Quote:
Originally Posted by UntoHim
Once again, it all comes down to the Word of God. The apostle John warns us "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world - 1 John 4:1. This warning was probably written towards the end of the lives of the original apostles, and they had already experienced quite a number of false prophets who were claiming to have the gift of healing from God. Usually the "eye test" is all that is needed to discover that somebody is a false prophet or false healer.
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Yet the gift of teaching has also been abused by Witness Lee to draw people to himself away from Jesus. And just because the gift of teaching has been abused, it doesn't mean people should not pursue the gift of teaching. If someone's heart is corrupt, he'll use any means to draw people away from God to serve themselves or to line their own pockets. In the same way, we all know spiritual gifts have been abused, but that shouldn't stop those who are earnestly seeking the Lord from using them to serve others and serve God. Jesus gave us guidelines how to discern between false prophets (look at their fruit), but there's no command in the New Testament discouraging us from pursuing spiritual gifts because of fear of false prophets.
Actually, of all gifts in the NT, the teaching gift is the one that is de-emphasized the most. James says not many of us should teach (James 3:1) because those who do will be judged more strictly. Contrasted against this is Paul's urge for all believers to eagerly pursue spiritual gifts, especially prophecy (1 Cor 14:1).
1 Cor 14:1
Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives--especially the ability to prophesy.
One of the reasons he gives is that a demonstration of the Spirit's power is useful for the gospel:
1 Cor 14:25
As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, "God is truly here among you."
And Paul even boasts that his preaching was not in words of wisdom (relying on gift of teaching), but on a similar demonstration of the Spirit's power (signs and wonders) as was recorded in Acts.
1 Cor 2:4
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
Paul even implied that someone's faith resting on witnessing the Spirit's power was a good starting point.
1 Cor 2:5
so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power