Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20050206.htm

APPLYING OUR CHURCH'S STATEMENT OF BIBLICAL FAITH
Article III, Part XI Of The Nepaug Bible Church Bylaws: Spiritual Gifts
(Ephesians 4:11-16 et al.)
  1. Introduction
    1. Some claim the spiritual gifts God gives believers such as tongues speaking and healing were given not only for the Early Church, but for us, R. Lightner, Speaking In Tongues And Divine Healing , p. 16-17, 34.
    2. However, Article III, Part XI of our Church's Bylaws reads: "We believe that God has instituted spiritual gifts to all believers in the local church for today's ministry of building up the saints in love for the work of the ministry. We believe that God admonishes us to excel in the use of such enablings for His glory. However, we do not teach or practice any spiritual gift or so-called spiritual gift that is not practiced or taught in the way the autograph manuscripts of Scripture present spiritual gifts. Consequently, we believe that the sign gifts given to the infant church no longer exist in the church today." We view Scriptures for clarification of this stand:
  2. Spiritual Gifts, Ephesians 4:11-16 et al.
    1. On the one hand, God has decided which gift to give to each believer (1 Cor. 12:11; 1 Pet. 4:10) so he can spiritually edify all other believers as he ministers by way of that gift in the local church, Eph. 4:11-16.
    2. Thus, each believer is to excel in the development and use of his God-given, spiritual gift (2 Tim. 1:6-7) to build up the saints in the local church in love unto a mature man in Christ (Ephesians 4:11-15).
    3. On the other hand, the sign gifts of speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing, prophecy and miracles have ceased by all Scripture evidences, and should have ceased in accord with Bible teaching:
      1. The evidences of the sign gifts of speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing, prophecy and miracles that existed in the Early, New Testament era Church no longer appear as such today:
        1. The gifts of tongues speaking and interpreting them in the Early Church were supernatural abilities to declare God's truths in other human languages to others or to interpret them supernaturally according to Acts 2:4, 7-11. However, there is no proof any such practices TRULY occur today.
        2. The gifts of prophecy, healing and miracles in the Early Church were gifts where each utterance, healing or miracle attempted was always perfectly successful in accord with Scripture, Deut. 18:21-22; 13:1-3; Rom. 12:6b NIV. Yet, there is no proof of any such events occur today.
        3. Rather, these gifts were performed with the Holy Spirit's love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control in contrast to many such attempts today, Gal. 5:22-23.
      2. Scripture reveals these "sign" gifts should cease today since God is not now working through Israel:
        1. Numbers 11:25 reveals that when God took of His Spirit that was on Moses and gave it to Israel's elders, they prophesied, but that they did not continue to do so!
        2. In the same vein, tongues speaking in the Early Church has its basis in the Mosaic Covenant to Israel, for Deut. 28:49 in light of Isa. 28:9-11 as explained by 1 Cor. 14:21-25 reveal God would signal judgment on Israel by the sign of God's ministering to them in Gentile languages as occurred in Acts 2! No wonder many Hebrews repented in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when Peter explained their need to do so to avoid judgment as a nation, Acts 2:36-40, 4.
        3. The fact that tongues are a sign to Israel explains why tongues speaking in Acts always occurs when Hebrews are present: (1) In Acts 2:1-11, it proves to Hebrews God was at work in Hebrew Christians; (2) in Acts 8:14-17, it proves to Hebrews that God was at work in part-Hebrew, Samaritan Christians; (3) in Acts 10:1-48, it proves to Hebrews that God was at work in fully Gentile Christians; (4) in Acts 19:1-7, it proves to Hebrews that God was at work in previously untaught Hebrews who later came to faith in Christ.
      3. Hebrews 2:3-4 possibly indicates these "sign" gifts to Israel HAD CEASED by the time this epistle was penned (even before the fall of Jersualem in A. D. 70, cf. Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, 1978 ed., p. 1729).
Lesson: God has given every believer at least one supernatural gift to serve Him in building up His Church, but the "sign" gifts of tongues speaking, interpreting tongues, healing, miracles and prophecy have CEASED in accord with God's ceasing to prove to the Jewish nation the Church is truly of God.

Application: May we USE the Scripturally VALID spiritual gifts God gives us to edify Christ's Body.