Spiritual Gifts
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of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto
every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of
Christ. Wherefore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.......and he gave some, apostles, and
some, prophets, and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers,
for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
The apostle first presents the subject of unity, in the declaration
that there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith; one
baptism, one God and Father of all. He then presents the gifts as the
means by which God designed to secure the unity of the church. He
refers to Christ’s ascension, when He led up to heaven a multitude of
captives from their graves, as the time when the gifts were bestowed.
He then mentions some of the gifts, given at the same time, for the
same objects, and all to extend to the same point of time.
It will be admitted that evangelists, pastors, and teachers, were to
extend to the end of the Christian age. Then why not the others? If it
be said that the state of unity and perfection described by the apostle
is in the past history of the church, then we reply that evangelists,
pastors, and teachers, ceased with that happy state of things. But he
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who admits the perpetuity of these, must acknowledge the perpetuity
of the others.
It is worthy of notice that Paul’s letter to the Eephesians was written
A. D. 64, and that from that point it looks to the future for that unity
and perfection of the church to be accomplished by the gifts, “till we
all come in the unity of the faith,” says the apostle. If Paul could not
see this unity and perfection in his day, or in the past, certainly we
cannot see it in the past history of the church; hence the perpetuity
of the gifts, and their revival in the last days in great power to unite
and perfect the church ready for translation to heaven at the second
coming of Jesus Christ.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, has spoken very definitely
upon the subject of spiritual gifts. In
1 Corinthians 12:1
, he says: “Now
concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”
He regarded this subject as one of the highest importance, and urges an
understanding of it. But in all he has said relative to it, he has not once