “You are now going to burn a goose, but in a century you will have a swan whom you can neither roast nor boil.”1 Remarkably, the name “Huss” means “goose” and Luther had a swan as his coat of arms. If most evangelicals can accept the idea that Huss prophesied, why shouldn’t others accept it too? Other leading Reformed Christians had similar experiences; for example, when Spurgeon was a young boy it was prophesied he would preach to vast crowds.2 Many did not want to call these experiences spiritual gifts and were theologically cessationist, but they seem to have been functionally charismatic. Why should it be surprising that some of the heirs of the Reformers would still be open to such phenomena? Call us simple-minded, but we Reformed charismatics want to call these phenomena by biblical names. We feel as obligated to obey the following New Testament instructions as we are to follow all the others: Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. (1 Cor. 14:1) Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. (1 Cor. 14:5) But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all. (1 Cor. 14:24) For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. (1 Cor. 14:31)

So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. (1 Cor. 14:39) Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. (1 Thess. 5:19–21) I cannot think of any other set of New Testament verses so flagrantly and deliberately disobeyed today by so many believers. In these verses the spiritual gifts are not “sign gifts” to confirm the identity of the apostles, who are not even addressed. Nor is it implied that prophecies must be written down and included in the Bible. Congregational prophecy described here is neither inerrant nor equivalent to Scripture. On the contrary, we are told to “test” prophecy. Proper discernment, based on the Bible, is crucial to the responsible use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit today. The Bible also gives us clear indications as to the time period during which we are to expect to receive spiritual gifts. In Acts 2, we learn from the Apostle Peter, citing the prophet Joel, that the outpouring of the Spirit takes place in the “last days” (v. 17). If this outpouring has ceased, this means we live in days Q&A on the Spirit with Michael S. Horton

WHERE DOES GOD SPEAK TODAY?

od speaks today through his word, both preached and written. Through this word the Spirit brings conviction

of sin, faith in Christ, and instruction in everything necessary for faith and life. Even baptism and the Lord’s Supper receive their efficacy from the Spirit through the word. As signs and seals of his promises, the sacraments assure us of God’s favor. Shaped by regular exposure to God’s word, we are able to view God, ourselves, each other, and our world with the proper “spectacles.” Even in matters not directly addressed by God’s word, the Scripture-saturated mind and heart are able to exercise godly discernment.

after the “last days,” which makes no sense. We are also told that the Spirit is to be poured out on “all flesh . . . sons and daughters . . . young men . . . old men . . . male servants and female servants, and they shall prophesy” (vv. 17–18). In case the all-inclusiveness of this promise has still escaped us, the Apostle Peter goes on to offer this gift of the Holy Spirit to his hearers, their children, and for “all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (v. 39, italics added). If the second half of this verse is a deathblow to any teaching that would deny God’s sovereignty in salvation, surely the first half deals a similar blow to teaching that denies the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit, including prophecy. Paul says the gifts will stop “when the perfect comes” (1 Cor. 13:10), when he will see “face to face” and “know fully even as I am fully known” (v. 12). This must be referring to the coming of Jesus rather than the coming of Scripture. To think otherwise is to break Luther’s instruction to “stay with the simple understanding”3 and is eisegesis (reading foreign ideas into the text) of the gravest kind. Paul also describes his readers as “not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7), not the coming of the Bible. The outpouring of the Spirit in some measure reversed the Fall. We are now offered a genuine relationship with God. This is a foretaste or deposit of what is to come (Eph. 1:13–14). Due to our frailty, our relationship with God is imperfect, and we cannot reliably interpret all the activity of the Holy Spirit. But God wants us to relate to him in a deep and personal way through the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Charismatics believe Jesus meant what he said when he promised the Spirit would be with us forever (John 14:16). We sometimes “sense” God may want to say something to us. However, we understand that we may mistake our own desires for God’s. We refuse to allow impressions the same weight as Scripture. God will never say anything truly “new” or that contradicts the Bible. At this point some would say, “Stop! Don’t you realize how much these things are abused?” I would simply reply, “Irrelevant.” Abuse of something does not negate its proper use. Counterfeit money does not lead us to give up real money. If we want to

“IF WE WANT TO FOLLOW THE BIBLE, THERE ARE NO GROUNDS TO REJECT WHAT GOD HIMSELF HAS GIVEN AND HAS NEVER TAKEN AWAY.” follow the Bible, there are no grounds to reject what God himself has given and has never taken away. Sadly, many on both sides of this great debate have fallen into the trap of grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). Brothers and sisters, we should instead welcome his activity, and yet test carefully our experiences by the Bible. I accept that many do not want to refer to their experiences of God by the language of spiritual gifts. However, perhaps we can all agree on the need to pursue a relationship with the living God. I have probably not changed your opinion on this issue in this brief article any more than I would have if we had spoken about other contentious issues such as baptism, church government, or eschatology. But I trust I may have prompted you to better appreciate where charismatics are coming from. May we learn to love and honor one another as those who love God and love the Bible despite our differences.

A medical doctor by training, Adrian Warnock serves on the leadership team of Jubilee Church in London, England. He is the author of Raised with Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything (Crossway, 2010) and blogs at www.patheos.com. 1 The story is widely recounted. See, for example, Mark Water, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Martyrs (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt, 2001), 631; C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 47 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1901), 343; and Mark Thompson, “Review of Martin Luther as Prophet, Teacher and Hero: Images of the Reformer, 1520–1620, by Robert Kolb,” Themelios 2.27 (Spring 2002): 77. The widespread acceptance of this story, and the contentment to use the word prophecy to describe it, makes my point even though some doubt its veracity. See, for example, Philip Schaff and David Schley Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 6 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1910), 386. 2 C. H. Spurgeon, Memories of Stambourne (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 101. 3 Trinity Journal 12:1 (1991): 7.

