This is part 18 of the Early Church History class.
I wonder how many Christians in the world today believe the gifts of the spirit ceased in the time of the apostles? I know there are quite a few. Many others, however, believe they are available today and make time for them in their worship services. This is one of those topics about which we don’t need to guess. We have the historical record and can just look and see if generations after the apostles continue to speak in tongues, prophecy, cast out demons, or perform miraculous healing. In today’s episode we’ll survey what the data say about the first five hundred of Christian history. We’ll also cover the Montanists, a lesser-known movement centered on prophecy, tongues, and asceticism.
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—— Notes ——
Gifts of the Spirit in General
- Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 82.1; 88.1
- Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 2.32.4
- Tertullian of Carthage, On Baptism 20
- Novatian of Rome, On the Trinity 29
- Apostolic Constitutions 8.1-2
Speaking in Tongues and Prophecy
- Didache 11.7-12
- Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5.6.1
- Tertullian of Carthage, Against Marcion 5.8; On the Soul 9
- Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity 8.33
Montanism (Excursus)
- 165 – Montanus began speaking in tongues and prophesying, initiating a movement called the New Prophecy[1]
- Sayings of Montanus
- “Behold, man is like a lyre and I fly to him like a plectrum. Man sleeps and I stay awake. Behold, the Lord is the one who throws human hearts into ecstasy and gives a heart to men.” (Panarion 48.5.1)[2]
- “I am the Lord God, the Almighty, who abide in man.” (Panarion 48.11.1)
- “Neither angel nor envoy, but I the Lord God, the Father, have come.” (Panarion 48.11.9)
- Maximilla and Priscilla became prophetesses.
- The New Prophecy people emphasized obedience to God, asceticism, fasting, celibacy, and spiritual experiences.
- They rejected remarriage and any serious sin after baptism.
- They survived until the mid-sixth century when Justinian initiated a persecution in Pepuza.
Exorcisms
- Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 30.3; 76.6; 85.2-3
- Tertullian of Carthage, On the Shows 29
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 7.4
- Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 20-21[3]
Healing and Miracles
- Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 2.31.2
- Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus 1.46, 67
- Cyprian, Letters 16.4.1; 39.1.2
- Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 14
- Apostolic Constitutions 8.26
Disappearance with Time
- Causes for diminishment
- Reaction to Montanists’ emphasis on the spirit
- Constantinian shift watered down Christianity, resulting in the gifts mainly finding expression among the desert fathers and mothers.
- Rigidity of church services and authority solely among bishops and councils quenched the spirit.
- John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Corinthians 29
- Augustine of Hippo, Homilies on 1 John 6
Review
- Christians throughout the first five centuries believed that gifts or charisms of the spirit were available to Christians.
- We have several reports of speaking in tongues as well as prophecy from the Didache, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hilary.
- In the second century, Montanus began a movement called the New Prophecy that emphasized the gifts of the spirit.
- New Prophecy leaders included female prophets such as Maximilla and Priscilla as well as a male theologian named Tertullian.
- Though excommunicated by many churches and persecuted by the government from Constantine onward, The New Prophecy movement endured for four centuries.
- Christians associated demons with the gods the pagans worshiped and confidently believed they had the power to drive them out.
- Casting out demons was standard operating procedure in churches both for first-time visitors and at baptisms.
- Miraculous healing, including raising the dead, was well-known to early Christians.
- Church orders said someone with the gift of healing would be obvious to all in the church.
- Over time, possibly due to a reaction against the Montanists, the Constantinian shift, or the rigidifying of church services, the gifts of the spirit diminished.
- By the fourth century, John Chrysostom said speaking in tongues and prophecy had ceased. By the fifth century, Augustine thought it silly to expect tongues.
[1] Others called them Phrygians, Cataphrygians, and Montanists
[2] Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion 48.5.1, trans. Philip R. Amidon (New York: Oxford 1990), 170.
[3] Available online at http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus-the-apostolic-tradition/
Congratulations on your 500th episode!
I do appreciate your Early Church History class and have already gained lots of new insights. Thanks a lot for your work!
One quick question re. speaking in tongues. It seems to me that there is some ambiguity in how this term is used: to denote speaking in a real foreign language unknown to the speaker; or to denote uttering speech-like sounds not recognizable as any existing language.
