Spiritual Gifts Designed for the Church in All Ages
By George I. Butler
Our last article brought us to the remnant church, the last division of the true church of the gospel dispensation. The inspired description of it is found in these words: “Which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12:17. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 19:10. This church must be the one brought to view in the third angel’s message: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. We are logically compelled to conclude that the true spiritual gifts with which Christ endowed his church will be manifested in the last true church on earth. Before discussing the question as to whether they have been actually so manifested in connection with the proclamation of the messages of the three angels, let us consider briefly the question of the perpetuity of the spiritual gifts which Christ placed in his church. The general opinion of the Protestant churches is that those gifts were designed for the apostolic church and were particularly confined to that period. Do the Scriptures teach the truthfulness of that view? Let us examine their testimony. On the very night of the Saviour’s arrest, in his last discourse previous to his crucifixion, he spoke these words: “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter [Greek, Paraclete], that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” John 14:15-17. Here is the direct promise of the Holy Spirit to be with his disciples in a measure and sense that it had never been with his believing people before. Behold the wonderful pentecost, when this promise began to be fulfilled in that special sense. “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:2-4. These one hundred twenty disciples gathered in that room, after ten days of humiliation of soul and confession of sin, were in a fit condition of mind and heart to receive this outpouring of “the former rain” of the Holy Spirit. In all of the four thousand years of previous history from creation till that point had there ever been a scene equal or like to it? It is not known that there was a single learned speaker of other tongues present. But in the large crowd which soon gathered were representatives of eighteen different nationalities. The Spirit of God present enabled these poor Galileans to speak the word of God in the languages which these visitors could readily comprehend. All these persons were greatly amazed. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. Then Peter arose and distinctly declared this occasion to be a fulfilment of the prediction of an ancient prophet. He said: “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; . . . I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17, 18. As the result of Peter’s brief discourse, three thousand souls were converted to God and baptized. This shows what can be done when the Spirit of God is powerfully present. What a contrast to many so-called “revivals” of the present age! A prominent question worthy of consideration now confronts us. Was the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of pentecost a complete fulfilment of the Saviour’s promise of sending them the Comforter? Or was it but the beginning of the fulfilment of that promise? Let the record decide: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” The Comforter was not merely for the one hundred twenty assembled on one day, but for his disciples forever. John 14:16. Peter’s testimony is much to the point: “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:39. How then can Christians, with any reason, claim that the promise of the outpouring of the Spirit was only designed for the apostolic age? How can they cut out of that promise the children of the apostolic church, and those afar off? yea, and “even as many as the Lord our God shall call”? Is not the Lord calling any one in our age? If not, why are all churches making such efforts to call in the unconverted? Spiritual gifts are still for the church. “Wherefore he saith, when he10ascended on high, he led captivity captive [or “a multitude of captives,” margin], and gave gifts unto men. . . . And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Eph. 4:8-13, R. V. Do we not recognize as still in existence at least a portion of the gifts above mentioned?—Most assuredly. Evangelists are plentiful. Pastors abound. Teachers are everywhere. Their calling is an honorable one. Indeed, take out these three classes of gifts which the apostle mentions as given by Christ to his church, and its whole structure would be endangered. What could we do without pastors, evangelists, and teachers? But there are two of these gifts, apostles and prophets, which modern Israel seems to have no use for, and yet they were placed in the church by Christ the same as the others. Here seems to be an inconsistency in modern teaching. The office of apostleship stands first always in position and rank. The term means one sent or entrusted with a message, a God-given message. It is very essential that from time to time men be sent with divine messages for the uplifting of the people when coldness, apathy, and apostasy are apparent in Zion. In such a condition was the Jewish church found at Christ’s first advent. Christ and his apostles gave the message needed at that juncture. Other crises have arisen. Men were called out by the providence of God to do an important work of arousing, inspiring, upbuilding the church of God, as really, though perhaps not as prominently, as were John the Baptist, Paul, and others anciently. They would not, from their modesty, have thought for a moment of applying the term apostle to their labors, yet they officiated in an important work which God designed to be done. But how about the office of prophet? The great apostle to the Gentiles, speaking by inspiration, includes that term in the class here given as the gift of heaven for the establishment and building up of the church of the Lord God. Alas! centuries have passed and Christendom has recognized no living prophet. John the revelator was the last one generally so regarded. But let the thoughtful reader not forget that Rev. 12:17 plainly recognizes the fact that in the remnant church the spirit of prophecy will certainly exist. That being true, that gift is not lost or confined to the apostolic age. We again notice the apostle Paul’s statements we are considering in Ephesians 4. What was the object of Christ in the bestowal of these gifts?—“For the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ.” Do not the saints need perfecting as much now as they did in the apostolic age? Never was there greater need of perfecting than in these last days. What agency was supplied by the Lord for this perfecting process?—The gifts he placed in the church. Is not a spiritual ministry greatly needed now? Does not the church need building up now especially?—Most certainly. Then these gifts are needed as much as they ever were. Hence it would be strange for God to remove the very agencies needed. He has never withdrawn them. How long were these spiritual gifts to remain in the church?—“Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith.” Do we see that unity among God’s professed people yet? Never were there more of sects and divisions than now. Surely, then, with such a multitude of divisions, we have not come to the unity of the faith. Why is this?—Verily, because of the fact that the gifts of God’s Spirit are not in exercise. The spirit of prophecy is the divinely appointed agency designed to bring about unity. God will have a work of unity in the remnant church before time closes. The spirit of prophecy will help to bring it about. It is certain, then, that the time for the gifts of the Spirit to be withdrawn has not yet been reached.