The Gifts of Healing/Other Spiritual Gifts
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The Gift of Prophecy
I am led by the Holy Spirit to enlighten you on the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. Paul exhorts us in his epistle to the Corinthian church to desire spiritual gifts, but especially that we may prophesy (I Cor.14: 1). This gift is meant for edification, and exhortation and comfort of the church (I Cor.14: 3). It reveals the secrets of an unbeliever’s heart so that he may fall down on his face and worship God (I Cor.14: 25). Through the gift of prophecy, all mysteries and all knowledge concerning the things of God are understood in a supernatural manner (I Cor.13: 2).
Who should prophesy? Paul exhorts all in a church to prophesy, one by one, so that “all may learn, and all may be comforted” (I Cor.14: 31). However, in Chapter 12:29, Paul tries to convince that all are not apostles; all are not prophets; all are not workers of miracles, etc. Nevertheless, we should covet earnestly the best gifts. Though not all are prophets, all of them can covet the gift of prophecy.
In a New Testament church, the gift of prophecy or the ministry of a prophet should be given due importance. You need not say like the Old Testament prophets, “Thus saith the Lord”. All of you in a church may speak out a word of exhortation or a word of comfort for edification of the other church members. The church pastor or the elders should encourage all the people of God in the church to come forward for sharing their messages of exhortation and edification. As the Holy Spirit moves in their midst, these people of God will speak out words of prophecy which will comfort and edify the other members of the church.
If there are prophets in the church, let two or three prophets speak and let the others judge (I Cor.14: 29). When the prophets give prophetic messages in the church, the others can judge whether their messages are truly inspired by the Holy Spirit or are based on the Word of God. A prophet cannot give a message on his own which is contrary to His Written Word. These days, we come across many persons who, claiming themselves to be end-time prophets, give messages, which run counter to the Word of God.
Paul says in Chapter 13:9-10, “We know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away”. The gift of prophecy is not perfect because we prophesy in part. A person endowed with the gift of prophecy may not disclose accurately all the mysteries. When the perfection comes by our putting on immortality, on the second advent of Jesus, all the spiritual gifts including this spiritual gift will vanish.
These days, the gift of prophecy is misused due to lack of knowledge. No body should be encouraged to approach a prophet or a person endowed with the gift of prophecy to find out God’s will in a particular matter. For instance, do not approach anybody, and ask him, “Whether I should marry “X” or “Y”?” or “Whether I should purchase this property from “X” or “Y”?”. If you want to marry a person of your choice, that person should not be an unbeliever, a divorcee, or a married person as revealed in God’s Word. If you want to purchase a property, you should have the financial ability to purchase it and the property should have proper legal title, etc. You should seek God’s will especially as revealed in His Word. Under the New Testament, you should approach God directly to find out His will. Of course, a prophet or a person with the gift of prophecy merely confirms what the Lord has already revealed to that person.
The Gifts of Healing
As we read the gospels, we find that Jesus healed the sick people in diverse ways and not in a stereotype manner. In the 9th chapter of John, Jesus healed a blind man in a completely different manner. He made clay with His saliva and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. Then He asked to him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. The blind man obeyed and came back seeing.
Jesus commanded His disciples in Matt.10: 8, “ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give…” Jesus gave His power of healing to the Church as a gift. It is not a single gift but a multi-faceted gift. That is why Paul, while teaching the Corinthian church about the various spiritual gifts, refers four times to the “gifts of healing” in the Chapter 12 of I Corinthians (Verses 9, 10, 28 and 30). During evangelistic campaigns, the evangelists make use of this spiritual gift in a stereotype manner with the result that many people go home disappointed. During the ministry of Jesus, He healed all the people who came to Him for healing. If the evangelists are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of healing through them will bring about tremendous divine healing.
The gifts of healing, if operated according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, would result in healing of the sick in diverse ways. Some people may get healed by a simple prayer of the evangelists; some may get healed by impartation of this gift by the laying of hands of the co-evangelists or even the volunteers of the campaign; some may get healed by the anointing of oil; some may get healed after some time or some days of using the anointed oil. Above all, the people should always be exhorted to humble, pray and repent so that God will forgive their sins through the Blood of Jesus and will heal them (2 Chr.7: 14).
