The Sign Gifts have ceased

[civic]

Part 1. The purpose of miracles , signs and wonders.

We need to understand that healings, even in the Bible, are very rare indeed. For the first 2,500 years of biblical history, there is no mention of any healings whatsoever. Then during the life of Abraham we have a possible healing, although it is only implied (Genesis 12:17–20). Then we have to wait until the life of Moses, who performs a number of signs to authenticate his authority as God’s leader. However, the only healing associated with Moses is Miriam’s cleansing from leprosy (Numbers 12:13–15).

In the covenant God gave to Israel, there were a number of provisions to regulate their lives, and there is an emphasis on physicality and material things in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 28, God promises to reward Israel’s faithfulness with freedom from disease. This is the clue to the meaning of miracles in the Bible. God promised Israel health, long life, children, flocks, corn, grapes, etc.—and victory over their enemies—if they stayed faithful to the Lord. At the same time, God threatened them with sickness, barrenness, disease, drought, famine, the loss of livestock, and enemy occupation if they forsook the Lord. This is the context of Israel’s relationship with sickness and healing. The promise to be kept “free from every disease” in Deuteronomy 7:15 was specifically part of the Mosaic Covenant with Israel under the theocracy; such a promise is not given to the church.

With the coming of Christ, we have the fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant (Matthew 5:17) and a reversal of the effects of Israel’s spiritual backslidings. Wherever Christ went, He healed the sick, but this was not just because of kindness on His part; His healings were always a sign from heaven of Christ’s authority as Messiah (John 7:31). He was giving Israel a taste of the kingdom of God (Luke 11:20). Those who refused His authority were often left sick (Matthew 13:58). At the pool of Bethsaida, for example, Jesus healed only one in a huge multitude (John 5).

The apostles were also given the specific power to heal the sick, and for thirty-seven years they went everywhere healing those who heard their message. Again, their miracles, including healing, were confirmation of the truth of the gospel the apostles proclaimed.

The twelve apostles did not heal everyone, either. Often, there were Christians left unwell in spite of the apostolic power. Paul says to Timothy, “Use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23). Why didn’t Paul just lay hands on Timothy and heal him? It wasn’t because Timothy didn’t have enough faith; it was because it was not God’s will to heal Timothy that way. The healing ministry was not for anyone’s personal convenience; rather, it was a sign from God—to the Jews of the Old Covenant primarily—of the validity of the apostles’ message.

We are not living in the apostolic days today. Of course, God can and does heal today when He wants to. The question we need to ask in any given situation is, what does God want? Does He desire to heal the individual in this life, or does He have another plan to show His glory through weakness? Someday, all sickness and death will be eradicated (see Revelation 21:4). Joni Eareckson Tada will walk again. Until then, there is a greater healing, the cleansing of sinful hearts, that God performs every day.got?

 

[civic]

Part 2

The biblical record shows that miracles occurred during particular periods for the specific purpose of authenticating a new message from God. Moses was enabled to perform miracles to authenticate his ministry before Pharaoh (Exodus 4:1-8); Elijah was given miracles to authenticate his ministry before Ahab (1 Kings 17:1; 18:24); the apostles were given miracles to authenticate their ministry before Israel (Acts 4:10, 16).

Jesus’ ministry was also marked by miracles, which the Apostle John calls “signs” (John 2:11). John’s point is that the miracles were proofs of the authenticity of Jesus’ message.

After Jesus’ resurrection, as the Church was being established and the New Testament was being written, the apostles demonstrated “signs” such as tongues and the power to heal. “Tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (1 Corinthians 14:22, a verse that plainly says the gift was never intended to edify the church).

The Apostle Paul predicted that the gift of tongues would cease (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Here are 6 proofs that it has already ceased:

1) The apostles, through whom tongues came, were unique in the history of the church. Once their ministry was accomplished, the need for authenticating signs ceased to exist.

2) The miracle (or sign) gifts are only mentioned in the earliest Epistles, such as 1 Corinthians. Later books, such as Ephesians and Romans, contain detailed passages on the gifts of the Spirit, but the miracle gifts are not mentioned (although Romans does mention the gift of prophecy, the Greek word translated prophecy mean “speaking forth” and does not necessarily include prediction of the future).

3) The gift of tongues was a sign to unbelieving Israel that God’s salvation was now available to other nations. See 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 and Isaiah 28:11-12.

4) Tongues was an inferior gift to prophecy (preaching). Preaching the Word of God edifies believers, whereas tongues does not. Believers are told to seek prophesying over speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:1-3).

5) History indicates that tongues did cease. Tongues are not mentioned at all by the Post-Apostolic Fathers. Other writers such as Justin Martyr, Origen, Chrysostom, and Augustine considered tongues something that happened only in the earliest days of the Church.

