Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church

A Review of the Silence on the Continuation of the Charismata Throughout the Early Church

ADSUM TRY RAVENHILL

Eucharisma 2, (Winter 2024), 47-52.

“[1 Corinthians 12:1-4] is very obscure: but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as then used to occur but now no longer take place. And why do they not happen now? Why look now, the cause too of the obscurity hath produced us again another question:

Namely, why did they then happen, and now do so no more?”¹

John Chrysostom

The gifts of the Spirit—the charismata—have ceased. That is what John Chrysostom suggests members of the church believed as early as the fourth century. But, according to some modern theologians, this cessation occurred much earlier. As B.B. Warfield put it the charismata were:

“The characterizing peculiarity of specifically the Apostolic Church, and it belonged therefore exclusively to the Apostolic age.”²

It seems all the more peculiar, therefore, that examples of those same gifts—as well as teaching regarding them—are characteristic not only of the early church during the time of the Apostles, but also of the period following the closing of the canon of Scripture and the death of the beloved apostle, John. While the works of the early church fathers are neither infallible nor authoritative in the same way as the Scriptures, they are the earliest examples we have of the reception and understanding of those Scriptures and are, therefore, incredibly helpful reading for forming any belief or understanding of the continuation or cessation of the charismata today. If it were indeed clear that there were no such moves of the Spirit after the death of the Apostles, then we would at the very least need to concede that we believe not in the continuation of the charismata, but in their renewal. The view Warfield presents has become commonplace among many cessationists, but he himself conceded that this position was a difficult one to hold given the historical record after the fourth century.

“There is little or no evidence at all for miracle-working during the first fifty years of the post-Apostolic church; it is slight and unimportant for the next fifty years; it grows more abundant during the next century (the third); and it becomes abundant and precise only in the fourth century, to increase still further in the fifth and beyond.”³

My goal is to provide a brief introduction to the theological, pastoral and biographical landscape of the early church with regard to the continuation of the charismata, and, by so doing, bridge that gap between the Apostles and the fourth century mentioned by Warfield, as well as pushing through into the fifth century.⁴ My aim is to make this accessible regardless of whether you’ve read the church fathers yourself, intend to, or have never even heard that term before. To that first point, we’ll look at the Pneumatological arguments and debates that took place during this period; specifically, why these seem to have remained largely silent on the subject of the charismata. We’ll then look at some of the pastoral letters and literature that were written during the period, with a focus on their teaching and guidance on the charismata. Finally, we’ll look at the historical and biographical accounts that have been passed down from that time with a focus on the charismata.

The Holy Spirit: Person, Principality, or Phantasm?

Of all the persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit has presented perhaps the greatest struggle for heretics and believers alike. This is all too clear during the early church when the nature of the Spirit was under intense and consistent scrutiny. Was the Spirit just another power? An angel? An apparition? Or a person of the Triune God? One of the most important theologians to push back on heterodox and heretical views of the Spirit in the later years of this period was Gregory of Nazianzus. Gregory speaks of the intensity of this struggle, saying, “when these men have become weary in their disputations concerning the Son, they struggle with greater heat against the Spirit.”⁵ Despite Gregory’s self-expressed distaste at engaging with such arguments, he and others evidently viewed this as an important battle to take on. In his primary work on the topic, he raises an interesting point that helps us to understand why the gifts might have shifted out of focus in significant theological works on the trinity.

In the post-modern church, it would be a strange thing to open a book about the Holy Spirit—from any perspective—and not see some engagement with the charismata. The widespread influence of Pentecostalism, Catholic and Protestant Charismatics, and even cults that invoke the use of the charismata are a live issue for cessationists and continuationists alike. Cessationists like R.C. Sproul, Sinclair Ferguson, Gregg Allison and Andreas Köstenberger all mention this in their works on the Holy Spirit;⁶ and in addition, other protestant theologians have been doing so as early as the Reformation, e.g. Calvin,⁷ and during the Puritan era, e.g. Owen⁸ and Edwards.⁹

