Are the Miraculous Gifts for Today?

Are the gifts described in I Cor. 12-14 still active today?  Why or why not?  And if not, what is it that many Christians have experienced since the Azusa Street Revival?

Preliminary Thoughts: The "gifts" mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12-14 are often referred to as "spiritual gifts" since they are not the natural possession of humanity, but are given specially by the Spirit to those He indwells. Further, despite the fact that Paul the Apostle wrote to many different churches, he does not discuss these gifts in their functioning except in 1 Corinthians 12-14, and the simple list in Romans 12. And it must be understood that in the case of the Corinthian letter he writes to correct abuse of these gifts. The greatest amount of text relating to gifts is corrective, not either prescriptive nor instructive. Nowhere does Paul instruct his readers on the number of gifts, their definitions their complete functions and proper use, or any of the other things we might expect if the gifts were other than the natural outworking of the Spirit in the believer. Simply put, the gifts do not occupy a significant place in the New Testament corpus. What is written is aimed at those who have made them out to be something other than God intended, and have erred into an abusive understanding of their role and use. Thirdly, the gifts enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12-14 are often referred to as "sign" gifts. This comes from Paul's insistence that these gifts are "signs" to the unbeliever (in the case of tongues: see 14:22). This has also led some to distinguish between the "miraculous" gifts (those which demonstrate a supernatural ability, such as tongues, miracles, etc) and those which do not (teaching, mercy, etc for which see Romans 12). 

Q1: Are the gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12-14 still active today? Why or Why not?

A: My simple answer is "no" although there may be a little room for a "yes" if the circumstances that necessitated the gifts in the first place were to be duplicated somewhere in our world today.  This answer sits on the foundation of another question: What is the purpose of these "miraculous" or "sign" gifts anyway? I believe God had a purpose in giving the ability to do the miraculous to men, and when that purpose was fulfilled, the gifts were no longer necessary. (Note: The purpose of the "non-miraculous" gifts is understood to be the ongoing health and edification of the church, as seen in 1 Corinthians in Paul's stress on the supremacy of prophecy (preaching) over the miraculous gifts such as miracles and tongues. It is my believe that these "non-miraculous" gifts are still extant today.) 

What was God's purpose in giving the miraculous gifts? That God gives and then ends the use of miraculous gifts is evident from history. There are only 3 periods in history when miraculous gifts were in evidence: Moses, Elijah/Elisha, and Jesus/the Apostles. Other than these eras, we do not find any miraculous gifts being displayed. This means God sent them, and then ended them, at His bidding, for His purpose. That purpose is seen in Acts 2:22 where Peter asserts that Jesus Christ was validated by God as Messiah through "signs and wonders and miracles." Paul further states that the purpose of miracles is to validate God's appointed spokesmen in certain eras when he insists that his apostleship was so validated (2 Corinthians 12:12). The author of Hebrews declares the same purpose in Hebrews 2:1-4: God testified to the truth of the Apostles' preaching by "signs and wonders and various miracles."  So, we see that the purpose behind the miraculous signs was to validate the messengers of certain eras as God's spokesmen. Today, we do not need miracles or signs or wonders to validate our message. We have the Bible, and our message is valid to the extent that it aligns with God's Word. 

We can answer the question another way as well. We might ask If the miraculous signs are still available through the Spirit today, where are they? In answer we would have to evaluate what we see happening in the name of miraculous gifts as to whether or not it is really authentically from God. Note: Not everything that is supernatural is from God! It is dangerous to assume that something that appears to be miraculous is actually a work of God. Remember, Pharaoh's magicians duplicated some of Moses' initial miracles. Satanic and demonic powers are able to produce counterfeit miracles. As such, it is not sufficient to say something miraculous has happened; we must assess it by Scripture to see if it is of God.

