Why I Am a Cessationist

[Johann]

You shouldn't trust your emotions. Alot of "gifts" going around aren't really "gifts". they are counterfeits designed to make us feel good.

No worries brother, please don't give it another thought, and I apologize too if I came across as being miffed at times. Amen about emotions, me either. We have emotions, they are a valid part in general of this vessel God created....but we don't live by them. We obey the Lord, not our emotions if our emotions are out of line in anything. I believe like any part of us our emotions need a little care, and to be healed as needed and sanctified and brought under His rule. The Lord knows how this life can be tough and treat us roughly and we develop ways of coping when young, trying to protect ourselves because we got hurt. He has grace for that, and is not a harsh taskmaster "out to get us" and catch us in a fault, and He does care about His children and wants to help us get sorted out. It's all part of the sanctification journey, how I see it anyway, for His sake and glory as well. I've been hurt and wounded in this life too (think a lot of us have been) and am a fellow pilgrim in the process.

Think I'm beginning to see that we have been at cross-purposes, at least to some extent in this topic of cessationism, if I'm not mistaken..? Maybe it isn't spiritual gifts and miracles per se that you disagree with so much as how it gets handled and dwelled on in certain Christian circles...? As you said, you don't put God in a box and you have seen Him do things yourself I gather, and it didn't bother you where I mentioned hearing from the Lord about "mixture" on the other thread. (and if as you mentioned you have more to say about that whole thing I'd be interested to hear more about it, Lord willing.)

Not here on a open public forum sister but I'm more than willing to share my testimonies to very close brothers and sisters in real time here in South Africa.
I still stand by what I've posted.
Shalom
Johann.

 

[Lizbeth]

Not here on a open public forum sister but I'm more than willing to share my testimonies to very close brothers and sisters in real time here in South Africa.
I still stand by what I've posted.
Shalom
Johann.

Yes I agree - forum is not the appropriate place for airing everything, especially when we're in process...I wish you well.

ok, then I'm just plain confused as to what you believe about cessationism, or what it is you're trying to convey. Seems contradictory, unless I'm the only one who is confused. (Which is quite possible at this stage, heh.)

 

[Johann]

Yes I agree - forum is not the appropriate place for airing everything, especially when we're in process...I wish you well.

ok, then I'm just plain confused as to what you believe about cessationism, or what it is you're trying to convey. Seems contradictory, unless I'm the only one who is confused. (Which is quite possible at this stage, heh.)

Another misunderstanding on your part-I have already explained via my posts re cessationism sister and believe people are more hungry for signs and miracles than the Scriptures. I also believe once into Charismata it is like Calvinism, very hard to get out of the system.
Not being facetious with you.

Psalm 119:97 - "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day."

Psalm 119:103 - "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Psalm 119:174 - "I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight."

Psalm 42:1-2 - "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?"

Matthew 4:4 - "But he answered, 'It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’”

Romans 15:4 - "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

Hebrews 4:12 - "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

James 1:21 - "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

1 Peter 2:2 - "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation."

These scriptures highlight the deep longing for and the transformative power of God's Word in the lives of believers, emphasizing its importance for spiritual growth, instruction, encouragement, and salvation.

Johann.

 

[Lizbeth]

You shouldn't trust your emotions. Alot of "gifts" going around aren't really "gifts". they are counterfeits designed to make us feel good.

Amen, there are counterfeits of the true. (Which means the true does exist.) But all power belongs to God......what makes a counterfeit isn't always the power itself, but the wrong way it gets handled....if it's handled with the flesh it can become a snare. Like handling the ark with hands of flesh. The ark was genuine and good, but was not to be handled with hands of flesh...that led to death.

 

[Ritajanice]

I hunger more for the Spirit Of God!...bringing His truth to my spirit!

Short commentary.

True hunger for God comes from a revelation of the fear of the Lord. When you're grounded in the fear of the Lord, you want your life to bless Him, for His sake, more than for your own gain. Our hunger is fueled knowing that Jesus is the center of our salvation rather than ourselves

 

[Lizbeth]

Another misunderstanding on your part-I have already explained via my posts re cessationism sister and believe people are more hungry for signs and miracles than the Scriptures. I also believe once into Charismata it is like Calvinism, very hard to get out of the system.
Not being facetious with you.

