Since the close of the Sacred Canon, nearly two thousand years ago, there have been no additions to this compilation of sacred books. Very evidently, in the order of God, none will ever be made. The Holy Scriptures, as they have come down to us through the centuries, will constitute until the end of time the supreme standard of Christian doctrine and experience.TOJ 25.1

But the closing of the Scripture canon did not mark the cessation of Heaven’s communication with man. In His divine wisdom and foresight, Christ bestowed upon His church certain spiritual gifts for the edification and upbuilding of His followers. These gifts are enumerated by the apostle Paul as follows:TOJ 25.2

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.TOJ 25.3

The same Holy Spirit which inspired the Divine Word, known to us as the Bible, also reveals Himself to the church through these spiritual gifts. There is, therefore, no discord or lack of harmony in these two methods of divine communication. The gifts do not take the place of the Word, nor does their acceptance make unnecessary the Scriptures of truth. On the other hand, the acceptance of the Word and its teachings leads to the acceptance of the gifts of the Spirit. This was so well expressed by Elder J. N. Andrews, for a short time president of the General Conference, that his statement is well worthy of consideration in this connection:TOJ 25.4

1. “We understand that the Holy Scriptures are divinely inspired, and that they contain the truth of God which is able to make us wise unto salvation.TOJ 26.1

2. “But we do not understand that the gift of the Scriptures to mankind supersedes the gift of the Holy Spirit to the people of God.TOJ 26.2

3. “On the contrary, we do believe that the Scriptures plainly reveal the office and work of the Holy Spirit; which office and work can never cease while man remains upon probation.TOJ 26.3

4. “This work of the Holy Spirit is revealed to us in the Bible doctrine of spiritual gifts.TOJ 26.4

5. “While therefore we do heartily accept the Scriptures as teaching man’s whole duty toward God, we do not deny the Holy Spirit that place in the church which the Scriptures assign to Him.TOJ 26.5

6. “Those who reject the work of the Spirit of God under the plea that the Scriptures are sufficient, do deny and reject all that part of the Bible which reveals the office and work of the Holy Spirit.TOJ 26.6

7. “Thus 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, which define the gifts of the Spirit of God, cannot really form a part of the rule of life of those who affirm that the Scriptures are so sufficient in themselves that the gifts of the Spirit are unnecessary.TOJ 26.7

8. “The Bible expressly teaches that the existence of these gifts is as necessary to the church of Christ as the different members are necessary to the well-being of the body. While, therefore, the Bible recognizes the gifts of the Spirit, these are not given to supersede the Bible, nor yet to fill the same place as the Bible.TOJ 26.8

9. “The object of spiritual gifts is to maintain the living work of God in the church. They enable the Spirit of God to speak in the correction of wrongs and in the exposure of iniquity. They are the means whereby God teaches His people when they are in danger of taking wrong steps. They are the means by which the Spirit of God sheds light upon church difficulties, when otherwise their adjustment would be impossible. They also constitute the means whereby God preserves His people from confusion by pointing out errors, by correcting false interpretations of the Scriptures, and by causing light to shine out upon that which is in danger of being wrongly understood, and, therefore, of being the cause of evil and division of the people of God. In short, their work is to unite the people of God in the same mind and in the same judgment, upon the meaning of the Scriptures.... It would be sad indeed if God could not still converse with His people.TOJ 26.9

10. “One of the chief gifts of the Spirit of God that He has placed in the New Testament church is the gift of prophecy. (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:1-4, 17, 18; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 14:1-5; Ephesians 5:11-13.) This gift the Bible connects with the closing work of this dispensation. (Revelation 12:17; 14:12; 19:10.) Spiritual gifts do not, there fore, cease to be of importance in the sight of God, nor in that of His true people. And that message which is to accomplish the perfecting of the saints and to fit them for translation, has the Spirit of God connected with it, and speaking out in the management of its work.”—The Review and Herald, February 15, 1870.TOJ 27.1

Chapter 3—A Unique Book

The Gift of Prophecy