(Note: Read the scriptures assigned to the subheadings.)
I don’t know about you, but being healthy is important to me. I don’t like being sick, and when I am, I want to be healed a quickly as possible. With that in mind, I make it my business to find out what the Bible has to say about healing. The manifestation of the “gifts of healings” is one way God heals the sick. It’s not the only way, nor is it the primary way, but it is an important subject to understand.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:7–22; emphasis mine).
There is primarily two ways people can get healed by God’s power: By their own faith or by a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit. “By your own faith” has sub-categories under it that we may touch upon but won’t go into detail about. The gifts of healings are a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit to bring healing to a sick body.
Of course, everything we get from God is a gift in the general sense; including all healing. But there is a specific manifestation of the Spirit called “the gifts of healings.” Both “gifts” and “healings” are plural in the Greek. I can’t definitely say why, but there are different kinds of sicknesses and diseases. Even in Jesus’ ministry we see that He healed “every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Matthew 9:35; AMP). There are different kinds of ailments. Jesus is the only one that had the Spirit without measure (John 3:34), and healed all manner of sickness. We, as individuals, have the Spirit in a measure. We, as individuals, don’t operate in all the ministry gifts (Ephesians 4:11) or in all the Spiritual gifts. Jesus, in His earthly ministry, operated in all the ministry gifts, and all the gifts of the Spirit except tongues and interpretation of tongues, which are in the New Testament age only.
The gifts of healings are healing miracles. They are supernatural interventions in the ordinary course of nature by the Spirit of God for healing. Usually we see this gift in operation among sinners as a sign of God’s love and existence. We sometimes see this gift manifest in the Christian community among unlearned or baby Christians for the same reason. It’s not often we see this gift manifest in theChristian community among those that have been around awhile, especially among “full gospel, Charismatic, and Pentecostal” denominations.
We can see the gifts of healings are much more prevalent in the New Testament than in the Old Testament. Nothing says I love you like healing and feeding. But spiritual laws (the way God made things to operate normally) will always be the primary way God heals, delivers, and supplies needs. Nonetheless, sometimes God will sovereignly do something through one of the gifts of healings.
God expects us to grow and receive His word by faith. Nonetheless, God has provide different methods that believers can use to obtain healing: Such as the laying on of hands, the prayer of agreement, and the anointing with oil. There is also a healing anointing that a minister may have. In these cases, the sick person and the people ministering must use what faith they have to effect a healing. It’s a joining of each other’s faith in cooperation with the word of God. This is why it’s so important for us to attend to His word (Proverbs 4:20–27).
There’s also a dichotomy. When ministering by the laying on of hands, anointing oil, and the prayer of agreement, the gifts of healing can also manifest. As I stated before, when we reach out with our personal faith, it gives the Spirit of God the opportunity to manifest with his gifts. Giving thanks for healing before healing is manifested in our body is one way to release out faith.
Faith, hope, and love are laws of the Spirit. They are the foundational laws in all that God does. Our personal faith can produce healing for us — if we’re convinced that healing belongs to us, are in line with the other laws of the Spirit, and know how to release this God kind of faith. Thankfully, God has other methods for us to receive healing so we’re not stuck with our personal limitations. The gifts of healings are one method of healing.
At The Gate (Acts 3:1–11)
Points to keep in mind when reading this passage:
- The man was lame from birth. So, this wasn’t a recent event.
- He was laid daily at the gate so he could beg for alms. Whoever entered through this gate would be familiar with him.
- Ask yourself how many times do you think Jesus passed by this fellow? So why didn’t Jesus heal him?
- He wasn’t asking Peter and John to be healed. He was asking for alms. He had no expectation of being healed.
The lame man used no personal faith to be healed. He didn’t pray for healing. It wasn’t even on his mind to be healed.
Peter and John were going to the temple for a prayer meeting. They weren’t evangelizing and looking to pray for the sick. When the man asked for alms, the Spirit of God inspired Peter to speak to him. Peter yielded to the Spirit and spoke. It was then that the gifts of healings went into operation.
Actually, two of the gifts activated. The gifts of healings which healed the man, and the working of miracles which lifted the man onto his feet. Think about it. The lame man was dead weight, of no assistance in rising to his feet. Peter lifted the man up with one hand and then the man began to walk.
