Jesus rebuked his disciples for having little faith, and I wonder if we should not take that a little more seriously. I have a dear friend whose contention is that the faith which we profess is that faith which allows for the use of the same supernatural powers as Jesus Christ in all believers, and I happen to have some issues with such a broad categorization. In fact, I come from a background that seems to hold that the supernatural gifts displayed in the Bible by Jesus Christ and later his disciples passed away from the world with those disciples. I’m not sure where I stand on the gifts of the Spirit in their supernatural form. I’ve heard too many testimonies about healing and prophecy to entirely discount the possibility, but at the same time I can’t say that I’ve had the opportunity to witness supernatural gifts in action. Let me just preface this discourse by putting that out there.
What I’m thinking about is how people recognize the reality of God’s supernatural presence in their lives, and how they can be influenced in different ways by their own perceptions of that supernatural presence. You see, I find that I can give names to traits and abilities that I see in people, believers and non-believers alike, by referring to spiritual gifts. Is it possible, do you think, to exercise the gifts of the Spirit or to be given gifts of the Spirit as a non-believer? My answer would have to be no. People have gifts, yes. Even secularists don’t deny that. But from whence do those gifts come? And to what purpose are they to be used? In non-believers, I’d have to say that the gifts are designed to be deceptive, to entrap people by giving them a sense of the use of spiritual gifts as something produced of their own abilities. In believers, the issue becomes trickier. Because false teachers exist (and I’m going to go on a tear about false teachers before too long), so too do false uses of spiritual gifts, or uses of spiritual gifts that propagate satanic (and here I’m using the word to connote selfishness) teachings. The trouble lies in discernment, and in false discernment contention arises between those who claim to be brethren. So I say God forgive us for contention about the ways You choose to manifest yourself, and give us discernment about what You want to accomplish with Your gifts.
Here are some links to older posts I’ve done on the subject of supernatural gifts:
Christ: Supernatural 1 – Miracles
Christ: Supernatural 1 – Gifts
Christ: Supernatural 1 – Holy Spirit
Blessings;
Christ-bearer.
