12 Scriptures cessationists misinterpret

It has become our quest to discover the biblical basis for cessationism. We should explain that a cessationist is a person who believes the "supernatural" gifts of the Spirit ended with the death of the last Apostle, so for them there are no gifts of healing, prophecy, tongues, or words of knowledge today.

We have reviewed many articles and many writers in our quest, but have been left unsatisfied. We suppose our lack of success is partly because errant teaching is so ingrained in the Church that even solid Christians cannot see past their biases (we would include ourselves, of course). This is largely the result of a church culture that accepts without question what pastors say and what theologians teach.

In addition, too many cessationists are reluctant to quote Scripture in their defenses. Thus it is frequently difficult to ascertain the biblical basis for cessationist arguments when they fail to quote it.

And the reason for this? We would speculate that it is because of an accidental or intentional tendency to misrepresent Scripture. Or, it is because those cessationists simply have not read those Scriptures closely enough. Or, they think their case is so self-evident that they don't need to quote Scripture.

But cessationists will sometimes appeal to a central core of Scriptures in their defense of their position. Today's post will review the most commonly misrepresented/misinterpreted Scriptures used to defend cessationism. As an aside, it is interesting that the entire case for cessationism relies on just a handful of misinterpreted Scriptures. Those Scriptures are:

• Hebrews 1:2 
• 2 Peter 1:19 
• 2 Peter 1:3
• 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 
• Acts 1:21 
• 2 Co. 12:12
• Hebrews 2:4 
• Ep. 2:20 
• Jude 3
• Re. 22:18-19
• 2 Tim. 3:16 - 17
• 1Co. 4:6

Hebrews 1:2 

Let's quote the passage. 

He. 1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

This verse is used to document the cessationist doctrine that God does not speak to us in any other way but through the Scriptures. We quote a typical cessationist assertion:

...the Bible says that God has spoken through His Son, who is the Word... And what is the Word? The Bible. 

We first note the obvious: These verses are not referring to the Bible, but rather to Jesus. We agree that the Son is the Word and the Bible is the written down Word of God. But the Son, the Word, and the Bible are not interchangeable. The Son exists independently from His titles. His Word exists independently from what has been written down. And what has been written down does not address the totality of what Jesus has said.

And none of this means that He has nothing more to say.

The writer of Hebrews was not discussing the cessation of revelation or the closed canon. The actual topic is the superiority of the Son over the prophets and the angels. In fact, the entire opening chapter of Hebrews is written to establish the high position of the Son. His speaking is higher than others who previously spoke. It is so high that this Speaker now sits at the right hand of the Majesty.

Certain men "spoke to our forefathers." That is, they were the OT prophets who spoke to Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, and David, Jeremiah, among others. The writer of Hebrews is making a clear point. God has changed His avenue of speaking. Jesus now speaks directly. This passage is not about the culmination of the communication of God, but rather, the apex of God's revelation to man.

In addition, we must consider the context of the passage, including how a reader in the early church would understand what was written. This letter was written to Christian Jews (i.e., Hebrews). Would such a reader conclude that this the verse is telling him about the final culmination of God's revelation, the Bible? Of course not. There was no Bible back then.

No, first century Jewish readers would understand these plain, direct statements as presented:
In the past age, God spoke to their ancestors ["forefathers," that is, the Patriarchs and prophets] via the OT prophecy.

...but in these last days... "But..." The writer of Hebrews is creating a contrast. Contrary to what He did in the past, in these last days God speaks [the Greek is present tense] directly in (en) His Son, without the intermediation of a prophet. 

When did Jesus get proclaimed as the ultimate of God's revelation? Read the verse:  ...in these last days... Jesus dispensed with intermediation of the OT prophets at the commencement of the last days. 

To whom does His Son speak? He has spoken to us via His Son. First, the Son spoke to the prophets our forefathers. Then He spoke in person to the disciples while He was on earth. After He died and rose from the dead, He spoke to the NT prophets and the apostles. 

But He didn't stop there. He poured out the Holy Spirit on all people:

Ac. 2:17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams...