Whenever I receive a prayer request for divine healing through my inbox, the Holy Spirit moves my heart with compassion, and leads me to minister to them in diverse ways. Some of His ways are as follows:
I advise them to touch their computers and to say “Amen” with me; I ask them to take a bottle of oil, to pray over it saying, “This is the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for my healing or for the healing of X or Y”, and then to apply it either on the places affected by the diseases or on their head till the sign of the disease disappears from their body; I command the evil spirits causing such diseases to leave their body in the Name of Jesus Christ; I prophesy words of life and of healing unto their dry bone in Jesus’ Name; I ask the sick people to kneel down and pray for healing.
Apart from the miraculous healings, the Holy Spirit also brings healing by way of surgery and medical treatment. The gifts of healing also extend to healing through medical treatment. The Holy Spirit overshadows such people who undergo surgeries and other treatments in the hospitals, in response to prayers.
Since we have freely received the gifts of healing from our Lord, we should freely minister to the sick people without expecting any reward from them. We are not supposed to appeal to them to help our ministries financially.
Do you want to minister to the sick people who seek your ministry? The Lord wants to give YOU the gifts of healing today. Dearly beloved in Christ, you need the gifts of healing for your ministry. Will you please agree with me and touch your computer in token of your agreement with me? Receive the gifts of healing by faith in the Name of Jesus Christ. You should now start exercising the gifts both in your evangelistic campaign and in ministering to the people in an individual manner.
Other Spiritual Gifts
The word of wisdom is one of the spiritual gifts given by Christ Jesus to the Church, His Body. This gift imparts you the wisdom of Christ so that you may give right advice or counsel to those whom you minister. It enables you to understand the mysteries of God hidden in His Word. Through this gift, you can interpret the visions and dreams.
The word of knowledge reveals the particular problem of a person being ministered to. It gives you knowledge of his/her present problem or ailment. Dr.D.G.S.Dhinakaran, Jesus Calls, India, has been blessed with this supernatural gift through which he calls the people by name, and reveals their problems or diseases.
The gift of faith imparts you the same faith, which was in Christ Jesus by which God’s power was released through Him. Through this supernatural gift, you can accomplish great things for God. This gift transcends the limited human knowledge or the power of reasoning. Impossibility turns into a possibility. This gift enables you to bring a dead person to life.
The gift of the working of miracles works in a supernatural realm. It affects the nature or the environment in which a person lives. It restores a born handicapped person to perfection. It creates new organs in place of diseased organs.
The gift of discerning of spirits enables you to discern the spirit of a person. You can know whether the person to whom you are ministering to is possessed or oppressed by an evil spirit. You can know the exact number of evil spirits, and the design of each evil spirit. You can get a very clear insight into the working of these evil spirits in the kingdom of the Devil. You can also discern the spirits of anti-christs/false prophets. This gift is essential in these last days.
The gift of speaking in tongues enables you to speak in diverse kinds of tongues, which you have not learnt. Through this gift, you speak to God in mysteries, which no one understands. This supernatural edifies yourself so that you can effectively minister to someone. When you do not know how to pray in a given situation, this gift operates and you speak to God in your spirit (I Cor.14: 2,14). While ministering to someone, you get God’s revelation through this gift. This tongue should be interpreted either by you or by someone so that the person whom you are ministering to may benefit (I Cor.14: 5,13 & 27). If you do not interpret, or if there is none to interpret, you should “keep silence” in the church, and should speak to yourself, and to God (I Cor.14: 28). The gift of interpretation of the tongues is another spiritual gift.
Jesus read the following Scripture of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth, and said that this Scripture was fulfilled (Luke 4:16-18 and Isaiah 61:1-2).
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor.
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God”
Though the above prophecy was fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus, yet, we, the members of His body, the Church, carry on His ministry through the Holy Spirit.
