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All (149) Mike Winger (149)
Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Q&A: 1 Corinthians 13:2 — 'if I have all faith but no love I am nothing' — is this faith + love = salvation?

Viewer question about 1 Corinthians 13 and whether it implies faith plus love for salvation

1 Corinthians 13:2 Paul saving faith 1 Corinthians 13:2
Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Distinction between saving faith and faith for miracles — 1 Corinthians 13 is about the latter

Type distinction within the concept of faith

1 Corinthians 13 saving faith love charismatic gifts
Mike Winger idea 2018-09-05

Modern prophecy is not equivalent to Scripture: not all prophecy becomes canonical; personal/local words from God are not universal obligations on the whole church.

Viewer question about whether modern-day prophecy is as authoritative as Scripture.

revelation spiritual gifts prophecy revelation
Mike Winger idea 2018-08-16

Hebrews 2:3-4 — salvation was 'confirmed to us by those who heard him, God also bearing witness with signs and wonders' — miracles as confirming witness to the gospel

Winger's Hebrews 2 argument for miracles as apologetic confirmation

Hebrews 2:3-4 signs and wonders miracles as evidence Hebrews 2:3-4
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-19

Vatican II text: Lumen Gentium chapter 16 — what it actually says about Jewish people, Muslims, and the unevangelized

Mike goes to the primary source Barron cited to evaluate his claim that Vatican II is 'very clear'

conscience Vatican II Lumen Gentium
Mike Winger idea 2019-01-16

Hebrews 2:3-4 — signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit as confirmation of the gospel message

Mike's final direct positive scriptural argument that Christianity is evidence-based.

Hebrews 2:3-4 evidence-based faith Hebrews 2:3-4 eyewitness testimony
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-07

Heresy accusations between Christians: two extremes to avoid

Q&A question about how to handle accusations of heresy between Christian brothers.

secondary issues false teaching gospel
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-07

Face-to-face with God as the referent of "the perfect" in 1 Corinthians 13

Mike elaborates on why "the perfect" refers to the eternal state, using the internal logic of 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 spiritual gifts eschatology cessationism
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

Tongues in the New Testament: multiple types — tongues with interpretation (public) and tongues without interpretation (private).

Tanya Baltzer asks about tongues — actual languages vs. unknown languages.

1 Corinthians 14 Acts 2 (Pentecost) 1 Corinthians 13:1 1 Corinthians 14 Tongues Acts 2 (Pentecost)
Mike Winger idea 2019-03-13

Personal testimony: Mike first encountered charismatic practices as a teenager and was confused; discovered 1 Corinthians 14 had rules for tongues much later.

Mike shares his personal experience with charismatic churches.

1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 14 Tongues Continuationism
Mike Winger idea 2019-04-10

Advice to a 15-year-old aspiring pastor: character comes before ministry; study the pastoral epistles

Q&A: Isaiah Jones (age 15) asks for advice on becoming a pastor

1 Timothy Titus 2 Timothy 1 Timothy Titus pastoral qualifications
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 is the primary cessationist proof-text in the cessationism vs. continuationism debate.

Introduction to the episode. Winger frames the central question: does 1 Cor 13:10-12 teach that tongues, prophecy, and knowledge ceased after the apostolic era?

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 cessationism continuationism spiritual gifts
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Cessationism defined: miraculous gifts belonged to the apostolic era only, served a unique founding purpose, and ceased before the canon closed.

Winger reads a definition from Theapedia. He contrasts it with continuationism, which holds the gifts are normative and available today.

cessationism continuationism spiritual gifts
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 in context: the love passage is embedded within 1 Cor 12-14, a sustained section on spiritual gifts.

Winger reads the passage aloud (1 Cor 13:8-13) and establishes its literary context before presenting cessationist interpretations.

1 Corinthians 12-14 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 1 Corinthians 12-14 prophecy word of knowledge
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Cessationist Interpretation 1: "the perfect" (to teleion) = the completed Bible, supported by a mirror/perfect-law parallel in James 1:23-25.

First of two cessationist readings. Proponents cite the shared vocabulary of "mirror" and "perfect" (teleios) between 1 Cor 13 and James 1 to argue the perfect thing is Scripture.

1 Corinthians 13:10 James 1:23-25 cessationism canon of Scripture to teleion
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Rebuttal of Interpretation 1: teleios is a broad word with many non-Scripture referents, and the mirror image in James functions differently than in 1 Cor 13.

Winger raises two problems with equating "the perfect" with the completed Bible.

