A
Definite Gift
While healing is something every person can pray for
himself and for others, there is a special gift of healing
which some Christians possess from God. According to 1 Corinthians 12:8, there are Ògifts of
healingÓ given to some members of the Body of Christ, the Church. ÒNow to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good.Ó To one there is given through the Spirit
the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by
that one Spirit . . . All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he
gives them to each one, just as he determines.Ó(1 Cor. 12:7-9,11). This gift, like all other gifts, is
given only to some, not all. ÒNow 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
who have gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration and those speaking in
different 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.Ó
(1 Cor. 12:27-31). The Greek has the negative mai and should be translated, ÒDo all have the gifts of healing? No!Ó
Description of the Gift
What then is this gift? The gift of healing is the special ability that God gives certain individuals in the Body of Christ to be instruments through whom it pleases God to cure and restore health to others. Those with this gift will have an interest in this area and will see more results than others it is like the gift of faith or evangelism. There are some who are more skilled in these areas but all are to exercise faith, but not all will have the gift of healing. Just as an evangelist does not lead everybody to Christ, a healer does not heal everybody.
Different Levels of the
Gift
1 Corinthians 12:8 literally says
Òthe gifts of healing.Ó This could mean there are different
types of gifts for different kinds of diseases, or it may apply to healing on
different levels – physical, psychological and spiritual health. A person may have the gift to be the
instrument God uses to effect supernatural physical healing or he might have a
natural gift of healing coupled with the gift of faith to be used in healing
the physical body through natural means.
There may also be psychological, inner healing by supernatural means or
by the skills of a talented counselor with the gift of faith. Either way there is the ability to
restore people to emotional and spiritual health.
When we look at the New Testament, almost all
healings done by Christ and the Apostles occurred immediately and the person
was instantaneously restored to health.
There is one healing where there was a progressive
element. ÒThey came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged
Jesus to touch him. He took the
blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the manÕs eyes and
put his hands on him, Jesus asked, ÒDo you see anything?Ó He looked up and said, ÒI see people;
they look like trees walking around.Ó
Once more Jesus put his hands on the manÕs eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight
was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, ÒDonÕt
go into the village.Ó (Mark 8:22-26). At least the healing took place in stages
even though it was separated by seconds or minutes.
Today most healings are not instantaneous but are progressive, but some healings do occur immediately. Experientially it appears that there are gifted people who pray for the sick and a few are apparently healed instantly and most others progressively. Surely if the Apostle Paul could not heal Timothy of his stomach disorder and Trophimus of his severe illness, then we cannot expect 100% accuracy of modern healers. Furthermore, progressive healing is taking place in the name of Jesus and we must not attribute it all to the devil.
That there are many abuses of the gifts of healing
by Christians is, in my opinion, not debatable. It seems to me that so much of the healing movement today is
entertainment oriented and man-centered and certainly does not glorify the
Lord. When Jesus and the Apostles
healed, there were no hyped up meetings, TV media, excessive emotionalism or
whatever. It all just happened as
a matter of lifestyle and without a lot of fanfare.
The criteria we might use to determine if a person
has a genuine gift of healing are: (1) He heals in the name of Jesus: (2) He
claims no healing power in n himself but sees himself as an instrument; (3) He
gives all the glory to God for all healings: (4) He does not take money for his
healings: (5) He actually sees healing in his ministry on a consistent basis:
(6) He is willing to submit all supposed healings to validation if asked to do
so, and (7) He is willing to use his gift anywhere under any circumstances not
just in massive healing meetings.
ÒFor false
Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to
deceive the elect--if that were possible.
So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.Ó This verse tells us as we go
on down towards the end of the age there are going to be many who claim to be
the Christ and will do signs and wonders.
They will be so slick, they will almost deceive
the elect. If
we believe in a future Antichrist, then he will be the ultimate false Christ
with lying signs and wonders. We
as Christians are told to, ÒBe on guard.Ó
These verses tell us there will be many phonies, wolves in sheepÕs
clothing, who claim to be followers of Christ and healers of men who desire
only to exploit people and feed their own flesh. Their end will be destruction.
Jesus told us that people would do miracles in the
name of Jesus but would not be true followers of Christ.
Jesus told us that people would do miracles in the
name of Jesus but would not be true followers of Christ. ÒMany
will say to me on that day, ÔLord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and
in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?Õ Then I will tell them
plainly. ÔI never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers!ÕÓ (Matt.
7:22.23).
We know from the Book of Revelation that Satan can perform signs and wonders. Obviously there is supernatural power in this world which is not of God. We see this power in Haitian voodoo, Brazilian spiritism, African witch doctors, Asian animism and the occult in the USA. Witchcraft, magic and astrology abound everywhere, which find their origin in Satan. Satan has his counterfeits to true healing by Christ. Remember how PharaohÕs magicians were able to match two of the miracles performed by Moses when Moses was insisting Pharaoh let the children of Israel go from Egypt. They were able to turn the river into blood and cause a plague of frogs, but they could not reproduce the other eight miracles.
There are many false healers, phonies, charlatans in the visible church seeking to heal people in
the name of Christ but Òtheir destiny is destruction, their god is their
stomach and their glory is their shame.Ó
Wherever there are Christian people with the gift of
healing, who are not well grounded in the sovereign purposes of Go, there will
be abuses. Because Christians are still sinful, there is always the possibility
that any spectacular gift will be abused because all men love power, authority
and superiority, which come when any spiritual gift is not brought under the
Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Attempting
to Copy One Who Has the Gift Of Healing [1]
Those who do not have a gift of healing in their
love of people, zeal for service and perhaps their need for personal strokes,
seek to imitate those who have the gift of healing. The result is often a disaster, especially when they are
young, impressionable Christians.
Trying
to Constantly Create an Environment For Healing
So much of the success of the modern day healing
movement depends upon whether people are so-called consistently healed. Situations are contrived, emotions are
hyped and people manipulated so people can see healings. In some cases, it seems as though people
are addicted to feelings and walking by sight rather than by faith.
Insisting
Everyone Can and Will Be Healed.
To insist all can be healed, and if not healed, it
is due to a defective faith, will result in total disaster. It
is never GodÕs will to heal all, just as it is not GodÕs will to save all. He
does heal some and that for His own glory. To insist that God wants to heal all and will heal all, can
produce tremendous disappointment with God when a healing does not happen.
Peter Wagner, in his book How To Have A Healing Ministry Without Making Your Church Sick,
says, ÒWhen we begin a healing ministry in our churches, we must be conscious
of the ever-present danger of practicing magic with a Christian veneer.Ó