How do gifts of healing operate?

Biblicist

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One of the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 is a gift of healing. How does this gift operate?
As Paul does inform us that there is first a Manifestation of the Spirit with healings in 1Cor 12:9, he also says in 1Cor 12:28 that healings is one of the 8 Congregational Offices.

The problem we have is that Paul does not tell us within First Corinthians how this Office is to function, which means that we now have to go to James 5:14 where he tells those who are sick, that we are to call on the elders (plural) to pray for us, where their prayer of faith will be the instrument of our healing. This does not mean that a number of people are to go forward at the completion of a meeting where each one is individually prayed for by a single elder, but that all the elders are to pray for each specific person.

We can tie the Office of Healings with the role of the Elders as we should be expecting that a healthy local church eldership would contain people (or a person) who could operate at least in the Office of Healings (I know, it rarely occurs his way), where some would also have the ability to function within the Operations of wisdom, knowledge, faith and discernment. Presuming that the local board of elders is heavily reliant on the Holy Spirit, then their faith (not so much ours) should see us being healed.

So when the elders ask us, "Do you have faith for your healing", we could possibly reply with "Hey, I'm the one who has called you chaps, so the question of having enough faith is your problem, not mine".

With the annointing of oil in James 5:14, this could be indicating that the elders might be marking or setting apart an individual for a specific time of prayer, where they may have to come back at a later time after they have prayed over the issue.

This in my view essentially sums up the Biblical record for the individual seeking healing, which means that we should not be looking to some "tele-evangelist" for our healing, this is the role of the local board of elders.

Edit: Reworded para. 1 which was originally written in a bit of a hurry.
 
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dragongunner

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My pastor had the gift of healing, seen it happen so many times including myself. I believe any member in Christ can have any of the gifts including healing. I have also received healing, Praise the Lord, in just praying to him myself without my former pastor or the elders also. Its always been very interesting because even though there are times myself or others have been healed, there are times we are not. What I have found is do we take it to God first or last. Some people go to the doctor and get better then give God praise for healing…..thats not all bad, but thats not God divine healing we see in the scriptures. I remember my Dad in the hospital and my pastor and I went to pray for him, when we were done a woman who spoke broken english came over and asked us to pray for her husband who didn;t speak english…..maybe they were italian or greek..? My mom said the doctors told her he was going to die, nothing they could do. My pastor had me come with him and we prayed over him, he looked very bad but his eyes seemed alive with love for us, and his wife thanked us….the next day I visited my dad and saw that the man in the room was gone and my heart began to sink…I asked my mom did that man pass away during the night…,,"NO, in the morning he was up out of bed yakking away at his wife, the doctors couldn't believe it, he seem ok and he insisted on going home!!! So they released him, he told his wife to tell my mom to thank that man who prayed over him…….Oh so many stories I could tell. Praise ye the Lord.
 
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quietbloke

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My pastor had the gift of healing, seen it happen so many times including myself. I believe any member in Christ can have any of the gifts including healing. I have also received healing, Praise the Lord, in just praying to him myself without my former pastor or the elders also. Its always been very interesting because even though there are times myself or others have been healed, there are times we are not. What I have found is do we take it to God first or last. Some people go to the doctor and get better then give God praise for healing…..thats not all bad, but thats not God divine healing we see in the scriptures. I remember my Dad in the hospital and my pastor and I went to pray for him, when we were done a woman who spoke broken english came over and asked us to pray for her husband who didn;t speak english…..maybe they were italian or greek..? My mom said the doctors told her he was going to die, nothing they could do. My pastor had me come with him and we prayed over him, he looked very bad but his eyes seemed alive with love for us, and his wife thanked us….the next day I visited my dad and saw that the man in the room was gone and my heart began to sink…I asked my mom did that man pass away during the night…,,"NO, in the morning he was up out of bed yakking away at his wife, the doctors couldn't believe it, he seem ok and he insisted on going home!!! So they released him, he told his wife to tell my mom to thank that man who prayed over him…….Oh so many stories I could tell. Praise ye the Lord.
That's a great testimony. Thankyou 'dragongunner'
 
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tturt

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I love reading testimonies like that. Thanks for posting!

