Part 9 The Holy Spirit and Miraculous Gifts (Part 2)

P.M. Sermon

Spring Hill, TN

3/18/07 p.m.

Series: “Discovering the Holy Spirit” (Pt. 9)

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Summary: In PART 9, we continue to explore the Holy Spirit and miraculous gifts from the previous lesson (A helpful resource from which I gained considerable insight in this sermon was Jack Cottrell’s book The Faith Once for All pages 302-303).

“The Holy Spirit and Miraculous Gifts (Part 2)”

Introduction:

A. The Purpose of Miracles and their Cessation

1. At this point in the series Discovering the Holy Spirit, we are exploring “The Holy Spirit and Miraculous Gifts.”

2. In the previous lesson we explored the various “measures” of the Holy Spirit that have been poured out and we focused upon the “miraculous measure” of the Holy Spirit possessed by the Apostles and how they transferred those abilities to others.

3. Miraculous abilities could only be transferred to others by the laying on of an Apostle’s hands. Once the Apostles died and those who had been give miraculous abilities died, miracles would cease.

4. Additionally we saw that the purpose of miracles in the Bible were for the purpose of confirming God’s messengers and authenticating their message.

5. Once the message of God was confirmed, the purpose of miracles was no longer needed—in that a message confirmed needs no further confirmation.

B. We are not putting God “in a box”

1. In this study, one should not think that we are trying to “limit” God or put him “in a box.”

2. The question is not what God can do today; the real question is what is He doing today?

3. In order to know with any certainty what God is doing today, we are totally dependent upon what God has revealed to us about his activity.

4. God can certainly do supernatural things today, if he chose to do so.

5. But the real question is what has God chosen to do? What has he revealed in his Word about his activity in the post-apostolic days of the Christian age?

I. “WHEN THE PERFECT COMES….”

A. Things temporary and things permanent

1. Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that miraculous abilities being possessed by Christians would cease.

2. Paul says, “…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” (1 Cor. 13:8-10).

3. Paul draws two contrasts in this chapter.

4. First, Paul contrasts things that are temporary (vs. 8-miraculous gifts such as tongues, prophesy, miraculous knowledge) and things which are permanent (vs. 13-faith, hope, love).

5. It is clear for this text, that Paul is explaining that miraculous abilities by Christians in the first century would come to an end (while the Christian traits of faith hope and love would continue).

6. But when would this occur? Paul says when “the perfect” comes.

7. The Greek phrase is “teleion” which literally means “complete” or “mature.”

8. But what is “the complete (perfect)?” An examination of the context will clearly demonstrate.

B. Things partial and things complete

1. The second contrast shows why the gifts mentioned in verse 8 are only temporary (Cottrell 302).

2. This contrast is between things that are “partial” (in bits and pieces) and things that are permanent and complete.

3. When the “complete” complete thing comes, the partial would be done away with.

4. The fact that teleion is neuter in this context demonstrates that the “complete” cannot be referring to a person (such as Jesus) but refers to some thing (Cottrell 302).

5. This “complete” thing that Paul describes was not present when Paul wrote but something future.

6. This rules out any of the things described in verse 13, including love (these were present in Paul’s day).

7. But it would occur before the return of Christ because verse 13 shows that the partial things would cease when faith, hope and love continue to abide in the church.

8. Yet, at the second coming there would be no reason for hope to exist, since things hoped for will then be reality (Rom. 8:24-25).

9. So the “complete” thing must be something that would occur between when Paul wrote and before the second coming.

C. Things known and things fully known

1. A major clue to understanding the identity of “the complete” is found by the things the “complete” is designed to replace: prophecy, knowledge, tongues (vs. 8).

2. These are all in the category of revealed knowledge, but they are only partial in nature—things only partially known.

3. The thing that replaces these would be in the same category of revealed knowledge, but it would be complete knowledge.

4. There were inspired prophets present in the local congregations of the early church, each receiving “bits and pieces” of the partial revelation of God’s message (cf. 1 Cor. 12:10; Eph. 4:11).

