Malcolm Webber
Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to His Church to empower us to fulfill the great mission He gave us.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
Sadly, for many centuries the Church lived largely – although not entirely – without the manifest supernatural power of God in her midst. But since the beginning of the 20th century, Christians around the world have experienced a renewal of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that dwarfs anything seen since the days of the Early Church. By the end of the century, over 500 million believers, from practically every nation and ethnic group on the earth, were involved in this revival. This great outpouring of the Holy Spirit was predicted by the prophet Joel:
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)
At the end of the age God has poured out His Spirit on His Church, raising up an army of Spirit-filled believers to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth in preparation for Jesus’ glorious return.
God has always intended that the preaching of the Gospel would be accompanied by signs and wonders (Mark 16:15-20). It has always been His will for His Church to live in the supernatural realm. He has always wanted His work to be done in His way by the power of His Spirit:
… “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)
It has always been God’s will for His Church to possess the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is, however, a popular teaching that miracles and the supernatural were only valid for the time of the Early Church. The purpose of miracles was to authenticate the New Testament as it was being given. Thus, when the New Testament was complete, the miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit came to an end, having achieved their purpose. Therefore, miracles, and the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit in His Church, are not for today.
In response to this idea:
- It is not taught in the Bible. The Bible teaches that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to the Church (1 Cor. 12) and it nowhere states they have ever been taken away!
- The biblical testimony is that miracles authenticated the preaching of the Gospel, rather than the giving of the written New Testament.
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His Word by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark 16:20)
Just as we are still to preach the Gospel today, we should expect the Lord to continue to confirm His Word the same way He has always done it – with signs following – until “the very end of the age”:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
- The New Testament teaches that the supernatural gifts and miracles of the Holy Spirit will be in the Church until the very end of the Church Age when Jesus returns:
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:7-8)
Thus, God’s purpose is for all the spiritual gifts to be present in the Church until Jesus’ return.
It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11- 13)
According to Paul, the supernatural ministries of apostle, prophet, etc. are to be present in the Church until the Church reaches full maturity. Certainly, this has not happened yet!
Consider these three parallel statements of the Great Commission:
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation … And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My Name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:15-18)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
In Mark 16, Jesus said that signs would accompany the preaching of the Gospel; in Acts 1:8, He said that the power of the Holy Spirit was given to the Church to help her accomplish her mission; and in Matthew 28, He referred to the time context of this: “to the very end of the age.” Thus, signs accompanying the Gospel have not passed away!
Jesus stated His will for His people in John 14:
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)
Jesus wants His people to do supernatural works – the same kind of works He did Himself. Jesus has never changed (Heb. 13:8); His will for His people has always remained the same.
- The testimony of Church history is that miracles have continued to occur in the Body of Christ throughout the entire Church Age.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit have never been taken away from the Church of Jesus Christ. The unbelief of man has severely restricted their use in many cases, but the time has come for the people of God to rise up and return to the simplicity and power of the New Testament pattern.
We need the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish the will of God – and God has graciously given them to us!
Get your copy of The Gifts of the Holy Spirit here. To purchase more of our books, visit https://www.strategicpress.org/.