Introduction
When discussing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, many people today, including those who identify as Christians, are “testing God,” similar to how the Pharisees opposed the gift of salvation offered by the Lord God Almighty to the Gentiles, as described in Acts 15.
The human mind always thinks that they are the right one and knows all, and humans use that mind to justify that the Lord God Almighty is like them. However, the power of the Lord God Almighty has no limit; it remains consistent and the same across distant times, and this will be for eternity. No human can understand; humans have limited minds and cannot understand the true nature, the nature and power of the Lord God Almighty is above what humans can imagine and understand.
The Lord God Almighty continues to have His witness, the Holy Spirit, actively working in the world today, just as He did during the time of the apostles and the early church fathers. The Holy Spirit still performs miracles and baptizes in the Holy Spirit those who seek, which is evidenced by the miracle of speaking in tongues. Furthermore, the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be active in the church as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:28, “God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues.” And this ordinance is not to create tiers of Christianity but to have God in charge of His church and not have humans elevate themselves based on their scholarly achievements, such as degrees or advanced certifications.
Comments on Mark 7:31-37
To understand how the Lord touches and heals us today by the Holy Spirit, in this section, we comment on the passage found in the Gospel of Mark 7:31-37, where the Lord Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment.
31 And again having departed from the region of Tyre, He came through Sidon, to the Sea of Galilee through the midst of the region of Decapolis.
This verse shows that the Lord Jesus always traveled.
32 And they bring to Him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they implored Him that He might lay the hand on him.
The man wanted to come to the Lord, but people had different purposes. The man himself wanted to be healed, but the people who brought him wanted to see proof of what they had been hearing about the Lord Jesus.
33 And having taken him aside from the multitude privately, He put His fingers into his ears, and having spit, He touched his tongue;
Each thing has its own meaning. When the Lord put the fingers to the ears, by His touch, the ears were opened, and then when He spat on His finger, a portion of the Lord healed the man. From within the Lord, it has the cure for all diseases, imperfect will be made perfect, from within the Lord can make it perfect; this is the proof that whatever comes out of the Lord is much more than medicine. You can say, in a way, make imperfect become perfect; from within the Lord Himself, all things be perfect; the man received the everlasting medicine, the Lord’s saliva; the Lord spat on His finger, then He touched with his spit the man’s tongue.
34 and looking up to heaven, He sighed, and says to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
“And looking up to heaven, He sighed.” This verse shows that the Lord Jesus has communication with the Father. When the Lord was looking up to heaven, He saw His entire home; however, human eyes would see only the sky. The Lord had communication with the Father, and the will of the Father for the man to be healed was proven; the mercy was poured down. People should remember that the Lord first contacted the Father, and then the mercy was poured down; that was the mercy of the Father. But, people picture the Father in a wrong way. But the Father is gentle and merciful beyond the human mind can imagine; the proof is in the death of His Son for humans; how much more mercy the Father needs to show for disobedient humans? He gave His own Son for the things He created. Remember human who you are: you are just a dust of the earth, but you are a dust that the Father loves; the proof is in the Bible.
“And says to him, Ephphatha” (pronounced aafata). Now the Lord used the word the Father has said, “By My mercy is opened.” Pay attention to the term opened: it means it has been closed; that is why the Lord put His spit to create the bridge between the human body and the Lord. The human body is from the Lord, and by His spit, the man’s body was connected to the Lord.
35 And his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.
Also, the Lord gave this man a gift. The man who never spoke—think of babies learning to speak—spoke plainly, not baby talk. This is a gift.
36 And He instructed them that they should tell no one; however, the more He instructed them, the more abundantly they were proclaiming it.
“The more He instructed them …” meaning He instructed the multitude. Q: Why did He ask the multitude not to talk about this healing? A: The Lord Jesus did not come to be famous. He came just to show mercy. Therefore, the Lord did not want people to come to Him with the wrong ideas: coming only to receive something. The Lord wants them to come for His Word because they heard and believed, not to see miraculous things. (See also Comments Matthew 12:16).
37 And they were above measure astonished, saying, He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear, and the mute to speak.
The meaning of this verse is clear.
This time, we can’t be touched by the spit of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit can touch us. Today, all healings, whether spiritual or physical, are performed through the mercy of the Father and the touch of the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Just as the man who could not speak received the gift of clear speech through the Lord’s touch, we too can be touched by the Holy Spirit. The Lord can baptize us in the Holy Spirit and grant us new tongues if we believe. This gift is freely given; we don’t need to be scholars, famous, or hold degrees to receive it. The only requirements are to have faith in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, to believe in His teachings, and to pray.
The man in this story had no scholarly credentials, yet he could speak plainly through the Lord’s touch. If we have faith in spiritual gifts, the Holy Spirit will bestow upon us an invaluable degree that surpasses any earthly qualification.
The concept of two-tier Christianity is widely discussed. Professors from theological seminaries, along with various Bible teachers and pastors, debate the role of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, arguing that these gifts might lead to a two-tier Christianity. However, it is essential to understand that the gifts of the Holy Spirit do not create a two-tier system; instead, they are ordained by the Lord God Almighty to build His true church. In reality, there are only two types of Christians: those who believe in the gifts and those who do not. The two-tier Christianity is created by humans when they go up there and brag about their earthly school or achievements and put other people down.
Also, one might hear that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are some sort of energy. However, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not like some energy that you get from drinking some energy drink and then being filled with some substance that gives power to the body. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are, as the name says, gifts that are given by the Holy Spirit to a person’s soul. These gifts act on a person’s soul, and when the Holy Spirit touches our souls, He gives the soul energy, strength, and wisdom to grow in faith, stand for the Lord, and minister the Word of God.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the gifts of the Holy Spirit do not establish a two-tier system within the church of God; instead, they place the Holy Spirit in leadership over the body of Christ. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, which were active during the era of the apostles and the church fathers, continue to be available today if people believe and are willing to practice them as ordained by the Lord God Almighty. In Luke 24:49, the Lord Jesus states: “And behold, I am sending out the promise of My Father upon you; but remain you in the city, until you be clothed with power from on high.” Additionally, in Acts 2:4, we read: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
Therefore, let us seek the Father’s mercy in the name of the Lord Jesus so that He may touch us, heal our souls, spirits, and bodies, make us whole, and bestow upon us His spiritual gifts.
Meditation Tasks:
- We invite all readers to explore our blog article: “Holy Spirit Baptism for a Christian,” and reflect on the miraculous gift of speaking in angelic tongues.
- Pray for the Father's mercy, in the name of Lord Jesus, to empower us with spiritual gifts so that we can be His true servants.