THE HOLY SPIRIT --  #5

     Thank you and once again we express our appreciation to each one
who has honored us with your time this morning. How grateful I am to
have you study the unsearchable riches of God's Eternal Word. This is
"What Saith the Scriptures?" and we hope and pray that you have your
Bible before you with pen and paper to jot down the scriptures, that
you may give them more serious study. Again, I state, if you believe
that I have  misused or abused a passage, please call it to our
attention. You would be our friend, for you see, we shall all stand
before God one day in judgment as to how we have handled the Word of
God. We shall be judged by that Word. John 12:48. I want to right,
don't you?
     For the past four lessons we have been discussing the Holy
Spirit. We have learned that the Holy Spirit is a person; that He is
deity; that He has spoken to man, giving mankind the Word of God; and
that Word is now recorded in the book we call the Bible.  We also have
learned that we are led by the Spirit when we follow the teachings
which the Spirit has revealed. We saw that the Holy Spirit dwells in
us exactly as God, the Father, and Christ, the Son, dwell in us. And
that is by and through the teachings, the message, of the Holy Spirit.
We learned that at least on two occasions, the miraculous aspect of
the Holy Spirit was received by those who had obeyed the gospel,
through the laying on of the hands of an apostle. (Acts 8:17; 19:6)
     You will note in both of these cases, that they became the
children of God by obeying the gospel, and then the ability to speak
in tongues was bestowed upon them through the laying on of the
apostles hands. They were not told to pray for the Holy Spirit to come
upon them that they might speak in tongues.
     As we closed last week we made the observation that we would
inquire as to whether or not the miraculous aspect of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit were still active in our lifetime. In other words, does
the Holy Spirit perform miracles today? Are the miraculous gifts of
the Spirit being given unto mankind today, in our generation? Do men
speak in tongues like the early disciples did in the first century?
Do they have the ability to perform healing miracles? Do they have the
power to raise the dead? Do they have the other gifts of the Spirit
like those early disciples had? It is my prayer that each listener
will study with me with the desire to find out what God's Word says on
this important subject.  Have an open heart.  May we allow God's Word
be the authority; the determining factor. It should not be man's inner
feelings, emotions, longings, that answers the question. It should not
even what your speaker thinks on the matter. It must be, "What saith
the Scriptures?"
     First, let us identify what we mean by a miracle? By definition,
a miracle is an act of God superseding or suspending a natural law. I
am not talking about Divine providence, or God working in the lives of
mankind. I wholeheartedly believe that God is still present and active
in the lives of His people. But, what I am discussing: Are divine
miracles still being performed. By miracles I mean, turning water into
wine, walking upon water, raising the dead, being bitten by a
poisonous serpent without any ill effect, speaking in a language one
does not know, nor has studied, preaching by direct inspiration. These
are but a few of the miracles recorded in the Bible. Events that
actually happened.  Question: Why were these miracles performed. John
tells us, "Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written,
that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing ye may have life in his name" (John 20:30, 31).  Why were
signs (miracles) performed?  To convince mankind that Jesus was and is
the Son of God.  His miracles and signs continue unto this day to
confirm His Sonship with the Father. He indeed is the Son of God.
Signs and miracles attest to this fact. He was finally raised from the
dead, another miracle, to die no more, but to ascend into heaven,
where he now rules at the right hand of the Father. I wish to
emphasize a point just here. Hear me well. There was never a miracle
performed simply for the purpose of helping those who received the
miracle. Jesus did not heal a person just to make them well. Jesus did
not feed the multitude just to satisfy their hunger. Jesus did not
raise Lazarus simply to remove the anguish of his sisters. Oh, No. All
of these were performed to prove that He indeed is the Son of God. Did
those upon whom miracles were performed benefit from the miracle. Of
course they did, but that was not the reason for the miracle. They
were done to convince mankind of His divine Sonship. And they still
confirm the same truth. How do we know that Jesus the Christ, is the
Son of God. By the signs and miracles which He performed. These signs
are recorded upon the pages of God's Book, the New Testament.
Remember, we were told by John that these signs have been written that
we might believe. Signs (miracles) were to convince the unbeliever,
the untaught, not to cause a reaction to a believer. Miracles were
never performed as a proof of salvation. Many in the religious world
today who claim to be able to perform miracles have the process in
exactly the reverse order.
     In the early church the disciples demonstrated that they came
from God by the miracles which they performed. Listen to Hebrews 2:3,
4, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which
having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto
us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by
signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy
spirit, according to his own will."  Miracles were for the purpose of
convincing the unbeliever that God was working and speaking through
those performing the miracle. If God is working through the speaker,
then surely, you should listen and heed the message of the speaker.
