Gifts of Healing

January 17, 2001

1 Corinthians 12:7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9  To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10  To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

Paul tells us a lot about spiritual gifts, he teaches us about the gift of prophecy, the gift of tongues, the gift of wisdom and knowledge and all the rest. But Paul does not write about the gift of healing, he writes of the gifts of healing - plural. I was updating my links the other day and read somewhere that brought this up and I have to agree that it is significant. I had to think about it, who has the gift, the one that prays for healing or the one that gets healed?

It made me realize that you might not really need to have the gift of healing to pray for someone to be healed. Saint James writes "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." There is no requirement here that one should have the gift of healing to pray for the sick, only the faith to be able to ask.

Now everybody in Israel didn't get healed, but it says that those that came to Him got healed. That's a key. Jesus never let anybody go away without being healed, but the people that didn't come to him, didn't always get healed. Of course faith and coming to Him is part of that but Jesus can heal any one He wants if He has the mind to. Is it completely dependent upon our faith? We do know that Jesus healed those that came to Him, maybe this is pre-requisite, I don't know. Lazarus did not ask to be risen from the dead, neither did His family. Jesus loved Lazarus enough to raise him and He loves us too.

We do know that we can lose our healing: "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5: 14). Wow! Sin no more, quite a task, are we capable of that? I guess that we can be so perfect that we do not sin but I sure have a way to go.

I remember once that I was part of a group that visited a terminally ill man. A member of the group scolded him for not having the faith to receive his healing since he had been prayed for in the past. I thought that was a stupid thing to say. We know that spiritual power is part of healing. It is not ourselves that are the healers but Jesus. Do we have the power? Well, I guess we do if we have Jesus and all we have to do to exercise that power is to claim it and be obedient to it. But then faith goes both ways doesn't it? I know of no one that has enough faith to believe that I can lay my hands on them and through the power of Jesus be healed. But is that what it takes? I wish I knew.

About twenty years ago, I attended a Kenneth Hagin meeting at the Cathedral of Faith. I was just newly exercising my own spiritual gifts in those days and as the meeting got started I prayed for healing in the assembly. All at once a man in a wheel chair sat up and started praising the Lord. Mr. Hagin said, "this man just got healed and I didn't do a thing." I lifted up my eyes and prayed again and Mr. Hagin turned to me and said "that is real faith, just in lifting up your eyes." It was something like that anyway, but the point is that it is not our power, I prayed and the spirit moved. We need to ask but we need to ask in unwavering faith.

I have a long way to go, how about you? I would like to ask you of your experiences with healing. What can you bring that can increase our faith? We all believe in divine healing but do we believe enough to bring about healing? I need prayer for a breathing problem. I have been prayed for before but I still have the problem. Read the responses of the previous edition below. More good stuff. From glory to glory, we will be perfected.

Jay

Jay,
I noticed a question in there in the last paragraph of your message that I think we all ask from time to time. "Why don't all get healed?" We've read God's Word. We know what He says about healing. We know it is His will. So why do some Christians still remain sick. Of course, we could also ask the question along those lines, "Why do Christians get sick in the first place?" I think Jesus answered that question in the story of the blind man in John 9.

  1. As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
  2. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
  3. Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
  4. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
  5. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

Then Jesus tells the blind man what he should do, he does it, and is healed. But in verse 3, you notice that Jesus doesn't blame his blindness on some sin this man committed or something his parents have done, but it is simply so that God may get glory by his healing.

I believe sometimes that is the reason why people are not healed today. It's not always because of the person's lack of faith, but sometimes it is because God is waiting for the appropriate time when His name will be glorified the most. And we see later on in this chapter that God did get the glory for it.

Too many times, ministers have destroyed people's faith by telling them, "The reason you weren't healed is because you don't have enough faith." Now sometimes God can reveal this through a word of knowledge, but the majority of the time, I think it does more harm than good to tell someone that. We can't look in a person's heart and see what's there. They may have a mountain moving faith, but it just isn't God's time yet. "He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end." Ecclesiastes 3:11 God's timing is always the right timing. I make it a point never to tell anyone that the reason they weren't healed was due to their lack of faith.

Also, we need to remember that God has all eternity to carry out His Word. We will all be healed someday when we receive our glorified body. I believe sometimes God uses sickness to glorify Himself in our weakness. There is a well-known pastor with cerebral palsy who has done mighty things for the Lord. I wish I could remember his name. As far as I know he still has cerebral palsy to this day. Also, my wife is totally blind and has been since she was two years old. She is an evangelist and God uses her mightily. She has believed for the healings of others as well as her own. I also know a pastor here in Tulsa who has been healed of heart disease, but he still has the worst set of lungs anyone could have. God actually replaced a plastic valve in his heart with a real one, yet he still has bad lungs. It's just one of those things that only God understands how it fits in with his purpose.

