DID THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVE EVERY CHRISTIAN THE SAME GIFTS?
ONE SPIRIT. DIFFERENT GIFTS. ONE BODY.
Our last study examined John Wesley’s teaching about Christian perfection and the Holiness movement that developed from it.
That movement helped prepare the way for another question.
Some Christians began to teach that believers should seek a distinct experience called baptism in the Holy Spirit, often identified by speaking in tongues.
Others disagreed. They believed the New Testament described different gifts given to different Christians for different purposes.
Before examining the rise of Pentecostalism, we need to understand what the apostles actually taught about the Holy Spirit.
Did every Christian receive the same gift?
Was every believer expected to speak in tongues?
How were miraculous gifts received?
And what were those gifts intended to accomplish?
We will begin with the New Testament. Then we can compare later teaching with the text.
1. WHAT DOES PAUL MEAN BY A “SPIRITUAL GIFT”?
Read 1 Corinthians 12:1–11.
Paul lists several manifestations of the Spirit, including wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
He does not say that every Christian possesses every gift.
Instead, he writes:
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” — 1 Corinthians 12:7, KJV
Notice the purpose.
The gifts were not given so one Christian could claim to be more spiritual than another.
They were given for the benefit of others.
That is the first principle we need to remember.
A SPIRITUAL GIFT IS NOT A TROPHY. IT IS GIVEN FOR SERVICE.
2. WHO DECIDED WHICH GIFT A PERSON RECEIVED?
Paul writes:
“But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” — 1 Corinthians 12:11, KJV
Who decided?
THE SPIRIT.
The passage does not say that every Christian selected a gift from a list.
Nor does it say that every Christian had to receive the same gift before becoming a full member of Christ’s body.
Now read verse 18:
“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” — 1 Corinthians 12:18, KJV
The Christian with a less visible gift was not less important.
And the Christian with a highly visible gift had no reason to boast.
Both belonged to the same body.
3. DID EVERY CHRISTIAN SPEAK IN TONGUES?
Paul asks:
“Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?” — 1 Corinthians 12:29, KJV
Then:
“Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?” — 1 Corinthians 12:30, KJV
The expected answer is:
NO.
Paul’s argument depends upon it.
The church is one body containing different members with different functions.
So the passage establishes something important.
PAUL DID NOT EXPECT EVERY MEMBER OF THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH TO EXERCISE THE GIFT OF TONGUES.
But we need to represent the Pentecostal response accurately.
The Assemblies of God, for example, teaches that tongues as the initial evidence of Spirit baptism and the public gift of tongues are the same in essence but different in purpose and use. Under that interpretation, all who receive Spirit baptism initially speak in tongues, while only some exercise the public gift discussed in 1 Corinthians 12. (Assemblies of God)
That is an interpretation we will need to examine.
Does the New Testament itself make that distinction?
4. WHAT DOES THE HUMAN BODY HAVE TO DO WITH SPIRITUAL GIFTS?
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12–27.
Paul compares the church to a human body.
The foot cannot say it does not belong because it is not a hand.
The ear cannot say it does not belong because it is not an eye.
And the eye cannot tell the hand that it is unnecessary.
Different members.
Different functions.
ONE BODY.
Paul concludes:
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” — 1 Corinthians 12:27, KJV
The person with one gift must not look down upon the person with another.
And someone whose work receives little public attention must not conclude that he has no place in Christ’s body.
The body needs different members.
That is Paul’s point.
5. WERE THE CORINTHIANS USING THEIR GIFTS PROPERLY?
Not always.
Paul had already addressed their divisions and their tendency to elevate particular leaders.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:10–13 and 3:1–9.
He had corrected their behavior at the Lord’s Supper.
Read 1 Corinthians 11:17–34.
Then he turned to spiritual gifts.
The Corinthians needed to understand that possessing a gift did not excuse pride, rivalry, selfishness, or disorder.
Read 1 Corinthians 12–14 as one continuous discussion.
Chapter 12 emphasizes one body with different gifts.
Chapter 13 puts love above impressive abilities.
Chapter 14 regulates how gifts are used when Christians assemble.
SPIRITUAL ABILITY IS NOT THE SAME THING AS SPIRITUAL MATURITY.
6. WHY DID PAUL PUT LOVE BETWEEN TWO CHAPTERS ABOUT GIFTS?
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1–3.
