Do

Charismatic
Gifts Exist?
THE PERFECT THING: 1 CORINTHIANS 12-14 AND
THE EXISTENCE OF CHARISMATIC GIFTS
Introduction
As of 2011, Pentecostalism (to include both Pentecostal
and Charismatic faiths) holds an estimated population of
584 million members, according to Pew Research,
making it the largest protestant denomination in the
world.[1] The growth of the movement since the
beginning of the twentieth century has been attributed to
a number of factors too numerous to explore within this
work. However, one cannot ignore the movements
charismatic practices as a potential drawing feature. The
ecstatic experiences, referred to as the charismatic (also
supernatural, miraculous, sign) gifts, or rather, their
biblical underpinnings are the focus of this paper. It is
conceded from the outset that the volume of writing,
scholarly and otherwise, on this topic is legion. Yet, in
light of the fact that there is still such divide within the
church as to the legitimacy of these gifts and as to
whether or not they are truly being administered by the
Holy Spirit to believers today, there are no less than 584
million reasons to continue this discussion.
Many scholars believe that such charismania is
unbiblical; they develop an argument based on key
verses, such as 1 Corinthians 13:10, which talks about
how the imperfect (tongues, prophecy, etc.) will cease
when the perfect comes. But, what is the perfect? That
question is one of many that lead to a larger debate. It is
an age-old conflict between cessationism and
continuationism: did the so-called charismatic gifts cease
in operation somewhere between the death of the
Apostles and the arrival of the biblical canon? If so, how
does the modern Christian read passages like Acts 2, 10,
and 19, or 1 Corinthians 12-14, which talk at length
about the receiving and proper use of these gifts within

the church? If a measure of understanding on this topic is

to be gleaned, it must begin with a careful and
responsible reading of Scripture, paying special
consideration to the context of the relevant verses. From
such a reading, it is the opinion of this author that the
separation imposed upon certain gifts (charismatic) from
others (non-charismatic) is unfounded and that all gifts,
in accordance with the good pleasure and will of the
Holy Spirit, are administered to those whom He chooses.
The issue of knowledge will come to bear in this
discussion. Cessationist scholars argue that the full
knowledge of God is available exclusively in the pages
of the Bible. Allcorn writes, [Adherents of
Pentecostalism] have neglected the true knowledge of
God found only in Scripture.[2] This knowledge made
available to believers in the canonization rendered the
sign gifts unnecessary, since full knowledge of God
replaced the partial knowledge made available through
these gifts. But, as analysis of the text will reveal, these
scholars must answer for the misreading of the relevant
passages. Are we prepared to say that any of us are in
possession of the full knowledge of God or merely the
partial knowledge He intended us to have?
Acts
The first task is to analyze the key passages from Acts
and 1 Corinthians. In fairness, some cessationists begin
their argument back in Exodus 4:1-8, where Moses
expresses his concern to God that the people will not
believe or even listen to him when he comes to deliver
them from bondage. God replies by getting Moses to
throw down his staff, whereby God turns it into a
serpent. He says to Moses, that they may believe that
the Lordhas appeared to you (v. 5). The conclusion
here is that God gave miracles (or signs) for the purpose
of causing His people to believe, something that became
unnecessary when faith found its power in the inspired
written word of God (the New Testament). But, there are
plenty of examples in the New Testament where miracles
occur because of someones belief. For example, the
woman who had an issue of blood in Matthew 9 believes
so strongly that if she could just touch the hem of his
garment, she would be healed. Upon feeling the power

