In Romans 15:25-27 we read the following from Paul to the saints in Rome:
“…yet now I am going to Jerusalem, dispensing to the saints. For it delights Macedonia and Achaia to make some contribution for the poor of the saints who are in Jerusalem. For they are delighted, and they are their debtors, for if the nations participate in their spiritual things, they ought to minister to them in fleshly things also.”
For other references to the state of affairs to which Paul was referring in the above passage, see 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 and 2 Corinthians 8-9. In each of these passages, Paul spoke of making financial contributions to, and taking up a collection for, the poor saints in Jerusalem. But why were the saints in the body of Christ providing financial assistance to the poor saints in Jerusalem? We find the answer to this question in Galatians 2:9-10. In these verses we read the following:
“...knowing the grace which is being given to me, James and Cephas and John, who are supposed to be pillars, give to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we, indeed, are to be for the nations, yet they for the Circumcision – only that we may be remembering the poor, which same thing I endeavor also to do.”
“The poor” referred to here are the poor among the saints in Jerusalem (which is where the agreement referred to in this passage took place). Concerning the agreement of which we read in these verses, A.E. Knoch wrote the following:
“There was a mutual understanding arrived at among them that they [Peter, James and John] would confine themselves to the Circumcision, while Paul and Barnabas went to the nations. This agreement should have kept the judaizing disturbers of the Galatian believers from interfering with them. Paul kept his part of the compact, especially that which concerned the collection for the poor saints in Judea.”
This agreement with Peter, James and John, then, can be understood as the primary reason why the saints in the body of Christ made financial contributions to the poor saints in Jerusalem. However, in Romans 15:25-27, I believe Paul provides us with another reason why he endeavored to remember the poor among the saints in Jerusalem (by ensuring that they be provided with financial aid). The saints in Jerusalem were the original recipients and beneficiaries of the “spiritual things” in which the saints in the body of Christ were participating at that time; had these “spiritual things” not originally been given to the saints in Jerusalem for their benefit, the believers among the nations wouldn’t have been able to participate in them and benefit from them. Thus, making a contribution to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem was a way in which the body of Christ could express their gratitude toward (and show honor to) these Jewish believers.
It should be noted that, in Scripture, there are a number of ways in which one could be considered a “debtor” to another. For example, we read in Romans 4:4 that a worker’s wage is “not reckoned as a favor, but as a debt.” Sins are considered “debts” (and thus sinners are “debtors”) because of the obligation we have to obey God and love others (Matt. 6:12; Luke 13:4). And in view of his obligation to herald the evangel, Paul referred to himself as a “debtor” to “both Greeks and barbarians, to both wise and foolish” (Rom. 1:14-15). Thus, the believers who comprised “all the ecclesias of the nations” in Paul’s day (Rom. 16:4) could be considered “debtors” to the saints in Jerusalem because they (i.e., the believing gentiles) had benefited spiritually from them. As Paul saw it (and as those to whom he wrote would’ve undoubtedly seen it as well), it was only fitting that the nations – having benefitted spiritually from these saints in Jerusalem – express their gratitude in some way (even today, we speak of owing someone “a debt of gratitude”).
But what, exactly, were these “spiritual things”? The word translated “spiritual things” in Rom. 15:27 is the adjective pneumatikois (dative case of pneumatikos). Significantly, the same adjective (in the genitive case) was used in 1 Corinthians 12:1 to refer to the miraculous, spirit-empowered gifts (or “spiritual endowments,” as pneumatikōn is translated in the CLNT) that were in operation at the time when Paul wrote.
In accord with this point, it’s my understanding that the “spiritual things” in which the believers among the nations were participating when Paul wrote were the “spiritual endowments” (or spirit-empowered gifts) referred to in 1 Cor. 12:1.[i] I also believe – and will be arguing later on in this article – that the primary reason that the body of Christ participated in these “spiritual things” was to edify the body of Christ during the transitional period of time during which the word of God was being completed by Paul, and to bring about the necessary state of affairs in which all of Paul’s inspired letters could be written, received, preserved and copied for future generations of believers (I should note that, even if I'm mistaken with regard to what Paul had in mind when he referred to “spiritual things” in Rom. 15:27, it does not affect my position regarding the purpose of the “spiritual endowments” within the body of Christ).
