Position of a bible Believing Church regarding Spiritual gifts . SPIRITUAL GIFTS are gifts God has given His children according to His divine providence and prerogative so that the individual’s gift might benefit and edify the entire body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 14:12; Ephesians 4:7, 12). As such, each individual must exercise diligence in the use of his or her gift, or the rest of the body will not be edified as it should (Romans 12:6). The following is a fairly comprehensive list of spiritual gifts recorded in the New Testament. Take note which gifts appear in more than one list. Be wary of extra-biblical sources that discuss gifts not mentioned in Scripture as they are likely to be erroneous. 1 Corinthians 12: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles, prophesy, discerning of spirits, kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, apostles, prophets, teachers, (miracles, tongues, healings repeated), helps and administrations (leadership – literally to pilot a ship) Romans 12: prophecy, ministry, teaching, service, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy Ephesians 4: apostles, prophets, evangelist, and pastor/teachers 1 Peter 4: speaking and serving Most of these spiritual gifts are straightforward and not controversial. Others, however, are surrounded by controversy as to whether or not they are operational in the church today, and if so, how they are to be used. We will discuss only the more controversial gifts here. We assert that the gifts of healings and miracles were both gifts that were only present during the brief time of and the time immediately following Jesus’ ministry on earth. Furthermore, we assert that they were present for the purpose of authenticating the ministry and person of Christ and later the ministry of His apostles and a few others as following in His steps (Hebrews 2:3-4). Therefore, these gifts are no longer present or needed in the church today. Prophecy was and is for the purpose of communicating and exhorting people to obey the word of God. When Christ came, we had the Word Himself and have now no further need of prophecy regarding Him. All that we need for the revealing of God’s word is in the Scripture and any other revelation is not from God. He has spoken to us in these last days through His Son (Hebrews 1:2). The gift of prophecy today is best defined in 1 Corinthians 14:3 and Revelation 19:10. Prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ. Probably the most controversial gift is various kinds of tongues. This gift, given at Pentecost, was a sign given to believers to authenticate that the Holy Spirit had been given to particular groups of people; Jews (Acts 2:4), Samaritans (Acts 8:17), and Gentiles (Acts 10:44-48). This gift entailed people actually speaking real human languages they had not previously learned (Acts 2:8). As the gospel spread from Jerusalem , the sign of tongues would accompany the conversion of different people groups (Samaritans and Gentiles). The apostles came to understand and teach that the gospel was for all and the church was not limited to Jews only (Acts 15:6-11). I believe that tongues have ceased as a gift based on the following Scripture passages: 1) the purpose of spiritual gifts is for the edification of the body, not the individual (1 Corinthians 12:7 & 14:6). Most who speak in tongues today state that it is a private prayer language and that they receive personal spiritual benefit from speaking unintelligible words. This is contrary to the whole purpose of spiritual gifts, which is to edify the body (1 Corinthians 14:4). Even if someone were to speak another human language, neither they nor the church would receive any benefit from it if an interpreter were not present. We would do well to heed Philippians 2:3-4 as it regards this gift. 2) We are to worship God in spirit and in truth. Even if someone would pray or sing in gibberish with their spirit, they have not done so with understanding and in truth (1 Corinthians 14:15). Again, such worship is also not edifying to anyone else (1 Corinthians 14:17-19). 3) Tongues is mentioned nowhere else in Scripture, save Acts 5 and has been absent from the mainstream church since.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 13:02:36 +0000
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