1 Corinthians 13:8-10, a popular proof text used by cessationists, was almost unanimously used by early Christian authors to oppose the earliest form of cessationism.
Don't believe me? Here's the proof 🧵⬇️ 1/
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In the 2nd century, Montanism arose as a kind of hyper-legalistic, hyper-charismatic "revival" movement in Asia Minor.
Though the details aren't entirely clear, most historians agree that one of their prophetesses (Maximilla) prophesied: "After me there will be no prophet/prophecy but the end (συντέλειαν)." (quoted in Epiphanius, Panarion, 48.5.4"
She was predicting the cessation of prophecy after her death.
How did the early Christian writers respond to this claim? 2/
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An anti-Montanist Church writer quoted by Eusebius responded to Maximilla by alluding to 1 Corinthians 13:8-10:
"The apostle (i.e. Paul) thought it necessary that the prophetic gift (τὸ προφητικὸν χάρισμα) should continue in all the Church until the final coming (τῆς τελείας παρουσίας)." (quoted in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 5.17.4)
In other words, Maximilla is a false prophet because she predicted the cessation of the prophetic gift after her death. Such a thing never occurred, the anonymous writer argues, precisely because the apostle Paul envisioned the charism of prophecy as continuing "in all the church" until the "parousia." 2/
Sep 10, 2026 · 9:22 PM UTC
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Didymus the Blind (c. AD 313 – 398) made this argument even clearer when refuting the Montanists:
He quotes the entirety of 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 and gives this conclusion:
"That is: the things which we now, hearing them from the Scriptures, believe to exist, we shall after the resurrection behold with sight, and we shall know in the thing itself, once partial knowledge has ceased."
All of this, for him, refers to "the second coming of the Master" (τῆς δευτέρας παρουσίας τοῦ Δεσπότου)
(PG 39, p. 984) 3/
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Epiphanius of Salamis, in his refutation of the Montanists, uses the word “charisma” or “charismata” no fewer than 21 times. Not once does he assert that the charismata have ceased. In fact, in response to the Montanists claim that the orthodox church must receive their “charismata,” Epiphanius writes:
“[They say] that we too must receive the charismata, but the holy church of God does also receive the charismata, but the charismata which are authentic/real…” (Panarion, 48.1.5) 5/
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Jerome writes similarly to a friend named Marcellina who is inquiring about Montanism:
"We tell them [i.e. the Montanists] that we do not so much reject prophecy— for this is attested by the passion of the Lord — as refuse to receive prophets whose utterances fail to accord with the Scriptures old and new." (Letters, 41.2 trans NPNF)
In his view, Montanus claimed to possess “a fullness of knowledge such as was never claimed by Paul; for he was content to say, “We know in part, and we prophesy in part,” and again, “Now we see through a glass darkly.” (1 Cor, 13:9, 12; trans. NPNF) 6/
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If cessationism were even remotely contemplated by the early Christians, why was this not the “slam dunk” argument used against the Montanists?
For the cessationist, Maximilla was wrong because she placed the cessation of the charismata too late. For the early Christian opponents of Montanism, Maxilmilla was wrong because she placed the date of their cessation too early. The apostle Paul, argued the early writers, envisioned the charismata as operative within the Church until the “final coming,” the “resurrection,” the “second coming,” etc.
However, as Jerome and Epiphanius argued, the charismata accepted by the Church are tested against that which is written in Scripture:
“By comparing what they have said with the teachings of the Old and New Testaments-which are true, and which have been delivered and prophesied in truth—let us determine which is really prophecy, and which is false prophecy." (Panarion, 48.3.3)” 7/
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