Spiritual Gifts (Continued)- Scriptural Precedent And Modern Experience

by G. Prasher, Jr., Manchester | Category: The Holy Spirit | Oct 1977

The Christian today may often meet those who claim to have experienced certain gifts of the Holy Spirit such as were manifested in the apostolic era. In this, as in all matters of our Christian life, we shall find our guide and safeguard in the written Word. From careful attention to scriptural precedent and teaching there emerge certain lines of principle by which claims to spiritual gifts can be assessed. "To the law and to the testimony!" (Isa. 8:20) should be our watchword.

Nine gifts of the Spirit are named in 1 Cor. 12:8-10:

The word of wisdom.Gifts of healings.

The word of knowledge.Workings of miracles.

Faith.Prophecy.

Discerning of spirits.

Divers kinds of tongues.

The interpretation of tongues.

Of these nine, some are classed as 'greater gifts' (12:31). The relative importance of any gift would depend upon its usefulness in relation to the continuing development of God's purpose throughout the present age of grace. This great purpose centred in the spread of the gospel, with the resulting growth of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and the gathering of disciples into churches of God.

So at the beginning of the age it was necessary to confirm the word of the Lord through the apostles "by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Heb. 2:4). Hence the importance at that juncture of such gifts as healings, miracles, tongues and their interpretation. Moreover, during that early phase of the dispensation the written Word of the New Testament was incomplete. God therefore imparted the knowledge of His will through the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge and prophecy. Once the great new revelation through Christ and the apostles had been confirmed, and its truths enshrined in the written New Testament, several gifts of the Holy Spirit no longer had the same importance. For God had given ample evidence that the new revelation was of divine origin. To continue miraculous manifestations beyond the apostolic era would take away from the distinctiveness of that era. Nor were further revelations needed or intended. The written Word would be an all-sufficient guide (2 Tim. 3:17; Jude v.3; Rev. 22:18,19).

Special attention should be given to the Lord's words in John 14:12:

"He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father". This cannot apply to the continuance of miraculous gifts. For in what way did even the apostles do greater works than the Lord Himself? Their works were not greater in the sense of being more wonderful! Certainly the modern claimant to miraculous power does nothing comparable to the work of Christ. The 'greater works' are not necessarily greater signs. The Master's words apply to the world-wide extension of the kingdom of God by the work of the apostles and others, in contrast to the limitation of the Lord's own work to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:5,6; 15:24).

Other gifts of the Spirit would, however, be of permanent importance for the continuing development of God's purpose in the making of disciples and in their spiritual well-being in churches of God. Prophecy. the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. would find abiding expression in relation to the written Word. The Holy Spirit would gift some to prophesy in the sense of speaking forth the scriptural message in terms of "edification, and comfort, and consolation" (1 Cor. 14:3). To some would be given the gift of knowledge in the interpretation of the Word; to others the gift of wisdom in application of the Word to current problems. Those with a gift of faith would be of abiding helpfulness in the encouragement and upbuilding of the disciples. The discerning of spirits would operate through the testing of 'doctrines of demons' by truths of the written Word.

Tongues and their Interpretation

Comparison of 1 Cor. 12:31 with 14:1 suggests that prophecy was one of the greater gifts. By contrast, tongues and their interpretation were among the lesser. They had assumed undue prominence among the Corinthian disciples. It is noteworthy that among many believers today a similar desire to speak in tongues has assumed very great importance, despite the fact that it was one of the lesser gifts. This fact is of itself instructive. It reflects an imbalance in spiritual attitudes which the Word of God will at once adjust.

Added to this is the frequent linking of speaking in tongues with progressive experience in relation to the Holy Spirit. For instance, some assert that a believer is not baptized in the Holy Spirit until he speaks in tongues. Others aver that speaking in tongues is a necessary accompaniment of the fulness of the Spirit. Yet others have even taught that one cannot be sure of the Spirit's indwelling unless there has been an experience of speaking in tongues. Whatever the variations of these teachings, they have in common that they make speaking in tongues an evidence or sign of some special phase of the Spirit's dealings with the believer. One brief word of Scripture exposes the fallacy of such teachings:

"Tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to the unbelieving" (1 Cor. 14:22).

This illuminating word from the Lord will deliver the believer from the notion that he must have spoken in tongues before being indwelt by, or baptized in or filled with the Holy Spirit. Rather, he will rest on the assurances of God's word in such places as 1 Cor. 6:19 (as to the indwelling) or 12:13 (as to baptism in the Spirit). As to the fulness of the Spirit it is clear that this was not necessarily accompanied by a manifestation of tongues. Peter was among those filled with the Spirit on successive occasions - the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4), before the Sanhedrin (4:8) and among his own company (4:31 ). Yet tongues are mentioned only in Acts 2. Moreover, the disciples in Ephesus were exhorted to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) as a matter of normal Christian experience, quite apart from miraculous manifestations.

Nor is there the slightest hint in the New Testament that a desire to speak in tongues should be the believer's main objective after he has accepted Christ. The artificial stimulation of excitement to promote this experience is entirely unscriptural. In each recorded instance when God granted certain to speak in tongues the gift was poured out on them without their expectation or request (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6).

These brief scriptural considerations illustrate the unsoundness of much associated at the present time with claims to tongues or their interpretation. Such claims are often related to wrong doctrinal exposition of Scripture regarding the Holy Spirit and the believer. Indeed some who are seriously in error as to the Person of Christ and His redemptive work also claim this gift. If those speaking in tongues have such widely diverse spiritual outlooks, to what truth could God be bearing witness by their common exercise of the gift? (compare Heb. 2:4).

