Episode 10
Understanding the Temporary Duration of Divine Gifts in the Last Days
The primary focus of this discourse centers on the transitory nature of spiritual gifts bestowed upon the early disciples through the apostles' laying on of hands. It is elucidated that such gifts were intended for a definitive period during the apostolic age, particularly as we no longer possess living apostles to convey these gifts. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit serves as a pledge of inheritance, analogous to the Greek concept of "arrabon," highlighting that the gifts were merely temporary assurances until the fulfillment of God's redemptive promises. Lastly, the metaphor of the marriage of the Lamb underscores the binding nature of this covenant, illustrating a preparatory phase leading to the consummation of the divine union. The culmination of these elements reinforces the understanding that the spiritual gifts were designed to assist in the transition from one era to the next, culminating in the ultimate realization of God's promises, which have now been fulfilled.
The discussion centers around the temporality of spiritual gifts as evidenced through three compelling proofs. The first proof delineates how spiritual gifts were conferred by the Apostles through the laying on of hands, a practice that is now obsolete due to the absence of living apostles. This cessation aligns with the theological understanding of the last days, which are characterized by fulfillment rather than ongoing promise. The second proof draws on the Greek concept of 'arrabon', likened to a pledge, wherein the Holy Spirit serves as a guarantee of the inheritance promised to believers until the fulfillment of that promise. This notion is illustrated through an ancient narrative involving Judah and Tamar, emphasizing that the promise's fulfillment negates the need for the initial guarantee. Finally, the episode explores the cultural significance of marriage customs as a metaphor for Christ's relationship with the Church, culminating in the eschatological promise of His return, highlighting the transition from one age to another, and the implications for those who are prepared versus those who are not. The episode provides a comprehensive analysis of the spiritual gifts' duration, supported by scriptural references and cultural context, ultimately asserting that the present age of that era reflects a fulfillment of God's redemptive plan rather than an ongoing era of spiritual gifts.
Transcript
And good day to you.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us in this study.
Speaker A:Today we want to talk about the spiritual gifts.
Speaker A:We talked about the gifted men as I refer to them in Ephesians 4.
Speaker A:Some people refer to this as the fourfold or fivefold Gospel where he talks about apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
Speaker A:I want to make the same application that we made last week regarding their work and make the same application for those who all of God's people, the saints of the first century who received spiritual gifts, they also kind of go hand in hand because these were the things that God had given his people during this period of time, this transition from one age to the next.
Speaker A:So we want to talk about spiritual gifts and how they endured during the apostles lifetime.
Speaker A:We have already shown that the spiritual gifts were imparted through the laying on of the apostles hands.
Speaker A:This is critical that we recognize this.
Speaker A:We've shown with the impartation on the Samaritans from Acts 8 and the Ephesian saints in Acts 19 that both of these passages prove it was accomplished by the apostles laying their hands on those who had been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:That was the promise, I believe that was given in Acts 2 and supported in Acts 5.
Speaker A:But having the power to lay hands on saints to receive a measure of the Spirit was the way that the saints in any given city could be edified.
Speaker A:They were interdependent on one another.
Speaker A:Each received a gift as the Spirit gave them for that purpose.
Speaker A:Now if the saints received their gifts through the laying on of the apostles hands, then their edification rested upon the physical presence of an apostle at some point.
Speaker A:Without them, no hands could be laid on saints and no spiritual gift could be imparted.
Speaker A:Now I'm not suggesting that there wasn't a cultural practice of laying hands on people that had nothing to do with imparting spiritual gifts.
Speaker A:As a matter of fact, from Acts 13 the saints there laid hands on Paul and Barnabas before they went out.
Speaker A:But this is another meaning and another purpose.
Speaker A:But we've shown that there are no apostles today because no one today has been with Jesus.
Speaker A:From the baptism of John to the ascension of Christ.
Speaker A:That was the criteria that was given before choosing Matthias.
Speaker A:And when they chose Matthias, that was the basis or the qualification for selecting a man to take Judas place.
Speaker A:Consider as an example of the gifts given to God's people, the shepherds.
Speaker A:There's a list we might highlight using this list we're about to give you and what we know about these men.
