in Understanding Miraculous Gifts
Many different ideas have been taught regarding the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let's try to take a brief, but hopefully careful look at scripture.
To prevent misunderstanding this article due to having a different organization of understanding, let me begin by making a few observations. When the New Testament describes the interaction of the Holy Spirit with believers, it does so using the language of at least three different ideas:
1) The Holy Spirit is promised to the believer as a guarantee (Acts 5:32, Ephesians 1:13-14. In view of Acts 5:32, perhaps Acts 2:38 should also be understood in this manner.)2) Some believers possess the power of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles which are distributed as gifts according to the Spirit's will, (1 Corinthians 12:9-11; Hebrews 2:3-4)
3) Some believers have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit whereby the Spirit descended upon and overwhelmed that person. (Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 33; 10:44-46; 11:15-16)
Furthermore, as we study the New Testament, it appears that following Christ's resurrection and with the start of the church, those who are described as possessing a supernatural gift from the Spirit experienced one of two events:
1) Either they were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; 10:44, 46),2) Or an apostle had laid his hands upon that individual (Acts 19:6; 6:5-6, 8; 8:5-7)
Baptism with the Holy Spirit
All of the Gospels record John the baptizer preaching that Jesus would baptize with the Spirit. Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:34 Although Jesus gave the apostles power to cast out demons and the Gospel of John records that Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles (John 20:22), yet the first fulfillment of the prophecy that Jesus would immerse with the Holy Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost. Acts 1:2-5 On that day, the Spirit descended filling the room with his presence and resting upon the apostles, all of whom were Jews, enabling them to speak in languages which they had not previously studied. Acts 2:2-12
The New Testament only identifies one other time in which the "baptism with the Holy Spirit" occurred. Acts 11:15-17 describes the Holy Spirit's descent upon the Gentile household of Cornelius in Acts 10:44-47 as being a baptism in the Holy Spirit. As on the day of Pentecost, following the Spirit's descent, Cornelius' family began to speak in tongues even though no apostle had laid his hands upon them.
Acts 11 suggests that this baptism in the Holy Spirit was not a common occurrence in the life of the early church. Although years had passed since the start of the church on Pentecost, Peter could only say, "the Holy Spirit fell on them (Cornelius' household) just as upon us at the beginning." This last phrase indicates that this baptism had not been a common recurring event. If it had been a common experience, one would expect Peter to have said something along the lines of "the Holy Spirit fell on them just as it has been falling upon us." If it had been a common experience, Peter's statement does not make any sense since his stated goal was to focus upon this baptism with the Spirit as being a sign of God's approval (Acts 11:17). He gained nothing by singling out Pentecost. The text suggests that the baptism in the Holy Spirit had only occurred once before and this was on the day of Pentecost.
The baptism with the Holy Spirit is only recorded as occurring twice in all of the history which Acts covers: once upon the Jews and once upon the Gentiles. In both instances, Peter preached the gospel for the first time to a different category of people thus opening the kingdom gates to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. On both occasions, God demonstrated his approval of the occasion by pouring out his Spirit to fill and overwhelm first the Jews and then the Gentiles.
Sometimes 1 Corinthians 12:13 is mistakenly interpreted as referring to the baptism with the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 does not describe the believer being immersed with the Spirit, rather it points to the work of the Spirit in uniting Christ with Christians and Christians into the body of Christ. Since it is upon water immersion as a faith response to the Gospel that a person is added to the saved body of Christ (Galatians 3:26-27; Acts 2:37-41; 8:12), it was only appropriate for Paul to describe the Spirit's work in adding someone to the body of Christ as baptizing that person into Christ's one body.
Laying on of the Apostle's Hands
The Samaritans
What type of reception of the Spirit was being given in Acts 8 to the Samaritans through the laying on the apostles' hands? Was this the indwelling Spirit or were they receiving the powers of the Spirit?
Since Romans 8:9-11 teaches that all Christians must have the Spirit of God or they do not belong to Christ and if people become God's children as a result of the trusting in Christ involved in baptism (Gal. 3:26-27), then upon being baptized a person must be receiving the Spirit. Otherwise the impossible scenario is created of someone being a child of God without possessing the Spirit of God or belonging to Christ! This understanding is supported by Paul's question in Acts 19:2-3 which indicates that a relationship exists between baptism and receiving the Spirit.