The spirit-empowered gifts or “spiritual endowments” were first given to the twelve apostles in Jerusalem when the holy spirit descended upon them on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). In addition to the supernatural gift of speaking in different languages (which was manifested immediately after they received the holy spirit), we go on to read that “many miracles and signs occurred through the apostles in Jerusalem” (Acts 2:43; cf. 5:12). We also know that the “seven attested men” who were chosen by the apostles (Acts 6:3-6) received the holy spirit when the apostles laid hands on them, and that they were thus able to perform miracles as well (v. 8). We later read that the holy spirit was given to certain believers in Samaria as well, when Peter and John prayed and laid hands on them (Acts 8:14-19). And based on what we read in Acts 11:27-28 and elsewhere, it’s evident that some who received the holy spirit had the gift of prophecy (cf. Acts 13:1; 15:32; 21:8-11).
Being the first to be “filled with holy spirit,” the apostles – and, later, those in Jerusalem on whom they laid hands (and who thereby received the same supernatural gift as well) – were the original recipients of the “spiritual things” in which those in the body of Christ later participated. It is for this reason that I believe Paul referred to the “spiritual things” in which the nations participated as “their [the Jerusalem saints’] spiritual things.” The spiritual gifts/endowments were originally given for the benefit of these saints only.
As is evident from what’s already been said, the “spiritual things” that first belonged to the saints in Jerusalem were transferred from person to person through the laying on of hands. And the apostle Paul was no exception to this. In Acts 9:17 we read the following:
“Now Ananias [a Circumcision believer in Damascus] came away and entered the house, and placing his hands on him, he said, ‘Saul! Brother! The Lord has commissioned me (Jesus, Who was seen by you on the road by which you came), so that you should be receiving sight and be filled with holy spirit.’”
Thus, it was by means of Ananias that Paul was “filled with holy spirit,” and thereby given the supernatural power that, as we later read in Acts 13:8-12, was first manifested through Paul when he pronounced blindness on the Jewish false prophet, Bar-Jesus (notice how, just before the miracle occurred, it’s emphasized that Paul was “filled with holy spirit”). It’s also evident that Paul was able to bestow the holy spirit on others in the same way that he’d received it (see Acts 19:4-6; cf. 2 Tim. 1:6-7). But from whom did Ananias receive the supernatural power that he passed on to Paul?
Answer: Since the holy spirit was transferred through the laying on of hands, it can be inferred that Ananias ultimately received it from those who were present in Jerusalem on Pentecost (most likely from one of the twelve apostles). We can thus conclude that it was because of the saints in Jerusalem that Paul – the first member of “the ecclesia that is [Christ’s] body” – was filled with holy spirit and received his spiritual endowment. And the same could be said for every other member of the body of Christ who possessed a spiritual endowment at this time (and who, whether directly or indirectly, likely received their spiritual endowments through Paul).
This, then, is why I think Paul could speak of the nations as having been participants in the spiritual things of the saints in Jerusalem. For the body of Christ would not have been able to participate in the spiritual endowments had it not been for these saints (who were the original recipients of the holy spirit and supernatural power that was eventually given to Paul through Ananias).
Were the “spiritual things” in the body of Christ for Israel’s benefit?
Some believe that the main purpose of the spiritual endowments within the body of Christ was to benefit Israel, and understand their operation among believers in the body of Christ as evidence that, at that time, the body of Christ shared in Israel’s calling and expectation. According to this view, the display of the spiritual endowments by believers in the body of Christ was intended to make unbelieving Jews receptive to the truth of Jesus’ Messianic identity (i.e., the evangel of the Circumcision), and thereby bring about Israel’s repentance and revival as a nation (i.e., the future state of affairs referred to by Peter in Acts 3:19-21).
Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 1:22 is sometimes appealed to in support of this view. However, a careful reading of what Paul wrote here leads to a different conclusion. Here’s how 1 Corinthians 1:21-24 reads in the CLNT:
For since, in fact, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom knew not God, God delights, through the stupidity of the heralding, to save those who are believing, since, in fact, Jews signs are requesting, and Greeks wisdom are seeking, yet we are heralding Christ crucified, to Jews, indeed, a snare, yet to the nations stupidity, yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, for the stupidity of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
The implication of what we read in these verses is that the heralding the evangel of the Uncircumcision (of which the truth of Christ’s death is an essential element) wasn’t accompanied by the “signs” that the Jews requested. Because of this, the evangel remained a “snare” to uncalled Jews (similarly, the evangel was considered “stupidity” to the uncalled among the nations, since its simplistic message involving a crucified Jewish Messiah failed to satisfy their desire for “wisdom”).
Not only was Paul’s evangelistic ministry among the nations not designed to make unbelieving Jews more receptive to the evangel, but we have no reason to think that the exercise of the spiritual endowments within the “ecclesias of the nations” was intended to have this effect, either. In fact, the one spiritual endowment that Paul actually said was “a sign…to the unbelievers” – i.e., that of “languages” (or “tongues”) – presupposed the imminence and inevitability of national judgment for Israel. Concerning this gift (which consisted in the supernatural ability to speak in a foreign language), Paul wrote the following in 1 Cor. 14:21-22:
In the law it is written that, In different languages and by different lips shall I speak to this people, and neither thus will they be hearkening to Me, the Lord is saying. So that languages are for a sign, not to the believers, but to the unbelievers. Yet prophecy is not for the unbelievers, but for believers.
The verses from which Paul was quoting to explain the significance of the gift of languages is Isaiah 28:11-12. As is evident from these verses, that which was signified by the speaking of “different languages” was an impending national judgment for Israel (and not Israel’s restoration or exaltation). And as noted by A.E. Knoch in his commentary, this sign was “not for believers, or even to reach unbelievers, for it is written ‘neither thus will they be hearkening to Me.’”
We know that, in Paul’s day, the majority of Israelites were in unbelief. With the exception of a called, chosen remnant (Rom. 11:5), the people of Israel had been calloused by God and given “a spirit of stupor,” with “eyes not to be observing, and ears not to be hearing, till this very day” (Rom. 11:7-8). In accord with this fact, the spiritual gift of languages was intended to be a sign to unbelieving Jews that God was soon going to be bringing judgment upon their nation (which took place approximately 15-20 years after Paul wrote his letters to the believers in Corinth). As Knoch remarked, the gift of languages was not intended to “reach unbelievers” – i.e., it wasn’t meant to bring unbelieving Jews to faith in (or make them more receptive to) the evangel. It was a sign to them of the impending judgment of their nation.
It would seem, therefore, that this particular spiritual endowment was of a very limited use in the body of Christ. It’s also clear that this gift was considered by Paul to be the least of all the spiritual gifts. For unlike the gift of prophecy, it didn’t directly edify, console or comfort other members of the ecclesia (1 Cor. 14:1-5). Unless one was able to interpret that which was spoken in a foreign language, the exercise of this gift was just a display of supernatural ability and nothing more (at least, when it wasn’t being used in the presence of unbelieving Jews).
It’s common for proponents of the so-called “Acts 28” position to point out that the gift of languages/tongues is not mentioned in Paul’s later letters (which is said to imply that this gift had, by this time, ceased, and that the events referred to in Acts 28:28 must constitute a “dispensational dividing line” that resulted in its ceasing). However, the proponents of this position seem to overlook the fact that, when Paul described the various spiritual gifts in the body of Christ in Romans 12:3-8, we don’t find this gift mentioned here, either. Thus, if the omission of the gift of languages in a letter where other gifts are mentioned should be understood to mean that the gift had ceased before Paul wrote the letter, then consistency demands that a similar omission of this gift in his letter to the saints in Rome (in the context of spiritual gifts) would mean that the gift ceased even before Paul arrived in Rome.
