Ellen G. White and Her Critics

Necessity of Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts were bestowed upon the church by the Lord. They did not grow out of any demand made by men, nor did they come upon men because of any particular longing on their part; they were given by the Spirit of God, who divided “to every man severally as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:11. In the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians there is recorded the fact that such gifts were given to the church but with no particular reference as to time, the period for which they should serve, whether it was a temporary bestowment, or whether it was God’s purpose that they should be in the church until the Saviour’s appearing. EGWC 544.3

In Ephesians 4, where certain of the gifts are enumerated, specific reference is made to the fact of their continuance in the church. After naming certain of the gifts and giving some indication as to the purpose they were to serve, the apostle tells us how long they were to be in the church. Note his words: “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13. EGWC 544.4

What vital significance is attached to the words of the apostle: “Till,” or “until,” we “arrive at” (Weymouth), or “attain unto” (R.V.), the unity of the faith, until we come to “the personal knowledge of the Son of God” (Rotherham), “unto perfect manhood” (Cunnington), yea, even “the perfection of manhood and that degree of development of which the ideal to be found in the Christ is the standard” (Twentieth Century). The divine purpose looks forward to the complete deliverance of man from the thralldom of sin; it contemplates also his restoration to the likeness of Christ. EGWC 544.5

“The plan of redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning.... The ideal of Christian character is Christlikeness.”—The Desire of Ages, 311. EGWC 544.6

Spiritual gifts play a large part in the purpose of God in the development of His people, and these divine bestowments will continue to be given, and will continue to function in the church, until Christ’s ideal for His children is reached. This means the grand culmination, the time when the Saviour shall return to gather those in whose hearts the likeness of Christ is seen. EGWC 545.1