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Daily Devotionals
Grace for Today
Hebrews 2:4
‘Gifts of the Holy Ghost’
Read 1 Corinthians 12:29 to 1 Corinthians 13:13
There is much talk today about the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Many claim to possess these gifts. And some of God’s people are confused about them. I want to answer briefly some questions you might have about the gifts of the Spirit.
What miraculous gifts did the apostles possess by the Holy Spirit? As you read through the book of Acts you will see that the apostles had the ability to speak in tongues. (They could preach the gospel to men in foreign languages which they never learned.) The apostles cast out demons. They healed the sick. They did not try to heal the sick; they did it. Every time an apostle of Christ commanded a man to be healed, that man was immediately healed, no matter what his disease. Neither the poison of serpents nor deadly mixtures could harm them, as Paul demonstrated to the astonishment of men on the island of Melita. And they raised the dead to life. All of the apostles possessed all of these gifts. And they all exercised them with absolute efficacy. I defy anyone to find such a man today.
Why were the gifts given? These gifts were bestowed upon the apostles to prove and confirm them before men as the inspired messengers of the enthroned Messiah (Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 11:2-5; Acts 2:14-36; Hebrews 2:3-4).
Is there any place for these gifts in the church of Christ today? No, these miraculous apostolic gifts ceased with the apostolic age. InActs 8:5-18; Acts 8:5-18 we read of the apostles coming to Samaria to communicate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the believers there. Philip, though he possessed those gifts, could not communicate them, because Philip was not an apostle. If the gifts could only be communicated by an apostle, they must have ceased when the last of the apostles died. There is no need for such gifts today. We have the complete inspired revelation of God in Holy Scripture (2 Peter 1:9-21). Since there are no forthcoming revelations from God, there is no need for miraculous signs to confirm such revelations. The Word of God is complete, final and sufficient.