Why didn’t Jesus heal him when going in and out of the temple? The Spirit never moved Him to, so the gifts of healings weren’t in manifestation. This is not to say that healing wasn’t available for the man; it was, but he needed to hear what Jesus had to say. Consider these scriptures and we can see that hearing and healing are connected. Romans 10:17 says that faith in what God has done for us comes from hearing what God has done for us.
“However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities” (Luke 5:15; emphasis mine).
“And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all” (Luke 6:17–19; emphasis mine).
Hearing precedes receiving.
Another question is: why didn’t the man ask Jesus to heal him? I’m sure he must of heard of Jesus. Why wasn’t he proactive? A question we should ask ourselves.
That Time At The Pool (John 5:1-15)
At the pool of Bethesda, there were a multitude of sick people, blind, lame and paralyzed. Yet, Jesus only healed one. Also, He did no preaching or teaching. Jesus went to the pool, healed the sick man and left. Another observation is the sick man didn’t know who Jesus was and didn’t expect to be healed.
The only faith for healing being used was Jesus’, and that was only for one person. Why did Jesus go to the pool and heal only one person? Because that’s where God sent Him. Why this man? I have no idea. It’s God’s business.
What we see in this passage of scripture is the gifts of healings in manifestation. This healing was done as the Spirit willed.
Passing By The Blind Man (John 9:1–7)
This is an interesting passage of scripture. I think it is often misunderstood.
Jesus’ disciples asked what terrible sin the man or his parents’ committed that the man was born blind. Jesus said no one sinned. That answered their question. Then Jesus says something we should carefully read. He says, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” And then Jesus healed the man.
It is often said that God made this man blind so Jesus could heal him and prove He’s the Son of God. But Jesus wasn’t out to prove He was the Son of God. He was showing that He was the Messiah. The one anointed by God.
Take note that the works of God were not revealed while the man was blind. I say this because Jesus said He was going to do the works of God, and He did God’s work by healing the man. If God’s work was the man being blind, Jesus would have left him blind.
Jesus said that He did nothing but the will of God: “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner’” (John 5:19). If God made the man blind, that was His will and Jesus would have not healed him.
I like reading this passage like this: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But that the works of God should be revealed in him, I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work.”
It was at this time that Jesus did the works of God — when He healed the man. The work was a manifestation of the Spirit called the gifts of healings. The blind man didn’t have any faith to be healed, nor did the disciples for that matter. They thought that the man or his parents had done some grievous sin. Jesus put the nix on that and healed the man.
On The Island (Acts 28:8–9)
Paul prayed, laid hands on the father of Publius, and the man was healed. There was no preaching or teaching, and Publius’ father knew nothing about divine healing. Though the gifts of healings can manifest with preaching and teaching, the point I’m wanting to make is this supernatural gift is manifested as the Spirit wills, not as we will.
The Serious Syrian (2 Kings 5:1–19)
The gifts of healings were also found in the Old Testament. We see this plainly with Elisha’s dealing with Naaman the Syrian.
Naaman, the Syrian general, was a leper. He was told of a prophet in Israel named Elisha, and that Elisha could heal him. Long story short: Naaman went to Elisha and got healed.
Question: Why didn’t all the lepers in Israel go to Elisha and get healed? Well, we know that Israel had a healing covenant with God:
“If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26, emphasis mine).
“So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days” (Exodus 23:25–26, emphasis mine).
“You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you” (Deuteronomy 7:14–15, emphasis mine).
We have a better covenant than the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). If we have a better covenant, we must have the same blessings plus new blessings in the New Testament!
A better question is why didn’t Israel believe their covenant? An even better question is why don’t we, as Believer’s, believe our covenant that, “”He Himself [Jesus] took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17) or “who Himself [Jesus] bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
We wait for God to heal by the gifts of healings, never recognizing that the gifts of healings are only one way God heals, and that not the primary way for Believers to receive.
Naaman was a Gentile that knew nothing about the God of Israel. God miraculously healed him and in doing so saved a soul from eternal damnation. This is a good example of how the gifts of healings are usually manifested: to the ungodly and ignorant.
Are gifts of healings available for the Church? Absolutely! But the gifts of the Spirit are manifested as the Spirit wills, and we never know when that will happen. But healing is paid for by Jesus Christ. It belongs to the Church, and we need not wait for the gifts to manifest. We can believe that Jesus already took our infirmities and bore our sickness, have other believer’s and the elder’s join their faith to ours, and receive what Jesus has already done for us.
Stay strong and prepared!
A Journal of Edification and Exhortation 