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CHRISTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GIFTS of the SPIRIT 34

by NICHOLAS T. BATZIG

 nyone who reads the New Testament—wishing to interpret it accurately in its historical context—must first acknowledge that these were no ordinary times. The

time of transition from the old to the new covenant era was a time full of wonders and signs to signify that the promised Messiah had come and that he was establishing his kingdom on earth. In order for this to occur, the Holy Spirit caused several special and supernatural acts and gifts to appear in the world. One of them was the supernatural act that occurred in the days of the apostles; the other was the supernatural gifts given to the members of the church until the establishment of the new covenant church at the end of the apostolic age. In one very real sense, the day of Pentecost was a once-forall non-repeatable act that was every bit as much a part of the once-for-all work of Christ as his incarnation, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. It was, in the truest and fullest sense, an extension of the Messianic work in the history of redemption as the gospel moved from the theocratic old covenant nation of Israel to the nations. This period was unique in that something new was being established, while that which was “becoming obsolete and growing old was ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13). While we must first acknowledge that the acts and gifts of the apostolic age were temporal in nature, anyone who wishes to apply the Scriptures to the people of God must equally acknowledge that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.” This includes the acts and the gifts of the Spirit operative during the transitional period between the old and new covenant eras. In light of this principle, even the non-repeatable, redemptivehistorical aspects of the New Testament have value

for the church today. Such is the case with the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4–11. In order for us to understand the nature of these gifts, we must first consider their larger context within the letter and then within their immediate context. G IFTS FOR T HE P ROFI T OF A LL The Apostle Paul addressed a church divided by preferences over preaching methods, as well as over braggadocio and envy, regarding the use of supernatural spiritual gifts in the church. Additionally, there was just about every kind of sinful practice occurring within the church. Whether it was sexual immorality, believers suing each other in court, or members of the church participating in idolatrous worship services, the man who had planted this church systematically dealt with each of the problems in a pastoral manner. In one sense, Paul constantly returned to his initial message of Christ crucified as he handled each problem of the Corinthian church in turn. Just as the apostle dealt with the division fueled by preferences over preaching methods by reminding the church that “Christ is not divided” and that there was only one “who was crucified” for believers (1:13), so he reminded them that believers were united in “the same Spirit” (12:4), “the same Lord” (v. 5), and MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

“the same God” (v. 6)—the same Spirit distributed to each one individually “as He willed” (1 Cor. 12:11; Heb. 2:4), “for the profit of all” (1 Cor. 12:7). In the distribution of these gifts, the church had a glorious unity in diversity. In their pride and disorderly use of the gifts of the Spirit, they were seeking after things that would set them apart from others in the body. In light of this problem, Paul emphasized that within the church there must be unity and diversity, but that God-ordained diversity doesn’t come from the preferences of the members of the church, or even in their particular exercise of the gifts; rather, God-ordained diversity appears when the spiritual gifts are being exercised for the building up of the members of the one body (12:12–14). Paul’s subsequent body-parts illustration strengthens this conclusion (1 Cor. 12:21). THE G I FTS A N D TH E G IFT- G IV E R When we come to consider the catalogue of the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, we are faced with the difficulty of trying to classify them. There have been too many attempts to make sense of the categorization to list here. Suffice it to say that there are nine gifts listed in verses 8–10: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. In order to understand them, we must back up and consider the One from whom they come. In 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8, 9, and 11 Paul reminded his readers that the diversity of gifts was from “the same Spirit.” In 12:5–6 he referred to the Giver of the gifts as “the same Lord” and “the same God.” Then, in 12:12, he told them that “as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” The same “Spirit,” “Lord,” and “God” are used synonymously with “Christ.” He first possessed the diversity of gifts within the unity of his person, as manifested in his miracles and teaching recorded in the Gospels. He then poured these gifts out on his apostles and people by his Spirit for the foundation of the new covenant church—which instead of being located in one ethnic, geopolitical body was to be spread throughout the world. In his sermon “Deacons Appointed to Care for the Bodies of Men,” Jonathan Edwards made the

profound observation that the gifts of the Spirit (which were temporary in the apostolic age) and the offices of the church (which continue to the end of time) could be classified according to those that relate to the soul and those that relate to the body. Since Christ is the Savior of soul and body—and he alone possesses all that is necessary to care for the souls and bodies of men—so he has distributed these in the members and offices of his church. Edwards wrote: When there were extraordinary offices in the church of Christ, such as apostles and gifts of tongues and gifts of healing and the like…some of these extraordinary gifts related immediately to the good of men’s souls; such was the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues and others. Other of these gifts related more immediately to the good of men’s bodies; such were gifts of healing. …So it is in the ordinary offices that Christ has appointed in his church, namely, these two of bishops [elders] and deacons. The former respects the souls of men, and the latter their bodies. …These two are the offices that we are especially concerned to understand the nature [of ], being the standing ordinary offices of Christ’s church that continue to this day and must continue to the end of the world.1

“GOD-ORDAINED DIVERSITY APPEARS WHEN THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE BEING EXERCISED FOR THE BUILDING UP OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ONE BODY.”

Vern Poythress carries this idea further when he sets out this fascinating observation about the gifts being classified according to Christ’s threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. He suggests: All the gifts mentioned in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 can be roughly classified as prophetic, kingly, or priestly. For example, gifts of wisdom and knowledge are prophetic, while gifts of administration, miraculous powers, and healing are kingly. But some gifts could easily be classified in more than one way. For example, healing could be seen as priestly, since it is an exercise of mercy toward the person healed.… This classification is nevertheless useful in reminding us of our relation to the work of Christ and in reminding us that no one of the lists of gifts in the New Testament is intended to be exhaustive.2 Recognizing that the gifts of the Spirit held a unique place in redemptive history, Poythress nevertheless insists: “Cessationists must allow for a place for intuitive gifts in their ecclesiology.” Poythress then goes on to unpack, in quite a thought-provoking way, what he understands to be “discursive” and “non-discursive” intuitive gifts that are analogous to the supernatural, revelatory gifts of the apostolic age. In this way, he intimates that the Spirit continues to give members of the church gifts analogous to the supernatural gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. While some of the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4–11 may have ceased completely due to their unique role in redemptive history (i.e., miracles, tongues, and so on), others have ceased only in the specific way in which they were manifest during the apostolic age (i.e., a word of wisdom, knowledge, administrations, and so on). While “today there is no need for a sign to show that God is moving from the single nation of Israel to all the nations,” 3 there remains a need for a diversity of gifts analogous to those outlined in this particular section (i.e., healing, miracles, and tongues) for the building up of the members of Christ’s body. Whatever one may conclude about the nature and the purpose of these spiritual gifts, this much we can be certain of: Our God is seeking to build up those who are united to Christ by means of

Q&A on the Spirit with Michael S. Horton

WHERE DOES GOD WORK TODAY?

hile God is pleased to work through various means (life circumstances, books, friends, and so on), it’s impor-

tant to distinguish how he can work from how he has promised to work. His sovereignty and power mean that he is able to work how and wherever he will, but Scripture shows us that he has promised to work in the hearts and lives of Christians by the Holy Spirit through the preached word and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. While Christian conferences, Bible studies, ministries (like Modern Reformation!), and fellowship with friends in community can all serve to encourage and edify us in the Christian life, it’s the Holy Spirit who takes the words of law and gospel, preached by God’s ordained ministers, and uses them to bring about greater love of the Father and Christlikeness in the hearts, souls, and minds of believers. The Spirit also works through the ministry of elders and deacons, as well as the broader fellowship of the saints.

the diversity of gifts he supplies to the members of Christ’s body. No one person, except Christ himself, has all the resources to minister to the needs of the body of Christ. We should be zealous to use the gifts he has given us for the edification of the members of his body.

