Monthly Archive for November, 2002

1 Corinthians 12:13

Published on November 30, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit."
 
13For by one Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the agent who places believers in the body of Christ. The Devil or any human agent cannot amputate anyone from the body of Christ, because the Holy Spirit placed the believer in the body by divine action. A surgeon can amputate a leg but no diabolical surgeon can amputate anyone from the body of Christ. It is impossible to be unborn spiritually.
Jn 10: 29My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one (Greek says “nothing,” whether Satan or ourselves) is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
we were all baptized into one body
“Baptized” here is not water baptism but Spirit baptism. We can translate the word “baptized” as to identify. The word “baptized” or “baptism” is not a translation but a transliteration. In other words, instead of translating the word, translators simply dropped the Greek word into the English text. The word “identify” carries a much-improved meaning of what happens with the baptism of the Spirit – the Holy Spirit identifies us with the body of Christ at salvation. The baptism of the Spirit is not an experience.
The first baptism of the Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5). Afterward, individual believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation. Spirit baptism takes place when the Holy Spirit places the believer into the body of Christ.
The word “all” means that there is no such thing as a Christian whom the Holy Spirit does not baptize into the body of Christ. If the Holy Spirit does not baptize a person into the body of Christ, then that person is not a Christian (Ro 8:9). “All” means that there are no exceptions. The Holy Spirit places all believers without exception into the body of Christ. Whether carnal or spiritual, good or bad, the Holy Spirit places them in union with Christ.
Ro 8: 9But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
I would like to give the Greek grammar of “baptized into” because of its doctrinal importance, but I will explain each term I use. The word “baptized” is in the aorist tense (point action, one point in the past). The Holy Spirit baptized us into the body of Christ at the one point each of us became a Christian. “Baptized” is in the passive voice (the subject receives the action, not produces the action). The passive voice indicates that the Holy Spirit caused our baptism. It is not something we did or do. The word “baptized” is in the indicative mood (this is the mood of reality, not potentiality). It was a real fact that the Holy Spirit identified us with the body of Christ at the point of salvation. Remember, the meaning of the word “baptized” is identify.
—   whether Jews or Greeks,
“Greeks” are equivalent to gentiles since Paul contrasts them to “Jews.” Racial origin makes no difference to the Holy Spirit placing us into the body of Christ.
—   whether slaves or free
Slavery was rampant in the first century. Once God baptizes a believer into the body of Christ, there is no social distinction between classes regarding status quo in the body of Christ. God views them all on the same playing field.
— and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
For the second time, Paul uses the term “all” in this verse. God makes all believers “to drink into one Spirit.” The main idea behind Spirit baptism is that the church is one body. “All,” without exception, are part of the body of Christ. There are no people on the way to becoming a Christian. Either we are Christians or we are not. The moment we believe that Christ forgave us because of His death on the cross, we become full-fledged members of the body.
“Been made” is causative. The Holy Spirit causes believers “to drink in one Spirit.” This is a truth that we cannot smell or taste –  a truth that we accept by faith. If God did not make the statement that we have identity in Christ, there is no way we would know it. Again, “made to drink” is aorist (one point), passive (the Holy Spirit does this to the believer), and indicative (it is real or a fact at the point of salvation), so it is a reality that the Holy Spirit comes to indwell the believer at the point of salvation. Not only did the Holy Spirit place us in the body of Christ but God placed the Holy Spirit within us – we have “been made to drink into one Spirit.” The Holy Spirit indwells every believer fully at salvation. God does not parcel Himself out to the believer in installments. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is part of conversion.
PRINCIPLE:  Our place in the body of Christ gives us status with God. 
APPLICATION:  The church is not an organization but an organism. It is not a group of people gathered once a week to share a worship experience, but it is people sharing the same life. They reach out to the world with the life of God. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. Religion seeks to gain God’s approbation; in Christianity, we have God’s approbation or favor. We have positional status with God. Our status quo is equivalent to the status Jesus has before the Father. This status is as true for the carnal believer as for the spiritual. The carnal believer has imputed righteousness, making his status before God completely righteous positionally or forensically. Our position before God is not an experience, emotion, or ecstatic experience. This position in God’s eyes is not progressive, for it is perfect at the point of salvation. It does not relate to human good or merit. Positional truth is eternal in nature; we have it forever once we receive it. The only way we know this to be true is from the Word of God. Positional truth can never be reversed, for it is eternally permanent.
Ga 3: 26For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
God put into us all that we need for Christian living by giving us the indwelling Holy Spirit. We now need to claim by faith God’s provisions for Christian living.
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1 Corinthians 12:12