Psalm 119:97 - "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day."

Psalm 119:103 - "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Psalm 119:174 - "I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight."

Psalm 42:1-2 - "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?"

Matthew 4:4 - "But he answered, 'It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’”

Romans 15:4 - "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

Hebrews 4:12 - "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

James 1:21 - "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

1 Peter 2:2 - "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation."

These scriptures highlight the deep longing for and the transformative power of God's Word in the lives of believers, emphasizing its importance for spiritual growth, instruction, encouragement, and salvation.

Johann.

Absolutely we need the scriptures. It's not a case of one or the other though. From the scriptures we learn that God gives gifts to men. And also instruction in how to handle them. And God teaches us hand in hand through experience too. We can learn through experience in the light of God's word.

 

[Ritajanice]

Matthew 5:6-12 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

 

[ChristisGod]

Absolutely we need the scriptures. It's not a case of one or the other though. From the scriptures we learn that God gives gifts to men. And also instruction in how to handle them. And God teaches us hand in hand through experience too. We can learn through experience in the light of God's word.

he got the idea from a calvinist John MacArthur whom he quoted earlier. he is a cessationist who says all charismatic gifts are satanic as are all miracles, signs and wonders. There are no gifts of healings as well. I followed Mac as a calvinist myself for over 40 years. I'm very familiar with everything he teaches and have a library full of his books.

 

[Johann]

Absolutely we need the scriptures. It's not a case of one or the other though. From the scriptures we learn that God gives gifts to men. And also instruction in how to handle them. And God teaches us hand in hand through experience too. We can learn through experience in the light of God's word.

Many today seem to be sincerely confused about miraculous sign gifts. God intends for us to see that all of them were only given for a temporary time period, for a specific purpose, and to be used in a specific way. During the Acts era, before Scripture was complete, there was a need for super-natural abilities to guide the early church. I Corinthians 13:10 promised, “when that which is perfect [or complete] is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” Verse eight explains that “prophecies,” “tongues,” and supernatural “knowledge” would “fail” to continue, or “cease” and “vanish away.” Once the revelation of Scripture was complete, all sign gifts ended. The primary purpose of these sign gifts was “not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (I Corinthians 14:22). When unsaved people in the early Acts era witnessed believers with genuine miraculous abilities, it was a powerful tool in leading them to Christ. While some of these gifts, such as prophecy [meaning to proclaim God’s truth], were used for a time to “edify,” or build up, saints in new biblical truth, the primary purpose of God was to influence the lost. Whenever gifts, such as tongues (meaning an unknown human language), were given, they had to be practiced as God required. Tongues always had to be interpreted to all (vs. 26). They were only done one at a time (vss. 30-31), never by more than three (vss. 27, 29), never leave the one speaking out of control (vs. 28, 32), and women were never permitted to speak in tongues in public services (vs. 34).

Claims today of miraculous tongues do not follow this divine pattern, nor can they achieve God’s original purpose. God is not the author of confusion. If we will only abide by these instructions, confusion on this subject will disappear.

 

[Johann]

@Lizbeth

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant” (I Cor. 12:1).

Many Christians are uncertain about the precise definition of a spiritual gift. A spiritual gift is a special talent or ability given to men that is separate and distinct from any natural talent or ability they may possess. That is, while we sometimes say that someone has “a gift for music,” this is not what the Bible means when it speaks of “spiritual gifts.”

To define “spiritual gifts,” we need to employ “the law of first mention,” the Bible study principle which states that the first Scriptural occurrence of a word, phrase or idea often defines the word, phrase or idea, and sets the tone for its use throughout Scripture.

The first spiritual gift given was the gift of “tongues,” defined for us in Acts 2 as the ability to speak instantly and fluently in a known, identifiable language other than one’s native tongue (Acts 2:4-11).

Thus while “a gifted musician” must work very hard to develop his gift, a spiritual gift is a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit that does not require any such development. It is this writer’s conviction that all of the spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of God’s Word, just as Paul predicted they would (I Cor. 13:8-10).

Paul begins his discussion of spiritual gifts with a seemingly unrelated observation:

“Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led” (I Cor. 12:2).

