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Spiritual Gifts, Volume 3
3. The gifts have been superseded in the popular churches by
human creeds. The object of the gifts, as stated by Paul, was “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.” These
were heaven’s appointed means to secure the unity of the church.
Christ prayed that his people might be one, as he was one with His
father. Read
John 17
. Paul exhorted the Corinthians in the name of
Christ to be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the
same judgment. Read
1 Corinthians 2:10
;
Romans 15:5
;
Philippians
2:1, 2
;
1 Peter 3:8
; V, 5. The gifts were given to secure this state of
unity.
But the popular churches have introduced another means of pre-
serving unity, namely, human creeds. These creeds secure a sort of
unity to each denomination; but they have all proved inefficient, as
appears from the “new schools” and “reformed” of almost every creed-
bound denomination under heaven. Hence the many kinds of Baptists,
of Presbyterians, and of Methodists, &C., &C. There is not an excuse
for this state of things anywhere to be found in the book of God. These
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sects are not on the foundation of unity laid by Jesus Christ, and taught
by Paul, the wise Master Builder. And the smaller sects who reject
human creeds, professing to take the Bible as their rule of faith and
practice, yet reject the gifts, are not a whit better off. In these perilous
times they shake to fragments, yet crying, The Bible! The Bible!
We, too, would exalt the Bible, and would say to those who would
represent us as taking the gifts instead of the Bible, that we are not
satisfied with a part of the sacred volume, but claim as ours the Bible,
and the whole Bible, gifts and all.
All the denominations cannot be right, and it may not be wrong
to suppose that no one of them is right on all points of faith. To show
that they cannot have their creeds and the gifts too, that creeds shut
out the gifts, we will suppose that God, through chosen instruments
taken from each sect, begins to show up the errors in the creeds of
these different denominations. If they receive the testimony as from
heaven, it would spoil their creeds. But would they throw them away
and come out on the platform of unity taught by Christ, Paul, and
Peter? Never! Never! They would a thousand times sooner trample the
humble instruments of God’s choice into the dust. It is evident that if
the gift’s were received, they would destroy human creeds, and that if