Published on November 29, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:12 "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ."
 
Paul now compares the church to a human body, beginning at this verse and running through the end of the chapter.
12For as the body is one and has many members,
The biblical idea of unity is unity in diversity, not uniformity. There is a spectrum of gifts in the body of Christ but they all function under the head. Note the word “one” occurs seven times, in verses 12,13, and 14. The emphasis is on unity and oneness.
The Bible uses the word church in two senses: (1) the local church and (2) the universal church. The universal church is anyone who believes in the finished work of Christ on the cross to forgive sins. These people are in multiple denominations and theological strains. When a person is born again, God places him into the body of Christ universal, the universal church.
but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body,
Diversity is important for symmetry of a body. It would be gross if the entire body were one big toe! The body of Christ is one unit that requires symmetry in function.
so also is Christ.
Note the “as” and “so” thrust of this verse. Paul now draws the analogy to the body of Christ. There are a number of analogies in the New Testament between the church and Christ: The vine and branches, stone and temple, king and kingdom, shepherd and sheep, and bridegroom and bride. Every believer is part of a single body known as the body of Christ (14:27).
Each member in Christ’s body has a precise place and purpose, yet there is one body. Members are many but the body is one, the body of Christ. As we cannot separate our body from our head, so we cannot separate any member from God’s purpose for the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit tied the body of Christ together so that the torso shares life with Jesus, the head. The church is an organism, not an organization.
Co 1: 18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
PRINCIPLE:  God’s principle is unity in diversity, not uniformity.
APPLICATION:  The Holy Spirit is in charge of Human Resources for the church. He places each believer in a particular place for a particular purpose. It is not a matter of chance but of divine design. The Holy Spirit is like a football coach who assigns men to positions.
The body is a unity but has many parts and these parts work together as one. God designed the body to work in cooperation. Unity does not come from unvarying uniformity. God unified the church in one body. But when we sing the old song, “We are not divided, all one body we,” we must sing that with tongue in cheek. When we look out upon Christianity’s divisions, we see an array of different schisms.
What kind of perspective on unity do you have in the local church? Are arms and legs cooperating with the head? We need all parts of the body to function properly. The body is a basic unity. We have never grown another ear or added another liver. We may have lost a few odds and ends along the way, but we are still the same basic unit. Our kidney is more important than our little toe, but if you were to ask me if I could spare my little toe, I would look with askance on that! I am jealous about that little toe. Every part of the body is significant to the head, the Lord Jesus. Thus, every spiritual gift as a basic differentiation is important to Him.
The body cannot live without the head and the head cannot exist without the body. Jesus Christ will never be satisfied in heaven without His entire body, the whole body of Christ. The exalted, magnificent head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. No man, no religionist, no preacher, no hierarchy is the head of the church, for Christ is the head of the church.
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1 Corinthians 12:11

Published on November 28, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:11 "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."
 
