PERPETUITY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
1 Cor. i, 4-8. "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in every thing 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. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." The gifts were planted in the Christian church. God set them there. And we judge that the Corinthians shared largely of their benefits, from the fact that Paul in his epistles to them, occupies much space in speaking definitely in regard to their proper exercise. In the above quotation the apostle thanks God on their behalf for the grace bestowed upon them by Jesus Christ; that they were enriched in all utterance and knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in them. If we turn to Rev. xix, 10, for an inspired definition of the testimony of Jesus, we read, "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." By this they were enriched in knowledge and utterance. However applicable this testimony might have been to the church at Corinth at the time the apostle wrote, or to Christians from that day to this, certainly especial reference is made to the last days in the expressions, "waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," "the end," "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Hence verse 7, "So that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," teaches the perpetuity of the gifts, and the privilege of the waiting ones to enjoy them all. The end here mentioned, is evidently the end of the age. Here in this very connection the subject of perfect unity is introduced. Read verse 10. Paul taught the Ephesians that the gifts were given "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith." Chap. iv, 11-14. He here exhorts the Corinthians to "all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment," and this, too, in connection with the statement, "that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." Then right here comes in the restitution of the gifts to unite a people for the second coming of Jesus Christ. If an effort be made to carry this testimony back, and restrict it to the very members of the Corinthian church living when Paul wrote, then we inquire, Was that what the apostle calls the day of our Lord Jesus Christ? Did they consistently and scripturally wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Did "the end" then come? All well-instructed Adventists will answer these questions negatively. The present is the time to scripturally wait for the second coming of Christ, which event is associated in the New Testament with "the end." The Epistles to the Corinthians were written for the benefit of the Christian church, not for those Christians only then living at Corinth, but for the church, and some portions have a special application to the present time. We will call attention to two passages where the apostle apparently, by the use of the word us, addresses only those then living, and yet the events of which he speak are in the future. In chap. xv, 51, 52, Paul says, "Behold I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Shall we say that the word "we," used three times in this quotation, embraces only Paul and the members of the church at Corinth then living? Circumstances will not admit of so narrow an application. Paul and his brethren at Corinth did sleep—die. The last trump did not then sound. And none of them were changed to immortality in the twinkling of an eye. Hence this testimony has a special application to Christians who are alive on earth at the second coming of Christ. The apostle says [1 Thess. iv, 16, 17]. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." Here he again uses the word us, but the events mentioned did not occur in Paul's day. He and his brethren at Thessalonians were not translated to heaven without seeing death. The chapter closes with the above quotation, and the next opens with the continuation of the same subject. Chap. v, 1-4. "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." The day of the Lord is seen to be the day of "sudden destruction." It is the day of wrath which is in the Old and New Testaments associated with the second advent of Christ. This day is not in the past, hence the language is not applicable to the Christians of past generations. The Christians of the last generation—the very men and women who are to be living on the earth when the day of the Lord comes—are here addressed. Hence all true Adventists will regard themselves as the "brethren" Paul addresses, and his language especially applicable to the present time. He continues in this chapter without change, setting forth practical duties applicable to those who are watching for the approach of the day of the Lord, and in verses 19-21, says, "Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." Here are three very important injunctions. 1. "Quench not the Spirit." We quench fire with water. And prominent among the means of quenching the Spirit of God is unbelief. Jesus in his own country did not many mighty works because of their unbelief. There is at the present time almost a universal state of unbelief in regard to the operations of the Holy Spirit, especially in the manifestation of the gifts. Unbelief shuts the Spirit of God away from the mind. It quenches the Spirit, and leaves the masses exposed to the delusions of these last days. Again, those who by unbelief quench the Spirit in these last days will be illy prepared to share in the great blessings which God promises by the prophet Joel, quoted by Peter, Acts ii, 17, 18: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, 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 hand-maidens, I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." The "former rain" was given on the day of pentecost, and enjoyed by the early Christians, to cause the gospel seed to germinate and take root. The "latter rain" is coming to ripen the golden harvest for the garner of God. Take care, dear reader, lest unbelief in you quench the Spirit, and shut you away from this great blessing designed for "them that believe." 2. "Despise not prophesyings." We are here warned of one of the dangers of the last days. The pretensions of Ann Lee, the mother of the Shakers, the corrupt prophets of Mormonism, and the one thousand and one of Satan's medium prophets, devoted to the cause of Spiritualism, with all its baseness, have struck the world with disgust at anything like the supernatural. The Devil got these things up to not only destroy many souls by them, but to disgust and drive others as far as possible to unbelief in regard to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Hence the danger of indiscriminately despising all prophesyings. 3. "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." The three declarations, "Quench not the Spirit, Despise not prophesyings, Prove all things; hold fast that which is good," have a close relation to each other. Therefore the "all things" to be proved, do not mean everything in the wide world, for this would be imposing an unreasonable tax upon believers; hence the expression must be limited to the subject of prophecyings. Despise not prophesyings, but prove them, and separate the genuine from the counterfeit coin of the Devil, and that which is good, which is from the Spirit of God, which will stand the test, hold fast. We will here give three rules by which true and false prophecyings may be known: 1. Matt. vii, 15-20. "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." 2. Isa. viii, 19, 20. "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." 3. False prophets speak smooth things, prophesy lies, and cry peace to the wicked, which has ever been pleasing to the carnal mind, hence the love of the peace and safety in the delusion of Spiritualism. Jer. xiv, 14. "Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." Chap. xxiii, 16, 17. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you." Chap. viii, 10, 11. "For every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness. From the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace." Isa. xxx, 8-11. Now go, write it before them in a93table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us." On the other hand the prophets of God have faithfully reproved sin, and borne a testimony which has called down upon their heads the wrath of the self-righteous deceived.