It’s possible that, by the time that Paul wrote to the saints in Rome, the gift of languages had served its limited purpose, and had already been removed by God. Or it’s possible that the gift was, to some degree or another, still “in operation” at this time (and even during the time when Paul wrote his later letters), but Paul simply saw no need to mention it. In any case, the lack of mention of the gift of languages in Paul’s later letters (two of which – i.e., Ephesians and Colossians – were likely written before Paul arrived in Rome) is by no means evidence that the events referred to in Acts 28 resulted in its removal. This is especially the case if, as I believe, Ephesians and Colossians were both written while Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea (and thus prior to his arrival in Rome).
Finally, it’s been argued by some that, because there was much similarity between the signs and miracles performed by Paul and those performed by the twelve apostles, the signs and miracles performed by Paul must’ve been for Israel’s benefit, or in accord with Israel’s prophesied program (rather than being primarily for the benefit of the body of Christ, and in accord with “the administration of the secret”). However, such a similarity between apostolic signs and miracles is exactly what we’d expect if – as will be demonstrated later – the main purpose of the signs and miracles was to confirm/validate the commission and apostolic authority of those who were apostles (both Paul and those of the Circumcision). In other words, the signs and miracles performed by Paul and the other apostles were similar because they had the same basic purpose (that of authenticating their apostleship).
The coming of “the mature”
But if the spiritual endowments weren’t intended to benefit Israel, why were they given to the body of Christ? What purpose did they serve? To better answer this question, let’s now consider what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 and 14:1. In these verses we read the following:
Love is never lapsing: yet, whether prophecies, they will be discarded, or languages, they will cease, or knowledge, it will be discarded. For out of an installment are we knowing, and out of an installment are we prophesying. Now whenever maturity may be coming, that which is out of an installment shall be discarded. When I was a minor, I spoke as a minor, I was disposed as a minor, I took account of things as a minor. Yet when I have become a man, I have discarded that which is a minor's. For at present we are observing by means of a mirror, in an enigma, yet then, face to face. At present I know out of an installment, yet then I shall recognize according as I am recognized also.
Yet now are remaining faith, expectation, love -- these three. Yet the greatest of these is love. Be pursuing love.
Yet be zealous for spiritual endowments, yet rather that you may be prophesying.
Some believe that what Paul had in mind when he referred to the coming of “maturity” in v. 10 was the transition of the body of Christ from a “childhood phase” to a “sonship phase.” For example, one believer explained the “maturity” of which Paul wrote as “the body of Christ in its sonship,” and said that this change in status took place when Paul’s Ephesians letter was written. He went on to explain the coming of “maturity” as meaning that “all” believers are now “sons pre-designated for this position.”
The problem with this understanding is that we have no reason to think that any such change in status occurred (or needed to occur) for the body of Christ. As is clear from what we read in Gal. 4:1-7, every saint in the body of Christ already had “the place of a son” at the time Paul wrote (and notice that, in these verses, Paul even contrasted the status of believers as “sons” with their past status as “minors”). Moreover, in his letter to the saints in Rome, Paul referred to believers as both “children of God” (e.g., in Rom. 8:16-17 and 21-22) and as “sons of God” (Rom. 8:14, 19). We know that Paul wasn’t saying the saints were “immature” (or in a “childhood phase”) when he referred to them as children of God, for he referred to the saints as “children of God” in his later letters as well (Eph 5:1; Phil. 2:14). So the view that, at some point in the past, the body of Christ transitioned from a “childhood phase” to a “sonship phase” is simply conjecture, and fails to take into account what Paul actually wrote in his “earlier letters” concerning the sonship of the believer.
With regard to the maturity of the saints, some saints were, during Paul’s lifetime, “mature” (1 Cor. 2:6; Phil. 3:15). Paul himself was undoubtedly one of them. Others – perhaps the majority of believers – were not (hence Paul’s expressed intention to be “admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we should be presenting every man mature in Christ Jesus” [Col. 1:28]). Moreover, some of the saints to whom Paul wrote his earlier letters were likely more mature – both with regard to their doctrinal understanding and their conduct – than others during the time when Paul wrote his later letters. And the same can be said with regard to some of the saints today (whose doctrinal understanding – and, in some cases, conduct – is likely more “immature” than those who were alive during the “Acts era” of Paul’s ministry).