6) Current observation confirms that the miracle of tongues has ceased. If the gift were still available today, there would be no need for missionaries to attend language school. Missionaries would be able to travel to any country and speak any language fluently, just as the apostles were able to speak in Acts 2.As for the miracle gift of healing, we see in Scripture that healing was associated with the ministry of Jesus and the apostles (Luke 9:1-2). And we see that as the era of the apostles drew to a close, healing, like tongues, became less frequent. The Apostle Paul, who raised Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:9-12), did not heal Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-27), Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20), Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23), or even himself (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

The reasons for Paul’s “failures to heal” are

1) the gift was never intended to make every Christian well, but to authenticate apostleship; and
2) the authority of the apostles had been sufficiently proved, making further miracles unnecessary.

The reasons stated above are evidence that the sign gifts have ceased. According to 1 Corinthians 13:13-14:1, we would do well to “pursue love,” the greatest gift of all. If we are to desire gifts, we should desire to speak forth the Word of God, that all may be edified.got?

hope this helps !!!

 

[Deleted member 6]

I listened to a sermon by Dr. W. Robert Godfrey a week or two ago and he said something I was not aware of. There is not one recorded miracle of a blind person being healed in the OT. That blew my (puny) mind.

 

[Wordsmith]

Wherever Christ went, He healed the sick, but this was not just because of kindness on His part;

This is False!

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.

48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.


Matthew 20:30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?

33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed
him.

Jesus had mercy and compassion He was not just slinging miracles around to prove who He was!

Why do you teach this stuff? I have been healed through the gifts of the Spirit. My former pastors wife was born blind, with no eye balls in the socket, her mother a woman of great faith believed God and He performed a creative miracle for her and her daughter was given new eyes. This woman of faith had more stories of miracles than a doubter could explain away in a life time. Countless testimonies of miracles in our day that you cannot explain. This is not scriptural teaching. we shall dig deeper into what the Bible actual teaches on this.

 

[civic]

This is False!

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.

48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.


Matthew 20:30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.

32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?

33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed
him.

Jesus had mercy and compassion He was not just slinging miracles around to prove who He was!

Why do you teach this stuff? I have been healed through the gifts of the Spirit. My former pastors wife was born blind, with no eye balls in the socket, her mother a woman of great faith believed God and He performed a creative miracle for her and her daughter was given new eyes. This woman of faith had more stories of miracles than a doubter could explain away in a life time. Countless testimonies of miracles in our day that you cannot explain. This is not scriptural teaching. we shall dig deeper into what the Bible actual teaches on this.

I see you removed the quote from its context. Here it is in its context and BTW this was a quote from got questions.

With the coming of Christ, we have the fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant (Matthew 5:17) and a reversal of the effects of Israel’s spiritual backslidings. Wherever Christ went, He healed the sick, but this was not just because of kindness on His part; His healings were always a sign from heaven of Christ’s authority as Messiah (John 7:31). He was giving Israel a taste of the kingdom of God (Luke 11:20). Those who refused His authority were often left sick (Matthew 13:58). At the pool of Bethsaida, for example, Jesus healed only one in a huge multitude (John 5).

 

[Wordsmith]

The twelve apostles did not heal everyone, either. Often, there were Christians left unwell in spite of the apostolic power. Paul says to Timothy, “Use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23). Why didn’t Paul just lay hands on Timothy and heal him? It wasn’t because Timothy didn’t have enough faith; it was because it was not God’s will to heal Timothy that way. The healing ministry was not for anyone’s personal convenience; rather, it was a sign from God—to the Jews of the Old Covenant primarily—of the validity of the apostles’ message.

Did you consider the possibility Timothy did not need a miracle? Since he was told to drink a little wine for the stomachs sake, maybe the water he had was unpure and the wine was all he needed?

1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

Nothing in this text says Paul could not heal Timothy that is only implied by everyone who teaches as you have here.

 

[Wordsmith]

Those who refused His authority were often left sick (Matthew 13:58).

Lack of faith or unbelief is not the same as refusing His authority!

 

[Wordsmith]

At the pool of Bethsaida, for example, Jesus healed only one in a huge multitude (John 5).

This proves what?

 

[civic]

Did you consider the possibility Timothy did not need a miracle? Since he was told to drink a little wine for the stomachs sake, maybe the water he had was unpure and the wine was all he needed?

1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

Nothing in this text says Paul could not heal Timothy that is only implied by everyone who teaches as you have here.

Did you consider the gift of healing was no longer needed and that that gift was removed ?

Why drink wine for a reoccurring sickness when you have the gift of healing ?

 

[Wordsmith]

His healings were always a sign from heaven of Christ’s authority as Messiah (John 7:31).

