THE MIRACULOUS GIFTS OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT;
Are they still in effect
today as some claim?
Are
the “miraculous” gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as casting out demons,
speaking in tongues, healing the sick, raising the dead, divinely and instantly
inspired knowledge and prophecies and the like still in effect today? The
Biblical, black-and-white answer is a very resounding “NO”, absolutely not,
as all shall surely see who will approach God’s Word with a willing and open
heart.
Please
keep two things in mind as you study the following; first, it is imperative to
your understanding of this topic that you read the Bible references listed, in
their entirety, to make sure that the things I’ve stated are true (Acts
17:11). And secondly, that you keep always in mind as we examine the Scriptures,
that there were TWO LEVELS of the Holy Spirit, given directly by God, to the
church, to different groups, at different times, for different reasons, as we
shall also see from the Scriptures.
1.
PLEASE READ MARK
16:14-20:
The
eleven apostles left at that time (after Judas’ suicide) were to go and preach
the gospel, and whoever believed that gospel and was baptized would be saved.
The following signs were to accompany those who did:
“They will cast out demons”: They did! (See Acts 5:16, and 8:6-7)
“They will speak in new tongues”: They did!
(See Acts 2:4-11, 10:44-48, 19:6, and 1 Corinthians 12:8-11).
“They will they will pick up serpents…”: One did! (See Acts 28:3-6)
“And if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them.” (We
have no
record of this one ever happening; but keep in mind this is the
only one
God listed here as an “if”. And perhaps the reason we have no record
of
it ever happening is proof that it didn’t hurt them-no harm done!)
But certainly one of the most important things to keep in mind from this
particular
passage is the reason why the miraculous gifts were to be given by God in
the first
place: “to confirm the message” these would take to the world; that
is, to show that these men and their message were from God, to get people’s
attention so they would listen to the message as a God-given one. Don’t forget
that as we continue!
2.
PLEASE READ ACTS
1:1-13:
This
whole section, from beginning to end, is written regarding the apostles, and
only the apostles, period (It is book-ended on both ends with the undeniable
fact that its instructions are only to the apostles, and no one else; notice
verses 1-2, and 13). This includes the promise of verse eight:
“But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”
Please
also take note of the wording of the Holy Spirit’s “coming upon them.”
This is an incredibly significant wording, as this is one indicator in all the
references to come, as to how we can know the difference between the two levels
of the Holy Spirit, and which level is being referred to in a particular
passage. If (depending upon your translation) the Holy Spirit is said to have
“come upon”, “fallen upon”, etc. them, then it indicates an
overwhelming, tidal-wave-type outpouring of the Holy Spirit; i.e., in
miracle-performing measure, as we’ll see. If not, then it is the more common,
“lesser level”, as we’ll also see.
3.
PLEASE READ ACTS
1:14-26:
At
this point, amongst a gathering of approximately 120 people, Peter preaches,
Judas is replaced by Matthias in the ranks of the apostles (Please note here
also, the requirements for an apostle as seen in verses 21-22; proving that none
today can legitimately claim to be one!)
4.
PLEASE READ ACTS 2:1-4:
Here
is another incredibly significant question:
WHO is the “they”, “them”, and “each one of them”, in
these four verses?
And
the incredibly significant answer is: Only
the twelve apostles. Here’s why:
A).
When the Bible was originally written, there wasn’t any chapter and verse
divisions. Therefore, the text actually reads:
“…and
the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. When the
day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.”
The “they” therefore is distinctly & strictly limited to Matthias
and the 11 apostles!
B).
Only the apostles had specifically
been given this promise in Acts 1:1-13.
C).
Only the apostles, Matthias and the
eleven, went on to “speak in tongues”, because after this group of newly
empowered “tongue-speakers” did so and were accused of drinking too much (READ
ACTS 2:5-13), Peter defended this group as verse 14 depicts: Peter took his
stand, “with the eleven”
tongue-speakers, NOT the
one-hundred and nineteen.
(Additional note on this passage: Note that
Biblical “tongue-speaking” was not the modern-day “jibber-jabber” of
those who artificially and anti-scripturally claim the gift. It was being heard
in recognizable and legitimate languages-see again Acts 2, verses 6, 8, and 11).
D). Only the apostles were doing signs and wonders this day, everyone
else was amazed (Acts 2:43, also see Acts 5:12-13); proving once again, that
it was the apostles, and only the
apostles, who had the Holy Spirit come
upon them in miraculous measure in Acts 2:1-4.