In light of the above considerations, we can conclude the following: If Paul was referring to the future maturity of all of saints in the body of Christ when he referred to the coming of “the mature” in 1 Cor. 13:10, then the coming of “the mature” is still future (and will not occur until the body of Christ is conformed to the image of Christ). However, I’m not convinced that Paul was referring to believers collectively (or individually) when he referred to the coming of “maturity” or “the mature” in 1 Cor. 13:10. But what, then, did Paul have in mind here?
In v. 10, the expression translated “maturity” (τὸ τέλειον) can be translated as “the mature” (the word is an adjective, and is preceded by the singular article). According to HELPS Word-studies, the adjective téleios is derived from télos (“consummated goal”), and means “mature (consummated) from going through the necessary stages to reach the end-goal, i.e. developed into a consummating completion by fulfilling the necessary process.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines it as, “brought to its end, finished; lacking nothing necessary to completeness; perfect” (https://biblehub.com/greek/5046.htm). We can thus understand “the mature” of which Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 13:10 as referring to something that has completed its development. But what was it that, at the time Paul wrote this letter to the saints in Corinth, was in the process of being developed (and would be completed at a future time)?
We know that Paul had in mind something that, when its development was completed, would result in that which is “out of an installment” (or that which is “in part”) being “discarded.” We also know that that which would be “discarded” after the coming of “the mature” is “knowing” and “prophesying.” By this Paul had in mind two different (but related) supernatural operations of the spirit (1 Cor. 12:8-10; 13:2; 14:6). Significantly, both of the spiritual gifts that Paul said would be “discarded” after the coming of “the mature” were revelatory in nature. This being the case, we can conclude the following: that which was going to result in the discarding of these revelatory gifts upon the completion of its development (the coming of “the mature”) is also revelatory in nature. The difference is that what was to be discarded provided only fragmented, piecemeal revelation, while that which would supersede “knowing” and “prophesying” (and result in them being discarded) would be complete and comprehensive in nature.
So what is it that, when completed, resulted in the revelatory spiritual gifts of prophecy and of knowledge being “discarded” (and which, in contrast with what these gifts provided the saints, is complete and comprehensive in nature)? Answer: The word of God.
We know from Colossians 1:25 that Paul understood the completion of the word of God to be one of his apostolic tasks. However, when Paul wrote his first letter to the saints in Corinth, it would still be several years before Paul finished this task (which meant that the body of Christ was, during this time, without the benefit of the completed word of God, and was thus without a “body of truth” on which to base its decisions/actions, and from which to derive as much inspired information as God has seen fit to make available to us during this lifetime). Therefore, divine guidance was provided by means of the revelatory gifts of prophecy and knowledge (and, indirectly, by means of the gift of languages).
When the word of God was completed by Paul (through the writing of his last inspired letter), that which was “out of an installment” – and which was thus fragmented and piecemeal in nature – was superseded by that which is both more comprehensive and more beneficial to the body of Christ (it’s in accord with this understanding that James Coram remarked that, in 1 Cor. 13:10, Paul was “contrasting the former partial revelation, with the entirety of revelation which will be enjoyed when the finishing installment of divine truth is made known”).
Prior to the time when the word of God was completed for the body of Christ, the gifts of prophecy, knowledge, wisdom, etc. were necessary in order for the believers who comprised all “the ecclesias of the nations” to know what they needed to know at any given time (and especially when Paul wasn’t personally present among them, as was most often the case for any given ecclesia). These gifts enabled believers to communicate new truth and revelation from God. When God’s revelation to the body of Christ was completed, these revelatory gifts were no longer needed.
Concerning the gift of prophecy, A.E. Knoch wrote the following:
“Paul's high regard for the gift of prophecy is founded on the fact that it was the chief means used to bring the saints to that maturity which he earnestly desired they should attain. The gift of teaching, the exposition of the Scriptures, now takes the place of prophecy, for God has fully revealed His will in His word.”
