Chris' Christian Blog

August 11, 2021

Prompt
1 Corinthians 12:8-12
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

What do you believe about spiritual gifts? Are the sign gifts given to people today or were they just for the apostles? Do you believe you have a spiritual gift? If so, what is it?

I did not use to believe the spiritual gifts were active today. I had been taught all of my life that they were not. Then I went to churches where the spiritual gifts were practiced and that left me conflicted about it. I studied it out for myself and I find no concrete evidence that the spiritual gifts ever went away. What I do find is Acts 8:18 that says that the gifts were given by the laying on of the apostle's hands. For a long time I argued that only one of the original thirteen apostles (counting Paul) could pass on the spiritual gifts. So therefore, I was agian convinced the gifts had ceased. However, history is complete with people who had the spiritual gifts, with miraclous healings, with prophets, with evidence of the gifts. The word "apostle" means "sent one" and there are many "sent ones today. I was sent to where I am now, though at the time I did not realize it. So in that sense, I too am an apostle. Therefore there are many apostles in the world today. If there are apostles, it stands to reason they can pass on the gifts. However, the gifts do not function willy-nilly. You don't just declare "I am going to perform a miracle through God tonight like some flim-flam artists do. The gifts only work when the Holy Spirit wants them too and they work individually through a particular chosen vessel. It is wrong to say "I have the gifts of healing," because you may have a healing gift at the moment and then the Holy Spirit will not function in that manner through you again. He does what is needed in the moment so that no one person specifically has any particular "gift" permanently. We all do have the Holy Spirit. We can pray for a new baptism in the Holy Spirit. We always have the Holy Spirit though. Whether or not He chooses to manifest a gift in us is up to Him. Personally, I have spoken in tongues and discerned spirits. I don't do either all the time. I do them when the Lord says so.


tra777 writes about life in

Plumber  (E) The depths #2256228 by Lex

. Do you think life is all there is to it?
I know life is not all there is to it. I know in my heart that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He did so to defeat death so that I might have eternal life by faith in Him.