Temporary Gifts

The Catholic church maintains that the gifts of the Spirit are still present in their body. These gifts being the inspired offices given by Christ. We make a distinction between the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Act 2:39  "For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

The gift of the Holy Spirit was perpetual till the end of time, as this is singular and accusative. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit himself as a seal and indwelling.

Act 2:38  Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (singular)

When gifts are meant it is typically plural, but often the text highlights the Spirit as a helper.

Act 11:17  "If then God has given to them the same gift as He gave to us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?"

In such cases the Holy Spirit himself is the gift and not the supernatural gifts themselves, they are present as a visible sign of the Spirit's presence.

This seal of the Spirit is a promise to all Christians, supernatural gifts were the visible sign of his overall presence.All Christians through eternity would receive the Holy Spirit, but the visible signs would cease. At some point you had to rely upon faith that the Holy Spirit is present in Christians.

These visible signs would cease. The Spirit himself would remain.

We believe the gifted offices ceased once the church came to a mature faith. Some teach when the scriptures were finished, but the text says maturity. When the church goes from being a child to an adult in maturity. Finishing the scriptures were only a part of this maturity.

The gifted offices are mentioned by Paul

Eph 4:11  And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

Eph 4:12  for the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,

These were offices where supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit were granted, but we view these as temporary.

Notice in the next verse in Ephesians 4 Paul says they are temporary.

Eph 4:13  until we all arrive to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

There would come a time in which the full knowledge of Christ would be mature in the church, then the gifted offices would cease. The greek word "all" does not mean every Christian for all eternity, but the church as a body at that point. The church will always have immature Christians, but as a body may be mature. Cessation of the gifts is also taught in I Corinthians 13.

1Co 13:9  Now we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 1Co 13:8  Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they shall pass away; whether there are tongues, they shall cease; whether there is knowledge, it shall pass away.

1Co 13:10  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is partial shall pass away.

1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child; but when I became a man, I put away the things of the child.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a mirror by reflection, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (This matches Ephesians 4:13, where our knowledge of Christ is as if we met him in person, we know his words and his actions as if face to face.)

Corinthians also views the time frame as church maturity. The Church of Christ has inadequately explained this as completion of the scriptures, but that is only part, the scriptures would have to permeate in the churches and act as leaven, so that it involves the parable of leaven until a mature body existed.

Luk 13:20  AndG2532 againG3825 he said,G2036 WhereuntoG5101 shall I likenG3666 theG3588 kingdomG932 of God?G2316

Luk 13:21  It isG2076 likeG3664 leaven,G2219 whichG3739 a womanG1135 tookG2983 and hidG1470 inG1519 threeG5140 measuresG4568 of meal,G224 tillG2193 G3757 the wholeG3650 was leavened.G2220

It is interesting that all the early Catholic church fathers taught continuation of the gifts, those who taught they ceased were not preserved.

It wasn't until John Chrysostom that mention is made of the gifts departure.

But now we retain only the symbols of those gifts...But the present Church is like a woman who hath fallen from her former prosperous days, and in many respects retains the symbols only of that ancient prosperity...but now she is made desolate and void, and the tokens only remain.

Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit can only be given to each baptized Christian through a gifted representative of Christ.

God the Father was the giver of the Holy Spirit in baptism, not man. Man could pass gifts of the Spirit through laying of hands during the inspired age. The Spirit himself was given by the Father through Christ.

Tit 3:6  whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

the Father sealed all Christians with the Spirit.

Eph 1:13  in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

.They do not believe the office of Pastor/Bishop was temporarily gifted. That is why they see subsequent ecumenical councils where Bishops voted on doctrine as guided by the Holy Spirit.

They see the doctrine of the church ever growing through these bodies.

We see our current elders as exercising their office through that which remains, a mature faith left to us confirmed in the scriptures and love.

Co 13:13  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

We do not believe the ecumenical councils were guided by the Holy Spirit.

1. The office of Pastor was no longer supernaturally gifted.

2. Prophecy and tongues ceased.

3. There are too many errors and disagreements among those who wrote them.