Speaker A:First of all the men were of age and experience would naturally be advantageous to a leader's role, and the Jewish elders occupied this position for the same reason.
Speaker A:They were men of experience and age and expected to have some degree of wisdom.
Speaker A:Second, regarding their selection, the example of Paul and Barnabas sets a precedent for the selection of these spiritual shepherds.
Speaker A: From Acts: Speaker A:Paul seems to have handed that work to the evangelist who would not only continue the teaching of the apostles and set examples for brethren to follow, but they would also appoint elders in the cities to which they were sent.
Speaker A:Third point is that the qualifications of the shepherds that were given to the evangelists Timothy and Titus indicates that these men were family men.
Speaker A:They had proven their leadership in the home by their nurturing and their admonition of to their children in the teaching of the Lord.
Speaker A:We find instruction regarding this in Ephesians 6, where Paul says in verse 2, not that the fathers should not provoke their children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.
Speaker A:Furthermore, their care and their oversight of souls are not all that different from the daily care of the apostle Paul.
Speaker A: In Second Corinthians: Speaker A:So herein we see a description of their differences, the target or the focus of their work.
Speaker A:And because the elders were chosen men living among saints in a city, it only stands to reason that these men would be overseeing souls among them, right?
Speaker A:That is to say, they were the people who were living in the same proximity as these shepherds lived in the same city.
Speaker A:The scope of their work in the oversight of souls among them, it does not suggest that these were overseers of local church organizations over them.
Speaker A:There is no indication that the phrase among you limited their role to members of some local church.
Speaker A:They were members.
Speaker A:Their work was merely among saints where they lived.
Speaker A:I think they were soul watchers and were among the saints on a daily basis.
Speaker A:And finally, any location that was attached to any of these gifts of men would have been among the shepherds.
Speaker A:Given the domestic qualification and the possible age, these men were not noted for traveling from city to city.
Speaker A:The apostle Paul and his traveling companions traveled very often.
Speaker A:That's not to say that these men couldn't have traveled or that they couldn't have moved from one city to the other.
Speaker A:I'm just saying that their work seemed to be focused on the cities in which they lived.
Speaker A:These gifts are listed together as being given to the called out people for a purpose and for a limited period of time.
Speaker A:It is not stated that only the apostles and prophets were given as gifts until we attained to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.
Speaker A:All four or five stand together as accomplishing the stated purpose and therefore for the same duration.
Speaker A:And so if we have men who are evangelists and pastors and teachers as gifts today, as most of us claim, then we have men who are also apostles and prophets today still.
Speaker A:Yet if we have apostles and prophets today, we would also expect to find flawless teaching, inspiration, revelation of mysteries and miraculous powers to confirm that revelation.
Speaker A:But as a result of seeking to squeeze us into the same context as the New Testament days, I believe some have mistakenly come to the conclusion and believe that the Holy Spirit's indwelling will manifest itself in miraculous powers today.
Speaker A:And yet they struggle to provide any proof of that.
Speaker A:And that's witnessed today even in many of the assemblies that I visit on occasion.
Speaker A:They don't resemble in any way the description of miraculous powers of the first century.
Speaker A:They certainly are not comparable.
Speaker A:We often read that what God has started, he would finish.
Speaker A:Even Philippians 1:6, the prayer is that God would finish what he began.
Speaker A:But once finished and the purpose fulfilled, the work was no longer needed.
Speaker A:In the absence of apostles to impart spiritual gifts, the means of receiving them certainly was no longer present.
Speaker A: turity that has lasted nearly: Speaker A:We have in the past looked at statements regarding the Holy Spirit being the guarantee of our inheritance.
Speaker A:I'd like for you for the moment to add this thought once again to this discussion of the duration of gifts by looking at chapter four of the Ephesian Letter where Paul points out in verse 30 or he's warning the saints of Ephesus, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Speaker A:Now I understand that many feelings and many emotions run high when people claim the presence of the Holy Spirit to God and indwell them.
Speaker A:But it's open to conflicting interpretations and very subjective feelings.
Speaker A:The seal that's given to first century Christians was undeniable.
Speaker A:It was undeniable evidence of miraculous powers from the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:And that itself was the pledge or the guaranteed that their inheritance guaranteed their inheritance until they acquired possession of it.
