p. 173 | Weak and Evasive by John H. Waggoner

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · May 11, 1876

Weak and Evasive.

By John H. Waggoner

When we present the subject of the gifts of the Spirit of God, and insist that they are the means whereby the church is to be brought to that state of unity and consecration which is necessary to be prepared for the coming of the Lord, we are frequently met with the declaration that, “We have the Bible and that is enough; we do not need these things in the church.”

We never hear this without astonishment that professed Bible readers and Bible believers are so blinded and deceived as to think that is a reason.

We accept the doctrine of the gifts of the Spirit in the Church because we have the Bible; because we cannot receive the teachings of the Bible in full without accepting that doctrine.

We believe that we are in the last days; that the Lord is soon coming; that we have a message which is designed to prepare a people to “stand in the battle in the day of the Lord;” that probation will end before the Lord comes, and the plagues of God’s wrath will fall upon all who are not prepared to stand with the sanctified company of saints. This is a special message, and an extraordinary preparation is necessary to stand in the perils of that day when the mediation of our Saviour is ended, and sin can no more be forgiven.

In Rev. 12:17 the remnant people are pointed out with two prominent characteristics. They keep the commandments of God—all of them, not rejecting or changing one to conform to the popular prejudices of the age—and they “have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” This, in Rev. 19:10, is declared by authority to be “the spirit of prophecy.”

Some contend that this testimony of Jesus Christ is that which Jesus testified when he was on earth; that is, his words, as contained in the Gospels. But this definition is positively shut out by the inspired definition given in Rev. 19:10. It is not that which was testified long ago; not the possession of the words of the prophecies given ages ago, but it is “the spirit of prophecy;” it is that gift of the Holy Spirit by which words of prophecy are spoken for the “edification, and exhortation, and comfort,” of the church. 1 Cor. 14:3.

This view of the scripture in question, and of the characteristic of the remnant, is made sure by the following. Paul, in his letters to the Corinthians and to the Thessalonians, speaks by prophetic power to the saints who will not sleep, but will be alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord. In one letter he says to them, “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 1:4-8.

Here is a company who shall be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus; they are waiting for the coming of the Lord; they come behind in no gift, that is, the gifts of God’s Spirit are fully restored to them, for the testimony of Christ is confirmed in them. This language is too plain to be mistaken.

In the other letter, after assuring them that the Lord himself will come, and that they shall be caught up together with the resurrected saints to meet him in the air, and that they are not in darkness that that day should overtake them as a thief, he adds:— “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:19-23.

Here is no ground left for even an evasion. He prays that their bodies may be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord, which will be the case with those who do not go into the grave and see corruption; he exhorts them not to quench the Spirit; not to despise prophesyings; to prove all things; to hold fast that which is good. This would be a useless exhortation were there to be no prophesying in their days. To despise prophesying will be to quench the Spirit, because the Spirit is grieved away when its gifts and offices are neglected, or rejected.

And some who have professed for years to believe the present truth, say they are not satisfied in regard to the Testimonies to the Church; they have not examined the subject, and therefore are not prepared to endorse them. Such are guilty of disregarding the express injunction of the Lord by his apostle. They profess to be of the remnant people who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus; in whom this testimony will be confirmed so that they shall come behind in no gift; and will be found waiting for the Lord from Heaven. They believe they are of the number who shall see the Lord himself descend, and that they are the ones who are assured that they are not in darkness that that day should overtake them as a thief. If in this they are correct they are the very ones who are commanded to “despise not prophesyings,” and to “prove all things.” What excuse or reason have they to offer to the Master for this neglect of his injunction?

The message brings the gift of prophecy to view; it is to be confirmed in the remnant. Here is something which bears every mark of a genuine gift; it enforces the message; it incites to holy living; it exalts Jesus and his Word; it coincides with the purity of the law of God in letter and spirit; and yet these professed believers of the message despise it without a reason, and refuse to prove it that they may learn its character and its claims. We think the profession of such is a spurious one; their claim to be in the message is not valid; their hope is vain; they are deceived and deluded.

The Bible is sufficient, if taken as a whole; when a part is rejected the other part is not sufficient, because it is not as God has given it. The Bible teaches that the Father has conferred two gifts upon man: He gave his Son, and his Spirit, to work out our salvation. Were a man to say, “We do not need the Son of God as our Saviour because we have the Bible,” he would depart no further from the truth, and give no greater proof of folly, than he does who says we do not need the direct aid of the Spirit of God because we have the Bible.

By the Word of God—the Bible—we learn that God gave his Son, and that without the Son we can do nothing. By that same Word we are informed that the Son is with his people by the Spirit’s presence and power. By that Word we are told that Jesus purchased the gifts of the Spirit for men, and that God had set them in the church. By the same Word we are instructed that these gifts are Heaven’s appointed means to perfect the church and bring it where it may meet the Saviour’s prayer for its unity in faith and spirit. By the Word we learn that the Spirit was grieved and quenched by the “falling away,” and the church passed under a dark cloud of worldliness and error, and by the Word we are shown that God will pour out his Spirit upon, or confirm the testimony of Jesus in, the remnant, that at the coming of the Lord he may present to himself a glorious church; a select company in whose mouth shall be found no guile, who are without fault before the throne of God.

People who ignore so much of the teachings of the Bible as these do, and especially neglect so much of the instruction of the Bible concerning the position and duty of the remnant, should be the very last to plead for that blessed book. Were not their eyes fast closed by the deception of the enemy they would blush for their inconsistency.

We ask them to point to something decisive which has been accomplished for the present truth by those who deny the gifts. Show us the company or the individuals who have long retained their faith in the third angel’s message who denied the testimony of Jesus to the church. “Bring forth your strong reasons.” Show even your own consecration to the cause, or acknowledge that a denial of the gifts destroys faith in the message and weakens the efforts of all who take such a position. The dragon will make war against those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Let all know of a surety that in fighting against the testimony they are already doing service to the dragon, and unless they repent and reform they will share the fate of the dragon, as shown in God’s holy Word.

J. H. WAGGONER.