The Gift of Healing
IN THE STUDY:
Some gifts of the Holy Spirit are divinely sent but not miraculous. For example the gifts of teaching, craftsmanship, performing acts of mercy, generous giving, serving others, giving encouragement, administration, possessing faith, wisdom and knowledge. Yet other gifts are miraculous – the working of miracles and gifts of healing for example.
All other gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned are in the singular, but the gifts of healings are plural (1 Cor. 12:9). There are different types of healing mentioned in the New Testament.
1. Spiritual Healing (Matt. 13:15, 1 Pet. 2:24). The result of evangelism is often spiritual healing.
2. Emotional Healing: Jesus said the Spirit had sent him “to heal the broken hearted … to set at liberty the bruised.” Many who have been counselled by ministers, psychologists and psychiatrists have been emotionally healed.
3. Physical Healing: Jesus and the Apostles healed the deaf, blind, dumb and crippled etc. In Acts three Apostles had this gift: Peter (Act 3:6-8; 9:33-4); Philip (Acts 8:6-7); and Paul (Acts 28:8). Even in Apostolic times physical healing was rare. Paul did not experience it himself (2 Cor. 12:7-9), neither did his friend Timothy (1 Tim. 5:23), nor Epathroditus (Phil 2:25-39) who was healed but not through Paul.
All healing is divine healing. Yet on rare occasions some healings are miraculous.
Bible miracles of healing cluster in four sections of the Bible round about four great personalities.1. Moses, 2. Elijah and Elisha, 3. Jesus, 4. The Apostles. The major purpose of these miracles and healing was to authenticate a fresh stage of God’s revelation of Biblical history.
FROM THE PULPIT:
There are many lame people about the doors of the House of God (Acts 3:1-10). Some people are lame physically, others are lame socially, emotionally, spiritually, or matrimonially.
Often like the man at the gate beautiful they think that money can solve their problems. Peter had no money to give but offered concern, love, faith, friendship, hope, and healing. Note his method: 1. He declared his faith boldly. 2. He ordered a response with conviction. 3. He took the lame man by the hand and helped him. 4. They spent time together and went on praising God.
Christians need to learn that ordinary people who have faith can help the lame. We need to relearn that what people need is not money but care, not possessions but prayer.
All types of lameness can be healed when those that believe show a concern, care, practical help, companionship, friendship, faith, hope and love. In an age when many people think that money answers all the problems Christian people need to say “I have no money at all, but I give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I order you to get up and walk.
AMONG THE PEOPLE:
There are about 400 people in our membership who are involved in the healing professions: In medical work, nursing, occupation, speech and physio-therapies, research, social work, counselling, hospital administration and management, pharmacy, chaplaincy, and all of these have something of the gifts of healings.
In the Bible wholeness is a very biblical concept. We need to rediscover in our day the healing of the whole person. Nowhere is the need for team ministry better emphasized then through the practising of the gifts of healing.
One Sunday I stood with a crowd of over 3000 people outside a public hall to hear an American faith-healer. Inside the hall were already 2½ thousand people and the doors were closed because of the crowd. We waited for three hours when another duplicate service was immediately presented. I moved in with that crowd and sat in the aisle. All the lame were there – arthritics, cripples, the mentally afflicted, spastic children, and many of natures tragedies.
The preacher indicated that he would pray for healing and asked all who desired that healing to stand in the building. During the service that I attended at least 2000 people stood requesting prayers for healing of the mind, the spirit or the body.
The Church must rediscover its ministry of healing! In every service there are those who need our prayers and concern and help for their wholeness of body, mind or spirit. Every service must have some care for those whose hearts are breaking.
Many Churches do this in different ways. In one service each week we have a “Care Prayer and Share Time”. This is the most beautiful time of the service when people in the congregation stand and indicate some person for whom we should pray, or some need in some family, or some world situation, and then we together care by concentrating our prayers to God on those who need healing. There are no emotional scenes, not even the biblical practice of laying on of hands, but the care of the people as they share together in prayer is powerful in its effect.
The healing of persons is too great and important to be left just to hospitals.