Gifts of healings

Claimants to these gifts have also gained continuing prominence in recent times. They believe that such powers of healing as were exercised by the apostles and others in the first century have been renewed. The nature of this claim should be carefully noted. For there is no question that God may be pleased to grant healing beyond all medical expectation in answer to prayer, where this is His will. But this is a different matter from claiming to have apostolic gifts of healings. Again we must be guided alone by Scripture. A study of the Gospels and the Acts reveals certain general principles which governed the exercise of healing power, and these are helpful in considering modern claims to such gifts.

(1)The Principle of Discernment in the Healer.

With the power to heal in the Name of the Lord Jesus went the ability to discern when it was the will of God to heal in any particular case. This was an essential feature of the gift as exercised by the apostles. For it was a guarantee that the precious Name of God's Son would not be dishonoured by attempted healings which failed. This discernment is illustrated in Acts 3:4 and 14:9: both Peter and Paul looked intently on those they were about to heal, and in the case of the cripple at Lystra it is explained that Paul saw he had faith to be made whole. The fact that Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20) reflects the same truth of discernment in the healer. For Paul had the gift of healing, but on that occasion he must have discerned that it was not God's will for Trophimus to be healed immediately.

(2)The Principle of Unfailing and Absolute Restoration.

"This perfect soundness in the presence of you all" (Acts 3:16). The Holy Spirit's description through Luke of the perfect healing of this lame man may be taken as the true hallmark of all healing which resulted from the exercise of these gifts. It was a perfect healing, evident to all. One who had been well known as a life-long cripple was walking, leaping and praising God; and the following day he was still perfectly healed! (Acts 4:16). Other examples include the palsied man of Lydda (9:34), the cripple of Lystra (14:10), the victim of fever and dysentry in Melita (28:8). In each case the disease was clearly defined, evident to all, and instantaneously and fully cured.

(3)The Principle of Divine Sovereignty.

The man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple asked for alms and received miraculous healing. This was gratuitously bestowed by God in sovereign grace, just as the Lord cured the sick man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5). There were often earnest seeking and ardent faith on the part of those healed, but these two illustrations show that it was not necessarily so. Faith was indispensable on the part of the healer; some who expressed little faith, if any, were cured.

(4)The Principle of the Modest Exercise of the Gift.

The Lord frequently charged those He healed that they should not publicize what He had done for them (Matt. 9:30: Mark 5:43; 7:36; 8:26: Luke 5:14). Nor did the apostles use miracles as a means of publicity. The gift was exercised when the Holy Spirit made plain to His servants that God would be glorified by a miraculous expression of healing power. A danger is illustrated in Acts 3:12 and 14:11. Attention was all too readily focussed on the human instruments of healing grace rather than on the deeper spiritual purpose of confirming divine truth.

When tested by these four principles, many modern claims to the recovery of New Testament gifts of healings are found wanting. It would be quite unmistakable if God were to grant a recurrence of such miracles as are seen in Scripture. Much that is claimed today is not comparable, either as to the type of affliction involved, or as to the character of the healing. This is not to say that no benefit has resulted from the activities of those claiming a renewal of the gifts. For God may honour faith in His power to heal despite misunderstanding of doctrine. But where do these healings in any sense compare with the order of miracles seen in the Scripture record? It would appear that healings among believers who claim miraculous gifts, although more publicized, are in fact no more remarkable than those resulting from prayer by other believers who make no such claims.

It is vital that every aspect of our experience should be governed by the Word of God. In regard to healings, therefore, we should be concerned to ensure that the characteristics of our Master's healing activities are clearly evident. How deeply grieving it is to the Spirit if scriptural principles are violated! For instance, there are cases where through lack of discernment by a would-be healer the patient's condition is not improved. This is blamed on the patient's lack of faith, an unkind perversion of truth, since the slightest evidence of faith was always rewarded by the Lord Jesus (Mark 9:22-24). It is equally contrary to scriptural principle if healing powers are publicized as a means of propaganda, or used as a means of financial gain.

The Miraculous in Divine Purpose

Generally speaking God has expected His people to walk with Him by faith, not by sight (Hab. 2:4: Heb. 1:1,6; 2 Cor. 5:7). In line with this principle visible manifestations of miraculous power have been the exception rather than the rule. When it has been granted, the power to work miracles was given only for short periods and for particular reasons. Acceptance that certain miraculous gifts of the Spirit were withdrawn after the special witness of the apostolic period is therefore in harmony with a Bible-wide pattern.

This is confirmed by the Lord's statement in Mark 16:17,18. The Lord said that certain signs would follow them that believe the gospel. Yet multitudes have believed through the centuries without the signs following. If God had intended this statement to be applicable throughout the gospel age, such signs must necessarily have followed continually. Experience proves that this was not implied in the Lord's words. The signs did follow during the apostolic age, but they were not a usual result of belief in the gospel afterwards. It is important to face facts and see them in clear perspective. Mark 16:17,18 must be interpreted in the light of actual experience. The evidence of history is that the signs have not in fact followed in the vast majority of cases where believers have put saving faith in Christ over the past eighteen centuries. Yet the gospel has so often been proclaimed in the manifest fulness and power of the Holy Spirit.

In view of much misunderstanding about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our time, readers are asked to consider the subject in the light of the exhortation:

"Quench not the Spirit; despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:20,21).

G. Prasher, Jr., Manchester | Oct 1977
The Holy Spirit