How should Christians today assess the claims and experiences surrounding spiritual gifts and miraculous signs? In Signs of the Apostles, Walter Chantry offers a careful, biblical, and pastorally wise examination of the charismatic movement and its significance for the modern church. Written with clarity, conviction, and warmth, this book remains one of the most helpful guides to understanding the work of the Holy Spirit and the place of spiritual gifts in the life of God’s people.

Chantry begins by acknowledging the worldwide spread of the charismatic movement and its powerful appeal to many Christians who long for spiritual vitality and a sense of divine power. Yet he insists that such longing must be tested by Scripture. While God is indeed still at work in the world—saving, sanctifying, and guiding His people—Chantry argues that miraculous powers were never given indiscriminately to individuals, but uniquely to the Apostles and those under their direct ministry. Every recorded instance of the reception of miraculous power in the New Testament, he notes, occurs through apostolic hands. With the completion of the canon of Scripture, the need for such signs and wonders ceased, for the written Word now stands as the church’s sufficient and final authority.

Rejecting both the skepticism that denies the Spirit’s present activity and the enthusiasm that seeks to reproduce the miracles of the apostolic age, Chantry presents a balanced, biblical alternative. His central conviction is that the sufficiency and finality of Scripture safeguard the believer’s faith, while true spiritual power is found not in spectacular displays, but in holiness, truth, and love—the enduring fruits of the Spirit.

The book unfolds across eleven concise and engaging chapters. Beginning with “Reports of Signs and Wonders” and “Stating the Question Precisely,” Chantry defines the issues at stake before tracing the biblical history of miraculous works in “Miracle-Workers Sent from God.” In “Is Scripture Complete?” and “Gifts in the Early Church,” he argues for the closure of the canon and the temporary nature of apostolic gifts. Later chapters such as “Why Christians Seek ‘the Gifts’” and “Baptism with the Spirit” explore the motivations behind the modern charismatic movement and clarify the Spirit’s true baptism as the believer’s union with Christ.

In “When the Spirit Comes” and “Perplexing Experience,” Chantry demonstrates that the Spirit’s coming is marked by holiness and truth, not emotional excess or confusion. The final chapters—“A Positive Word” and “The Holy Spirit and Revivals”—lift the reader’s eyes to genuine spiritual renewal. Drawing lessons from Psalm 85 and the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century, Chantry shows that revival is not a return of apostolic miracles, but a renewed outpouring of conviction, repentance, and joy in the gospel.

Throughout Signs of the Apostles, Chantry’s tone is both gracious and firm. He distinguishes among different kinds of charismatically inclined Christians with sympathy and fairness, while guiding all readers back to the unshakable foundation of Scripture. His conclusions echo those of the church’s greatest leaders through the centuries: that the Spirit’s lasting work is not in transient wonders, but in the enduring transformation of hearts and churches by the Word of God.

Clear, concise, and deeply relevant, Signs of the Apostles remains a vital resource for anyone seeking to understand the Holy Spirit’s true work in the church today.