Speaker A:If we can use the same language as found in Ephesians 1:14, the three passages actually speak of this pledge or this guarantee.
Speaker A:I think it deserves repeating here.
Speaker A:One is over in 2 Corinthians 1, where Paul writes in our translations from verse 21 beginning it reads, now he which established us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed us and given the pledge or guarantee of the Spirit in our hearts.
Speaker A:Then in 2 Corinthians 5 we read in verse 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the self same thing is God, who also hath given us the guarantee of the Spirit.
Speaker A:Finally, in Ephesians 1 and verse 13 we read this in whom you also trusted after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise which is the guarantee.
Speaker A:King James says, the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of his glory.
Speaker A:Today we have the result of promises fulfilled, some of which they had too.
Speaker A:But together we have a Savior, we have a king who has guaranteed our resurrection and victory over death.
Speaker A:We have the confidence to enter the Holy of Holies with boldness and the assurance that fellowship with Jesus that can continue through his blood first John 17, 9.
Speaker A:But unlike them, we have so much more evidence from fulfilled prophecy and the fullness of revelation and the image of Jesus life.
Speaker A:You remember Peter talks about this word of prophecy made surer in 2 Peter 1:19.
Speaker A:If Peter could write and we have the word of prophecy made sure whereunto you do well that ye take heed unto a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star rise in your hearts.
Speaker A:Then what about the word of fulfilled prophecy?
Speaker A:The word of prophecy is one thing, and it's made sure by certain proofs.
Speaker A:But what about the word of fulfilled prophecy that we have in our possession today?
Speaker A:The promise that has been made has been accomplished.
Speaker A:It's been fulfilled.
Speaker A:Christ is victorious.
Speaker A:He has the keys of death and Hades in his hand.
Speaker A:He's already conquered.
Speaker A:Satan has been bound and he has been whipped.
Speaker A:He has taken from the strong man, if you please, the keys.
Speaker A:Today he hasn't given the seal of the spirit that guarantees that we are his children.
Speaker A:There's no need for that.
Speaker A:While that may at once alarm you to hear anyone say that, we must not forget that a guarantee is a pledge until what was promised has been fulfilled.
Speaker A:You see, in the first century, the transition from the old law into the new and living way, it was in the last days, that is to say, the last days of the Jewish era.
Speaker A:And the seal was proof of God's doing that guaranteed the fulfillment of his promises.
Speaker A:But once God had made good those promises and fulfilled his word and accomplished what he was sent to do, then the seal of possession that guaranteed their inheritance was also accomplished.
Speaker A:You see, the expectation is that a guarantee is returned in exchange for receiving what is promised.
Speaker A:It's not kept.
Speaker A:That's a bad translation to translate this earnest, as if to say that we've made a first down deposit or a first earnest payment.
Speaker A:The expectation is that a guarantee.
Speaker A:That's what it is.
Speaker A:You've got a guarantee.
Speaker A:You put something or has left something as a guarantee that you will return and make good the promise.
Speaker A:And so you give this as a guarantee until that promise has been met.
Speaker A:In other words, until you fulfill the promise that you've made.
Speaker A:When you make good the promise and you fulfill what you promised to give, then what was guaranteed would be returned.
Speaker A:It is a wonderful illustration.
Speaker A:If you go back to the time of Judah and Tamar, an excellent, excellent example is seen with Judah and Tamar.
Speaker A:You remember that Tamar was promised by law a child, another son from Judah.
Speaker A:His son had died, and he had promised that he never fulfilled his promise.
Speaker A:And Tamar, she was now a widow woman, and she took the initiative to develop a plot that worked in her favor.
Speaker A:Judah thinking that Tamar was a prostitute.
Speaker A:Now, this is not a commendable thing, but we're given the facts as in the Old Testament scriptures.
Speaker A:Whether commendable or not, it's not just a story.
Speaker A:These are events of that day.
Speaker A:And it occurred.
Speaker A:And we have it in Revelation for a reason, obviously, because it was through that lineage that we have the Christ.
Speaker A:So we have this Judah, who goes in unto Tamar, thinking that she's a harlot, to receive this gift from this harlot, she made him promise or guarantee or give a guarantee that she would be paid well.
