Gifts of the Spirit

Steve Kissell

Introduction:

We have considered the gift of the Holy Spirit, that is,  the indwelling of the Spirit. Now let's look at the gifts of the Spirit, that is, the gifts given by the Spirit.

A. Although the Holy Spirit is also able to provide non-miraculous gifts, generally what is meant by gifts of the Holy Spirit is miraculous abilities bestowed by the Holy Spirit.

 B. There are nine gifts of the Spirit listed in I Corinthians 12:8-10: wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.

 C. We want to consider:

1. What is a miracle?

2.  How were these gifts received?

3. What was the purpose of these gifts?

4. Are these gifts still available?

   I.  What is a Miracle?

1. A miracle is a supernatural event in which the laws of nature are suspended
   
   

2. Many times the word is used in a less precise way such as “the miracle of birth” or to speak of someone's extraordinary survival and recovery from an accident or illness. Birth is a marvelous and awesome event, but it is entirely natural and therefore does not qualify as a miracle.
      

3. Illustration: Surviving a fall from a tall building is not necessarily a miracle; falling off a building and flying around for a while instead of falling would be a miracle.  

 II.  How Were These Gifts Received?

A. On two occasions these gifts were received by the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was said to “fall upon” certain individuals, empowering them to work miracles.

1. The apostles on the day of Pentecost.

2. .Cornelius and his household approximately 10 years later

B. In the vast majority of cases, the miraculous gifts were bestowed through the laying on of the apostles hands.

            1. Acts 8: 6-19

a. Philip had the power to perform miracles but because he was not an apostle, he was unable to bestow that power on others. Therefore, Peter and John were sent to Samaria to impart the power to Christians there.

b. The gift of the Holy Spirit was received by the believers in Samaria upon their faith and obedience (Acts 2:38; 5:32), but the lacked the ability to perform miracles.

c. The words “Holy Spirit” in vss. 15, 17, and 19 are used to refer to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is a figure of speech called a metonymy in which the cause (the Holy Spirit) is stated and the effect (the miraculous ability) is meant. [Illustration: “I read Shakespeare last night”] This is evident from vs. 18 where it says, “…Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, “ One cannot see the Holy Spirit or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; what Simon saw were the effects of the power of the Holy Spirit.

2.  Acts 19: 1-7.  Notice:

a.  The 12 men received the Holy Spirit as a gift when they obeyed (Acts 2: 38; 5: 32).     

b.  The received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit when Paul laid his hands on them.

            3.  Romans 1: 11.  Notice:

a. Paul wished to see the Roman Christians so that he could impart some spiritual gift to them.

b.  They had already received the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8: 9-11)

4.  2 Tim. 1:6

III.  The Purpose of Miracles

      A. First, let's notice that the purpose of miracles was not merely to relieve suffering:

1. Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

2. Timothy had a frequent stomach ailment (1 Tim. 5:23).

3. Paul left Trohpimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20).

4. All these were not healed miraculously because healing them was not necessary to accomplish the true purpose of healing.

B.The primary purpose of miracles was the reveal and/or confirm the word of God.

1. The process of revelation and inspiration was miraculous but not visible.

2.  The visible (also audible) miracles were to authenticate the one producing the miracle as one who was a spokesman for God and to confirm the word of God.

C.  These miracles were called “signs” and were designed to produce faith

1.  Jn. 2:11, 23

2.  Jn. 3: 2

3.  Jn. 7: 31

4. Jn. 45-47

5. 1 Cor. 14: 22

IV. Are these gifts still available?

A. I am convinced that they are not. There are two basic reasons:

1. Because the Bible teaches that miracles were a temporary phenomenon for a specific purpose. That purpose was fulfilled and the phenomenon ceased;

2. Because no one can produce a clear, unequivocal miracle such as the ones Jesus and the apostles did.

B. The Bible teaches that miracles were to cease. There are three elements to this point:

1. There were only two means by which the power to perform miracles was acquired; both have ceased.

1. The direct intervention or “falling upon” by the Holy Spirit
   .
   This happened once on the day of Pentecost and again, about a decade later, on Cornelius and his household. The purpose of these two incidents no longer applies. One was to empower the apostles to perform miracles and to pass that ability on to others. The other incident was to prove that God intended that the good news of Jesus be shared with the Gentiles (see above).
   
