Signs shall follow them that believe
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16: 15 -18
“Some make a distinction between the apostles, and those who should believe on their word, on this wise: the apostles had the gifts, the believers were not to have them; and they think they see this distinction between the two classes in our Lord’s Prayer. John 17. We reply to this by quoting the words of our Lord in the original commission, as follows; “And these signs shall follow them that believe.” or, as Dr. Geo. Campbell translates, “These miraculous powers shall attend the believers.” or, as Wakefield renders, “These signs will accompany believers.” when it can be shown that to believe was required of the first Christians only, then it may be proved that the gifts were for them alone.
The gracious promise of our Lord in this commission, when He says, “And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” is the strongest proof of the perpetuity of the gifts. He was not to be personally with His people, no; but how was He to be with them? The inspired record states that after the Lord was received up into heaven, “they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” 3 Sons and Daughters of God 10.1, 2
This promise cannot be restricted to the lifetime of the chosen twelve, nor to the Christians of the first century, for it extends to the end of the world age. “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” to the end of the Christian age. 3 Sons and Daughters of God 11.1