Spiritual Gifts for the Church in All Ages by George I. Butler

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 16, 1909

Spiritual Gifts for the Church in All Ages

By George I. Butler

(Concluded)

GEORGE I. BUTLER

“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” 1 Cor. 12:28.

The apostle has been teaching a lesson of unity in the church, likening it to the human body and its members. He sums his arguments up in these words: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Verse 27. Then come the words quoted above. The gifts of the Spirit are the agencies designed to bring about and maintain union in Christ’s spiritual body; they, especially the spirit of prophecy, are absolutely essential for the accomplishment of that object. Human nature, unaided by the Holy Spirit, since the moral fall of man under Satan’s temptations, is selfish, morally weak, given to pride and vainglory. It can not raise itself to holiness, love of God, and fitness for the life eternal. The body of believers in Christ is simply a company of human beings full of human infirmity. The Spirit of God with its heavenly agencies, placed in the church, will enable the church to rise above human infirmity, and be a unit, even as Christ and the Father are one. John 17. The apostolic church was thus a unit, and was a mighty power for good in this world of sin. The gospel, through the help of this divine influence, went in one generation to the ends of the earth. Rom. 10:18; Col. 1:23. But gradually the church backslid, and did not realize its need of this constant Helper; it began to absorb the spirit of the world, and became more and more like the world, by mixing heathen doctrines and practises with the pure doctrines which Christ and the apostles taught. Corruption was the sure result. The church was tainted with the doctrines of paganism. Many false doctrines were believed and advocated. Error seemed to hold well-nigh supreme control, and truth was at a discount. It might be classed as an axiom, a self-evident truth, that God’s Spirit could no longer acknowledge such a church as his true representative on earth.

Then there came the great Reformation of the sixteenth century. The Bible, and the Bible alone, was the motto of this great religious movement. Tradition was rejected. An excellent work was done, and God wrought mightily in behalf of his servants to bring the church back again to apostolic purity of doctrine and holy living. But soon the spirit of reformation lost its vitality. The great Protestant churches became converted by the influences which they opposed, and at the present time we see many so-called Protestant churches rejecting the Word of God and accepting modern traditions and theories. The doctrine of the Sunday Sabbath, the immortality of the soul, the conscious state of the dead, sprinkling instead of the true mode of baptism, and other beliefs which might be mentioned and which are still believed by Protestants, show that the Reformation failed in fully accomplishing the work that God designed it to do. And added to these evils are other great errors which are sapping the very foundations of Christian faith, such as the modern doctrine of evolution as taught in some of the great Christian universities and colleges.

It is time now in the providence of God for a new movement to rise which will stanchly stand for the Word of God as a basis of Christian faith, and reject all fellowship with these disintegrating and infidel-making theories that are now revolutionizing the great religious world. It is a time to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up our voices like a trumpet, and show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Israel their sins, as the prophet of old declared. Isa. 58:1. This is the last great religious movement of God’s people in our world, proclaiming the coming of the Son of man the second time without sin-offering unto salvation.

Can such a movement be carried on successfully without those spiritual gifts God ‘set’ in his church? We see no possible hope that it could be. Every evidence of God’s dealings in the past with his people in important crises in the earth demonstrates that the presence of the special gifts of the Spirit were essential to the accomplishment of his work.

In Noah’s time, when the world was to be warned of the coming deluge, God had inspired Noah as a preacher of righteousness to understand his will about the flood and warn all who would listen. When the great mass of mankind again had gone into idolatry, he raised up Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and commenced an important work with them, which accomplished vast results in preserving the knowledge of God in the world. All of these were inspired men of God.

After a long captivity in Egypt, and such a wonderful schooling in sorrow that they felt a great need of help from God, the time came for their deliverance. Moses and Aaron were raised up, and a wonderful work of miraculous power was manifested. God’s servants had special spiritual gifts imparted to them, or nothing could have been done for the deliverance of that people. It was a great era in the history of God’s work in the world, and a wonderful record concerning it has been left for the world’s perusal.

So it has ever been. Samuel was a mighty prophet. The era of David and Solomon was the most glorious in the history of Israel. Spiritual gifts and power were most manifest. It was so in every important crises. In the return of the captivity, Ezra, Nehemiah, and other prophets were spiritually endowed to enable them to do their work successfully.

What a remarkable display of spiritual agencies was manifested at Christ’s first advent. It far exceeded any previous movement. The Son of God came down and was incarnated among men. His apostles were inspired, and the world was wonderfully blessed by these agencies.

And now after ages of backsliding, apostasy, false doctrine, and perversions of God’s truth, we have come down to the very last days of this world’s history. The cry has gone forth, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh!” Some thirteen lines of prophecy all center here at this time, and are fulfilled before our eyes. The Lord is coming in this generation. We are in the very closing of the time of the end. The message is sounding to the ends of the earth, solemnly announcing the rapid approach of the greatest event of all the ages. The Lord of glory is about to come as a triumphant conqueror, to put down forever all rebellion in God’s universe, and gather every true believer into the mansions of glory. Will any person in his senses, in view of such an event, suppose for a moment that there will be no spiritual gifts in connection with it, no manifestation of spiritual agencies out of the ordinary routine of Christian work? Such a conclusion would be preposterous. It would be in direct contradiction of Christ’s words to the revelator, when speaking to him of the remnant of God’s church, the last church of this world’s history, which has the testimony of Jesus Christ, defined to be the spirit of prophecy.

Bowling Green, Fla.