Speaker A:To guarantee payment, which would be livestock in this case, Judah had to give up some very important elements, very important things that were unique to him.
Speaker A:His ring, his signet ring, his sash.
Speaker A:These were things that were valuable to him.
Speaker A:And she had no purpose for them, she couldn't use them, they were of no value to her.
Speaker A:But leaving them with her guaranteed that he would return, he needed them, and he would return and make good his promise.
Speaker A:And so he leaves them with her.
Speaker A:And of course, we know the whole story, but the point that I'm wanting you to see is that this Greek word, aurobon, is illustrated by the fact that what was guaranteed was not what was promised.
Speaker A:The guarantee was only to serve until such a time that the promise was met.
Speaker A:And when he returned to give her the livestock, the expectation was that he would then take his possessions back with him.
Speaker A:So that illustrates very nicely this thought of the Holy Spirit that was being given as a guarantee of their inheritance.
Speaker A:When that had been received, when the inheritance had been received, then of course, the guarantee was of no value.
Speaker A:It had been accomplished, it had been fulfilled.
Speaker A:So today's contrast is that our confidence and our assurance is wrapped in the total character of a God that cannot lie.
Speaker A:And he has fulfilled his promise not only by demonstrating his great wisdom, producing the called out class of people and the great grace that he displayed through every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, but also by opening the gates to the new Jerusalem that starts a new era of his reign, including all nations.
Speaker A:And though it would be exciting to experience a miracle performed through us as a personal guarantee of our identity and proof of God's approval to expect it is to admit first of all that the promise had not yet been fulfilled, we're still waiting for it to demand.
Speaker A:This is paramount to the Jews seeking a sign from the Lord to prove his authority.
Speaker A:We don't doubt his power.
Speaker A:I'm not questioning his authority or his ability to perform miraculous powers today or at any time.
Speaker A:But the need for the same assurances by granting miraculous powers is no longer required.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Well, we're not in the last days where the fulfillment was yet to be.
Speaker A:Now, if we are in the body of Christ today, then we are reigning with him in the heavenlies, along with all the redeemed who are before the throne today.
Speaker A:What has been promised has been fulfilled.
Speaker A:When Jesus told Thomas that he believed because he saw the evidence of divine power, he continues to say in verse 29 of John 20, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Speaker A:He continues to explain that what was written is offered as eyewitness testimony that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in his name.
Speaker A:The more testimony of the Word we read and understand, the more evidence we are given the promises are accomplished and our awareness of each fulfillment gives us all the more confidence that we have in the one who gave it.
Speaker A:In the last days, God promised the Holy Spirit as a pledge or as a guarantee that what he had promised was about to be fulfilled.
Speaker A:At the time the New Testament letters were written that had not yet been fulfilled when they were written, but would be fulfilled in their age.
Speaker A:The Messiah and his kingdom came and his reign with the saints would come, but had not yet begun.
Speaker A:The groom, his bride and the bridechamber had not yet been prepared.
Speaker A:The marriage had not yet taken place.
Speaker A:Perhaps the bride chamber is being prepared, but at some point that still at the time of the writing of the New Testament, the marriage had not yet taken place.
Speaker A:I think this accords with the old marriage culture of the Jews, who had a long espousal in preparation for the marriage feast and the ceremony and the marriage bed, a covenant had been entered.
Speaker A:But it was a period of preparation.
Speaker A:It was a period of transition.
Speaker A:The New Testament letters they expected the groom to come and they expected him to come in their lifetime.
Speaker A:And indeed the completion of these images of the kingdom and and the marriage were all completed at his return to destroy Jerusalem, the city of the Jews and reward the righteous who were promised they would be with him where he is.
Speaker A:John 14:1 3.
Speaker A:The last new Testament letters was written in the same in the late 60s.
Speaker A:And after putting an end to Old Jerusalem in 70, the groom came in to take his bride as to his father's house.
Speaker A:That glorious day of redemption and revealing of the sons of God was a feat that already accomplished that began a long reign of Christ with the saints.
Speaker A:Revelation 20, verses 2 through 4.
