A passage of scripture which has intrigued most Bible readers and become the motto of
"And Jesus said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And
Today large numbers of people are deceiving and being deceived on the subject of miraculous signs, and it is hoped that this tract will do something to promote the truth.
The first thing that should be made clear is this: in the days of the apostles, there were two distinct areas of administration of the Holy Spirit. These two administrations or dispensations may
1. the common gift of the Holy Spirit
2. the miraculous gifts
If we just take for granted that whenever the Scripture speaks of receiving the Holy Spirit it always refers to the same thing, we cannot hope to get straight the scriptural facts about miraculous signs. We must realise that there were two entirely different ways in which the Holy Spirit was received. There was the common gift that is in a category by itself, and there was Holy Spirit baptism and the miraculous spiritual gifts that are in a different
Dealing first with the common gift,
"Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto...all"
Here it is made clear that everyone baptised in the name of Christ
Keeping in mind that there were different administrations of the Spirit, we pass next to the group of special spiritual gifts. In this connection
"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations..."
There were two operations that were like breathing air and drinking water to the early church; upon these two operations the church
The young church's power was not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth..."
The two operations of revealing and confirming the word of God were done through the spiritual gifts; hence the description "miraculous gifts". These gifts were operative in, and used only in connection with, revealing and
The nine gifts
Through the operation of the special gifts, more and more of God's word was revealed and confirmed. This brings us to an extremely important observation. The time came when God's word was revealed and confirmed in its entirety. Both revelation and confirmation were accomplished fully. The miraculous gifts had done their job. The faith was "once for all delivered unto the saints"
So the jigsaw puzzle was complete and the picture finally revealed in its entirety. Piece by piece the word of God was revealed and confirmed until the piecemeal ministry of miraculous gifts was eventually replaced by the written scriptures, perfect and complete. Today, the New Testament Scriptures render the spiritual gifts inoperative. God's word is perfect now, revealed not in part but in whole. Looking forward
"Love never fails; but where there are prophecies, they shall be done away; where there are tongues, they shall cease; where there is knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophecy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away"
There is another reason why the miraculous gifts, and consequently the signs, do not obtain today. We have noticed their purpose and found it no longer exists. Now we should notice the means by which these gifts were imparted. We shall see that the means of receiving the gifts, like their purpose, no longer exists. If
1. Philip preached in Samaria confirming the word with signs
2. Many believed and were baptised
3. Yet we read that they had not received the Holy Spirit and did not until the apostles' hands were laid upon them. "As yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus" must be taken to mean that as yet they had received only the common gift of the Spirit. When Peter and John, two apostles, came from Jerusalem and laid their hands on the new converts, the Holy Spirit was received in a special way. This was a dispensation of the Holy Spirit in a different category altogether from the common gift. What the apostles conferred through their hands were the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. They could not be imparted through baptism. Philip, who worked many signs, could not impart the Holy Spirit in this way. That this was the imparting of the miraculous gifts is evidenced by the attendant signs that were so visibly impressive. "When Simon saw" the operation of these gifts from the apostles' hands, he wished to buy the power to impart through his hands the Holy Spirit as the apostles did
What were the means of imparting the miraculous gifts? The laying on of the hands of an apostle. While we can all be baptised and receive the common gift of the Spirit, no one can have an apostle's hand laid on him to receive the miraculous gifts, because the apostles
The miraculous gifts have passed away because the purposes and means of receiving them
Those baptised in the Holy Spirit evidently possessed every one of the miraculous gifts. This baptism was received by the apostles at Pentecost
In connection with causes and reasons quite apart from miraculous gifts, the hand of God continues to work before our eyes today. While God no longer reveals and confirms his word, those works having been done, He still performs acts of grace and love. The Lord was working with the early Christians, and he still works with us today: for lo, he is with us alway, even unto the end of the world
When we pray, we can behold God's answering hand working. Untold things are wrought through prayer, including much
When we preach the gospel to the hearts of men, we see greater works than any seen when early Christians confirmed the gospel before the eyes of men. What God does to a man's soul through the preaching of the word is probably what Jesus referred to when he said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do..."
"Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name have done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity
In the following words with which we close, we see a possibility that with the help of Satan, there may be false prophets today who "shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect"
This tract is unchanged from the original published in 1965, except for these two alterations: 'Holy Ghost' has been changed to 'Holy Spirit', and 'operative gifts' has been