Paul here reminds the Corinthians that they used to be idol-worshipping Gentiles who had a natural propensity to get “carried away” with their idolatry. While on the surface this might seem to have nothing to do with the subject at hand, Paul had observed that the Corinthians had made a god out of their spiritual gifts, and he is pointing out that they were now getting as “carried away” with their gifts as they used to get with their idols. Paul’s warning about this is timeless, for who can deny that even today there is still a tendency among at least some of our Pentecostal friends to get carried away with what they perceive to be their spiritual gifts.

But before we judge the Corinthians or our Pentecostal brethren too harshly, we must remember that Paul also warns us about “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). It is not inconceivable that believers who know better than to get carried away with any perceived spiritual gifts might instead be found rendering worship-like attention to “the almighty dollar” and all the material things it can buy. It would behoove each of us to examine our heart to see if we live in the “glass house” of covetousness before we consider throwing stones at Pentecostalists for their idolatrous adoration of imagined spiritual gifts.

“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Cor. 12:3).

This too is a puzzling statement in light of the context. Why would the Corinthians need to be told that no man speaking by the Spirit would call the Lord Jesus accursed? We believe that it was because of the convincing manner in which He was being called accursed. We believe He was being called accursed in tongues.

Satan is the great imitator of God, mimicking the Almighty on every hand. When God had prophets, Satan had “false prophets” (II Pet. 2:1). When God had apostles, Satan had “false apostles” (II Cor. 11:13). When God’s Spirit indwelt men and caused them to speak in tongues, Satan apparently countered by filling men with evil spirits who also spoke in tongues. These demoniacs spoke fluently and convincingly in foreign languages, but Paul here reminds the Corinthians that the content of their utterances would identify them as men who were speaking by a spirit other than the Spirit of God.

We do not wish to imply from this that the modern gift of tongues is Satanic; in fact, we believe quite the opposite. Since in this dispensation God has “ceased” from giving the gift of tongues, Satan is no longer trying to counterfeit this gift. Since no man today has the miraculous God-given ability to speak in a foreign tongue, Satan is not empowering anyone to do likewise. We believe that the gibberish that passes for the gift of tongues today is nothing more than the emotional product of the religious flesh of men.

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (I Cor. 12:4-6).

Continue--

 

[Cassandra]

I hunger more for the Spirit Of God!...bringing His truth to my spirit!

Short commentary.

True hunger for God comes from a revelation of the fear of the Lord. When you're grounded in the fear of the Lord, you want your life to bless Him, for His sake, more than for your own gain. Our hunger is fueled knowing that Jesus is the center of our salvation rather than ourselves

It is critical that you read the Bible. that is the only way you can measure a false testimony from the true.

Jesus used this term to respond to Satan IT IS WRITTEN. He didn't say I feel this.

 

[ChristisGod]

@Lizbeth

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant” (I Cor. 12:1).

Many Christians are uncertain about the precise definition of a spiritual gift. A spiritual gift is a special talent or ability given to men that is separate and distinct from any natural talent or ability they may possess. That is, while we sometimes say that someone has “a gift for music,” this is not what the Bible means when it speaks of “spiritual gifts.”

To define “spiritual gifts,” we need to employ “the law of first mention,” the Bible study principle which states that the first Scriptural occurrence of a word, phrase or idea often defines the word, phrase or idea, and sets the tone for its use throughout Scripture.

The first spiritual gift given was the gift of “tongues,” defined for us in Acts 2 as the ability to speak instantly and fluently in a known, identifiable language other than one’s native tongue (Acts 2:4-11).

Thus while “a gifted musician” must work very hard to develop his gift, a spiritual gift is a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit that does not require any such development. It is this writer’s conviction that all of the spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of God’s Word, just as Paul predicted they would (I Cor. 13:8-10).

Paul begins his discussion of spiritual gifts with a seemingly unrelated observation:

“Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led” (I Cor. 12:2).

Paul here reminds the Corinthians that they used to be idol-worshipping Gentiles who had a natural propensity to get “carried away” with their idolatry. While on the surface this might seem to have nothing to do with the subject at hand, Paul had observed that the Corinthians had made a god out of their spiritual gifts, and he is pointing out that they were now getting as “carried away” with their gifts as they used to get with their idols. Paul’s warning about this is timeless, for who can deny that even today there is still a tendency among at least some of our Pentecostal friends to get carried away with what they perceive to be their spiritual gifts.