11But one and the same Spirit works all these things,
The word “all” summarizes verses eight through 10. The Holy Spirit works in the distribution and operation of all the gifts. The word “works” means energizes, carrying the idea of giving dynamic to the use of gifts.
distributing to each one individually as He wills.
God distributes to each Christian gifts at the point of salvation. “Distributing” is handing out. He hands out these gifts “individually,” that is, separately. “Each one” also indicates this. He does not hand out gifts to groups.
This is the fifth reference to the Holy Spirit as the distributor of gifts so far in this chapter. We do not seek gifts, for their assignment is wholly at the initiative of the Holy Spirit.
PRINCIPLE:  God’s gifts are not gifts on demand.
APPLICATION:  The believer does not have the option to choose from a smorgasbord of gifts, because the distribution of gifts is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit. We cannot select which gifts we prefer. Because the Holy Spirit gives the gift, it makes the gift valuable. If the President of the United States were to give us a gift, that would make the gift valuable by virtue of who gave the gift and we would treasure it. God almighty gave us gifts, so we should highly treasure our gifts.
The reason we do not have the same mixture of gifts as in the New Testament is that the Holy Spirit sovereignly deems that we need a different mixture today. The Holy Spirit operates with diversity in unity. He knows which gifts are the most appropriate for each believer and each church for each generation.
The Holy Spirit does not expect us to go to church like some people watch professional sports. He does not want us to operate like spectators commending or condemning according to the score. God expects us to go down on the playing field. If we do, we will appreciate some of the problems involved in making a good play. That will temper some of our criticisms. Those who criticize for the most part are those in the stands spiritually. They are the most harping critics.                           
God expects a return on His investment. God has a lot invested in us and has a great stake in His design for us. If we neglect our gifts or abuse them, it reflects on God. When our children go badly, it reflects on us. It is a shallow life if we simply live for recreation, cutting our grass, and painting our house.
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1 Corinthians 12:10d

Published on November 27, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:10 "to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."
 
to another different kinds of tongues,
“Tongues” was the ability to speak in a foreign language without studying for it. The word “tongues” in the Greek is glossa, from which we get the English word “glossary.” A glossary is an index or dictionary. The normal, customary usage of the term in the first century was “language.”
The gift of speaking in a foreign language without studying for it was limited to a few (1 Co 12:8-11, 29,30), because the gifts are sovereignly bestowed (12:8). The Greek of 1 Corinthians 13:8 says that tongues would come to an absolute stop (Greek pauo). This cessation would happen at one point in time (aorist tense). First Corinthians 14 identifies this gift as a sign gift (14:21,22). It is not the ability to learn a language quickly, for non-Christians have that ability.
to another the interpretation of tongues.
“Interpretation of tongues” was the translation of actual, extant languages. This gift was the ability to translate a language a person had never learned instantaneously. This was what happened on the Day of Pentecost when believers translated 16 languages, to the utter amazement of non-Christians present. That event established the validity of New Testament truth as right.
PRINCIPLE: Tongues and the interpretation of tongues are sign gifts that established the New Testament as the Word of God.
APPLICATION: The gifts of languages and translation of languages was crucial for authenticating the New Testament, especially to Jews who believed only in the Old Testament. Jews needed to know that God extended His revelation from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Therefore, languages (tongues) and translation of languages (interpretation of tongues) were sign gifts to establish divine truth.
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1 Corinthians 12:10c

Published on November 26, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:10 "to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."
 
