Lessons #417 and 418

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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +

+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +

+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +

+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +

+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +

+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +

+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +

+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +

+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +

+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +

+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +

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Spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11)

… 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.

The message of 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 that we are considering is that There are several spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit gave for the benefit of the church. We considered two spiritual gifts related to messages or utterances in the form of gifts of messages of wisdom and knowledge. So, we continue with the next gift mentioned. But before we do, let me state that the list of gifts that the Holy Spirit gave in this passage through Apostle Paul is not exhaustive. We mean that there are several spiritual gifts that are not mentioned in this passage or in any other passage. What we are saying is that there are several gifts of the Holy Spirit that are not listed in the Scripture nonetheless are given to believers to benefit the church of Christ. The reason for this statement is that there are other spiritual gifts that are not mentioned in the passage we are considering such as gift of encouraging others, gift of generosity, and gift of leadership, among others, that are listed in another partial list of gifts of the Holy Spirit in Romans 12:7–8:

⁷ If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸ if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

The point is that the list of gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 is not exhaustive since there are certainly other spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given believers for the benefit of the church of Christ. With this comment we proceed to consider the third spiritual gift mentioned in the passage of our study.

The third gift of the Holy Spirit in the passage we are studying is the gift of faith as we read in the first phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit. What is this gift of faith? We should state what it is not. It cannot be the gift of faith necessary for salvation as implied in what the Holy Spirit states through Apostle Paul regarding salvation in Ephesians 2:8:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Consequently, we should recognize that whatever this gift of faith is, that not everyone has it. We say this because of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:9 to another. The word “another” is translated from a Greek word (heteros) that pertains to being distinct from some other item implied or mentioned hence means “other, another.” Its use indicates that the person with this gift may be different from the one mentioned in the two previous gifts. This, of course, does not mean that a believer may not have more than one spiritual gift but it is used to remind us that the spiritual gift of faith is not given to everyone but to a few that God the Holy Spirit has chosen to do so. That aside, our concern is with the gift of faith. In effect, we need to understand what it means. This requires us to examine the word “faith” in greater detail.

The word “faith” is translated from a Greek word (pistis) although often translated “faith” has several other meanings. The word may mean faithfulness and or commitment. It is in the sense of faithfulness that the word is used by our Lord Jesus to rebuke the Jews of focusing on the practice of tithing as authorized in the OT while ignoring the more important aspect of the law such as justice and mercy as stated in Matthew 23:23:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

It is in the sense of commitment that the word is used of God in Romans 3:3:

What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?

The verbal phrase nullify God’s faithfulness can also be translated nullify the commitment of God so it is clear that the Greek word translated faith can mean “faithfulness” or “commitment.”

The Greek word translated “faith” can mean faith in the active sense of believing or trusting in someone; the kind of believing that brings salvation. It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used it to describe faith righteous instead of law righteous in Romans 3:22:

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

Here the apostle indicates that there is a righteousness that comes by trusting Jesus Christ or believing in Him. It is in the sense of “confidence” that the word “faith” is used in 1 Peter 1:21:

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Apostle Peter indicates that the recipients of his epistle have confidence in God.

Another meaning of the Greek word translated faith is true piety or genuine devotion or even firm commitment. Stephen was described as one who had a genuine devotion or firm commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ in that he did not waver in what he believed but was fully devoted to the Lord. This is the sense of the word “faith” in Acts 6:5:

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

It is in this sense of true piety or genuine devotion or firm commitment that Apostle Paul used our Greek word in his thanksgiving on behalf of the Roman Christians in Romans 1:8:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.

The apostle was not thanking God on behalf of the Romans for the fact that they have faith in Christ as believers but for the quality of their faith in which case it was their genuine devotion to Christ that caused him to thank God on their behalf.

Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is as an important virtue that Christians should have, or they have as a result of believing in Christ or as a result of the Holy Spirit operating in them. So, it is used to describe “faithfulness” that is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit given in Galatians 5:22:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

That faith refers to an important Christian virtue is evident in the fact that it is often associated with the virtue of love and so Apostle Paul used it in his epistle to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13:

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

This sense of Christian virtue in the Greek word translated “faith” is also evident in the apostle’s commendation of Philemon in Philemon 5:

because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.

Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” in our primary passage of study is a reference to a religious movement such as the Christian faith, which is essentially the same as “the Christian religion.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used it in Galatians 1:23:

They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”

Paul’s former effort was focused on exterminating Christians and so the Christian movement. Thus, what he tried to destroy is not so much the preaching of the gospel but the Christian movement since if he stopped the movement then he would have destroyed the Christian religion. Of course, that was not to be the case as he was converted and became one of the most fervent advocates of the Christian movement.

Still another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is “body of teaching” or “doctrine.” It is in this way that the word “faith” is used in 1 Timothy 4:1:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

It is possible that “faith” here can also be interpreted as the Christian faith, but it is more likely the apostle meant Christian doctrine especially because of the expression things taught by demons. It is the sense of doctrine or body of teaching of the Christian faith that “faith” is used in Jude 3:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

Our consideration so far should convince you that the word “faith” has various meanings depending on the context. The question then is: In what sense did the apostle use it when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:9 to another faith? Our Greek word is used as a reference to that state of strong confidence in, and reliance upon God. As we have alluded, every believer has faith in the sense of trusting God but the faith here is that special ability to exercise trust or confidence in the Lord that only a few believers possess as a gift from God. It is really the faith that “moves mountain” so to say, that the apostle referenced in 1 Corinthians 13:2:

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

It is probably this special kind of faith that was in the mind of the apostles of the Lord Jesus when they requested for Him to increase their faith as we read in Luke 17:5–6:

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

In any event, this gift of faith is an extraordinary confidence and reliance on the Lord that is not common to all believers. If you have this gift, you will consistently exhibit extraordinary confidence and reliance on the Lord than the usual believer who trusts in the Lord and believes what the Scripture says. You should not be particularly concerned about trying to determine if you have this gift. For, if you have this gift of faith it will function as God intended it in your life.

The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul did not elaborate on this gift of faith or give us examples of those with this gift. It is likely that Apostle Paul himself and other apostles of the Lord Jesus had this gift. That aside, there are records of the lives of some believers in the past outside our Scripture that to me suggest they have this gift of faith. Let me illustrate with two examples.

My first example, is a Presbyterian minister of the gospel reported in the book “The Scots Worthies.” His name is Thomas Hog that was born 1628, educate in the University of the New Town of Aberdeen in Scotland, and died in 1691. He labored to ensure that his congregation was well taught in the word of God. He was certainly a man of prayer since during his ministries the Lord answered many prayers and healed many individuals. However, there are two incidents in his life that convinced me that he had the gift of faith. There was an occasion that he was teaching, and someone was mocking. He warned the person twice but after a third time he said, “The Spirit of God is grieved by one in the company, for mocking at these great truths; therefore, I am bold to say, such offers of grace shall be visibly and more suddenly punished than any here could wish.”¹ Later that same day, the mocker was struck with sudden sickness and died. This is a demonstration of this gift of faith and probably also the gift of prophecy. A second incident happened when he was imprisoned for a second time for the truth of God’s word. He was sick so that a physician who came to attend to him diagnosed that unless he was immediately released from the prison that his condition would worsen and would cause his death. This physician appealed to the ruling authorities to release him, but his request was denied. In fact, we are informed that the Archbishop Sharp had argued that God was probably using his illness to get rid of him and so suggested that he be put in the worst part of the prison with the hope that he would not recover from his illness. When the news of the entire incident was reported to him by his servant who said, “Now master, your death is unavoidable,” he replied, “Now that men have no mercy, the Lord will show Himself merciful; from the moment of my entering this dungeon, I date my recovery.”² That was exactly what happened because the next day, he recovered from his illness. These two incidents imply unusual confidence and trust in the Lord. Hence, it appears to me that Mr. Hog had the gift of faith.

My second example is that famous nineteen century evangelist George Muller that is often described as “man of faith” and for a good reason. His ministry that included running an orphanage depended on faith. At one point in his ministry, he resolved not to take a salary but to live by faith by telling the Lord about his needs without mentioning them to anyone. Although he gave up his salary, at one point he reported making more money in a year than the salary that was to be paid to him. For example, in 1883, it is reported that as he reviewed his income from the time he decided to live by faith alone in God’s promises, he noted that his salary was approximately $3,700 whereas his stated salary for the same length of time would have been $900.³ There are several examples of him demonstrating faith in the midst of needs but he never wavered in his faith that I do not have time to describe but to say that his life of faith is one that should convince anyone who reads the story of his life that he had this gift of faith that we are considering. Anyway, we insist that the gift of faith is one that causes the recipient to have an extraordinary confidence in the Lord than those without it. This is one gift that if you have, you will know it because you will be exercising extra ordinary confidence in the Lord even when other believers waver in their confidence in the Lord’s ability to do whatever the situation calls.