The absence of such serious debate during the time of the early church seems then to be a glaring hole; however we need to read such texts in the context in which they were written. Gregory Nazianzus sums up this context, saying:

“Some have conceived of [the Spirit] as an Activity, some as a Creature, some as God.”¹⁰

Whether the Spirit was an activity or action performed by God, a created principality under God, or God himself, would have no significant impact on one’s beliefs about the charismata, therefore; submitting such gifts as evidence for the Spirit’s deity would have no effect upon those who saw the Spirit as an outworking of the economy of God. Gregory explicitly states this after touching briefly upon the charismata, saying, “it is not possible for me to make use of even this.”¹¹ This is not to say that the gifts were not of any importance in the early church, far from it. Novatian, writing a century earlier includes them in his outline of the operations of the Spirit:

“This is He who places prophets in the Church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works, offers discrimination of spirits, affords powers of government, suggests counsels, and orders and arranges whatever other gifts there are of charismata; and thus make the Lord’s Church everywhere, and in all, perfected and completed.”¹²

It would be reasonable to assume that if the charismata were absent during these centuries—and were rhetorically unhelpful during a time in which debates focussed more on the person of the Spirit, rather than his operations—then the charismata would not likely have been mentioned. Their presence in such texts, even as an aside, suggests ongoing—even personal—engagement with them. This alone, however, is not a case in itself for their continuation. Let us look then at specific commentaries on the charismata themselves.

Expectations: Commentaries and Pastoral Insight

“If God dispenses things in this way¹³ in the present age, he will also do so in the future.”¹⁴

Origen, in his commentary of Romans 12.6 states explicitly here that the charismata had continued into the post-apostolic age and that he fully expected them to continue to be dispensed in the same way in the future. This expectation is hardly an oddity either, given that we see similar sentiments from other writers in the second century. Most notable of these, perhaps, is Irenaeus’ jubilant declaration of the outworking of these gifts throughout the church in his day:

“Wherefore, also, those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him […] do [in] His name perform [miracles], so as to promote the welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ], and join themselves to the Church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years. And what shall I more say? It is not possible to name the number of the gifts which the Church, [scattered] throughout the whole world, has received from God, in the name of Jesus Christ […] which she exerts day by day for the benefit of the Gentiles.”¹⁵

Miracles, exorcisms, prophecy, pictures, words of knowledge, healing, resurrections, and an exhortation that “It is not possible to name the number of the gifts which the Church has received from God.” This statement echoes those of Justin Martyr¹⁶ and Tertullian,¹⁷ as well as Origen. These examples provide a clear record of the Church’s ongoing commentary on, and experience of, the charismata. These accounts are not in defence of such gifts but are simply a proclamation of them. Cessationism, at least at this stage, does not seem to have taken hold in the same way as it would in subsequent generations. As important as these examples are, others are not always as simple as upon first inspection; A good example of this is Augustine of Hippo.

Augustine’s Paradox

“These miracles were not allowed to last until our times lest the soul ever seek visible things and the human race grow cold because of familiarity with those things whose novelty enkindled it.”¹⁸

The importance of Augustine’s work is immense. It is unsurprising, therefore, that cessationists and continuationists have both drawn upon his works in order to bolster their arguments. When we study his rare thoughts on the subject, however, there is less support one way or the other than either camp might hope for. The passage above was written earlier in his life, and was later softened:

“When I wrote that book, I myself had recently learned that a blind man had been restored to sight in Milan near the bodies of the martyrs in that very city, and I knew about some others, so numerous even in these times, that we cannot know about all of them nor enumerate those we know.”¹⁹

Augustine doesn’t retract his entire statement, he simply qualifies it, but only after also stating that “Even though such things happened at that time, manifestly these ceased later.” I raise this not because I have an airtight answer with regard to Augustine’s theology of the charismata, but to make clear that history and historical theology are not always as neat and tidy as one would hope, and we shouldn’t seek to try and tidy it up ourselves by sheer force of will.