to another discerning of spirits,
“Discerning of spirits” is the gift of identifying false doctrine. The root of the word “discerning” means to judge through. The basic idea is to separate or make distinction. The idea is to sever through something to form two distinct parts. “Discerning of spirits” is the ability to give an immediate evaluation of a speaker as to whether what is said is of God or not. The person with this gift can spot religious phonies. He can distinguish between what is true and what is false. This gift is the ability to test certain claims against what the Bible says.
PRINCIPLE: It is important to distinguish truth from error.
APPLICATION: The gift of discerning of spirits is a watchdog for God’s Word. The Devil is the great imitator or counterfeiter. He makes divine currency look as close to the real thing as possible. That is why he deceives so many “sincere” people. “Many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn 4:1). There are as many liars from pulpits and books today in North America as anywhere. Some people are so gullible that they swallow anything. They have little spiritual perspicuity. They swallow anything hook, line, and sinker as long as it is from a pulpit or Christian book. Sometimes the imitation looks better than the real thing. The ultimate measuring stick is the Word of God. Anything that runs counter to the Word is spurious.
Christians today are so illiterate in God’s Word that, when falsity comes along, they do not recognize it. Postconservative, postmodern, so-called evangelicals have undermined the foundations of faith and hardly anyone recognizes it because of an appalling state of biblical ignorance today. Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian and A Generous Orthodoxy undermine biblical Christianity. The reason people have not identified his teaching as deviation is the appalling state of the evangelical ignorance of God’s Word today. There is little knowledge of Bible doctrine or substantive truth among evangelicals. Most evangelicals are so pragmatically oriented or experientially oriented that they cannot distinguish between the things that differ. A person with the gift of discernment will identify what is spoken as to whether it is of God or not.
Someone might say that this capacity for discernment and calling out false doctrine is not “the spirit of Jesus.” Nothing could be more the spirit of Jesus that to rebuke false doctrine and teachers as He did throughout the gospels (Jn 8:44). Jesus even rebuked Peter for indicating that Jesus should not go to the cross (Mt 16:22-23).
Many people today make claims of biblical authority that are totally off base. These are counterfeit teachers. Almost all of them have some truth but that makes them dangerous. They have a mixture of truth and error, and some evangelicals cannot distinguish the error. People with the gift of discernment can stop them quickly. People with this gift are to use it even when dealing with those who have the gift of prophecy (14:29). The person with the gift of discernment compares claims of truth with the Scripture.
There is a danger in this gift of becoming proud and arrogant, thinking that “I am the only one who can sniff out error and that my estimation is the only right one.” Such a person can become critical of others and self-righteous. We cannot find this “gift of criticism” in the Bible! That is a gift they should give back!
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1 Corinthians 12:10b

Published on November 25, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 2 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:10 "to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."
 
to another prophecy,
Prophecy with ecstasy or frenzy was widespread in religions of the first century. Paul’s perspective on prophecy came from Judaism where the prophet spoke on behalf of God through inspired utterances. Sometimes the Holy Spirit canonized these utterances in Scripture.
Prophecy is more than predicting the future or foretelling; it is forth telling. Paul used this gift in the sense of forth telling in chapter 14. It is the gift of speaking the mind of God to the mind of man. The Greek word consists of two words: pro = before; phemi = to speak. The basic thrust is proclamation. The idea is to declare openly. It is the capacity to absorb and receive divine inspiration and pass it on to others. Foretelling is incidental to prophecy. Prophecy can make the Word of God relevant to special needs.
All are not prophets (1 Co 12:29) yet all may prophesy (14:31) and some have the special gift of prophecy (Ro 12:6; 1 Co 12:19). Prophecy can minister to those without Christ (14:24). Prophecy ministers by bringing edification, exhortation, and comfort to Christians:
1 Co 14: 3But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
Prophecy ministers by bringing edification, exhortation, and comfort (1 Co 14:3), so it ranks among the highest gifts (1 Co 12:28; chapter 14). Prophecy has one qualification – “according to the proportion of his faith” (Ro 12:6). The word “proportion” means agreement, equality, right relation. The idea is to not go beyond what is written. Prophecy must agree with the Bible. The article before the word “faith” indicates the entire Word of God, so the preacher of God’s truth should not go beyond the Word of God in his preaching.
Prophecy was the ability to understand and reveal content of the New Testament before God completed the writing of the New Testament in the first century. Thus, there are two dimensions to the gift of prophecy: (1) it was a revelatory gift that gave the content of the New Testament before God revealed it, and (2) it is the capacity to proclaim God’s Word. In 1 Corinthians 13:8 tongues came to an absolute stop (cease) but knowledge and prophecy were “rendered inoperative.” The latter term does not mean they ceased to exist but that they lost capacity. The Greeks used this term for cutting the hamstring of a horse so that he could not jump a fence. The horse was still alive but the cutting of his hamstring greatly reduced his capacity to function. That is the same with prophecy. Today people do not have the capacity to introduce new revelation, but they do have the capacity to preach the revelation they have (14:3). Prophecy as receptor of new revelation passed away with the completion of the New Testament (1 Co 13:8-10).
PRINCIPLE: God provides divine capacity for ministry.
APPLICATION: Christian work requires divine capacity. People can study for medicine as a profession, but ministry is not a profession in that sense. Pastors need to study for the ministry but no amount of study will give them capacity to do Christian ministry – they need gifting from the Holy Spirit. No matter what amount of success a minister may have, he can take no credit for it. God provides the capacity, the ability, and the enablement through the Holy Spirit. The moment we ascribe success to ourselves, we have a problem. God does not share His glory with anyone.
Is 42: 8I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
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1 Corinthians 12:10

