There are two views concerning the spiritual gifts, described by Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Some believe the gifts given to the Church on the day of Pentecost are just as valid today as they were some two thousand years ago. Those who hold to cessationism claim that the gifts were for a certain time period, the lifetime of the original Apostles, or the close of the canon of scripture, at which point they were no longer needed.
But there are no such verses substantiating this position found in the Bible. You will not find verses stating that the spiritual gifts were limited to the apostles or only during their lifetime. You cannot find passages of scripture that declare that the gifts were only necessary at the start of the Church, and once the New Testament was completed they are no longer needed and have ceased.
This position relies on inference, and not solid exegesis. To the contrary, a careful reading of the New Testament reveals much about spiritual gifts and how they are to be used within the Church. With several chapters devoted to the use of the gifts of the Spirit, and mentions of these gifts in more than one book, I believe that "By the mouth of two or three witnesses" we can establish this matter (2 Cor 13:1).
Going back to the Old Testament we find numerous prophecies concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit. Passages such as Isaiah 32:15, 44:3, 59:21 point to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the capstone of the New Covenant which is prophecied in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Speaking of this same covenant, Ezekiel tells us that God will place His Spirit within us, and cause us to walk in His statutes ( Ezekiel 36:26-27).
While the New Covenant was made with the house of Israel, we as Gentile believers have been grafted into it. The apostle Paul has this to say, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed us everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:13-14 NIV)
We who are under the New covenant have the Spirit of God living within us. We are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). On the day of pentecost when the Holy Ghost filled the believers in the upper room, tongues of fire rested on each individual, and they all began speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. This gave Peter opportunity to answer those who were mocking them. In reference to what had just occured, he quotes Joel 2:28-32, stating that what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy of the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit, whose coming would bring signs and wonders. (See Acts 2:1-40)
This is the age of the Holy Spirit. Jesus ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He has poured out the promised Holy Spirit to do His work upon the earth through us. God in His sovereign wisdom has chosen to work through His followers to advance His kingdom. We have been given the great commission along with the admonition to wait until we receive power from on high (Luke 24:45-49, Acts 1:8). As such, what was inaugurated on the day of pentecost some two thousand years ago is in effect until Jesus returns. The great commission has been given and still remains to be finally completed, and therefore the power and activity of the Holy Ghost is just as needed now as it was then. Joel's prophecy mentions the last days, and indeed the last days began with the advent of the Spirit, and will culminate with the signs in the sun and moon at the return of Christ.
We often look at the miracles of Jesus and assume He performed them because He is God. But do we consider the fact that Jesus took on flesh? He lived among us as one of us. He hungered, grew tired, felt pain, was tempted and shared many of the limitations that we as human beings have. Isaiah tells us, And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11:1-2 KJV).
We read very little of the life of Jesus after His birth until we get to his baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. It is at this point He begins His ministry. After He was tempted in the wilderness He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14). He enters the synagogue in Nazareth and read from the scroll of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath appointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord " (Luke 4:18-19 KJV).
The ministry of Jesus is marked by the miraculous. Countless numbers of people were healed of all manners of disease. The demon possessed and afflicted were delivered. The blind received their sight, hearing was restored to the deaf, and the mute could speak once again. There are even instances recorded in the gospels of the dead raised back to life. Jesus spoke the word and the storm was stilled. His life and teaching was filled with extraordinary miracles. Of that there is no doubt.
On one occasion the religious leaders accused Him of casting out demons by the prince of demons. In His reply to them we get a glimpse of what empowered the mighty miracles that Jesus performed, "But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matt 12:28 NIV). In Luke 5:17 we read that on one occasion as Jesus taught the people, the Spirit was present to heal the sick.
Sadly, many Christians today have placed the Holy Spirit in a box and quenched his power. We like to read of the miracles in the Bible, but we get real uncomfortable with the idea that these things could occur today just as well. Like the people in Jesus' hometown who stumbled in unbelief, can it be said of us as well, "He could do no mighty miracle there because of their unbelief?" (Mark 6:4-5)
Just as Jesus performed mighty miracles, He sent out the twelve disciples, giving them the authority to preach the gospel of the kingdom, heal the sick and cast out devil's (Luke 9:1-2). After this He sent out seventy two others with the same commission to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. Even demons had to submit to these disciples in the name of Jesus (Luke 10:1-17).
Jesus has promised us that those who believe in Him will do the works that He did. In fact He states we will do greater works because He is going to His Father (John 14:12). This verse is within the greater context of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tell us that miraculous signs will follow those who believe. They will cast out demons, speak in new tongues, pick up snakes, drink poison and suffer no harm (these things speak of divine protection in service to God), and heal the sick (Mark 16:17).
After the day of pentecost the disciples literally began to see these prophecies fulfilled in their lives and ministry. The book of Acts is filled with the miraculous. People were healed of all manners of disease, devils were cast out, the dead were even raised back to life at the hands of the apostles. Yet as Peter so aptly states in Acts 3:12-16, it was not their own power or goodness that caused the lame man to walk, but faith in the name of Jesus.