To drive home his point that the spiritual gifts of prophecy and knowledge were temporary and would be discarded at a future time, Paul went on to use an illustration involving the development from childhood to maturity that humans naturally undergo (using himself as an example), and which results in “that which is a minor’s” being “discarded.” But it must be kept in mind by the reader that this is just an analogy; what Paul had in view in v. 10 was not his (or anyone else’s) transition from childhood to adulthood (or from immaturity to maturity). And as we’ve seen, Paul wasn’t referring to believers – whether individually or collectively – transitioning from an immature “childhood phase” to a mature “sonship phase.” He was referring to the completion of the word of God (which, again, resulted in the revelatory gifts being discarded).
Paul’s second illustration further emphasizes the point that the spiritual gifts of knowledge and prophecy provided only fragmented, piecemeal revelation, and would no longer be necessary after the word of God was completed, and the body of Christ was provided with a completed revelation of all that we need to know during this time. Prior to the completion of the written word of God, revelation was being made known “out of an installment” (in a fragmented, piecemeal fashion). It was like “observing by means of a mirror, in an enigma” (i.e., it was like observing indirectly, and with the reflected image being unclear). After Paul finished writing his last letter, however, his knowledge of revelation ceased to be “out of an installment”; instead, it was based on what he knew to be (and fully recognized as) the completed word of God. This recognition of the completed word of God was thus like observing someone directly (or “face to face”).
This means that, until Paul’s very last letter was written (presumably his second letter to Timothy), that which Paul referred to as “the mature” in 1 Cor. 13:10 (i.e., the completion of what was still in development at that time) had not yet come. This is a key point, for among those who would agree that Paul was referring to the completion of the word of God in 1 Cor. 13:10, some believe that what resulted in the coming of “the mature” was the eventual revelation of some superior, advanced truth that had remained a secret during the “Acts era.” But that’s not the case.[ii] Although new information was being revealed by Paul as the word of God was being completed (with the “secret” referred to in 1 Cor. 15:51-53 being one such example), the coming of “the mature” of 1 Cor. 13:10 was not the revelation of some advanced, “mature truth.” It was, rather, the completion of the word of God itself that resulted in the coming of “the mature.”
Even after Paul wrote the letters that some believers refer to as the “Perfection Epistles” (i.e., Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians), the word of God had not yet been completed, and “the mature” of 1 Cor. 13:10 had therefore not yet come. This only occurred with the completion of Paul’s last letter. And while there is new information found in Paul’s second letter to Timothy that isn’t found in previous letters, it’s no more “advanced” or “superior” than the information found in other letters concerning the calling, expectation, deportment (etc.) of the saints in the body of Christ.
The purpose of the spiritual endowments in the body of Christ
In light of the above considerations, I believe that the ultimate purpose for the spiritual endowments (including the signs and miracles that were associated with Paul’s apostolic ministry among the nations) was to bring about the circumstances in which Paul’s letters could be written, received and preserved/copied (thus resulting in our having copies and translations of what Paul wrote in our possession today). Had there been no spiritual endowments and miracles/signs associated with Paul’s apostolic ministry, there would’ve been no organized ecclesias established. And had there been no organized ecclesias established, the letters of Paul would’ve never been written or preserved/copied, and we who are in the body of Christ today wouldn’t have the completed word of God in our possession today.
In defense of this understanding, we know that the miracles that were performed through Paul (including any spiritual endowments that were given to others through him) were the signs of his special apostleship and authority from the Lord (2 Cor. 12:12; Gal 2:7). These signs and gifts authenticated Paul’s unique apostleship and apostolic authority (and thus legitimized his distinct ministry) in the sight of the nations to whom he was sent (as well as among those who constituted the “Israel of God” – i.e., the believing Jewish remnant, with their apostles). It was through these “signs, miracles and powerful deeds” that both the nations as well as Peter and the saints in Jerusalem were assured that Christ had, in fact, commissioned Paul and made him the “apostle of the nations” (Rom. 11:13; cf. Acts 9:15; 15:12; 22:21).