Paul begins:
“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.” — 1 Corinthians 13:1, KJV
Even remarkable abilities are worthless without love.
That does not mean the gifts themselves were worthless.
It means their value cannot be separated from the purpose for which God gave them.
A person could possess an impressive gift and still behave selfishly.
So the presence of a remarkable gift does not, by itself, prove spiritual maturity.
And the absence of one particular gift does not prove that a Christian is spiritually inferior.
7. WHAT HAPPENED AT PENTECOST?
Read Acts 2:1–13.
The Holy Ghost came upon those who were gathered.
Luke says:
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” — Acts 2:4, KJV
People from many places heard them.
Luke emphasizes their astonishment:
“every man heard them speak in his own language.” — Acts 2:6, KJV
Peter then explained the event through Joel’s prophecy.
Read Acts 2:14–21.
And he connected what had happened with the exaltation of Jesus:
“Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” — Acts 2:33, KJV
Pentecost was not simply an exciting private religious experience.
It announced something about:
JESUS.
The crucified Jesus had risen.
He had been exalted.
He was Lord and Christ.
And He had poured out the promised Spirit.
8. WERE THE TONGUES AT PENTECOST UNDERSTANDABLE LANGUAGES?
Acts 2 repeatedly emphasizes that the listeners heard the speakers in their own languages.
Read Acts 2:6–11.
That is a clear feature of Pentecost.
But 1 Corinthians 14 describes a situation in which an utterance in a tongue would not benefit the congregation unless someone interpreted it.
Read 1 Corinthians 14:2, 5, and 13.
Christians disagree about whether Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 describe different forms of tongues or the same gift operating in different circumstances.
We do not have to settle that question before recognizing what each passage clearly says.
At Pentecost, the hearers understood the languages.
At Corinth, Paul required interpretation when the congregation did not understand what was spoken.
LET EACH TEXT SAY WHAT IT SAYS BEFORE WE BUILD A SYSTEM FROM BOTH.
9. DID EVERY PERSON AT PENTECOST RECEIVE THE SAME GIFT?
Acts 2:4 says that those upon whom the Spirit came began speaking in other tongues.
But we must distinguish those participants from everyone who subsequently became a Christian.
After Peter preached:
“they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” — Acts 2:41, KJV
Does Luke say those three thousand spoke in tongues?
No.
He tells us:
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” — Acts 2:42, KJV
The absence of a report does not prove that none of them ever spoke in tongues.
But neither may we say the text reports that all of them did.
The question is whether Luke intends Acts 2:4 to establish tongues as a required sign for every later believer.
THAT CONCLUSION MUST BE DEMONSTRATED, NOT ASSUMED.
10. WHAT HAPPENED IN SAMARIA?
Read Acts 8:4–19.
Philip preached Christ in Samaria.
People believed and were baptized.
Later Peter and John came from Jerusalem, prayed for them, and laid their hands upon them.
Luke says:
“then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” — Acts 8:17, KJV
Then something especially important happens.
“And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money.” — Acts 8:18, KJV
Simon saw something.
But what did he see?
Luke does not tell us.
Did the Samaritans speak in tongues?
The text does not say.
Some infer that a visible or audible manifestation occurred because Simon saw something remarkable.
That is reasonable as an inference.
But:
THE OBSERVATION IS THAT SIMON SAW SOMETHING.
THE CLAIM THAT IT WAS TONGUES IS AN INFERENCE.
Those are not the same thing.
11. DID PHILIP GIVE THE SAMARITANS THESE GIFTS?
Philip himself performed miracles in Samaria.
Read Acts 8:6–7.
Yet Philip did not lay hands upon the baptized Samaritans so that they would receive what Simon later observed.
Peter and John came from Jerusalem.
Luke specifically says:
“through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given.” — Acts 8:18, KJV
Simon then wanted that ability:
“Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.” — Acts 8:19, KJV
That is an important detail.
Philip could perform miracles.
But Luke describes apostles laying hands on others in this event.
However, we must not turn that observation into a rule broader than the text allows.
Acts 8 does not say God could never give a miraculous manifestation without apostolic hands.
Acts 10 is about to show us otherwise.
So our conclusion should remain as precise as Luke’s account:
IN SAMARIA, LUKE EXPLICITLY CONNECTS THIS GIVING OF THE SPIRIT WITH THE LAYING ON OF THE APOSTLES’ HANDS.
12. WHAT HAPPENED IN CORNELIUS’S HOUSE?
Read Acts 10:34–48.