In light of Acts 5:32, further substantiation that the Spirit is given at the time of baptism may be supported by Acts 2:38 where the gift of the Spirit is promised to those who are baptized. It is also possible, however, that Acts 2:38 is teaching that upon baptism the believer is receiving the gift that comes from the Spirit, namely salvation. But regardless of whether this verse is teaching the reception of the Spirit at the time of baptism or receiving the Spirit's gift of salvation upon baptism, it is certainly true in light of a contextual understanding of Romans 8:9-11, Galatians 3:26-27, Acts 19:1-3, etc that upon baptism believers receive the Spirit.
In view of this, it would be strange indeed if the Samaritans' legitimate baptism had not resulted in their receiving the indwelling Spirit. If the Samaritans had already received the indwelling Spirit upon their being baptized, then through the imputation of the apostle's hands the Samaritans were receiving a different aspect of the Spirit - such as the power of the Spirit to do miracles. Thus, they had only been baptized and had not yet received the Spirit (Acts 8:16) which was to be given to both men and women in the latter days (Acts 2:17-19).
With this background in mind, the story of Philip becomes very enlightening. In Acts 6:3-5, Philip is described as one of those men whose life testified that he was living by the Spirit. He was filled with the fruits of the Spirit. After the apostles laid their hands upon him (Acts 6:6), we read that Philip was able to cast out unclean spirits, heal both the lame and the paralyzed (Acts 8:6-7) as well as perform "signs and great miracles" (Acts 8:13).
But what is so revealing about this story of Philip is that those whom Philip converted were not able to perform these same miracles he was doing. Although Philip could perform miracles he could not pass on this ability to anyone else. For this reason, two of the apostles traveled to Samaria to lay their hands upon these new converts in order that they might receive the Spirit. Acts 8:14-17 Simon accurately perceived that it was through the apostles laying their hands upon a person that the believers were receiving the Spirit. Acts 8:18 Having been accustomed to the recognition which comes from being the highly visible and admired one, he desired this power of the apostles which would set him apart from the average believer.
Paul's habit of laying his hands on the disciples
This ability of the apostles to pass forward the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, seems to have led Paul to have formed a particular habit when he traveled. Apparently, whenever Paul met a group of disciples, he would ask them if they had received the Spirit. If they had not yet received the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, he would then lay his hands upon them.
In Acts 19:1-7, Luke records that this custom of Paul brought him into a surprising situation. Upon asking some disciples in Ephesus if they had received the Spirit, they responded "what Spirit?" This confused Paul. Since baptism in the name of Jesus leads to receiving the gift of the Spirit, how could any disciple not know about the Spirit? Paul's question reflects his confusion, "what baptism then did you receive" which indicates his understanding that baptism in the name of Jesus is associated with reception of the Spirit. Upon discovering that these men had not yet been baptized into the name of Jesus, he rebaptized them. Accordingly, they should have then received the gift of the Spirit. Paul then proceeded to lay his hands upon them which enabled them to speak in tongues.
This suggests that the language of "receiving the Spirit" refers to receiving the power of the Spirit and not the Spirit Himself. If this is not true, then why would Paul be in the habit of asking Christians if they had received the Spirit (meaning the Spirit Himself) since the Spirit was already given at the time of their baptism?
In understanding the scriptural context of the Spirit enabling people to perform miraculous signs, one can not ignore the significance of Acts 8 and 19. Although many different leaders of the church might lay their hands upon someone for many different reasons, it was the apostles who could pass on reception of the powers of the Spirit through their laying on of hands.
The Letters of Paul
Considering that we learn from Acts 19 of Paul's apparent custom to lay his hands upon believers wherever he traveled, it is reasonable to conclude that in cities like Corinth where Paul spent several years he would have laid his hands upon many of those brethren. This insight should raise within us the awareness that our context is not like that of the Corinthian church since none of us has had the hands of an apostle laid upon us. Given this background, it would appear to be presumptuous to assume that what Paul wrote to various congregations and individuals upon whom he had laid his hands would also necessarily apply to us.
Paul's first letter to Corinth dealt with their specific situation and their problems which had arisen due to inflated egos possessing certain gifts of the Spirit. There is nothing in 1 Corinthians which indicates that Paul anticipated that these types of problems with gifts would be experienced by all Christians throughout all time. In fact, he suggests the exact opposite.
These Things Will Disappear
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul listed some of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit and foretold of the day when these things would end. 1 Corinthians. 13:8-9 Although the human imagination and pride is often infatuated with obtaining and possessing power, Paul tried to focus the Corinthians upon a better way. The way of love.