Now the Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh. Notice that Peter quoted the prophet Joel, who said, in the last days... The same phrase used by the writer of Hebrews.  Are we no longer in "these last days?" When Peter quoted Joel, was he talking about some other last days? We are currently in the Last Days, (present tense) so Jesus still speaks (present tense). "These last days." So in these last days He speaks to us. In these last days He pours out His Spirit. In these last days we prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions. 

Because we are in these last days. 

He. 1:1-2 has nothing at all to do with anything ceasing. It does not speak to the closed canon. Scripture is not under discussion. There is nothing about the gift of prophecy. Instead, using very particular language, the writer of Hebrews is making the same claim that both Joel and Peter claimed: What was formerly spoken to a very rare group of people is now directly spoken to all flesh via the Son.

The writer of Hebrews confirms this. He wrote in the very next verse, He. 1:3:

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Now we see a separate reference to "the Son" and "His powerful word." He is speaking right now to sustain creation. The word "sustains" is pheró, to bear up, i. e. uphold (keep from falling). He continues to speak, or the universe would fall apart. 

"Word" is rhéma, a spoken word, made "by the living voice." So Jesus upholds all things by His spoken living voice, which resounds through the universe. "All things" includes His Church. We are also sustained by His speaking.

Also, if the writer of Hebrews was claiming that revelation ceased with Jesus, then the book of Hebrews should have ended right there. There should be no inspired writing after this point in history. The book of Revelation should not exist. A couple of the Gospels shouldn't have been written. Some of Paul's letters must be considered extra-biblical revelation, if the cessationist's belief about what Hebrews chapter one means is true.

None of this is to suggest that we don't study and meditate on Scripture. But we simply need to understand that this passage is not talking about the Bible, the closed canon, or the cessation of revelation. It is certainly misusing this Scripture to teach something it is not saying.

2 Peter 1:19 

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Cessationists cite this verse for the purpose of trying to establish that personal experiences, like impressions or prophetic words, are superseded by the sufficient Bible we possess today. A typical cessationist explanation:

Peter said personal experience is never a proper validation of God's authority, because the word is more sure. That's why a good teacher also points to the Word, which is more sure. 

At this point we need to quote more of the passage:

2Pe. 1:16-19 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Peter begins by defending the things he told his readers about the glorious Savior, first by saying that what he said isn't a story he just made up. Rather, he was an eye witness to certain events, including how he actually heard God's voice from heaven at the Transfiguration. The Transfiguration is where he heard, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 

He did not make it up; he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears. Peter is appealing to his own first hand eyewitness experience as primary evidence.

His experience, these words he heard, make the words of the OT prophets more certain. Peter was not talking about Scripture being superior to revelation. He was not even discussing Scripture. He believed the prophecies about Jesus with more certainty because of the Transfiguration. 

We shall paraphrase:

It's not a fable; we witnessed these things. We heard God's voice telling us Jesus was His son. We were there. The things we saw and heard make the words of the prophets more solid and believable. We are now more convinced than ever that those prophecies are real, because what we experienced confirms without a doubt that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah. This is the reason you should pay attention to these prophecies about Jesus.

So, these events he eye witnessed confirmed and added veracity to the prophecies spoken hundreds of years before Jesus. The OT messianic prophecies are made more certain because of Peter's experience.

This passage says nothing about not relying on personal experiences. And, the Bible are not being discussed here. This passage has been totally misrepresented by cessationists.

2 Peter 1:3

...[The Bible] has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 

The typical cessationist perspective is,

The Bible is God’s Word, everything we need to know in order to be saved and live the Christian life. [Second Peter 1:3] 

So, this verse is used as a proof text that God has given us everything we need in the Bible. By extension, if the Bible is everything we need, then we don't need prophecies or miracles. The Bible is sufficient. We discuss the sufficiency of the Bible here.

