Session 1: Kevin Hay - Defining Cessationism (Ephesians 2:20; Selected Scriptures)

Introduction and Conference Context

So I'm going to introduce our first speaker. He said to me before I stepped up here, he said, I said, are you ready to go? And he said, yeah, that's right. This is the continuationist conference, right?

And I said, yes, you have 30 seconds to make your case. Kevin is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Canova, West Virginia. He received a master's of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently working on a doctor of ministry and expository preaching from the master's seminary.

Kevin is married to Alicia who is here as well, and they have eight children. Please welcome Kevin Hay.

For your hospitality and Jim Osman for hosting this event. And of course the makers of the film, cessationist, not continuationist. I know where I'm at. Just for putting this conference together, it's already been a great blessing to me and my wife and just looking forward to seeing how the Lord is going to use our time together and also how he's going to use this movie to strengthen and edify the body of Christ.

Defining Cessationism from Ephesians 2

So with that said, this evening, I have been tasked with the responsibility of defining cessationism. Defining cessationism. And so with that in mind, I want to invite and encourage you to grab your copy of God's word and open it with me, if you will, to the book of Ephesians, chapter two.

The Apostle Paul's epistle to the Ephesians. And we're going to begin in Ephesians chapter two. For context, up to this point in Paul's letter, he has expounded upon the robust richness of the gospel and the glorious grace of God that has been lavished upon those who have trusted in Christ for salvation.

And now our text begins in chapter two, verse 11. And so for those who are able, I'll ask that you stand with me for the reading of God's word. Ephesians chapter two will begin in verse 11 and read through verse 22.

And there God's word reads. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who are far off and peace to those who were near. For through him, we both have access in one spirit to the father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the spirit. And with that, you can be seated as we ask God to bless the reading and the preaching of his word. Father, father, we come to you this evening in the name, the perfect name and the perfect work of your son, Jesus Christ.

Father, what a privilege we have to gather together in this place for this purpose above all to worship you, to ascribe to you the richness and the majesty and the splendor of your greatness, to open your word and to see the excellencies of Christ and the glory of your work through the power of your spirit in your church.

I thank you for this church and I thank you for their great love for you and for your word. I'm excited Lord within myself to think of all that you're doing in our midst, how you have providentially orchestrated this event, this conference, this weekend.

We pray your blessings upon the cessationist film and our time together. As we open your word, father, I pray that you would anoint the preaching of your word and that your spirit would move among us and that you would be honored and glorified.

I pray that you help me to preach with confidence and conviction and clarity and compassion.

As we hear your word,.

I pray Lord that we would be transformed and changed by it. Help us to see with eyes of faith what you're doing throughout redemptive history, both in the past at the beginning of the church's life, but also today.

I pray father that you will give us a spirit empowered increase of affection for your word and for your Christ. Help us to love the church well and help us to celebrate all that you are doing in our midst.

Let me pray this in the powerful and precious name of Christ, amen. Well, if you were to walk into this church or if you were to walk into my office at the church where I pastor, you would see sitting in the corner leaning against my bookshelf, a tall cylinder shaped set of papers that are bound together with a rubber band.

And if you were to unroll that set of papers, you would find the blueprints to the house that my wife and I are prayerfully seeking to build. Included in those blueprints, of course, are the specific measurements and the dimensions for the foundation of our house.

Now, my wife and my children and I, we know where we want to lay the foundation. Actually, we already own the land and we've visited the property many times. We've taken pictures and had picnics and we can't wait to see the day when we finally are able to break ground.

At the same time, I know how important the foundation is to the overall structure of our future home. In fact, my dad is a carpenter who builds houses for a living. And so throughout my life, from childhood into young adulthood, I have both seen and helped build a number of houses with my dad.

And when I look back at the multitude of homes that were constructed, I can say with absolute confidence that there was never a single time when anyone was upset with the completion of the foundation.

Never happened.

