What is the gift of healing?

In various churches you may have personally witnessed or heard about services where people lay their hands on others for the purpose of healing them.  Are these examples of the spiritual gift of healing?  The New Testament gives many different examples about people healing others.  For example, Saint Mark described how the people of Capernaum brought all of the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus Christ so he could heal them. (Mark 1:29-34)  Saint Matthew also explains how Jesus Christ went through all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. (Matthew 9:35)  Likewise, at the temple gate, the Apostle Peter healed a beggar who was crippled from birth. (Acts 3:1-8)  The Apostle Paul also healed the illnesses of the sick and removed the evil spirits from them. (Acts 19:11-12)

 

On the contrary, all people who heal others are not necessarily ordained from God.  The Apostle Paul interacted with sorcerers and false prophets during his travels. (Acts 8:9; 13:6-8)  Even during the days of Moses, sorcerers and magicians existed. (Exodus 7:11)  Jesus Christ himself was also accused of driving out demons, on behalf of the demons themselves. (Matthew 12:22-24)  This helps explain why we later find Saint John teaching the following, “…test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1 NIV)

Interesting enough, the gift of healing does have its limitations, in that it does not heal all illnesses and it is not dependent upon the recipient’s faith.  Why did the Apostle Paul instruct Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach and frequent illnesses…instead of healing him? (I Timothy 5:23)  Why did the Apostle Paul suffer illnesses himself, even though he prayed for God to take them away? (II Corinthians 12:5, 7-10; Galatians 4:13-14)  Why did the people bring the sick into the streets and lay them on beds and mats in hopes that at least the Apostle Peter’s shadow may fall upon them? (Acts 5:15)

 

As for the gift of healing, the Apostle Paul includes the gift in his letter to the Corinthians.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given though the Spirit the message of wisdom…to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit…and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All of these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. (I Corinthians 12:4-11 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?  But eagerly desire the greater gifts? (I Corinthians 12:27-30 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

In other words, the spiritual gift of healing is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to miraculously cure a person’s illness, regardless of his or her faith in God.  Does the gift of healing exist today?  Definitely not in the same capacity as it was around the days of the Pentecost, when the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. (Acts 5:12)  You may hear about healing services going on in today’s churches, but ask yourself – does the person with the gift of healing claim to heal all people or does he or she believe the healing is based off the recipient’s faith in God?  Overall, most people who pray for healing – by the laying on of hands on another believer – are usually praying to God on behalf of that person for divine intervention…not utilizing the spiritual gift of healing.  Ultimately, God determines when he will use the spiritual gift of healing in our churches and whom he will use it through.

What is the gift of giving?

The New Testament teaches that believers should give out of thankfulness and gratitude to God – not obligation – for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon us.  Saint John explains how God gave the gift of everlasting life for all who believe in him with the words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)  Scripture teaches believers are entrusted to be good stewards of their time, resources, talents and gifts, as an expression of their love toward God.  As for the giving of our monetary resources, the Apostle Paul teaches believers should collectively give back a portion of their money to the work of the Lord.  “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Corinthians 9:7 NIV)

 

As for the spiritual gift of giving, the Apostle Paul includes this gift in his letter to the Romans.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member belongs to the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is…contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously….” (Romans 12:4-6, 8 NIV)

The spiritual gift of giving, or imparting, is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to generously contribute to the needs of others from the abundance of his or her resources.  An individual entrusted with the spiritual gift of giving feels led by the Holy Spirit to generously give of his or her resources, in a sincere manner, to the needs of others for the ultimate purpose of glorifying God.  Believers who have the gift of giving often remain discreet in their actions, to avoid bringing attention to themselves…so God gets the glory.  Saint Matthew records how Jesus Christ himself warned people against the hypocrisy of drawing attention to themselves while giving to the needy.

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4 NIV)

In other words, the Holy Spirit has entrusted many believers with the spiritual gift of giving, which is often alive and well in many churches.  Although, many people often do not even realize that the gift of giving is present within their churches, since believers who are entrusted with this gift often prefer to keep their anonymity.  Nevertheless, God can accomplish many wonderful things through believers, entrusted with the gift of giving, who understand the significant monetary contributions they can make to the work of the Lord…be it helping start new churches, financially blessing struggling churches, giving land for a church building, purchasing building materials for a new church building, or whatever cause the Lord may lay on their hearts.        

What is the gift of faith?

Faith, or the reliance upon God, is an intricate part of every believer’s life.  The author of Hebrews explains this very principle with the words, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)  However, the spiritual gift of faith involves the Holy Spirit entrusting a believer with a surmountable amount of belief for overcoming seemingly overwhelming obstacles.