Nicholas T. Batzig is organizing pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He is a contributor to Reformation21 and The Reformed Forum. 1 Jonathan Edwards, “Deacons Appointed to Care for the Bodies of Men,” Sermons, Series II, 1739, vol. 54, WJE Online, Jonathan Edwards Center. 2 Vern Poythress, “Modern Spiritual Gifts as Analogous to Apostolic Gifts: Affirming Extraordinary Works of the Spirit within Cessationist Theology,” The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39.1 (1996): 71–101. http://www.frame-poythress.org/ modern-spiritual-gifts-as-analogous-to-apostolic-gifts-affirming-extraor dinary-works-of-the-spirit-within-cessationist-theology/. 3 O. Palmer Robertson, “Tongues: Sign of Covenantal Curse and Blessing,” WTJ 38:1 (Fall 1975), 53.

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IS YOUR CHURCH SPIRITUAL ENOUGH? by JEFF MALLINSON

e’ve got spirit, yes we do. We’ve got spirit, how about you? Each fall, American cheerleaders chant

these words at high school football games, goading opponents to prove their enthusiasm. Similarly, some charismatic Christians challenge traditional churches to be livelier and prove that they are Spiritfilled. But what exactly does it mean for a church to have the Spirit? Ephesians 2:13–22 helps answer this question and radically reframes our understanding of what it means to be spiritual. Here, Paul urges believ-

ers to avoid false spirituality, and he turns our focus to the true source and guarantee of the Spirit’s presence: the faithful proclamation of Christ’s work. ONE B O DY BY THE C RO S S : V E RT ICAL A ND HO R I ZO N TA L RE C O NC IL IAT IO N Paul addresses those who “once were far off” (v. 13) and says that God gathers people to become “a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (v. 22). He rejects spiritualties that rely on human effort and turns our focus to “Christ Jesus himself” (v. 20). For him,

a church is spiritual neither because of members’ enthusiasm nor through institutional unity. Instead, he connects the presence of the Spirit to the horizontal and vertical peace achieved by the cross. Our relationship to God is a vertical relationship, and our relationship to fellow humans is a horizontal relationship. Sin constructed barriers to peace along each axis. Gentiles were once vertically disconnected from God’s promises but “have

been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v. 13). Likewise, Christ removed a horizontal “dividing wall of hostility” (v. 14) between Jews and Gentiles, reconciling all “in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (v. 16). The architecture of the old temple represented the barriers that existed prior to the cross. A curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the people (Heb. 9:1–9), and the only time anyone passed through the veil was when the high priest entered on the Day of Atonement (Exod. 30:10). But on Good Friday, the curtain was torn from top to bottom, allowing access to the Spirit once more (Matt. 27:50–51). None of this has anything to do with humans working themselves into the right spiritual state, and everything to do with God’s habit of showing up on his own terms. M IS GU I D E D M YST IC IS M S Some Christians misunderstand Paul’s claim that we “have access in one Spirit to the Father” (v. 18), assuming that such access bypasses the ordinary means of grace. This common human attempt to cultivate an unmediated spirituality, or direct union with God, is called “mysticism.” We find three mystical movements in contemporary Christianity: “liberal mysticism,” “charismatic mysticism,” and “consumerist mysticism.” “Liberal mysticism” tries to summon the Spirit through the social gospel, a movement that looks for the Spirit to motivate and accompany progressive work toward social justice. It focuses on innovative resolutions within denominational or ecumenical assemblies, and the goal is to experience God through the joy of helping others. Author Anne Lamott exemplifies this approach in an essay for Slate (April 1, 1999), where she affirms her belief in resurrection, by which she means “that life happens, death happens, and then new life happens.” For her, the Easter message is that “awakening is possible, to the goodness of God, the sacredness of human life, the sisterhood and brotherhood of all.” All of this reminds us that “we’re alive; that grace abounds and that we can cooperate with that.” Lamott is an engaging writer, and Christianity is indeed about new life. As Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1558) noted, “The Spirit of Christ is already at work in believers so that they will love both God

“[BEING] ‘SPIRITUAL’... OCCURS WHEN A CHURCH HAS ACCESS TO THE FATHER, ON ACCOUNT OF CHRIST WHO BREAKS DOWN THE BARRIER BETWEEN HUMANITY AND THE SPIRIT.” and their neighbor from the heart.”1 What’s missing in liberal mysticism, however, is attention to the proper basis for a new life. Where Lamott speaks of resurrection as something embodied in cooperative human work, Paul insists that the source of new life is the “foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (v. 21). Thus there is no generic resurrection experience without the historical resurrection, proclaimed by the prophets and apostles. “Charismatic mysticism” seeks to summon the Holy Spirit through a lively spiritual ethos. It encourages exuberant singing and rousing sermons, and sometimes it takes the form of speaking in tongues and prophesying. The term “charismatic” comes from the Greek word for spiritual gifts charismata. Luther referred to the charismatic mystics of his day as the Schwärmer, a German word that calls to mind swarms of people who are caught up in spiritual frenzies. Later Protestant theologians called this sort of spirituality “enthusiasm,” which comes from the Greek en theos, or “God within.” Historic Christianity agrees that God dwells in believers and churches, but it understands this living presence as something that depends upon the word, not human experience. “Consumerist mysticism” trusts in production and marketing techniques to ensure that the Spirit will show up for a particular event. The church MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

growth movement embodies this approach. This mysticism fosters lively music, attractive programs, and comfortably inoffensive church experiences. Most consumerist mystics have good intentions and believe that the methodologies they use help connect people to God. In a world of competing consumer products, they try to speak the language of consumerism, not to endorse greed or worldly values, but to ensure that the message is noticed amid a barrage of advertising. The problem is that many mistakenly assume that the Spirit’s presence depends on the way we orchestrate church experiences. Things may go fine with this method for a time, but when the experiences gets stale, people worry that—like Elvis—the Spirit may have left the building. SO LA GR ATI A: BY GRACE A LO N E

Q&A on the Spirit with Michael S. Horton

WHERE CAN WE SEE SIGNS AND WONDERS TODAY?

the divine service! The sign of Christ’s forgiveness and cleansing of our consciences is shown

through baptism, and the wonder of our participation in his life, death, and resurrection is seen in the Lord’s Supper, every time we eat the bread and drink the wine. While these signs aren’t wondrous—certainly not as exciting as watching blind men see or dead men rise—Scripture assures us that it’s through these plain, simple, and unimpressive acts that the Father has promised to meet us. He himself is there, washing away our sins with the water and feeding our souls in the bread and wine, assuring us that he is with us always, by the Spirit, to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). Once again, God may work wonders whenever and wherever he chooses, but we expect to find his wonder-working power where he has promised to meet us.

