I would like for you to view the following verses in order to understand the purpose of sign gifts.
Mk 16:17-29
Jn 10:25, 37-38
Acts 5:12-16
Acts 14:1-3
Rm 15:18-19
1 Cor. 14:22
2 Cor 12:12
Eph 2;20
Heb 2:3-4
Romans 10:17
2 Cor 5:7
Eph 6:17
2 Tim 3:16 We have the Word of God that will mature us.
Sign gifts were given to the Apostles and to those whom the Apostles recognized to authenticate their message from God. After the Bible was written sign gifts ceased to used or needed. If you will notice that in the early Epistles sign gifts were mentioned some but not in the later books. We have the Word of God and do not need certain gifts any more.
Hi DLClark,
I do a 2:00 AM hour of Eucharistic Adoration on the weekends. So this AM was perfect to start meditating on your scripture references. Of course we may have different interpretations–so we can talk about them.
I’m finding that signs, wonders, works, miracles, mighty deeds, gifts seem, at times, to be interchangeable. What seems to distinguish them is the way they are used.
Mark 16: 17-29 Mark is full of signs and miracles. My Bible has two endings to Mark plus the footnotes include ”The Freer Logion”. So I am not sure how to match up with yours. My verses 17 & 18 begin with “These signs will accompany those who believe…. In other words these are the signs of proof that the apostles are speaking God’s truth in the name of Jesus. At a small local Catholic charismatic event, a speaker talked about his “missionary” activity and quoted verse 18 “and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.” Then he told how he accidentally drank a poison which did not harm him just like the verse. He was so calm about it as if this were an ordinary thing.
John 10:25, 37-38 John is my favorite so of course I started at the beginning. Here, Jesus’ uses works or miracles as the signs that He is truly God and further more that the Father and He are one. So often Jesus’ crucial teachings are connected with Jewish feasts such as Hanukkah, the winter feast or festival which is a sign of their importance.
Acts 5: 12-16 My Bible has this heading “Signs and Wonders of the Apostles” which tells how the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits were cured by the Apostles. I am assuming this is what you refer to as sign gifts. Am I correct? Footnotes refer to the twelve as the bulwark of the Jerusalem community because of their charismatic power to heal the sick.
At this point, I don’t see any indication that “after the Bible was written, sign gifts ceased to be used or needed.” Instead, I see these “signs and wonders” as signs of God’s mercy and love. To me, the Bible teaches us in two important ways. We have the words of Jesus and we also see His actions. Isn’t there a verse “I will not leave you orphans” and many verses that say He will continue to be with us? One of the endings of Mark in my Bible says. “Afterwards Jesus Himself, through them, sent forth from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen." – “them” as in “For the promise is made to you and your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.
Acts 2: 39. To me, there is no indication that all those far off should drop Jesus’ signs of love and mercy. The beatitudes, sermon on the mount, were meant to be acted in the future.
Acts 14: 1-3 These verses describe one of the ways the Gifts of the Holy Spirit work. Paul and Barnabas are speaking to a group of Jews and Greeks. Their basic purpose is to build up the faith of this community and to convert non-believers… In verse 3, Paul and Barnabas speak out “ boldly for the Lord. There is something more than physical healing as described in Acts 5: 12-16 above. The Lord is confirming His word about His grace through signs and wonders which occur through the hands of Paul and Barnabas. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are now present through signs and wonders in the hands of Paul and Barnabas and are to be used to build up the faith of the church community.
This is as far as I got. What do you think?
Blessings,
granny
All human life is meant for eternal life.