Peter was preaching when:
“the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” — Acts 10:44, KJV
The Jewish believers with Peter were astonished.
How did they know what had happened?
“For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.” — Acts 10:46, KJV
Notice the sequence.
Peter was still speaking.
He did not lay his hands upon them.
The Spirit came upon them.
They spoke in tongues.
Then Peter commanded them to be baptized in water.
Read Acts 10:47–48.
So Acts 10 prevents us from turning apostolic hand-laying into an absolute requirement for every miraculous reception of the Spirit recorded in Acts.
But why did this happen?
Peter himself tells us.
13. WHAT DID PETER SAY CORNELIUS’S EXPERIENCE PROVED?
Read Acts 11:1–18.
Peter had to explain why he entered a Gentile home and accepted Gentiles.
He said:
“And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” — Acts 11:15, KJV
Notice his words:
“AS ON US AT THE BEGINNING.”
Peter remembered Jesus’ promise about baptism with the Holy Ghost.
Read Acts 11:16.
Then he concluded:
“Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?” — Acts 11:17, KJV
And when the Jewish Christians heard Peter’s explanation:
“they glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” — Acts 11:18, KJV
Cornelius’s experience was not presented merely as a private spiritual achievement.
It demonstrated something publicly:
GOD HAD ACCEPTED GENTILES.
Peter appealed to the event again in Acts 15.
Read Acts 15:7–11.
Before making Cornelius’s experience a universal sequence for every Christian, we should understand what God was demonstrating through it.
14. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TWELVE MEN IN EPHESUS?
Read Acts 19:1–7.
Paul found about twelve men who knew only John’s baptism.
He explained that John had pointed people toward Jesus.
They were then baptized:
“in the name of the Lord Jesus.” — Acts 19:5, KJV
Then:
“when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them.” — Acts 19:6, KJV
What happened next?
“and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” — Acts 19:6, KJV
Notice both manifestations.
TONGUES.
PROPHECY.
If tongues in this account must become a required sign for every Christian, why does prophecy not become required as well?
There may be an argument for distinguishing them.
But that argument must be made.
The text itself reports both.
We should not select one detail as universally required while ignoring the other without explaining why.
15. DO THE ACCOUNTS IN ACTS ALL FOLLOW THE SAME SEQUENCE?
No.
At Pentecost, the Spirit came upon the gathered disciples before Peter preached to the crowd.
In Samaria, people believed and were baptized before Peter and John came and laid hands upon them.
In Cornelius’s house, the Spirit came while Peter was preaching and before water baptism.
In Ephesus, the twelve men were baptized in Jesus’ name; Paul then laid his hands upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
The accounts do not follow one identical sequence.
That does not make them contradictory.
It tells us to ask what Luke is showing us in each event.
And notice the movement of Acts.
Jerusalem.
Judea.
Samaria.
Gentiles.
The gospel is moving outward just as Jesus said it would.
Read Acts 1:8.
A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENED ON ONE OCCASION DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY BECOME A COMMAND THAT EVERY CHRISTIAN MUST REPEAT THE SAME SEQUENCE.
16. WHAT DOES “BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT” MEAN?
John the Baptist said of Jesus:
“he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” — Matthew 3:11, KJV
Jesus later told the apostles:
“ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” — Acts 1:5, KJV
Peter remembered that statement when describing Cornelius.
Read Acts 11:15–17.
Those passages give us the expression and its immediate settings.
But Christians disagree about how broadly the promise applies and how it relates to the Spirit’s work in every believer.
Some understand Spirit baptism as the incorporation of believers into Christ’s body.
Others understand baptism in the Holy Spirit as an additional experience of spiritual empowerment after conversion.
The Assemblies of God explicitly teaches the latter distinction. It regards Spirit baptism as subsequent to the new birth and distinguishes it from the Spirit’s work described in 1 Corinthians 12:13. (Assemblies of God)
We should not settle the question by the label.
We need to examine the passages.
17. WHAT DOES 1 CORINTHIANS 12:13 SAY?
Paul writes:
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” — 1 Corinthians 12:13, KJV
One word deserves attention:
ALL.
Paul is writing to Christians with different gifts.
Some speak in tongues.
Some do not.
Some prophesy.
Some do not.
Yet:
“by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.”
Paul does not divide the Corinthian Christians into full members of Christ’s body and others still waiting for one particular gift.