But let's look at a slight bit more of the verse:

2Pe. 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

We find that this verse is not discussing the Bible at all. Cessationists change the wording. We aren't quite sure if there is deception involved, or if it's simply an unconscious bias. But any honest reader of the verse can plainly see that this is not about the Bible. The Bible does not give us everything we need for life and godliness. It's right there in black and white. His divine power does this.

Even if we concede for a moment that this verse is about the Bible giving us everything we need, that still does not exclude the supernatural expressions, like prophecy. One can have everything one needs, yet there still can be more. "Everything we need" is not synonymous with "everything there is." 

Again, we do not intend to minimize Bible study. But this verse tells us nothing about the Bible and should not be used to that end.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Many cessationists appeal to this verse as evidence that certain gifts of the Spirit have passed away. They do this by deeming "perfection" (or "the perfect") to be the completed Bible.

Here is the typical position: 

1 Corinthians 13:10 is referring to the completed canon of Scripture of the first century A.D. There are no spiritual gifts operating today because we have the completed 66-book Holy Bible.

We should note that there are also a lot of cessationists who don't consider this passage a cessationist proof text. We discuss the perfect in great detail here, so we shall not repeat ourselves, except to say that the Greek word for "perfect" never refers to the status of the Scriptures, it almost always refers to spiritual maturity and completeness. "Perfect" is teleios. Strong's tells us that teleios is (a) complete in all its parts, (b) full grown, of full age, (c) specially of the completeness of Christian character.

Tongues, knowledge, and prophecy will cease at some point, when the teleios has come. Many cessationists assert that the gift of tongues can only be real human languages. But tongues will cease. We are pretty sure that cessationists do not really believe that every tongue (human language) has ceased. Tongues have not ceased, and neither has knowledge ceased. So if neither tongues nor knowledge have ceased, then prophecy has not ceased. The logical string would be:

• Premise: When the Perfect comes, language, knowledge, and prophecy will all cease.
• Observation: Language and knowledge have not ceased.
• Extension: Therefore, prophecy also has not ceased.
• Conclusion: The Perfect has not come.

Acts 1:21 

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

The cessationist wants to use this verse to prove that apostleship ceased after the first century. Here's their case:

[An] insurmountable problem for those who believe in modern day apostles is the fact that the Biblical requirements for one to hold the Office of Apostle as laid out in Acts 1:21-22; namely that the man must have been a part of the group of Jesus’ disciples from the time of His baptism, until His death and be an eye-witness of His resurrection and then be chosen and sent by Him (Acts 1:26).

The problem is not insurmountable at all. It's not even a problem. The 11 apostles wanted a replacement apostle for Judas Iscariot. In this passage we are told what they decided was needed, and there is only a single qualification. The replacement needed to be someone who had been a part of their company from the very beginning. In other words, they wanted someone they knew and trusted, someone who had served as a faithful part of their group.

The second part of the verse says, ...must become a witness with us...Becoming an eyewitness is not a qualification, it is a duty. The apostles were describing something the replacement apostle must join with them to do. This apostle must become someone who joins with them to testify of the resurrection!

We would suggest that the apostles were not providing a template for any other apostle except for the replacement they were seeking. There is nothing in this passage that says that this is how every apostle must be chosen. Indeed, Paul had not been with us from the beginning, so he would not even qualify. Yet is is clear he was an apostle.

A more detailed discussion of this is found here under the sub-heading What are the qualifications of an apostle? 

2 Co. 12:12

The things that mark an apostle — signs, wonders and miracles — were done among you with great perseverance.

This verse is another that cessationists use to try to prove that apostles were unique to the early church. Here's a typical example of their reasoning:

Paul defended his apostleship in 2 Corinthians 12:11-12, using examples of signs and wonders. If these miracles and signs were common for everyone, how then could Paul use these as proof of his authority? Even when the apostles were alive, all Christians could not do signs and wonders so they certainly cannot do them today. 

Some of these were unusual miracle uncommon occurrences such as healing from his handkerchiefs Acts 19:12. Again, God used these miracles as witnesses to confirm His gospel as truth, and to identify His new leadership it was these men who penned down the words of the Holy Spirit that has become our New Testament. Once the scripture was completed we find no more apostles. 

