December 9 , 2007

Luke 1:26-37 - The reason Jesus is both truly God and truly man is because of what the Holy Spirit did in giving Jesus as God's Gift to the world. The reason we give gifts at Christmas is to remind one another of that Supreme Gift God gave us in Jesus.

God gave other gifts. Jesus said, Do not leave Jerusalem , but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5).

Jesus said, If you …know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him ! (Lu 11:13).

The Holy Spirit also gives gifts . Paul wrote: About spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant (1 Cor . 12:1) … There are different kinds of gifts, but the same ( Holy) Spirit. There are different kinds of service , but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men (4-6).

We each have a " gift mix ," a mix of gifts of the Spirit with natural human talents and abilities that enable us to serve. Now to each one the manifestation (or expres-sion ) of the Spirit is given for the common good – to benefit others…to serve others.

God also testified to our salvation by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Hebrews 2:4). I can desire spiritual gifts (14:1), but I cannot give myself any spiritual gift. (12:11).

The difference between the gift of tongues (and interpretation), the spiritual languages for everyone: Only when speaking in tongues gives an inspired message from God, like prophecy, does the Bible require an interpretation, giving through human personality the idea of what is inspired by God. As a message from God, it is not a gift for everyone.

Otherwise, the common expressions of spiritual languages do not require interpretation, because they are prayer and praise goes to God. God understands prayer and praise in any language. He is omniscient.

Cessationists (who believe that supernatural gifts of the Spirit and spiritual languages are not for today) misrepresent 1 Corinthians 13: 8-12. 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.

First, the passage says they will cease, and that is true, but is there an indication they will cease with the close of the Early Church ? or when John died? No .

Second, the passage says the gifts of the Spirit are expressed imperfectly through human beings. That's true. The gifts are imperfect , and we know in part and we prophesy in part. No gift of the Spirit is expressed by humanity with perfection.

Third, the passage does say when they will disappear? Yes! – when perfection comes . Has perfection come ?, or do we still live in an imperfect world? These verses indicate that spiritual gifts will cease when they are truly no longer needed for ministry or the spread of the Gospel – " when perfection comes."

Verses 11-12 , When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

What cessationists say here is that Paul believes such expressions of the Holy Spirit are childish and indicate spiritual immaturity. However, that contradicts everything else he's written about his belief in and beneficial use of His gifts and languages.

A principle of Bible interpretation says that "a Scripture text without the context is often a pretext for error ." The cessationists have violated this principle.

There is no doubt that Paul was encouraging these Corinthians to become mature and stop being childish in several areas throughout the book. That's the context. Paul was writing to a spiritually immature people and a childish church. Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ (3:1).

There is a vast difference between the growing, and sensible, and godly use of the Gifts of the Spirit to serve, and " Corinthianism ," which is the abuse of spiritual gifts by childish people, involved in sensationalism .

Were the Corinthians childishly expressing the Gifts of the Spirit? Yes. Are His gifts or prayer languages expressions of childishness and spiritual immaturity? No. Can the gifts be expressed in positive, loving, beneficial, mature, and decent ways? Paul devotes three whole chapters to that. Definitely yes!

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