By Doug Bell
1 Corinthians 12:
4¶ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
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There are two types of Christian groups that differ over “Gifts of the Spirit.” Those that believe that some gifts have ceased; (‘Cessationism.’ 1) And those who believe all the “Gifts” are still in use; (called ‘Continuationism.’ 2). I’m of the persuasion that the “Miracle gifts,” like tongues and healing have ceased. This is not to deny that God can do whatever he desires to do at any time in any place. But it does mean that I don’t believe that God has still given ‘men‘ those ‘Miracle’ gifts like healings or speaking in tongues today.
My reason’s for this is “FIRST:” The Bible is clear that “Tongues Speaking” is NOT just unutterable sounds. Every time tongues are mentioned, it is always speaking of ‘Known‘ languages that must be interpreted. Example:
Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.2And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.3And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.5¶ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.6And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?8And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” (emphasis mine).
Also: Acts 2:9 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,11both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”12And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” (emphasis mine).
1 Corinthians 14:9 “So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.10There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning,11but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.” (emphasis mine).
There are more that could be sited, but in a 3 minute blog is not the place.
As far as “Healings,” are concerned, these are always in far off places or never validated. All I can say if they are ‘real,’ why don’t these supposed healers go into the Hospitals with cameras and prove they are genuine!
Again, this is not to deny that God who is sovereign may choose to heal anywhere at any time. But, that these Miracle gifts were given to the Apostolic times of the Church, to verify the Apostles messages were from God. When they died, these type of miracles were no longer needed!
1
Cessationism is the view that the “miracle gifts” of tongues and healing have ceased—that the end of the apostolic age brought about a cessation of the miracles associated with that age. Most cessationists believe that, while God can and still does perform miracles today, the Holy Spirit no longer uses individuals to perform miraculous signs. 2 https://www.gotquestions.org/continuationism.html
Continuationism is the belief that all the spiritual gifts, including healings, tongues, and miracles, are still in operation today, just as they were in the days of the early church. A continuationist believes that the spiritual gifts have “continued” unabated since the Day of Pentecost and that today’s church has access to all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible.