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“Done For”
Categories: DOCTRINEHow do we know when miraculous works/healings ceased?Sincerely,
Under-Powered
Dear Under-Powered,
The Scriptures talk about the miraculous ability to speak in different languages (Acts 2:4-6), prophetic wisdom (Jhn 14:26), and a host of other things. The gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to the apostles (Acts 2:1-4), and the apostles were able to pass on these gifts to others by laying their hands on them (Acts 8:18). The apostles were the only ones with the ability to pass on the gifts. Therefore, when the last person that the last living apostle laid hands on died… the gifts ceased to exist. God intended for this to happen.
Miracles were needed to prove that Jesus and His apostles were sent from God (Acts 14:3, Acts 2:22, Jhn 9:16). Miracles were used as a proof that what the disciples said was truly God’s Word (Acts 8:6). Now that we have the perfect and complete Bible, we no longer need those miracles – which was Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians. When the “perfect” of 1 Cor 13:8-10 happened, the church no longer needed miracles to further the message of Christ. After the Bible was completed, the church was able to fully see God’s message of salvation (1 Cor 13:12) without further need of prophecies and miracles.
