Are Spiritual Gifts for the Church Today?
by David K. Bernard
Podcast recording (no venue stated in the delivered transcript)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 1:7, Romans 15, 1 Corinthians 2, Galatians 3, 1 Thessalonians 1, Hebrews 2:4, Mark 16:20

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/david-k-bernard--are-spiritual-gifts-for-the-church-today
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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certainly as Pentecostals we believe in the continuing operation of Miracle signs wonders gifts of the Spirit speaking in tongues prophecy and so on and I think that's a very strong position biblical position the idea that these signs and gifts and miracles have ceased is is really very hard to reconcile with scripture you can't in fact it's interesting if you step back and look at it throughout the Bible God has answered prayer he's worked miracles he's given signs that of course we can't just push buttons and make God do anything but we can humbly submit to God and God uses Miracles and answers to prayer signs spiritual gifts as part of his normal operations throughout the Old Testament we find Miracles throughout the gospels we find Miracles throughout the New Testament Church we find miracles uh and of course we all Christian groups believe that one day God's going to resurrect the dead so in the future we're all depending on a miracle so the cessationist position is quite ironic saying all throughout history God has done miracles in starting the church God has done miracles in the future God is going to do Miracles and we're all depending on that but right now he's not going to do any Miracles we know for a fact that seems to be an extremely weak position I think in reality it has arisen because people are coming from churches which lost the gifts of the Spirit and so they're trying to justify and make a doctrine of their non uh normative experience instead of seeking the biblical pattern they're trying to justify the non-biblical pattern of their tradition now as far as scriptural argument a lot of them like to go to First Corinthians 13 which chapters First Corinthians 12 13 14 are talking about the operation of the supernatural spiritual gifts in the church and regulations for proper use avoiding abuse so in the middle there's this beautiful chapter on love First Corinthians 13 which says the priority is love so while we're talking about all these gifts and while we want you to seek these gifts Paul says we want you to understand the priority is love because the gifts are not operated in love they're useless so he's it's not an argument not to have the gifts it's argument to make love the priority but if you take a few places it says towards the end of chapter 13 it makes us point to show the priority of Love uh where where they're prophecies tongues knowledge one day we'll cease and vanish but love will remain well that's talking about heaven in heaven we won't need prophecy we won't need tongues we won't need to acquire knowledge we'll have it all but we'll still have love so love will be just as important then as it is now so that's an example of why love is permanent and so they quote and particularly this one place when that which is perfect is come that which is in part will be done away and so we know in part when we prophesy in part so they say you know tongues and prophecy are part of this temporal order of Emperor needed because of our imperfection but when that what is Perfect's come well they try to say what is perfect is the New Testament so now that we have the New Testament we have all the teaching we need we don't need tongues and prophecy to teach us well there are many problems with that theory first of all tongues and prophecy are not designed to teach Doctrine anyway that's a different purpose so just the fact that we have the New Testament doesn't mean we don't need spiritual gifts um the the early church had the Old Testament but they that prophesied in Christ but they still had spiritual gifts um and then also in this not only prophecy in tongues but knowledge so are we ready to say we're in the post knowledge age and we don't need teaching we don't need knowledge that proves too much and then if you study Greek grammar uh it's not immediately appearing in English but every noun in Greek is going to be masculine singular or neuter and like English is going to be singular or plural well that which is perfect is neuter singular script the scriptures in Greek are always plural feminine so grammatically that phrase could not be a substitute could could not refer back like a pronoun but more logically I think in the context he's talking about in in heaven love will be permanent but these gifts will not be so what what is perfect I think the coming of the Lord when that which is perfect has come not not he's not referring specifically to Jesus Christ in the masculine but he's referring to this event the consummation of time the End of the Age The Coming of the Lord when Perfection comes so we would more normally understand that to mean the Eternal state or maybe the millennial Kingdom but the the reign of God so when all imperfection is ended that's the Heavenly State that's the Eternal State then we won't need these other gifts but we'll still need love and I think that's a more natural understanding but if you want to look contextually First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 2 says it's written to the Church of God which is according to them that are Sanctified in Christ Jesus this is chapter one First Corinthians 1 and verse 2 called to be Saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord both theirs and ours so First Corinthians is unusual among the Epistles it is explicitly written not only to the church according but to everyone else in every place who calls on the name of Jesus so it's written to us specifically and then in verse 7 First Corinthians 1 7 here's one of the purposes for which is written so that you come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ so very specifically the gifts are supposed to remain in the church until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ so you already have that stated specifically in chapter one then clearly he's including the supernatural spiritual gifts of First Corinthians chapter 12 and First Corinthians chapter 14 such as tongues interpretation of tongues and prophecy and therefore the context of chapter 13 is when Perfection comes it's when the Lord Jesus Christ comes tongues prophecy knowledge will cease when they're no longer needed but until then I want you to have all the gifts so First Corinthians is very clear if you step back and look at the New Testament it's interesting because practically every book emphasizes the importance of Miracles and gifts of the Spirit of course the four gospels is full of they're full of the accounts of Jesus doing these Miracles and promising in John that you will do even Greater Works meaning more numerous works like these uh the book of Acts is filled with Miracles and gifts of the Spirit in the early church all the local churches had them so the church in Jerusalem the church in Samaria the church in Ephesus they all experiences so a normal Church in New Testament times would have these gifts okay Romans 15 Paul makes a point that everywhere I preach God confirmed with Miracles and and and gifts of the Spirit First Corinthians we've already discussed that chapter 2 specifically says Paul came not in the wisdom of men but demonstration preaching in this that demonstrates the spirit and of power First Corinthians okay Galatians Galatians chapter three Paul talks about the preaching of the word was accompanied by miracles um you go to first Thessalonians one a preaching the gospel's company by power uh you go to Hebrews a very significant because now he's addressing the generation after the apostles and so the cessationists usually say that Miracles cease with the apostles but that's not the implication here let me read from Hebrews chapter 2 and verse um 4 let's see God and so he's referring to the ministry of the Apostles and how it was confirmed uh Hebrews 2 4 God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with divers Miracles and gifts of the Spirit according to his own will so God is confirming the word so the cessation says well we have the word we don't need Miracles no the Miracles confirm the word uh and so they're obviously they're still valid in fact the last verse of Mark Mark 16 20 says the apostles went everywhere preaching the word the Lord working with him and confirming the word was signs following so we're still preaching the word we still need the word to be confirmed with signs following Book of Revelation when when uh Jesus is giving the letters to the seven churches uh he repeatedly says he who has an ear hear what the spirit is saying so my point is every section of the New Testament from the gospels to the book of Acts to many of the Pauline Epistles uh to to the general Epistles such as Hebrews through the Book of Revelation they all talk about miracles signs wonders works of the spirit being part of the normal Church so all the churches of the New Testament had spiritual gifts as a regular part of their operations so the challenge is to though to cessationists is where is your example of a secessionist church there is no example in the whole Bible of a church like yours and you know if you go back to First Corinthians 12 through 14 Paul several times says things like covet earnings the best gifts forbid not to prophesy I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all and so they will pick out things where he points out uh don't just speak in tongues you know you know without interpretation continually in the public worship but speak to yourself to God well they'll try to pick out well you know tongues can be misunderstood or tongues doesn't help but there's no interpretation Etc but their solution so Paul is dealing with abuses or misuses their solution of the cessation is non-use but that is explicitly not Paul's solution he's advocating proper use and so uh my challenge to cessation is what do they make of Paul saying I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all uh covet earnesty the best gifts um forbid not to speak with tongues forbid not prophesying well if somebody went in their church and begin to speak in tongues or prophesy would they allow them no they would not so obviously they're not even trying to follow Paul's teachings and since they don't have experience with these gifts they're not even understanding how to apply his teaching so they're not qualified to really take one statement out of context and say well tongues aren't very good and if you really knew what was good for you wouldn't need anymore they're not qualified to say because they don't need to allow all the things that Paul does specifically in courage in summary the entire New Testament shows us that Supernatural spiritual gifts Miracle signs wonders healings answers to prayer should be part of the regular life of a local church today and there's no statement in Scripture that speaks to the contrary there's no statement that says these things have ceased in our will cease in the present Church age