Foundations of Faith
SPIRITUAL GIFTS (V)
“These signs shall follow those who believe:in My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; … if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17,18). This was part of the Lord Jesus’ message to His disciples when He told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel. The signs mentioned here are like some of the spiritual gifts listed by the apostle Paul:”The gifts of healing … the working of miracles … divers kinds of tongues … the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor. 12:9,10).
There is disagreement among Bible scholars whether these so-called “sign gifts” still exist in the present day or whether they ceased when Holy Scripture was completed at the end of the first century A.D. (as suggested by 1 Cor. 13:8). The arguments are long and involved and beyond the scope of this publication. There is strong historical evidence that these gifts had totally disappeared by the end of the century. One of the clear purposes of these gifts was to authenticate the teaching of the apostles-to get people to pay attention in an era in which the Holy Scriptures had not yet been completed and were not widely available. We cannot rule out the possibility that the Holy Spirit may still be pleased to use such gifts today in parts of the world where the Scriptures and Christianity are as yet unknown. For example, they may help missionaries to communicate the gospel to people of other nations and may help the people to pay attention to what they are trying to tell them.
It seems likely that these sign gifts in their original God-given form have essentially ceased in most parts of the world-including our own-where the Bible is well known. However, for any of our readers who believe they possess one of these sign gifts, I shall try to show from Scripture how such gifts are to be used. We shall also consider ways in which modified forms of the gifts of healing, miracles, tongues, and interpretations may be manifested by believers today -through the leading and power of the Holy Spirit-to minister to others.
The Lord Jesus healed people and so did the twelve disciples and the apostle Paul. We learn a number of things from their examples:
1. The gift was not used for personal benefit or gain. The apostle Paul could heal others (Acts 14:10; 28:8,9) but not himself (2 Cor. 12:8,9).
2. The persons healed were not sent home and told that they would be feeling better soon. Rather, the healing was immediate and complete (Mark 1:42; 2:12; 7:35; Luke 4:39; Acts 3:7,8; 9:34; 14:10). (See Assignment 6)
3. The persons were not healed selectively, but all who came to Jesus (Matt. 9:35; 15:30,31; Mark 6:56; Luke 4:40; 6:19) or to His disciples (Matt. 10:1,8; Acts 5:15,16; 8:7; 28:9) were healed of all kinds of sickness and disease.
4. Many of the persons healed were well known by relatives and friends to have been sick from birth or to have serious infirmities (Mark 2:3; John 9:1; Acts 3:2; 14:8).
5. The gift included power for the ultimate healing, namely, bringing the dead back to life again (Mark 5:35-42; John 11:43, 44; Acts 9:36-41; 20:9,10).
6. Neither Jesus nor the apostles staged healing services, but went to where the sick people were, where there could be ample testimony to the validity of the healing (Mark 1:21-2:12; 5:1-17; John 9:1-11; Acts 3:7-10; 9:38).
7. Often the persons were healed as an act of pure grace, without any particular evidence of faith on the part of the sick person or his/her relatives (Matt. 8:14,15; John 9:1-7; Acts 3:6). Also, there is no mention in Scripture of anyone failing to be healed because of his or her own lack of faith. Rather, Jesus rebuked His disciples, who had the gift of healing, for their lack of faith in failing to bring about healing (Matt. 17:14-21).
8. Contrary to the teaching of some, illness cannot necessarily be attributed to Satan. Satan could not touch Job without the LORD giving him permission (Job 1:12; 2:6). Some illness is a result of a person’s own sin (1 Cor. 11:30; Jas. 5:15,16; 1 John 5:16). Some trials come directly from the Lord, “for whom the Lord loves He chastens” (Heb. 12:5-11).
9. Scripture is clear that it may not be God’s will for a particular person to be healed (2 Cor. 12:8,9; 1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim. 4:20), at least for the present. Sometimes, the healer may even be led of the Lord to do just the opposite-to call down sickness in judgment upon a sinning person (Acts 13:11; see also Jas. 5:17).
There is a kind of healing needed in the Church today that, no doubt, is much more important than mere physical healing. I refer to healing the backslidings of God’s children (Jer. 3:22; Hos. 14:4) by faithful appeals and admonitions (Matt. 18:15; Gal. 6:1). I refer also to the healing of conflicts and breaches among Christians by those gifted as peacemakers (Matt. 5:9).
Running the Race
SERVING THE LORD (II)
Here are more examples of how the men and women of the Bible served the Lord.
1. Elijah (through the power of God) brought a young boy back to life (1 Ki. 17:22).
2. Elisha also brought a young boy back to life and healed Captain Naaman of his leprosy (2 Ki. 4:32-35; 5:14).
3. Joshua and Caleb tried to calm and encourage the people of their nation (Num. 13:30; 14:6-9).
4. Samson’s mother reasoned with and encouraged her husband (Judg. 13:22,23).
5. David played his harp to refresh King Saul’s troubled spirit (1 Sam. 16:14-23).
6. Solomon counseled and judged his people with wisdom (1 Ki. 3:16-28; 4:32-34; Prov. 1-31).
7. The old men wisely counseled King Rehoboam to be a servant unto his people and to speak good words to them (1 Ki. 12:7).
8. Barnabas helped the believers in Jerusalem to overcome their fear of Saul (Acts 9:26,27). He also encouraged the believers to “cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23).
9. The apostle Paul encouraged and counseled the crew and passengers on ship during a terrible storm (Acts 27:22,31-36).
Assignment 6: Write out three verses in Mark 5 that show how quickly and completely Jesus healed three different people.