In connection with this, the validating of Paul’s apostleship through signs and miracles was necessary to the establishment of the various ecclesias to which Paul ended up writing. The ecclesias to which Paul ended up writing not only needed to be firmly established in whatever cities in which they were “planted,” but they had to have enough organization and structure (and, by implication, continuance) to be able to receive and preserve Paul’s writings so that they could be read by future generations. It was the recognition and assurance of Paul’s apostolic commission and authority that enabled his writings to be viewed and accepted as inspired Scripture – not just by the nations to whom Paul was commissioned, but by the apostles of the circumcision as well (see 2 Pet. 3:15-16). Had Paul’s authority as an apostle not been recognized (or had there been much doubt concerning it), we have no reason to think that we would have any of Paul’s letters in our possession today.
Some believe that the ecclesias during the time when Paul wrote his later letters lacked the same organizational structure that they had when Paul wrote his earlier letters. However, there’s no good reason to think this.[iii] The very fact that the believers to whom Paul wrote his later letters were still meeting regularly in a single location so as to receive a letter from Paul and then send the letter (or a copy of the letter) to another ecclesia in another city (Col. 4:16) presupposes that there was at least some organization present during the time that Paul wrote his later letters. Had there been no ecclesiastical organization, Paul would've had to send all his later letters to individuals only. Instead, his letters continued to be circulated (and preserved/copied) among various ecclesias (which is why we have copies of Paul’s later letters in our possession today).
But I think there was more to the organization of the ecclesias during the latter part of Paul’s ministry than this (and that the burden of proof is on those who believe that there was no organization in a certain ecclesia to which Paul wrote). Paul explicitly referred to both supervisors and servants in his letter to the saints in Phillipi (Phil. 1:1). And this letter was, arguably, written at around the same time as Ephesians and Colossians (if not later). We also know from what we read in Acts 20:17, 28 that there were elders/supervisors in the ecclesia in Ephesus (as is evident from these verses, Paul referred to “elders” and “supervisors” interchangeably; see also Titus 1:5, 7; 5:17). And there’s no reason to think that these supervisors weren’t still fulfilling their service in the Ephesian ecclesia when Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was written. In accord with this point, we read in Col. 4:17 that Paul referred to someone who’d evidently been appointed to a certain “service” within the ecclesia in Colosse (“And say to Archippus: ‘Look to the service which you accepted in the Lord, that you may be fulfilling it’”).
As the end of Paul’s apostolic ministry drew nearer, we know that miraculous healings became less frequent. Although Paul raised Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:9-12), he didn't heal Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25-27), Timothy (1 Tim. 5:23) or Trophimus (2 Tim. 4:20). Because the purpose of this supernatural gift was to authenticate his apostleship during the establishment of the ecclesias to which he would be writing (and, by extension, to ensure that his letters would be recognized as inspired, and thus preserved and copied for future generations), a time inevitably came when further miracles became unnecessary. And as already demonstrated, it was the completion of the word of God by Paul (the coming of “the mature”) that made the most beneficial and edifying of the (temporary) spiritual endowments – i.e., the gifts of knowledge and prophecy – unnecessary, and resulted in their being “discarded.”
[i] According to the view expressed by Clyde Pilkington in his article, “The Body of Christ: Its Beginning and Maturity,” the “spiritual things” in which believers among the nations participated consisted of the following:
1. “Israel’s Passover (i.e., “The Lord’s Supper,” I Corinthians 5:7; I Corinthians 11:17-34)”
2. “Miraculous signs and gifts (such as “tongues,” I Corinthians 12:10; “miracles” and “healings,” I Corinthians 12:28, etc.)”
3. “’Hope’ (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:52)”
Regarding the expectation of which we read in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 and 1 Cor. 15:52, I’ve argued in more depth elsewhere that this expectation belongs exclusively to the saints in the body of Christ. See, for example, the following articles:
https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-snatching-away-and-our-heavenly.html
https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-refutation-of-rapture-dont-get-caught.html
And as I’ve argued in part two of my study on the new covenant (https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2024/11/is-body-of-christ-under-new-covenant_12.html), we also have good reason to believe that the “Lord’s dinner” to which Paul referred in 1 Cor. 11:17-34 has special significance for the body of Christ, and pertains to us in a way that cannot be said of the saints among God’s covenant people, Israel.
