THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 27, AUGUST 5, 2001

"WHEN THE PERFECT COMES"

There has been a tremendous increase in the number of people who claim to worship Jesus Christ and who also claim to possess miraculous spiritual gifts. By "miraculous spiritual gifts", I am referring to those gifts given through the Spirit that were outside of the normal functions of nature. Paul listed nine of them in 1 Cor. 12:8 - 10. He wrote, "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues."

Do not mistake the "wisdom" and the "knowledge" mentioned in these verses by Paul with wisdom and knowledge gained through the normal process of study and experience. This was "wisdom" and "knowledge" granted directly by the Spirit without the normal process. Do not confuse the "faith" Paul mentioned with the faith that all Christians must have to be saved. This was miraculous faith of some sort - perhaps a miracle working faith. The point is that all of the things Paul mentioned were miraculous gifts.

This increase in the number of people claiming such gifts is frequently referred to as the "Charismatic Movement", based upon one of the Greek words for gift, "charisma". It is no longer confined to back road, country churches. It is no longer found strictly among Pentecostal groups. The movement has crossed into the mainstream denominational churches. Even the Roman Catholic Church has various charismatic segments among it.

The question that I would like to consider is whether or not these gifts are actually being exercised today. Are there those who possess the miraculous spiritual gifts as certain of the brethren did in the first century? Have the gifts ceased to be active? If they have ceased, when did it occur and how do we know?

We will turn to 1 Corinthians 13, which is the middle chapter of Paul's discussion concerning miraculous spiritual gifts. In it he presents what he calls "a still more excellent way". He writes of love, and the abiding nature of it. Paul wrote, "Love never fails", but that was not the case with the gifts. Let's read now verses 8 - 13. There we find:
"Love never fails; 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. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

The obvious place to focus is found in verse 10. What is "the perfect", in Greek, "to teleion"? Many commentators, and certainly all of the charismatic commentators, view "the perfect" as a reference to Christ and His second coming. I disagree with that. In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, "teleios" is defined as "signifies having reached its end, finished, complete, perfect." He comments on its use in 1 Cor. 13:10, by saying, "referring to the complete revelation of God's will and ways, whether in the completed Scriptures or in the hereafter." The truth is, "the perfect", refers to the end of a process or of a development - and that can be of either people or things. It refers to the completed revelation of the Word of God.

The second coming is not a process, it will be an instantaneous event. Later on in this letter, Paul describes the second coming as occurring, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." (15:52)

We might also mention that "to teleion" is in neuter gender and nothing suggests that it applies to a person - Christ.

In verse 11, Paul really talks about the time of the spiritual gifts as the infancy or childhood of the church. Once the revelation was completed would be the manhood of the church. If we consider Paul's illustration of a mirror in verse 12, it will help us to understand. If you have ever stood before a fogged mirror in a steamy bathroom on a cold morning, you know that you cannot see yourself very well. Eventually the condensation on the mirror begins to fade and little bit by little bit you can see yourself more clearly. Finally the mirror is completely fog free and you can see everything. That is the way the revelation was given. Not all at one time, but little bit by little bit, until finally they could look into the "perfect law, the law of liberty", and see themselves in the mirror of God's Word.

It is important also to consider how faith and hope will abide after the second coming. Do not be misled by the use of the word "now" in verse 13. Its use is logical, not temporal. Let me present another example of the same usage and then explain what it means. In John 18:36, we find, "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." The phrase, "but as it is", is translated from the same word as "now" is translated in 1 Cor. 13:13. The idea is that even though the miraculous gifts would pass away, faith, hope, and love would abide. Of the three, love is the greatest.

Now, if "when the perfect comes", refers to Christ at His second coming, how can faith abide? Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:7, "for we walk by faith, not by sight". When Jesus returns, we shall see Him. Revelation 1:7 tells us, "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen." Remember the Hebrew writer's words in Heb. 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." When Jesus comes in the second coming, it will be a matter of sight, not faith.

Again, if "when the perfect comes", refers to Christ at His second coming, how can hope abide? In Romans 8:24, Paul wrote, "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?" It really can not be denied. Verse 13 of 1 Cor. 13 clearly teaches that "hope" is to exist after "the perfect comes". But friends and brethren, hope cannot exist after a person has attained what he or she hoped for.

The truth is that miraculous spiritual gifts do not exist today. They were for the infancy of the church and were given to assist in the revelation and to confirm that which was revealed. (Mark 16:20, Hebrews 2:3 & 4) When the revelation was completed, the gifts were no longer needed and the God-ordained time of their cessation had arrived.

Greg Litmer