Where I Stand on the Doctrine of The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts:

No Christian can dispute the supernatural occurrences that are mentioned in the Bible. What many people disagree on is whether those things are taking or can take place today.

The Bible says absolutely nothing about/ gives no indication that the supernatural manifestations of God would stop after the completion of the Bible. In fact the Bible is very clear that God is sovereign and can do what He wants, how He wants, when He wants, with whomever He wants. It also says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever- not that He would one day decide not to use supernatural gifts.

Before I continue though, I want to make it clear that I can agree to disagree with Christian brothers and sisters on issues of Spiritual Gifts, Speaking in Tongues, Miracles, Healings etc….That the presence of said gifts is not essential, a marker of spiritual maturity, or an indication of a closer walk with God.

The verse that most people who don’t believe in the fullness of the Scriptural Spiritual gifts today usually use to discredit them is 1 Corinthians 18:8-10.

That verse says’” when perfection comes” that prophecies will cease and that the spiritual gift of tongues will cease. It then says that knowledge will pass away, but goes on to say that we know in part and prophesy in part and when the perfection comes that we will have those things wholly. For Spiritual Gift detractors, this “perfection” is usually referred to as the whole Bible- with the New Testament. But usually in Scripture perfection is referred to as the state that God intended the world to be and intends to restore it to. The New Testament is perfect, but if you use that argument that means that we know longer have need for knowledge because we know everything- which we clearly don’t.

So are those gifts in action today? The Bible says nothing to the contrary.

As for ‘miracles’; the word means an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.

The ability of God to save a totally depraved sinner and to impute to him Christ’s righteousness, indwell him with Holy Spirit, and give him a regenerated heart- that’s the greatest miracle of all! And it’s one that’s happening today. The ability to sustain the creation of the universe and keep everything in perfect balance for the substation of human life on planet earth- that’s a miracle! As for other miracles? If God can do those awesome things; he can do anything!

I believe with all my heart that God still heals people today .The Bible says that every good and perfect gift is from above. If I am sick; and then I get better- God made me better. He healed me. Whether a doctor helped, medicine helped, time helped, or rest helped- God was the one who healed me.

James 5:14-15 is clear that we are to pray for healing when it says,” Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” And Jesus constantly taught that we could come before God, asking Him anything and He would answer those prayers.

Tongues? Oh man! This is probably the most contested issue in Scripture and I don’t claim to have it all figured out.

It appears that there are two kinds of tongues mentioned in Scripture: tongues of men and tongues of angels.

I believe that ‘tongues of men’ are when someone speaks a human language unknown to them in a location where someone else understands that language and is used for the purpose of bringing that person to faith in Christ (Acts 2).

I believe that ‘tongues of angels’ are when someone prays and possibly speaks in a language unknown to man for the sake of interpretation. (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 14).

Do those things happen today? There is no Scripture that says that can’t or don’t.

Paul himself said he wished that all people spoke in tongues and to forbid not speaking in tongues. There is no reason to apply this Scripture to only a specific time period, but not the rest of Scripture as well.

If tongues are practiced, the Bible lays strict guidelines on how they are to be used in a church gathering (1 Corinthians 14).

All that being said; I want to clarify that I do not consider myself to be Pentecostal. My Pentecostal brothers and sisters typically believe that Speaking in Tongues is the initial evidence of being baptized in (or filled with) the Holy Spirit.  

I believe that the first incident of Believers speaking in tongues on the Day of Pentecost was a descriptive portion of Scripture, not prescriptive: Meaning that you can be baptized in (or filled with) the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues. It doesn’t mean that you won’t or can’t speak in tongues when you are baptized in (or filled with) the Holy Spirit; simply that it is not the indicator of said activities of the Holy Spirit.

I believe that one is baptized in the Spirit upon salvation, and that the Holy Spirit dwells within you from that moment forth. I do, however, believe that there are times when the Holy Spirit fills you up beyond what is normal to you; sometimes until you are overflowing. This will always be done by the will of God and for His glory only. The gifts that manifest themselves during these times exist to bring God glory, to point people to Jesus, and to strengthen and encourage the Believer. They are not for the physical or emotional pleasure of the Believer.

I believe that these two things (being baptized in the Spirit, and being filled with the Holy Spirit) are two separate events, but can take place simultaneously.

Sadly, many Christians grossly misuse the Spiritual Gifts for their own pleasure and glory, and turn them into a circus. I am sure that grieves the Holy Spirit.

So, in conclusion, I do believe that all of the Spiritual Gifts mentioned in the Bible are available to the Church today for God’s glory, but are to be used only under the strict regulations set by Scripture and the supernatural leading of the Holy Spirit. Specific Spiritual Gifts do not indicate whether or not someone is saved, whether or not someone has been baptized in the Spirit, whether or not someone has been filled with the Spirit, whether or not someone is spiritually mature, or whether or not someone is closer to God than others.