Pentecostal interpreters may distinguish this baptism into the body from the baptism in the Holy Spirit described in Acts. The Assemblies of God makes exactly that distinction in its official explanation. (Assemblies of God)
But that is an interpretive conclusion.
Does Paul describe the same work of the Spirit from another perspective?
Or is he describing a different event?
We must examine the argument.
One thing in the passage is clear:
ALL BELONG TO THE ONE BODY, WHILE THEIR GIFTS DIFFER.
18. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST?
Paul writes:
“Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” — Romans 8:9, KJV
Read Romans 8:1–17.
Paul describes the Spirit’s work in those who belong to Christ.
He speaks about life in the Spirit.
Putting to death the deeds of the body.
Being led by the Spirit.
Adoption.
Calling God our Father.
And our hope as His children.
Paul does not say that only Christians who speak in tongues possess the Spirit of Christ.
That does not settle every question about miraculous gifts or special empowerment.
But it does require us to distinguish:
HAVING THE SPIRIT BECAUSE WE BELONG TO CHRIST
from:
RECEIVING A PARTICULAR SPIRITUAL GIFT.
Confusing those questions can cause us to treat Christians without one visible gift as though they do not fully belong to Christ.
Romans 8 gives us no basis for doing that.
19. WHAT DID THE EARLY PENTECOSTALS TEACH ABOUT TONGUES?
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Charles Parham and students at his Bible school in Topeka, Kansas, studied the accounts of the Holy Spirit in Acts.
They concluded that speaking in tongues was the biblical evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Reports of tongues at the school in January 1901 became an important part of the beginnings of modern Pentecostalism.
William J. Seymour later carried Pentecostal teaching to Los Angeles. The Azusa Street revival, beginning in 1906, helped spread the movement far beyond its earlier geographic limits. The Assemblies of God itself traces the development of its Pentecostal tradition through Parham, Seymour, and Azusa Street. (Assemblies of God)
That history explains how the teaching became influential.
But history cannot decide whether the interpretation is correct.
We still have to ask:
DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT REQUIRE TONGUES AS THE INITIAL EVIDENCE THAT EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS RECEIVED BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?
The answer must come from the text.
20. HOW DO PENTECOSTALS ANSWER PAUL’S QUESTION, “DO ALL SPEAK WITH TONGUES?”
We should represent their argument accurately.
The Assemblies of God teaches that baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience distinct from conversion and that speaking in tongues is its initial physical evidence. It also teaches that these tongues are the same in essence as the gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians 12 but different in purpose and use. (Assemblies of God)
So when Paul asks:
“do all speak with tongues?” — 1 Corinthians 12:30, KJV
the Assemblies of God understands him to be discussing the public gift exercised in the congregation, not the initial evidence of Spirit baptism. (Assemblies of God)
That is how the apparent conflict is resolved within that system.
Now test the distinction.
Does Acts explicitly say that every believer who receives Spirit baptism must speak in tongues?
Does 1 Corinthians 12 explicitly distinguish an initial sign required of all Spirit-baptized believers from a public gift given only to some?
How do the Samaritans fit the proposed pattern when Luke does not identify what Simon saw?
And what do we do with prophecy accompanying tongues in Acts 19?
The distinction may be proposed as a way of bringing several passages together.
But:
THE DISTINCTION ITSELF MUST BE ESTABLISHED FROM THE TEXT.
It cannot merely be assumed in order to protect a conclusion already reached.
21. WHAT DOES PAUL SAY ABOUT TONGUES IN THE ASSEMBLY?
Read 1 Corinthians 14:1–19.
Paul contrasts speech the congregation understands with speech it cannot understand.
His concern is not simply whether the speaker has a meaningful experience.
His concern is whether the congregation is helped.
He asks:
“how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?” — 1 Corinthians 14:16, KJV
That is practical.
If people cannot understand the words, they cannot learn from them.
Paul therefore emphasizes interpretation.
The goal is not to suppress the Spirit’s work.
It is to make sure the congregation benefits from what is said.
22. DID PAUL ALLOW UNINTERPRETED TONGUES DURING WORSHIP?
Read 1 Corinthians 14:26–28.
Paul says:
“Let all things be done unto edifying.” — 1 Corinthians 14:26, KJV
If someone speaks in a tongue, Paul limits the number, requires them to speak in turn, and says:
“let one interpret.” — 1 Corinthians 14:27, KJV
Then:
“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church.” — 1 Corinthians 14:28, KJV
That is a clear restriction on public tongues in the assembly.
