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Spiritual Gifts Spiritual gifts have always been a topic of much interest among Bible believers. Unfortunately, much error has been taught and practiced regarding spiritual gifts over the years. Fortunately, there is a way to solve all of the questions of dispute regarding spiritual gifts. That way, of course, is to go to the Bible and see what it teaches concerning the use and duration of the gifts under consideration. Paul once wrote, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant" (1 Corinthians 12:1). God has never wanted His people to be ignorant when it comes down to spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts were established for express purposes and even for an expressed period of time. When one understands the purposes of spiritual gifts, as well as the intended duration of those gifts, ignorance about them will decrease if not disappear altogether. So, let's see what the Bible says about the purpose and duration of those gifts. The Apostles & Spiritual Gifts No Bible student would deny the ability the apostles had to perform miracles. They healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead, transferred miraculous gifts to others, spoke in tongues, etc. But what was the purpose of those gifts? They were performed to confirm the word of God. The need for such ability becomes immediately obvious when we consider the fact that they did not have the written word available to them at that time. They needed some way to prove that what they preached and taught was really from God. The spiritual gifts provided that proof.
In the above passages, we see the indicated purpose of spiritual gifts. That purpose was to confirm the word preached by the apostles. The gospel message is indeed an incredible message. It is the true story of a man who was killed before a nation of eye-witnesses, but who lived again by being resurrected by the power of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 13:4). This man was no ordinary man, but rather He was the Son of God, i.e., God manifested in the flesh. Would you believe such a message without evidence? I would not. The evidence that we have today comes from the inspired word of God. Remember, though, the apostles didn't have the written word. It was still in the process of being delivered to them by the Spirit of God (John 16:13; Ephesians 3:1-5). How could people be sure that what the apostles taught was really from God? The simple answer is by the miracles they performed which confirmed their preaching. Do we need those miracles today? No. We have record of those miracles in the Bible which were recorded specifically to instill faith in the hearts of man (John 20:30-31). There are many differences between the miracles of the first century and the so-called miracles of our day. In the New Testament, all manner of disease and sickness were healed (Matthew 10:1). Today, those who claim miraculous power heal inward problems like bad headaches, heart disease, etc. In the New Testament, miracles performed by the apostles were complete (Acts 8:5-7). Today, partial healing is claimed. In the New Testament, the miracles were performed immediately (Acts 3:1-10). Today, they may take weeks, months, or sometimes even years. In the New Testament, the miracles could not be denied (Acts 4:13-16). Today, the miracles of the so-called “faith-healers” are very much deniable. Why the difference? If the miracles that men are supposed to be performing today are done so by the same power, should they not be identical in nature to the ones performed in the first century? The fact that they are not speaks volumes about the authenticity of the pseudo miracles one hears about today. The Early Church & Spiritual Gifts The apostles were not the only ones with miraculous powers in the first century. Many Christians possessed gifts as well (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). Why did they need these gifts? Again, it was because they did not have the written word. They needed miracles to survive. Not only did they have to confirm the word they preached with miraculous signs, but they needed those gifts for the purpose of edification. Can you imagine a local church today trying to survive without any Bibles at all? How would members grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord? What kind of preaching and teaching would we have? The early church needed gifts of knowledge, prophecy, and such in order to learn the will of God which was still being revealed at that time. There were only twelve apostles and they couldn't be everywhere at once. Local congregations had to exist without the immediate presence of an apostle in their midst. Think about a church like the local body at Thessalonica. Paul preached in the city for three Sabbath days (Acts 17:2). During that time, some obeyed the gospel of Christ and a local church was established (Acts 17:3-4). However, Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica prematurely because of persecution. Now, what do we have? We have a local church made up of babes in Christ, without the presence of an apostle and without the written word of God. In the absence of spiritual gifts, there would be no way for this body of new believers to grow in the faith and withstand the attacks of the Devil. So spiritual gifts were not just a luxury for the first century church, they were absolutely essential! Do spiritual gifts exist today? Well, the very fact that there is no longer a purpose for spiritual gifts today would indicate that they have ceased. Remember, the primary purpose of spiritual gifts was to confirm the word of