1 Corinthians 13:12 James 1:4 James 1:17 cessationism face to face with God 1 Corinthians 13:12
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Cessationist Interpretation 2 (Masters Seminary): prophecy and knowledge = inscripturated revelation; massive time gap between vv. 11 and 12; "the perfect" = the church brought to maturity by the Bible.

Summary of the three key concepts in the Masters Seminary article that underpin its cessationist reading of 1 Cor 13.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 cessationism canon of Scripture to teleion
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Rebuttal: the inscripturation claim for prophecy and knowledge is unsubstantiated; New Testament prophets generally did not produce Scripture.

First major exegetical objection to the Masters Seminary argument. Winger demonstrates that NT prophets were not primarily Scripture-writers.

Acts 21:9 Acts 11 Acts 21:9 cessationism prophecy
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Verse-by-verse: v. 8 — love never ends; three gifts (prophecy, knowledge, tongues) will pass away; the context is clearly the spiritual gifts of 1 Cor 12-14.

Winger begins his own positive verse-by-verse treatment of 1 Cor 13:8-13.

1 Corinthians 13:8 spiritual gifts prophecy word of knowledge
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Verse-by-verse: vv. 9-10 — Paul includes himself in "we know in part," undermining the inscripturation reading; even apostolic knowledge is partial, not completable by writing.

Key exegetical point: the first-person plural "we" in v. 9 includes Paul and the other apostles, not just ordinary charismatics.

1 Corinthians 13:9-10 apostolic authority prophecy inscripturation
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Verse-by-verse: v. 11 — the child/adult analogy illustrates that the gifts are a temporary measure, but the maturity in view is eschatological glorification (1 Cor 15), not canonical completion.

Winger grants that v. 11 sounds like it could support the church-maturity cessationist view, but locates its referent in resurrection/glorification.

1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 13:11 cessationism 1 Corinthians 15 eschatology
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

1 Corinthians 15 confirms: "the perfect" is the resurrection state — imperishable bodies, the last trumpet, being changed — not the completion of the Bible.

Winger appeals to 1 Cor 15 (same letter, shortly after ch. 13) as the definitive referent for "when the perfect comes."

1 Corinthians 15 cessationism 1 Corinthians 15 eschatology
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Main point of 1 Cor 13: love, not gifts, is the permanent priority; pursuit of love must exceed pursuit of spiritual gifts.

Winger concludes the exegesis by restating Paul's actual primary argument.

1 Corinthians 13:13 spiritual gifts love 1 Corinthians 13:13
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Winger's own position: open but not normative — he agrees with cessationists on apostleship and a likely reduction of healing gifts, but rejects full cessationism.

Having refuted the cessationist use of 1 Cor 13, Winger clarifies his own nuanced view to avoid being read as a rampant charismatic.

apostolic office cessationism continuationism
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Critique of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry: prophetic activation exercises using Uno cards reduce prophecy to social engineering and fabrication.

Winger pivots to critique hyper-charismatic practice, using Bethel's published school curriculum as a concrete example.

Matthew 18 Matthew 18 Bethel Church Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

The cure for hyper-charismatic abuse is not cessationism but the biblical regulative norms already given in 1 Cor 12-14 for how gifts function in the church.

Winger resists the reactionary move of becoming cessationist in response to charismatic excess.

1 Corinthians 12-14 1 Corinthians 12-14 cessationism continuationism
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Personal testimony: Winger reports a small number of personal experiences he believes were genuine prophetic insights that subsequently proved true.

Winger offers experiential (not dogmatic) support for remaining open to the gifts.

continuationism spiritual gifts prophecy
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Q&A: Tongues in 1 Cor 14 are actual languages; tongues always requires genuine linguistic communication; "groaning" in Romans 8 is distinct from the gift of tongues.

Response to viewer question about whether 1 Cor 14 tongues are languages or ecstatic utterances.

1 Corinthians 14 Romans 8 1 Corinthians 13:1 1 Corinthians 14 Romans 8 spiritual gifts
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Cessationism is more common in Reformed theology but not universal; John Piper and Paul Washer are examples of Reformed non-cessationists.

Q&A response on whether cessationism is tied to Reformed or dispensationalist theology.

John Piper John Piper cessationism continuationism
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Winger's church practice: open to Spirit-prompted words but does not structure services around spiritual gifts; anti-normative posture.

Q&A response about how gifts function in his church.

continuationism church order spiritual gifts
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Views on gifts are often driven more by experience than Scripture; the exegetical case against cessationism from 1 Cor 13 is strong but trajectory arguments for cessationism are weak.

