Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (I Corinthians 12:1-3)
When Paul introduced his discussion on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he took what seems like a really abrupt detour by discussing the pagan practices that the people once participated in. It is not until we get to the famous love chapter (thirteen) that we are able to begin to piece together what must have been in his mind as he penned these words. Paul says that practicing the gifts of the Spirit without the motivation of love is like a tinkling cymbal or a sounding brass. To understand what he meant, we need to be aware of the pagan practices familiar to the Corinthian believers. The pagan temples of the time had bells that served the same function as the bells in Hindu temples of today. They were essentially doorbells to announce the arrival of a devotee to the demon spirits that inhabited the shrine. They also contained gongs much like the gongs found in present-day Buddhist temples, which also serve the purpose of awakening the demonic presence. Paul’s evaluation of speaking in tongues outside the divine control of love was that it was nothing more than a demonic practice arousing evil spirits. It is because of the possibility of activating the wrong spiritual powers that the apostle felt it important to lay a foundation of understanding the difference between the demonic and the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take too much experience in Pentecostal and charismatic circles for one to encounter those who are doing things that certainly seem to be miraculous, but are actually motivated by demonic spirits rather than the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself said that there will be those who will do miracles in His name without ever having known Him. (Matthew 7:22-23) Therefore, we must not be impressed simply because unusual or supernatural manifestations may occur.
In contrast, maturing Christians should be in the process of being changed daily from glory to glory (II Corinthians 3:18) and ever increasing in their spiritual capacity (Romans 1:17). My personal conclusion concerning spiritual manifestations is that I am not impressed by falling under the anointing unless you can also stand up with anointing for Jesus; nor am I excited by speaking in tongues unless you can also talk boldly about Jesus in your known language; I’m not interested in those people who lay hands on the sick unless they can also extend a helping hand to a hurting brother; and I have no attraction to folks who shake under the power of the Spirit unless they can also shake their neighborhood with the power of the Spirit. Quite honestly, I really don’t believe that God is very impressed either.
Probably because they have seen some of the abuses and counterfeits that were labeled as the operations of the Holy Spirit, many Christians believe and teach that the operation of the gifts of the Spirit is not for the present age. They base their teaching on Paul’s statement that prophecies will fail and tongues cease (I Corinthians 13:8) when the perfect one is come. (I Corinthians 13:10) Their interpretation usually follows the logic that the perfect one is the New Testament in that it was the completion of God’s Word and, therefore, the perfect or complete thing that had to come so that all partial knowledge would be done away. In considering such an argument, I cannot help imagining a group of church elders in the year 96 AD. They have gathered around a desperately ill Christian brother and are just ready to do as they have been accustomed to doing – lay hands on the sick brother and see him miraculously healed. (Mark 16:18, James 5:14-15) Just as the head elder is opening his mouth to proclaim spiritual authority over the sickness (Matthew 10:1), a messenger bursts through the front door, panting with excitement. He interrupts the prayer session to announce that a parchment has just arrived from the last remaining apostle. John, who is exiled on the prison island of Patmos, has just managed to get the manuscript smuggled back to the believers on the mainland. The courier’s hand quivers with excitement as he extends the document to the head elder. With the arrival of the Apocalypse, the congregation erupts into immeasurable elation – all except the deathly ill young man. Why could not the envoy have been just a few minutes later? If only the arrival of that copy of the final segment of the canon had been delayed a few precious minutes, he could have been healed. Now, however, he was destined to continue his suffering and go to an early grave. He had been cheated out of years of life and destined to extensive pain by the untimely arrival of the book of Revelation! How absurd!! There is no reasonable logic to the idea that God would withhold His blessings from His Body simply because the New Testament had been completed.
I was once at a conference of a Christian ministry that taught that the operation of the gifts of the Spirit was a thing of the past – to the point of believing that it was only through demonic counterfeits that such manifestations could occur in these modern times. I used this convention as an occasion to research their teachings on the subject. Since there was a very well stocked book table displayed at the conference, I decided to browse through this plethora of readily available resources to see exactly when and how the supernatural gifts came to an end. One book said that it was with the completion of the book of Revelation. Another source stated that the pivotal event was the death of the last apostle – adding a few years. The next resource I consulted suggested that the gifts terminated at the end of the first century; again, a few more years were added. Another book gave the date as the end of the second century; this time, the date was stretched by a hundred years. Another volume I checked painted with a broad brushstroke, giving a range of somewhere in the third or fourth century! I shook my head as I walked away from the book display thinking, “Well, if you don’t know when they stopped, how can you be sure that they really have passed away?” On the other hand, I could go through the annals of history and point to the operation of these gifts in every period of church history.
Those who oppose the present-day operation of the gifts say that these were just special impartations given to give the church a “jump start” to get it going. In light of this explanation, I ask just one simple question which – although it seems too elementary for a theological discussion – addresses a major issue: “If it takes a locomotive to get a train started, won’t it also take a locomotive to get it to its destination?”
One last thought to consider on this point is that – if the completion of the New Testament terminated the operation of the gifts – will the gifts continue in operation among the people groups who do not yet have the New Testament in their native language? If so, then there are vast regions of our world where these charismatic gifts can still operate in validity. If this is the case, then God must be playing favorites by allowing some of His family to enjoy such wonderful blessings as healings and miracles while the rest of us are denied these benefits.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. (John 14:16)