For everyone else who hears the gospel message (as Peter preached in
Acts 2:14-36), and is willing to accept it (verse 37), by repenting and being
baptized, “in the Name of Jesus Christ, for
the forgiveness of (their) sins” (As seen also in Acts 22:16), they
receive the gift (Note: not have it “fall upon”, “come
upon”, or, “come to rest upon” them, but “receive”) of the “lower
level” of the Holy Spirit; a promise to everyone
(verses 38-41), as opposed to the miraculous level of the gift of the Holy
Spirit, which was specifically promised and limited to only the apostles in Acts 1 & 2.
5.
PLEASE READ ACTS 6:1-6:
The
apostles chose seven men to carry on with some of the workload. These men were
already “full of the Spirit” (having been baptized into Christ we must
assuredly assume, and thereby were Christians-Acts 2:38-41, Romans 8:9-16).
However, the apostles then “laid their hands on them”, a maneuver that
allowed the apostles to transfer the “miraculous gift level” of the Holy Spirit to others,
as we’ll see later in Acts 8…
6.
PLEASE READ 8:4-13:
Phillip,
one of the seven men chosen in Acts 6, whom the apostles had laid their hands
on, went to Samaria and preached the gospel, and the Lord, as promised in Mark
16:14-20, “worked with (him) and confirmed the message by accompanying signs”:
As in Acts 2, many heard the gospel, believed the gospel, repented and were
baptized (or, “obeyed the gospel”). And because Acts 2 is true, we know they
therefore received the gift of the Holy Spirit…but NOT in miraculous form, nor at the miracle-performing level:
“…for
He had not yet “FALLEN ON” any of them, but they had only been baptized in
the Name of the Lord Jesus”
(Acts 8:16; Capitalization mine-D.E.D.)
This
is the same one baptism as occurred in Acts 2:38-41.
7.
PLEASE READ ACTS
8:14-19:
The
“miraculous gift” level of the Holy Spirit was transferred “through the
laying on of the APOSTLES’ hands” (Acts 8:18; Capitalization mine-D.E.D.);
and yet it is incredibly obvious that those whom they laid their hands upon,
such as they had done to Phillip (Acts 6:5-6), couldn’t pass this gift along
to anyone else, otherwise, Peter and John would not have had to come down from
Jerusalem to transfer the miraculous level of the gift of the Holy Spirit;
Phillip could have done it himself…but such was not the case was it? The
Scripture says of that level of the Holy Spirit, that it was transferred by the
laying on of the APOSTLES’ hands (verse 18).
8.
But what is the
significance of this for us? Simply that when the last apostle died
(Approximately 100-105 AD?), the ability to transfer this level of the
Gift died with them. And when the last person whom they had thus transferred
this level of the Spirit to died (perhaps mid-2nd century?), this
level therefore, ceased to exist as well.
9.
“But what of the
story of Cornelius in Acts 10?”, some will say.
PLEASE READ ACTS 10 AND 11!
The
events chronicled herein take place a decade or two after the events of Acts 2.
It is obvious that the Jewish Christians, including Peter himself, still did not
believe that God had extended His favor to the Gentiles (the non-Jews)-thus his
dream in Acts 10:9-21. God had to make a statement to the
Jewish-turned-Christian
“As
I began to speak, the Holy Spirit FELL
ON them, just as on us, AT THE
BEGINNING” (Boldness, Underlining, & Capitalization mine-
D.E.D.)
This
had not been a regularly occurring
event whatsoever; having been limited to only
these two very specific occurrences (Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 10: 44-47).
Everyone else was to receive the other, “normal” level of the Holy Spirit
promised to all Christians when they are saved by virtue of their obeying the
gospel, ie, being baptized in water for the forgiveness of their sins, thus
receiving the Holy Spirit (See again Acts 2:38-47, and also, additionally John
3:3-5, and 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 along with 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, and Romans
6:1-5).
Additionally
note: There is only one baptism that counts (Ephesians 4:4-6) for salvation
(Ephesians 1:1). It is a burial (Romans 6:1-23, Colossians 2:8-14), in water
(Acts 8:36-38), for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16), and despite the claims
of many, according to God, it is one of the elements that “saves you” (1
Peter 3:21).
