Are There Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit Today?

Starting Points

The Spirit is promised to all in baptism.

Acts 2:38-39[38] Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name

of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

[39] “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our

God will call to Himself.”

Starting Points

A passage about the gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

1 Corinthians 12:4-11[4] Now there are varieties of gifts,

but the same Spirit. [5] And there are varieties of ministries, and the same

Lord. [6] There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things

in all persons. [7] But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit

for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11[8] For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to

another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

[9] to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing

by the one Spirit,

1 Corinthians 12:4-11[10] and to another the effecting of

miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits,

to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. [11] But one and the same Spirit works

all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

Do the gifts continue today?

This is not a question of God’s power.


This is not a question of God giving us “gifts.” (Rom. 12)


This is not a question of God working in our lives.


This is not a question of whether God can do miracles.


4 things everyone who studies this should consider…

We Should Consider: Ways They Were Given

1) Baptism of the Spirit.

Acts 1:4-8[4] Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave

Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,”He said,

“you heard of from Me; [5] for John baptized with water, but you will be

baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:4-8…

[8] but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and

Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Acts 2:3-4[3] And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and

they rested on each one of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Acts 11:15-18[15] “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just

as He did upon us at the beginning. [16] “And I remembered the word of the

Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be

baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Acts 11:15-18[17] “Therefore if God gave to them the

same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” [18] When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

We Should Consider: Ways They Were Given

2) Through the apostles’ hands.

Acts 8:14-19[14] Now when the apostles in

Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, [15] who came down and prayed for them that they

might receive the Holy Spirit. [16] For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the

name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 8:14-19[17] Then they began laying their hands

on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. [18] Now when Simon saw

that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he

offered them money, [19] saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so

that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 19:1-7

[1] It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper

country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. [2] He said to

them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to

him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

Acts 19:1-7

[5] When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

[6] And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. [7] There

were in all about twelve men.

2 Corinthians 12:12

[12] The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all

perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

We Should Consider: Purposes of the Gifts

Give and confirm the message.

John 16:13[13] “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the

truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears,

He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Hebrews 2:3-4[3] how will we escape if we neglect so

great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was

confirmed to us by those who heard, [4] God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit

according to His own will.


The message was completely given,

Jude 3[3] Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common

salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend

earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

Luke 16:29-31[29] “But Abraham said, ‘They have

Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ [30] “But he said, ‘No, father

Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’

[31] “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,

they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”


…and the Scripture is the best way to confirm truth.

We Should Consider: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

1 Corinthians 13:8-13[8] Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if

there is knowledge, it will be done away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part; [10] but when the perfect comes,

the partial will be done away.

What is the “perfect?”

“Perfect” is “teleion,” meaning “complete, mature.” (See 1 Corinthians 2:6, 14:20

and 5 other times in Paul.)

1 Corinthians 13:8-13[11] When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know

fully just as I also have been fully known. [13] But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of

these is love.

What is the “perfect?”

It has something to do with maturity and full knowledge.Only 2 real options: full

revelation of God, or heaven.

3 Things make me think the “perfect” is completed

revelation:

1) The maturity (teleion) of Christian revelation idea is also

in Ephesians 4:11-14.

Ephesians 4:11-14[11] And He gave some as apostles, and

some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Ephesians 4:11-14[13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of

God, to a mature [teleion!] man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to

the fullness of Christ. [14] As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed

here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the

trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;


revelation:

2) God’s revelation as a mirror is also in James 1:23-25.

James 1:23-25[23] For if anyone is a hearer of the word

and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

[24] for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately

forgotten what kind of person he was.

James 1:23-25[25] But one who looks intently at the perfect [teleion!] law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having

become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be

blessed in what he does.


revelation:

3) Verse 13 says faith, hope, and love “remain/ abide”

past the “perfect.”

Hebrews 11:1[1] Now faith is the assurance of

things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 Corinthians 5:7[7] for we walk by faith, not by sight—

Romans 8:24

[24] For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?

We Should Consider: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

The gifts would end when the gospel revelation was completed.

We Should Consider: What We See Today

Acts 2:5-8[5] Now there were Jews living in

Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. [6] And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and

were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own

language. [7] They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these

who are speaking Galileans? [8] “And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

1 Corinthians 12:29-31[29] All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers

of miracles, are they? [30] All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do

not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? [31] But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you

a still more excellent way.

We Should Consider: What We See Today

Today’s claims are different from NT descriptions.

My Best Understanding:

Miraculous gifts of the Spirit had an important, temporary

role in God’s plan.

Are There Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit Today?

Spiritual

Transcript of Are There Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit Today?