The homeowners were always ecstatic to see the foundation laid because that meant that progress on their house was being made. My dad was always excited because with the completion of the foundation, that meant that he could begin to build the floor and the walls and then the roof.

And even the concrete workers were happy because with the foundation finished, it meant another job well done. So my friends, throughout this conference, we are going to be examining the nature of the Holy Spirit's work in and through the church.

And in that process, we are going to be celebrating the completion of the church's foundation and the ongoing ways in which Christ is building his church according to the sovereign supernatural power of the Holy Spirit today.

So to that end, as we begin to look this evening at our text from Ephesians chapter two, the first thing I want us to notice is the overarching progression of the passage. Speaking specifically to the Gentiles, Paul begins by reminding them of who they used to be.

As unbelieving Gentiles, not only were they spiritually separated from Christ, but they were completely alienated from the knowledge of God that had been revealed to the Jews. In Christ, though, they've now been brought near, Paul says.

And through the cross, God has eliminated the hostility that existed between Jews and Gentiles. And signifying that is the reference we see in verse 14. He speaks there of Christ being our peace and of, quote, breaking down the dividing wall of hostility.

It's worth noting that at that time in the Jewish temple, there was an outer area that the Gentiles could enter into, but then there was a literal wall that actually divided and physically prevented the Gentiles from entering in to the inner courts of the temple.

In fact, there were warning signs which have been discovered years later which say no foreigner is allowed to enter within the barricades surrounding the sanctuary.

And the court.

Whoever is caught will be personally responsible for his ensuing death. And so Paul here is using a play on words to communicate to these Gentiles that there is no longer a distinction. They're no longer prevented or separated.

God has given to them the same privileges that are possessed by believing Jews. But then from there, Paul uses three metaphors that I want us to notice to demonstrate that reality. The first one is found at the beginning of verse 19.

Christ, who is our peace, has preached peace to both Jews and Gentiles through his death on the cross. Those who are both near and far who believe upon him for salvation, he says, are no longer strangers or foreigners, but rather they are now fellow citizens.

So it's this metaphor of citizenship with Christ as king. But then Paul, to see the progression of our passage, brings us even further. At the end of verse 19, he uses the metaphor of a family, saying that through the gospel, we're not just fellow citizens of Christ's kingdom, but we're actually members of the household of God.

We're sons and daughters of the living God. But then, not to stop there, Paul brings us even further still. And going back to the imagery of the temple that he mentioned earlier, the apostle now makes the transition in verses 20 through 22 to say that we're not just fellow citizens of Christ's kingdom, we're not just spiritual siblings in the household of God, no, we are actually the very temple of God himself.

We are being built together as the very place where God dwells, which is the church of Jesus Christ. And it's all accomplished by the supernatural power of God's spirit. And so it's this description of the church that I want us to use as a framework this evening to help guide us in our definition of cessationism.

And I wanna do that in the form of three affirmations. So if you'll look with me at the beginning of verse 20, the first thing I want us to recognize this evening is that cessationism affirms and celebrates the foundational completion of the church.

Cessationism affirms and celebrates the foundational completion of the church. Now, this is not a trick question, but let me ask you this evening, when building a structure, how many foundations are there?

I said, it's not a trick question. One, thank you. That's right, one foundation. You do not build a foundation, construct the first floor, and then build another foundation on the second story. No, by its very definition, the foundation of a structure is only built one time.

Even massive skyscrapers towering thousands of feet into the air still have just a single foundation. The Apostle Paul will make this very point in his first epistle to the Corinthians in chapter three, verses 10 and 11, when he writes, according to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And so not only as a general principle, but also specifically as it pertains to the church, there is only one foundation.

As the opening stanza to that great hymn proclaims, the church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord. She is his new creation by water and the word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride.

With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died. And of course, all true believers will triumphantly declare that Christ is the church's foundation, just as the end of verse 20 tells us that Christ is the cornerstone.

