The Transistional/Temporary Gifts of the Spirit Pt.2
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Last week we looked at the list of transitional gifts from 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 so let’s read through those really quick:
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
We also saw what these gifts were for. Can anyone tell me what the purpose is for these gifts, and all other spiritual gifts for that matter? For the edification of the church. For unity within the church. 1 Corinthians 12:25.
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
This is the list of the nine transitional gifts of the Spirit that are found in 1 Corinthians 12
Transitional/Temporary Spiritual Gifts
Word of Wisdom - applying God’s truth to specific situations
Word of Knowledge - knowing about things solely by the revelation of the Holy Spirit (Peter and Ananias & Sapphira)
Faith - An extraordinary confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence so that one could take heroic stands for God’s work in the church. Those that would witness this faith would then be stirred to faith themselves.
Healing - miraculous healings and deliverance from diseases or sicknesses. This power to heal also destroyed the work and effects of sin in the body (sicknesses brought about by direct consequence of or punishment for sin).
Miracles - ability to perform miraculous works (casting out demons, striking Elymas blind, raising the dead, possibly give others spiritual gifts).
Prophecy - The declaration of unpublished truth. The revelation of God’s word. Forth telling, not so much foretelling. Confident transmission of God’s truth to the church. The most important gift.
Discerning Spirits - the ability to know if someone was speaking from God or as a false prophet.
Tongues - The gift of speaking in languages unknown to the speaker.
Interpretation of Tongues - this gift was used to interpret when the one with the gift of tongues spoke in tongues.
Last week we also got to see a little bit of how these gifts worked together to provide unity within the church and to build it. To do that, we had to view the brand new Jesus following church in its proper context. What was one of the things we discussed last week about the context of the 1st century church? They did not have the New Testament. They were dependent on the words of the apostles and the prophets to know how to function and grow and fulfill the Great Commission.
How would these gifts be used in a church setting back then?
Transitional Gifts, Pt. 2
Transitional Gifts, Pt. 2
Cessationism - the doctrine that the miracle or sign gifts of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 have ceased to exist. This is not to say that cessationists believe God cannot and does not perform miracles like healing and speaking in tongues in this age, but He does not give these gifts as He did in the early church.
We find this doctrine stated in 1 Corinthians 13 as well as other places.
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
The first point that is made in this chapter is that the spiritual gifts without the spiritual graces are nothing! As we discussed two weeks ago in the introductory session, the fruit of the Spirit is to be present in all of its characteristics within each Christian. These graces of the Spirit are what ensure our gifts are used properly and in a way that will edify the church.
So, still dealing with the spiritual gifts, Paul begins to write about the importance of love. We mentioned that the first three verses tell us that all of our gifts are of no benefit for us if we do not have love.
Then, Paul goes on to describe love in verses 4-8.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
This verse tells us the last truth about love- it will never fail, never cease to exist, never go away.
But then contrasting love with the gifts of the Spirit mentioned in the previous chapter, Paul writes of prophecies, tongues, and knowledge saying that they will indeed fail, cease, and vanish away.
Each of these gifts is tied to other gifts.
Prophecy - faith, discernment, word of wisdom
Knowledge - discernment, wisdom, faith
Tongues - interpretation of tongues, discernment
So these three are not the only gifts that will cease, but a representation of the sign gifts or miraculous gifts as a whole. It stands to reason that if the most important gift was going to cease, then the others would as well. This is why we call these the transitional gifts or temporary gifts. I like the name transitional gifts more because these gifts were for a specific time, a time of transition. This transition from the church not having the written word of God to a time where the church did have God’s written word.
It is during this time that the apostles and those Christians with the gift of prophecy (speaking God’s unpublished word) were laying the foundation of the church upon the cornerstone that is Jesus Christ.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Notice verse 20 - we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the cornerstone.
We like to say today that we are built upon the word of God. We get the word of God from the Bible. Specifically, the mission of the church, the way that we should operate, and God’s plan for the church are all in the New Testament. The church is built upon the New Testament doctrines. However, the church at Ephesus did not have the New Testament. They had some letters, but their main source was going to be the apostles (like Paul) and those that had the gift of prophecy telling the church how to grow and function.