Michael S. Horton is editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation.

Every mystical encounter depends on human effort: liberal mystics depend on a church’s social engagement; charismatic mystics depend on one’s receptivity to the Spirit’s gifts; and consumerist mystics depend on marketing and production skills. Each approach fails to appreciate the monergism affirmed by Ephesians 2. Monergism is the view that God is entirely responsible for our salvation, calling us from death to life (v. 1). Monergists reject synergism, the idea that two parties cooperate in salvation, and insist with Paul that the source of spirituality is entirely outside of us and located in the blood of Christ alone.2 The background for Ephesians 2:13–22 is apparent in verses 1–12, in which Paul opposes the Judaizers who want to force Gentile converts to abide by the ceremonial law. Against such thinking, Paul claims that God brought peace by “abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances” (v. 15). Thus, if we were to ask Paul what it means for a church to be “spiritual,” he would answer that it occurs when a church has access to the Father (v. 18), on account of Christ (v. 13) who breaks down

e can see signs and wonders every week during

the barrier between humanity and the Spirit (v. 22). He would answer that a “carnal” church is one that depends upon its own fleshly effort. By “flesh” Paul did not mean that there is something inherently evil about the physical world. Rather, “flesh” refers to human attempts to access the Spirit. Therefore, spirituality has little to do with lighting, mood, sound, or atmospheric elements. True spirituality occurs by grace alone. P ROMI SE D P RE SE NCE Paul provides comfort for Christians who want to know whether their churches are spiritual enough. It turns out that spirituality is not a matter of degree; we either have the Spirit or we don’t. If we have a true church, then we have the Spirit. Herman Sasse (1895–1976) often cited a phrase from Saint Ignatius: “Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia,”

“IT TURNS OUT THAT SPIRITUALITY IS NOT A MATTER OF DEGREE; WE EITHER HAVE THE SPIRIT OR WE DON’T. IF WE HAVE A TRUE CHURCH, THEN WE HAVE THE SPIRIT.” which translates as “Where Christ is, there is the church.” Sasse explained: “For upon what does the church rest? No, not our faith, not on the holiness of our lives—then it would have long since dwindled out of history—but solely on Christ the Lord.”3 To this, we can add that where Jesus is, there is the Spirit. This is true even when we don’t feel particularly spiritual, as the Formula of Concord explains: We should not and cannot pass judgment on the Holy Spirit’s presence, operations, and gifts merely on the basis of our feeling, how and when we perceive it in our hearts. On the contrary, because the Holy Spirit’s activity often is hidden, and happens under cover of great weakness, we should be certain, because of and on the basis of his promise, that the Word which is heard and preached is an office and work of the Holy Spirit, whereby he assuredly is potent and active in our hearts.4 For the Reformers, the true church exists wherever the word is preached and the sacraments are administered. Word and sacrament are the means of grace, and the Spirit always accompanies them. Regarding the word, Lutheran theologian David Hollaz (1656–1713) writes: The Word of God, as such, cannot be conceived of without the divine virtue, or the Holy Spirit, who is inseparable from his Word. For if the Holy Spirit could be separated from the Word of God, it would not be the Word of God or of the Spirit, but a word of man.5 Likewise, Christ is present in the Lord’s Supper, where we no longer dine as “strangers and aliens”

but as brothers and sisters, united as the body of Christ. All of this brings a concrete peace and objective reality, not merely an idealistic hope or sociological unity. O NE B ODY A ND ONE SP I RI T So is your church spiritual enough? Ephesians 2 suggests that your church is assuredly spiritual if it truly is a church. Since the church is found where the word is preached and the sacraments are administered, and since the Spirit is promised to us alongside the means of grace, we rest assured that wherever the church is, there too is the Spirit. This does not give us license to be dull, apathetic, or stale. On the contrary, we freely rejoice that the source of our spirituality is outside of ourselves. Therefore, take heart that if you have Christ, you too are spiritual enough, in the only sense that matters.

Jeff Mallinson (DPhil) is associate professor of theology and philosophy at Concordia University, Irvine, cohost of the Virtue in the Wasteland podcast (virtueinthewasteland.com), part-time director of the League of Faithful Masks (faithfulmasks.org), and Thinking Fellow at the 1517 Legacy Project (www.1517legacy.com). 1 Cited in Gerald Bray, ed., Reformation Commentary on Scripture, New Testament X (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2011), 292. 2 For an insightful study on the ways in which Christ’s blood, for Paul, does become, not symbolically but actually, the Holy of Holies, see Lace Marie Williams-Tinajero, The Reshaped Mind: Searle, The Biblical Writers, and Christ’s Blood (Leiden: Brill, 2011). 3 Herman Sasse, The Lonely Way, vol. 1 (St. Louis: Concordia, 2002), 71–72. 4 Solid Declaration art. II, part 56, in T. G. Tappert, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press, 1959), 532. 5 David Hollaz, Examen Theologicum Acroamaticum (1707), 993, cited in Heinrich Schmid, Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3rd ed., trans. Charles Hay and Henry Jacobs (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1961), 505.

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EASTER MORN at the CEMETERY

by CHAD BIRD

Ten acres of refrigerated rural soil, Thickly frosted in Easter’s pre-dawn; Subterranean saints, quilted in earth, Smile warmly at the band of believers, Huddled above to catcall verses of victory, Into the mocking mien of chiseled stones; The rocky trophies of mortality’s coup, North, south, west, and east of Eden.

Wizened hags, pimpled teens, snotty-nosed kids, All dust to dust, prey of the funereal broom, Swept beneath this rug of grass and weeds. Most forgotten by man, yet all remembered, By Him whose lungs breathed mud into man; Each fruit of a womb, the apple of His eye. Each soul, a priceless pearl, purchased With crimson coinage minted in divinity’s veins.

These wooden suitcases of rotting raiment, Sepulchered beneath the worshipers’ feet, Travel on, transported by time not space, From the hour of death to the day of judgment, Ever ready to spill their contents upward, No longer as bags of bones and soiled flesh, But resculptured clay pulsating with life; Lazaruses wiping graveyard dust from their feet.