Preaching the gospel to the poor
Why the Lord has anointed us with His Spirit? Four purposes are mentioned here for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in this Bible passage.
Firstly, the Lord has anointed us with His Spirit to preach the gospel to the poor. There are millions of poor people in the world to whom the gospel is preached today. There are poor people in developed nations also. In a developed nation, the standard of living of these people, when compared to that of the affluent societies, is rated as poor through the economic yardsticks of that nation. They are those who live hand to mouth existence; who are unemployed; who live in want. Jesus gives preference to the poor for preaching the gospel. As such, it is the responsibility of the local churches to go in search of the poor in every nation for preaching the gospel.
Healing the brokenhearted
Secondly, we have to heal the brokenhearted. There are thousands of people in your nation who are brokenhearted because of strained relations between spouses and between parents and children, etc. It is the responsibility of the churches to heal the heart of these people with the comfort and love of Christ Jesus. The job of a local church is not over with a worship service on Sundays or with the Bible Studies on other days. Daily I come across the prayer requests through e-mails from many couples, which are facing divorce proceedings in the courts of law. Since the local churches have failed to heal the brokenhearted, the estranged couples seek justice through the courts of law.
The churches have to heal the brokenhearted of those who are bereaved. These days, we find many people of God indulge in merry making on joyous occasions like marriages, birth-day parties, etc. They hardly visit the house of mourning. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting (Eccl.7:2). Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted (Matt.5:4). Those who mourn are blessed. You should be the first person to comfort the blessed.
Proclaiming liberty to the captives
Thirdly, you have to proclaim liberty to the captives. The devil has kept thousands of people in his captivity through the sin and the sicknesses. He has kept them as his slaves in the bondage of sin. The evil spirits, who cause diverse diseases, possess their bodies. These people are addicted to alcohol, drugs, smoking, etc. You have to simply proclaim liberty to these captives. Jesus has already shed His precious blood and paid the price for their salvation. You need not wage a war with the Devil to liberate them from his captivity. You have to simply use the authority given to you by God in the Name of Jesus Christ. Jesus has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matt.16: 19).
I find many God’s people who are suffering from diverse diseases do not make use of the keys of the kingdom of heaven given to them. When the keys of the kingdom of heaven are in their hands, why should they move the heaven and the earth for getting deliverance from the diseases? You have to simply command the disease to leave your body in Jesus’ Name. Instead of praying to the Lord, “Lord, please deliver me or X from the cancer”. But you should say, “I command the cancer to leave my body or the body of X in the Name of Jesus Christ”. Christ has already redeemed our bodies not only from the sin but also from the sicknesses and diseases.
Dear minister of God, you have to simply open the prison and release the prisoners from the clutches of the devil with the keys in your hand. It is not a lone key in your hands. It is the keys. One key is to deliver the sick from the sickness. Another key is to deliver the people possessed by the evil spirits. Another key is to open the kingdom of heaven for His financial blessings. With the keys in your hand, you are knocking at the door of your own house which is locked from outside. The kingdom of heaven is locked from outside only to a person who has not become a child of God through the blood of Jesus. But you can open it with the keys in your hand.”
Proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord
Fourthly, you have to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. There are multitudes in every nation who are the enemies of God and His Son. The vengeance of our God is revealed against these people. These people are the emissaries of Satan. The false prophets and the anti-christs belong to the devil. The soldiers of the devil execute his plan in killing innocent people all over the world and in causing all kinds of miseries in this world. They persecute the Church, the body of Christ all over the world.
The Church should be vigilant and aggressive so as to judge the issues that confront the world today. The devil makes use of the brain of some people to meddle with the creation work of our God. They experiment with the genes of men and animals in the guise of science and technology.
The Church is the representative of God in this world. Jesus has given all His authority to the Church. The Lord, Who is the Judge, will judge those in authority who misuse their power and knowledge against His Word. When will He judge them? You have to proclaim the year and the day for His judgment. Whatever year and day you proclaim will be acceptable to the Lord.
- Job Anbalagan