That foundation for us is laid out in the New Testament writings of the apostles. But as these prophets and apostles spoke, they had to verify that they were indeed speaking on behalf of God and giving Godly instruction. These signs came in the form of these transitional gifts. When the gospel was first preached to the Jewish masses at the feast of Pentecost, what happened? The disciples that were preaching spoke in tongues. Acts 2:1-12
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
It was a sign to the Jews that the message that Peter, John, and the other disciples were preaching was God’s truth. Peter ever announces to the people that are listening that this is part of a prophesy from the book of Joel being fulfilled. It was prophesied hundreds of years before this event that they would encounter God’s message being preached in tongues. By this sign, many Jews, about 3,000, believed in Jesus that day.
This is the first instance of the sign gifts being used by the church (the disciples and the 120 people that were with them prior to the day of Pentecost).
It is after this that people start getting saved by the thousands and then being added to the church. On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 people are converted. Then in Acts 4, 5,000 people are saved. Then, in chapter 5, it just says “multitudes of people” believed in Jesus. So within the first year of Jesus’ ascension, the church in Jerusalem is probably around 15,000 strong. These are the people meeting every day in the temple and in each other’s houses, continuing steadfastly in the doctrine of the apostles and in fellowship with each other (Acts 2:42).
This church experienced many signs and wonders, proving daily that what the apostles and the prophets among them were preaching was true. Acts 2:43
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
They lacked the written word of God, but they were being preached God’s word daily by way of the apostles and prophets who were doing miracles that backed up their words. As people were saved, they also began receiving gifts that would help verify and edify the church.
Notice what the Apostle Peter says about Jesus’ miracles in Acts 2:22
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Jesus used miracles to show that He was indeed the Son of God, sent by the Father, and therefore, as Peter puts it, “approved of God.” The signs of the apostles and of the church are for the same reasons. Acts 14:3
3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
How Long Would These Transitional Gifts Last?
How Long Would These Transitional Gifts Last?
Well, Paul ends 1 Corinthians 12 by letting us know that there is a more “excellent” way.
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
This is the way of love that we read about in 1 Corinthians 13.
Paul mentions something important that we read in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When that which was perfect would come
When that which was perfect would come
The imperfection of knowledge in the early church.
Verse 9 says - We know in part and prophesy in part. They had partial knowledge of what God had for the church. They had the writings of the Old Testament, and they had the teachings that the apostles had received first hand from Jesus.
But in part, they prophesied. In those days, the apostles and other church prophets were delivering new word from God to the churches. Much of this was consolidated later in the Epistles/letters to the churches by Paul, Peter, James, and John.
So there was imperfection of knowledge and revelation for the church and it had to be supplemented with prophecy.
But one day “that which was perfect” would arrive on the scene. Notice the wording used in verse 10. When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.
If it would have said When he who is perfect is come… we could have rightly deduced that this means that these gifts would last until Jesus came in His kingdom. However, it doesn’t say, who; it says ‘when that which is perfect is come.’
So what is that perfect thing? We have one thing only in this world that is perfect and that is the Bible. What was Paul saying? “Right now, we have imperfect knowledge for the church. We have what Jesus spoke to us and the disciples directly about the church, and the rest we depend on prophecy.”
However, after the New Testament writings were complete, there was no more need for new prophecy. These writings had been vetted and copied and distributed in such manner that after the completion of the New Testament, there was no need to prove these sayings with signs and miracles anymore.
So when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part will be done away. These sign gifts, these transitional gifts, were for this transitional period only.
We see that even in the Apostle Paul’s life, there were times early in his travelings and writings that he was able to heal people.
11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
Paul had this gift of healing, along with the gift of miracles. But later on, he either did not or was unable to use that gift on Epaphroditus (Phil.2:27), nor on Timothy who had a chronic stomach ailment, or on Trophimus (which Paul mentions in 2 Timothy, written in the same year as his execution). It is possible that even as time went by for Paul and the writings to the churches were shared and spread out among them, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit were coming to an end of their transitional period.
Paul gave two examples about the difference of having these particular gifts vs. having the full word of God.
The example of a child growing into an adult
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
The Transitional gifts of the Spirit were that of a fledgling church. Through think of it as being spoon fed all your food. But then, having the God’s word complete, you are able to study it, sift through it, and apply it by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is harder, more difficult, but definitely more beneficial.
