First Corinthians, chapters 12, 13, and 14 were written by the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth to teach them the value, the meaning and the use of Spiritual Gifts. He states at the beginning of these chapters, "NOW CONCERNING SPIRITUAL GIFTS, I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU TO BE IGNORANT". In verse 7 he calls them "the manifestation of the spirit."
People today often speak glibly about spiritual gifts when they are really thinking of natural talents or God given gifts that a person is born with. Spiritual gifts were special manifestations of the Spirit of God to certain ones in the early church giving them supernatural powers of wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, ability to speak in various kinds of foreign languages or the ability to interpret such foreign languages.
When I was in China, after many months of intensive language study I was able to speak and understand Chinese to a certain extent. A group of pentecostals came to China determined to pray until God gave them the gift of tongues so that they could speak in Chinese. After a long time all of them gave up and went home except for about three, who studied the language and continued in China. They never received the gift of tongues.
In first Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 12 to 26 Paul uses the physical body to illustrate the unity that should prevail in a local church. As all the parts of the body are very important to that physical body, whether they be prominent or hidden, and should all receive the same care,suffering together and rejoicing together, so should the local church be. Speaking directly to that Corinthian church Paul concludes in verse 27, "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." I believe these words are recorded here in scripture in order for them to be addressed to any local New Testament church in any place. In that locality that church is THE BODY OF CHRIST, placed there to reveal an invisible Christ to the lost and dying.
In First Corinthians 12:28 Paul tells us plainly, "God hath set some in the church, first apostles." Christ Jesus chose from among His disciples twelve, whom He ordained as apostles. (Luke 6:13; Mark 3:14) From these scriptures we know that the church was already in existence when the apostles were ordained. Jesus said He would build His church and He did.
In the very beginning Christ gave His apostles supernatural powers, "to heal sickness and to cast out devils." (Mark 3:15)
From Acts 1:21-22 we learn that an apostle to replace Judas must be one who had "accompanied with us......beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day He was taken up from us," and that he was to be a "witness with us of His resurrection." Based upon this Paul considered himself to be a special apostle saying (1 Corinthians 15:8-9), "And last of all He was seen of me also, as one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles." When those who were witness of the resurrection of Christ were all gone, there were no more apostles in the strict scriptural sense. In 2nd Corinthians 12:11-12 Paul says; "In nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the SIGNS OF AN APOSTLE were wrought among you in all patients in signs and wonders and mighty deeds."
In the end of 1st Corinthians 12, after a series of questions to show that; not all are apostles, not all are prophets, not all are teachers, not all are workers of miracles, not all have gifts of healing, not all speak in tongues, not all can interpret tongues, Paul says, "But covet earnestly gifts, and yet show I unto you a more excellent way."
What are the best gifts, and what is the more excellent way? Paul brings this out in Chapter 13 in the greatest description of true love and of its worth that has ever been written. He concludes that section with, "Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies (revelations from God) they shall fail: (Shall come to an end) Whether there be tongues (The miraculous gift of speaking a foreign language without learning it), they shall cease; whether there be knowledge (the miraculous gift of knowledge as given to the apostles in writing the scriptures), it shall vanish away."
"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part." The miraculous gift of knowledge that is recorded is the word of God. It was given in parts, part at one time and part at another time. "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." When at last the complete and perfect Word of God had been given and recorded, then the former partial revelation was no longer needed.
In Chapter 13, verse 11, Paul indicates that the gifts of the spirit were for the childhood of the church and were to be done away with when the church was grown. "Now I know in part" (verse 12); (But when the Word of God is finished,) "Then shall I know even as I am Known." We need to realize the full sufficiency of God's Word, if we will only read and study it. In conclusion of Chapter 13 we find that of all the spiritual gifts there are only three that abide after the Word of God is complete. Those three gifts of the spirit are these: FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE. Paul says that the greatest of these is LOVE. Even then when, when other miraculous gifts were present in the church, Paul tells those at Corinth that without love they are of no use whatsoever. We still have those three abiding gifts of the spirit today. They are better than all the others, and they are all that we need.
Romans 5:5 tells us that "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us," When Paul names the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 the first one is LOVE. Those that follow are: joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (self control). There is no mention of tongues miracles or gifts of healing.
However we know that God does hear and answer prayer. "The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:10) "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)
God will gladly guide us by His wisdom, and God still hears and answers prayers. But He wants us to lean hard upon the Word, to study it and believe it and depend upon it. His Spirit will not in any way lead us contrary to His Word, and by this we can know the spirits, whether they be of God or not.
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