I’m writing of what I call the ‘sign-gifts.’ Jesus performed seven miracles as recorded in John’s gospel and it was said of the first, at Cana, “this was the beginning of ‘miracles’ (Gk. semeion, meaning, “signs”). Jesus spoke of “these signs” (Mk 16:17) that would follow His Jewish disciples as they preached “the gospel of the kingdom” to Israel only, as they were directed to by Jesus in Matthew 10:5-6.

In Luke 24:49 and again in Act 1:4-5 Jesus said His disciples would be “endued (clothed)” with power after that “the Holy Ghost (Spirit)” came upon them. Thus the sign-gifts came again (Acts 2:22) with the Baptism with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit came “upon” the 120 Jewish believers in Jesus as Messiah. The Spirit had already come into the Jewish believers in John 20:21 when Jesus breathed on them saying “receive ye the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit coming “upon” is for power for the service of God displayed in the sign-gifts. Paul said “the Jews require a ‘sign” (1Cor 1:22a) These miraculous gifts were to be a ‘sign’ to Israel that the kingdom was not only ‘at hand’ but now being ‘offered’ during the early Acts period. The Pentecost sign-gifts were to be a foretaste of and a witness to Israel’s preaching of the Messianic kingdom to come on earth.

Paul here lists the sign-gifts in his epistle to the grace church at Corinth.

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. ⁶ And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. ⁷ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. ⁸ For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; ⁹ To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; ¹⁰ To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues (known languages, without being taught); to another the interpretation of tongues (to hear and understand other languages without being taught):  ¹¹ But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” (1Cor 12:4-11)

After “the fall of them (Israel)” (Rom 11:12) the gifts were totally lost from Israel… then the sign-gifts went to the Gentiles “body of Christ” as a sign in order to add validity to their preaching of Paul’s new “gospel of the grace of God” (Act 20:24). Note that Paul’s Gentile grace gospel was unto “ALL men” (Eph 3:9), without racial distinction (Gal 3:28). Paul’s two letters to Corinth were written about mid-Acts, ~AD57, while the gifts still were functioning… but now it was only among the Gentile grace churches. So, after Israel’s “fall,” the sign-gifts went to the Gentile “body of Christ” to give credibility to their preaching of the new ‘grace gospel’ the ascended Lord gave Paul… for the Gentiles (cf. Eph 3:1-5, Gal 1:12).

We should note Luke’s account in Acts 18:5-8 that the sign-gifts had left Israel’s synagogue in Corinth and literally passed to the house next door, which an early Gentile grace house church, where some Jews and Gentiles were being saved by grace. Again, these sign-gifts were to add credibility to their preaching of Paul’s new “gospel of the grace of God’ for both Gentiles and Jews, ‘without racial distinction’ (Gal 3:28).

We note in 1Cor 14:18-19 that Paul particularly valued the knowledge gifts for speaking forth the truth. Yet, at the time the full knowledge of Paul’s gospel of indwelling grace of Christ’s “Spirit of life” was NOT YET fully known. Paul had not yet written the last seven of his thirteen grace epistles to complete the word of God. Paul brought “the Mystery” message of “the gospel of the grace of God” that “had been kept secret since the world began.” (Rom 16:25)

Among the original sign-gifts were communication gifts such as “the word of knowledge.” “Tongues” was the speaking of unlearned but existing languages by a speaker, as was “tongues” on the day of Pentecost when “every man heard in his own tongue (language)” (Act 2:8); Tongues wasn’t the gibberish many today claim as ‘tongues.’ The genuine gift of “tongues” was to reverse the confounding of languages that occurred at Babel, so the now the gospel could then be preached, heard, and understood. So, Paul particularly valued the knowledge gifts and the ability to communicate His new grace gospel truths. Hence, in 1Cor 1:24 Paul commended the believers at Corinth for their ‘knowledge and utterance’ (1Cor 1:5); yet, he refers to these believers as “yet carnal (fleshly)” infantile “babes,” as seen below and corrects there use of the knowledge gifts of tongues and interpretation.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal (fleshly), even as unto babes in Christ. ² I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. ³ For ye are yet carnal… (1 Cor 3:1-3a).

The “word of knowledge” (1Cor 12:8) became common among Pentecostal and charismatic Christians, gaining prominence over the past fifty years or so. It was defined more or less as the ability of one person to know what God is currently doing or intends to do in the life of another person, or knowing the secrets of another person's heart; but was this its real purpose? No, it was to proclaim gospel truth that God was then still revealing!

1.) Some Christians today mistakenly try to mimic the sign-gifts given to the Jewish Messianic church in the early Acts period, before “the fall” of Israel. This was when the “little flock” (Luke 11:32) of Messianic believers were proclaiming and making the bonafide offer of the restoration of “the kingdom” to the Nation Israel, as was long promised to “the fathers” (Act 13:32), “with signs following.” Of course that offer of the King and His kingdom was rejected a second time, even after killing “the prince of peace.” Nevertheless today, in their vain effort to claim these sign-gifts, many today misunderstand the real purpose of these knowledge gifts. They claim them for practicing ‘pop psychology’ such as in inner healing, healing of memories, etc. What believers really need is to claim and stand upon their new identity in Christ, thus “putting off the old man” (Col 3:9) and living as a “new creation in Christ” (2Cor 5:17).

2.) They also fail to see that the time of these gifts has expired… and for a good reason. The reason they’ve expired is that Paul brought us the full knowledge of “the Mystery” (Col 1:26-27, Rom 16:25). Something much better has come to replace ‘the gifts of the Spirit.’ Paul’s Mystery gospel is that Christ is fully alive and all-sufficient for believers by His indwelling every believer’s spirit… such that the believer has Need of Nothing Outside of himself.