Like champagne corks, grave-stones shall pop, As unbottled bodies after long fermentation, Bubble upward with fresh blood and skin, Ready for their vintage soul waiting above; And joined by that ragtag band of believers, Who awoke early to go to the place of sleepers, Defying death and mocking mortality, Early one Easter morn.

Chad Bird has served as a pastor and assistant professor of Old Testament theology at Concordia Theological Seminary (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), contributed hymns to the Lutheran Service Book, and co-hosts the podcast Forty Minutes in the OT. He is the author of Christ Alone and The Infant Priest, and blogs regularly at Christ Hold Fast and the Flying Scroll. “Easter Morn at the Cemetery” is included in The Infant Priest: Hymns and Poems. It is reprinted here by permission.

T H E OL O GY

ON TAP WHAT ABOUT THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT? How are we to think about the work of the Holy Spirit? Should we expect to see signs and wonders in our day? What is really going on in Acts 2? Join us as the hosts tackle these questions and more as we begin a brand-new series on the gifts of the Spirit. VISIT W H ITEH O R SEINN.O RG/HOLYSP I RI T

book reviews 48

“In a world twisted by sin, the entry of the long-awaited king shakes things up.”

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BOOK REVIEWS

The Wonder-Working God: Seeing the Glory of Jesus in His Miracles BY JARED C. WILSON Crossway, 2014 192 pages (paperback), $14.99

hristians who trace their heritage to the Protestant Reformation have tended to be cautious when it comes to miracles. With visions of unbiblical excess running through our heads, this wariness is often merited. Nonetheless, Christianity is a supernatural religion, and believers base their lives and eternal destinies on the truth of amazing claims about God’s supernatural intervention in history at numerous points. We confess that this God became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory. Yet few and far between are those books and other resources that draw our attention to some of the key biblical examples of this glory: the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jared Wilson believes t h a t t h e m i ra c l e s o f Jesus reveal the nature of his glory with laser focus. Wilson, pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont, shines a spotlight on these miracles in The Wonder-Working God: Seeing the Glory of Jesus in His Miracles, a companion volume to his earlier book, The Storytelling God, which focused on Jesus’ parables. Wilson’s blend of biblical depth, vivid writing style, and pastoral focus make this new book a worthwhile resource for a wide audience. While The Wonder-Working God is primarily an exposition of the miracles recorded in

the Gospels, the introduction and first chapter orient readers both to the “problem” of miracles in our contemporary age and to Wilson’s approach throughout the work. The miracles, he argues, are meant to highlight the glory of Jesus. His miracles reveal his character and, in Wilson’s words, are “the very windows into heaven” (31). Wilson helpfully situates the miracles of Jesus in their redemptive-historical context with a summary of God’s good creation, humanity’s fall into sin, and the buildup to the pivot of all history in the incarnation of Jesus. In a world twisted by sin, the entry of the long-awaited king shakes things up—a fact made gloriously clear in the miracles. Our fallen world is not “normal,” Wilson asserts, and the miracles of Jesus, far from a diversion from the “normal” course of things, are actually a restoration of the way things are supposed to be. The miracles of Jesus mark the new beginning of God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. These opening chapters are a useful entry point to a consideration of the miracles of Jesus, especially in a culture in which the language of miracles has been marginalized. After this helpful introduction, Wilson guides readers through expositions of several categories of miracles in the Gospel accounts: Jesus’ power over the created world, his power to heal, his power over forces of spiritual darkness, his power to raise others from the dead, and—the grandest miracles of all—his own incarnation, transfiguration, resurrection, and ascension. Each of these chapters is sermon-like

in content, and Wilson bridges the gap between the biblical text and a contemporary audience by blending interpretation with an engaging writing style. Though he is concerned with application throughout the work, Wilson’s main aim is for readers to see the glory of Jesus in these familiar stories from the Gospels. The unique blend of strong biblical exposition and lively presentation is where Wilson’s book shines. He remains firmly rooted to the biblical text and is faithful to theological nuance, and throughout he offers a winsome presentation—not to mention some funny turns of phrase. The Wonder-Working God will appeal to a wide audience, from seasoned believers to those just beginning to consider the claims of Jesus. In addition, Wilson’s chapter on the miracles that characterize the life of Jesus is one of the book’s most stirring sections. This chapter skillfully weaves Old Testament promises and their New Testament fulfillment together with historical and systematic theology, all in the service of calling readers to worship the true king. If any weakness were to be noted in Wilson’s book, it is simply that some themes cry out for more development. For example, while Wilson does spend some time summarizing the wider biblical teaching on the themes of Jesus’ miracles, the reader is left wanting more. He helpfully reflects, for instance, on the Old Testament themes of banquet as they relate to the miracle of water into wine at Cana and the miraculous feeding of thousands in the wilderness. He also alludes to the coming banquet for God’s people in eschatological glory. It is somewhat surprising, then, that no mention is made of the way that God’s people can experience a foretaste of this coming glory in the ordinary bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. This criticism notwithstanding, The Wonder-Working God is an inviting gateway into greater wrestling with Scripture. Readers will not agree with everything Wilson writes or with some of the specific ways he bridges the ancient text and our contemporary context. As with any work, wisdom is found in consulting multiple thinkers (many of whom Wilson helpfully highlights in the footnotes). None of this, however, should detract from the fact that The Wonder-Working God is a wonderful choice for individual or group study. Any reader will come

away encouraged by the way Wilson helps us encounter Jesus in his miracles. Likewise, pastors will find in Wilson a brother who proclaims Christ from all the Scriptures in an engaging and pastorally sensitive way. The constant refrain in The Wonder-Working God is that the miracles always serve to point to the glory of Jesus. In a similar way, Wilson whets the reader’s appetite for Scripture. His lively writing style shakes us awake from the drowsy way we often read the Gospels. The Gospel accounts of the miracles of Jesus, like all Scripture, are treasure troves. By driving readers to these familiar passages with fresh eyes, The Wonder-Working God accomplishes the same goal as the miracles: to point to the glory and grace of God in the face of the miracle-worker himself, Jesus Christ.

Andrew Canavan is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and a member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Encinitas, California.

Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life BY MICHAEL KELLEY B&H Books, 2013 224 pages (paperback), $14.99

rriving airline passengers are frequently asked, “How was your flight?” The question is often met with the matter-of-fact response, “Uneventful.” A typical jetliner such as a Boeing 737 can weigh over 100,000 pounds with passengers and baggage aboard. The aircraft can fly 500 miles per hour and needs less than 10,000 feet of runway to take off and land. Uneventful? If you stop and think about it, there is no such thing as an uneventful flight when you travel in such a plane. Acknowledging this airplane reality illustrates the essence of Michael Kelley’s oft-repeated argument in his hardly boring book, Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life. Kelley’s premise: “There is no such thing as an ordinary life when you follow an extraordinary God” (6). Breezing through the book offers a delightful departure from the fodder of David Platt, Francis Chan, Shane Claiborne, and the like—all urging MODERNREFORMATION.ORG

BOOK REVIEWS

various forms of “extreme discipleship,” pounding believers with admonitions to do more, do greater, and do something increasingly big, Big, BIG for God. Yet the most delightful aspect of Kelley’s easy-reading volume lies in the fact that the book is not written in direct response to these purveyors of “radical” Christianity. Rather, Kelley admirably addresses the root appeal of all such radical causes, namely, the fear among Christians of merely “ being ordinary ”—of feeling inadequate in the midst of the routines of everyday life. In fact, Kelley is at his best when grappling with the monotony of marriage, the challenges of parenting, and the grind of the workplace. Kelley ’s unpacking of pertinent Scripture (1 Sam. 8; Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 10:31; 2 Cor. 10:5; Jer. 17:7–8, among other texts) is both commendable and salutary. His quotations of G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis are well chosen and well placed. His call for contentment is most commendable. And Kelley rightly calls out both the world’s “cultural emphasis on more” and “our own sinfulness that constantly pushes our hearts toward excess” (49) as culprits in fostering discontentment. Particularly edifying is Kelley’s treatment of “the well-worn verse of Philippians 4:13: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’” As Kelley points out, the passage is about contentment (in God’s provision), not triumphalism (or football). He challenges readers by asking, “Are you worshipping at the altar of excitement?” (73). Kelley never calls for excessive measures (well, beyond fathers being the first to rise in

the morning in their households). Typical of the perspective he offers, he reminds us that “true contentment isn’t about settling for less. It’s about seeing the true value of what we already have in Christ” (50). “It is the ability to do that which we consider mundane with honor and even joy that is most difficult for us. We must, in a sense, fight to not fight to escape the ordinary” (48). Refreshingly, in a time when so many pastors and Christian pundits have advanced various schemas for practicing some latest assortment of spiritual disciplines, Kelley shares by reflecting on his personal experience of parenting a two-year-old son diagnosed with leukemia: “What we needed more than anything else was to be reminded of the gospel, over and over again” (37). One can empathize with the challenge involved then in not expanding upon this view with yet another To-Do list (for not doing). Kelley pulls it off most masterfully. Yet there is plenty of sage counsel proffered throughout the book. He offers “boring stuff ” that has “fallen steadily out of favor in Christian practice” (68): prayer, Bible reading and memorization, and routine church attendance. Want more? Kelley suggests more, but he refreshingly does so without advancing any formal checklists, sequential steps, or even numbered points. The book just reads like brotherly advice from a familiar friend. My favorite passage in Boring is an anecdote from Kelley’s time as a student at a college where his professor father taught statistics (can an academic subject get more boring?). The school was

“YOU KNOW, SON, SOMETIMES THE MOST SPIRITUAL THING YOU CAN DO IS GO TO BED EARLY AND SHOW UP TO CLASS ON TIME.” a small secular one, but because it was located in the panhandle of Texas it had a large contingent of professing Christians on campus. A two-hour “worship experience” was staged every Thursday night starting at 10:00 p.m., and inevitably “Christian leaders” who organized the affair were late for class the next morning. Kelley’s dad opined, “You know, son, sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to bed early and show up to class on time” (60). Boring is chock-full of such treasures. I enthusiastically encourage Modern Reformation readers to digest its delights. But one word of caution: while encouraging acceptance of mundane life as God-honoring, Kelley’s analysis constantly calls attention to the extraordinary God who is “behind the scenes” in “seemingly ordinary circumstances” (17), and highlights that “below the surface” (23) there is always “something bigger going on” (18). In doing so, he encourages his readers to “see the extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary” (40). True enough. But after Kelley notes, “As we look through Scripture, we find God not removing people from the ordinary,” he then adds, “but instead [is] transforming that ordinary into something wholly different” (17–18). Life is only boring until we begin “to more fully grasp the scope, power, and wisdom of God” (20). It is in this transformative view of life’s affairs that some concern must be voiced. We must be sure not to treat God as a means to transform an ordinary life into an extraordinary one. Here, talk

of transformation may undermine the broader concern that Kelley admirably sets out to address. Don’t let it. Sometimes the ordinary is, well, just plain ordinary. As Christians, let’s not feel compelled to always turn the ordinary into an occasion to spot something extraordinary going on. Let me expand upon this caution by commenting on two particular passages in Boring. First, Kelley succumbs in the final pages of his book to echoing the popular catchphrase to “not just go to church but be the church” (202). That mantra outright dismisses the notion that going to church is being the church. It’s the very cornerstone upon which rests the radical/extreme call for (truly extraordinary) Christians to “flee into something—anything—that holds the promise of importance” (19). My suggestion: Go to church. Don’t go to church to be the church; just go to church to go to church. Second, Kelley notes in his chapter on parenting that “our best opportunity to significantly impact the world might just be through our children” (119). Again, true enough. But to bring that extraordinary thought to bear on every ordinary moment of childrearing would only serve to ruin childrearing. There are some Christian parents who—fully grasping the scope, power, and wisdom of the rod— insist on turning an everyday routine into a wholly different teaching moment. An overbearing awareness of the extraordinary nature of parenting can be destructive to children who can easily become burnt-out and defeated, or rebellious and defiant, or both—not to mention the harmful impact this can have on the well-intentioned parents. The same is true in our pilgrimage as saints. Let’s please not ruin the Christian life with incessant concern for finding the extraordinary lurking beneath ordinary Christian life. Let’s just live ordinary Christian lives; let’s be found resting in the knowledge that God is sovereign and merciful, allknowing and loving, gracious and just. Sometimes we sense our Christian walk is lacking. In these moments, let’s simply remember: What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

James H. Gilmore is coauthor of The Experience Economy and Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want.

