Page 57 - Pneumatology - A Study of the Holy Spirit

Are the miraculous gifts tongues, healings, and miracles of the Spirit for today?

Connect…

Have you ever heard about the “flying house of Mary?” It is
said that Mary, the mother of Jesus, grew up in a house in
Nazareth. The house was empty for hundreds of years, but
th
in the 13 century, some angels decided to pick it up and
fly it to a couple of locations, and finally flew it to a field in
Italy. It landed in the field of a lady whose name was
Loreta, near the town of Recanati. St. Peter put an altar in
the house, and a figure of Mary was carved by St. Luke.
Many miracles have been linked to the house. Supposedly,
Pope Pius IX came to the house seven times and was healed
of chronic fatigue, fever, and epileptic seizures. People
come from all over the world to venerate the house and perhaps receive healing by touching its walls or
praying under its roof (pictured to the right is the chapel at the “Flying House of Mary” in Loretto, Italy).

Is this for real? Do you believe that angels actually picked up the house and flew it from Nazareth to Italy?
Do you think that the healings that people testify occur there really do happen?

Similar things are happening within many churches throughout the world. People come up to the front and
are slain in the Spirit, falling limp to the floor. Others receive special water, which, when blessed by the
pastor, provides a job or a miracle when drunk. Is this a description of the workings of the Holy Spirit in the
church today? Let’s see if we can clear up some of these questions that are abundant today….

The Lesson ...

Are the miraculous gifts tongues, healings, and miracles of the Spirit for today?

First, it is important to recognize that this is not a question of whether God still performs miracles today. It
would be foolish and unbiblical to claim God does not heal people, speak to people, and perform miraculous
signs and wonders today. The question is whether the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, described primarily in 1
Corinthians 12–14, are still active in the church today. This is also not a question of can the Holy Spirit give
someone a miraculous gift. The question is whether the Holy Spirit still dispenses the miraculous gifts today.
Above all else, we entirely recognize that the Holy Spirit is free to dispense gifts according to His will (1
Corinthians 12:7-11).

In the book of Acts and the Epistles, the vast majority of miracles
are performed by the apostles and their close associates. Paul
gives us the reason why: “The things that mark an apostle—signs,
wonders and miracles—were done among you with great
perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12). If every believer in Christ
was equipped with the ability to perform signs, wonders, and

55