Mark 16:17-18 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; (18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
The only supernatural manifestations that believers can scripturally expect to take place at all times, are those mentioned by our Lord Jesus Christ in the above passage of scripture. The signs listed are; casting out demons, laying hands on the sick so that they can be healed and praying for the saints to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that they can speak in tongues. “Taking up serpents” in this passage, has to do with dealing with demons and not literally picking up snakes, which is why our Lord gave us authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). “Drinking anything deadly” in this passage, is a protection for the saints from unknowingly drinking contaminated water for example, and is not an instruction for them to drink poison as a sign. And so, the reason believers can always expect these signs to be manifested among them, are because these signs can be activated by faith alone, for our Lord said that these signs will follow those who “believe”. These signs can also be manifested through the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, i.e. the working of miracles and gifts of healings, but nevertheless these signs are different to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in that they are not solely reliant on the manifestation of the gifts. All other manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit however, are as the Spirit wills, and cannot be accessed by faith alone.
Michael E.B. Maher
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