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BOOK REVIEWS

Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven BY JOHN ELIOT GARDINER Alfred A. Knopf, 2013 672 pages (hardcover), $35.00

n the minds of Christians who appreciate classical music, whether as performers or simply as listeners, perhaps no figure so fully epitomizes what it means to be a “Christian composer” or a “Christian musician” as does Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). While Lutherans can most legitimately claim Bach as their own— the composer was a part of that tradition, both as a result of his location as well as by personal conviction—Protestant musicians of all stripes look to him as a model for the quality of his output and the theological conviction with which that output was imbued. The rigorous Lutheran orthodoxy expressed in his sacred compositions has led him to be dubbed the “Fifth Evangelist,” and over the years a picture of Bach as a man of extraordinary piety has developed in the minds of some. However, a lack of reliable firsthand biographical information about the composer has also led to numerous competing biographies, some commending Bach’s piety and others viewing him anachronistically through an Enlightenment lens. Enter Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven, whose author, John Eliot Gardiner, is one of the most widely acclaimed conductors of Baroque music. The author’s expertise in Bach’s choral works is evident, with special attention given in the book to the composer’s cantatas, Passion settings, Christmas Oratorio, and Mass in B Minor. While Gardiner’s insights into these works are fascinating, one wishes that greater attention had been given to Bach’s keyboard works; Bach was one of the greatest organists of his day, and his music for organ and for other keyboard instruments is of tremendous significance. For the purposes of this review, I would like to direct the reader’s attention to Gardiner’s treatment of Bach the man—more specifically, Bach the Christian man. While Gardiner never reveals his own religious commitments, judging by his writing he can perhaps be described

as a world-embracing humanist, whose theistic perspective is agnostic at best. Statements such as the following appear periodically throughout the book: Bach’s Lutheran faith is encapsulated in this extraordinary music. It carries a universal message of hope that can touch anybody regardless of culture, religious denomination or musical knowledge. It springs from the depths of the human psyche and not from some topical or local creed. (15) Even to skeptical and agnostic minds, Bach’s B minor Mass radiates a recognizable and powerful spirituality, one that does not rely on creedal orthodoxy, odd though that might appear. (523) Gardiner clearly has no desire to present himself as an orthodox Christian of any stripe, and in instances such as these he demonstrates a slight desire to blunt the “creedal orthodoxy” of Bach’s work, or at least to give it a broader application. Nevertheless, Gardiner never questions the genuineness or orthodoxy of the composer’s faith, and even admits that this faith was central to Bach’s character and to his view of the world. Bach’s working library, estimated to have contained at least 112 different theological and homiletic works, was less like a typical

“ACKNOWLEDGING BACH’S FRAILTIES AND IMPERFECTIONS…ALLOWS US TO SEE HIS HUMANITY FILTERING THROUGH INTO THE MUSIC.”

church musician’s and more what one might expect to find in the church of a respectably sized town, or that many a pastor in Bach’s day would have been proud to have owned.… What it does reveal beyond his personal piety, his lifelong reverence for Luther and the central importance of Luther’s writings in both his personal and professional capacities, is that Bach was evidently deeply—and apparently uncritically— immersed in a mindset that was at least two hundred years old. (154–55) His attempts to find more “ecumenical” applications of Bach’s work notwithstanding, Gardiner never shies away from the fact that Bach was indeed a believing Christian and, more specifically, a committed Lutheran. Gardiner’s work reveals a truly and even deeply Christian Bach, but it does not narrate the story of a flawless man. Bach was descended from a long line of Thuringian musicians and was not above using his family connections to improve his own station and later those of his sons. Like many artists of his caliber, he was sometimes given to impetuousness and on at least one occasion found himself in an altercation involving swordplay. Bach’s long cantorate in Leipzig (1723–1750) saw numerous disagreements with church, school, and municipal authorities, whose various political machinations began well before Bach’s tenure and continued after his death. Bach was not even above, to coin a term, “autohagiography,” taking steps to ensure that the received understanding of his early life and training was to his liking. In short, Bach was, as are all believers, simul iustus et peccator, justified and yet still prone to sin. Gardiner writes with particular poignancy here:

some kind of paragon, the Fifth Evangelist of his nineteenth-century compatriots, the living embodiment of the intense religious faith and “real presence” that his music seemed to transmit. Acknowledging Bach’s frailties and imperfections, far less heinous than those of Mozart or Wagner, not only makes him more interesting as a person than the old paragon of mythology, but also allows us to see his humanity filtering through into the music, which is far more compelling when we understand that it was composed by someone who, like all human beings, experienced grief, anger and doubt at first hand. This is one of the recurrent features that confer supreme authority on his music. (203) As a Christian, this is why I find Gardiner’s treatment of Bach’s life so compelling. Gardiner does not fall into the trap that Christian biographers might of trying to portray Bach as some sort of “super-Christian,” but at the same time he does not attempt to explain away the composer’s faith or downplay its permeating influence upon his life and work. He simply presents a flawed but believing Christian man, striving to create “a well-regulated or orderly church music to the Glory of God” (180). Indeed, and perhaps entirely by accident, Gardiner presents Bach as an exemplar of the doctrine of vocation, a redeemed sinner seeking simply to do his work “heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23). In that respect, even those with little regard for art music, or who understand Scripture to prohibit the kind of concerted church music Bach so ably composed, can find in this man something worthy of emulation.

Micah Everett is assistant professor of music at the University

We should debunk once and for all the idea that Bach in his personal and professional life was

of Mississippi. He and his family are members of Christ Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Oxford, Mississippi.

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GEEK S QUAD

M A RT I N LU T H E R O N T H E H O LY S P I R I T: A L E S S O N I N S T I C K I N G TO T H E B A S I C S by RUSSELL DAWN

artin Luther and the Reformation he initiated are famous for the socalled three solas: sola scriptura, sola gratia, and sola fide—Scripture alone, grace alone, and faith alone. This fame is justified, for these three emphases permeate Luther’s thought. To understand Luther on the Lord’s Supper or salvation, or on how God works in the secular realm, one must first understand the content and contours of the three solas. The solas may be thought of as a key to unlocking much of Luther’s thought. This key works especially well on the door to Luther’s view of the Holy Spirit—his pneumatology, as the theologians say. Specifically, he emphasized that the Spirit comes to us through the outward, tangible means of God’s word in the Scriptures. Further, the coming of the Spirit is an act of God’s grace, not a response to our works, and the Spirit both effects and comes by our faith. We see this idea developed in Luther’s 1524– 25 treatise, Against the Heavenly Prophets in the Matter of Images and the Sacraments. He wrote

this to correct the teachings of his one-time friend, colleague, and ally in the Reformation, Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt. Von Karlstadt had come to reject the view that the Lord’s Supper was a means of grace. He also rejected the efficacy of infant baptism. He led his followers in forcibly removing and destroying church furnishings such as crucifixes and images of saints. Luther tells us that when von Karlstadt was asked to defend his teachings and actions, the latter did not lean on God’s word but asserted instead that the Holy Spirit had spoken to him inwardly, instructing him in his own spirit. Further, von Karlstadt’s followers could experience the same inward voice of the Spirit by remaining in a state of “self-abstraction”—that is, by concentrating on turning from material things, one can come to the Spirit and be taught internally. Luther understood that von Karlstadt referred his followers to “some imaginary realm,” where “a heavenly voice will come, and God himself will speak to you.” There, Luther mocked, the faithful will “journey on the clouds and ride on