Be that as it may, the apostle continued to emphasize the fact that every spiritual gift is from God the Holy Spirit because of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:9 by the same Spirit. The word Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit gives some the gift of faith. However, the fact that the same Holy Spirit that gives the gift of faith gives also the first two gifts we have mentioned is intended to remind us not to look down on anyone’s spiritual gift or think so highly of such a person if we know what it is. This brings us to the next gift Apostle Paul listed in the section we are considering.

The fourth gift of the Holy Spirit is concerned with healing as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:9 to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit. Before we comment on the phrase gifts of healing, let me review what we studied in the past regarding the subject of healing.

There are two primary assertions we need regarding the subject of physical healing. First, God is the ultimate source of healing. In other words, any healing that takes place on this planet is from Him. The Scripture supports this assertion in various passages. The Lord declared to Israel that He is their healer as we read in Exodus 15:26:

He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

Similar declaration of the Lord as healer is recorded by the psalmist as we read in Psalm 103:3:

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.

There are several recorded promises of healing by the Lord that support the fact that He is the ultimate source of healing. He promised healing to Israel as we read in Deuteronomy 32:39:

“See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.

When Hezekiah became ill to the point of death, the Lord through Prophet Isaiah informed him that he would die from his illness but upon seeking the Lord in prayer, He promised to heal and did heal him as we read in 2 Kings 20:5:

“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD.

The fact the Lord promised to heal Hezekiah and did in fact heal him indicates He is the source of healing. Anyway, our first assertion is that God is the ultimate source of all healing that take place on this planet. This brings us to our second assertion.

Our second assertion is that the manner of healing depends on His plan. We mean that although God could bring healing miraculously without any use of things that He had already created but He also uses things He had already created to heal. Put in another way, God heals directly or indirectly using elements He created. God’s direct healing often involves prayers of His chosen ones. For example, when God brought sickness on Abimelech because he took Sarah, Abraham’s wife, into his harem, God made it known to him that he had taken someone’s wife into his harem but after God revealed that to him in a dream, he confessed he acted in ignorance so God promised to heal him directly in response to Abraham’s prayer after he returned Sarah to Abraham as we read in Genesis 20:7:

Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.”

When Abraham prayed to God on Abimelech’s behalf, He healed him as we read in Genesis 20:17:

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again,

The examples of God healing without means are severally recorded in the gospels and in the Acts of Apostles. The Lord Jesus performed many acts of healing as recorded in the gospel accounts. He healed by pronouncing healing on a person, as was the case with the man with leprosy that came to Him in person as we read in Matthew 8:2–3:

² A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” ³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

The Lord Jesus healed without being in the presence of the person to be healed but merely uttered His word and the person was healed. This was the case of the servant of a centurion who had requested the Lord to speak His word because he recognized that Jesus had authority to heal without being present but by issuing a command as reported in Matthew 8:5–8:

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” ⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

After the Lord Jesus commended the centurion’s faith, He healed the centurion’s servant remotely, so to speak, as we read in Matthew 8:13:

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

We only cited two examples of the Lord Jesus healing but there are many recorded instances of His healing miracles in the gospels. Our concern is simply to cite examples that indicate God heals directly without means. The other examples of God healing directly involved the apostles. Apostle Peter was involved in miracles of healing where God healed directly. The healing of a crippled beggar through the apostle is an example of God healing directly without even prayer as narrated in Acts 3:6–8:

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

God directly healed a crippled man through Apostle Paul during his first missionary trip as recorded in Acts 14:8–10:

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed ¹⁰ and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

God also healed through the apostle in answer to his prayer, the father of Publius, the chief official of the Island of Malta as recorded in Acts 28:8:

His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.

