Have The Gifts Of The Spirit Ceased?
1 Corinthians 12:31-12:31
Have the Gifts of the Spirit Ceased?
This subject has divided much of the church and as your pastor I want to address where we as a church are on this subject. I encourage you to take notes, and study these things for yourself.
I want to begin with clear unambiguous biblical proof that God never intended for the gifts to have not ceased, then share a story from my life, the purpose of the gifts, evidence for continuance, and desire for the gifts.
1. Clear biblical proof the gifts have not ceased.
Mr 13:11 "And when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but [it is] the Holy Spirit.
This is a wonderful promise from God. Elsewhere in the bible it tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope that is in us (1 Pe. 3:15). But here in this text Jesus says don't worry about preparing what you will say when arrested for the faith, the Holy Spirit will speak through you. This is a promise with no time limit on it. A promise that believers will speak prophetically in persecution for the faith type scenarios. "It is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit." Nothing could be plainer, to think this ended at the first century is to deny what Christ taught and to strip the church of the ongoing ministry and work of the Holy Spirit.
Here is another biblical proof:
Re 11:3 "And I will grant [authority] to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
I take a futuristic view of the book of Revelation, that these two witnesses are people who are in the future even from this date. Assuming that to be correct, it simply states that during the great tribulation God will empower to men to prophesy, thus the gifts of the Spirit cannot have ended. Most Christians are futurists when it comes to the book of Revelation and these two witnesses, I don't know how they reconcile the prophetic utterances of these future prophets with cessationism. That is a conundrum for them, not for me.
My third bible proof foncontinuance is this text in Revelation 19:
Re 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The true essence of prophecy is to bear witness and speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know about you but I have had the experience many times in telling others of Christ, where the Holy Spirit would bring thoughts, ideas, and scriptures to mind to aid in telling of Jesus. Biblically prophecy is not simply telling the future, but encompasses a much broader range of subjects. Paul says that prophecy speaks to men of edification, exhortation, and comfort. In the passage before us, we are told the truest essence of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. To suggest that the Spirit no longer bears witness to Christ, or empowers His people to do so is to deny basic biblical truths. God helps us witness to others of Jesus, and He calls that prophecy. That is very clear evidence that the gifts have not ceased.
An example from my life:
I was a newly saved Christian serving in the U.S. Navy stationed in Kamiseya Japan. A fellow sailor came to me one Sunday afternoon, he was facing surgery the next day and wanted me to pray for him. Apparently his tail bone was sticking out of his back and they were surgically going to do something to change it. I bowed my head to pray, and was about to pray for God to bless the doctors, when I felt very strongly impressed to pray for God to heal him. (This man was not a Christian at the time.) I had never prayed for anyone to be healed, wasn't even sure if that kind of thing happened. The next day the surgery was canceled some piece of equipment they needed wasn't available or working. A few weeks later when he went back for the surgery, upon examination they discovered his tail bone was no longer sticking out or causing problems, surgery was no longer needed. A short time later this man came to Christ, and has been a devoted Christian ever since. Jesus healed the sick to demonstrate that He had power on earth to fogive sins. I believe God still heals the sick and performs miracles to help lost people on their journey to Christ.
That is called anecdotal evidence for the gifts of the Spirit to still continue. What I mean by that, it is an interesting side note, but our beliefs should not be based on experience, but on what the bible says. We are after all bible believers, and we are specifically warned that in the last days, an evil person will come and perform lying wonders in an attempt to deceive the world, and especially Christians. Our faith cannot be based on experience, because experience can be very wrong.
2. The Purpose of the Gifts of the Spirit
Gifts of the Spirit as sign gifts.
If you do any reading on this subject you will see numerous articles that talk about, "sign gifts." A sign gift is a miraculous event that points to and proves the authority and validity of the person speaking, usually referring to Jesus and the original Apostles. The four best examples I can think of in the scriptures of this truth are the following:
Lu 5:24 "But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," — He said to the paralytic — "I say to you, rise, and take up your stretcher and go home."
Ac 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
2Co 12:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.
Heb 2:4 God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
In the first one, Jesus said the miracle He was about to perform would prove he had the authority to forgive sins, and in the second Paul states that signs and wonders validated Christ, and the third Paul uses signs to validate his claim to be an Apostle. In thr fourth the writer states that God used miracles to validate the ministry of the Apostles. In short miracles can be sign gifts, in the same way a sign says turn right to get on a certain highway, signs gifts point you in the right direction. They tell you which is the correct way to go.
But here is where those who think the gifts have ended make a big mistake, they view the miracles Jesus, Paul, and the rest of the Apostles did, were ONLY for the purpose of proving who they were and the authority they had from God.
One purpose of miracles/healings is to be a sign, but it is not the only purpose for the gifts, nor was the only purpose to prove a person was appointed and approved by God. My friend Jim in the story above, his healing was a sign that pointed to the God who loved him and answers prayer. It was one part of the picture that drew him to Christ. I argue that Jesus still does miracles today to prove He has the authority to forgive sins.
In the New Testament the miracles Jesus did helped many people to believe in him especially noted was the raising of Lazarus from the dead. So in these cases the miracles were sign gifts that were aids in bringing people to faith. The idea that God can't use miracles anymore leaves the church devoid of one of it's most powerful assets. How many millions have come to Christ because of answered prayer that propelled them in the right direction. To think that God has limited Himself to no longer do miracles is to make the omnipotent impotent.
