by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good<\/em>” (I Corinthians 12:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
You see a manifestation, but not the Spirit himself. The way the Spirit manifested something was in the nine miraculous powers. These showed a power that no man could produce by his own power. Genuine power to speak tongues one has not learned is a “manifestation” of the Spirit. Miracles, prophecy, and healing are powers from the Spirit and manifest visible proof that a divine but invisible being is involved. No one today is used to manifest these powers because the purpose of these manifestations of power was to reveal and confirm the message of the New Testament (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:1-4), and having completed that project were to “cease” when the “perfect” or complete revelation was in place (I Corinthians 13:8-13).<\/p>\n
You will notice in I Corinthians 13:8-13 that faith, hope, and love would continue when the manifestations of the Spirit ceased. So, “that which is perfect<\/em>” is not talking about Jesus and when He comes, but is showing that the part<\/em>\u00a0would become complete or perfect. It is compared to a child using things as a child that they would cease to use in their mature state. The manifestations of the Spirit in those miraculous gifts would complete the mission of a fully revealed “perfect law of liberty<\/em>” (James 1:25), and James uses the mirror<\/em> illustration that Paul used in I Corinthians 13. Only Paul was saying partial revelation is not clear, it gives back a dark, unclear image whereas the complete revelation gives back a much clearer image. So, the manifested gifts were revealing and confirming bits and pieces of the revelation of the new and better covenant to complete their mission and cease.<\/p>\n
The New Testament is a powerful testimony that stands on its own merit and power. There is no further need to reveal and confirm what has been “once for all delivered to the saints<\/em>” (Jude 3-4). No one today is being used to manifest<\/em> these Spirit-given powers. We now rely on the fully revealed and confirmed New Testament.<\/p>\n
Many charlatans today pretend to manifest Holy Spirit powers, but they look nothing like the manifestations we see in the testimony of the New Testament. They are fakes, and you never see their new revelations confirmed and, therefore, added to the Scriptures we now have. Why? Because the Scriptures are complete (II Timothy 3:16-17). There is nothing to add to these.<\/p>\n
The nine miraculous manifestations of the Spirit were like the scaffolding of a building that you take down once the building is complete to stand on its own. They served a great purpose but were never intended to continue as long as faith, hope, and love would. The manifestations of the Spirit would cease at a time when faith and hope would continue, but eventually, faith and hope will end in sight and possession. Love will be left as we enjoy love into eternity with God.<\/p>\n
We are blessed to have the complete revelation of the Spirit and are thankful that those partial manifestations were revealed and confirmed until they were perfected. However, the Spirit said those manifestations of miraculous powers would cease, and that is why we do not see those manifestations today.<\/p>\n
Besides, the avenue through which those gifts were obtained was “through the laying on of the apostle’s hands<\/em>” (Acts 8:14-21: 19:6). You could not simply pray for those gifts and receive them, as an apostle of Jesus was the conduit through whom the Spirit distributed those powers. When the last apostle died, the conduit was no longer in place, and the need for those manifestations ceased in the completed perfect revelation. The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation, but there are no new revelations or confirmations to add. We have the complete revelation now. If any man pretends to get newer revelations, “let him be accursed<\/em>” (Galatians 1:6-10) as far as you are concerned. They are perverting the truth!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (I Corinthians 12:7). You see a manifestation, but not the Spirit himself. The way the Spirit manifested something was in the nine miraculous powers. These showed a power that no man could produce by his own power. Genuine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[428,86,728],"class_list":["post-68942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit","tag-holy-spirit","tag-i-corinthians"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2829,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":68942,"position":0},"title":"What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 18, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Answer: When used in the plural (more than one gift), the gifts of the Holy Spirit refer to the miraculous gifts that Holy Spirit gave the early Christians. \"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9120,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-many-gifts-did-the-early-christians-receive-from-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":68942,"position":1},"title":"How many gifts did the early Christians receive from the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering from I Corinthians 12:4-11 and other related passages, what you think to these questions. Did a Christian receive from the Holy Spirit only one spiritual gift or was it possible to receive more than one? In Acts 8:7, we read of Philip able to cast out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37362,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-kind-of-tongues-are-meant-in-i-corinthians-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":68942,"position":2},"title":"What Kind of Tongues Are Meant in I Corinthians 12?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman in\u00a0Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 47, Nov. 20, 2009. The apostle Paul writes of various \"gifts of the Holy Spirit\" in I Corinthians 12-14. Notice the reading in I Corinthians 12:7-11: \"But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. For to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/tongue-300x251.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43354,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-powers-did-the-apostles-have-before-and-after-being-baptized-by-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":68942,"position":3},"title":"What powers did the apostles have before and after being baptized by the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What different powers did the apostles have before and after they were baptized with the Holy Spirit? Answer: \"Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness\" (Matthew 10:1). \"And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95205,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-cornelius-and-his-household-saved-before-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":68942,"position":4},"title":"Were Cornelius and his household saved before baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been studying the Holy Spirit and have been reading some of the articles on your website. I'm a little confused. The article says that it's obvious that the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38 is salvation. If it's salvation, then the people in (Acts 10:45) received\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6893,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-age-of-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":68942,"position":5},"title":"The Age of Miracles","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 47, Nov. 21, 2008. Question: Most of the older members of the church tell me that the age of miracles has ended. But I can't find anyone who can give me the passage of Scripture that teaches that. 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