Anyway, we cited these few examples to demonstrate that God heals directly with or without prayer of the agents He uses for such healing. That aside, we should also note that in some of the examples recorded in the NT Scripture of healing, faith was required of those healed. We are told that before Apostle Paul healed the crippled man in Lystra, he perceived that the man had faith to be healed implying that faith was required in the healing of the man. Similarly, when the Lord healed some blind men, faith was required of them as we read in Matthew 9:28–30:

²⁸ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. ²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; ³⁰ and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”

This narrative implies that the men were required to have faith for their healing, but we should not take it that a person could not be healed directly by God until the person exercises faith in the Lord. It all depends on what God’s plan is. You see, the Lord Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law without any requirement of faith on her part. The Lord simply healed her as we read in Luke 4:38–39

³⁸ Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Recall that there was no mention of faith on the part of the father of Publius, the chief official of the Island of Malta, when God healed him in response to Apostle Paul’s prayer. Thus, we cannot always say that all healings that are directly from God require faith. This is not to deny that faith is often necessary on the part of the person to be healed but that God could heal, based on His plan, without requirement of faith on the part of the person that would be the recipient of His healing.

Be that as it may, we asserted that God could heal also using the elements He has created. This means that God may heal using elements He has created such as plants, or elements humans have put together that we call medicines. So, we need to consider the fact that God may heal using medicine as an intermediate means of His healing. But before we consider the use of medicine in healing, we should note that the power of healing is not in the means God uses but in God who heals. Take the example of the healing of Naaman through Prophet Elisha. The instruction given to him was to dip himself in River Jordan seven times as we read in 2 Kings 5:10:

Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

Naaman probably recognized that water in and of itself could not heal him as implied in his protest recorded in 2 Kings 5:11–12:

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

Of course, when Naaman complied with the prophet’s instruction, he was healed. His confession following his healing implies that he recognized it was God who healed him and not the water that was used as means of his healing as we read in 2 Kings 5:15:

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant.”

If someone who had leprosy heard this story and went to dip himself seven times in the river that person would not have been healed since water in and of itself does not heal. Another example that illustrates it is not the means that heals but God, is the healing of blind man by the Lord Jesus using mud as stated in John 9:6–7:

⁶ Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

It is not the mud that brought the healing of the blind man but Jesus Christ. If this were not the case, those who are blind could simply get someone to put mud on their eyes so that they could go to the same pool and wash to recover their sight. This did not happen. Thus, we can assert that it is not the mud that brought the healing but the Lord Jesus. That it is not the mud used that brought the healing, is implied in what the blind man communicated that it was Jesus that healed him when some Jews wanted to know how he recovered his eyesight as recorded in John 9:10–11:

¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded. ¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

Anyhow, the point we want to stress is that it is not the means that God uses that heals but that God does the healing. There is no healing power inherent in the means that God uses to heal but the power is inherent in God.

In any event, it is our assertion that God uses means or medicine to heal. The classical example of God healing using means is the healing of Hezekiah. When the Lord threatened the king that he would die from his illness, he prayed to the Lord who promised to heal him using means. This means involves figs as we read in 2 Kings 20:7:

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.

The phrase a poultice of figs of the NIV is more literally cake of figs. This refers to a paste made from crushed raw figs that can be applied to a wound to help healing that was used by the ancient Mediterranean people. It was this paste that was applied to the boil of Hezekiah so that the Lord brought healing to him. It is probably that the king recognized that such use of figs did not often lead to healing that he asked for sign that he would be healed as we read in 2 Kings 20:8:

Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the LORD on the third day from now?”

This notwithstanding, the fact remains that the Lord healed the king using the paste made from figs that were applied to his boil. Hence, God heals using medicine.

There are various references to medicine or using of the elements God has created for healing purposes. A reference to the use of medicine appears in the Scripture in the form of “balm” as we read, for example, in 2 Chronicles 28:15:

The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow countrymen at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria.

The exact nature of balm is difficult to identify today. Nonetheless, it is often taken as medicinal ointment probably made of resin which had been compounded with oil for healing purposes. It is applied to wounds as we may deduce from the rhetorical questions recorded in Jeremiah 8:22:

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?

Apparently, balm provided some form of healing when used by ancient physicians otherwise it would not make sense for the Lord to indicate that it would be ineffective when applied by His people who had strayed from Him since it was a medicine applied to wounds as a soothing salve as we may deduce from Jeremiah 51:8:

Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.

Another element that is referenced as part of medicine of Israel was olive oil. Thus, it was mentioned in the Scripture as being used for medicinal purposes. Prophet Isaiah referred to it in Isaiah 1:6:

From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.

Oil referenced here for healing wounds refers to olive oil. Hence, the olive oil is used as medicine by physicians in Israel. It is because olive oil is used as medicine that it is mentioned in the context of healing activities of the disciples of Jesus Christ as recorded in Mark 6:13:

They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Again, the oil here refers to olive oil since it is the oil widely used for healing by physicians in the Bible times.