Such is not the purpose of those who claim miraculous powers today.
The Word of God has been confirmed long ago. It does not need some
sign to verify it. It remains God's Word. Christ remains God's Son.
Both of these facts were confirmed or proven by signs and miracles.
When God's word was completed and written down, the need for
confirmation was no longer there. To verify these remarks, I now turn
to Paul's message in 1 Corinthians 13.
     But first, let us notice 1 Corinthians 12. In the twelfth
chapter, Paul discusses the diversities of the gifts of the Spirit.
Time does not permit us to go into a verse by verse study, but the
great apostle is seeking to correct some abuses of these gifts in
Corinth.  Some of the disciples had been given various gifts, nine in
number. But, some of them were abusing and misusing these gifts and
Paul sets forth to correct them. You will notice that the various
gifts were given to various members. To one was given the "word of
wisdom," to another, "the gift of healing," to another, "the gift of
miracles," etc. Read verses 4-11 to see this. All did not speak with
tongues, all did not work miracles, all did not interpret. See verses
28-30 to see this. He then states he was going to show them a most
excellent way. So chapter 13 discusses the attributes of love. In
verse 8, he states, "Love never faileth: but whether there be
prophesies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they
shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we
know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect
is come, that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child,
I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child; now that
I am become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in
a mirror, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then
shall I know fully even as I was fully known. But now abideth faith,
hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love," reading
through verse 13.
     Did you hear the apostle say that something was to cease, to be
done away? What was to be done away, what was to cease? The gift of
prophesy, the gift of tongues, the gift of knowledge. When were these
to cease, to be done away? When that which is perfect is come. To what
does the apostle refer when he speaks of that which is "perfect"? My
friend, Jesus, the Christ, was never, nor shall ever be referred to as
a "THAT." Paul is not discussing the second coming of Christ. He IS
discussing the completed revelation of God's Book, the Bible. You see,
when the complete revelation was given and man had access to it there
would no longer be a need for prophesy, for tongues, for knowledge.
Let me hasten to point out that the "knowledge" in this verse refers
to the miraculous gift of knowledge. See 1 Corinthians 12:8 for that
understanding. He is not discussing knowledge like all men have. If
that is what he is discussing and he is foretelling the second coming
of the Lord, then, we would all be a bunch of ignoramuses in God's
presence when He comes again, because Paul says that when that which
is perfect comes, knowledge would be done away. That just doesn't make
good sense does it. What Paul is saying is that when the completed,
perfect revelation of God's Word was finished, there would no longer
be a need for prophesy, for tongues, for knowledge. God's word would
not longer need signs and miracles to prove it to be the word of God.
Do you my friend, believe the Bible to be the word of God. If so, why
do you so believe? Your answer no doubt is, it has been proven to be
the word of God by the signs and miracles of the apostles and others
in the first century. And I will readily agree with you. I do not need
to see a miracle to believe in God's revealed word. Christ and the
apostles proved that fact. And I believe it.
     You will notice in 1 Corinthians 13, that Paul said there was
something partial and there was something perfect or complete. To what
does he refer as being partial?  Those gifts listed in chapter 12. The
church was in its infantile state, it had just begun. These gifts were
given to assist the early Christians to be able to convince the world
that their message did indeed come from God. Today we have that
perfect testimony, God's word, written for us to use to convince the
world of the need for salvation in Christ. To it we appeal. James
refers to God's Word as the "perfect law, the law of liberty," (James
1:25) and tells us that we must be doers of that perfect message.
Thus, man has all that he or she needs to become the child of God and
to live a life that is pleasing unto God. Speaking in tongues is not
needed to teach one what to do to become a Christian. Speaking in
tongues was needed in the first century because they did not have the
written word; the message was transmitted through the disciples. And
when they travelled about from country to country, it would be
necessary for them to speak in the language of the people to whom they
were presenting the message. Remember, when the apostles spoke in
tongues in Acts 2, their audience understood them. They said, "And how
hear we, every man in our own language, wherein we were born" (Acts 2:
8). Verse 11 states, "We hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty
works of God." Paul states, "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to
them that believe, but to the unbelieving" (1 Corinthians 14:22). You
see, those who claim to speak in tongues have the thing reversed. They
claim that tongues are a sign of discipleship. Paul said tongues were
to convince the unbeliever. But, I see our time is gone. We will
continue this next week.
     Before I leave, I wish to express to each one a very happy new
year and a very prosperous one.

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