We would simply note that Paul is quite obviously not making a claim that signs and wonders were exclusive to the apostles. The text simply does not say that. Indeed, Paul would not make such a claim, since non-apostles like Stephen (Acts 6:8) and Ananias (Acts 9:17) performed miracles.

Nor is Paul engaged in listing general apostolic qualifications. In fact, he was not being accused of failing to be an apostle, he was accused of being an inadequate or substandard apostle. His response was to say he's just a good as the "super-apostles," and appealed to the signs and wonders he performed. This does not establish anything other than Paul's desire to refute the accusation. 

Signs and wonders are not requirements of apostleship, they are simply evidence of his sufficient level of apostleship.

Note also that this Scripture

• does not describe spiritual gifts.
• does not establish the idea that authenticating apostleship is the only purpose.
• does not imply that they would cease at some point.

Hebrews 2:4 

The superiority of Jesus is the premise upon which the author of Hebrews continues his narrative into chapter 2. He writes: 

He. 2:1-4 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Notice the "therefore?" That is, because Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Majesty as found in chapter 1, therefore, His message is also superior to the binding messages spoken by the angels. 

The cessationist appeals to this verse to try and establish the idea that the purpose of miracles were to validate the apostles' ministry. Here's an example:

Miracles were never an end in themselves but authenticated the apostolic message in the first century church...

The author of Hebrews asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” (Heb. 2:3-4). The passage refers to those who heard Christ—the apostles.

It seems rather obvious, but this passage is not speaking to the authentication of the apostles at all, but rather, it tells that signs and wonders authenticate salvation, i.e., the Gospel. Salvation is the "it" in this passage (God also testified to it...).

God testified to *it,* that is, "such a great salvation," which was first "confirmed to us by those who heard him." So they were the first to hear the great message of the gospel from the lips of Jesus Himself. "God also testified to it" ("such a great salvation,") by miracles, and by "gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed..." So not only did God testify to "such a great salvation" to those He spoke to while on earth, He also testified to "such a great salvation" by signs and wonders, and also by widely distributed spiritual gifts - after He ascended to the right hand of the Majesty.

This "such a great salvation" was

• first spoken of by Jesus
• heard by first hand witnesses 
• confirmed to the writer of Hebrews though those witnesses, and in addition was
• attested to by miracles, and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit

The word "testified" ("God also testified to it") is 

sunepimartureó, to attest together with; to join in bearing witness, to unite in adding testimony...

The writer of Hebrews is making his case for the surety of the salvation message by pointing out the "chain of evidence," leading up to and including the operation of the gifts. That is, the widely distributed gifts of the Spirit were part of the proof of the message of salvation.

Not under discussion here is the canon, the Scriptures, or the qualification of the apostles. The topic is "this salvation." 

Ep. 2:20 

...built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 

 This is another verse used by cessationists to try to prove that there are no more apostles. Here's the typical assertion:

Those who claim apostolic authority today are attempting to rebuild the church whose foundation was already laid and built.

This position makes unwarranted assumptions. Here's the train of logic:

• All apostles are foundational apostles.
• The foundation is the apostolic teachings.
• The foundation is built only once.
• Since the foundation is already built, there are no more apostles

The crucial assumption, not demonstrated by any Scripture, is that these apostles (specifically and exclusively, the Twelve) are the only apostles. We agree there were foundational apostles, represented as twelve foundations in Revelation 21:14:

The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

But since Scriptures name at least 18 apostles by our count, clearly not all apostles are foundational apostles.

It is curious that the ministries of the apostles and prophets were spectacularly supernatural, but what is to be built on that foundation cannot be for some reason. Also curious is the marked tendency for cessationists to quote only a part of a passage. Here is the broader context:

Ep. 2:18-22 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Notice the many references to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Clearly the building is supernatural, constructed of believers and occupied by the Holy Spirit.

