Did God Do This to Me? by Barry Bennett

Author:Barry Bennett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harrison House Publishers
Published: 2017-11-20T00:00:00+00:00

20

Did the Gifts of the Spirit Pass Away with the Apostles?

Let’s look at three reasons that confirm that the gifts of the Spirit remain alive in the Church today.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Mark 16:15–18

1. In Mark 16:15–18, the command is to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Immediately we see that this command is not just for the original apostles of the Lord since it was physically impossible for them to accomplish this commission. Not only were they limited by the length of their earthly lives, but also they were limited by the lack of available transportation to reach every tribe and nation on earth.

Jesus’ commission wasn’t just to them, but to the entire church. If not, then we are not called to preach the gospel today because that commission died with the last apostle. This is a serious point. Are we or are we not called to reach the nations with the gospel? Was this command only to the apostles of the Lord? If the command is viable and active for us today, then what follows is also pertinent.

In Mark 16:16, “He that believeth” refers to those of the nations who become believers at the preaching of the gospel. In verse 17, “These signs shall follow them that believe,” is a promise to those same new believers. The new believers of verse 16 are the same believers who have signs following them in verse 17.

What signs will follow these new believers? They shall cast out demons, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents (Paul attacked by a snake, but suffered no harm, Acts 28), if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, and they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

In verse 20, the Lord was working with them confirming the Word with signs following. The Lord still works with those who believe and still confirms the Word with signs following. If the preaching of the gospel is to reach all nations, then the signs that follow that preaching are still valid.

Those who respond to that preaching will also have signs follow. Logic dictates that the apostles of the Lord couldn’t be around generation after generation to lay hands on each new believer. After all, the power wasn’t the apostle’s; it was the Lord’s power and confirmed the gospel. It still does.

2. The promise of the Father (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4) was received by the 120 on the day of Pentecost and was preached by Peter on that same day as being for “as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39).

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