Q&A — viewer asks whether people's positions on sign gifts are experience-based more than Scripture-based.

biblical authority cessationism continuationism
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Resource recommendation for documented modern miracles: Craig Keener's two-volume work "Miracles" provides medical/testimonial evidence catalogued by a respected scholar.

Q&A — viewer asks for visible evidence that gifts of healing are active today.

Craig Keener spiritual gifts healing
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Can a person speak in tongues without having the gift of tongues? Possibly — but Romans 8 groaning is distinct: it is heart-pouring to God, not a spiritual gift requiring impartation.

Q&A — question about whether tongues-speaking requires the specific gift.

Romans 8 Romans 8 spiritual gifts tongues
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Historical question: sign gifts did not begin at Azusa Street; early church fathers (Justin Martyr, later Augustine) attest to prophecy and miracles continuing post-apostolically.

Q&A — viewer claims modern tongues/gifts stem from the 1906 Azusa Street revival. Winger corrects the historical record.

cessationism continuationism church history
Mike Winger idea 2020-08-28

Strong feeling is not the same as God speaking — this applies to believers and non-believers alike

Closing comment on the false prophecy / healing question.

discernment charismatic gifts prophecy
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-04

God gives wisdom primarily through Scripture, secondarily through the word of wisdom gift and through other believers

Q from Will Kozab about how God replies when you ask him for wisdom—does he send thoughts?

Proverbs 1 Corinthians 12 word of wisdom wisdom prayer
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-11

1 Corinthians 13:10 does not teach cessationism — the perfect refers to seeing Christ face to face at the second coming, not the completion of Scripture

Response to Brandy Medved asking about 1 Corinthians 13:10 and whether the perfect means the Bible, therefore ending spiritual gifts.

1 Corinthians 13:10 spiritual gifts second coming cessationism
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-18

Should we command healing (like Peter in Acts 3:6) or pray to God for healing? — Pray with faith; commanding is not a universal prescription

Question from Lasik's 97 about whether Christians should speak authoritatively over the sick rather than asking God.

Acts 3:6 prayer spiritual gifts healing
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-18

Mark 16:17-18 — the signs follow believers as a community/historically, not as individual mandates for every Christian

Question from Chretienis about Mark 16:17-18 and helping people escape the prosperity gospel.

Mark 16:17-18 Acts 28 textual criticism healing prosperity gospel
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Personal testimony: as a teenager Mike was told he was not saved because he had not spoken in tongues

Opening introduction before answering the first question about tongues and salvation

gifts of the Spirit tongues and salvation spiritual abuse
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Acts 2 — the inauguration of the Holy Spirit: all present spoke in tongues

First of three Acts passages cited by tongues-required proponents

Acts 2 Acts 2 new covenant gifts of the Spirit
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Acts 19 — group that had not heard of the Holy Spirit is baptized and speaks in tongues

Third Acts passage cited by tongues-required proponents

Acts 19 Acts 19 gifts of the Spirit tongues and salvation
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

1 Corinthians 14:5 — Paul wishes all spoke in tongues, implying not everyone does

First Corinthians passage introduced as evidence against the tongues-salvation requirement

1 Corinthians 14:5 hermeneutics gifts of the Spirit tongues and salvation
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

1 Corinthians 12:30 — rhetorical questions imply not all speak in tongues

Second and final Corinthians passage used to refute tongues-salvation requirement

1 Corinthians 12:30 1 Corinthians 12:27-29 gifts of the Spirit tongues and salvation 1 Corinthians 12:30
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Critique of Bethel/Bill Johnson teaching that everyone works miracles and is a prophet

Application of the 1 Corinthians 12 argument against charismatic excess

1 Corinthians 12 Bethel Church Brian Simmons Bill Johnson
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Summary: the three Acts tongues episodes demonstrate the Spirit's work in different stages, not universal salvation proof

Summation of the main argument against tongues-required-for-salvation

Acts 10 Acts 2 Acts 19 Acts 10 Acts 2 Acts 19
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Parable of the Talents: the main point is investing what God has given you for his kingdom

Q&A from Faded Princess about the Parable of the Talents and discerning spiritual gifts

Matthew 25 spiritual gifts stewardship Matthew 25
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Spiritual gifts are discerned by what you are good at, not merely what excites you

Second part of Faded Princess's question about how to identify one's gifts

spiritual gifts vocation gifts of the Spirit
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Discovering gifts requires doing everything first and then observing where you excel

Practical application of gift discernment

spiritual gifts vocation body of Christ
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-25

Knowing the Holy Spirit: the Spirit's leading will always be consistent with Scripture

Q&A from Tia Jane about having a relationship with the Holy Spirit beyond gifts

discernment Holy Spirit leading of the Spirit