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The argument for the cessationist view:
1) There are no apostles of Christ on earth today.
2) Because there are no apostles of Christ, there are no prophets.
3) Because there are no prophets, there are no tongue speakers.
4) In view of 1-3, there are no miracle workers on earth today.
1. There are No Apostles of Christ on Earth Today
A) To be an Apostle of Christ was itself a gift to the church, and the foremost of the gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:28-31 Ephesians 4:8-11 – Christ gave gifts to men, among them apostles.
B) The term “apostles of Christ” is to be distinguished from missionaries, aka “apostles of the churches,” which is a different office. Only “apostles of Christ” are no longer among us.
C) To be an apostle of Christ, there were three distinguishing marks
----i) Directlyappointed by Christ (Mark 3, Luke 6, Acts 1:2, Acts 10:41, Galatians 1:1).That’s why lot casting was used.
----ii) Physical eyewitnesses of the Resurrected Jesus(Acts 1:22, Acts 10:39, 1 Corinthians 9:1)
----iii) They are able to confirm their apostlate bydoing miracles (2 Corinthians 12:12).
D) The apostles of Christ spoke authoritatively for Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 14:37).
E) There are five reasons we know from Scripture that the Apostlate ceased:
----i) Ephesians 2:20 The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, which alludes to Revelation 21:14. The analogy implies that the apostles and prophets were confined to the foundational period of church history.
----ii) 1 Corinthians 15:8 Paul “last of all” was the last one to see the risen Christ. And since being a physical eyewitness to the risen Christ is one of the marks of an apostle, Paul is the last apostle.
----iii) 1 Corinthians 12:31 and 14:1 indicate that Christians cannot seek the gift of Apostle of Christ – the greatest gift they could seek was prophecy, even though apostleship was identified as a gift.
----iv) Galatians 2:7-9 Paul received the right hand of fellowship from the 12 apostles, but no one can today.
----v) Ephesians 2:20 This passage describes the form of the New Testament as “apostles and prophets.” If there were apostles and prophets today, the canon would be open, as those apostles/prophets continued to speak authoritatively. But Charismatics (nearly all) recognize that the canon is closed, therefore they ought to recognize that the apostlate is also closed.
F) Apostolic Gift is Linked to Impartation of Other Gifts (Acts 8)
The above suggests the cessation of the miraculous gifts.
2. There are No Prophets Today
A) The cessation of the apostolate creates the presumption or at least possibility of cessation of other gifts.
B) NT Prophets like the Apostles were foundational to the New Testament church. (Ephesians 2:20)
C) Definition of Prophet in Deuteronomy 13 & 18 was never rescinded, and this requires infallibility.
D) Just as the OT’s authority is summarized as “the prophetic word” (2 Peter 1:19-21) and its form is also described in about a dozen NT references to “the law and the prophets” or “Moses and the prophets”, so also the NT’s canon is summarized in Ephesians 2:20 as “apostles and prophets” (the prophets in question are NT prophets as seen in Ephesians 3:5; 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28)
3. There are No Tongue-Speakers Today because Tongues was a form of prophecy.
A) Acts 2 tongue speaking is explained by reference to Joel 2, where it is described as prophecy.
B) 1 Corinthians 14:5 asserts the equivalence of the two gifts, if tongues is interpreted.
C) In both tongues and prophecy, the speaker is uttering mysteries, which refers to prophetic revelation (1 Corinthians 13:2, Revelation 1:3, 1:20, and 10:7).
4. There are No Miracle-Workers Today
There may be miracles today, but there is a difference between miracles and miracle workers.
See:
http://www.amazon.com/To-Be-Continued-Miraculous-Gifts/dp/1879737582
In summary...
To argue that the canon is not closed one must then argue for continuing revelation that is of a different nature with that found within the canon. These same persons would then have to mount an attack on the fallibility of the existing revelation we have now. But once they do this we see that they are not really arguing for continuing revelation, but instead the continuing communication of revelation. Thus, we would then have to necessarily discern this so-called continuing communication as we would with any words of man.
We also have the verse in Hebrews about "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." Now if anybody says Jesus Christ appeared unto them and gave them further revelation, they would be lying since it is clear from Scripture that Jesus Christ will not be seen until the Second Coming.
God has miraculously preserved his Word through the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets (Ephesians 2:20). That which is preserved in His Word and its foundations are not re-built.
I recommend the following further study:
1. Signs of the Apostles by Walter Chantry
2. The Charasmatic Gift of Prophecy-A Reformed Response to Wayne Grudem by Kenneth L. Gentry Jr.
3. Charismatic Chaos by John MacArthur
The house of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and [NT] prophets (Eph 2:20; 3:5), and the foundation is already laid, and not still being built. The prophetic office is closed, as is the apostolate.