Lots of times I have asked God why He allows certain things. The answer is always the same. "My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts." So I just leave it at that. I know God has reasons for the way he works in this world, and I know they are good reasons, so I am content that God will "work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) God is sovereign, but we are not. And His ability to heal doesn't depend on anything human - not even our faith. God can even heal an unbeliever if he so chooses. What an awesome display of God's mercy to an unbeliever, when He reaches down and heals them for no other reason except that He loves them!!! And when they turn their heart to God in faith, they have a mighty testimony of the wonderful works of God!!!

God bless!!
Ray

Jay,

I like the new e-mail forum. It is very good and very enlightening.

We all know that healing, it's power, and it's manifestation is all based on one thing: faith. We will not be healed unless we believe with all of our hearts and all of our will and all of our minds that we are healed - permanently. This is much easier said than done, and this is why sometimes it looks faked or "shyster-like" to many non-believers. There are two scriptures to keep in mind, Jay, as we forge ahead and build the temple that you refer to so eloquently. The first is Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." This alludes back to your earlier teachings on the Manifest Sons of God, which I still find awesome! The second is, Luke 17:21 "...For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." Jay, this scripture lets us know that healing, faith, fruits, works, blessings, and all things come from inside of us. Power is here. Glory is here. All manifestations of all spiritual gifts are here - if we only strive with God in the love of Christ to pull them out of us. Peace, brother. Keep up the feedings - they are very much a part of God's work.

Bill Caraway

I once heard a pastor give an illustration on how God uses us in the gifts of healing. He gave the example of a man who was mowing his lawn. His 6 year old son wanted to help him. So the father let the son get in front of him and hold onto the handle of the lawn mower and push while the father also pushed from behind his son. And although the boy's father knew he could have probably done the job faster and more efficiently by himself, he was still gracious enough to let his son participate by pushing the lawn mower along with him.

I think God works in much the same way. He knows He could get the job done faster and more efficiently without our help, but He graciously allows us to have a part in the process. It is God's power alone that works the healing and without it no one would be healed. But because God uses us as His instruments, we can in that sense say that we "heal the sick." (Matt. 10:8; Luke 10:9) This is along the same principle of how Christians can be called "workers of miracles." (1 Corinthians 12:29) However, of course, God is the ultimate healer and He deserves all the glory, for without His power and Spirit, we can do nothing.

Michael McLain

Dear Jay: It is God who is doing the building and we are co-labourers with Him. We are not the builder, God is. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. All things revolve from God's perspective not ours. He is the Father , we are his children. with thanks , Klaas

When you talked about the bricks I was reminded about 3-6 months ago I had a picture of bricks during a time of prayer. The Lord was putting the Gold bricks in place but somehow black bricks were getting in the way. There were three or four if I remember. The black bricks represent sins. They could be the religious spirit, control and manipulation (Jezebel) to name just two.

I am also reminded of the verse "unless the Lord builds the house the builder labors in vain." At the time I asked the Lord to show me in my own life what the false bricks were. I believe that each of us on an individual basis must ask this same question. Until we seek God for our answers, His truths, we are only using the bricks of knowledge and wisdom apart from Him.

Thanks for letting me feed back a response. God bless you, In His Tender Love, Diane Soucie
British Columbia
worshiphim@faithmail.com

God deals with us as individuals in healing, bringing us into wholeness or holiness. What this means in terms of eternity and the complicated creatures we are, only our creator would know where each individual would need touched. Whether it be physical, spiritual, emotional, our memories, our addictions, our unforgiveness and so on. God has no favourites so all who seek healing will receive the touch from God wherever it is necessary, although we may not understand at the time. Sometimes not having our bodies healed is necessary to make Romans ch. 5 verse 3 (which reads "Moreover let us be full of joy now let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our suffering, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.") Come to life. I do not make this suggestion lightly, as last year was a hard one for me and I would have avoided it all if I could. But it has indeed produced deep changes within me. Can anyone relate to this?

Bob Smith

Latter Rain Discussion Archives



The Lord has given us the grace to reconcile the children to their Fathers

As One Body

  • We prepare for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
  • Harvest the Fruit of the Latter Rain
  • Follow Him as the Army of the Lord into His Glory

Help To Prepare A Holy Bride!

Issue Oriented Discussion Newsletter

Index | Search This Site | Aristide.Org | The Latter Rain | Babylon the Great | The Kingdom | The Nicolaitans | Jezebel
The Baptism With the Holy Ghost | The Grand Delusion | World Trade Org | Liberation Theology | Jay Atkinson | Alphabetical Index



jay@latter-rain.com