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ole of Spiritual Gifts Today. We have already discovered that the Holy
Spirit gives various types of spiritual gifts, or supernatural abilities,
to help the followers of Jesus Christ minister to one another. 1 Corinthians
12:11 says that the Holy Spirit is the one who decides which gifts are
given to each believer.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. (NASB) 1 Cor. 12:11 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, 28 and Romans 12:6-8 list the different known
gifts. It is possible that other spiritual gifts are given for the edification
of the saints, but the Bible does not mention any others. The lists include:
exhortation, giving, helps or serving, prophecy, ruling or leading, mercy,
teaching, administration, discerning of the spirits, faith, knowledge,
prophecy, healing, miracles, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.
Each Christian is given a spiritual gift. God sometimes
gives Christians a combination of these gifts. For example, one Christian
might have the gift of teaching and knowledge while another believer
might have the gifts of faith, giving, and ruling. Another might have
the spiritual gift of leading and mercy. When the Holy Spirit gives these
gifts, He might give one Christian a “stronger” gift of teaching
than another. In other words, the messages from one person may have a
greater impact that those from another speaker. God gives spiritual gifts
so that we can help other Christians grow spiritually and express
our love to them.
Ephesians 4:7 amazingly indicates that these spiritual gifts are also
Christ’s gifts.
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (NASB) Eph. 4:7 In the verses that follow we are told that the gifts also include apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ . . (NASB) Eph. 4:11-12 This passage indicates that the purpose of the gifts is the edification,
equipping, and building up of the saints.
Discovering Your Spiritual Gift. How does one discover his or her unique
combination of spiritual gifts? The best way is to follow your heart’s
desire and start ministering to others. If God has given you a spiritual
gift, He most likely has placed a desire in your heart to use it. If
you ask God for guidance, follow your heart’s desire and then attempt
to objectively determine if others are being encouraged and motivated
by your ministry. If this occurs, then it is an encouraging sign you
have discovered one of your spiritual gifts. It is possible for Christians
to have a mix of supernatural abilities or spiritual gifts. So the treasure
hunt will continue.
Some Christians who have the gift of giving just love to give money
to others. Some men and women have the gift of mercy and love to care
for others. The best way to discover our gifts is by attempting to use
them. Today, churches and groups use surveys and questionnaires in an
attempt to help Christians discover their spiritual gifts. Unfortunately,
this method has serious problems. A survey can never determine the difference
between a natural ability, a natural desire, and a spiritual gift. Only
by using one’s spiritual gift and sensing the Lord’s blessing
on the use of that gift can one determine the Holy Spirit’s supernatural
gift. Surveys and questionnaires are flawed for that purpose.
Which Gifts Are Active Today? Are the gifts of tongues and prophecy
still active today? Could you have one these spiritual gifts? Some in
the Christian community say that some of the gifts are no longer active.
Some of the spiritual gifts that are in question include the speaking
in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and prophecy. Healing and
miracles are also questioned.
Another Study. God has always healed both the Christian and non-Christian.
Jesus’ example illustrates the truth of that statement. The gift
of healing was illustrated in Jesus’ life. He was a healer. The
gift of healing results in God healing a person through someone. The
gift of miracles is a mystery, but it is possible that it was illustrated
by Jesus when He calmed the waves on the Sea of Galilee.
Our Focus. The focus of this document has been the first three spiritual
gifts in question. We will study the gifts of healing and miracles on
another occasion. Therefore, the question before us is, “Are tongues
and prophecy for today?” We have already discovered that the Holy
Spirit has been active on this earth since the creation, down through
the Old Testament period, at Pentecost, and during the lives of the apostles.
We have discovered that the Holy Spirit came upon the Old Testament saints
and lived within and filled New Testament Christians. The New Testament
specifically says that the Holy Spirit filled some who spoke in tongues
as part of that filling. The book of Galatians and Ephesians describe
the result of a Christian being filled with the Holy Spirit. The descriptions
did not include speaking in tongues or prophesying. These discoveries
indicate that tongues and prophesy are not necessary to prove that the
Holy Spirit is ministering through a Christian. A person can believe
in Jesus and follow Him and not speak in tongues or prophesy. The Samaritans
are proof of this statement. They believed in Jesus. They had entered
into eternal life but were not filled with the Holy Spirit until the
apostles came later (Acts 8:14).
The Bible refers to the gift of tongues only in the New Testament and
no where else: the books of Mark, Acts and 1 Corinthians. This occurred
in fulfillment of Acts 2:17. So we must ask, “Did tongues cease
after A.D. 56?”
Ministry of Tongues and Prophecy. Tongues are mentioned one time in
the book of Mark, five times in Acts, and fifteen times in 1 Corinthians.
The passage in Mark occurs in a questionable section of scripture that
is not included in the better manuscripts. Acts gives us the history
of tongues which we have already covered. 1 Corinthians presents the
theology of tongues in chapters 12-14.
1 Corinthians 12. Chapter twelve discusses spiritual gifts in general
and includes tongues. However, at the end of chapter twelve, the Holy
Spirit reminds us through the apostle Paul that no spiritual gift is
given to every Christian.
All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? (NASB) 1 Cor. 12:29-30 Notice the comment that, “All do not speak with tongues, do they?” The
expected answer is, “No!” Throughout 1 Corinthians the Holy
Spirit has been discussing their sins and sometimes rebuking them for
their tolerance of sin. This passage is the first clue that the Corinthians
are abusing the spiritual gift of tongues in some way.
1 Corinthians 13. The second clue to the existence of a problem comes
in 1 Cor. 13:1 when the Holy Spirit says that tongues without love is
just like noise.
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. (NASB) 1 Cor. 13:1 The third clue that a problem exists comes in verses 8-10 when the Holy
Spirit tells them that tongues will cease but prophecy will continue
until the second coming of Jesus Christ. We will investigate this passage
later.
1 Corinthians 14. The fourth clue that the Corinthians have a problem
in the area of tongues is the discovery that chapter 14 is devoted to
the topic of tongues. This has been the Holy Spirit’s pattern throughout
the book.
In chapter 14 we discover that the Holy Spirit repeatedly compares
the spiritual gift of tongues to the gift of prophecy. Each time He encourages
them to seek the spiritual gift of prophecy instead of tongues. For example,
Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (NASB) 1 Cor. 14:1 Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy . . . (NASB) 1 Cor. 14:5 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. (NASB) 1 Cor. 14:20 Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. (NASB) 1 Cor. 14:39 |
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| The Spirit's Ministry - Tongues and Prophecy | |||||