But before we judge the Corinthians or our Pentecostal brethren too harshly, we must remember that Paul also warns us about “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). It is not inconceivable that believers who know better than to get carried away with any perceived spiritual gifts might instead be found rendering worship-like attention to “the almighty dollar” and all the material things it can buy. It would behoove each of us to examine our heart to see if we live in the “glass house” of covetousness before we consider throwing stones at Pentecostalists for their idolatrous adoration of imagined spiritual gifts.

“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Cor. 12:3).

This too is a puzzling statement in light of the context. Why would the Corinthians need to be told that no man speaking by the Spirit would call the Lord Jesus accursed? We believe that it was because of the convincing manner in which He was being called accursed. We believe He was being called accursed in tongues.

Satan is the great imitator of God, mimicking the Almighty on every hand. When God had prophets, Satan had “false prophets” (II Pet. 2:1). When God had apostles, Satan had “false apostles” (II Cor. 11:13). When God’s Spirit indwelt men and caused them to speak in tongues, Satan apparently countered by filling men with evil spirits who also spoke in tongues. These demoniacs spoke fluently and convincingly in foreign languages, but Paul here reminds the Corinthians that the content of their utterances would identify them as men who were speaking by a spirit other than the Spirit of God.

We do not wish to imply from this that the modern gift of tongues is Satanic; in fact, we believe quite the opposite. Since in this dispensation God has “ceased” from giving the gift of tongues, Satan is no longer trying to counterfeit this gift. Since no man today has the miraculous God-given ability to speak in a foreign tongue, Satan is not empowering anyone to do likewise. We believe that the gibberish that passes for the gift of tongues today is nothing more than the emotional product of the religious flesh of men.

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (I Cor. 12:4-6).

Continue--

what is the source for your cut/paste above ?

this is plagiarism

 

[Lizbeth]

I hunger more for the Spirit Of God!...bringing His truth to my spirit!

Short commentary.

True hunger for God comes from a revelation of the fear of the Lord. When you're grounded in the fear of the Lord, you want your life to bless Him, for His sake, more than for your own gain. Our hunger is fueled knowing that Jesus is the center of our salvation rather than ourselves

That seems to be how He teaches you, your gift. Maybe reading isn't your thing. Myself, I hunger for both the spirit and the word really....and most of all to be changed! That is at least part of the reason why He gives us His Spirit and His word...it's purpose is to change us into His image.

 

[Ritajanice]

It is critical that you read the Bible. that is the only way you can measure a false testimony from the true.

Jesus used this term to respond to Satan IT IS WRITTEN. He didn't say I feel this.

No it’s not.

A Born Again is a spirit child of God.

They were chosen for Gods purpose and plan, they were chosen to do the will of the Father.

The natural man/ woman would have no understanding of what has just been said.

We are led through the written word by the power within us, he’s called the Holy Spirit, Gods Witness, he witnesses Gods truth to our heart/ spirit...then his spirit child checks what he spoke to our spirit with his written word..

Whose your teacher and helper.?

I’m 100% dependent on the Holy Spirit to bring my spirit to Gods truth.

You tend to worship the Bible.

I worship the Living God!

Is Gods witness His Living Holy Spirit Alive in your spirit?

Ezekiel 36:26-27

King James Version

​

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Or do you only know of God through reading your Bible @Cassandra ?

 

[Ritajanice]

That seems to be how He teaches you, your gift. Maybe reading isn't your thing. Myself, I hunger for both the spirit and the word really....and most of all to be changed! That is at least part of the reason why He gives us His Spirit and His word...it's purpose is to change us into His image.

I also love being led through the word by the Holy Spirit..who brings Gods truth to my understanding in my spirit...that has taken 33 yrs to understand.

And still I have much to learn,Sister.

I agree with your post.