Paul was talking about the spiritual dwelling place of God, which is the Church, built upon the apostles and prophets, with Jesus being the cornerstone. The Church is what is built on the foundation. This is not the Bible, doctrine, or the canon. The Church is built upon the teachings of the apostles, the prophecies, and the death and resurrection of Jesus; the Church is built of living stones (1Pe. 2:5). 

More importantly, Scripture does not tell us that the foundation is the end of construction. Paul tells us that his work was to lay the foundation, but others were building upon it:

1Co. 3:10-11 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

So here we see the foundation upon which the Church is built occurred once for all time, but construction of the Church upon it continues by many others.

In addition, Paul himself acknowledges more than one foundation:

Ro. 15:20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.

Others were building foundations, i.e., communities of living stones, in other places. Paul wanted to lay foundations in places where the Gospel was unknown.

We also are to build a foundation for ourselves:

1Ti. 6:18-19 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Since there are more apostles than just the foundational Twelve, there is no biblical reason to accept the idea that apostles must be restricted to the first century.

In summary, the idea that additional apostles violate the construction of the foundation is not found in the Bible.

Jude 3

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 

This verse is used to try to prove that once for all refers to the Bible, that because we have the completed Bible the prophetic gift ceased. Here's an example:

But the Scripture is the final yardstick for everything, being complete and perfect, sufficient and trustworthy.

Jude was able to speak about the faith which was 'once delivered unto the saints'. His epistle was written possibly 25 years before the final book of the Bible, but late enough for all the main doctrines and church instructions to have been revealed. At this late stage of revelation he speaks of the faith once delivered, or better, once for all delivered. It is virtually complete; soon (from Jude’s standpoint) there will be no more revelation. 

Notice this verse refers to "the faith." 

• "The faith" not the Scriptures. 
• "The faith" is not the Bible. 
• "The faith" is not revelation.
• "The faith" is not the canon. 

"The faith" is what was once delivered, complete and unalterable. The Greek word for "faith" is pistis, which means faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness. Jude is proclaiming a fact, that the faith, the way of salvation, had been fully made known and was not subject to revision.

Greek scholar Henry Alford wrote that the faith is "the sum of that which Christians believe" (Alford's Greek Testament, 4:530) "The faith" is not "the Bible." "The faith" was not delivered to the saints via the Bible, it was delivered via the apostles, and it was written down and eventually assembled into the Bible.

If Jude was telling his readers that revelation was complete, then his letter, included in the canon, is ironic. Jude should have stopped writing after verse 3, since everything after would add to "the faith." Jude was not talking about the Bible at all. Jude couldn't have been talking about the Bible. In fact, when Jude was written there was still more of the Bible to write. However, "the sum of that which Christians believe" was completely established.

Jude was probably written around A.D. 60, along with Luke, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, John, and Philemon. Books written after Jude include Acts, Titus, 1 and 2 Timothy, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Revelation. In other words, large portions of the NT had not even been composed at the time Jude wrote. It is ridiculous to claim that Jude was talking about Scripture at all, but rather he was telling his readers that the Gospel, the way of salvation, was fully told to them.

Jude was not writing about the Bible. Nor does the verse have anything to do with prophecy, the canon, the spiritual gifts, or the cessation of them.

Re. 22:18-19

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

This passage is used to attempt to refute those who believe in the prophetic. Here's a typical expression of this viewpoint:

If one is hearing from God outside of scripture it means the canon is not closed, and it means the scripture we have is not enough, or, isn't sufficient.

This is a common talking point from cessationists. The train of logic is as follows:

• Prophecy is information from God
• All information from God is authoritative
• Authoritative information is on par with Scripture
• Authoritative information must be added to the Bible
• Re. 22:18-19 forbids adding to the Bible
• Therefore, prophecy violates the canon 
• Therefore, contemporary prophecy is false

There several errors here. First, NT prophecy is not necessarily new information, but rather, often it is the restatement of existing biblical information brought into the contemporary spiritual situation. The prophetic gift tells prophecies. It reveals truths of God by supernatural means.