God, but now that we have the word in written form, it confirms itself. However, the Bible reveals to us more conclusive evidence for the ceasing of miraculous gifts. Notice what the Bible says about the duration of the gifts. Miraculous powers came by two methods. The apostles received those powers by way of Holy Spirit baptism. Two things need to be pointed out about the apostles’ Holy Spirit baptism. First, only the apostles were promised the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1, as Jesus spoke to His apostles, He said to them, "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts 1:5). Verse 2 makes it clear the "ye," as well as all the other pronouns in this immediate text, refer to the apostles. They were the only ones promised the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and consequently they were the only ones who experienced that baptism. In Acts 2 we find the Holy Spirit falling upon the apostles and they spoke in tongues (v. 4). Again, a simple investigation of who the pronoun "they" referred to in the passage reveals that it referred to the apostles (Acts 1:26). Holy Spirit baptism was never promised to all Christians. It was promised to the apostles and fulfilled in them. The context of Acts 2 leaves no doubt about who received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that occasion. What happened to those upon whom the Holy Spirit fell? They spoke in tongues (v. 4). What happened to those who spoke in tongues? They were accused of being drunk (v. 13). Who were accused of being drunk? Peter and the other apostles (vv. 14-15)! Since it was the apostles who were accused of being drunk, and since it was the ones who spoke in tongues that were accused of being drunk, we know that it was the apostles who spoke in tongues. But who was it exactly that spoke in tongues? Those upon whom the Holy Spirit fell. Since it was the apostles who spoke in tongues, it was the apostles upon whom the Holy Spirit fell. Any other conclusion is an addition to and violation of the immediate text of Acts 2. The second point to be made concerning these things is that the apostles did not receive all of their miraculous powers by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The apostles could perform miraculous deeds before they were baptized with the Spirit (Luke 10:1-9, 17-19). What miracle did the apostles receive by Holy Spirit baptism then? They received two. First, they received the power of inspiration. The apostles were guided into all truth by the Comforter whom Jesus promised to send (John 16:13). When the apostles spoke, they did so by inspiration; thus, their words were not their own, but rather they were the words of Christ (Luke 10:16; 1 Corinthians 14:37). The second miraculous power they received by the baptism of the Holy Spirit was the ability to transfer miraculous powers to others. That gift was a sign of an apostle; thus, only the apostles could do that. Paul referred to the brethren at Corinth as the seal of his apostleship (1 Corinthians 9:2), and later told them that the signs of an apostle were wrought among them (2 Corinthians 12:11-12). What was the primary sign of an apostle, and how were the Christians at Corinth a seal of Paul's apostleship? All miraculous gifts were not signs of an apostle because more than the apostles could perform those gifts. It was the transferring of those gifts to others that was the sign of an apostle. That's why Christians at Corinth were a seal of Paul's apostleship. They came behind no one in spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7). How did they receive those gifts? They received them from Paul. That proved that Paul was an apostle. The next question that needs to be addressed, then, is how did the rest of the Christians receive miraculous powers if not by the baptism of the Holy Spirit? We have already hinted at it. They received them through the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:5-20; 19:1-7). In Acts 8, the apostles had to come down from Jerusalem to Samaria and lay hands on the people in order for them to receive the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way. Even Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands (v. 19). Why could not Philip give them miraculous powers? The only answer is that he did not have the ability to do it. The transferring of miraculous powers was limited to the apostles! If such was not the case, how could it be a sign of an apostle as we have previously seen? When
the last apostle died, and when the last person on whom one of the apostles laid
hands died, miraculous gifts ceased. Is there another way that the average
Christian could receive miraculous powers? If so, where is the passage? What we
have seen is that miraculous powers came to people in two ways: Holy Spirit
baptism, which was reserved for only the apostles, and through the laying on of
the apostles’ hands. Unless a living apostle can be found, gifts have ceased.
And it can't be just anyone claiming to be an apostle, it would have to be one
of the original apostles because only men of the first century who were
witnesses of the resurrection of Christ could be apostles (Acts 1:22). Can they
be produced today? No! Then miraculous gifts have ceased. This should surprise
no one because Paul told us by inspiration that such would be the case (1
Corinthians 13:8-13). With the completion of the written word of God, the need
for miraculous gifts ceased. Let's not be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts.
They served their purpose well. Now let's allow the word of God to serve its
purpose. |
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