Unity and Gifts of the Church by James White

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 7, 1858

Unity and Gifts of the Church

By James White

UNITY AND GIFTS OF THE CHURCH. No. 4.

SOME speak of the gift of prophecy as though it belonged only to Old Testament times. But we read in Luke ii, that when the infant Jesus was presented before the Lord in the temple, that Anna, the prophetess, coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all of them that looked for redemption in Israel.”

It may be said that this took place before the Christian age commenced. Very well; but Luke records it in the Christian age, for the benefit of the men who live in this age. But we will come to the Acts of the Apostles where there can be no question in regard to the dispensation in which the events occurred, and we find both men and women having the spirit of prophecy. Judas and Silas were prophets. Acts xv, 32. “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Cesarea; and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus.” Chap. xxi, 8-10.

The great apostle Paul had an experience on this subject which, probably, has not been well understood. He says to his Galatian brethren, “But I certify you brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man; for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Gal. i, 11, 12.

Paul, then, received the gospel which he preached in open vision with the Lord Jesus Christ. This seems to have been the manner in which the Lord dealt with him from the time of his conversion. We take the following from his relation of his conversion, before king Agrippa. Acts xxvi, 12-19. “Whereupon, as I went to Damascus, with authority and commission from the chief priests, at mid-day, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me, and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

“And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.”

The Apostle writes to the Corinthian brethren touching his experience. 2 Cor. xii, 1-7. “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell; God knoweth,) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth,) how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. . . . And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”

The apostle states to his Ephesian brethren, (Chap. iv, 11,) that Christ “gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists,” &c.

He also wrote to the brethren at Corinth and said, “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. xii, 28. Again he says to them, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” Chap. xii, 1.

It will be admitted that much of Paul’s writings to the church at Thessalonica have direct reference to the Christians of the last days, who are looking for the Lord. Read 1 Thess. iv, 13-18, and Chap. v, 1-8. “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breast-plate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”

In this chapter Paul states many things very important to those who are watching for the day of the Lord, which they will do well to consider. But we wish here to notice particularly three things mentioned in verses 19-21.

“Quench not the Spirit.”
“Despise not prophesyings.”
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” The course pursued by many we may state as follows:

First, they quench the Holy Spirit. If they do not actually resist its influence and teachings, they are indifferent in regard to it. They grieve it away from them.

Second, they despise prophesyings, which are the fruit of the Spirit—“I will pour out of my Spirit, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” Joel ii, 28. Having quenched the Spirit, they are left to despise its fruits.

Third, instead of proving all things, and holding fast that which is good, many reject all that comes in the name of prophesyings. They throw it all away together.

Such are not wise. They not only depart from this portion of the word of God, but they slight important means of salvation. There is safety in following the Word.

1. “Quench not the Spirit.” Said Christ, “I will send you the Comforter.” “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” “Be filled with the Spirit.” This is the language of holy Scripture, and the blessed privilege of the saints. Christ promised the Spirit. He assures us that his Father is willing to bestow it upon those who ask him for it. Those who have tasted of the powers of the world to come, will dwell upon the numerous promises of the Word in regard to the Holy Spirit with great delight. It is safe to breathe out after the heavenly influence. Let every avenue of the soul open for its reception. To such as open the door of their hearts, Christ says, “I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.”

2. “Despise not prophesyings.” Those who do not quench the Holy Spirit; but whose feelings and spirits are softened, refined and sweetened by its hallowed influence, will not despise prophesyings. Here is one of the greatest dangers of some among the remnant which keep the Commandments of God, and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ. “The Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” which is in their midst, and which they are in danger of despising. It reproves their covetousness, their pride and vanity, and their sinful habits. Self is touched. The Devil tempts them, and some resist the teachings of the Holy Spirit, and they are left to despise the work of God.

But here a difficulty arises in some minds; many things come to us in the form of prophesyings, such as Spiritualism, what shall we do with them? The Apostle answers,

3. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” The world is filled with spiritual deception. Spiritualism is the crowning heresy of the age, is dangerous in theory, and dangerous and powerful by reason of the influences which arrest and captivate the mind. Here is a most deceptive counterfeit of the work of God. The prophets of the Lord have ever been brought under the influence of the Spirit of God, and have been taught through the agency of holy angels; while the mediums of this age are brought under the influence of Satan, and are taught by the “spirits of Devils.” But by what rule shall we prove them? We give the following rules, given by inspiration of God.

RULE FIRST.—“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. viii, 19, 20.

RULE SECOND.—“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matt. vii, 15-20.

Notice with care that this rule given by our Lord, touches the case exactly. He gives a rule by which we may know false and true prophets. “By their fruits ye shall know them.”

By these rules the counterfeit may be detected, and the genuine known. By them we may prove all things, and hold fast that which is good. The teachings of the Holy Spirit, and good angels will most assuredly lead men to have faith in the Holy Scriptures, and lead to a life of self-denial, consecration and holiness. But those who have read most from the pens of Spiritualists, best know that this heresy leads men to reject and ridicule the Holy Scriptures, hate the God of the Bible, and despise salvation through Jesus Christ.

We think that the reader will not fail to see that the Apostle is tracing the same subject in the three declarations, viz., “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” The “all things” which we are to prove, must be limited to the subject of which the Apostle is speaking, viz., all things in the form of prophesyings. Those who object to this limitation, and understand “all things” to mean every thing, will certainly have to admit that the Apostle has required of them quite a task.

We close our remarks on this subject by calling attention to Joel ii, 28-32. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy: your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the hand-maids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”

The points in this prophecy to which we wish to call attention are as follows:

1. The Spirit is to be poured out. It will not come like the dew or gentle rain upon the mown grass; but it will be poured out, so that every heart will be filled to overflowing. We think that this fullness of the Holy Spirit is illustrated by the latter rain.

2. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit both sons and daughters will prophesy. Some have excluded females from a share in this work, because it says, “your young men shall see visions.” They seem to forget that “man” and “men” in the Scriptures generally means both male and female. The infidel Paine would have been ashamed of a quibble involving such ignorance.

3. These manifestations of the Spirit are in connection with wonders in the heavens and in the earth in the sun and in the moon, which are signs of the near approach of the great and the terrible day of the Lord.

4. The deliverance of the remnant is here mentioned. Also, their calling on the name of the Lord, which will be in the time of trouble. We therefore conclude that the prophecy has its fulfillment in the last days, and that the pouring out of the Spirit, and the manifestations of the gift of prophecy is with the remnant which keep the Commandments of God, and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev. xii, 17. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. xix, 10.

It may be said that Peter [Acts ii, 16] applied this prophecy of Joel to what took place on the day of pentecost. But we would inquire, How much of the prophecy was then fulfilled? Was the sun then turned into darkness, and the moon into blood? No, these were to be exhibited as signs of the great and the terrible day of the Lord. Neither is there the least evidence that wonders then appeared in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath. Luke states that they spoke with tongues, leaving us without evidence that any had visions on that day. And certainly the outsiders might well have been amazed on beholding old men asleep, dreaming dreams in the midst of the exciting scenes and uproar of the occasion. Well might they have supposed such to be stone drunk. It is true there was a mighty manifestation of the Spirit on the day of pentecost, but it is contrary to plain facts in the case to apply the whole prophecy there. It is also true, that it has been the privilege of the saints from that day to this to be filled with the Spirit. But in the last days it is to be poured out upon the remnant. Glorious promise to the waiting, trusting people of God. J. W.