Second, NT prophecy is not automatically authoritative. The reader can review our extensive treatment of this concept here, where we make the observation that there is much prophecy mentioned in the Bible but not included in it. We Also want to note that NT prophecy is weighed, and Paul notes that we see prophesy in part [1Cor. 13:9].

Third, there is no biblical requirement that NT prophecy is or should be authoritative. The Bible does not tell us this at all. In fact, we find many NT prophets mentioned in the Bible, but none of their prophecies are recorded, except two by Agabus [Ac. 11:28, Ac. 21:10]. 

Philip's daughters were prophetesses [Ac. 21:9].  Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers [Ac. 15:32], but we don't know what they said. We don't have Paul's letter to Laodicea [Col. 4:16]. Jesus said and did many things not recorded in the Bible [Jn. 21:25].

If all prophecy has to be authoritative, why do we not have these prophecies included in the Bible?

Fourth, and most crucially, there is no Bible verse that says or even hints that prophecy must be added to the Bible.

Therefore, contemporary prophecy is not authoritative, it doesn't not need to be added to the Bible, and does not violate the canon.

2 Tim. 3:16 - 17

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The typical cessationist view of this is presented here:

There is no fresher or more intimate revelation than Scripture. God doesn't need to give us private revelation to help us in our walk with Him. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16 - 17). Scripture is sufficient. It offers all we need for every good work.

We happily acknowledge that Scripture is authoritative for faith and practice. We recognize the wonderful utility, trustworthiness, and full inspiration of the Bible, and thus agree wholeheartedly with Paul's exhortation to Timothy. 

Absent from this passage, however, is any reference to the closed canon or prophecy.

It does not tell us the Bible is the sole source for teaching, correction, and training. Nor would it, because we also have teachers, pastors, theologians, books and commentaries, as well as fellow believers to assist us in the ways of holiness and fruitfulness. And we have the Counselor, the Holy Spirit.

There is a certain irony here, since cessationists frequently appeal to other authors and their favorite teachers, which of course are extra-biblical sources. Our link is to a John MacArthur article. If Scripture is truly sufficient in the way he describes, Dr. MacArthur is engaging in a substantial irony by writing extra-biblical instruction.

We can therefore be certain that 2 Timothy 3:16 does not have anything to do with the Bible being the sole source for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

We discuss the sufficiency of the Bible here.

We discuss other ways God speaks here.

1Co. 4:6 

Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.

Some cessationists appeal to this Scripture to refute modern day prophecy. That is, if someone thinks that God speaks via prophecy today, that means he is going beyond what is written, because prophecy is authoritative revelation that needs to be added to the Bible, which would violate the canon.

The reader can see there is a logical leap in this reasoning. That is, the assumption that Paul was talking about prophecy, which he clearly wasn't. Paul was of course not talking about revelation. He was condemning the factions in the Corinthian church regarding whom they followed, Paul, Peter, or Apollos (1Co. 3:22). Paul told them to not judge before the appointed time (1Co. 4:5). 

It is in this context that Paul instructed them to not go beyond what is written, so that they will not take pride in whom they claim to follow.

But more to the point, if the Corinthian church was not to go beyond what is written in the sense that cessationists believe (and thus we also are not to go beyond what is written), then anything written after this letter to the Corinthians should not be accepted in the canon. That is, if Paul was telling them to reject anything other than what they have in their possession, then anything that comes later would be going beyond what is written.

We are thankful indeed that the writers of the NT did not interpret Paul's comment the way cessationists do.

Conclusion

Sometimes it's simple sloppiness in selecting verses to prove one's perspective, sometimes it is an accident, and sadly, sometimes it's deliberate. We do not know why people so casually rip Scripture out of context (and sometimes contrary to its plain meaning), but it does happen.

The careful Bible student will always be ready to challenge his assumptions so as to accurately ascertain the meaning of verses. He would refer back to the surrounding context, consult the Greek when necessary, as well as consult references and wise brethren to obtain clarity regarding what the writer was really saying. It is especially important to do so if someone represents themselves as a Bible teacher who is bringing a teaching. There is a higher expectation of scholarship regarding such people.