Published on November 24, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:10 "to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."
 
10to another the working of miracles,
The word “miracles” is literally powers, energies. A miracle is a supernatural intervention into time and space. We cannot explain a miracle by natural means because it is separate from natural laws. A miracle, for example, is Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus was not in a state of unconsciousness. This is an unadulterated miracle. This miracle attested that Jesus was the Son of God (Acts 2:22).
Acts 2: 22“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—
A person with the gift of miracles displayed God’s power with a view to authenticating the apostolic message. As for function in the church, 1 Corinthians 12:28 classifies this gift as the first of the lesser gifts:
1 Co 12:28And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
The words “after that” indicate that the “first…second…third” are deliberate. Second Corinthians 12:12 groups this gift with other “sign” gifts as “signs of the apostles.” This gift ceased at the end of the apostolic age with the end of the gift of apostleship.
Miracles continued after the apostles, although the gift of “working of miracles” ceased at the passing of the apostles.
PRINCIPLE: Sign gifts established the authenticity of the New Testament.
APPLICATION: Paul and Barnabas exercised miracles as “signs and wonders” (Acts 14:3). The sign of an authentic apostle was the ability to perform “signs and wonders and miracles” (2 Co 12:12). A “sign” miracle is a pointing miracle; it points to the validity of the one performing the miracle. An apostle had the authority to found the New Testament church and write the New Testament.
He 2: 3 …how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him (apostles), 4God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
The “working of miracles” is a sign or pointing gift that establishes the writing of the New Testament as from God. No apostle ever exercised a miracle of nature as Jesus did when He turned water into wine. They, however, did perform miracles of power (dunamis). Miracles give credentials to the apostles as authoritative messengers of God.
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1 Corinthians 12:9c

Published on November 23, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:9 "to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit…"
 
by the same Spirit,
In three gifts running we have the words “through the same Spirit,” “by the same Spirit,” and again “by the same Spirit.” The idea is that the Holy Spirit is the means of ministry behind these gifts. It is interesting how many times Paul uses the word “Spirit” in verses1-11. The entire thrust or burden of this passage is the Holy Spirit. He is the enabler for ministry.
PRINCIPLE:  God always provides the means to do His work
APPLICATION: The believer is something like a glove and the Holy Spirit the hand. The glove is empty without the hand. When the Holy Spirit moves into the glove, He makes the hand and fingers move. The Holy Spirit donates to us every gift we have. He gives us everything we have of any value. People can go to university for any profession in the world to prepare for their work, but that is not enough for Christian work. Some people do well academically in Christian institutions yet they fail in ministry. There is more to ministry than academic training for it involves both gifting by the Spirit and empowerment by the Spirit. Thus, there is no credit to a success for a minister of the gospel.
1 Co 4: 7For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
The believer is not responsible to provide the materials when he goes to spiritual war. The Department of Defense provides the armory and means for war to the solider. He does not have to run to the hardware to get a shovel to dig a foxhole. All the Christian does is make himself available and God will provide the wherewithal. He will provide gifts necessary to do His work. God’s commandments are God’s enablements. God will never ask us to do something we are unable to do. God does not expect of us what we cannot do.
2 Co 3: 5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God…
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1 Corinthians 12:9b