Also, think Yahweh hears our prayers and answers them so no matter which believer is praying that's why whether we have the gifts of healing or not, folks are healed. In terms of folks being prayed for at the end of services individually, don't see anything in Scripture where it's prohibited.

Do think it's interesting that it's the gifts of healing. After decades of being in services, there are certain congregational services where the healings that occur are of particular illnesses more than others.

Also, one of the criticisms by those who don't believe in the manifestations of the gifts, is if we really believed in healings that we would go to hospitals and clear them out. I know Yahweh can do this but for the believer - think a pride problem would probably have to be dealt with afterwards.

Plus word would spread and there would be thousands of prayer requests within a few days (know this just happened).
 
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quietbloke

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I love reading testimonies like that. Thanks for posting!

Also, think Yahweh hears our prayers and answers them so no matter which believer is praying that's why whether we have the gifts of healing or not, folks are healed. In terms of folks being prayed for at the end of services individually, don't see anything in Scripture where it's prohibited.

Do think it's interesting that it's the gifts of healing. After decades of being in services, there are certain congregational services where the healings that occur are of particular illnesses more than others.

Also, one of the criticisms by those who don't believe in the manifestations of the gifts, is if we really believed in healings that we would go to hospitals and clear them out. I know Yahweh can do this but for the believer - think a pride problem would probably have to be dealt with afterwards.

Plus word would spread and there would be thousands of prayer requests within a few days (know this just happened).
Thanks for those observations 'tturt'. I think none of us have the gift of healing or everyone would be healed! As the Holy Spirit distributes some receive gifts of healing that are used to bring glory to His Name. We have to be open to receive these gifts.
 
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dragongunner

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Well Jesus was a healer, yet after 3 years look how many people had not been healed, there were still plenty for Paul and Peter to help in the same area Jesus had been. Just because one has the gift of healing, and I believe there are many who do, does not mean the Holy Ghost allows them or sends them to everyone. Remember at the pool Jesus had plenty he could heal, yet by his fathers will, he only healed the one, this was the place where they gathered and waited for the angel to trouble the water and first come first healed only. Same goes for all the gifts, its always following the will of God in how and when they are used.
 
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tturt

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That's pretty much how I see it, too.

Matt 13:58 and Mark 6:5 says he was limited from doing mighty works because of their unbelief. John 5 says that they were only expecting one to be healed when the angel stirred the waters at the pool of Bethesda. So I've wondered if that's why Yeshua only healed one - or it seems that way from the Scripture.

In regards to significance of the gifts of healing, have read where those with the gift say that Yahweh seems to heal particular illnesses more than others when they pray.
 
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talitha

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my thoughts after studying the gifts of healing......

Gifts of Healing

Gifts of Healing, like all of the manifestations of the Spirit, demonstrate something about God. One of the names of God is Jehovah Rapha, God the Healer. That is who He is, because life emanates from Him. When Jesus healed people during his earthly life, He was demonstrating this character of God, and the same is true when we manifest the Holy Spirit with gifts of healing.

The Greek word for healing is iaomi – to cure or make whole. The interesting thing about this term as it is used in the list of manifestations is that it is in the plural – whether the translator puts the “s” by “gift” or “healing”, there is always an “s”. This would seem to indicate either a variety of methods or kinds of healing, or a plurality of times it happens. I’d say probably both as we look at the ministry of Jesus.