flow out of his body, Jesus says to the woman, Your

faith (emphasis added) has made you well. Two quick
points should be made. The first is that miracles, in and
of themselves, served a variety of purposes, not just as a
vehicle by which others came to believe. Truthfully, not
every cessationist relies to the Exodus text (or similar
passages) to make the case for the eventual departure of
the charismatic gifts. The second point is that the
discussion here hinges on the purpose of the gifts given
by the Holy Spirit on and after the day of Pentecost, not
miracles in general. Therefore, the real discussion begins
in Acts.
Jesus tells His disciples that, unlike the water baptism of
John, they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit and with
fire (Acts 1:5). The distinction between the two types of
baptism is that Johns baptism was a call to repentance
and was a repeatable act. The baptism of the Holy Spirit
would be a permanent washing with death and rebirth as
its goal.[3] In regards to spiritual gifts, most
continuationists believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit
as a separate event from eternal salvation and is evident
by the gift of tongues. Acts 1:5 is foundational is
determining if the continuationist is sound. Verse 8
provides additional clarity; Jesus says that you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
(Acts 1:8). What kind of power? He does not say at this
point, but we can ascertain from the rest of the verse that
the power is meant to help the disciples in being
witnesses throughout the Earth. So far, we know that the
Spirit baptism is about death and rebirth, will bring
power of some kind that will help the disciples in being
witnesses in the world.
Acts 2 is one of the key passages in this discussion.
When the Holy Spirit came, He caused the disciples to
speak with other tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave them
utterance. Another cessationist point is that nowhere
does Acts 2 talk about spiritual gifts. Certainly, this is a
weak argument, as the Holy Spirit was giving them
utterance, an ability that they apparently kept as they
began doing ministry (1 Cor 12:10; 14:39). Another point
that needs making is that the Holy Spirit filled them,
which at first glance, seems to connect to the baptism of
Acts 1:5. As to what the disciples were actually speaking

is the subject a long and different discussion. What is

known so far is that Spirit baptism and Spirit filling are
connected and that the ability to speak with other tongues
languages[4] that they did not know but others who
gathered did (Acts 2:7-11)came from the Holy Spirit.
Darrell Bock writes in his commentary, These tongues
function as evangelistic enablement, so that each person
can hear about Gods work in his or her own
language.[5] This is a compelling argument, since the
text says that that is what happened. But, Bocks
conclusion is hasty; it does not allow for the possibility
that evangelism was an additional benefit, rather than the
sole purpose of the manifestation of tongues. But, what
other purpose might be served through the utterance of
tongues? As will be expounded later in this paper, 1
Corinthians 14 clearly states that when a person prays in
another tongue it is for their edification, because they are
talking to Almighty God (1 Cor 14:2, 4). So, while it
must be conceded that the Spirit intended to bless those
listening on, the primary purpose of tongues in Acts 2
was for the edification of each believer praying in the
upper room. The interpretation of those tongues occurred
two ways: first, the Holy Spirit allowed for some to hear
the gospel in their own language (2:11) and for the rest,
Peter provided the same gospel message in the common
tongue (2:14-36). So, tongues serve two purposes in Acts
2: the edification of each praying believer and the
edification of others listening on. This would become the
standard for church practice as they grew.
The remaining Acts passages that deal with tongues
(Acts 10:46, 19:6) all connect Spirit baptism (10:47;
19:2, 5), Spirit filling (10:44-45; 19:6), and belief in the
gospel message (10:43-44; 19:4). Therefore, Acts does
some spiritual gifts groundwork needed to proceed
forward; each instance included belief in the gospel,
Spirit baptism, Spirit filling, and tongues speaking.
Additionally, the twofold purpose of the Spirit is seen
here as well. Bock concedes here that it is not clear if
the manifestation of the Spirits outpouring in tongues
entailed in other languages or is simply praise of God, as
in 1 Cor 12-14[6] Bocks lack of clarity comes from
his narrow reading of Acts 2, where he has already
articulated the purpose of tongues being exclusively