Paul does not say sincerity removes the need for interpretation.
He does not say several people should speak over one another while no one understands.
EDIFICATION.
INTERPRETATION.
ORDER.
Any modern claim to the public gift of tongues should be examined alongside those instructions.
23. DID PAUL FORBID TONGUES ALTOGETHER?
No.
Paul wrote:
“Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.” — 1 Corinthians 14:39, KJV
Then:
“Let all things be done decently and in order.” — 1 Corinthians 14:40, KJV
Both statements belong to Paul’s instructions.
We should not quote verse 39 while ignoring the restrictions earlier in the chapter.
But neither should we use those restrictions to pretend Paul forbade tongues.
He did not.
The historical question of whether the same miraculous gift continued after the apostolic period is a different question.
In Corinth, the gift existed.
Paul regulated it.
24. HOW DID CHRISTIANS RECEIVE MIRACULOUS GIFTS?
Acts gives us several examples.
At Pentecost, the Spirit came upon the gathered disciples.
Read Acts 2:1–4.
In Samaria, Peter and John laid their hands upon believers.
Read Acts 8:14–19.
At Cornelius’s house, the Spirit came upon Gentiles while Peter was preaching.
Read Acts 10:44–48.
In Ephesus, Paul laid hands upon the twelve men, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Read Acts 19:1–7.
Paul later reminded Timothy:
“stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” — 2 Timothy 1:6, KJV
These passages show significant apostolic involvement in the giving or recognition of miraculous gifts.
But they do not all describe the same procedure.
We should not turn Samaria into an absolute rule that excludes Cornelius.
And we should not ignore the repeated role of apostles merely because it creates difficulty for another theory.
THE WAY THE GIFTS WERE RECEIVED IS PART OF THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE.
25. DID MIRACULOUS GIFTS HAVE A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IN THE FIRST CENTURY?
Yes.
Hebrews says the message of salvation:
“was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” — Hebrews 2:3, KJV
Then:
“God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost.” — Hebrews 2:4, KJV
Paul also referred to:
“the signs of an apostle” — 2 Corinthians 12:12, KJV
performed:
“in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.” — 2 Corinthians 12:12, KJV
Miraculous works therefore served purposes beyond giving an individual an impressive spiritual experience.
They bore witness to the gospel and to those proclaiming it.
But now be careful.
Does the fact that miracles served that purpose prove, by itself, that God could never give a miraculous gift after the apostles died?
No.
That requires an additional argument.
THE PURPOSE OF A GIFT AND THE DURATION OF THAT GIFT ARE RELATED QUESTIONS. THEY ARE NOT IDENTICAL QUESTIONS.
26. DID PAUL SAY THAT THE GIFTS WOULD CEASE?
Yes.
Read 1 Corinthians 13:8–12.
Paul writes:
“whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease.” — 1 Corinthians 13:8, KJV
He contrasts what is partial with what is complete.
Then he uses the pictures of a child becoming a man and seeing through a glass darkly before seeing face to face.
Christians disagree about when Paul expected these partial gifts to cease.
Some understand:
“when that which is perfect is come” — 1 Corinthians 13:10, KJV
as referring to the completion of God’s revealed message.
Others understand it as pointing to the final state associated with seeing “face to face.”
The phrase itself does not say:
“WHEN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS COMPLETED.”
But neither does Paul explicitly say in this paragraph:
“ALL OF THESE GIFTS WILL CONTINUE UNCHANGED UNTIL CHRIST RETURNS.”
We need to examine Paul’s argument rather than place either conclusion inside the phrase before we begin.
One thing is unmistakable.
LOVE OUTLASTS THE GIFTS.
27. WHAT DOES EPHESIANS 4 SAY ABOUT GIFTS AND THE CHURCH?
Paul says the risen Christ:
“gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” — Ephesians 4:11, KJV
Their work was connected with equipping God’s people and building up the body.
Read Ephesians 4:11–16.
But we should not assume every person named in that list performs an identical function.
Earlier Paul described the church as:
“built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” — Ephesians 2:20, KJV
A foundation has a particular place in a building.
But does Ephesians 2:20 explicitly say every spiritual gift ended when the apostles died?
No.
Does Ephesians 4:11 authorize later Christians to claim the same foundational authority as Christ’s apostles?