Paul indicated that when "the perfect comes" these miraculous gifts will be done away. It would seem that by "perfect" Paul does not have in mind Jesus' return but something prior to his coming, since what remains after the gifts have ceased are "faith, hope and love." In other words, when the perfect comes there will yet remain faith, hope and love. Yet when Jesus returns both hope and faith will be transformed, as hope becomes reception and faith changes to sight. Rom. 8:24,25; Heb. 11:1 Therefore Paul described a time in which the miraculous gifts would disappear, but Christians would continue to live with faith, hope and love as three anchors for the Christian life. This leads us to conclude that sometime before Christ returns the miraculous gifts of the Spirit will have ceased.
Pulling It All Together
Our desire must be to neither limit nor expand the biblical teaching regarding the Spirit.Whether someone might judge another's understanding of the Spirit and the Spirit's work as either being limiting or expansive is not significant. What is important is to understand the message which a consistent understanding of scripture portrays regarding the Spirit's work.
Jesus statements in John 14:25-26 and John 16:13-15 concerning specific promises of the Holy Spirit's activity were directed to the apostles. The New Testament is itself testimony that these promises were fulfilled. To assume that these verses should be applied to all Christians, is to go beyond the context. This is clear because the Holy Spirit was to bring to their remembrance what Jesus had spoken while he was with them. Obviously, this can not be true of anyone living today.
The prophecy quoted by Peter in Acts 2:17-18 that God would pour out His Spirit on all mankind so that the sons and daughters would prophesy has been fulfilled. Beginning on the day of Pentecost with the baptism of the Holy Spirit which was later followed by the second baptism of the Holy Spirit upon the Gentile household of Cornelius as well as the various out pourings of the Holy Spirit upon believers through the laying on of the apostle's hands, both men and women, Jews and Gentiles have experienced the miraculous powers of the Spirit. But this power was not the goal. Although the Spirit has been and still is at work, the message is not focused upon the Spirit but rather upon the Son. The miraculous powers of the Spirit were signs to confirm the word being spoken (Hebrews 2:3-4; 1 Corinthians 14:24) and to build up the fledging new body of Christ to maturity (1 Corinthians 14:12; 12:7-11).
Since within scripture the baptism of the Holy Spirit is only said to have occurred twice and both occasions were associated with the opening of the kingdom to either the Jews or the Gentiles, and since the laying on the apostle's hands is no longer possible, plus there is no other means described in scripture whereby one might receive these powers of the Spirit, is it not reasonable to conclude that with the death of the last apostle the miraculous gifts would have ceased to be passed on to new individuals? Seeing that this appears to be true, it would be erroneous to assume that what Paul wrote to those congregations concerning miraculous gifts must also apply to us today.
Any Bible believing person should believe in the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. For the person who accepts Scripture as the word of God, the question is not whether one believes in the Holy Spirit and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. A real question for today is "does scripture indicate that I should believe that all Christians throughout all time will be receiving these miraculous gifts of the Spirit?" Instead of scripture claiming "yes," we read where these miraculous gifts will cease while faith and hope will still endure. When Jesus returns, faith will become sight and what is hoped for will be received. Thus, there is a time before Christ's return when faith and hope are still enduring but miraculous gifts will have ceased.
But What About Personal Experience?
Personal experience which agrees with the scripture is a very good thing. Personal experience which goes beyond the teachings of scripture is very dangerous. Although personal experience might validate "something happened," it can not provide the basis for an accurate interpretation of that experience.
Both from the Old Testament as well as from the New Testament, the believer in God is warned against following someone or a teaching just because of a supernatural sign, a vision or a miracle has transpired. Read carefully these verses: Deuteronomy 13:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Galatians 1:6-9; Matthew 7:21-23; 24:24. Furthermore, Satan and his servants do not appear as those who are evil, but as "servants of righteousness" and "an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
So what's the point? In these very texts, the key is given that we need to be devoted to loving what is true. For it is those who love truth and seek to do the Father's will who will be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; Matthew 7:21 In fact, God has even warned that those who would prefer to go after signs instead of seeking His truth can be lost. At least in some situations, Paul warned that God will "send them a strong delusion" so that they will believe a lie. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
It has been my experience in talking with people that ultimately the discussion comes down to, "am I going to believe scripture as my authority or do I want to believe my own interpretation of some personal experience as the basis of my authority?" God has already given us his answer as to how we ought to respond to this question.
When Jesus performed miracles and as the Holy Spirit was poured out in miraculous ways upon the early church, all of this occurred within the parameters of scripture. Scripture pointed to and foretold these events. Such is not the case today. On the contrary, we have been told that these things will end.
If anyone wants to be contentious about this, is not the bottomline how much do we love the truth which God has revealed?
Barry Newton, Copyright © 1999, 2000