The first instance of healing in the Bible was in Genesis (20:17) when Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his wife – and He opened her womb (which he had shut). This shows me that it is not only sickness that God heals but also anything that is not perfectly working the way that it should be. There are many examples of healings in the Old Testament, including these:
· God healed Miriam after He had struck her with leprosy (Numbers 12:13).
· Elijah “healed” (NASB says “purified”, but it’s the same Hebrew word) the waters of Jericho so they would no longer cause death or unfruitfulness (2 Kings 2:21).
· Naaman was healed of leprosy after submitting to the humbling instructions of Elisha via his servant (2 Kings 5)
· God healed King Hezekiah of his mortal illness (2 Kings 20) by the word of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus had a traveling ministry of healing. He healed “every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Mt. 4:23), including demoniacs, epileptic, and paralytics (Mt. 4:24). He used a variety of methods to heal people:
· He healed by the laying on of hands (Luke 4:40, et. al.)
· “Virtue” went out from Jesus and healed the woman who touched his garment (Luke 8:46-48) - this had happened before with others, apparently (Luke 6:19).
· He sent the word and healed the centurion’s servant.
· He healed many blind - one by appling mud made with his spit! (John 9:6-7)

Jesus also gave authority to His followers to heal.
· Twice during his own earthly life, he sent out followers to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and proclaim His kingdom!
· Peter and John told a lame man to walk, and he walked, leapt, and praised God! (Acts 3:6-8)
· Signs and wonders in the nascent church included many healings. People brought the sick and those afflicted by demonic spirits to the apostles, and they were all healed (Acts 5:16).
· Many who were paralyzed ad lame were healed by Philip in Samaria, and also the demonized were healed (Acts 8:6-7).
· When Paul was shipwrecked on Malta, he healed everyone who came to him (Acts 28:8-9).

It is clear from this list that there are many kinds of healing, including freeing the demonized. Whatever it takes to make a person whole, that is healing. I have participated in freeing the demonized; on one occasion in Mexico, the Lord led me to dance and play the tambourine around a woman during worship, and that night she was delivered from demonic bondage. In 1 Chronicles (7:14), God promises (with some conditions) to heal the land. I have heard of evidence that this can refer to removing political corruption and also to literally healing the geological condition of the earth. Ray Hughes, who is known as a worshiper, has followed the instructions the Lord gave him and healed rivers just as Elisha did. My husband and I are speaking healing over the nation where we serve as missionaries, both politically and geologically, and he is following the Lord’s directions to him, believing that the piece of land we live on will be healed and that the trees here will produce much fruit. Jesus read from Isaiah a prophecy about himself, that he was sent to “heal the brokenhearted” (Is. 61:1; Luke 4:18 KJV). Inner healing is crucial for walking victoriously in Christ, as is freedom from the bondage of sin. In Hosea (14:4) God promises to “heal [the] waywardness” of His people.

I am noticing another thing in these examples I have provided – the healer needs to rely upon God to know the recipe for each healing. Sometimes it is as simple as a “prayer of faith” (James 5:15) or a laying on of hands; other times it may be as complicated as applying spit-mud to the eyes or dipping seven times in the Jordan river. Sometimes the healer does nothing - just his presence is enough because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I have been in meetings where people are spontaneously healed during praise and worship; a friend of mine was healed of a brain tumour during such a meeting. It seems that God likes to heal in a great variety of ways, and it can be fun to see what He will do.

One day God will dwell with us, the God of life, Jehovah Rapha, and there will be no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more death, and no more pain. There will be no political corruption, as Jesus will reign as King of all, and all of the demons will be cast in into the lake of fire. There will be no need for healing in that day. Until then, we have a foretaste of that day whenever the Holy Spirit manifests through gifts of healing.
 
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tturt

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Thanks, talitha. Especially enjoyed " It seems that God likes to heal in a great variety of ways, and it can be fun to see what He will do."

Love it!

In the account of the 10 lepers that were healed:
"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. ...19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." Luke 17

The 10 were healed but the one that glorified Yahweh and returned to worship and thank Him was made whole.
 
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quietbloke

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my thoughts after studying the gifts of healing......

Gifts of Healing

Gifts of Healing, like all of the manifestations of the Spirit, demonstrate something about God. One of the names of God is Jehovah Rapha, God the Healer. That is who He is, because life emanates from Him. When Jesus healed people during his earthly life, He was demonstrating this character of God, and the same is true when we manifest the Holy Spirit with gifts of healing.