 

[ChristisGod]

Many today seem to be sincerely confused about miraculous sign gifts. God intends for us to see that all of them were only given for a temporary time period, for a specific purpose, and to be used in a specific way. During the Acts era, before Scripture was complete, there was a need for super-natural abilities to guide the early church. I Corinthians 13:10 promised, “when that which is perfect [or complete] is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” Verse eight explains that “prophecies,” “tongues,” and supernatural “knowledge” would “fail” to continue, or “cease” and “vanish away.” Once the revelation of Scripture was complete, all sign gifts ended. The primary purpose of these sign gifts was “not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (I Corinthians 14:22). When unsaved people in the early Acts era witnessed believers with genuine miraculous abilities, it was a powerful tool in leading them to Christ. While some of these gifts, such as prophecy [meaning to proclaim God’s truth], were used for a time to “edify,” or build up, saints in new biblical truth, the primary purpose of God was to influence the lost. Whenever gifts, such as tongues (meaning an unknown human language), were given, they had to be practiced as God required. Tongues always had to be interpreted to all (vs. 26). They were only done one at a time (vss. 30-31), never by more than three (vss. 27, 29), never leave the one speaking out of control (vs. 28, 32), and women were never permitted to speak in tongues in public services (vs. 34).

Claims today of miraculous tongues do not follow this divine pattern, nor can they achieve God’s original purpose. God is not the author of confusion. If we will only abide by these instructions, confusion on this subject will disappear.

Why are you plagiarizing ?

You took this from a website which is easy to find out from google. This is not your material but act as if it is.

 

[Hepzibah]

We do not wish to imply from this that the modern gift of tongues is Satanic; in fact, we believe quite the opposite. Since in this dispensation God has “ceased” from giving the gift of tongues, Satan is no longer trying to counterfeit this gift. Since no man today has the miraculous God-given ability to speak in a foreign tongue, Satan is not empowering anyone to do likewise.

I don't think any of us have the ability to pronounce as such as we cannot possible know of all cases. I have heard of a few cases when it is very suspicious that it is indeed taking place for example when someone is hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Who knows what unintelligible words they are saying.

 

[Lizbeth]

Many today seem to be sincerely confused about miraculous sign gifts. God intends for us to see that all of them were only given for a temporary time period, for a specific purpose, and to be used in a specific way. During the Acts era, before Scripture was complete, there was a need for super-natural abilities to guide the early church. I Corinthians 13:10 promised, “when that which is perfect [or complete] is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” Verse eight explains that “prophecies,” “tongues,” and supernatural “knowledge” would “fail” to continue, or “cease” and “vanish away.” Once the revelation of Scripture was complete, all sign gifts ended. The primary purpose of these sign gifts was “not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (I Corinthians 14:22). When unsaved people in the early Acts era witnessed believers with genuine miraculous abilities, it was a powerful tool in leading them to Christ. While some of these gifts, such as prophecy [meaning to proclaim God’s truth], were used for a time to “edify,” or build up, saints in new biblical truth, the primary purpose of God was to influence the lost. Whenever gifts, such as tongues (meaning an unknown human language), were given, they had to be practiced as God required. Tongues always had to be interpreted to all (vs. 26). They were only done one at a time (vss. 30-31), never by more than three (vss. 27, 29), never leave the one speaking out of control (vs. 28, 32), and women were never permitted to speak in tongues in public services (vs. 34).

Claims today of miraculous tongues do not follow this divine pattern, nor can they achieve God’s original purpose. God is not the author of confusion. If we will only abide by these instructions, confusion on this subject will disappear.

Man's reasoning....we always need His spiritual gifts/workings as long as we're on this earth battling a spiritual enemy....our weapons are not carnal.

When did "that which is perfect" come? And when did His Body stop being composed of divers parts?

 

[Lizbeth]

@Lizbeth

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant” (I Cor. 12:1).

Many Christians are uncertain about the precise definition of a spiritual gift. A spiritual gift is a special talent or ability given to men that is separate and distinct from any natural talent or ability they may possess. That is, while we sometimes say that someone has “a gift for music,” this is not what the Bible means when it speaks of “spiritual gifts.”

To define “spiritual gifts,” we need to employ “the law of first mention,” the Bible study principle which states that the first Scriptural occurrence of a word, phrase or idea often defines the word, phrase or idea, and sets the tone for its use throughout Scripture.

