Two other complaints made during the closing remarks of the 'Strange Fire' Conference was that continuationists jettison Sola Scriptura and that tradition is on their side. Now, my last blog interacted with the complaint that continuationists jettison Sola Scriptura so I will not do so here. I will only touch on Sola Scriptura as a stepping stool to address the role of tradition in this discussion.
To start, Sola Scriptura as a theological category came into vogue during the medieval period of the church through the efforts of the Protestant Reformers particularly. Now, as a general truth it is clearly established in Scripture itself and it is inarguably found in the writings of the Ante-Nicene fathers such as Ignatius, Clement and the like. Sola Scriptura as a theological category simply defined and embodied what the Scripture advances and what the early church assumed as a given.
Sola Scriptura of course has never meant Solo Scriptura. That is, Sola Scriptura was well understood to place sole authority within the framework of Scripture but that Scripture's interpretive tradition or history also lends authority to how we interpret Scripture today, albeit a subordinate authority. Solo Scriptura makes interpretation an individualistic enterprise and cuts a person off from how holy writ has traditionally been understood throughout the panorama of church history or tradition.
Strange Fire is to be commended for appealing to the role and place of historical interpretation. However, it certainly seems, as irony would have it, that they have succumbed to the same pitfall as the Roman Catholic Church that actually precipitated the clarion call for a return to Sola Scriptura. - although without the egregious motives as the RCC. Tradition has been elevated to a place of authority over and against the veracity and sole authority of Scripture in determining truth.
Now, I absolutely concede that tradition dating back to the early church does ostensibly give testimony to the position that the gifts of grace have ceded. Germane to the early church, though, there is no consistent agreement among churchmen fait a compli.Agreement only becomes more pronounced much later in history. Actually, there is far more evidence that supports the continuum of grace gifts within the first three centuries than granted by Strange Fire. Evidence Strange Fire conspicuously overlooks or for whatever reason has failed to properly study. As noted church historian Jaroslav Pelikan has posited, "Most ORTHODOX writers in the second and even in the third century maintained that such inspiration by the Holy Spirit (he was referring to prophecy) was not only possible BUT PRESENT AND ACTIVE IN THE CHURCH."
Clement, who was under the tutelage of Peter and Paul and succeeded them, describes the operation of the gift of the 'utterance of knowledge' (I Cor.12:8) and writes in the same letter, " let every one be subject to his neighbor, according to the special gift bestowed upon him..He who made us and fashioned us, having prepared His bountiful gifts for us before we were born" (The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians). This was in the context of the 'whole body', i.e. the church, serving one another and meeting one another's needs. What he was writing was an extrapolation of I Corinthians 12.
Ignatius, an understudy of the apostle John who succeeded him through the early second century, describes an instance where he received revelation as the 'Spirit made an announcement to me.' (Epistle To The Philadelphians). Ignatius also wrote about a vision that Polycarp had - who was also an understudy of John. Ignatius recorded, "And while he (Polycarp) was praying, a vision presented itself to him three days before he was taken; and, behold, the pillow under his head seemed to be on fire." (The Martyrdom of Polycarp). He also makes reference to the 'gift of discernment' in his epistle to the Ephesians.
Moving into the second century we find affirmations of a number of gifts of the Spirit -dreams, visions, prophecy, wisdom, discernment, revelation and more. Moreover, half way into the second century we find Justin Martyr using a record of Marcus Aurelius describing a supernatural miracle executed by the God of the Christians. The Christians serving in Aurelius' army prayed that God would deliver the army from thirst and famine. Aurelius records, "And simultaneously with their casting themselves on the ground, and praying to God, water poured from heaven, upon us most refreshingly cool, but upon the enemies of Rome a withering hail," (The First Apology of Justin). Justin also argued for the case of Christianity against Judaism on grounds that, "among us until now there are prophetic charismata." (Dialogue with Trypho)
Later into the second century and early into the third Irenaeus affrims the NECESSITY of the gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12 by quoting I Cor. 12:4-6 & 12:28-29 in order to support their ongoing validity (Irenaeus Against Heresies). In his fifth book of the same work Irenaeus records, "In like manner we do also hear many brethren in the Church, who possess prophetic gifts, and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages (tongues), and bring to light for the general benefit the hidden things of men, and declare the mysteries of God." This commentary was in a chapter with the following statement as the heading, "God will bestow salvation upon the whole nature of man, consisting of body and soul in close union, since the word took it upon him, and adorned it (our soul) with gifts of the Holy Spirit..."
Celsus, in the second century, acknowledged the presence and activity of 'prophets' in Palestine and Phoenicia. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage well into the third century, argued against the hyper charismatic Montanists of his day by contending that, "the church had a greater share of visions, revelations, and dreams than did they." (Epistles). Church historian, Eusebius of the third and fourth century documents, "the apostle declares that the prophetic charisma should continue to be in the entire church until the last parousia" (Ecclesiastical History). This is all curiously and notably absent from Stranger Fire's assertion that they have early church tradition on their side. Strange Fire is historically inaccurate when they claim the support of early church tradition. Historical facts alone disprove their denunciation of the continuationist position. The charismata were commonplace amongst the first four centuries of the church to such an extent that it boasted more charismata than the hyper charismatic Montanists of their day and age.
Strange Fire and cessationists postulate that the gifts, particularly the miraculous gifts, ceded after the apostolic era. History, AND EARLY TRADITION as it were, resoundingly shows otherwise as I have shown above. Tradition shows it was well adjudged that the gifts were understood to be an operative grace until Christ returned.
The question we are well served to ask is 'At what juncture in early church history did the gifts begin to accrue disapproval?' So much so that they were more or less purged from church culture. The trend to look unfavorably upon the gifts of the Spirit essentially began with the emergence of the Montanist heresy near the end of the second century. It boasted receiving Spirit inspired prophecy that was was equally reliable and authoritative as Scripture. Cyril of Jerusalem, Hippolytus among others entered into the fray and repudiated this so called "New Prophecy" as they should have. This, along with the emerging formation of an increasingly rigid polity (church governance) led to the purgation of the gifts from the culture and teaching of the church. As the church realized that Christ's return may not be as soon as they anticipated they began adapting by taking measures to organize in order to insure a their perseverance. These two dynamics coalesced. The heretical abuses of the Montanist's and the formation of the church's polity in the form of a monarchical episcopate led to the institutional rejection of the gifts of the Spirit. This is where the roots of cessationism can be traced. Cessationism was not early biblical tradition. It was an institutional tradition that emerged due to abuses. This 'tradition' ultimately has usurped Scripture and apostolic tradition relative to Strange Fire.
Even John Calvin who was a cessationist conceded, ", “It is possible, no doubt, that the world may have been deprived of this honour (the gifts of the Spirit) through the guilt of its own ingratitude.
Strange Fire ultimately mishandles historical/traditional evidence to support their position. Tradition well beyond the golden age of the Apostolic era attests to the continuation of the gifts.
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