Speaker A:Another heading, I think that helps us understand the transition and the fulfillment of God's purpose and would also explain the end of the miraculous gifts is this thought of the creation of the one new man.
Speaker A:Gentile adoption was the mystery of the Gospel revealed during this period of infancy.
Speaker A:And the miraculous element that was present then is connected to that period, not to ours.
Speaker A:The end or the cessation of the spiritual gifts and the miraculous endowments of the Spirit.
Speaker A:They all occurred when the one new man was being developed.
Speaker A:He had not yet reached that stage.
Speaker A:This one new man was a new identity that united Jew and Gentile into one body.
Speaker A:The us that we have referenced in Ephesians 1:2.
Speaker A:The US WHO first trusted in Christ is not you and me.
Speaker A:Again, Paul is writing this to Ephesian saints.
Speaker A:And those who first trusted in Christ were the Jews.
Speaker A:Paul is describing the Jews who were predestined and who received the adoption.
Speaker A:Then in chapter two and verse five it reads, having predestinated us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself.
Speaker A:This same thought is also expressed over in Romans chapter 9, where Paul writes in verses 3 and 4 about his countrymen according to the flesh.
Speaker A:And he says about them, they are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises.
Speaker A:So the promises of redemption was first made to Israel, then it was made to the world.
Speaker A:Paul's statement to the Jew first and also to the Greek is found in Romans 1:16 and 17, and two more times in Romans chapter 2.
Speaker A:When he was in Antioch of Pisidia, recorded in Acts 13, he and Barnabas told those Jews who he met in the synagogue.
Speaker A:And let me just read it.
Speaker A:This is verse 46 and 47.
Speaker A:It reads, it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first.
Speaker A:But since you rejected and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles, for so the Lord has commanded us.
Speaker A:I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.
Speaker A:And so Paul preached to the Gentiles.
Speaker A:He preached in Acts 3:26 to you first.
Speaker A:God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.
Speaker A:Paul's speaking to a Jewish audience.
Speaker A:Our own text speaks of the Jews who first trusted in Christ.
Speaker A:Ephesians 2:15.
Speaker A:When Paul addresses the Ephesian Gentile Christians, he says, you also, as if to say that what is true for the Jew is also true for you, a Gentile.
Speaker A:Well, Jews seldom are ever adopted.
Speaker A:Adoption is a Gentile concept.
Speaker A:And so when Paul writes of the Jews who had been in bondage to the law receiving the adoption, there in Romans 9, he's using a Gentile concept.
Speaker A:Some say that Israel was not the natural born seed, and that the Gentiles were adopted similar to the image of the natural branches there in Romans chapter 11, where the Gentiles were the wild olive that was grafted into the tree.
Speaker A:But if you look at Romans chapter 9, it teaches that the Jews were adopted too.
Speaker A:It's clear that both Jews and Gentiles were adopted in the spiritual sense, because it required required adoption for both Jew and Gentile.
Speaker A:When Jesus taught Nicodemus in John 3 that he must be born again, he was speaking to a Jew.
Speaker A:And yet the same thing is expressed of the Gentiles.
Speaker A:And so the mystery of the Gospel, which is the adoption of Gentiles into the family of God that previously composed of Jews, becomes Paul's distinctive work to bring to completion.
Speaker A:Peter was the first to open the doors.
Speaker A:Jesus said he would be the first.
Speaker A:And they started the process of this mystery of God when he went to the gentiles in Acts 10.
Speaker A:But Paul, you might say, shut the door and completed the melting pot task of Jew Gentile merging.
Speaker A:This melting pot was not fully accomplished until after the destruction of Jerusalem and the new age of the kingdom that's described by John as the thousand year reign of Christ, that era that is referenced as the new heavens and the new earth by Peter and is that to which Paul refers as the body of Christ, the household or citizens.
Speaker A:It is the kingdom reign of Christ in which both Jews and Gentiles were finally united into a new mature man.
Speaker A:We're going to pick this thought up.
Speaker A:I'd like to continue, but this time I'd love to take you to another text, and that is in 1 Corinthians 13.
Speaker A:We'll begin that reading in verse 8 or so.
Speaker A:Till then, I trust you have a good day and a pleasant week ahead.