This is not to say that evidence of the charismata, and of their cessation, cannot be found in Augustine’s works, but that Augustine’s canon of work cannot be relied upon to consistently fall down upon the side of either theological camp.  On the one hand, Augustine clearly states in his homily on 1 John 3.19–4.3 his conviction that the gift of tongues—as received on the day of Pentecost—had ceased by his time.²⁰ On the other hand, in the City of God he lists at least twenty separate miracles²¹ he was either present for, or had learned of from trusted sources, including resurrections, healings of the blind, and exorcisms. The evidence Augustine provides is, therefore, relevant but not concrete.

Biographies and Ecclesiastical History

During a prayer meeting shortly before his death, a Bishop named Polycarp laid his head down to rest a while. Having done so, the pillow beneath his head seemed to Polycarp to have burst into flames. Rising, he turned “to those that were with him, and he said to them prophetically, “I must be burnt alive.””²² It is important to note here that Polycarp does not seem surprised by this vision—often called a picture²³ in many churches today—and so it seems likely that this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened to him, or around him. He receives the vision, interprets it, and then shares that with his peers. We then see the vision come to pass, although perhaps not in the way we might expect. Polycarp is set alight, but it affects him no more than the vision did, leading his oppressors to take violent action to dispatch him. Around a century later Gregory Thaumaturgus was born again having heard a man named Origen preaching and returned to his homeland where we’re told “he performed many miracles, healing the sick, and casting out devils even by his letters.”²⁴ These examples, one from an epistolary biography, the other from an ecclesiastical history, are typical of those written before, during, and after this time. Gregory the Great, Bede, and Eusebius all report similar miraculous occurrences in their historical accounts of the church.

While theological doctrinal treatises and pastoral epistles are important indicators for assessing the state of the charismata through church history, these biographies and history give us distinct instances of miracles and signs. Although many might cast these off as obvious nonsense, as Christians we ought to treat our forebears with more respect. It is possible that some miraculous accounts may have been fabricated—just as they are today—but these counterfeits are not reason enough to doubt that bona fide miracles took place. It is important that we do not throw out the rest along with them. Miracles are by definition impossible, and therefore some will sound more impossible than others, this is an expected feature, not a fault.

When reading such texts, however, we should always be careful to heed Paul’s words from Romans 12.6, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them” and his example in Acts 14.3 “So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.” The gifts of Spirit are administered at the command and discretion of the Spirit, not as a result of human willpower or by means of repeatable actions, beyond that of prayer. Jesus himself performed miracles in unique ways, and this is also true of many saints from throughout church history. It is important to ensure that we do not seek to imitate these examples in kind, but rather in faith.

Conclusion

Though these are only a small sample of sources, they demonstrate evidence of continuation of the gifts throughout this period.  The charismata have been an encouragement to the saints throughout church history, not only during the time of the apostles, or in the world today. That history provides us with many faithful examples of gifted men and women, who exercised those gifts by the will of the Spirit who provided them. As the body of Christ today, we should follow Paul’s command in 1 Corinthians 12.31 to “earnestly desire the higher gifts” just as many saints have done before us.

Finally, balanced against the host of witnesses of the charismata, the presence of cessationist sources and theologians throughout history are not in themselves evidence for a cessation of the gifts. It is more than possible that certain gifts were administered in some churches and not others; yet they were present in the Church. Why this was the case—and is still—is a mystery we may never fully understand, but the presence of this mystery does not present a significant challenge to the continuationist case. Cessationists and continuationists both believe in the active role of at least some of the charismata today and in the Church throughout time. To give one example, Chrysostom, with whom we began, would be unanimously recognised as having received the gift of teaching in his day—one which led to the bestowal of his name “Golden Mouthed.”²⁵ We should all agree that this gift—whilst perhaps not as recognisably supernatural as prophecy or healing—is not simply achieved by oratorical acumen, but is made miraculously possible by the power of the Spirit.  Whilst an absence of the so-called “sign-gifts” is apparent during some periods—in various places—throughout history, it is clear that teaching about the charismata, the exercise of them, and accounts attesting to them extended beyond the closing of the canon and the passing of the last apostle. The existence of such evidence from sources we otherwise hold in high esteem makes this clear.