AMR
1) There are no apostles of Christ on earth today.
2) Because there are no apostles of Christ, there are no prophets.
3) Because there are no prophets, there are no tongue speakers.
4) In view of 1-3, there are no miracle workers on earth today.
1. There are No Apostles of Christ on Earth Today
A) To be an Apostle of Christ was itself a gift to the church, and the foremost of the gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:28-31 Ephesians 4:8-11 – Christ gave gifts to men, among them apostles.
B) The term “apostles of Christ” is to be distinguished from missionaries, aka “apostles of the churches,” which is a different office. Only “apostles of Christ” are no longer among us.
C) To be an apostle of Christ, there were three distinguishing marks
----i) Directlyappointed by Christ (Mark 3, Luke 6, Acts 1:2, Acts 10:41, Galatians 1:1).That’s why lot casting was used.
----ii) Physical eyewitnesses of the Resurrected Jesus(Acts 1:22, Acts 10:39, 1 Corinthians 9:1)
----iii) They are able to confirm their apostlate bydoing miracles (2 Corinthians 12:12).
D) The apostles of Christ spoke authoritatively for Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 14:37).
E) There are five reasons we know from Scripture that the Apostlate ceased:
----i) Ephesians 2:20 The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, which alludes to Revelation 21:14. The analogy implies that the apostles and prophets were confined to the foundational period of church history.
----ii) 1 Corinthians 15:8 Paul “last of all” was the last one to see the risen Christ. And since being a physical eyewitness to the risen Christ is one of the marks of an apostle, Paul is the last apostle.
----iii) 1 Corinthians 12:31 and 14:1 indicate that Christians cannot seek the gift of Apostle of Christ – the greatest gift they could seek was prophecy, even though apostleship was identified as a gift.
----iv) Galatians 2:7-9 Paul received the right hand of fellowship from the 12 apostles, but no one can today.
----v) Ephesians 2:20 This passage describes the form of the New Testament as “apostles and prophets.” If there were apostles and prophets today, the canon would be open, as those apostles/prophets continued to speak authoritatively. But Charismatics (nearly all) recognize that the canon is closed, therefore they ought to recognize that the apostlate is also closed.
F) Apostolic Gift is Linked to Impartation of Other Gifts (Acts 8)
The above suggests the cessation of the miraculous gifts.
2. There are No Prophets Today
A) The cessation of the apostolate creates the presumption or at least possibility of cessation of other gifts.
B) NT Prophets like the Apostles were foundational to the New Testament church. (Ephesians 2:20)
C) Definition of Prophet in Deuteronomy 13 & 18 was never rescinded, and this requires infallibility.
D) Just as the OT’s authority is summarized as “the prophetic word” (2 Peter 1:19-21) and its form is also described in about a dozen NT references to “the law and the prophets” or “Moses and the prophets”, so also the NT’s canon is summarized in Ephesians 2:20 as “apostles and prophets” (the prophets in question are NT prophets as seen in Ephesians 3:5; 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28)
3. There are No Tongue-Speakers Today because Tongues was a form of prophecy.
A) Acts 2 tongue speaking is explained by reference to Joel 2, where it is described as prophecy.
B) 1 Corinthians 14:5 asserts the equivalence of the two gifts, if tongues is interpreted.
C) In both tongues and prophecy, the speaker is uttering mysteries, which refers to prophetic revelation (1 Corinthians 13:2, Revelation 1:3, 1:20, and 10:7).
4. There are No Miracle-Workers Today
There may be miracles today, but there is a difference between miracles and miracle workers.
See:
http://www.amazon.com/To-Be-Continued-Miraculous-Gifts/dp/1879737582
In summary...
To argue that the canon is not closed one must then argue for continuing revelation that is of a different nature with that found within the canon. These same persons would then have to mount an attack on the fallibility of the existing revelation we have now. But once they do this we see that they are not really arguing for continuing revelation, but instead the continuing communication of revelation. Thus, we would then have to necessarily discern this so-called continuing communication as we would with any words of man.
We also have the verse in Hebrews about "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." Now if anybody says Jesus Christ appeared unto them and gave them further revelation, they would be lying since it is clear from Scripture that Jesus Christ will not be seen until the Second Coming.
God has miraculously preserved his Word through the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets (Ephesians 2:20). That which is preserved in His Word and its foundations are not re-built.
I recommend the following further study:
1. Signs of the Apostles by Walter Chantry
2. The Charasmatic Gift of Prophecy-A Reformed Response to Wayne Grudem by Kenneth L. Gentry Jr.
3. Charismatic Chaos by John MacArthur
The house of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and [NT] prophets (Eph 2:20; 3:5), and the foundation is already laid, and not still being built. The prophetic office is closed, as is the apostolate.
AMR