   There is no Scriptural evidence for any other intervention. Those who claim that these two incidents were Holy Spirit baptism and that Holy Spirit baptism continues as a common phenomenon must explain how it is that by the time Paul wrote to the Ephesians there remained only one valid baptism (Eph. 4: 5) which is clearly water baptism.
   

2. The laying on of the apostles hands
   The apostles were the only ones who were able to bestow the ability to work miracles to others (see above). Obviously, this method of acquiring miraculous gifts died with the apostles.
   

3. Since the only means by which the power to perform miracles was bestowed are no longer available, the power itself is no longer available.
    

2. The purpose for miracles (see above) has passed.

1. Jn. 20: 30-31
   The miracles that Jesus performed were recorded so that we might believe. The record of the miracles, not the miracles themselves, was to remain for the purpose of creating faith.
   

2. Rom. 10:17
   It is now the function of the written word of God to produce faith. 
   

3. Heb. 2: 3-4
   The word of God was “confirmed” by the signs as it was being revealed. Having been confirmed, it needs no more confirmation.                                    

 3.  The New Testament teaches directly that miracles would cease.

1. The fact:  “… But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away” (1 Cor. 13: 8).
    

2. The timing: “…when the perfect comes…” (1 Cor. 13:10). Some believe that this refers to Christ and his coming. This is not supported by either the grammar or the context.

1) The word “perfect” means “complete or full” (Thayer). The Greek word is teleion which is a neuter noun used with the neuter article. Because the noun and its article are neuter, a literal translation of the phrase would be “ when the thing which is perfect comes.” The perfect, then, refers to a thing and not to a person. Had it referred to Christ, the noun and its article would have been in the masculine gender. It cannot be Christ.

2) The “perfect” is the complete knowledge of God's will, the full revelation of the New Testament. Knowledge is being discussed in the immediate context (13: 9-12)

1. Paul illustrates the need for miracles in the early church in vs. 11. When the church had grown from its infancy and had the full revelation of God's will, it no longer needed miracles.
   

2. In contrast to miracles, faith, hope, and love would abide (13: 13). Faith, hope and love will remain at least until Jesus comes again. Miracles would not abide.
   

3. Now, God has “…given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” (2 Pet. 1:3).

V. New Testament Miracles Versus Modern “Miracles

A. Healing

1. It appears that faith is a prerequisite for healing today. It is sometimes said of an unsuccessful attempt to heal that the patient did not have enough faith. Miracles performed by  Jesus and the apostles were designed to produce faith; they did not require faith. Many miracles are recorded in which there is no indication of any faith on the part of the one healed.
   
   a. Jn. 5: 1-14
   b. Lk. 13: 11-13
   c. Acts 3: 2-9
   
   

2. Today, many examples of “healing” recover gradually and usually only partially. In the first century, man who had been sick or lame or blind for many years are completely healed immediately and suffer no relapses.
   
   a. Jn. 9: 1-7
   b. Acts 3: 2-9
   
   

3. The miracles Jesus performed were all open for the whole world to see and investigate. Today, “faith healers” resist any objective investigation of their claims. Not even Jesus enemies questioned his ability to work miracles.
   
   a. Matt. 12: 24
   b. Jn. 11: 47
   
   

4. Slapping someone on the head and watching them fall over is not performing a miracle.

B. Tongue Speaking

1. Unlike modern “tongues,” first century were actual human languages (Acts 2: 8-11). Modern “tongues” is nothing but unintelligible chatter (gibberish).
   
   

2. In the first century one was prohibited from speaking in an unknown language if no one could interpret (1 Cor. 14: 27-28). Today, “tongue speakers” often do their thing with no one available to interpret
   
   

3. Tongues were not intended for use in the assembly of believers (1 Cor. 14: 22; more on this later). Modern “tongues” are performed almost exclusively in the midst of the speaker's own group of believers.
   
   

4. In modern “tongue speaking” assemblies, it is common to have many speaking at the same time. Paul instructed the church in Corinth to have no more than 3 speakers, and only one at a time (1 Cor. 14: 27).
   
   

5. Tongue speaking is considered, by many modern practitioners, to be of great importance. In fact, the inability to speak in tongues is viewed by some as evidence of a lack of  spirituality. The New Testament places no such importance on it:
   
   a. Of the 259 chapters of the N. T., only 7 mention tongue speaking.
   b. The gift of prophecy was greater than the gift of tongues (1 Cor. 14: 1-5).
   