And just so we understand in thinking about Paul's metaphor of a temple, the cornerstone was the strongest, most significant part of the temple's foundation. It was the first stone to be laid, and it set the trajectory for the rest of the structure.

So all genuine believers, regardless of where they stand on the gifts, joyfully agree on Christ as the centrality of the foundation. But when it comes to the completion of the foundation, this is where cessationists and continuationists disagree.

As cessationists, we affirm that the foundation of the church has been beautifully, gloriously, objectively finished. There is no ongoing work to be done to the foundation. There is no subjectiveness or speculation because Christ is the cornerstone.

There is no need for renovation. There are no cracks that need to be repaired, missing pieces that need to be added, or areas that need to be leveled. No, as cessationists, we stand unapologetically upon the rock-solid foundation with absolute confidence.

For continuationists, although they may not admit it, in order to be consistent, they would have to acknowledge that they believe the foundation of the church is incomplete, not as it pertained, keep in mind, to the finished work of Christ, but particularly in the area that we find described in the next part of verse 20.

If you look there with me, Paul continues writing there, stating that this foundation is, quote, of the apostles and prophets. And so the next thing I want us to recognize this evening is that cessationism affirms and celebrates the foundational role of the apostles and prophets.

Cessationism affirms and celebrates the foundational role of the apostles and prophets. So first of all, it's important to note here that it's not that these individuals themselves are the substance of the foundation.

It's not what Paul is saying. That place belongs to Christ and Christ alone. But rather, the idea is that God has called certain individuals to play a pivotal role in establishing the church's foundation.

Once again, to use Paul's own testimony from 1 Corinthians 3, 10, and 11, he says, according to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

So we can think of the apostles and prophets then who were called and empowered by God's grace in the earliest days of the church's existence as foundation builders.

That's what they were.

God was establishing the foundation of the church through these apostles and prophets. And we're gonna spend most of our time this evening focusing on the apostles, but I do wanna take just a few minutes to identify these prophets.

Most often, of course, when we think of the term prophet, we think of Old Testament prophets. But when we interpret this in its proper context, what we come to realize is that Paul is actually referring to New Testament prophets.

In fact, in the very next chapter, referring to the mystery of the gospel, which is that believing Gentiles and believing Jews are now fellow heirs and members of Christ's church, Paul will say in verses four and five, when you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men and other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

Again, in chapter four, referring to the gifts of Christ to the church at its inception, Paul will write in verse 11 saying, and he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers.

So what then was the role of a New Testament prophet and how is that related to the establishment of the church's foundation? Well, like the prophets before them, their role was to speak the word of God to the people of God and that word carried with it the very authority of God.

But for the New Testament prophet, their purpose and their calling had an expiration date because they were only serving in that role until the canon of scripture was closed and complete. That's why in the book of Hebrews, which is one of the final writings inspired by God, the author begins by saying this, long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom also he created the world.

So the role then of the New Testament prophet was to speak the words that God put into his mouth and that role was instrumental in the establishment of the church until the New Testament was completed and the canon of scripture was closed.

But then that brings us to the role of the apostle. The term apostle simply means to be sent out. There are two ways that scripture uses this term. In the Greek, it's apostolos. First, scripture uses the term apostle, lowercase a in a general way for anyone who is sent to carry out a task, similar to the concept of an ambassador or someone who represents the will or the wishes of another.

For example, in John 13, 16, Jesus says, truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger, apostolos, greater than the one who sent him. But then the second way scripture uses this term is the way Paul is using it here in our text and that is as an official office of the early church.

And so in the case of the office of apostle, that is to say capital A, we only find a small number of men who are identified by that title in scripture. And what we discover from God's word is that in order for a man to serve in the office of apostle he had to meet three very specific qualifications.

First, he had to be personally appointed by Jesus Christ himself. That's number one. We see that in places like 1 Corinthians 12, verse 28. Paul says there, and God has appointed in the church, first, apostles, second, prophets, and so forth.