John 7:31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

This verse doesn't say that! You have interpreted that way. I've already posted a scripture that said Jesus had compassion and healed you said :

"He healed the sick, but this was not just because of kindness on His part;"

 

[civic]

John 7:31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

This verse doesn't say that! You have interpreted that way. I've already posted a scripture that said Jesus had compassion and healed you said :

"He healed the sick, but this was not just because of kindness on His part;"

He did on some, not all. You must read that into every healing when its not mentioned. That is called an argument from silence.

 

[Wordsmith]

Did you consider the gift of healing was no longer needed and that that gift was removed ?

No because I and countless thousands have experienced these gifts you claim are gone. Do you not see the problem with what is happening here?

You expect me to believe for one second this teaching is valid when I and many others know from experience that is not true?.

You have backed yourself into a theological corner you can not possibly teach your way out of.

Let's just start with my own testimony. Then you explain what happened to me from your belief system.

I went to a revival meeting the evangelist gave a general alter call for any one who wanted to pray no specifics just a time to pray.

I and many others went forward the evangelists moved across the front praying with different people. When he got to me He looked me in the eye and said "you have a problem in your stomach and the Lord is healing you. " A "word of knowledge" one of the gifts many claim are no longer with us.

1. I had never meet the man
2. I did have some kind of issue in my stomach which at times was very painful but it would come and go. It was actually physically visible at times. I never went to a doctor but I feel its was a hernia.
3. I had never discussed this with any human being on the planet, I just didn't talk about it.
4. This problem was recurring over at least a year or more.
5. I didn't go to that alter with this on my mind but the Lord knew about it and through His mercy and the "Gift of healing" I was healed about 40 years ago and the problem has never surfaced again.

I really don't understand why it is so important to some to claim all for this went away but I can assure you God still heals today and sometimes He uses His people in the process.

This is a minor miracle but a miracle none the less. Many have had far more dramatic miracles. So you see there is nothing you can teach that could every change what I and countless others know to be true.

How did the evangelist know I had a problem? Why has it never returned after that day?

 

[Wordsmith]

Of course, God can and does heal today when He wants to.

So very true and all of the Gifts of the Spirit operate AS THE SPIRIT WILLS. A simple fact often ignored by some that teach the gifts have ceased. Gifts have only ceased in congregations that do not welcome them!

 

[Wordsmith]

6) Current observation confirms that the miracle of tongues has ceased. If the gift were still available today, there would be no need for missionaries to attend language school. Missionaries would be able to travel to any country and speak any language fluently, just as the apostles were able to speak in Acts

Not true as stated . This statement does not reflect Biblical teaching on tongues. There are different reasons for tongues in different settings there is not one size fits all rule here.

 

[Wordsmith]

The reasons for Paul’s “failures to heal” are

Where is the passage that says Paul was a failure in healing anyone?

 

[civic]

Where is the passage that says Paul was a failure in healing anyone?

When did Jesus not heal someone that came to Him for healing when they were ill ?

Now ask yourself the same question about Paul

 

[Wordsmith]

When did Jesus not heal someone that came to Him for healing when they were ill ?

Now ask yourself the same question about Paul

Mark 6:5
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

This is the only passage I know of that even hints at what you claim, but the unbelief is the problem here not the ability of Jesus.

Now where is your passage to answer my question about Paul. Please don t answer my question with a question.

 

[Wordsmith]

Why drink wine for a reoccurring sickness when you have the gift of healing ?

Because you do not know how the gifts work! No one possesses a gift of healing that they operate as they will. How many times must we empathize that gifts operate as the scripture clearly states, as the Spirit wills?

 

[civic]

Because you do not know how the gifts work! No one possesses a gift of healing that they operate as they will. How many times must we empathize that gifts operate as the scripture clearly states, as the Spirit wills?

Wrong . It’s no different than any other gift for the body. If one has the gift of teaching then it’s used all of the time, same with preaching, evangelism , Apostle , prophet, discernment, giving , encouragement etc….

1. Administration
2. Being an apostle
3. Discernment
4. Evangelism
5. Exhortation
6. Faith
7. Giving
8. Healing
9. Helps
10. Hospitality
11. Knowledge
12. Leadership
13. Mercy
14. Prophecy
15. Serving
16. Speaking in tongues
17. Teaching (sometimes known as shepherding)
18. Wisdom

 

[David1701]

Did you consider the gift of healing was no longer needed and that that gift was removed ?

Why drink wine for a reoccurring sickness when you have the gift of healing ?

It's not "the gift of healing", rather, it's "gifts of healings". There is more than one gift of healing, just as the gift of tongues does not mean that everyone speaks in the same language.