In speaking of the cessation of miraculous gifts, we must necessarily speak of the completion of Scripture. Once Scripture had been completely given and confirmed, the need for miracles no longer existed. This is what Paul affirmed in 1 Corinthians 13:10; “but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away” (NASB). The NKJV translates this verse, “that which is perfect,” clearly revealing the perfect being referred to is not a person but a thing. The term perfect in the original Greek is an adjective, standing in the place of a noun. Like nouns, adjectives have gender, number and case. When an adjective is standing in place of a noun, it must agree with the noun it represents in gender, number and case. Understanding this is important if we are to understand to what Paul referred by this term.
The word “perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10 is neuter, which precludes it standing for Christ, a masculine noun. Some would have us believe that since Christ is the only perfect person, miracles are still an ongoing experience in the church because Christ hasn’t returned. However, as we have seen, making this passage refer to Christ is grammatically impossible. Again, the translation “that which” lets us know Paul referred to something, not someone. The root word for “perfect” in the Greek originally meant “the turning point, hinge, the culminating point at which one stage ends and another begins.” The term “perfect,” then, doesn’t refer to sinlessness but of achieving a goal, reaching the logical end of a process or action. It refers to what is complete.
“That which is perfect” is in contrast to that which is “in part,” the end of those things that are in part. It is the goal or the conclusion of that which is in part. Paul considered the days of spiritual gifts as the process by which the goal of maturity was being reached. When the goal was reached, when maturity was attained, when the body of truth had been fully revealed, the partial would cease. There would be no more need for such spiritual gifts. This is evident by what he penned in 13:8-9. “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” The desired aim was to reach the point of maturity where such miraculous gifts would not be needed.
This is what happened when Scripture was fully revealed and confirmed. When Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, was written, God closed the canon of Scripture; there were no more inspired books given. John, the last apostle to die, was he whom God used to give us this book. Revelation was written near the end of the first century, and John died sometime after writing it. The goal, “that which is perfect,” had been reached. All of Scripture had been given, and the miracles contained therein were sufficient to confirm it as God’s Word and as being binding. In God’s providence, His completed revelation and the cessation of the means (miracles) that were given to confirm that revelation came together. We see, then, the harmony of God bringing His purposes to completion.
Do we have evidence in the New Testament, then, that the word “perfect” can be used to refer to the will of God? Yes. In Romans 12:2, Paul stated, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (NASB). The will of God, Paul declared, is “perfect.” The word “perfect” here is in the exact form in the Greek as it is in 1 Corinthians 13:10. Again, it is an adjective, in this instance modifying the word “will,” the will of God. So, God’s will is what is “perfect” or “complete.” It is that completely revealed will of God of which Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:10, which will bring the end of those things that are in part, the miraculous. Again, God’s Word is its best interpreter and commentary on itself.