1. John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians. Early Church Fathers (Protestant Edition), ed. s.l.: Christian Literature Company. XXIX:1. ↩︎
2. Benjamin B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1918), 7. ↩︎
3. Benjamin B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1918), 7. ↩︎
4. Though more could be done, of course, to mine this theological vein throughout subsequent centuries. ↩︎
5. Gregory Nazianzen, Orations, Oration 31.2 Translated by Schaff, Philip Vol. 7 of A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, (Second Series. New York: Christian Literature Company, 1894). ↩︎
6. R.C. Sproul, The Mystery of the Holy Spirit (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1990), Chapter 8; Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Carlisle, PA: P&R Publishing, 1996), Chapter 10; Gregg Allison, Andreas Köstenberger, The Holy Spirit (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2018), Chapter 22. ↩︎
7. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Edited by John T. McNeill. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), IV.XIX.6. ↩︎
8. John Owen, The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, vol. 4 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), V.IV. ↩︎
9. Jonathan Edwards. Ethical Writings. Edited by Paul Ramsey and John E. Smith. Vol. 8 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards. (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1989) 149-172. ↩︎
10. S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Gregory Nazianzen. Translated by Schaff, Philip Vol. 7 of A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, (Second Series. New York: Christian Literature Company, 1894) Oration 31.5. ↩︎
11. Schaff, Philip, and Henry Wace, eds. S. Cyril of Jerusalem, S. Gregory Nazianzen. Vol. 7 of A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, (Second Series. New York: Christian Literature Company, 1894) 31.33. ↩︎
12. Novation of Rome, A Treatise of Novatian Concerning The Trinity, XXIX Translated by Roberts, Alexander, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds. Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix. Vol. 5 of The Ante-Nicene Fathers. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886). ↩︎
13. “according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12.6, ESV). ↩︎
14. Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Books 6-10. (Catholic University Press, 2002) Book IX, 207. ↩︎
15. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 2.32.4  Translated by Roberts, Alexander, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. Vol. 1 of The Ante-Nicene Fathers. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885). ↩︎
16. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 82. ↩︎
17. Tertullian, Against Marcion, 5.8. ↩︎
18. Augustine, The Retractions, 55. The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation Series, ed. s.l.: (Catholic University of America Press, 1968). ↩︎
19. Augustine,The Retractions, 55. The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation Series, ed. s.l.: (Catholic University of America Press, 1968). ↩︎
20. Augustine, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Homily VI:VI, Translated by  Schaff, Philip, ed. : Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies. Vol. 7 of A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series. New York: Christian Literature Company, 1888. ↩︎
21. Augustine City of God, in Schaff, Philip, ed. Vol. 2 of A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1887. Book XXII:XIII: Blind man healed (II). Blind woman healed (XI). Boy raised to life (XVI). Boy raised to life (XX). Clothing miraculously provided (X). Gout cured (V). Cancer healed (IV). Fistula healed (III). Fistula healed (XII). Trembling cured (XXIII). Trembling cured (XXIII). Female revived (XVII). Girl restored to life (XVIII). Young man healed (VII). Young man exorcised  (VIII). Young man exorcised (IX). Man healed (VI). Man cured of “stone” (XIII). Man raised to life (XIII). ↩︎
22. Martyrdom of Polycarp V, in Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds., The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, vol. 1 of The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885). ↩︎
23. Cartledge, M.J., ‘Charismatic Prophecy and New Testament Prophecy,’. Themelios 17, no. 1. ↩︎
24. Socrates Scholasticus, Church Histories. 4.27. The work referenced, The Historia Ecclesiastica, is a 5th century work written approximately 170 years after Gregory Thaumaturgus’s death. ↩︎
25. A century after his death he became known as Chrysostomos (“golden mouthed”) because of his gift for preaching, and the name has stuck. (Gerald Bray, Preaching the Word with John Chrysostom, ed. Michael A. G. Haykin, Lived Theology (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020. 4). ↩︎