But the scriptures are very clear that miracles were done for reasons other than to be sign gifts. The scriptures tell us several times that Jesus healed people because He was moved with compassion.
Mt 14:14 And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Mr 1:41 And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand, and touched him, and *said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."
People who believe the gifts have ceased find themselves in the unenviable position of having to believe that Jesus will no longer be moved with compassion and alleviate the suffering of sick people. They believe God only healed the sick to prove Jesus was God, and once the bible was written He is no longer moved with compassion towards sick people.
Miracles also happened in response to faith, with no stated connection to being sign gifts:
Mt. 9:22; Mk 10:52; Lu 17:19 - "thy faith has made you whole."
Ga 3:5 Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
God does miracles in response to faith not simply so the bible could be written.
Jesus healed the sick also because it was one of His stated purposes in coming to earth:
1Jo 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
The text in 1 John clearly is speaking about Jesus' battle against sin, but it also references His purpose to destroy the works of the evil one. In Luke 13 a woman is described who has been bent over double for 18 years, and Jesus attributes it directly to the devil:
Lu 13:16 "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"
If you read the passage in context you will note that Jesus loosed her, He did not heal her. (Though that was a consequence of the loosing!) Jesus not only destroys the works of the devil in the area of sin, but also in the area of sickness. If the devil is behind it, Jesus came to destroy it!
Yes miracles were signs, but that is not their only purpose. Signs are still needed, Christ still does miracles to point to Himself, but He also still does miracles because He has compassion on people, and because He enjoys destroying the works of the devil.
3. Evidence for continuance.
Besides the reasons I have already laid out I want to add the, "As Many Argument." I also speak to the idea of burden of proof.
"The As Many Argument"
Ac 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Ac 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.
In context the promise Peter is referring to, is the gift of the Holy Ghost. This promise he earlier referred to in Acts 2:16-18 as a prophecy from the book of Joel. In that prophecy/promise Joel speaks of the Holy Spirit being poured out and giving people visions, dreams, and prophetic utterances. This promised outpouring Peter goes on to say, is to as many as the Lord our God should call. That simple truth negates the idea the gifts would reach a point of discontinuance, anytime before the final judgment.
"Burden of Proof Argument"
This one simply posits the idea that the burden of proof is not on those who argue for continuance but on those who argue for the cessation of the gifts.
This thinking finds its basis in all the texts that describe, the bestowing of, the desire for, and the governance of spiritual gifts. Why would God spend so much time discussing something that would very shortly end? It seems ludicrous. Since God spent so much time discussing the gifts, to discount them as being over with requires God say so as clearly as He spoke for and gave guidance about them. For example lets look at this verse and discuss the implications:
1Co 14:39 Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues.
Earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. The language could not be clearer. Yet cessationists are very passionate to do the very opposite, especially about the second clause to forbid to speak with tongues, they do so by claiming that anyone who speaks in tongues is not inspired of God, but of the devil.
Since the bible is absolutely clear we are to desire spiritual gifts and we are specifically warned about a negative attitude in regards to tongues and prophecy, to teach otherwise requires an equally clear biblical mandate to negate those teachings.
1Co 14:1 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual [gifts,] but especially that you may prophesy.
1Co 14:5 Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but [even] more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.
1Co 12:31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.
1Th 5:20 do not despise prophetic utterances.
Where is the text that says we should no longer desire spiritual gifts? Where does it say we should forbid to speak with tongues? Where does it says we should no longer desire to prophesy? The burden of proof is not on those who believe in continuance, but in those who believe they have ended. The texts in support are clear and unambiguous. The text used in support of cessation is 1 Cor 13 which speaks about the gifts ceasing when the perfect has come. The idea that "the perfect" refers to the completion of the bible is a modern invention. Throughout history it has always been understood to be when we are in heaven. Calvin himself described it this way: ""Perfection," says he, "when it will arrive, will put an end to everything that aids imperfection." But when will that perfection come? It begins, indeed, at death, for then we put off, along with the body, many infirmities; but it will not be completely manifested until the day of judgment, as we shall hear presently." (Calvin's commentaries on 1 Cor 13:10)
The idea that the perfection Paul spoke was the completion of the bible, and that would be the time the gifts of the Spirit would no longer be needed is a new interpretation of text that has never been understood that way in antiquity. It is a projection onto a text, with deductions based on that projection. Earnestly desire spiritual gifts, couldn't be more clear. The burden of proof to overthrow clear biblical texts is on those who want to say they have ceased, and their best response is a weak, connived, novel interpretation of a text that for millennia has been understood otherwise. Their proof text is far to vague to even consider in light of the clear concise texts that state the opposite of what they teach.
4. Desire for the gifts
1Co 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
As believers we should desire spiritual gifts because the bible tells us to. There is no need for any other reason, and yet there are other reasons. To help in witnessing, to point others to Christ, to edify one another, to destroy the works of the devil, to let the compassion of Christ touch the sick.
The text we have just read says to covet earnestly, in other words make it one of your passions in life. Set it as a priority, pursue with purpose, seek diligently. That is our attitude towards the gifts, and yet Paul goes on to say in the very next chapter, that love is greater than all the gifts. The top three New Testament commandments are to 1.) Love God; 2.) Love Man; 3.) Desire Spiritual Gifts.
Close: The gifts haven't ceased, the question now is do you have a biblically correct attitude towards them?
Pray for people to have the gifts operating in their lives to bear witness to Christ and to demonstrate the love of God.