Another element used as medicine is wine. This is reflected in the Parable of the Good Samaritan for treatment of the man who was wounded in the parable as we read in Luke 10:34:

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

Apparently, it is because wine was used for medicinal purposes that the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul recommended it for Timothy as we read in 1 Timothy 5:23:

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

We have mentioned three forms of medicine that appears in the Scripture but that does not mean that there were no other elements from God’s creation that He uses for healing of people. There were in the past and even at the present time individuals that used different kinds of leaves for healing. This should not be surprising because God conveyed that in the future, He will provide leaves that would be for healing of nations presumably those that survive the various plague judgments described in the book of Revelation as we read in Revelation 22:2:

down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

In any case, we referenced medicine to indicate that God uses it for healing of people. The implication is that a believer should not despise medicine as if it something sinful as the adherents of Christian Science do. Medicine must be regarded as the means God uses for healing of people when He does not do it directly. Anyhow, we contend that it is not wise to refuse medicine per say. However, it is important to caution that we should not place our faith on physicians instead of God. We are saying we should first look to God in prayer before we go to a physician if we have the opportunity of doing so. It would be wrong to first look to the physician before looking to God as if the physician has the power to heal. It is because of such a thing that God expressed His displeasure towards King Asa as we read in 2 Chronicles 16:12:

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.

The king was condemned not because he sought the help of physicians but that surprisingly he failed to turn to God for help. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with seeking medical help so long as the believer recognizes that God is the ultimate healer whether He does so directly, or He uses a physician to heal. In effect, when you go to your physician you should precede your visit and follow it up with prayer. This is in a sense in keeping with what the Holy Spirit instructed through James to believers as we read in James 5:14–15:

¹⁴ Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

This passage of James implies that medicine followed by prayer of faith would bring healing. However, there is also the fact that if a person has a spiritual problem, medicine will not help the individual until the person deals with the spiritual problem of sin as implied in James 5:16:

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

With this review, we return to the gifts of healing as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:9 to another gifts of healing.

The Greek syntax of the phrase translated gifts of healing enables us to recognize that the apostle gave the fourth spiritual gift as “healing gifts.” The word “healing” is translated from a Greek word (iama) that appears three times in the Greek NT; all in this twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians all in the plural form. The word means “healing,” that is, the act of providing a cure for something to make a person healthy again in a miraculous manner. Hence, the gifts of healing that we are concerned about involve healing without the use of medicine, so this does not refer to believers who have trained as physicians and are gifted in being good physicians.

In any case, there is the problem associated with the phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:9 gifts of healing. The problem is that this fourth gift of the Holy Spirit is the only one that involves plural form of the word “gift.” In fact, this fourth gift is mentioned in plural in verses 28 and 30. If you go by the NIV, you may think there is another gift given in plural because of 1 Corinthians 12:28:

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

The phrase those with gifts of administration is literally administrations. That aside, there is no clear reason the apostle used the plural to describe the fourth gift. It is possible that the apostle used the plural to indicate the gift will involve different ways in which the gift would be applied. For example, it may involve speaking of words as was the case of healing of the paralytic by Apostle Peter or it may involve prayer as when Apostle Paul healed the father of Publius, or it may involve using of elements associated with one with the gift. Some sick individuals were healed by Apostle Peter’s shadow as we read in Acts 5:15:

As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

Some individuals were healed by coming into contact with article of clothing belonging to Apostle Paul as we read in Acts 19:12:

so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

It is not only that the gift is manifested in diverse ways but also it involves diverse forms of suffering from which people are to be healed. Thus, people may be healed of physically related illnesses and spiritual related ailments that involve the torture from evil spirits. The point is that we deduce that the apostle used the plural “gifts of healings” to convey the diverse nature of the healing and diverse form of illnesses that those with the gift of healing would exercise the gift. This fourth gift is certainly different from God healing in response to prayer. Those with the gifts of healing would do so on a more consistent basis as the Holy Spirit determines. We have to be suspicious of those who announce ahead of time that healing will take place in their meetings since we have no such practice with the apostles. That aside, the gifts of healing are still functioning among believers although not necessarily in the same frequency of the early church. A good example of one with such gift is described in a book written in 1860 “Nature and the Supernatural, As together Constituting the One System of God” by Horace Bushnell, pp 479-486. If you are interested, you could read the book.

05/20//22