I do not, therefore, believe that either the expectation referred to in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 or the Lord’s dinner referred to in 1 Cor. 11:17-34 are among the “spiritual things” that Paul had in mind in Rom. 15:27. Instead (and as argued above), it’s my understanding that the “spiritual things” in which the believers among the nations participated were the “miraculous signs and gifts” only.
[ii] In his comments on verse 8 and 9, A.E. Knoch wrote the following:
It would seem that a few were already mature (2:6), but the secret wisdom into which they were initiated was not made public until Paul wrote his Perfection Epistles, Ephesians (Eph.4:13), Philippians (Phil.3:15), and Colossians (Col.1:28, 4:12). The writing of these epistles was the signal for the abrogation of the gift of prophecy, as they completed the word of God (Col.1:25), for the cessation of the gift of languages, as it was a sign of earthly powers in the coming eon, and we are blessed among the celestials (Eph.1:3), and for the abrogation of the gift of knowledge (directly revealed), as there was a final written revelation.
These gifts belonged to the time
of transition, when the full orb of truth was not revealed. When it was, there
came the necessity of withdrawing much which did not accord with its final
form.
In these remarks we find a combination of what I believe to be both helpful insight and unfortunate error. Knoch was correct in his view that the gifts of which Paul wrote belonged to a time of transition, and that their cessation occurred when (if not sometime before) this time of transition came to an end (i.e., when the state of affairs that Paul referred to as “maturity” came). Knoch was also correct to see a connection between this time of transition and the progressive completion of Paul’s writings to and for the saints in the body of Christ (which involved the revealing of “the full orb of truth” for us, and a “final written revelation”).
However, it’s evident that Knoch also believed that the truth of our heavenly expectation was not “made public” until Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians (Knoch went on to write that “the destiny of the saints who had received Paul’s evangel was clouded in mystery,” that “their celestial allotment was still concealed”). I believe this view is mistaken. As I’ve argued in more depth elsewhere (see, for example, here and here), it’s both implied and explicitly revealed in certain passages from Paul’s earlier letters that the eonian allotment of the body of Christ is heavenly in location (and is thus distinct from Israel’s expectation). The saints in Rome and Corinth, for example, knew that Christ was seated among the celestials, and that they would be with Christ in this location ("in the heavens" and "at home with the Lord" [2 Cor. 5:1-9) after being conformed to his image (at which point they'd be "celestials," and "wearing the image of the Celestial one" [1 Cor. 15:48-49]). They also would’ve known that the blessings they’d be receiving at this future time would be a display of God’s grace (in accord with what's said in Eph. 2:7).
Moreover, while Knoch seemed to be saying that the writing of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians completed the word of God, we have good reason to believe that at least one other letter – i.e., Paul’s second letter to Timothy – was written after Paul wrote these letters. We also have good reason to believe that, in contrast with Paul’s letter to the Philippians (which was most likely written sometime during the two years referred to in Acts 28:30), Ephesians and Colossians were likely written while Paul was imprisoned in Herod’s praetorium in Caesarea (Acts 23:33-35; 24:22-27). For additional information on this subject, see the following article: https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2024/04/when-did-administration-of-grace-of-god.html
[iii] We can’t simply conclude that, because Paul didn’t explicitly mention supervisors/elders or servants in Ephesians or Colossians, there weren’t any. With regard to these “offices” being present in a given ecclesia during Paul’s lifetime, an absence of evidence in a certain letter is not evidence of absence. There’s no mention of supervisors/elders in Paul’s letter to the Galatian saints. But that, of course, doesn’t mean there weren’t such positions in the Galatian ecclesias at that time. We have good reason (based on evidence outside of this letter) to believe that there were supervisors and servants there. And we also have good reason to believe that there were supervisors and servants in the ecclesias in Colosse and Ephesus (just as there were in Philippi).