Glossolalia in Acts 2 clearly represents the former meaning, i.e. the new ability to speak in recognizable foreign languages. I have the impression that this is also the case in the majority of the text passages you cited. This seems quite fundamentally different from what you reported about Montanism and what is happening in Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity.
Therefore, to which degree is it really justified to claim that speaking in tongues as practiced nowadays was part of early Christianity?
First, let me say again that God has bless you with a mind to handle all this stuff. Thank you for using your gift well!!
An analogy popped into my head about how counterfeiters train. They do not spend so much time studying the many various counterfeited bills, rather they study the true bill so thoroughly and so repeatedly that when they look at any bill the counterfeit flaws are blatantly noticeable to them. This is why I was immediately drawn to the restitutionist movement.
As I continue my journey of a newly minted “restitutionist” I look to the simplicity of scripture and the “first century” Christianity that we see only from scripture. There has been so much evolution that may have begun in the second century but really seems to have exploded in the third and fourth centuries. All through the ages it seems that the “evolution” of Christianity has constantly ebbed and flowed. Someone has to wade through that swamp searching for truth and you, my friend, are uniquely gifted for that task.
The opinion that “everyone receives a gift at salvation” is an interesting “opinion”. However, what scripture reference supports this opinion? I am drawing a blank as I think about it. Elevating this “opinion” as coming from a “church father” again is not scriptural. The church has one Father, Jehovah, and we are not to call anyone on earth “father.” One could say that each person at salvation receives the gifts of “discernment” and “knowledge.” We get those from the holy spirit that will “teach us all things.”
Tertullian’s reporting of “experiences in the spirit by ecstatic vision” begs the question, what “spirit?” What makes this “normal?” Is it really “cool?” Is it what was happening in Acts? In Acts, the fact that “everyone heard them in their own language” clearly shows that they were not speaking gibberish. What was uttered was known languages and there is nothing to indicate that the apostles were in any kind of “trance” or other OOBE (Out of Body Experience) state. Just because there is record of this activity from the second century on does not validate it as biblically supported. The “uncharitable description” is likely accurate for the “gibberish” speaker. Is this gibberish sound really the gift?
I do not think it is accurate to compare “speaking for the LORD” from the OT. Old Testament prophecies were not gibberish. They spoke in their respective languages.
“Movements” are usually “extra-biblical” and focus on opinions or factors that are not clearly articulated in scripture. Tertullian, or any other early church theologian, supporting a movement adds nothing to it. Tertullian claiming Peter might have been in some sort of trance at the transfiguration of Christ is not at all “exegeted” from the passage. It is distorting the simple record. He “introduces” another “possible” interpretation then applies that “possible” view to his movement as if bringing Peter into the discussion validates the movement. Either way, Peter was speaking and everyone heard him “in their own language.”
While remaining neutral seems “fair” I think the idea of restoring Christianity to the first century essentially provides a clear standard by which we can view all the extra-biblical practices that came and went. Again, the fact that they were “forced to covert” or die shows that the Universal Religion (not Christianity) was no different than Islam in that regard.
I think all three theories as to why they ceased are actually in play here and the key is the “extra biblical” nature of all three theories. First are teachings and practices that morph the biblical record into an activity that is different from scripture; i.e. known languages into gibberish. Second, is a Universal Religion that was not really “Christian” and the enforcement of this religion in a manner that is no different the Islam. Third, is the creation of “traditions” and a “controlled” or “rigid” form of worship that everyone must adhere to. This forced structure is the epitome of the Nicolaitan Doctrine.
Based on a simple word study of “Nicolaitan”, it is clear this doctrine has nothing to do with some poor guy named Nicolas that was vilified by the Universal Religion. “Nico-” means to control, oppress, or conquer and “-laitan” applies to the people (laity). The Universal Religion was the epitome of this doctrine, which explains why they created the “Nicolas” explanation. There is a fine line that separates where “leaders” of the church have “authority” from the biblical picture of them being a “shepherd” of the flock.
The “oversight and care” of a shepherd over a flock is different that the “authority” exercised over a group that is “governed.”
One last thought. Why is being driven into the desert attributed to the more “spiritually minded” believers. Is that to say if you were not driven into the desert, you were not “spiritually minded” about your faith? Not necessarily! Being “more spiritually minded” has nothing to do with the choices regarding asceticism and monasticism.
Thanks again, Brother, for giving my mind a workout!