The Apostle Paul includes the gift of faith in his letter to the Corinthians.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given though the Spirit the message of wisdom…to another faith by the same Spirit…and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All of these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. (I Corinthians 12:4-11 NIV)

In the New Testament, we find a man who approached the disciples for healing his son from seizures, but the disciples were unable to heal the boy.  The same man later approached Jesus Christ in a crowd and asked him to have mercy on his son.  Jesus Christ had the man bring his son to him and Jesus healed him at that moment.  The disciples later approached Jesus Christ in private and asked him why they could not drive out the same demons from the boy and Jesus responded with the following words.

“Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20-21 NIV)

Jesus Christ later used a similar analogy about faith after his disciples questioned him about a fig tree he withered in front of them.

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.  (Matthew 21:21-22 NIV)

 

Jesus Christ compares a believer’s initial faith to the relatively small size of a mustard seed.  As a mustard seed grows, much like a believer’s faith, it grows into one of the largest of the garden plants.  Believers with the gift of faith our great visionaries for the local church, since they can envision God doing the impossible…such as starting churches in the least likely of places, restoring the lives seemingly unremorseful criminals, or changing the hearts of one our loved ones.  In other words, a believer can start out with very little faith, but as the Holy Spirit entrusts him or her with the gift of faith he or she can help others realize God’s sovereign providence in fulfilling His will on earth.

What is the gift of evangelism?

Evangelism, or the preaching of the gospel, is an essential part of Christianity.   How else can people hear about the message of salvation unless they hear someone proclaiming the gospel?  The Apostle Paul makes this point clear in his letter to the Romans, as he begins by quoting the Prophet Joel’s proclamation [Joel 2:32] of how everyone can be saved and then continues on with rhetorical questions about how we can hear the same message today.

“…, ’Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:13-14 NIV)

The Apostle Paul later lists evangelism, among other spiritual gifts, in his letter to the Ephesians.

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up unit we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7, 11-13 NIV)

The aforementioned passage indicates that the gift of evangelism serves a unique role in relation to the other spiritual gifts such as apostleship, prophesizing, shepherding and teaching.  For instance, the gift of apostleship helps believers serve as ambassadors of the gospel, the gift of teaching helps believers apply the Word of God to their lives, and the gift of prophecy helps believers understand God’s sovereignty.  Similarly, in regard to the gift of evangelism, the Holy Spirit helps believers proclaim the message of salvation to unbelievers, in a manner that results in them putting their faith in God.

On a side note, the function of evangelism is not necessarily synonymous with that of shepherding or vice versa.  For example, you may have a believer with the gift of evangelism, but not the gift of pastoring or shepherding, who serves as a youth pastor and incidentally many young people turning their lives over God.  In this scenario, the church leadership could possibly make the mistake of viewing this youth pastor’s conversion results as being equivalent with shepherding and leadership qualities.  As a result, you may end up in a situation where the church leadership accidentally appoints this youth pastor to a senior pastor leadership position, even though he or she may not have a shepherd’s heart (the spiritual gift of shepherding) in regard to watching over the spiritual welfare of the believers in the church and bringing them into fellowship with one another.

In other words, there are many believers who have the gift of evangelism.  Some of these believers are in church leadership positions as pastors, while others are active members within their congregations and communities.  Yet, you still other believers with the gift of evangelism, as well as the gift of apostleship, who may represent their local churches and/or denominations/affiliations as traveling evangelists spreading the message of salvation to others in different areas of the world.  Regardless, evangelism is an intricate part of the church since people need to hear about the message of gospel…so they can ultimately have the hope of putting their faith in God.   

What is the gift of encouragement?

The theme of encouragement is intertwined throughout the Word of God with our hope for eternal salvation through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul summarizes this point with the words – “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (II Thessalonians 2:16-17 NIV)

As for the spiritual gift of encouragement, the Apostle Paul lists the gift in his letter to the Romans.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member belongs to the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is…encouraging, let him encourage….” (Romans 12:4-6, 8 NIV)

One of the greatest examples of a person with the gift of encouragement is a Levite named Joseph, whom the apostles later called Barnabas – the Son of Encouragement – after he sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:36-37)  Barnabas later brought Saul [the Apostle Paul] to the apostles and encouraged them to have Saul join them as one of the apostles, even though they were all afraid of Saul’s past history and doubted the authenticity of his conversion. (Acts 9:26-28)  Barnabas later worked side-by-side with the Apostle Paul and was a great encouragement to him as well as the people around him, evident by his response at Antioch.

“Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.  The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.  News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.  When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all of their hearts. (Acts 11:19-23 NIV)

      

In summary, encouragement serves as an integral part in the work of the Lord as everyone is encouraged to comfort one another as fellow believers in Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul reaffirms this point in his letter to the Thessalonians – “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (I Thessalonians 4:11 NIV)  In similar manner, the Holy Spirit entrusts certain individuals with the spiritual gift of encouragement, as he guides them to provide reassurance and solace to others in helping them reaffirm their faith in God.