DEVOTION
THE 1ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
GIFT OF HEALING
1 Cor 12:4-11
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are
different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of
working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom,
to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another
faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to
another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing
between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to
still another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them
to each one, just as he determines.
NIV
Once again the use of the word Charismata
in connection to healing. This Greek word has the distinct meaning of a gift of
grace, a favor which one receives without any merit of his own. This is
completely different from the root word Charis that carries the meaning of the
spiritual condition of one governed by divine influence. So when it comes to
this gift of healing, it is absolutely a gift that has no connection with the
holiness or righteousness of the person in which it is manifested. We cannot
earn or be qualified for these gifts, they are strictly the determination of
the Spirit as to when He wants to manifest them for the common good. It
certainly would build the faith of the whole church to see a person healed
on the spot, such as the many times Jesus healed someone. Every time Jesus
healed someone, people noticed and they were amazed, and their faith in Jesus
grew. We can just imagine how much growth in faith would occur in a church if
someone who came forward to be anointed for healing was immediately healed
miraculously, right there in front of everyone. We would have to believe that
both the person whom the Spirit manifested this gift of healing and the healed
person would know instantly and feel the power of the Spirit flowing through
both of them. This is not to say that an individual can be healed when they are
all alone and simply pray to God for healing. We have experienced this on
occasions, especially that time when we were laying in the hospital in the
midst of a severe heart attack. We felt everything going away. Both light and
sound were fading and there was no doubt I was able to step into eternity. We knew
our family was not ready to be alone and asked if God could allow me to stay to
care for them longer. Immediately, everything returned to normal, light and
sound were once again full and we knew we would be alright, although we had to
wait all night for a procedure to alleviate the pain in our heart, once we got
there in the morning, the doctors told us that what they were looking at, we
should be dead, but they could clear the total blockage of the vessel feeding
the heart. God was at work that day in our life and has continued to sustain us.
However, this gift of healing is usually seen by the laying on of hands, and perhaps
at the time of anointing with oil, so that the Spirit flows through someone and
touches another with complete healing. What a joy to watch this happen, to see
someone feel the Spirit coursing through them, reaching the infected or
affected area of their body and healing it right there and then. Power of the
likes never before felt and seen by all so that everyone’s faith is built up.
This is a visible gift even though the healing may be within where it is not
visible. We believe in healing, we believe the Spirit will work in lives as we
believe. But if we shut him out, he will not press us or force us. Unbelief can
hamper his manifestation within us, so we will believe in this gift of healing.
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