The Apostolic Office & the Apostolic Sign Gifts

The following excerpts are reproduced from Norman Geisler’s book Signs and Wonders without permission from either the publisher or author. I emailed permission@tyndale.com twice now in the past year to ask them for permission to keep this posted on this site but they haven’t responded.

I’m indebted to Geisler’s words here as they helped revolutionize my understanding of many questions about the differences of early church and modern church, apostles, signs and wonders. It is my hope that my sharing them further will help replace some insanity with sanity for some.

p.133-138

Does anyone possess the same miraculous powers that the apostles had? To answer this question, let’s take a look at who apostles were and what their special powers enabled them to do.

The Unique Ministry of the Apostles

Not every follower of Christ was an apostle. Jesus had many followers, but he chose only twelve to be apostles (Matthew 10:1). To be an apostle, one had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. The stated qualification for the vacated office was that one “must become a witness . . . for his resurrection” (Acts 1:22). Paul met this qualification (1 Corinthians 15:7) and defended his apostleship to the Corinthians, saying, “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1). So while there were more apostles than the original twelve (see Acts 14:14), the number was definitely limited. Paul said emphatically: “Not all are apostles” (1 Corinthians 12:29, NASB).

Apostles had a special task. They were the foundation of the Christian church. Jesus promised to guide them to “all truth” and bring to their remembrance “everything” He had taught them (John 14:26; 16:13). Paul declared that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). Indeed, the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). Their special divine authority was exercised in both doctrine (Acts 15) and in discipline (Acts 5).

The apostles, like the Old Testament prophets, received divinely infallible revelation. Their revelations are written in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). These revelations were considered to be “Scripture” right alongside of the Old Testament (2 Peter 3:15-16). Their books were read in the churches (1 Thessalonians 5:27), passed on to other churches (Colossians 4:16), and collected by other believers (2 Peter 3:15-16). Indeed, their special miraculous powers were used to confirm that their teaching was from God. The miracles were a confirmation of their message (Hebrews 2:3-4).

The Unique Supernatural Powers of an Apostle

Not only did God give apostles the special task of founding the Christian church, but He also gave them special “sign” gifts to administer their task of founding and teaching the Christian church. From the beginning the early church. . .

“. . . devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and . . . everyone was filled with awe,

and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:42-43).

Later, the apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that . . .

“. . . the things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—

were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12).

Since being an apostle was a special God-ordained task, it necessitated special divinely bestowed gifts.

The Apostolic Gift of Tongues

Only the apostles received the gift of tongues at Pentecost (see Appendix 7). Others later received the same gift through “the laying on of the apostles hands” (Acts 8:18). Philip preached to the Samaritans and even did “great signs and miracles” (Acts 8:13) by the gifts that he received from the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 6:6; 2 Timothy 1:6). But even though God greatly blessed Philip’s evangelistic efforts in Samaria, the Samaritan believers did not receive the Holy Spirit through his ministry. Only later when the apostles came and laid hands on them did they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (8:15-18). The same was true for Cornelius and the Italians (Acts 10:44-46) and for the Asians (Acts 19:1-6). They were believers but did not receive the Holy Spirit or speak in tongues except through an apostle.

Paul’s personal wish that all could speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:5) was as unfulfillable as his desire that he could be lost if Israel could be saved (Romans 9:3). And his exhortation to “desire spiritual gifts” including tongues was given to the whole church (the plural is used), not to each individual. For he clearly stated that only some were given tongues (12:10, 12:30), and so only these were to seek to exercise them in an orderly way (14:27). Further, the gift of tongues was a real, knowable language (Acts 2:8), not an unintelligible utterance. The fact that the apostles spoke immediately and fluently in a real language they had never learned marked this as a miraculous. The gift of tongues was a sign to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:11). It was a special power that god provided the early church only to and through an apostle.

Other Special Apostolic Gifts

Other supernatural gifts were also given by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. Paul, who had not seen the Christians at Rome, said,

“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong”

(Romans 1:11).

Paul told Timothy:

“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you . . . when the body of elders laid their hands on you”

(1 Timothy 4:14).

That the elders here were apostles is made clear when Paul later reminded Timothy to . . .

“. . . fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands”

(2 Timothy 1:6).

Apostles are called elders elsewhere (2 John 1). They were elders by office (1 Timothy 3:1) but apostles by gift (1 Corinthians 12:29; Ephesians 4:11). The unique function of an apostle was that only they received these special gifts and only they were able to give them to others.

The Special Period of Sign Gifts

The apostles were a special group of Christ’s disciples with special gifts, and they lived at a special time. According to Acts 1:22 an apostle had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. Paul explicitly states this as his qualification to be an apostle (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:7). The author of Hebrews describes apostles as “those who heard him [Christ]” (Hebrews 2:3) and adds,

“God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles,

and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (v.4).