evangelical. He even reluctantly acknowledges the

possibility that tongues serve an additional purpose,
namely the praise to or communication with God. But, it
has already been demonstrated that the primary purpose
of tongues is self-edification through communication
with God, with evangelical concerns being tertiary,
because of its reliance on interpretation. In fairness, it is
unclear what tongues are being spoken by the Gentiles in
verse 46 and for whose benefit they were being spoken.
But the bigger point that needs making here is that
tongues primarily were spoken by the Gentiles, who had
just received the Spirit (10:44) for the purpose of
praising and talking with God in whatever utterance that
Spirit gave them.
Other references regarding gifts from the Spirit include
Romans 12:6-8, where the specific gifts mentioned
prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading,
and mercy-givingare discussed to emphasize the
differences in gifts within the body of Christ, just as each
part of the body performs a different function. Ironically,
tongues are not mentioned here as a gift. This description
of spiritual gifts contrasts dramatically with the sparse
information about gifts mentioned in Acts. Perhaps, part
of the reason for this was that Luke was more interested
in describing the spread of the gospel and some of the
experiences they shared along the way. So, while Acts
describes the Holy Spirit himself as a gift (Acts 10:45)
and tongues appears to be an accompanying gift for those
who believed and were baptized. This will prove to be
only for some and not all as the discussion moved into 1
Corinthians. Perhaps one final note regarding tongues
should be mentioned thus far; Mark 16:17 has Jesus
predicting the use of other tongues as a sign of those
who believed the gospel. Strangely, other signs include
casting out demons, healing the sick, and handling
serpents. For the purpose of this paper, all that needs to
be said was that these signs that Jesus spoke of are not to
be considered formulaic or automatic. If these things
occur, it is to be considered evidence of genuine faith.
1 Corinthians 12-14
Chapter 12
1 Corinthians 12 revisits Pauls body rhetoric of Romans
12 in his introductory comments regarding the spiritual

gifts. The introductory text makes reference to being led

astray before they were believers (12:2), but now that
they have that Spirit, they will no longer speak that
which is accursed. Starting in verse 4, he lists nine gifts,
only one (prophecy) corresponds explicitly with the list
from Romans. The list of gifts is bookmarked by verses 4
and 11, in which He emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is
the sole giver of gifts and will do so completely on His
own terms.
Later in the chapter, Paul lists eight appointments
(12:28) that are to be considered gifts, two of which
(teachers and prophets) overlap with the gifts mentioned
in Romans. Also, as in Romans, he again is mentioning
the gifts to emphasize diversity in Spirit-given ability.
Tongues has now been mentioned twice in the various
lists, along with miracles and healings. At this point, a
total of sixteen distinct gifts have been mentioned, some
more than others, with no reason to assume a taxonomy
of importance. Keener suggests that the numerology
offered in verse 28 (first apostles, second prophets, third
teachers) is indicative of an ancient way of denoting
importance.[7] But the haphazard manner in which Paul
has been mentioning gifts even within the chapter, to say
nothing of other chapters or his other list in Romans,
suggests that importance thus far is not a concern. His
focus at the end of the chapter here is to demonstrate that
not everyone has the same gifts and that diversity of
ability is part of what it means to be a part of the body of
Christ. Without any other context, the reader of Scripture
might conclude only this: all sixteen are actual gifts from
the Spirit, given to whomever and whenever the Spirit
seems fit. There is no reason at this stage to assume that
this list is complete (given the arbitrary nature in which
Paul lists them from Romans to 1 Corinthians) or that
any one is of greater importance than the other, as
frequency of mention and the order of the listing seems
to follow no rhyme or rhythm. Concluding the chapter,
Paul points out that not everybody is given every gift
(12:29-30); they are distributed in conjunction with the
diversity mentioned at the beginning of the chapter.
Finally, he says something remarkable and somewhat
ambiguous; But earnestly desire the greater gifts (v.

