It’s a question many believers wrestle with.
Are miracles, tongues, and prophetic revelations meant to continue today?
Or did they serve a purpose in another time?
If we let Paul speak — and if we rightly divide the Word of Truth — the answer becomes clear.
And comforting.
▪️First: What Were Signs For?
The Bible defines signs as supernatural confirmations of God’s message.
Hebrews 2:3–4 speaks of God bearing witness “with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles.”
A sign was never the main thing.
The Word was.
The sign confirmed the Word.
And remember — signs can be counterfeited.
2 Corinthians 11:14 reminds us that Satan himself can transform into an angel of light.
So the issue is never the excitement of the supernatural.
The issue is truth.
▪️Signs Were Connected to Israel
Paul says plainly:
“The Jews require a sign.” (1 Corinthians 1:22)
Throughout Scripture, signs cluster around Israel’s prophetic program.
• Moses before Pharaoh.
• Elijah before apostate Israel.
• Christ in His earthly ministry.
• The apostles in early Acts.
But even in the Old Testament, signs were not constant.
They appeared at key moments when God was advancing His covenant dealings with Israel.
And prophecy tells us something important:
God will use signs again.
During Daniel’s 70th week — when He resumes His program with Israel — signs and wonders will return in power (Matthew 24; Revelation).
But that is not today.
Today is the Dispensation of Grace.
▪️Paul’s Ministry Shows the Transition
In the book of Acts, Paul performed miracles.
He healed the sick.
He displayed “the signs of an apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12).
He went “to the Jew first.”
But Acts is a transitional book.
By Acts 28, Israel is judicially set aside (Acts 28:28).
And something changes.
After that:
• Trophimus is left sick (2 Timothy 4:20).
• Timothy is told to use a little wine for his stomach (1 Timothy 5:23).
• No recorded healings.
• No public displays of apostolic signs.
Why?
Because the sign program connected to Israel’s prophetic dealings was fading.
The mystery program was coming into full view.
▪️1 Corinthians 13 — The Key Passage
Paul corrects the Corinthians for misusing sign gifts.
They were elevating tongues.
Chasing experiences.
Acting spiritually immature.
And Paul tells them clearly:
• “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail.”
• “Whether there be tongues, they shall cease.”
• “Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)
Why?
Because those gifts were “in part.”
They delivered partial revelation.
But Paul says:
“When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” (v.10)
What is “that which is perfect”?
Not Christ’s second coming — because faith and hope still remain afterward in the passage.
It refers to the completion of divine revelation.
Paul speaks of this in:
• Colossians 1:25–26 — “to fulfil (complete) the word of God… the mystery.”
• 2 Timothy 3:16–17 — Scripture making the man of God “perfect, throughly furnished.”
Once the full revelation of the mystery was given, partial revelation was no longer needed.
When the full light came, the candles went out.
▪️From Childhood to Maturity
Paul uses powerful illustrations:
• A child growing into a man.
• Seeing “through a glass, darkly.”
• Then seeing clearly.
Sign gifts belonged to the church’s infancy.
They were not evil.
They were not fake.
They were temporary.
But maturity brings clarity.
We no longer depend on fragments.
We stand on a completed Book.
▪️What Remains?
Paul ends the chapter beautifully:
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
Signs fade.
Love remains.
Miracles cease.
Grace continues.
Revelatory gifts pass away.
The written Word stands complete.
We do not chase signs.
We do not measure spirituality by supernatural experiences.
We walk by faith, not by sight.
And faith comes by hearing —
and hearing by the Word of God.
God is not silent today.
He has spoken fully.
Through the revelation of the mystery.
Through the completed Scripture.
Through the gospel of the grace of God.
And that is more stable than any sign.
Because signs confirm the Word.
But today —
We have the Word.