The Greek word for healing is iaomi – to cure or make whole. The interesting thing about this term as it is used in the list of manifestations is that it is in the plural – whether the translator puts the “s” by “gift” or “healing”, there is always an “s”. This would seem to indicate either a variety of methods or kinds of healing, or a plurality of times it happens. I’d say probably both as we look at the ministry of Jesus.

The first instance of healing in the Bible was in Genesis (20:17) when Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his wife – and He opened her womb (which he had shut). This shows me that it is not only sickness that God heals but also anything that is not perfectly working the way that it should be. There are many examples of healings in the Old Testament, including these:
· God healed Miriam after He had struck her with leprosy (Numbers 12:13).
· Elijah “healed” (NASB says “purified”, but it’s the same Hebrew word) the waters of Jericho so they would no longer cause death or unfruitfulness (2 Kings 2:21).
· Naaman was healed of leprosy after submitting to the humbling instructions of Elisha via his servant (2 Kings 5)
· God healed King Hezekiah of his mortal illness (2 Kings 20) by the word of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus had a traveling ministry of healing. He healed “every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Mt. 4:23), including demoniacs, epileptic, and paralytics (Mt. 4:24). He used a variety of methods to heal people:
· He healed by the laying on of hands (Luke 4:40, et. al.)
· “Virtue” went out from Jesus and healed the woman who touched his garment (Luke 8:46-48) - this had happened before with others, apparently (Luke 6:19).
· He sent the word and healed the centurion’s servant.
· He healed many blind - one by appling mud made with his spit! (John 9:6-7)

Jesus also gave authority to His followers to heal.
· Twice during his own earthly life, he sent out followers to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and proclaim His kingdom!
· Peter and John told a lame man to walk, and he walked, leapt, and praised God! (Acts 3:6-8)
· Signs and wonders in the nascent church included many healings. People brought the sick and those afflicted by demonic spirits to the apostles, and they were all healed (Acts 5:16).
· Many who were paralyzed ad lame were healed by Philip in Samaria, and also the demonized were healed (Acts 8:6-7).
· When Paul was shipwrecked on Malta, he healed everyone who came to him (Acts 28:8-9).

It is clear from this list that there are many kinds of healing, including freeing the demonized. Whatever it takes to make a person whole, that is healing. I have participated in freeing the demonized; on one occasion in Mexico, the Lord led me to dance and play the tambourine around a woman during worship, and that night she was delivered from demonic bondage. In 1 Chronicles (7:14), God promises (with some conditions) to heal the land. I have heard of evidence that this can refer to removing political corruption and also to literally healing the geological condition of the earth. Ray Hughes, who is known as a worshiper, has followed the instructions the Lord gave him and healed rivers just as Elisha did. My husband and I are speaking healing over the nation where we serve as missionaries, both politically and geologically, and he is following the Lord’s directions to him, believing that the piece of land we live on will be healed and that the trees here will produce much fruit. Jesus read from Isaiah a prophecy about himself, that he was sent to “heal the brokenhearted” (Is. 61:1; Luke 4:18 KJV). Inner healing is crucial for walking victoriously in Christ, as is freedom from the bondage of sin. In Hosea (14:4) God promises to “heal [the] waywardness” of His people.

I am noticing another thing in these examples I have provided – the healer needs to rely upon God to know the recipe for each healing. Sometimes it is as simple as a “prayer of faith” (James 5:15) or a laying on of hands; other times it may be as complicated as applying spit-mud to the eyes or dipping seven times in the Jordan river. Sometimes the healer does nothing - just his presence is enough because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I have been in meetings where people are spontaneously healed during praise and worship; a friend of mine was healed of a brain tumour during such a meeting. It seems that God likes to heal in a great variety of ways, and it can be fun to see what He will do.

One day God will dwell with us, the God of life, Jehovah Rapha, and there will be no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more death, and no more pain. There will be no political corruption, as Jesus will reign as King of all, and all of the demons will be cast in into the lake of fire. There will be no need for healing in that day. Until then, we have a foretaste of that day whenever the Holy Spirit manifests through gifts of healing.
Great study 'talitha'.Thankyou!
 
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