Much is debated today about if miraculous gifts (aka “power of the Holy Spirit” in Scripture and charismatic gifts today) of the Holy Spirit still exist. Miraculous gifts as a topic is sometimes condensed into two camps – cessationists and continuationists. It is a debate closely associated with and connected to whether or not God still works miracles today.

We could ask “Do miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit still continue today?” But just as the miracle question is more fundamentally answered by understanding their purpose, the miraculous gifts question is more fundamentally answered by understanding how they were given.

How Scripture answers "How were miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit given?"

The miraculous power of the Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus to the apostles just before He ascended2 (He had already given them authority to do miracles1). They first received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit “not many days later” on the day of Pentecost3. From then on, the apostles alone could bestow the miraculous gifts to baptized believers5,6 by the laying on of their hands4,5,7. There is no other mention or example of this ability of non-apostles with the power to pass it on.

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