GIFTS AND MIRACLES IN THE FIRST CENTURY
When the church began on earth, those nine miraculous gifts helped confirm the word and will
of God. Those were miracles, in which God allowed supernatural acts. Those gifts continued
until the written new testament was completed. After the first century, those special gifts had
ceased. To claim such gifts today is against God. The fulfilled purpose, which is better, has
come. That is the perfect law of liberty, written in scripture, which is the gospel of Christ.
Theme: What man needed, God supplied. "...God shall supply all your
need...", PHILIPPIANS 4:19.
[Note: As usual in the Bible "man" here is generic (1 Timothy 2:4, Greek
anthropos, as in anthropology) thus meaning mankind, male and female
(Contrast with Greek aner in 1 Timothy 2:12, meaning male).
Christ, the "Son of Man", to show the way back to God. LUKE 19:10.
gospel of Christ, "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." ROMANS 1:16.
his "own language". GOD SUPPLIED: "Galileans" (apostles) whom God
enabled to "speak with other tongues". ACTS 2:1-21; JOEL 2:28-32.
"Tongues" here means "languages". In order for the gospel to be understood
by people of all nations, God enabled some to speak foreign languages which
they had never studied. Speaking in tongues means speaking in other
languages. Such gifts of miracles were to benefit disciples in the first century.
of both Jew (circumcised) and Gentile (uncircumcised) into the church of
Christ. GOD SUPPLIED: The "like gift" to Gentiles (ACTS 10:45; 11:17) as He
had given to the Jewish apostles "at the beginning" (ACTS 11:15). ACTS
10:15,28,34,35,45,46; ACTS 2:1ff; 11:1-18.
spiritual gifts, which were used by God to bring the early church into perfect
maturity. GOD SUPPLIED: The knowledge that "For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles ..." 1
CORINTHIANS 12:1,8-13; EPHESIANS 4:4-6.
part", and that the spiritual gift of prophecy was only "in part", etc. GOD
SUPPLIED: "That which is perfect", which is "the perfect law of liberty". This is
the complete written new testament law of Christ, which is the fulfillment of all
nine miraculous gifts (1 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10), including tongues
(languages). 1 CORINTHIANS 13:10; JAMES 1:25.
bring man the salvation that he needed. So they did not need to recruit
language interpreters.
nature to covet the power of the Giver, instead of obeying the purpose of
the gift. (Examples: money, position, sex, intelligence - all wonderful benefits,
but all very misused by sinful man).
through international language barriers; (2) Overcome hatred between Jews
and Gentiles; and (3) Guide the church until the new testament was written.
"...tongues, they shall cease" (1 CORINTHIANS 13:8). The new testament had
been published and written down for the whole world to read (EPHESIANS
3:1-6). Today, the tongues gift is no longer needed, no longer authorized, and
no longer possible. (Note: Whatever claims of miracles man makes after the
first century are not "gifts" as God used in first century.)
they are causing problems in communication. During the early years of the
church, God used the gift of languages for solving problems in communication
what people see, nor what people say. Our faith must be rooted in what God
said. The following passages reveal some scary truths about "unexplainable
events". The question is not even "what happened?" The question is, "What is
God's will for me? 2 THESSALONIANS 2:9,11; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7;
ROMANS 10:17; GALATIANS 1:6-9.
century in order to: Solve the language problem; Brake down the barrier of
prejudice between Jews and Gentiles who would become Christians, and;
Reveal and confirm the word until there came "a more sure word of prophecy"
(2 PETER 1:19) when the new testament was written.