Signs, Wonders and Miracles
By
Shelby G. Floyd
The
Purpose of Miracles Was To Confirm the Gospel
When Jesus Christ sent the apostles out into the entire world to preach the gospel to every creature, he attended their ministry with signs and wonders and miracles. (Hebrews 2:3-4.) These miracles were designed to confirm the word. (Mark 16: 17-20.)
Miraculous
Gifts Were Imparted By the Laying On Of the Apostles Hands
Not only
were the apostles able to perform all of these wonders, but by the laying on of
their hands they were also able to impart spiritual gifts to members of the New
Testament church. For example Peter and John, two apostles, were
sent down to
The Many
Manifestations of the Spirit
Today,
there are a lot of persons claiming that they have the power to speak in tongues,
heal the sick and receive direct revelations from God. This claim is false. In
the church at
“Now you are the body
of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has
appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers
of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others,
those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of
tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work
miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all
interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” (1 Corinthians 12:27-31.)
Miraculous
Gifts Were Temporary
In chapter 13 of this same letter, Paul goes on to reveal that spiritual gifts, including tongues, were temporary, would pass away and be superseded by a better arrangement. A perfect and complete arrangement would take the place of that which was incomplete and partial. Paul said,
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-10.)
Paul does not mention all of the various miraculous gifts, but only three of them, they were: prophecies, tongues and knowledge. These three were representative of all of them.
All
Miraculous Gifts Were To Cease
That
which was to take place concerning these three gifts would be true of all the
spiritual gifts. Paul used three verbs to describe the cessation of these
gifts. Prophecies, tongues and knowledge were to cease, be stilled and pass
away. Let us examine closely the meaning of those three words used to
describe the end of all spiritual gifts. First, “they shall cease.” The
root meaning of this word is “to cause to cease; put an end to; do away
with; annul and to abolish.” As it is used here in connection with
prophecies it means they were to cease, pass and be done away. In connection
with tongues, Paul says, “they will be stilled.” There would be a time
when speaking in tongues—languages would “stop, be left off.” Concerning
miraculous knowledge, Paul says, “It will pass away.” How could we have
any stronger language describing the end of miraculous spiritual gifts?
Love Would
Never Cease
In contrast to the temporary nature of these miraculous gifts, “love never fails,” which simply means that it would “never perish, come to an end, disappear, cease, fail, fall;” whereas, these spiritual gifts were soon to pass away. Having stated that prophecy, tongues and knowledge were to cease, be stilled and pass away; Paul, introduced the reason why this would be in the next verse, saying, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10.) The word “for” which introduces the statement in verses 9-10 indicates that Paul is going to give a reason or cause for the preceding statement which he has just made in verse 8.
According to Paul, the reason all spiritual gifts were to cease, be stilled and pass away is because they were in part or incomplete. God did not reveal his revelation all at one time, but progressively over a period of 60-70 years. During that period of time, the revelation was in part. “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.” (1 Corinthians 13:9.) You will notice that Paul used the present tense in describing that which was in part.
Miraculous
Gifts Were In Part
During the age when prophecy and knowledge were in part, God was revealing his message, a little at a time. This reminds us of the statement made by the great prophet, Isaiah, when he said,
“For precept must be
upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a
little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he
speak to this people.” (Isaiah 28:10-11.)
The revelations by
prophecy, tongues and. miraculous knowledge were not complete, but were in
part; they were constituent parts of the whole or complete revelation.
God’s
Perfect Revelation Was to Replace Miraculous Gifts
In contrast to the incomplete state of revelation which prevailed at the time that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians; he anticipated a time when that would be replaced by something which would be perfect, complete, and whole, for he says, “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” (1 Corinthians 13:10.) The term “when” in this verse is an adverb of time, and is used in connection with a thing that is really to occur, but the time of that occurrence is not definitely stated in this verse. Here, it is used in the original with the subjunctive aorist verb, which means that it was to occur at a definite point of time. It had not occurred when Paul wrote the letter, but it definitely was going to occur; therefore, it was just one step away from reality. The point is this: whenever, that which is perfect came into being, that which is in part was to be done away.
We have already established that “that which is in part” has reference to knowledge, tongues, and prophecies. The same word in the original that is used to describe the end of prophecies is that which is used to describe the end of that which is in part. Prophecies were to fail, and that which is in part was to be “done away;” therefore, there was to be a definite time when all miraculous gifts were to cease, vanish, fail, and to be done away. They were to be done away “when that which is perfect is come.” When that which is perfect came into being, when it showed itself forth, when it found place or influence among men, then that which is in part, that is, prophecies, tongues, knowledge, etc., were done away.
The New
Testament Is God’s Perfect and Complete Revelation
To understand at what point in human history miraculous gifts ceased, it is necessary for us to identify that thing which is perfect, which was to come. The word “perfect” is used here properly to mean, “Brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness, perfect.” (Thayer, p. 618.) The perfect thing which was to come is something that was to be complete, finished, and whole and brought to its proper object or goal. What was that thing? The Bible is its own best commentary. In the book of James, we have two verses that definitely help us in identifying “That which is perfect.” We are advised that: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17.) The word “perfect” as used in this verse indicates that which is complete, finished, brought to its end, that which is whole. According to James, every good gift, and. every complete gift comes from the Father above.
In this same chapter, James says,
“But the man who
looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do
this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what
he does.” (James 1:25.)
The Perfect
Law of
According to James, the perfect law of liberty, that is, the New Testament is that complete law of liberty; it is that good gift and that complete gift which came down from God out of heaven, into which every man can look and see his spiritual image. Therefore, the complete New Testament is that thing which is perfect, which was to come and when having come, that “which is in part (miraculous gifts) was to be done away.”
God’s Word
Completely Equips Us for Every Good Work
Near the end of Paul’s life, he wrote a letter to Timothy, a young preacher and companion, in which he said,
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17.)
The reason the holy scriptures are able to make the man of God perfect or complete is because they are perfect or complete. (cf. Jude 3.) Therefore, when the New Testament came into being in its complete or finished form, then that which was in part (miraculous gifts) such as prophecies, tongues and knowledge ceased, passed away and was finished.
Act As A
Child Or A Man?
In further illustration of the temporary nature of miraculous gifts Paul said to the Corinthians, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11.) As in previous verses, that which was in part has been put in contrast with that which is perfect; so in this verse the state of a child is put in contrast with the state of a man. The spiritual gifts such as prophecies, tongues and knowledge are compared to a child in his speaking, understanding and thought; whereas, the complete and perfect New Testament is compared to a man’s speaking, understanding and thought. The point of illustration is this: just as the speech, understanding and thought of a child is incomplete and partial, so the understanding which came from prophecy, tongues and knowledge was incomplete and. partial. Just as the transition from a child to a man took a certain period of time, so the transition of revelation from that which was in part to that which was perfect took a period of time.
Put Away
Childish Actions
It would be just as foolish for a man who has completeness
of understanding and speech to desire the incomplete state of a child as it
would be for the church today to desire to leave the complete and perfect New
Testament and go back to the incomplete state of miraculous gifts. Paul said, “When
he became a man he put away childish things.” The word used to emphasize the
end of childish things is “put away,” and it is the same word that Paul
used to describe the end of prophecies, and the end of that which is in part.
Therefore, today, let us put away all foolishness and have more confidence in
the complete and perfect will of God which lives and abides forever. Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved