BECAUSE OF ITS TEACHING ON SPIRITUAL GIFTS

The subject of the Holy Spirit is one of the most misunderstood of all religious topics. Many people claim to have it, but do not know in what measure they have it. Others say that it is impossible to get it at all, and still others say that only a select few can obtain it. And then there is disagreement about how one will react if he does have it. All in all, a thorough study of the question is badly needed. For that reason, we propose to review it in this study.

THE COMMON GIFT OF THE SPIRIT.

By the common gift, we mean the gift common to all who obey the gospel. This gift is mentioned in the following passages: Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' " Galatians 4:6, "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'" Also, Acts 5:32, "And we are His witnesses to these things, and [so] also [is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

It is evident that every obedient child of God receives the Spirit. It is received at baptism. This common gift was not supernatural in any way nor the natural effect of entering into the fellowship or name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit-clothing put on at baptism, Romans 8:9. In Ephesians 1:13-14, we are told that this clothing is part payment in advance of the ultimate and ideal clothing of eternity. The Berkley Version of Ephesians 1:13-14 reads as follows, "In him you also listening to the message of truth, the gospel of our salvation, have as believers in him been stamp-marked with the promised--Holy Spirit, who is the pledge-deposit of our legacy for the releasing of our deed of purchase and all to the praise of his glory." This then is what we mean by the common gift of the Spirit.

THE GIFT THROUGH THE LAYING ON OF HANDS.

This gift of the Spirit is entirely distinct from the one just noticed. The above gift always immediately followed baptism. The laying on of hands always imparted supernatural power; the gift just discussed never imparted supernatural power. ONLY APOSTLES COULD IMPART THIS GIFT. IT WAS IMPARTED THROUGH THE LAYING ON OF AN APOSTLE'S HANDS. There were nine such gifts. Let us read 1 Corinthians 12:8-12, then we will outline the nine for you. "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another [different] kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also [is] Christ."

The nine gifts may be outlined as follows:

Let us now find an example of this type of gift of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Acts 8:14-19, "Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.' " This is an example of the apostles laying hands on people and imparting the power of the Holy Spirit unto them. Realizing the possible gain from such, Simon wanted to buy the power. But, of course, he could not. We need to emphasize the fact that nobody besides the apostles had this power. In other words, no one else could impart these gifts.

Next, we want to study the highest form of spiritual gifts. This involves the:

BAPTISMAL MEASURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

To begin with, let us remember this is the ultimate gift of the Spirit. It was never imparted to anybody at any time but always came directly from God. It was never commanded of anyone but was merely a promise to the apostles. Thus, those who claim that a reception of it is necessary to salvation, just do not understand the teaching of the Bible on this subject. There are only two cases of it in the entire Bible. Let us notice both of them carefully: Acts 2:1-5, "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and [one] sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven." This case of Holy Spirit baptism is given to the apostles only. It enabled them to preach and perform miracles in spreading the gospel of the kingdom. They also spoke in "other tongues." I might add that the other tongues happened to be other languages. By the power of the Spirit, they could speak foreign languages they had not studied or spoken before; however, this speaking in tongues was not some nonsense neither they nor anyone else could understand. It was not some jabber incoherent to both speaker and hearer. But those who heard understood.

The next case of Holy Spirit baptism is in Acts 10:44-48 and takes place at the conversion of Cornelius and his house. The purpose is to show that God has accepted the Gentiles. Note, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 'Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we [have]?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days."

These are the two cases of Holy Spirit Baptism in the New Testament. There are no other examples of it. To confuse this gift of the Spirit with the other two is a very serious mistake. And the fact that this has been done is responsible for much of the confusion in the world today.

We should be ready now for some basic, fundamental reasoning. Since the apostles and those in Acts 10 are the only ones who ever received Holy Spirit baptism, we have no reason for supposing that it still exists today. No one except the apostles were ever promised it. It never was a general promise to all people. Also, since the apostles were the only ones who could lay hands on a person and impart spiritual gifts, it logically follows that when the last apostle died, this power ceased. When the last man upon whom an apostle had laid hands died, there were no longer miraculous manifestations of the Spirit in existence. This leaves only the common gift of the Spirit in existence today--that gift that every obedient baptized believer receives. Remember, however, that even in the days of the apostles this common gift carried no miraculous power with it. Thus, there is no reason to assume that it carries any with it today.

But, someone says, "I thought there are still people who claim to have the power to heal and speak in tongues." This is true. There are people who claim this power. But the question is, do they really have it? The answer is "no." If they have it, it comes from some source other than the Lord because spiritual gifts in a miraculous sense have ceased. They simply do not have the power to do what they claim.

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