31a). At last, the Apostle tells his readers that some gifts
are greater than others. As to which gifts, he does not
say; perhaps they are among the list of sixteen, perhaps
there are other gifts greater than all sixteen. The context
thus far is silent on the matter. He transitions to the next
chapter by saying something crucial in the understanding
of spiritual gifts: And I show you a still more excellent
way (v. 31b).
Chapter 13
In the first three verses, Paul contrasts four different gifts
with love. In each case, the spiritual gifts of tongues,
prophecy, faith, and giving are rendered meaningless if
they are exercised without love. The reader should
consider the possibility here that love is the greater
(possibly the greatest) gift spoken of from 12:31a. Verses
4 through 8 exposit the remarkable resume of love, done
in such a way to separate it from anything mentioned
thus far. Verse 8 in particular pits love against prophecy,
tongues, and knowledge, with love clearly rendered the
unfailing victor. But if there are gifts of prophecy, they
will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease;
if there is knowledge, it will be done away (v. 8).
Contrary to a typical cessationist interpretation, the only
truth to be drawn from this verse is that love is unfailing
next to the other gifts to the point that seeking to utilize
them without love is futile. This means that of all of the
spiritual gifts, love is the greatest to which every believer
should earnestly desire. Verse 9 continues to establish the
inferiority of the other gifts (prophecy and knowledge),
saying that our use of those gifts is limited in terms of
our capability with them.
Verse 10 becomes the key to understanding chapter 13 as
a whole. It reads, when the perfect comes, the partial
will be done away. In light of verse 9, the partial here
refers to the spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 and
Romans 12 (prophecy and knowledge are merely
representative of all those gifts). The perfect (sometimes
the perfect thing or that which is perfect logically
refers to love. Again, this verse is a foundational one for
cessationists; they understand the perfect as referring to
the death of the Apostles or the establishment of the
biblical canon. Not once in the entire chapter is there
mention of the Word or Scripture, neither that of the

apostles. In fairness, continuationists sometimes like to

refer to the perfect as the second coming of Christ, which
again suffers the same problem as the first: Christ or His
coming is just not part of the chapter 13 narrative.[8] As
the entire passage is about contrasting the superiority of
unfailing love with the inferiority of limited spiritual
gifts, verse 10 speaks not of a specific something (or
someone), but representative of a timeless truth. When
perfection comes, partial goes away. Therefore, the
perfect thing is not an actual thing or person, but a
concept to convey a general truth, which in this case is
that love is the most excellent gift of the Holy Spirit and
is needed for any of the other gifts to have any efficacy.
Addressing cessationist arguments further, Allcorn
writes, the cessation of the sign gifts of prophecy,
tongues, and knowledge was still in the future.[9]He
groups those specific gifts together because of the way
verse 8 is written. But, similar to Bocks fallacy in Acts
2, Allcorn reads the listing as complete, as if to suggest
that love will remain forever but these three specific gifts
will pass away. The analysis of the broader text of the
passage seems to point to these three gifts in verse 8
being mentioned as examples of the inferiority of all gifts
compared to love. But Allcorn reads an eschatology into
the passage that isnt there. Certainly one day, when all
believers receive full knowledge of God, all spiritual
gifts will become unnecessary, at least as they are
known. But, even if Allcorns reading of verse 8 was
accurate, would that not mean that other so-called
charismatic gifts, such as the gift of miracles and healing,
would remain? This is not what cessationists argue,
however. They assume that prophecy, tongues, healing,
miracles, and divine knowledge are supernatural beyond
the others, and as such, all of those are what will pass
away when the perfect comes. So, how does that
assumption marry with Allcorns reading of verse 8? The
obvious answer is that it does not.
Keener offers a more practical reason for the specific
listing of the gifts in verse 8. He writes, Paul chooses
examples especially relevant to the Corinthian situation
prophecy, tongues (Ch. 14), and knowledge (1:5; 8:111).[10] If he had written for a different church, he very
well may have listed a different set of gifts. As such,