5. But all of those pieces would be gathered and collected into the complete New Testament as we now know it.

6. This same concept is found in a parallel passage in Ephesians 4:11-16, where Paul again uses the term teleion to describe the time when the church would become mature, no longer tossed about by waves of doctrine—because the church would possess the complete revealed message of God.

II. CESSATION OF PROPHECY AND MIRACLES

A. Is the “Perfect” Not Heaven?

1. Some seem to believe that verse 12 of our text requires that Heaven is the “perfect” because the verse says when the perfect comes we will see “face to face” and we shall “fully know.”

2. There is no support in this context that “face-to-face” has reference to seeing Jesus (although this will also eventually happen-1 John 3:2).

3. Paul makes a contrast between looking in mirrors, “now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (13:12). One mirror is cloudy the other is clear.

4. The context demonstrates that Paul is describing two types of revelation: one that is partial and enigmatic the other that is clear and complete (Cottrell 303). When the complete message is revealed, we will clearly see rather than the bits and pieces provided by partial prophesy in the churches.

5. Some also believe that verse 12’s description of “know fully” must refer to the heavenly state.

6. No where does the Bible teach that we will have complete and full knowledge of everything, even in Heaven. Only God is omniscient.

7. Better with the context is that Paul is saying that when the complete New Testament message is revealed, we will know ourselves even as God knows us, because God’s message will show us who we really ought to be (see James 1:23-25).

8. It seems that the message Paul is communicating in these verses might be summarized: “For now, while we depend on occasional revelations through prophesy or interpreted tongues, it is like trying to see yourself in a scratched and cloudy mirror. But then, when the completed NT has been given, it will be like seeing a sharp, clear image of yourselves in a bright new mirror” (Cottrell 303).

B. Are there Prophets Today?

1. We have noticed in these lessons that miraculous abilities and the communication of God’s word go together hand in glove.

2. Miraculous abilities would cease when the complete message of God was given, and contrariwise God would stop giving direct messages when the confirmation of miracles ceased.

3. There was a time in God’s redemptive scheme when he spoke directly to individuals such as Abraham, Moses, and Noah.

4. But the Hebrew writer states, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (1:1-2).

5. This statement makes clear that God would stop speaking directly to individuals and would communicate his will in the Christian age through his Son, Jesus Christ.

6. Jesus would sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, who would then communicate additional messages and they would give the gift of prophesy to other individuals by the laying on of their hands.

7. But when miraculous gifts ceased with the completion of the New Testament of Jesus Christ, then God’s communicating directly by his Spirit to people would cease also.

8. Contrary to the sincere claims of some, there is no evidence in Scripture that God (or the Holy Spirit) speaks directly to anyone today outside of his complete written word.

9. The Holy Spirit clearly affirms that the inspired Scriptures would “fully equip” Christians for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17); there is no need for further revelations and anyone who makes this claim is to be accursed (Gal. 1:8-9).

C. Modern Miracles?

1. But what about those who sincerely believe God had directly spoken to them?

2. What about those who claim to have witnessed genuine miracles today?

3. Many of these supposed miracles are nothing more than staged tricks akin to the work of Pharaoh’s magicians designed to make merchandise of the gospel by misleading unsuspecting “believers.”

4. Still other supposed miracles are psychological in nature; the human brain is a wondrous creation—the brain can “invent” its own reality.

5. And for those who still claim that God has spoken to them or worked miracles in their lives, let me offer this word of caution: how do you know that it is not the supernatural working of Satan?

6. Satan deceives by disguising himself as an angel of light by doing deceitful works (2 Cor. 11:13-14).

Conclusion:

A. It must be reiterated that it is not a question of what God can do today; it is a matter of what God has revealed in his word that he is doing today.

B. Biblical evidence is united that the age and purpose of miracles has come to an end with the completion of God’s word.

C. Miraculous abilities in Christians of the first century acted as ladders and scaffolding for the building up and establishment of the church (Eph. 2:20).

D. Once the church was built, the ladders and scaffolding of miracles were removed.