The first spiritual gift given was the gift of “tongues,” defined for us in Acts 2 as the ability to speak instantly and fluently in a known, identifiable language other than one’s native tongue (Acts 2:4-11).

Thus while “a gifted musician” must work very hard to develop his gift, a spiritual gift is a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit that does not require any such development. It is this writer’s conviction that all of the spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of God’s Word, just as Paul predicted they would (I Cor. 13:8-10).

Paul begins his discussion of spiritual gifts with a seemingly unrelated observation:

“Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led” (I Cor. 12:2).

Paul here reminds the Corinthians that they used to be idol-worshipping Gentiles who had a natural propensity to get “carried away” with their idolatry. While on the surface this might seem to have nothing to do with the subject at hand, Paul had observed that the Corinthians had made a god out of their spiritual gifts, and he is pointing out that they were now getting as “carried away” with their gifts as they used to get with their idols. Paul’s warning about this is timeless, for who can deny that even today there is still a tendency among at least some of our Pentecostal friends to get carried away with what they perceive to be their spiritual gifts.

But before we judge the Corinthians or our Pentecostal brethren too harshly, we must remember that Paul also warns us about “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). It is not inconceivable that believers who know better than to get carried away with any perceived spiritual gifts might instead be found rendering worship-like attention to “the almighty dollar” and all the material things it can buy. It would behoove each of us to examine our heart to see if we live in the “glass house” of covetousness before we consider throwing stones at Pentecostalists for their idolatrous adoration of imagined spiritual gifts.

“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Cor. 12:3).

This too is a puzzling statement in light of the context. Why would the Corinthians need to be told that no man speaking by the Spirit would call the Lord Jesus accursed? We believe that it was because of the convincing manner in which He was being called accursed. We believe He was being called accursed in tongues.

Satan is the great imitator of God, mimicking the Almighty on every hand. When God had prophets, Satan had “false prophets” (II Pet. 2:1). When God had apostles, Satan had “false apostles” (II Cor. 11:13). When God’s Spirit indwelt men and caused them to speak in tongues, Satan apparently countered by filling men with evil spirits who also spoke in tongues. These demoniacs spoke fluently and convincingly in foreign languages, but Paul here reminds the Corinthians that the content of their utterances would identify them as men who were speaking by a spirit other than the Spirit of God.

We do not wish to imply from this that the modern gift of tongues is Satanic; in fact, we believe quite the opposite. Since in this dispensation God has “ceased” from giving the gift of tongues, Satan is no longer trying to counterfeit this gift. Since no man today has the miraculous God-given ability to speak in a foreign tongue, Satan is not empowering anyone to do likewise. We believe that the gibberish that passes for the gift of tongues today is nothing more than the emotional product of the religious flesh of men.

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (I Cor. 12:4-6).

Continue--

Yes I've seen spiritual gifts/miracles etc being idolized..........to the point where the Spirit of God was grieved enough to depart. I was heart broken. But everything seems to test us I notice. The problem isn't with the things that God does/gives, but is with us.

The problem with analyzing all the trees is that it can blind us from seeing the forest. The natural man can't perceive the things of God but they must be spiritually discerned. Carnal mind is ENMITY with God....so it will tend to oppose Him.

 

[ChristisGod]

@Lizbeth
Did you notice that Paul here mentions each member of the Trinity? He says that spiritual gifts belong to the Spirit, they are administered by the Lord Jesus, but it is God the Father who works in the recipients of the gifts. Paul’s point here was to try to impress upon the Corinthians how the members of the Trinity worked together in glorious harmony in giving the gifts. This was in stark contrast to the discordant manner in which the Corinthians had received the gifts! There was anything but harmony in the selfish way they were glorying in their gifts or envying the gifts of others. Thus sin was taking the gifts that were designed by God to draw them closer together and using them to drive them further apart.

This is always the effect of sin on everything God gives to draw us closer together. Marriage, for instance, is surely designed by God to bring two people closer together, but every pastor who has done any marriage counseling knows how sin can instead cause marriage to drive two people apart. Human government is also devised by God to draw people together, but who can argue that some of the bloodiest wars that have ever been fought have been civil or revolutionary wars that have pitted brother against brother. Finally, the local church is surely designed by God to bring believers closer together, but we must sadly admit that some of the bitterest acrimony anywhere to be found is present in many a church split. The solution is for believers to give to one another the unconditional grace and acceptance that God extends to us (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13).