We also read it earlier in Ephesians 4, 11 when it said that Christ gave to the church apostles, prophets, et cetera. So to be an official apostle of Christ, you had to be appointed by Christ. Second, you had to be able to work signs and miracles.

That's number two. In 2 Corinthians 12, 12, the apostle Paul says, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with the utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. We see a description of some of these miracles in the gospel of Matthew chapter 10.

While Christ is still with his original 12, it says there, and he called to him his 12 disciples and he gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and heal every disease and every affliction.

And then in verse seven, listen to the instructions that Jesus gives to his disciples. He says this, and proclaim as you go, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And directly after that, it says this, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.

And so that points us then to the fundamental purpose for why Jesus' true apostles were given the ability.

To perform miracles.

The miraculous works they performed validated the words they spoke. Just as Christ did when he walked upon the earth, the apostles were called to declare with power and authority, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

And in order to prove that the words they spoke were actually coming from Christ, the Lord empowered them with the supernatural power to perform miracles. It validated the claims they were making. And so the question is, why was that important for the establishment of the church?

What was God's purpose in all of this? The answer is because those miracles were signs pointing to the authenticity of the truth of the gospel they were declaring, which would be the very foundation of Christ's church.

Then from there, though, the third criteria for a genuine apostle was that he had to be a witness to the resurrected Christ. We often mention this qualification for apostles without putting much thought into it.

They had to witness the resurrected Christ. We know that if we know this topic that we're talking about. But what I want us to see is the profound continuity for why this was an essential condition for apostleship.

Why was that a necessary criteria for a man who was called to be an apostle? Scripture, of course, tells us that Jesus is the word made flesh. Throughout Christ's ministry, again and again, we find our Lord testifying to the reality that he only spoke and did what was told to him by the Father.

John 7, 16. Jesus says, my teaching is not mine, but him who sent me. John 8, 26. He who sent me is true and I declare to the world what I have heard from him. John 12, 49 and 50. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has given himself or has himself, excuse me, given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak.

And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me. John 14, 10. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

And finally, John 14, 24. The word you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. In other words, Jesus was claiming that when he spoke, God was speaking. At every turn, with every syllable and every word, when Christ spoke, God was speaking.

And although he performed many signs and miracles pointing to his identity as the Messiah, in fact, the gospel of John is often laid out according to that structure, these signposts pointing to the Messiah.

The question is, how did he respond to those who asked for a sign? We see it in the gospel of Matthew 12. It says there in verses 38 through 40, then some of the scribes and the Pharisees answered him saying, teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.

But he answered them. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

So what then was the ultimate sign validating the claims of Christ? What was the preeminent miracle performed by Jesus that proved that his words were true? It was his resurrection from the dead. By raising Christ from the dead and conquering death in our place, God was declaring that the words of Jesus were true and that his sacrificial death upon the cross was accepted as the satisfaction for God's wrath on our behalf.

And just listen to how the apostle Paul demonstrates the connection of his own apostleship and role in establishing the foundation of the church with the reality of Christ's resurrection. We often gloss over this at the very beginning of the introductory greeting to Romans, but it's actually there at the very beginning in that monumental letter that he says this.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures concerning his son who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship.

To do what? To bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, Paul says. It's a glorious reality. And so this is why witnessing the resurrected Christ was an essential qualification of apostleship.

In the same way that the miraculous sign of Christ's resurrection demonstrated that his words were true, the miraculous sign gifts of the apostles validated that they were speaking truth and that those words were authoritative and were referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ himself.

Therefore, not only could their words be trusted, this is one we often forget, their words must be obeyed. They're coming from God. We as his image bearers and his creation are commanded to obey them.