After Israel’s “fall” by stoning Stephen, thus rejecting the Holy Spirit, as represented in the person of Stephen in Acts 7. Then Jesus from heaven called Paul to be “THE (one) Apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 11:13) and the gifts began to “diminish” among the Jews of the synagogues (cf. Rom 11:12).

And later then the gifts among gifted Gentiles were gone entirely by Acts 28:28, when Paul had turned fully from Israel to the Gentiles with the full pure grace gospel as seen in his final seven epistles, beginning with Ephesians. Note also that after Act 28:28 Paul no longer could miraculously heal others or himself (2Cor 12:9) and that Paul wrote Timothy saying “Take wine for thy stomach sake and thine infirmities” (1Tim 5:23). So today, under grace we walk and live by faith alone, trusting all things are working for the good.

You should see by now that these knowledge gifts are unnecessary for believers today since every believer has permanently received the all-sufficient “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” Paul wrote that Christ is the sum of all knowledge and ‘wisdom’ (1Cor 1:24) and that He dwells WITHIN every believer (Col 1:27). Therefore, we need only to recognize and be “led by” His Spirit’s innermost speaking (Rom 8:14). Christ’s Spirit-union with believers is now clearly revealed.

Paul prayed for believers to grow in their knowledge of the “Mystery of Christ” (Eph 3:4) who indwells all believers as their very life (Eph 1:17-18). Thus believers can put away those infantile imperfect (incomplete) gifts of “utterance and knowledge.” These sign-gifts these were only used by Gentiles during the Acts period so as to ‘provoke (Israel) to jealousy’ (Rom 11:11, 14) and offer them also “the gospel of the grace of God.” Paul’s gospel was then and is today the only means of salvation, since Israel’s kingdom program had been set aside “until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.”

“I say then, Have they (Israel) stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.” (Romans 11:11)  “… blindness in part is happened to Israel, UNTIL the fulness of the Gentiles (the body of Christ) be come in. (Rom 11:25)

When the ‘sign-gifts’ moved from Israel’s synagogues to the Gentile home churches, as seen at Corinth in Acts 18:6-8), this was to provoke Israel to see that God has left Israel for a time and gone to the Gentiles with Paul’s new ‘grace gospel.’

Paul tells the Gentile believers at Corinth that their sign-gifts are only for a time and that they will cease. This full ceasing occurred after Paul fully turned from Israel to the Gentiles in Acts 28:28.

“Charity never faileth (Gk. ekpipto, falls away): but whether there be prophecies (Gk. proheteia, anointed speaking), they shall fail (all away); whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away (Gk. kartargeo, become of no use)” (1 Cor 13:8).

Paul explains to the Corinthians that these wonderful gifts will cease to be of use or value after he receives full revelatory knowledge that provides us with the breadth of the grace gospel of “the Mystery” of the total sufficiency of “Christ” as the sum of all things “in you” (Col 1:25-27).

“For we know in part, and we prophesy (Gk. propheteou, we speak by inspiration) in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come (Gk. teleios, meaning “complete”) then that which is in part shall be done away.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a (grown-up) man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now (approx. at the time of Acts 20) we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1Cor 13:9-12)

Paul says these wonderful knowledge related sign-gifts were to vanish as if putting away a child’s toys, when “perfect” or knowledge has come. The word “perfect,” here is the Greek ‘teleios,’ meaning, “that which is of full age,” meaning “full or complete.” Paul says he received multiple “revelations” (cf. 2Cor 12:1, 7), progressively, by which he “completed the (written) word of God.” Paul here he was given to complete the word of God.

“Whereof I (Paul) am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is Given to Me (Paul) For You, (in order) to fulfil (Gk. pleroo, to fill or complete) the word (Gk. logos, the communication from God;” (Colossians 1:25 (KJV).

How could Paul say He completes the word of God? Everything written before Paul’s epistle in the Bible was prophetic concerning Israel. The epistles that follow Paul’s thirteen epistles concern fulfillment of those prophecies concerning Israel and the kingdom coming to earth. Paul’s thirteen epistles interrupted these two existing section of the Bible, as a parenthesis with information that had “been kept secret since the world began” until it was revealed for the body of Christ. “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my (Paul’s) gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,” (Romans 16:25)

Now the knowledge and the communication of that knowledge comes of full age for believers when they realize the total sufficiency of the Christ according to Paul’s grace gospel… that is Christ lives IN all believers (cf. Col 1:27).

The indwelling “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” resident within the believer’s spirit is the fulfillment of “all knowledge” (Rom 15:14) for each and every believer; no longer only for the so-called ‘gifted ones.’ Paul goes on to say;

“… though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, … all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. ³ …though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor… though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing.” (1Cor 13:2-3)

Paul tell us what really counts now and forever is God’s “love,” now in us and for loving others.

“Charity (Gk. agape, God’s love) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. (1 Cor 13:8)

For us today, and later in the Millennium and eternal kingdoms on earth, all believers KNOW all things they need to know of and by ‘Christ in them,’ intimately.

“But ye have an unction (anointing) from the Holy One, and YE KNOW ALL THINGS. 27  But the (permanent) anointing which ye have received Of Him (Christ) Abideth In You, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in (union with) him. (1 John 2:20, 27)

Today, believers have no need of a ‘word of knowledge’ from another believer to them to direct or confirm what they already should already know by Christ within them. In fact, listening to be directed by any other source is an offence to the Lord and a potential deception. Yes, The Lord may use others around us and our external circumstances, but what we must hear for ourselves from Him within us before we act.