Jesus Café Ministries - Scripture Squad - Losing fellowship, & has the gift of tongues ceased?

The Scripture Squad responds...

From: Susan
Dear Scripture Squad, I have many questions!

1John 1:7, and 1John 1:9....how does a believer break fellowship with the Lord. Any sin? Does it make a difference if it is known or unknown sin to this particular believer?

I Corinthians 13:8, tongues shall cease. I have been taught this means when the cannon of scripture is completed, but what is the reason and timing of tongues ceasing according to the Bible? Are there clear verses on this? Thank you for your research and answers. God is not weary to forget your work and labor of love.

Dear Susan,
It's good to look at the context when pondering a passage. In this case, we see 1 John 1:5 - 1 John 2:17 is contrasting light and darkness. Sin is characterized as "darkness" in this passage.

This passage teaches that God is holy and pure (1 John 1:5) and therefore cannot fellowship with darkness (sin). Sin is anything contrary to the character of God. You also ask if fellowship is broken with God if a sin is committed unknowingly. There is biblical proof for sins of omission in James 4:17. This verse also implies that one must know it is a sin first before being held accountable for it.

The penalties for believers include * loss of fellowship with God who is holy (1 John 1:6) * church excommunication (1 Corinthians 11:30) * chastisement (Hebrews 12:6) * sometimes physical death (1 Corinthians 11:30)

This passage also teaches that believers do sin, but born again believers do not practice sin (Romans 6).

The holiness, the purity, of God would dictate that there are not "levels" of sin in His eyes. That is, to say one type of sin is worse or better negates the definition and characteristic of holiness in God.

Your second question deals with something that we could be written volumes on and has stirred quite a controversy in the Church this century! We will attempt a brief answer, but hope to point you to areas you can study further asking the Holy Spirit to reveal true meaning to you.

We are not, not, not trying to churn up a hornets' nest! You ask if there are clear verses that state when tongues will cease. Well that would make it too easy on us!:) Instead, we must let Scripture interpret Scripture and see what the whole counsel of God says about the issue.

It's important to note that there were sign gifts and ministry gifts. The ministry gifts are discussed in Romans 12:6-8 and for the members of the Body of Christ to build one another up.

We know that tongues was a sign gift. It authenticated the message given and the messenger. This leads us to ask:

Is there a need for this after the completion of the canon?

Are we receiving new revelation today that would require a sign to validate them?

What would we say to someone claiming to be a messenger of God today whose message did not line up with Scripture?

Tongues are mentioned in 3 books of the Bible: Mark (16), Acts (2, 10, 19), and 1 Corinthians (12-14). In 1 Corinthians, Paul is giving practical knowledge to the Corinthians about the proper exercise of spiritual gifts. Paul points out the temporary nature of some of the gifts of the Spirit and shows the Corinthians' emphasis was wrong. Specifically, their motive was wrong. They wanted to show off their gifts to draw attention to themselves as if to say, "I'm more spiritual than you." Can you almost hear the "nanny, nanny, boo boos?" :-)

Paul says 3 gifts were going to come to an end. We'll deal only with tongues. This gift was NOT ecstatic speech, but the ability to speak a foreign language one had never learned as a sign of God's judgment to unbelieving Jews. It was also a sign which validated apostolic authority (Acts 2, 8, 10, 19) See also Hebrews 2:3-4.

So when would these gifts cease? Some say it's in the future. Some say they've already ceased. Please note than in this verse the words used to give a clear indication that tongues will cease at a different time than prophecy and knowledge. The Greek root word used here for "done away" is "katargeo" which is used with prophecy and knowledge. It is not the verb used when Paul spoke abut how tongues would stop. The verb used in relation to the ceasing of tongues is "pauo" which means "to stop."

Prophecy and knowledge with be done away by something called "the perfect thing." It will make prophecy and knowledge cease while the gift of tongues will have stopped by itself before the perfect thing. This is why we see tongues disappearing from the text after verse 8 while references to prophecy and knowledge go on.

So what's "the perfect thing?" Some say its the completion of canon, some say the maturation of the Church, some say the Rapture, some say the Second Coming. However, it seems "the perfect thing" has to be the eternal state (the new heaven and new earth) created after the kingdom:

There will be prophesying and teaching resulting in knowledge in the millennial kingdom (Isaiah 11: 9; 30:20-21, 32_3-4; Jeremiah 3:14-15; 23:1-4; Joel 2:28ff.; Revelation 11:1 ff.)

The "face to face" in 1 Corinthians 13:12 must be being with God in the new creation. "The perfect thing" occurs for any believer the moment he goes to be with Christ; but in time, the perfect thing comes in history when the eternal state begins when all is perfected.

The Greek verb is not passive, but in the middle voice, which always emphasizes the subject doing the action. So, the phrase in verse 8 means, "tongues will stop by themselves." OK...when?

Let's take a look at "perfect" as in "when the perfect comes" from 1 Corinthians 13:10.

Strong's Concordance lists "perfect" from this verse as

5046 teleios (tel'-i-os);
from 5056; complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); neuter (as noun, with 3588) completeness:
KJV--of full age, man, perfect.

5056 telos (tel'-os);
from a primary tello (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly, the point aimed at as a limit, i.e. (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically, an impost or levy (as paid):
KJV-- + continual, custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare 5411.

Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says "perfect" (teleios) is "used of things, complete, perfect, referring to the complete revelation of God's will and ways, whether in the completed Scritpures or in the heareafter." Used the same way also in Romans 12:2.

Gifts like tongues are mentioned only in the earliest epistles (like 1 Corinthians). No mention is made of sign gifts in later books such as Ephesians and Romans that both discuss gifts of the Spirit at length.

Whatever our individual gifts, our emphasis must be the message of the cross:

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Galatians 6:14)

- The Scripture Squad :
TCCaleb, TCCaff, RuthCCC & DawnCCC