Published on November 22, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 3 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:9 "to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit…"
 
to another
The words “to another” indicate everyone is different in the way God distributes His gifts. God puts God’s people in God’s place for them. God gifts some to do one kind of ministry and some another. There are many different ministries requiring many different gifts.
gifts of healings
Gifts of healings are gifts to cause physical healing (12:28,30). “Gifts of healing” is the capacity to cause instantaneous and complete healing of the body to health. The person who exercises healing does not require the one being healed to have faith.
The plural “gifts” implies different kinds of healings. Healing may be in the areas of physical, spiritual, or mental healing. The word “healings” means to make whole. This is the gift of restoring health.
There are three overarching kinds of gifts: (1) speaking gifts, (2) servicing gifts, and (3) sign gifts. Sign gifts verify or authenticate the New Testament canon as true. The gifts of healings, miracles, tongues, and interpretation of tongues are sign gifts. God designed all sign gifts to testify to the authenticity of the truth of the message behind the healing. God limited sign gifts to the first century during the writing of the New Testament. Those gifts ceased at the end of the first century with the passing of the apostles. The Word of God became self-authenticating after the first century.
It is important to distinguish between the gifts of healing and the possibility of healing. The gifts of healing ceased with the apostles but God is still able to heal in answer to prayer or at His own volition. In every case, it is God who sovereignly bestows healing. Gifts of healing do not account for all healing in the New Testament.
It is crucial to note that sickness is not always due to sin (John 9:1-3).
PRINCIPLE: It is not always God’s will to heal.
APPLICATION: God can and does heal today but this is not the gift of healing. No one can heal like Jesus or the apostles. Paul could not heal his friend Epaphroditus (Ph 2:27) or his close protégé Timothy (1 Ti 5:23). He left his associate Trophimus in Miletus sick (2 Ti 4:20). He only exercised the gift of healing to confirm the gospel, never to heal a friend.
For Christians to demand that God heal today is to play god by exercising sovereignty over God Almighty. It is not always God’s will for everyone to be healed. The gift of healing was the prerogative of the person with the gift and it did not depend on the faith of the individual healed (Acts 3:1-10; 9:32-35; 14:8; 28:7-9). Paul had a physical ailment that God did not heal (2 Co 12:9).
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1 Corinthians 12:9

Published on November 21, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 Corinthians 12:9 "to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit…"
 
9to another faith by the same Spirit,
There is faith and then there is the gift of faith. The gift of faith here is not saving faith but serving faith. The quality of serving faith varies greatly among believers. The gift of faith is not initial salvation or faithfulness after salvation. This gift is not a person who is optimistic about everything. It is a gift that believes God in an extraordinary way for doing ministry. It is the ability to see what God wants done and sustain unwavering confidence in God regardless of insurmountable obstacles.
PRINCIPLE:  Faith turns vision into reality.
APPLICATION: All Christians have faith, but some have special capacity to exercise faith. This is a gift associated with vision in ministry. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ was a clear example of this gift in his launching of the largest worldwide ministry in Christianity. This kind of person expresses faith towards God and turns vision into reality. It would be a mistake to try to exercise Bill Bright’s faith without Bill Bright’s gift of faith. His faith was for a particular task or work. He had faith to launch out where there was little financial support for the project. Everybody seemed to be against it and people discouraged him on every side. God’s work carried on in God’s way will never lack God’s support.
This faith does not produce the work of God but rather sets the climate in which God chooses to work. The person gifted with this faith is characterized by utter dependence upon God. This gift is the unique assurance that something we believe to be in God’s plan will definitely happen.
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