Spiritual Gifts for All Times
The scriptures in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, and 1 Peter 4:10-11 speak about the spiritual gifts of the Spirit. These spiritual gifts are: prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, grace, miraculous powers, distinguishing between spirits, speaking of tongues and interpretation of tongues. The spiritual gifts are given “so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12:25). And “that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 peter 4:11)
The spiritual gifts were given to the early church and are given to today’s church for the common good or advantage of the church as a whole, though personal benefit is not excluded (1 Corinthians 4 14:4, 12). These gifts are bestowed to meet specific needs of the church and in special situations. The spiritual gifts of the Spirit did not end with the apostles. The Lord wants to bless His people today. And He will certainly not withhold any good thing from them if He sees that they needed it (Psalm 84:11).
Jesus said, “ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for [e]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:9-13).
Why the Early Church Received More Gifts Than Today’s Church?
In the wisdom and mercy of God, the church at Corinth received a generous grant of gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7) more so than churches today because these supernatural manifestations confirmed the faith of the early believers, who did not have the historical evidence of the power of Christianity that believers have today. Modern believers are blessed with an ample supply of resources and witnesses to base their faith on.
Another reason for God giving liberal gifts to the early church was because the church didn’t have trained and experienced leadership or men skilled in the Word of God. Also, Bibles, consisting of only the Old Testament, were rare. Therefore, to supply the lack and to provide for the need, supernatural gifts were given more liberally then.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
