# On Spiritual Gifts and Reformed Theology



## caddy (Mar 12, 2007)

As our H.S. Class was Looking at Ephesians 4 numerous questoins arose concerning Spiritual Gifts.

To be quite honest, I have not looked at this from a Reformed Perspective but did a little digging and found these good links: J.I Packer's _Owen on Spiritual Gifts_, the other Frame-poythress site:


http://www.johnowen.org/media/packer_quest_for_godliness_ch_13.pdf

http://www.frame-poythress.org/poythress_articles/1996Modern.htm

or here:

http://www.etsjets.org/jets/journal/39/39-1/39-1-pp071-101_JETS.pdf

Monergism's Treatment:

http://www.monergism.com/directory/search.php?action=search_links_advanced&phrase%5B0%5D=spiritual+Gifts&phrase%5B1%5D=&phrase%5B2%5D=&boolean=and&category=0&bigboss=0&sort=title&perpage=20&B1=Search


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## panta dokimazete (Mar 12, 2007)

Wayne Grudem has some interesting perspectives in his Systematic Theology.


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## matthew11v25 (Mar 12, 2007)

I am reading "Are Miraculous Gifts for today". The Editor, Grudem, takes four different theologians, with four different positions writing in debate format...opening statement and then short responses by the other writers. It has been an interesting book.


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## panta dokimazete (Mar 12, 2007)

Wayne Grudem said:


> I would want to say to cessationists and to open but cautious people on the one hand that I agree that there are ways in which the Holy Spirit is still working that are similar to what was happening in the first century churches and described in the New Testament. I think that the first century church and the New Testament generally encourages us to seek miraculous workings of the Holy Spirit much more than we do in mainstream Evangelical churches. I think if we did, and if we taught about spiritual gifts that were consistent with Scripture and which put safeguards against abuses, that we would see a much greater explosion of the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in bringing more unbelievers to Christ and in bringing physical and emotional and relational healing to people within our churches and in bringing us to new levels of joy in worship beyond the very positive things that we see today. I would like to see much more, not just openness to, but encouragement of the miraculous works of the Holy Spirit. That's what I've written some of the things that I have.



...also...



> I think it is somewhat of a historical aberration that cessationism - that the leaders of the Reformed movement have been cessationist. This was certainly not true in the seventeenth century among Puritans in England, for instance, like Richard Baxter. In The Christian Directory he has a number of statements that align almost exactly with my view of the gift of prophecy. And I quote those in the back of The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today. I took a couple of pages from Baxter's The Christian Directory and I faxed those to J.I. Packer and said, "It looks like Baxter holds the same view of prophecy that I do." Packer faxed me back and said, "Yes, you're right. This was the standard Puritan view. They weren't cessationists in the Gaffin sense." Let me just find that. Jim Packer gave me permission to quote that. I am quoting John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, the Westminster Confession of Faith, Samuel Rutherford, George Gillespie, Richard Baxter. I quote this on page 353 to 356 of The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today. Packer, whose doctoral dissertation at Oxford was on Richard Baxter's works, sent back the following: "By the way, some weeks ago you faxed me an extract from Baxter about God making "personal, informative revelation" (those were Packer's words). This was the standard Puritan view as I observed it - they weren't cessationist in the Richard Gaffin sense." That's J.I. Packer's personal fax to me on September 9, 1997 and I quoted it by permission.




interview with Challies


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## Greg (Mar 12, 2007)

Steven,

If you're able, check out O. Palmer Robertson's, The Final Word.


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## Beoga (Mar 12, 2007)

Here is a good site with soom good reads:
http://the-highway.com/charismatic_index.html
Along with these two articles:
http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/NH02/01d.html
http://www.upper-register.com/other_studies/prophecy_tongues.html


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