Will gifts like prophecy and tongues pass away?

Yes and No...and not in the same way that Craig Keener thinks

I have a great respect for Craig Keener. He is one of my favorite Bible teachers, but I have to disagree with his explanation of prophecy and tongues passing away - but not his conclusion. I agree with Craig, that those gifts are still operative in the Church today but the reason for it has nothing to do with the fact that Christ has not returned yet.

Paul says that spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues and knowledge will pass away when we no longer need them (1 Cor. 13:8-10). Some Christians read this passage as if it said, “Spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues, and knowledge passed away when the last book of the New Testament was written.” This interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13 ignores the entire context of 1 Corinthians, however: it is a letter to the Corinthians in the middle of the first century, and they had never yet heard of a New Testament in the middle of the first century. Had Paul meant the completion of the New Testament, he would have had to have made this point much more clearly–starting by explaining what a New Testament addition to their Bible was.

So far, so good. I can agree with Craig that "passing away" has nothing to do with the completion of the New Testament.

In the context we find instead that Paul means that spiritual gifts will pass away when we know God as He knows us, when we see Him face to face (13:12; when we no longer see as through a mirror as in the present—cf. 2 Cor 3:18, the only other place where Paul uses the term). In other words, spiritual gifts must continue until our Lord Jesus returns at the end of the age.

Here is where we disagree. It is true that the context does not talk about the completion of the New Testament but it also does not talk about the return of Christ. The text doesn't say, "when we see Him face to face". It simply says, "but then face to face". It is here that I believe Paul is talking about relationship with each other in the Church and not with God. The context supports this view, because Paul writes about how the Corinthian church was acting as "parts". Paul is talking about the gifts temporally ceasing so that the Church can operate in greater unity and love. For more details, please read my post on "Why does Paul say that prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will cease?"