   

6. Not every believer was intended to have the ability to speak in tongues (1 Cor. 12: 30).
   
   

7. Speaking in tongues, along with other miracles, was a manifestation of the immaturity of the church (1 Cor. 13: 8- 11).

C.  Other Miracles

1. 1. Immunity from poisons and snake bites was to accompany the ability to speak in tongues (Mk. 16: 17-18). Today,  poison drinking and snake handling almost never accompanies “tongue speaking.” That's because several people have died trying.

2. 1 John 4: 1 tells us not to believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. When asked for a demonstration, modern “miracle workers” often quote Jesus: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign” (Mt. 12: 39). Jesus, however, rebuked these people for not believing the signs he provided, not for expecting him to prove himself.

3.  Jn. 10: 37-38.  If modern “miracle workers” can do miracles, let's see them and believe. Jesus turned water into wine, walked on water, raised the dead, and many other unambiguous and indisputable miracles. Let's see something like this from those who claim that miracles continue.

The Nature of Tongue Speaking

Introduction:

Most of what has been said in this study about tongue speaking was in the context of contrasting what the New Testament says about tongue speaking with modern “tongue speaking.” I want to consider the subject of tongue speaking from another context: tongues in the assembly of the first century church. Virtually all of our information on this comes from 1 Cor. 14: 1-33. Let's see what we can learn from it.

I.  It is important to remember that in this chapter Paul is discussing tongue speaking in the context of the church assembly, not tongue speaking in general.

A. Read 14: 1-33. There are several points to be made here:

1. In the assembly of the church, prophecy is better than tongue speaking. Why?
   
   

2.   Because prophecy edifies the church and tongue speaking does not (vs. 4). Why?
   
   

3.   Because no one understands it (vs. 2). Even the speaker didn't understand it. That was the nature of the miracle: to speak a language that was not understood by the speaker, unless he also had the gift of interpretation.
    
   a. Keep in mind that Paul forbade tongue speaking in the absence of one who could interpret (vs. 28). If the tongue speaker automatically understood what he was saying, there would never have existed a situation in which tongue speaking occurred with no interpreter present.
   
   b. Notice also (vs. 13) that Paul suggests that tongue speakers pray for the ability to interpret. It wasn't automatic
   .
   c. Notice also vs. 19. In the context of “the church” Paul “would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” He would prefer to speak five words that he could understand than ten thousand words that he couldn't. In “the church” no sign was needed (more later) but teaching and edification were needed.
   
   

4.   What you typically have is an assembly of Christians who all speak the same language with an occasional visitor who might have a different first language. If someone got up and spoke Chinese in a group of Greek speaking people, no one would understand. Because of that, tongues were not for edification.
   
   a. The text does say (vs. 4) that in such a case the speaker himself is edified although the church is not. Why?
   
   b. Although the reason is not stated, I believe it is because the speaker is edified by the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is operating in him. Imagine yourself in that situation.
   
   

5.   The tongue speaker is speaking to God, not to men (vs. 2), whereas the one prophesying is not speaking to God but to men (vs. 3). Tongue speaking was prayer.
   
   a. Notice vs. 14: “…pray in tongue…”
   
   b. Notice also vs. 17. Paul says to the tongue speaker: “For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.”
   
   

6.   There is some value to the assembly if the gift of tongues is combined with the gift of interpretation (vs.5) but the tongue speaking alone is of no value to the assembly.
   
   

7.   Notice that Paul said that he was thankful that he could speak in tongues (vs.18), but in the church (assembly) he would much prefer to speak a language that could be understood (vs. 19). Paul had the power to speak in a foreign language but refused to do so in the assembly!
   
   

8.   Tongue speaking was designed to be a sign, not to believers but to unbelievers. It is evident that, while not completely forbidden, tongue speaking was not intended for the assembly.
   
   a. Tongue speaking was used in its true role on the day of Pentecost. See Acts 2: 5 - 13.  Notice:
   
    1. The audience was made up of unbelievers for whom a sign was useful.
   
   2. The tongues spoken were actual languages spoken in various places. The languages were not “angelic” or some kind of ecstatic babble.
   
   b. Tongue speaking had the same basic purpose of all the miracles: to confirm the word and to produce faith in it.
   
   c. It should be noted that tongue speaking was not for the purpose of allowing a preacher to communicate to a foreign audience. It was not an aid to communication (except coincidentally on occasion), it was a sign!
   
   

9.   The speaker had control of the gift (vs. 32; also 28). There was no excuse for chaos.