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (I Cor. 12:7).

The gifts of the Spirit were given to “profit” them spiritually. But it must not be assumed that when God caused spiritual gifts to cease that He left the Body of Christ without a resource for our continued spiritual profit. In II Timothy 3:16, Paul tells us that “all Scripture…is profitable.” The “profit” afforded to the Corinthians by their spiritual gifts is now provided to believers by the Word of God. This is why the cessation of spiritual gifts coincided with the completion of the perfect Word of God.

We see a vivid illustration of this in the miraculous “pillar” that led Israel through the wilderness to the promised land. The pillar is last mentioned when they were camped within sight of Canaan. Having led them through the wilderness, it seemed that the purpose of the pillar had expired, and so it was of course withdrawn. However, can it really be said that the people of Israel no longer needed guidance from God as individuals and as a nation? Certainly not! This is why the pillar was not just withdrawn, it was replaced in a symbolic as well as a literal way by the Word of God. The pillar was last seen “over the door of the tabernacle” (Deut. 31:15). Nine verses later Moses “finished” the Book of the Law and put it inside the tabernacle in the ark of the covenant (Deut. 31:24-26). From that time forward, the people of Israel no longer followed the supernatural pillar, but rather followed the ark which contained the Word of God to them through Moses. Wherever the ark moved, the people were to follow (Josh. 3:3,6,8,14-17). This was God’s symbolic way of teaching them that they would no longer be led by a supernatural manifestation, but instead by the written Word of God.

And so it is with the spiritual gifts. When God withdrew the spiritual gifts, He left us not without means of spiritual profit. He rather replaced the spiritual gifts with Paul’s epistles, the Word of God to us today. In the writings of Paul we find all we need to guide and “profit” us in the dispensation of Grace.

“For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit” (I Cor. 12:8).

Some in Corinth were given a supernatural gift of wisdom, similar to that given to Solomon, but little evidence need be presented to prove that no man today has a supernatural gift of wisdom! But if believers today seeking wisdom cannot turn to a man endued with the gift of wisdom, where can they turn? To the Word of God! Paul says that “we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery” (I Cor. 2:7), and prayed that God would give unto us “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17).

This “spirit of wisdom” is given to us not to puff us up with knowledge, but so that we might do something with it. God gave select men in Israel “the spirit of wisdom” (Ex. 28:3) to assist them in designing Aaron’s garments, and building the tabernacle that was to be the dwelling place of God (Ex. 31:3ff). Similarly, God gives us the spirit of wisdom not to puff us up with pride but to build up the Body of Christ, the present dwelling place of God (I Cor. 3:17; I Tim. 3:15).

We must pause here in our examination of these individual gifts to submit that there is an order to the list of gifts as a whole. Paul begins with the spiritual gift that is of greatest esteem in God’s eyes, and ends with the gift that He esteemed least. That is, he begins with the gift of wisdom and ends with the gift of tongues (v. 10). But when Paul devotes an entire chapter to the Corinthian misuse of tongues (ch. 14), it is not difficult to conclude that the Corinthians had reversed this God-ordained order and had esteemed the gift of tongues above all others.

Incidentally, this helps us understand Paul’s peculiar statement in I Corinthians 6:4, where he tells the Corinthians that rather than taking one another to court they should “set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.” Far from instructing them to allow slow-witted or unspiritual men to settle their important disputes, Paul is rather reminding them that they had men with the gift of wisdom in their midst who could be called upon to resolve their legal disagreements. We know this because Paul goes on to say,

“I speak this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?” (I Cor. 6:5).

It was a “shame” that the men with the gift of wisdom were “least esteemed” among them, but it was a fact. It is likewise a shame that today the imitation gift of tongues is held in higher esteem than a knowledge of the “mystery, even the hidden wisdom” (I Cor. 2:7), but this too is a sad fact.

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Why are you stealing another persons work and not giving them credit for their work ? That is plagiarism

For those here who want to know who wrote the material that is being posted it is from this source below.

The Profit of Spiritual Gifts.