To Continue Till the End of Time

In Paul’s epistle “to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ,” he tells of the bestowal of the spiritual gifts upon the church; or, more exactly, the renewal of the spiritual gifts in the New Testament church. He says:AGP 166.2

“When He [Christ] ascended up on high, He … gave gifts unto men.” “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” Ephesians 4:8, 11.

These were the gifts which were reimparted and permanently established in the apostolic church. For what purpose or service were they given?—“or the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying [“building up,” A. R. V.] of the body of Christ.” Verse 12.AGP 166.3

This is the great, all-comprehensive service these gifts are to render. Now arises the important question: For how long, until what time, were they to continue in the church for the very necessary service for which they were given? The answer is clear and final: “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of theAGP 166.4

knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13.AGP 167.1

There should be no misunderstanding of this statement. The church of Christ is still here in the world. Her Lord is still gathering into the fold faulty, imperfect men and women. They still need the effectual ministry of these spiritual gifts to bring them into the unity of the faith of Christ. They will continue to need them until they attain to the full knowledge of Christ,—until they reach that full measure of development found in their divine Lord. There is not the slightest intimation that these gifts were for the church during the days of the apostles only, or that they were to cease at the time of the death of the last apostle, or that they were to be altogether withdrawn at any time before the end of the gospel dispensation.AGP 167.2

It should be particularly observed that one of these gifts is the prophetic gift. This gift was bestowed by the same Lord, for the same purpose, and for the same time that all the other spiritual gifts were imparted,—namely, until the work of the gospel closes, and the church militant becomes the church triumphant.AGP 167.3