Keener offers common sense, whereas Allcorn offers

conjecture.
Paul then uses two illustrations to hammer this point
home. Being a child is the partial to the completeness of
being a grown-up (v. 11). Seeing in a mirror is inferior to
seeing yourself face to face (v. 12). Both illustrations
demonstrate the point of the final verse: faith, hope, and
love, abide these three, but the greatest of these is love. It
is unclear whether or not hope (or possibly giving of
hope) constitutes an actual gift of the Spirit, but it is of
no matter, since the point of the verse is that love is the
greatest of all spiritual gifts.
Chapter 14
The first verse reiterates all that has been said thus far
(love is the greatest, earnestly desire spiritual gifts), but
also says, but especially that you may prophesy. It is
possible that Paul wishes to convey that prophecy is the
second greatest gift, but since it is still not clear if the list
of gifts is a complete list, and in light of the comparison
he is about to make between prophecy and tongues, it
seems more likely that verse 1 is placing prophecy above
tongues in regards to importance.
Thus far, a great deal has been said about the spiritual
gifts as a whole, with attention given to their Giver, the
importance of the gift of love above all, and a certain
amount of attention to their taxonomy. But, it is helpful
at this point to reflect on the true purpose of the paper,
which is to make the case that the charismatic gifts went
away sometime after the death of the Apostles. In order
to make this point, this writer needed to establish the
groundwork of what spiritual gifts are: abilities from the
Holy Spirit, diverse from member to member, some
given as signs of genuine faith in the gospel, and the
greatest of these gifts being love. But now a different
question must be asked: are some gifts meant to be
temporary and others permanent, as cessationists affirm?
It is true that miracles and tongues have both been
referred to as sign gifts for the purpose of providing
evidence of saving faith among new believers, and
miracles themselves being a sign of the reliability of
Gods promise, as was the case in the Old Testament. But

to make the jump that all gifts are signs is an

unsubstantiated leap. All that has been analyzed thus far
suggest that gifts, as a whole, serve the purpose of body
functionality.
As has been stated above, the rest of chapter 14, is a
comparison and explanation of the gifts of prophecy and
tongues, with regard to their use within the church
community. Verse 2 claims that one who speaks in a
tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one
understands, but in hisspirit he speaks mysteries (1 Cor
14:2). What is most curious about this verse is how it
seems to conflict with Acts depiction of the use of
tongues, where tongues were evidence of a saving faith.
It is suggested at this point, that this evidence might be
more of a positive side effect of saving faith, for while in
each of the tongues events in Acts occur at the moment
of true conversion and subsequent Spirit baptism,
the reason for speaking in tongues was to communicate
with God. Verse 3 contrasts that, by stating that
prophesies speak to people for their edification,
exhortation, and consolation (1 Cor 14:3). Verse 4 says
that one who speaks in a tongue edified himself, but that
one who speaks prophecy edifies others. In verse 5, Paul
says that he wishes that the entire Corinthian church
spoke in tongues (so that they might be edified by talking
to God), but even more than that, he wishes that they all
prophesied, so that others would benefit from their gift (1
Cor 14:5). The reason he wishes that is that one is driven
by unselfish love, the other by self-interest.
Verse 6 ends by mentioning that speaking in tongues in
public is only efficacious if someone else interprets what
is being said, pointing again to the interest in others
well-being over self. Verse 6 makes the same point with
greater force; what is the use of public tongues if nobody
understands what is being said? Tongues then is told to
take a back seat to other gifts that benefit others, such as
revelation, knowledge, prophecy, and teaching. Notice
here that these four giftssome of which are considered
so-called charismatic gifts, others are notare all
considered superior to tongues because of their ability to
benefit others. The only time tongues is considered on
par with the others is when interpretation is offered. As