This is precisely what we see happening in that well-known passage from Acts chapter two. On the day of Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit is poured out and the church is born, the miraculous sign gifts of tongues validate the occasion in fulfillment of the words spoken by the prophet Joel and of Jesus's promise of the coming spirit.

But then notice what the apostle Peter, now emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit says. Beginning in verse 22 of Acts two, he says this, Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst.

As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

And then down to verse 32, this Jesus, God raised up and of that, we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

And then down to verse 36, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucify. And then notice how these people respond to what they're hearing.

It says, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, repent. And they baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation.

And so here, what I want us to notice is that we have a very practical example of why the apostles played a pivotal role in establishing the church's foundation. These men have witnessed the resurrected Christ.

They have been appointed by Christ and their appointment along with the words they are proclaiming have been validated by signs and wonders. So then what is the practical result of that authoritative proclamation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Well, we see it beginning in verse 41, one of the most beautiful passages of all of scripture. It says, so those who received his word and were baptized and they were added that day about 3 ,000 souls, think of that.

And they devoted themselves to what? The apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And all came upon every soul. And many wonders and signs were being done through, and we'll just ask the question, who?

The apostles, the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common, the unity around the gospel. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. Both hospitality and generosity abound. Verse 47, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And I love this last verse. And the Lord added to their number day by day, those who were being saved. My friends, not only do cessationists affirm the foundational role of the apostles and prophets in the establishment of the church, which was attested by signs and miracles, but we also joyfully affirm that every time God sovereignly saves a sinner, we are witnessing a miracle right before our eyes.

Contrary to the accusations made by many continuationists, cessationists wholeheartedly believe in the miraculous power of God. In fact, that's how the text in Ephesians chapter two actually begins. Paul says there, beginning in verse one, and you were dead, and the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature, children of wrath like the rest of mankind, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ.

By grace, you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. So by his sovereign grace, God is still performing miracles today.

He's still graciously transforming rebellious sinners and resurrecting the spiritually dead of which we all attest to the reality of. Like he did when Lazarus lay lifeless in the tomb, Christ through the gospel is still proclaiming with both divine power and authority, come out from the grave and live.

As he pleases, God can heal whomever he desires to heal. God is sovereign and he can do anything he chooses to. Psalm 115, three says, our God is in heaven, he does as he pleases. What he has revealed in scripture, however, is that he no longer is doing signs and wonders through the apostles and the prophets because the church's foundation has been firmly established.

Once the foundation of the church was completed, the purpose of the apostles and prophets was fulfilled. And so too were the miraculous sign gifts that they performed. No longer are the miraculous gifts of apostleship, prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, or healing part of the work of God's spirit in the church today.

That is what makes us cessationists because we believe those have ceased. The spirit of God still gives spiritual gifts to believers, but those particular sign gifts have ceased because they fulfilled their purpose.

And yet what we see in our text from Ephesians two, as we finish out this chapter, is that although those gifts are no longer given and the foundation of the church is now complete, God is not finished adding to the church by the power of the spirit.

For the hope of the gospel is found. If you look with me at verses 21 and 22, Paul continues there saying, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the spirit.

The Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture

And so now that the foundation of the church is complete, the question is how is God speaking to his people and continuing to build and grow the church? Well, that answer leads us to the final aspect I want us to recognize this evening, which is that cessationism affirms and celebrates the foundational authority of scripture.

Cessationism affirms and celebrates the foundational authority of scripture. And in order for us to understand this rightly, I want us to think about the continuity of Christ's authority. So first we see Christ in the scriptures, as we've said, during his earthly ministry, speaking with great authority, testifying that the words he spoke were from the Father.

Then not only do we see Christ performing signs and miracles which validated that his words were true, but we also see the greatest confirmation that Christ was who he said he was through the resurrection from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

From there, as we've said, Christ appointed apostles and part of their apostolic calling included the criteria of being a witness to the resurrected Christ. And with that calling came the gifting of signs and wonders by the power of God's spirit to validate the words they spoke.