Subject: Who decided that the extraordinary gifts |
Bible Note: Hi, Brad... A normative practice for the church would be one that arises from didactic passages which actually speak to church practices. One does not derive practice or doctrine from narrative. The genre of a passage always influences sound exegesis. (The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics (Article XIII) says it so well: "The awareness of what kind of literature one is interpreting is essential to a correct understanding of the text. A correct genre judgment should be made to ensure correct understanding. A parable, for example, should not be treated like a chronicle, nor should poetry be interpreted as though it were a straightforward narrative. Each passage has its own genre, and the interpreter should be cognizant of the specific kind of literature it is as he attempts to interpret it. Without genre recognition an interpreter can be misled in his understanding of the passage.") Consequently, although water is parted four times in the Scriptures, we are not all bound to part water! However, the single instance of didactic instruction of the orderly and instructive nature of assembly in 1 Corinthians 14, requires our obedience. If you look for the evidence of the Holy Spirit apart from the fruit of holiness as manifested in regenerated lives (cf John 3:8; Mark 4:26-29; 1 John 3:8-9), then you may mistake tares for wheat and goats for sheep. Thank you for your willingness to rightly divide the Word, and to allow it to be our sole authoritative standard. In Him, Doc |