For example, take the gift of tongues. In the Bible, everywhere this gift is described it is a real known language (See: Acts 2:11). It is also prescribed that where tongues happen, there must be an order to the speaking, and an interpreter (1 Corinthians 14:26-28). Without an interpreter, the gift is not to be displayed.  When we assess what is happening prominently in America under the banner of "tongues" we do not find either a known language, nor an interpreter in the vast majority of cases. Some argue that they are speaking in "tongues of angels" referring to Paul's phrase in 1 Corinthians 13:1 as though "angelic" speech is unintelligible. But, a careful reading of the text shows that Paul says "tongues of men and angels (emphasis mine), showing that the angelic speech and that of man are more alike than different. Add to this the fact that everywhere we hear an angel speak in Scripture it is in a known and understandable language.  There is absolutely no evidence of any kind of angelic language that is just so many nonsense syllables, as is the case in every instance of so-called "tongues" speaking in America today. 

But, what was the purpose of tongues in the first place? Paul tells us that they were for a 'sign' - not for believers but for unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22). That is, they were for the purpose of validating the spokesman in the face of those who did not speak the spokesman's language. I maintain that this gift is no longer needed in our country, or in the vast majority of the world's neighborhoods since there is always the presence of a known language. However, if the circumstances were to arise where a Gospel speaker encountered a people group with an unknown language, and God were to grant that speaker the gift to speak in the language of the people, I think that would be great!

Q2: And if not, what is it that many Christians have experienced since the Azusa Street Revival?

In answering this, it must be said that revival is not a spiritual gift; rather it is the supernatural movement of the Spirit in bringing many to a conviction of sin, and to saving faith. Revivals are often accompanied by large-scale conviction of sin, evident ridding of the lives of those involved of sinful possessions and habits, an increased dependence on and delight in prayer, and other external emotional activities. However, there is no evidence that true revival necessitates the expression of miraculous gifts.

First, I remind you that not everything that appears supernatural or claims God as its source is actually from God. Apparently this was part of the problem in Corinth. Paul has to remind the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11:12ff that there were "false apostles" who were going about disguised as true teachers of God's truth. When we remember the power that Pharaoh's magicians had, we also reasonably assume that these false apostles were able to - at some level - produce counterfeit "signs wonders and miracles." They may not have been truly supernatural, although they could have been as well. All this means that some or all of what many are asserting are the evidence of miraculous gifts may not be.

It is also the case that many well-meaning Christians, having been erroneously taught that speaking in tongues for example, is a necessary sign of the indwelling Spirit, may become so intent on attaining the "sign" of tongues speaking that they become hyper-suggestible, and "produce" the external effect without it being an authentic expression of the Spirit. This is true is a large percentage of cases where Christians are actually taught how to speak in tongues. They are told to repeat nonsense syllables until there speech becomes "free-flowing". They, they are told, is the Spirit giving them the gift of tongues. As stated above, this is not the authentic gift of tongues for it does not align with the requirements given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14.

In summary, some of what is experienced may be demonic, some may be the result of intense desire combined with hyper-sensitivity. Thirdly, some is just plain fake. Some leaders fake healings and have been exposed down through the years. Some fake tongues, or other miraculous displays, and often go unexposed. Thousands every year give money in support of charlatans who claim to have miraculous powers. 

Lastly, another way to assess the question of sign gifts is to assess the Gospel message that accompanies it. It is reasonable to believe that, if God gives miraculous powers to a man, He will also make sure that those powers are not validating a guy whose Gospel is skewed. Yet, I know of no preacher who relies on miraculous gifts as part of his ministry who is also preaching and living the pure Gospel of grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. Where the Gospel is missing, no amount of parlor magic can make up for it.

A Final Word: I am convinced that the miraculous gifts are no longer extant in our civilized world. I am also convinced that there may be a time and place where God may again institute them for His own purposes in validating a spokesman in a place where conventional means of communication and validation are unavailable. Further, I am convinced that there are many warm-hearted and dedicated believers who, being poorly taught, are seeking to follow Christ and believe that speaking in tongues is a necessary part of following Him closely and appropriately. With these folks I have no quarrel, and I hope that someday they will come to find the better path. It is with those who teach erroneous doctrine for the purpose of "lording" it over those allotted to their charge that I have big problems. Those whose ministries are largely built on the power of miraculous gifts too often hold their people in a sort of mystical bondage, by suggesting that they - the leaders - have a special power, and the people are therefore totally dependent upon them and their insights. This is not only wrong but dangerous. It breaks down the fact that the only Senior Pastor is Christ Himself, and all those united by faith with Christ have all they need.