such, no divisions here are being made between so-called

charismatic gifts and non-charismatic ones. The only
distinctions being drawn are between ones that benefit
self and ones that benefit others.
Verses 7 and 8 illustrate this point by comparing the
public use of tongues with atonal or indistinct music.
Verse 9 through 11 continue the point by saying that all
language is meant to communicate something, but if the
hearer does not know what is being said, it is all for
naught. By verse 13, Paul is giving instructions for
church order regarding the use of spiritual gifts.
Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he
may interpret (1 Cor 14:13). Praying in tongues is
fruitful for the spirit, but not for the mind which does not
understand what is being said. The rest of the verses (1419) merely make the point crystal clear: public use of
tongues is only beneficial when interpretation is given,
but the use of gifts that are designed to benefit others are
superior.
What is not being offered anywhere in the last three
chapters is a distinction between miraculous gifts and
ordinary gifts. Furthermore, the only mentioning of any
gifts passing away are in reference to all gifts
compared with the gift of love. This passing suggests that
one day, according to 13:12, the gift of knowledge (and
all other gifts) will be unnecessary, as I will know fully
just as I also have been fully known. If anyone would
suggest that Christians have full knowledge of God today
by virtue of a canonized Bible, that person could hardly
be taken seriously. Verse 12 promises a future full
knowledge, at which time, being in possession of a gift
from the Holy Spirit meant to edify others will be
rendered moot. Finally, the only order of importance
given to gifts is directly related to how those gifts benefit
the other members of the body and unbelievers.
Utilization of the gifts publically should incorporate a
certain order, as it relates to the well-being of others
listening and their edification.
Conclusion

Love is the perfect thing spoken of in 1 Corinthians

13:10. It is a gift; not just a gift from the Holy Spirit,
since God is love, and the gift of the Holy Spirit lives
within each Christian, enabling them to utilize other gifts
and abilities for the purpose of blessing, exhorting, and
encouraging other members of the body. The only
exception is the gift of tongues, which is a gift of selfedification, enabling the believer to talk to God for the
benefit of his or her own spirit. Since its focus is selfbenefitting, it is considered the least important of all
gifts. Gifts are given to those who have the Spirit, in
accordance with His perfect will for their lives. One gets
the Spirit when they believe in the gospel message, thus
being baptized and filled with that Spirit. Since not all
faith experiences beyond the Book of Acts include
speaking with tongues, and because 1 Corinthians 12
clearly states that not all will speak with tongues, it can
be safely assumed that tongues are not a necessary part
of the saving faith experience. Finally, the verses
examined seem to tell a different story regarding the socalled miracle/sign/supernatural/charismatic gifts; all
gifts by virtue of their being given by the Holy Spirit are
miraculous; they are all charismatic (),
supernatural, and many of them have been signs of many
things, as has been demonstrated. The text suggests that
the gifts as we know them will pass away when we
receive full knowledge. So, in this sense, all gifts are
temporary, with the exception of love, embodied in the
dwelling Spirit, which Romans 12:38-39 tells us, I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created
thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NOTES:
[1] Christian Movements and Denominations, Pew
Research
Center.http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/globalchristianity-movements-and-denominations/, (accessed
April 14, 2016).

[2] Cliff Allcorn, On the Futility of Accepting the

Charismatic Gifts for Current Use, Journal of
Dispensational Theology, Tyndale Theological Seminary,
December 2012, pp. 61-79, (accessed April 14, 2016),
61.
[3] Allcorn, 83.
[4] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter
Bauer. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2000), 201.

[5] Darrell L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary

on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Academic, 2007), 97.
[6] Bock, 401.
[7] Craig S. Keener, 1-2 Corinthians: New Cambridge
Bible Commentary(Cambridgeshire, England:
Cambridge University Press, 2005), 104.
[8] Keener sees both an eschatology and Christs
presence in this verse, but offers little to substantiate it.
Keener, 108.

[9] Cliff Allcorn, On the Futility of Accepting the

Charismatic Gifts for Current Use, Journal of
Dispensational Theology, Tyndale Theological Seminary,
December 2012, pp. 61-79, (accessed April 14, 2016),
68.
[10] Keener, 109.