“THE EXTERNAL—THAT IS, THE WORD AND THE SACRAMENTS— PRECEDES AND EFFECTS THE INTERNAL—THAT IS, THE HOLY SPIRIT, FAITH, AND SALVATION.” the wind.” But as Luther pointed out, von Karlstadt could provide no details about such a realm or how to get there, leaving him vulnerable to Luther’s claims of spiritual fraud. Luther also saw fraud in von Karlstadt’s downplaying of the importance of Scripture, his elevation of the importance of good works (especially works not enjoined by Scripture), and in the lack of miraculous signs to attest to the genuineness of von Karlstadt’s new teachings. Contrary to von Karlstadt and his followers—Luther ’s ironically named “ heavenly prophets”—Luther explained that God teaches us through the external word of the Scriptures. The word, and the material signs of baptism and the Lord’s Supper that accompany the word, serves as the “bridge, the path, the way, the ladder” between a person and the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the Spirit comes to the person by this path, rather than the person having to come to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit, said Luther, “is not acquired through breaking images or any other works, but only through the gospel and faith.” That is, the Spirit comes to us through the word (sola scriptura) and faith (sola fide), not because of our works but by grace (sola gratia). Central in Luther’s teaching is the order in which these things take place. The external—that is, the word and the sacraments—precedes and effects the internal—that is, the Holy Spirit, faith, and salvation. A false and lying spirit (like von Karlstadt’s, or more

precisely, the spirit that motivated von Karlstadt’s teaching—for our fight is not against flesh and blood) reverses this order. The internal is placed first. Bread, wine, water, and the letter cannot profit us, von Karlstadt argued; it is the Spirit, working internally, that benefits us. But this point merely raised the question of how the Spirit is acquired, in answer to which Luther pointed to the word and the sacraments: “God has determined to give the inward to no one except through the outward. For he wants to give no one the Spirit or faith outside of the outward Word and sign instituted by him.” Today’s popular emphasis on the connection between the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues may lead the modern reader to wonder how Luther taught on that matter. Luther appears to have been unaware of the notion of a “personal prayer language” that characterizes much of the charismatic movement of the past several decades. When he taught on tongues, his focus was on the use of the Latin language in the mass. Von Karlstadt criticized Luther for permitting the continued use of Latin in the mass in churches under Luther’s sway. Luther defended the practice on the grounds that in those churches the sacrament was provided only to those who had been instructed and understood the words of the sacrament. As Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 14, the use of a tongue not comprehended by the people is permissible if a translation or other interpretation is provided. Again, Luther’s laser focus was on the efficacy of the external word, which leads to the gracious indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Against the Heavenly Prophets was a longer and more vitriolic rant than it needed to be. Its benefits are great, however, even today. Its basic message is clear, simple, and sound and therefore useful in any age. When confronted by a movement whose adherents claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, we must use the Scriptures to test their claims. Do they understand the external word to precede and effect their internal inspiration? Do they teach the gospel message of justification by grace alone through faith alone? If the answer to either question is negative, we face a lying spirit, not the Holy One.

Russell Dawn is assistant professor of history at Concordia University in Irvine, California. He also directs the university’s VisionMission-Vocation program.

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B A C K PA G E

C H A R I S M AT I C M OV E M E N T S in the H I S TO RY O F T H E C H U R C H by TIMOTHY W. MASSARO

THE ANCIENT SPIRIT The mystical practice of speaking in divine and unintelligible languages was common in the ancient world from the eleventh century BC. The prophetess of Delphi and the sibylline priestesses spoke in unknown tongues, giving revelation from the gods. In the early church Irenaeus and Tertullian spoke of glossalia favorably, while Chrysostom disapproved of the practice, and Augustine declared that the gift was only for the era of New Testament. Montanism, a movement in the late second century, claimed this ability of tongues and a dependence on the extemporaneity of the Holy Spirit.

THE MEDIEVAL SPIRIT In the Middle Ages, the monastic Joachim of Fiore (or Flora), was given to prophetic expression. He sought to predict various movements of the Spirit throughout history, claiming that an “Age of the Spirit” was on the horizon.

THE MODERN SPIRIT The direct genealogy of the modern charismatic and Pentecostal movements can be traced primarily through John Wesley and the Methodism of the First Great Awakening. Charles Finney in the Second Great Awakening on American revivalism claimed to have experienced a post-conversion baptism of the Holy Spirit, which became the de facto requirement of those who followed him.

THE PENTECOSTAL BIRTH The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1913) in Los Angeles is generally cited as the beginning of modern-day Pentecostalism. The main feature of this Pentecostal outpouring was “baptism with the Holy Spirit,” an experience subsequent to salvation evidenced by what the Los Angeles Times called “a weird babel of tongues.”

THE THIRD WAVE AND BEYOND In 1983, a “Third Wave” appeared through the Vineyard Movement led by John Wimber and other movements, such as the Kansas City Prophets. Although these movements differ in ministry focus and theological convictions, they are a part of the charismatic movement.

THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT The charismatic movement (1960s) is commonly thought to have come to the mainline denominations with the testimony of Dennis Bennett, a rector in an American Episcopal Church. This testimonial led to a widespread renewal movement within mainline denominations, including even Roman Catholicism. Timothy W. Massaro is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and is a staff writer for Modern Reformation.

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WEEKEND PASADENA, CA on the CAMPUS of PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

WHO IS JESUS? SESSIONS INCLUDE: Jesus According to Pop Culture

Who Do Men Say That I Am?

Jesus and the History Channel

False Jesuses

Lamb of God: Old Testament Prophetic Texts

Jesus’ Person and Work Good News! You’re Not Jesus

V I S I T W H I T E H O R S E I N N.O R G / W E E K E N D F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N. S PA C E I S L I M I T E D

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Articles inside

Easter Morn at the Cemetery

A Friendly Appeal

Is Your Church Spiritual Enough?

Should We Expect Many Pentecosts?

Where Have All the Spiritual Gifts Gone? A Defense of Cessationism