The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum What's wrong with Charismatics?

That first statement, which you quoted from me was in reply to the question: Do you believe that every time a charismatic gift happened in the early church, it was recorded as Scripture? The point is that before the death of all the Apostles, the Holy Spirit spoke through other individuals, giving direction, foretelling events, etc., which although not recorded as Scripture, were no less God speaking through those individuals. There was an inherent authority in what was spoken due to its Author. (cf. Lk 1:67; Acts 9:10f; 15:32; 21:4).

The difference between what has been preserved as the inscripturated Word and the "word" spoken by others through whom the Spirit spoke is that the former is universal (addressed to all the church for all time) and pedagogical (for teaching the will of God and His eternal truths) [cf. 2Tim 3:16, 17] and the latter were local (restricted to a narrow audience) and exhortatory (for encouragement for a specific time).

As to the second question, there is no conflict at all, IMHO. That which Jesus spoke concerning those who would seek after signs and wonders was prophetical; looking forward to the period of time after the death of the Apostles and the cessation of the "revelatory gifts". The passage in 1Cor 14 is a temporal admonition on how the use of the then existent gifts were to be used in the church.