What was the purpose of the biblical sign gifts?

Besides these gifts for edification, there were sign gifts, such as that of tongues, which was "for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not" (1 Cor. 14:22). They were all of a supernatural kind, "the powers of the age to come," and were not meant for the professing Church, but for Jews and heathen, to whom the Lord thus "confirmed the word with signs following" (Mark 16:20). So the "great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord," "was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him, God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will" (Heb. 2:3-4). We see how effectually these signs wrought among the persons for whom they were intended. Thus when Æneas was cured of his palsy, "all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:35); and when Dorcas was raised from the dead, "it was known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord" (Acts 9:42). The object of these sign gifts, therefore, shows their temporary character. They were early abused, and if perpetuated in a Church in ruins, their abuse might have led to fearful consequences. Having answered their immediate purpose, they were mercifully withdrawn, and no hint is given of their revival. The only signs and miracles spoken of in the future have a very different origin from those of the early Church.

Why did God give them? For evangelisation? For emotional spectacles? To reduce the sufferings of believers? None of these. God gave miraculous signs to prove that God made a new start. The time of the law was over. God had formed the church by the Holy Spirit. So He enabled the disciples on the day of Pentecost (=the beginning of the church) to speak in foreign languages which other people could understand. Who could deny that God was at work? Note that the languages (‘tongues’) were a sign for the Jews only (1.Cor.14:21). On some occasions there were healings (e.g. Acts 3) but not to relieve the sufferings of believers but give a sign to unbelievers (Acts 4:16;30 and Heb. 2:4).

Before going farther, let it be remarked, that the gifts are of two kinds: first, such as serve to awaken souls, and to gather the Church; and, secondly, such as are signs to the world, signs of the presence of God in the Person of the Spirit in the Church. The Epistle to the Ephesians speaks to us only of the former; the Epistle to the Corinthians speaks of both. The word of God itself makes the above distinction, when it says that tongues are for a sign to unbelievers, and prophesyings are for believers (1 Cor. 14:22). This distinction is important, because it is impossible that anything should fail which is necessary for the conversion of souls, and for the building up of saints; whereas it is easy enough to conceive that God should withdraw that which was an ornament to the Church, and a token of its acceptability, when the Church is unfaithful, and when, instead of honouring God, she has grieved the Spirit. Nevertheless this external testimony remained, according to the wisdom of God in the Church, so long as it was needed, in order to confirm the preaching of the truths of the gospel.

The first sign should be their dominion over evil spirits, the second, the proof of that grace which went beyond the narrow limits of Israel, addressing itself to all the world. They should speak divers languages. Besides this, with respect to the power of the enemy, manifested in doing harm, the venom of serpents and poisons should have no effect upon them, and diseases should yield to their authority. In a word, it should be the overthrowal of the power of the enemy over man, and the proclamation of grace unto all men.

They had miraculous gifts, for the purpose of giving them credentials in the eyes of those among whom they testified. But the main thing was not these miraculous gifts but the spiritual deposit God placed in the hearts of men through their instrumentality. The miraculous gifts were in relation to the spiritual part of their work, evangelizing, pastoring, teaching, as the scaffolding is to the building—the scaffold is removed once the building is complete.

The last verse indicates the direction in which His hand is moving during the present time. He is not as yet dealing with the rebel earth in righteous government: that He will do when the hour strikes for it, according to the purpose of God. Today His interests are centred in the going forth of the Gospel, as He had just indicated. His disciples did go forth, preaching without boundaries or limitations, but the power that gave efficacy to their words and labours was His, and not theirs. From His lofty seat on high He wrought with them, and gave the signs which He promised, as recorded in verses 17 and 18. He gave these signs to confirm the word, and that confirmation was specially needed at the outset of its proclamation.

Isaiah 28:11,12 is quoted in verse 21, referring to Israel's being humbled by the domination of foreign nations over them, on account of their proud rebellion against God. God would use foreign tongues to humble them, not to exalt them: He sought by this means to awaken them from their unbelief; yet they would not hear. Now God had given Israel a fresh sign as to speaking in tongues, Gentile languages being used in the proclamation of the gospel of grace, indicating that the gospel was not merely for Israel, but for all the world. It was a sign therefore specially for Jews (Cf. ch. 1:22), given for the time being, for the establishing of Christianity as being of God. And unbelieving Israel still would not hear.

The gospel of salvation through a crucified and ascended Christ was a new thing in the earth, and God was pleased to corroborate this announcement of His great salvation by outward signs of a public nature so that the hearers of the apostolic message might have no legitimate excuse for disbelief and refusal to accept its offers. Miracles were introduced in connection with special divine messages for a similar purpose in former times. This, for instance, was the case when Moses was sent from Midian to the people of Israel in the land of Egypt (Ex. 4). Moses had raised objection to this service, and said, “They will not believe me, nor hearken to my voice: for they will say, the LORD has not appeared to thee.” Thereupon Jehovah gave Moses three signs which he was to perform in presence of the people — his rod becoming a serpent, his hand becoming leprous, and the Nile water becoming blood. These signs were given to remove all occasion of unbelief from the Israelites in the promise of their speedy deliverance from the house of bondage.

It was otherwise at the beginning of the Church's history. Numerous miracles took place, whether among the Jews who had rejected their Messiah, in order to prove the divinity of the Saviour to them, or whether among the idolatrous Gentiles, in order to accredit the preaching of the God who was unknown to them. God bore witness with His servants "both by signs and wonders, and various acts of power, and distributions of the Holy Ghost, according to his will" (Heb. 2:4).

What can be more comforting now in the utter ruin of the outward character of the church, which caused the apostle such intense grief when he descried its beginnings! Signs and wonders, if they could be in consistency with God's will and glory, had been no such source of joy and blessing. They were most important in their season and for their end. They attested the victory of the risen Man over Satan; they proclaimed the beneficent power of God just vested in the hands of those that were His, and in the midst of a ruined creation. They were calculated, as they were used, to arouse the attention of a dark and slumbering race to the new ways of a God active in goodness, Who was putting honour on Him Whom man had rejected to his own shame and irreparable loss.