Are There Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit Today?
Introduction
Throughout the early chapters of Acts and the Gospel accounts,
miracles are repeatedly recorded—performed by Jesus, His apostles,
and early disciples. These miracles—healing the sick, raising the
dead, controlling nature—served as divine signs to confirm the
Gospel message, authenticate divine authority, and establish the
church. Many of these miracles were
performed by the Holy Spirit, demonstrating His active role
in confirming God's truth during the first century.
The Purpose of Miracles in the First Century
Miracles in the first century
confirmed divine authority because the full revelation of
the Gospel had not yet been completed. John 20:30-31 explains that
the miracles Jesus performed were recorded so that people
might believe Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son. These signs
verified His divine claim, especially in a time when many
false messengers claimed to be the Messiah. Similarly, the miracles
confirmed the preaching of the apostles, authenticating
their message and establishing the early church.
Miracles and the Need for Continued Signs Today
Today, many claim that
miraculous signs still
occur—speaking in tongues, healing, prophecy, and divine
signs. However, the question remains:
Are miracles necessary today? To answer this, we must turn
to Scripture.
The only authoritative source is God's Word, and it
clearly states the purpose and temporary nature of
miracles.
Biblical Evidence that Miracles Ceased
In 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, Paul explains that
miraculous gifts—prophecy, tongues, knowledge—will
cease when
“that which is perfect” is come. This phrase refers to the
full revelation of God's Word—the complete New Testament,
given over a period of about 70 years. Once the Scriptures were
complete,
the purpose of miracles—to reveal and confirm truth—was
fulfilled, and
they were to cease.
The Purpose of Miracles in Early Church
Miracles
served as divine scaffolding—necessary during the church's
infancy when the written Word was not fully available (Acts 2, Acts
8, Acts 10). They
confirmed the apostles’ message, helped spread the Gospel,
and
guided early believers in worship and doctrine. However,
once the Bible was fully written,
there was no further need for signs and miracles.
Scriptural Evidence on the Fulfillment of Miracle Signs
Paul elaborates in Ephesians 4:8-16 that
Christ gave spiritual gifts (miraculous powers) to apostles
and other early saints
until they
came to the unity of the faith. When the
entire canon of Scripture was
complete, those gifts
were no longer needed. The church
was equipped with
the full and perfect Word—the inspired Scriptures—which
is all we need for salvation, worship, and doctrine today.
The Illustration of a Mirror
Paul uses the analogy of a mirror:
We see in part now, but
when the perfect comes, we will see
face to face. The incomplete revelation of the early church
is like
looking into a foggy mirror, but
when the Scriptures are complete, we will see
clearly. This
“perfect” is the
fully revealed, inspired Word of God—not Christ Himself in
a miraculous context.
Conclusion
Miraculous gifts served their purpose
during the early church—to
confirm divine authority and
reveal God’s truth.
When the Bible was completed,
the signs ceased because
the Word
was enough. We now
have access to
the full, inspired Scriptures, which
are sufficient to guide us
in salvation, worship, and daily living. The age of
miracles
ended over 1900 years ago. Today,
the Spirit continues His work
through the inspired Word—not through miraculous signs—to
lead us into truth and salvation.
Sermon Narrative:
Are There Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit Today?
Today, we will examine a question that many Christians and religious
adherents have asked throughout the ages:
Are there still miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit today?
Throughout the early chapters of Acts and the Gospel accounts,
miracles are repeatedly recorded—performed by Jesus, His apostles,
and early disciples. These miracles included healings, raising the
dead, controlling nature, and speaking in languages they had never
learned. They served as divine signs to confirm the message of Jesus
Christ, authenticate divine authority, and establish the church.
Many miracles were performed by the Holy Spirit Himself,
demonstrating His active role during the first century.
The primary purpose of these miracles was
confirmation—to show that the Gospel message was from God
and that the apostles were divinely authorized to speak and act in
His name. For example, in John 20:30-31, John states that
the miracles Jesus performed were written so that
people might believe Jesus is the Christ, God's Son.
Because the Scriptures
were not yet fully written in that era,
miraculous signs played a critical role in confirming
divine truth.
But the question remains:
Do miracles still happen today? Are we still in the era
when the Holy Spirit performs similar signs to confirm divine
authority? To answer this, we have to turn to the Bible itself. The
Scriptures
claim that the purpose of miracles was
temporary—to verify divine truth
until the
full and complete revelation of God's Word was given.
In 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, Paul explains that
miraculous gifts—such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and
miraculous knowledge—will
cease once
“that which is perfect”
comes. This phrase refers to the
full revelation of God's inspired Word—the complete New
Testament. The process of revelation took about 70 years, starting
with the apostles and early believers, with divine signs confirming
the gospel message
until God’s Word was fully revealed.
Various biblical examples
support this understanding. Acts 2 describes the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, where apostles
spoke in many languages—a miraculous sign ensuring that
attendees from various nations could
hear and understand the Gospel. These signs
confirmed divine authority and
verified that the apostles’ message was from God. Later, in
Acts 8 and Acts 10, Acts 19, and others, miracles such as healing
and speaking in tongues continued to confirm the divine origin of
the message
until the full Bible was written.
This brings us to an important point:
once the
full canon of Scripture was
completed,
the need for signs ceased. The early church
no longer needed supernatural signs because
the full revelation of God's Word—the inspired Scriptures—produced
the
confirmation and
guidance that miracles once provided. As Paul states in 1
Corinthians 13,
when “that which is perfect” has come,
miraculous signs
cease, since they were
only a
temporary divine scaffolding.
The analogy of scaffolding during the construction of a building
illustrates this well. Scaffolding is essential during the building
process but
is removed once the structure is complete. Similarly,
miraculous signs and gifts were
necessary during the early church
to build and
confirm divine truth, but
once the Bible was
fully revealed and in the hands of believers,
these signs
were no longer needed and
ceased.
Today,
miraculous signs are often claimed by some to still be in
operation—healing the sick, speaking in tongues, performing
supernatural miracles. However, there
is no biblical evidence to support that these signs
continue today. The Scriptures
are clear:
God’s Word is now complete, and
it is sufficient for guiding believers in faith and
practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The earliest church
did not rely on
miracles for salvation; they
obeyed the Gospel based on
the Word that
was
divinely inspired and
complete.
In conclusion, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit
served a specific purpose during the infancy of the
church—to
confirm divine authority and
reveal God's truth.
When the
full and inspired Word of God was
fully revealed,
the signs and miracles
ceased. Today,
the Spirit’s work continues
through the Bible—the
fully revealed and infallible Word—which
guides,
convicts,
sanctifies, and
empowers believers **
The
church of Christ
