What Could Be Better Than the Gift of Healing?
Spoiler Alert
Healings, as seen on TV, are not of God, or in alignment with any part of the Bible.
The sermon this Sunday focused on what the Bible says about four amazing spiritual gifts: prophecy, tongues, healing and miracles. Each of them is stamped with an expiration date.
1 Corinthians 13:8 — 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.
The question is WHEN?
When you consider their purpose, the answer becomes clear. Broadly speaking, these spectacular gifts were given to:
- authenticate God’s messengers
- function as a sign of judgment on unbelieving Jews
- edify and mature a church that lacked a complete canon
As each gift’s purposes were achieved, so each sign gift then faded.
A spiritual gift is a unique and supernatural gift, given by God through His Spirit, so that you might fulfill certain tasks that God has called you to do.
To say that that the gift of prophesy or miracles has ceased does NOT mean that God can’t still speak through someone, heal someone, do a miracle, etc. Instead, individuals within the church are no longer specially gifted with the ability to prophesy, speak in tongues, interpret tongues, heal others, or do miracles.
Want the Scriptural support for all this? Then listen to Sunday’s sermon and read through FBC’s doctrinal statement.
What you really should be asking is not ‘when?’ but WHY?!
Prophecy. Tongues. Healing. Miracles. Those are some pretty spectacularly amazing gifts that provided amazing street-cred to the men who God had so gifted.
Hebrews 2:3–4 » After (the message of salvation) was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
2 Corinthians 12:12 — The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.
God was actively endorsing certain men with supernatural works so that their message would be heard and believed. Why in the world would he stop that?! Today, the message of salvation through Jesus is frequently rejected. Scripture says that the early church was growing quickly as people saw signs and wonders and then heard the call to put their hope in Jesus Christ (e.g., Acts 6:7–8).
Why did God not continue to gift people
with SUPERNATURAL power?!
Answer = the canon was completed
As Jude 3 says, “the faith was once for all handed down to the saints.” By the end of the first century, those inspired letters were being distributed and spread among the churches.
What caused the sign gifts to fade to an end? God completed the very Bible that today may be sitting dusty on a shelf in your home.
God believed that the written Word would be more convicting than prophesy, more self-attesting than miracles, more helpful than healings and more understandable than tongues.
The sign gifts are not for today, but God still speaks. Every day, he actively speaks to Christians, all around the world. Now he speaks through the Bible. The Bible you hold is the living and active Word of God (cf., Hebrews 4:12). It is a priceless treasure that is available to you in your own language, in a variety of good translations, with study notes available, available 24/7 to anyone with a smart phone or computer.
Romans 15:4 » For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Could it be that you’ve been reading it wrong?