It is also clear that apostles lived only in the first century. The twelve apostles were said to have been “eyewitnesses” of Jesus’ earthly ministry (Luke 1:2), men present on earth when “Jesus went in and out among” them (Acts 1:21). As Jesus said to them, “You also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:27). When Jesus later appeared to Paul, it was made clear that this was the “last of all” His appearances (1 Corinthians 15:8). Indeed, Hebrews 2:3 refers to the miraculous confirmation through the apostles as a past event “was confirmed.” Writing after the time of miraculous apostolic confirmation in the Book of Acts, Jude speaks of the “faith that was once for all entrusted [in the past] to the saints” through the apostles (vv. 3, 17).

Contrasting Earlier and Later Use of Sign Gifts

There is a marked contrast in the use of sign gifts between earlier and later periods in the New Testament. This can be expressed in the following comparison.

Early Period	Later Period
(A.D. 33-60)	(A.D. 60-67)
Book of Acts	Ephesians--2nd Timothy
Tongues mentioned often	Tongues never mentioned
Healings	No healings
Exorcisms	No exorcisms
Raising of the dead	No raising from the dead

There were certain gifts that were “signs of an apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12). As we have seen, these included tongues (1 Corinthians 14:22), exorcisms (Matthew 10:8), raising the dead (Matthew 10:8), and healing of “every disease and sickness” (Matthew 10:1). During the time of “the Acts of the Apostles” these were all done freely (Acts 2-6, 8-10, 16, 19, 28). Indeed, Paul was still exercising his gifts in the last chapter of Acts (28:9) around A.D. 58. Likewise, these same gifts are mentioned in the Epistles (1 Corinthians 12, 14) referring to events that happened during this period (A.D. 33-60).

However, as soon as we arrive at the time of Paul’s imprisonments (around A.D. 60-67) there is not only a complete absence of reference to any of these special apostolic gifts (see Appendix 8), there is strong evidence that they no longer possessed these abilities. For example, the same apostle who could heal everyone on a whole island (Acts 28:9) could no longer even heal his coworkers in the ministry. The apostles could heal a person born lame (Acts 3), but Paul could not give Timothy miraculous relief from a simple stomach ailment and had to recommend that he take medicine for it (1 Timothy 5:23). The same apostle who exorcised a demon on command (Acts 15) could only hope for repentance that Hymenaeus and Philetus would “escape from the trap of the devil” (2 Timothy 2:26). And the same apostle who once had the power to raise the dead (Acts 20) now cannot even raise his needed friend Trophimus from a sick bed (2 Timothy 4:20). And when we reach Hebrews (A.D. 68-69) the sign gifts are referred to as a past event (2:3-4). The writer says that what Jesus announced “was confirmed to us by those who heard him [apostles]. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and miraculous miracles.”

Even a casual observer can see that there is a marked contrast between the free exercises of sign gifts in the earlier period with their stark absence in the later period. Indeed, the very gifts that distinguished an apostle, such as, raising the dead, healing incurable diseases, exorcising demons on command, and speaking in unknown foreign languages, are no longer expressed in the later period. They have ceased just as Paul predicted they would (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Although Paul does not specify here when these gifts would cease, he does say that they will. Furthermore, he hints that this would occur as the church progressed toward “maturity” (1 Corinthians 13:10; cf Ephesians 4:12). Although this will not be complete till the Second Coming (v.12), he does not say that all the gifts will last until then. Indeed, it is obvious from the contrasts above that the gifts petered out as the early church matured.

p.139+

. . . The Bible says that only apostles had or could give these special gifts, and apostles lived only in the first century. When the apostles and those to whom they gave these gifts died, then these special miraculous signs ceased as well.

Miraculous Confirmation of Apostles

Apostles not only received special revelations from God, but they also received special confirmations as well. There was a sign to confirm the sermon, a miracle to attest to their message. For …

“salvation which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles”

(Hebrews 2:3-4).

The pattern of divine confirmation has been the same down through the ages. When ever God commissions a prophet to speak for Him, He gives miraculous confirmation of that prophet to those who need it. God did this for Moses (Exodus 4), for Elijah (1 Kings 18), for Jesus (Acts 2:2), and for the apostles (Hebrews 2:3-4). So anyone speaking as an apostle or prophet today must show the special signs of an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12). And if apostles exist today, then their revelations are just as divinely authoritative and infallible as those in the Bible.

What were the unique qualifications of an apostle, and how do we know that apostles and new apostolic revelations do not exist today?

First, an apostle was an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:22; 1 Corinthians 9:1). Only those who were alive in the first century qualify. Anyone who claims to be an apostle today would have to be nearly two thousand years old.

Second, an apostle could and did perform miraculous and instantaneous healings of organic sickness. Peter healed the man born crippled “and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk” (Acts 3:7-8). The Scriptures add that “everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 3:7-8). So impressive were these supernatural healings that “crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed” (5:16). In fact, there is not a single case of attempted healing that failed. Paul healed everyone on the island of Malta, for when news of one of his healings spread, “the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured” (Acts 28:9).