It does not say that either.
Again:
READ WHAT THE TEXT SAYS BEFORE ASKING IT TO SETTLE A QUESTION IT DOES NOT DIRECTLY ADDRESS.
28. CAN GOD STILL HEAL PEOPLE?
Yes.
The question of miraculous gifts must not be confused with the question of whether God can still heal.
James wrote:
“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him.” — James 5:14, KJV
Christians may pray for healing.
God remains God.
But that is not exactly the same claim as saying a person today possesses:
“the gifts of healing” — 1 Corinthians 12:9, KJV
in the same sense as the miraculous gift described in the first-century church.
Those are different questions.
God may heal a sick person in answer to prayer.
That does not automatically establish that the person praying possesses a permanent miraculous gift.
And if healing does not occur, we should not automatically accuse the sick person of lacking faith.
WE SHOULD NOT MAKE PROMISES GOD HAS NOT MADE OR ASSIGN BLAME WHERE SCRIPTURE DOES NOT GIVE US AUTHORITY TO DO SO.
29. HOW SHOULD A CLAIMED SPIRITUAL GIFT BE TESTED?
John wrote:
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.” — 1 John 4:1, KJV
Paul told the Thessalonians:
“Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21, KJV
And in Corinth:
“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.” — 1 Corinthians 14:29, KJV
The New Testament does not teach unquestioning acceptance of every religious claim.
But neither does it teach us to mock people because they report an experience different from ours.
Ask questions.
Does the teaching agree with the gospel proclaimed by the apostles?
Does the person claim authority Scripture does not give?
Is the congregation being built up?
Are Paul’s instructions about intelligibility and order being followed?
Is the experience being used to make one Christian appear spiritually superior to another?
A person may sincerely report an experience.
SINCERITY DOES NOT REMOVE THE NEED TO EXAMINE ITS INTERPRETATION.
30. WHAT DOES THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT TELL US?
Read Galatians 5:16–26.
Paul describes:
“the fruit of the Spirit” — Galatians 5:22, KJV
as:
“love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.” — Galatians 5:22–23, KJV
Paul does not say every Christian possesses every miraculous gift.
But he does call Christians to walk in the Spirit.
That brings us back to the difference between a visible gift and Christian character.
A person might claim to speak in tongues while treating other people cruelly.
Another Christian might never claim a miraculous gift yet show patience, kindness, faithfulness, and love.
Paul gives us no reason to treat the first person’s visible claim as a substitute for Christian character.
And he gives us no reason to regard the second person as an inferior member of Christ’s body.
31. WHAT HAVE WE ESTABLISHED?
The New Testament describes one Spirit distributing different gifts to different members of Christ’s body.
Paul explicitly asks whether all speak in tongues.
The expected answer is no.
Acts records important occasions when the Spirit came upon people, but those accounts differ in sequence and circumstance.
The apostles play a significant role in several of them.
Paul requires gifts to be exercised for the benefit of others, with love, intelligibility, and order.
He also says that prophecies and tongues would cease, although Christians disagree about when his argument places that cessation.
The Assemblies of God and other classical Pentecostals answer Paul’s “Do all speak with tongues?” by distinguishing tongues as the initial evidence of Spirit baptism from the public gift of tongues. That distinction is part of their explicit doctrinal teaching and should be examined rather than caricatured. (Assemblies of God)
But the distinction must still be tested against the biblical passages themselves.
And we must distinguish another pair of questions:
DO MIRACULOUS GIFTS CONTINUE?
and:
DOES GOD STILL HEAR PRAYER AND HEAL?
Those are not the same question.
Whatever church background we come from, none of us is exempt.
32. WHERE DOES OUR HISTORY GO NEXT?
We have examined the New Testament passages that shaped the debate over spiritual gifts.
Now we are ready to return to the early twentieth century.
Why did the events at Topeka and Azusa Street lead to the formation of new churches?
Why did Pentecostals themselves disagree about sanctification, Spirit baptism, and eventually even the doctrine of God?
And how did a movement that wanted to recover New Testament Christianity develop into several distinct denominations?
Those questions take us to the next major branch in our history.
HOW DID THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT BEGIN AND DIVIDE?
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
RETURN TO MAIN SERIES: ONE CHURCH, SO MANY DIVISIONS—WHAT HAPPENED?
NEXT STUDY: HOW DID THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT BEGIN AND DIVIDE?