The example of a dark glass (mirror)
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
We are able, through God’s word, to know His will for us and for the church as clearly as God knows us. He has revealed it all to us, so we are not obscured by an imperfect mirror, but we can see and navigate clearly as a church through God’s word.
We do not need to wait for further revelation, we have God’s revealed and perfect word in the Bible.
The Gift of Tongues
The Gift of Tongues
I want to talk about the misuse of the gift of tongues. Unfortunately, this gift has been misused and abused by many people. Its misuse does not go back too far. You can trace the charismatic movement back to 1906 where it began in California. There was a group of people that were gathered that claimed that those in attendance had been given a manifestation of the Holy Spirit similar to that of the day of Pentecost. Those that claimed to have that outpouring of the Holy Spirit began speaking in tongues and “prophesying.”
Since then, this movement has continued, and the primary gifts that they push are those of tongues, word of knowledge/wisdom, and prophecy. But what you will find in these groups is a complete twisting of some portions of Scripture and total disregard for other portions of Scripture.
To recap what the gift of tongues is: Tongues is the God-given ability to speak in a language of earth that is unknown to the speaker.
This is the one I want to deal with, because this is a very obvious “gift” now. The first thing that those that say they practice the gift of tongues get wrong is the very definition. They believe that it is a holy and secret language. It is taught by them that those that speak in tongues are speaking an ‘angelic’ language.
However, every instance of people speaking in tongues that we find in the Bible is talking about people speaking earthly, human languages. When the Bible references “unknown” languages or tongues, it is not talking about mysterious unknown languages, it is meaning that they are unknown to the speaker.
The second thing that they get wrong is the regard in which they hold this gift. They hold speaking in tongues as THE mark that someone does have the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that people be able to speak in tongues.
But look at what 1 Corinthians 14:1 says.
1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
Notice that it says that you should desire the spiritual gifts, but the most important one to desire is the one of the gift of prophecy, not tongues. Paul goes on to say that tongues is inferior to prophecy because those that speak in tongues without someone that can understand them, speak only to God. But the person that prophesies is a benefit to the whole church.
Paul then says this in verse 5
5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
6 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
“I wish you all could speak in tongues,” Paul says, “but I really would wish that you would all prophesy. Because unless there is an interpreter, no one can benefit from the speaking in tongues.”
“If I were to come to you speaking in tongues, it wouldn’t help you unless I were speaking revelations by word of knowledge or prophesy, or just plain teaching.”
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
So be desirous of the spiritual gifts that can help you more excellently grow the church.
Paul realizes that there would be a problem if everyone in the church spoke in tongues. It is a problem that some of you have encountered if you have gone to a church like that.
23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
Here he shows how much higher prophesy is than tongues.
But then he lays down some rule for the practice of tongues.
27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
There was abuse and misuse of the spiritual gifts in Corinth, so Paul sets some rules up for them.
The main takeaway that I want you to have today is that these gifts are no longer a necessity for the church. The church has matured through this transitional period, and now, we have the meat of God’s word. We are able and responsible for studying it, interpreting int, and applying it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is no more need to be spoon fed prophesies or words of knowledge or wisdom. There is no need for a discerning spirit to know if the person preaching is truly preaching God’s word or not. We have the Bible.
If the preacher is preaching and he can point to a book, chapter, verse, and context, that is all the proof he needs that those are God’s words and His thoughts.
Since we have matured, with that maturity comes responsibility. Paul mentions that the Christians in Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica because when he would preach to them, they would go and search the scriptures that they had to prove if those things were true. They didn’t rely on the people with discerning spirits; they searched for themselves.
The Bereans only had some of the writings of Paul, and they searched those along with the Old Testament, but we have the complete Bible. That means that we are to take that responsibility even more serious. You should walk out this evening with the intention and plan to study these things out and see if what I said was true. You should have a goal to study the Bible, apply the truths therein, and to share those with others.
We have a greater power now as we hold God’s word than the Corinthians ever could dream of. In the words of Peter Parker’s uncle, Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
As you study through the book of Acts, there are several instances where sign gifts or miraculous gifts are manifested to show that what the speaker is saying is in fact God’s word or to prove to the speaker that an individual or group of people have truly been saved.
Specifically, there are only four instances in the book of Acts where there is a manifestation of the gift of tongues, and each time it is for this purpose.
[For more info on this, read Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament p463 - highlighted notes on chapters 12-14 of 1 Corinthians.]