Third, apostles could and did convey supernatural powers on others. The first deacons were chosen and presented to the “apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.” Then “Stephen. . . did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (Acts 6:6,8). Another deacon the apostles laid hands on had miraculous powers. The bible says “the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did. . .” (Acts 8:6). Timothy was given his gifts by the laying on of the hands of the apostle Paul (2 Timothy 1:6). So the apostles not only had special miraculous powers, but they also had the special ability to convey these gifts on others who worked with them in establishing the universal church (Ephesians 2:20). And once the foundation was laid in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:22) and recorded in the New Testament, there was no need for these sign gifts.

Fourth, the apostles raised the dead. Jesus commanded the apostles to raise the dead (Matthew 10:1). Jesus raised the dead on several occasions (Luke 7, 8; John 11). And the apostles also raised the dead (Acts 9, 20). These were people who had truly died physically, not people who had fainted or were in a coma. In the case of Lazarus he had been dead for four days, and his body had begun to decompose (John 11:39). Some claim to be able to raise the dead today, but they usually refuse to give names and addresses. . .

Fifth, as we have seen, the apostles spoke in real languages they had never learned, and those that spoke those native tongues could understand (Acts 2:1-8). There is no evidence that anyone has this supernatural gift today. Even most charismatics do not claim to be able to speak in a real knowable language. Rather, they claim to speak in a private tongue or so-called prayer language. This could be considered spiritual groaning. It is an attempt to utter the unutterable that comes out as unintelligible. It is a kind of spiritual stuttering. These utterances should not be confused with the supernatural gift of speaking in a foreign language that the apostles exercised in Acts 2 (see Appendix 5).

We can clearly distinguish what many call “the gift of tongues” today from the special supernatural gift of speaking in a foreign language that was experienced by early Christians throughout the Book of Acts. This New Testament gift of a real language was a supernatural power that they were given instantly. It was not something they were taught to do, nor was it nonlanguage utterances. The gift of foreign languages the apostles experienced was truly supernatural.

There is no evidence that anyone today has a supernatural gift to speak in a real language to which he was never exposed. The few instances offered in which a real language, unknown to the speaker, is used are generally not scrutinized critically. For example, these questions are not carefully explored:

1. Can it be demonstrated that the person is speaking a real language, not simply linguistic gibberish?

2. Can it be demonstrated that the person was exposed to the foreign words, phrases, or sentences that he used at another time in his life so that he is being activated in a manner similar to memory activation while under hypnosis?

3. Does the person do this repeatedly so that it can be considered an abiding gift? Or was the alleged occasion of speaking in a real foreign language an isolated instance? For a sudden, one-time utterance in a real unlearned language would only qualify for a miracle in fact but not as an abiding gift.

The current claim to possess the New Testament gifts, such as the apostles exercised in the Book of Acts, remains without confirmation. And since the New Testament clearly limits these special powers to the apostles and limits the apostles to the first century, we must conclude that these apostolic sign gifts do not exist today. The difference can be illustrated as follows:

Miracles

GIFT OF	FACT OF
In Bible times	At any time
Some humans had it	No human has it
Done only through human agents	Done without using human agents
Confirms new revelation	Does not confirm new revelation
Temporary	Permanent

Summary

The apostles possessed unique gifts, including instantaneous healings of organic sickness, speaking in real but unknown (to them) languages, and even raising people who were actually physically dead. It is apparent from the nature of these gifts that no one possesses them today.

Of course, God still performs miracles, but no one has the gift of miracles. But this should not seem strange, for neither does anyone have the gift of apostleship today. God does not change, but His plan for different times has changed. God once required animal sacrifices but no longer does. God once gave new, normative revelation for the church, but both charismatics and noncharismatics agree that he no longer does. So it should not seem strange that God no longer performs miracles with the purpose of confirming new revelation, which He is no longer giving.

God still intervenes from time to time for His own glory. But since He has already confirmed the revelation that He gave to the apostles as the foundation of the church, He has no need to give special sign gifts to confirm new revelation. Jesus is the full and final revelation of God. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets, . . . but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1). And this revelation of Christ “was confirmed to us by those who heard him [apostles]. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles” (Hebrews 2:3-4).

This full and final revelation of Christ through the apostles is preserved in the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. So the Bible is God’s full and final revelation for believers today. As Christian creeds and confessions say, “The Bible is sufficient for faith and practice.” Hence, the Christian motto today should be: “The word of God, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.” It is an insult to the sufficiency and finality of Holy Scriptures to claim it is God’s full and final revelation only to set it aside and ask God to speak directly to us. For the Spirit of God who inspired the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) used it to speak to the people of God. God does not bypass His Word to speak to His people. . .

(to be continued…)

(Still planning to add three appendii)