And
so we see the error of those who claim that one can somehow validate or
“prove” their salvation by “speaking in tongues”. The 3,000 saved in
Acts 2:38-47 were saved by virtue of their obedience-Scripture says so; read it
again- but NONE that day except the
apostles could perform miracles (verse 43, Also see 2 Corinthians 12:12), or
speak in tongues (Acts 1:26-2:14).
10.
PLEASE READ 1
CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 12:1-13:7:
The
context of chapters 12 and 13 here, are in reference to the differing gifts,
measures, or levels of the Holy Spirit which had been given to different
individuals in the congregation of the church of God/church of Christ (1
Corinthians 1:2, Romans 16:16) at Corinth. The miraculous gifts were still in
evidence when this was written in approximately 55-57 AD.
In
response to their arguments over who possessed the “greater gifts”, Paul
explains what the greatest gift of all is; Love. Then, in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12
(PLEASE READ!), he explains that the
divinely given miraculous gifts over which they’ve been fighting, such as the
gift of instantaneous prophecies (which he later addresses how to deal with in
the upcoming chapter, for as long as they will last), the gift of
tongue-speaking (the instant ability to speak and be heard in a recognizable
language as did the apostles in Acts 2), and the gift of divinely inspired,
instantaneous knowledge of the things of God, were going to cease to exist.
These “partial” gifts and “partial” knowledge, as yet when this was
written being still in force then (Verses 9-11), were going to disappear. The BIG
question for us, is WHEN?
‘When
“the perfect” comes. This ABSOLUTELY
CANNOT AND DOES NOT mean, as some would try to lead us to believe, when
Christ (as “the perfect”) comes again to earth; and here’s why. The Greek
(from “teleios”-meaning “perfect”, or “complete”) translated to
“the perfect” in this verse, is gender-neutral.
It is not a person, it is a THING.
“God”
and “Christ” occur a combined total of some 4,596 times in the Bible (ASV),
and never once, are they referred to in anything other than the
masculine gender. Jesus is not a “thing”. “The perfect”, or “the
complete” here, is. So what is this “perfect/complete” thing that would signal the end of the need of the miraculous gifts
of the Holy Spirit because such gifts would no longer be necessary (remember:
“to confirm the Word” - Mark 16:20)?
When
the completed (“perfect” in that sense) knowledge of God, His complete,
revealed message for all time, and for all of mankind, would be finally made
known, in it’s entirety; when the
Scripture was completed! This happened when the last Bible book,
“Revelation”, was completed by John the apostle, in the late first century.
(See and study also: James 1:22-25, wherein “the perfect law” is “teleios”;
also see 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Jude 3, Revelation 22:18-19, and etc.)
When
God’s completed, perfect, revealed will was finally written down in
approximately 100 AD or so, there was no longer any need for the “partial”
pieces of knowledge that they’d needed earlier. There was no longer a need to
“confirm the message” (Mark 16:20). If one could not thereafter take the
Bible, the entire and completed will of God for all time, and all mankind, as
revealed by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21), thus blaspheming (rejecting) the
Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32), then they cannot be saved.
Either
way, and indeed through both avenues of study, we reach the same, exact,
conclusion. Whether we look at who received the miraculous measure and gifts of
the Holy Spirit (including “tongue-speaking”) and the only way this gift
could be transferred to non-apostles; or, if we look at Paul’s explicit
directives by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, one thing
becomes incredibly clear:
For
those who are willing to accept what the Bible says as the all-Authoritative
Word, Will, and Wisdom of God, then they understand and accept that the
miraculous level of the Holy Spirit, including the gift of tongue-speaking,
completely disappeared from the face of the earth, sometime in the second
century; that is, between 100 and 200 AD.
Whenever
one refuses to accept what God has clearly and plainly said about this, and
still continues to claim that those gifts continue to exist today, then I will
simply request that they accompany me directly to the local hospital and
immediately, miraculously, heal every sickness and disease as did the apostles
(Acts 3:6-8, 5:12-16); and then accompany me to the nearest funeral parlor and
cemetery to legitimately and undeniably raise the dead, as did the apostles
(Acts 9:36-41, 20:7-12).
Strangely, I have never had anyone take me up on that offer. I somehow
doubt that you will either. God’s Word is still true and I still believe it.
Do you?
In
the Love of God and His Eternal Truth, your servant for His sake,
Douglas
E. Dingley;
Evangelist
for the