Miraculous Signs – Part 2
“Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 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? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.”
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 NASB
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 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. 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. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 NASB
• So the question I have about prophecies, tongues, and knowledge mentioned in the above text is when is Paul saying these things will end? When does perfection come and what is it?
• Also, this passage doesn’t say anything about miraculous healings fading away, does it?
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, " WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 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; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
Ephesians 4:1-16 NASB
• The following quote is form a church of Christ web site. I don’t think I agree with their points but it is helpful to put discussion:
Beginning of quote:
“To phrase the argument succinctly:
- Miraculous gifts will cease, but faith, hope, and love will abide ( 1 Cor. 13:8,13).
- Miraculous gifts will cease when that which is perfect comes ( 1 Cor. 13:10).
- Faith, hope, and love will continue when that which is perfect comes ( 1 Cor. 10:13).
- Hope can’t continue when Jesus comes because hope that is seen is not hope and Jesus will be seen (Romans 8:24).
- So, that which is perfect can’t be Jesus’ coming because then hope would not abide.
- Therefore, that which is perfect must come after the time Paul writes and before Jesus comes again.
- Therefore, miracles must cease sometime after Paul writes and before Jesus comes again.
- This was going to happen when the “unity of the faith” came ( Eph. 4:13).
- The “unity of the faith” came after John wrote the book of Revelation ( Rev. 22:18,19).
- Miraculous gifts ended after John wrote the book of Revelation.”
End of quote.
• I (Chad), see flaws in the reasoning above. The biggest thing I see is that each of the verses selected are forced into a black and white, yes or no, on or off, binary option regarding the topic at hand when the passages are not necessarily meaning what they are saying the passages mean. In my opinion, they are doing what lawyers and politicians do regarding complex subjects, that is to simplify things into black and white issues.
I think it's obvious that miraculous healings have ended. There hasn't been anyone since the first century who can immediately heal the sick, give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, or raise the dead.
Apostles are men that have the power to perform miracles. The twelve disciples were given this power. So was Paul. James (the Lord's brother), Barnabas, Andronicus, Junias are referred to as apostles. This is what the Bible says:
(2 Corinthians 12:12 NIV) The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance.
There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that miraculous healings occur today in third world countries that are just now being reached with the gospel. People are healed after Christians pray for them. God uses that to give authenticity to the gospel.
Interesting.
But to me, strictly looking at the what the Bible says about the matter, I don't see anywhere that says miraculous signs can't happen today or don't happen today. I have never seen one. Many teach that they don't happen anymore because the Bible says they won't but I am not convinced either way.