So did this all end at the death of the apostles? Was the close of the book of Acts the end? Many would say that the apostles needed supernatural miracles to establish the Church, and once their mission was done the supernatural is no longer needed. The close of the canon of scripture gives us today what the apostles lacked in the first century , therefore we are better equiped today to make disciples out of the nations. But I don't buy it. I don't believe this idea is backed up by scripture. We are the hands and feet of Jesus upon this earth, sent to represent Him before the world. When He said these signs will follow those who believe, He didn't qualify it to the first century Church alone. Nowhere do we see Jesus limiting the "greater works" those who believe in Him will do, to the original twelve disciples. Take an honest look at the modern Church. Can we say that we have arrived at complete maturity, fully united, attained to the full measure of the stature of Christ, no longer tossed back and forth by every wind of doctrine ( see Ephesians 4:11-14)? I don't see that today, and I don't believe we will arrive until Jesus returns and we stand before Him face to face
In the passage quoted above we read that when Jesus Christ ascended He gave ministry gifts to the Church. They are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Their work is to prepare God's people for works of service in order to build up the Church. Apostles, prophets, and teachers are mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, as being part of the Church. Those who work miracles, have gifts of healing, people gifted in helping others, gifted in administration, and those who speak in other tongues are included as well. Paul states here that not all have the same gifts, but within the Church the gifts are distributed among the believers.
Again, as I asked above, can we say that the modern Church has arrived to complete maturity? Because according to Ephesians 4:11-14, that is the purpose of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. They are necessary until that time arrives, which cannot be until we stand before Jesus Christ complete (Jude 24). Until that day arrives, the Church must continue to press onward and upward (Philippians 3:12-14).
Most will agree with the need for pastors, teachers, and evangelists, but will claim that apostles and prophets have ceased to exist. It is true that the twelve disciples who followed Jesus are in a unique position. They were eyewitnesses to the events surrounding the life, death, and ascension of Jesus. The apostle Paul is unique in a sense as well. Much of our New Testament was written by him, under divine inspiration. However by definition an apostle is one who is sent. An apostle, like Paul takes the gospel to an unreached people, plants a church, gets it grounded, and then turns it over to capable leaders and goes on to replicate the process in another place. If you study the ministry of Paul you will see this is how he worked. Even after moving on to work elsewhere his care for a congregation remained. Like Paul, an apostle is gifted with evangelistic, pastoral and teaching abilities. Their ministry is marked with signs, wonders and miracles (2 Cor 12:12). Other apostles mentioned in the early Church were Barnabas, and James the brother of Jesus. There are those who consider Silas, and Timothy apostles as well, but that is harder to substantiate. Again, there were unique apostles in the first century who were eyewitnesses of Jesus. Some of them wrote scripture. These men cannot be replicated today, but yet an apostle is still a vital leadership position in the Church to keep the gospel advancing, planting and building up groups of believers throughout the world today.
Prophets in the Old Testament carried God's message to His people Israel. They rebuked the nation for sin, called the people to repentance, encouraged them to be faithful, and proclaimed coming judgement as well as coming restoration. Much of what they spoke was foretelling. A careful reading of the prophetic books of our Old Testament reveals much of what is yet to come concerning the last days and the return of Christ to rule as King.
Again, men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and many others, are responsible for much of our Old Testament scripture. The divinely inspired message they proclaimed has been included as part of the canon of the Old Testament. It is for this reason that many people believe the office of Prophet ceased with the close of the canon of scripture.
However, a prophet's role is not to proclaim new doctrines, or to write new books of the bible. History has proven the dangers of this. Islam began with a new book revealed to a "prophet", as well as Joseph Smith and the book of Mormon. Undiscerning people believed the lie and false religions were allowed to grow and prosper.
Just like the prophets of old, a prophet today is called to bring a divine message from God to His Church. A prophet may encourage a church to greater faithfulness, call a wayward church back to God, warn of coming judgement if a backslidden church remains on it's stubborn path without repentance.
There were prophets in the Church in the New Testament. The book of Acts is filled with examples. Acts 13:1-2 gives an example the role prophets played in the calling of Paul and Barnabas to the work God had for them. Agubus was another prophet who is mentioned twice. Acts 11:27-28 records that he along with some other prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. Agubus, thought the Holy Spirit predicted a severe famine that spread throughout the Roman empire. This same Agubus also prophetically warned Paul that he would be bound in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans, which came to pass soon after (Acts 21:10).
There are no concrete verses stating that the role of apostle or prophet was only temporary. To the contrary we find examples of apostles and prophets throughout the New Testament, and have no reason to doubt their existence within the Church today as well.
No one questions the validity of pastors, teachers, and evangelists today. They were called by God and gifted in the early Church, and continue to the present. For the sake of this post I won't dwell on these three leadership positions, perhaps saving them for a future post.
Moving on to the list of gifts found in 1Cor 12:4-11, I would like to make the case that these gifts have not yet ceased as so many believe.
In the greater context of this passage we read an analogy comparing the Church to a body. A body is made up of many parts with differing functions. Each part works together in a body. The body need every part in order to function as a body. Likewise, the Church itself is a "body" composed of many different parts, each with their own function or gifting, enabling the body to work as it is supposed to.
1 Cor 12:4-7 records that there are different kinds of gifts and service, but it is the same God who works all of them in all men for the common good of the Church. Verse 7 tells us that these gifts are a manifestation of the Spirit. Again, the capstone of the New Covenant is the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and I, as followers of Christ. We rightly believe that the Spirit of God works in our lives, enabling us to live for Jesus. We also believe that as Christians we are gifted, but I'm afraid many of us stumble when we come to this list of gifts.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit.
To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit,
to another the working of miracles, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Cor 12:7-11 NKJV)
Let's look at each of these gifts briefly. Words of wisdom and knowledge are similar gifts. An individual might be divinely given information pertaining to a problem or situation where wisdom is needed. A word of knowledge is an utterance revealing information about a situation or individual. Consider the account of Ananias and Sapphira found in Acts 5:1-10. Peter had no knowledge of their deception apart from divine revelation (Acts 5:3-4). Another example may be found in Acts 20:23 where Paul is forewarned of his upcoming arrest in Jerusalem.
The faith mentioned here is a divinely inspired faith that believes God for the miraculous. It works together with gifts of healing and the working of miracles. Supernatural miracles and divine healing were normal occurrences throughout the book of Acts. Beginning with the healing of the lame man in Acts 3:1-11, we read of people being healed as Peter's shadow fell upon them (Acts 5:15), mighty miracles at the hands of Philip (Acts 8:6-7), and many more instances of God working through Paul in the healing of the sick, and even raising the dead (Acts 20:9-12).
Discernment is something we all can use. As Christians we are called to test all things, holding to what is good and rejecting what is evil (1 Thes 5:19-2). These verses are actually speaking about prophecy. Don't quench the Spirit, don't despise prophecy, and test all things. Everyone should be careful to check out every sermon, every teaching, book, and of course every operation of a spiritual gift to see that what is presented lines up with scripture. We live in an age of deception and knowing the truth is vital. It is every Christians duty to exercise discernment. However there are those within the body who receive a gift of discernment for the purpose of recognizing what lies behind a teaching, a tongue or word of prophecy, or miracle. Scripture warns of false prophets deceiving many, even using signs and wonders to do it. The knee jerk reaction for many is to reject spiritual gifts, to relegate signs and wonders to the first century, but do we throw out the proverbial "baby with the bathwater?" Wherever God is working, Satan will raise up a deception. We need discernment, and God provides it. Let's not quench the Spirit.
Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophecy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues, but everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way (1 Cor 14:39-40 NIV).
Prophecy as mentioned above is often given as a word of encouragement, or an exhortation to righteous living. It maybe given to call a congregation to repentance if necessary. It is not preaching a sermon as some believe, although a sermon can be prophetic. Simply put, prophecy is God's message to His Church delivered through men. A prophetic word will not contradict scripture, and will never reveal a new doctrine, as the faith has once for all been delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Prophecy is meant to strengthen, comfort, and encourage the Church (1Cor 14:3).
Speaking in an unknown tongue is a spiritual manifestation where the one speaking speaks in a language unknown to them. It may be an existing language, or one unknown on earth. The one speaking does so at the impulse of the Holy Spirit. When an utterance is given in a public service, an interpretation is necessary. One who interprets a tongue does not know the language as well, but divinely receives the interpretation by the Holy Spirit. It does record in Acts chapter two that the multitudes present on the day of pentecost heard the messages in tongues in their own languages, but in that case people were present in Jerusalem from many nations, speaking many different languages. One who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies Himself, but when interpreted it becomes like prophecy, offering encouragement and edification for the Church (1 Cor 14:2-5).
I have briefly described these spiritual gifts, but there is a lot more I could get into here. That will have to be in future posts. Many people hold to the position that these gifts were for a brief time period at the beginning of the Church age and have long since ceased. My aim in this post was to make a biblical case for the continuation of these gifts. The gifts were given for the edification of the body, and I firmly believe that God never intended for them to cease. I would also like to state that I don't endorse everything that happens in charismatic circles. There are un- biblical teachings and practices out there, and once again, we need discernment.
Someday the gifts will cease. We read,
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
For we know in part and we prophecy in part; but when the perfect comes the partial will be done away.
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
For now we see through a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known (1 Cor 13:8-12 NASB).
Right now this side of eternity we are continually growing in maturity. Just like the apostle Paul, we have not arrived yet and must push on (see Phil 3:10-15). There is much to learn, and much we do not know. Like we read above, it's like looking into a dim mirror. Paul speaks of a time of immaturity, thinking and acting like a child, until he grew up and put those things away. He is making the analogy of our pilgrimage here on earth. These things (tongues, prophecy, knowledge) are necessary for the Church here and now, but the day will come when we reach full maturity and the perfect will come. We will have arrived. And I can confidently tell you that we will not arrive at that point until we stand before Jesus face to face. When Jesus returns to gather His Church, then and only then will we no longer need these spiritual gifts, and they will disappear as faith is swallowed up by sight.