Little Red Book Ministry

V. Gifts of the Spirit?
A. Spiritual gifts given to special individuals
1 Cor. 12:7–11; 12:28–31

The scriptures, primarily in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14, mention a number of spiritual gifts that were given to certain individuals in the Church by the Holy Ghost. These included words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. The question as to whether these gifts are still available to the Church today has caused a deep rift within the present day Church.

One segment of the Church accepts these as being still available to the Church today and the membership aggressively seeks to be endowed with such gifts. These are generally known as Pentecostal or Charismatic congregations. Unfortunately, there is much documented fraud from those who would make merchandise of the saints (1 Peter 2:1–3), among those of this persuasion. Additionally, there is a noticeable lack of sound doctrinal teaching in these congregations since “words of knowledge” or “prophecies” are often pronounced which are in direct conflict with the written Word of God. We are warned against accepting this type of prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:20–22, Jeremiah 14:14–15, Ezekiel 14:9–10, Mark 8:11–12, and 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

On the other hand, the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1:27–31,
admonishes to covet earnestly the best gifts. The question is: Was that admonishment only to the early Church or was it meant for the entire Church throughout the entire Church Age?

While the afore mentioned segment of the Church believes these gifts are meant for the entire Church Age, another faction of the Church vehemently denies this. They believe that the gifts were given only to establish the new Church and then, when the scriptures were completed, they were withdrawn. The “gifts” faction retorts with the verse “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). While this appears to be a powerful argument, one has to wonder if it is a misapplication of the scriptures since it can easily be demonstrated that God has dealt with man very differently in different eras (dispensations). Further, in a number of aspects it can be shown that Jesus Christ has not always been just what He is today. The “anti-gifts” faction argues that if a man were given the gift of healing, then he should be emptying all the hospitals. The “gifts” group counters with verses that they say indicate