Hebrews 6:4-6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, (5) and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, (6) if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
And so we come to the third category of gifts, which are called spiritual gifts. So what are spiritual gifts? We all know that in the age to come that we will have resurrected bodies, and it is in our resurrected bodies that we will be able to operate just as Jesus does now; for scripture teaches us that as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (1 Corinthians 15:49). In other words in the age to come believers will operate in the same miraculous powers that our Lord Jesus does at this present time. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us that believers that are filled with the Holy Spirit in this present age, have the ability to taste the powers of the age to come. The word translated “powers” in this passage actually means “miraculous powers”. In other words believers that are filled with the Holy Spirit can expect to taste the same miraculous powers that are available to our Lord Jesus Christ. To taste means to eat a very small quantity or a snack if you will. And so even though we can taste the miraculous powers of the age to come, it remains just that, a taste only and not the full measure.
2 Peter 2:11 “whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.”
In contrast to the saints, angels on the other hand operate in miraculous powers all the time. Those powers have been given to them by God and they have no problem using their powers whenever they choose. You will recall that Satan demonstrated very real power when he tempted our Lord Jesus in the wilderness. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit teaches us that in this present age angels are greater in power and might than the saints are. The Holy Spirit is not referring to authority in this passage, for all authority in the earth has been delivered to the church in Christ Jesus, but rather He is referring to tangible power and might.
2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
In the age to come the saints will walk in a similar degree of power and might that angels walk in now. But in this present age the power that we experience operating through us is the power of God. For unlike angels, we have no inherent power of our own. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us that while we reside in these mortal bodies, that the excellence of the power that is displayed through us is of God and not of ourselves.
1 Corinthians 12:1-10 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: … (7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
So what are the miraculous powers of the age to come? You will recall that our Lord Jesus taught us that we will receive “power” after the Holy Spirit comes upon us (Acts 1:8). And so the powers of the age to come are in fact supernatural abilities, referred to in scripture as spiritual gifts or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are not to be confused with the character of God, such as the fact that God is love for example. But rather the gifts of the Spirit are different facets of the power of God. It is by His power that God created all things and it is by His power that He reign’s over all of His creation. And so we see that through the gifts of the Spirit, that God allows the saints in this present age, to experience a taste of His power that both created and reigns over all of creation. There is nothing natural about spiritual gifts, for they are all manifestations of the supernatural power of God. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us just what these gifts are, i.e. the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. And so although these gifts of the Spirit are available to us now, they are nevertheless just a taste of the supernatural powers in which we will all freely operate in their fullness in the age to come. As already mentioned, the gifts of the Spirit are supernatural and man has absolutely nothing to do with them, except to be used as a vessel for the Lord. Spiritual gifts are God the Holy Spirit making Himself and His power known through those whom He has chosen. And so when we encounter the gifts of the Spirit in operation, then we are at the same time having an encounter with God Himself. Clearly spiritual gifts are different to both ministry and function gifts, in that spiritual gifts demonstrate the power of God and are only manifested as and when the Holy Spirit chooses to do so.
Michael E.B. Maher
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