Dynamic Power

6.3 Gifts of healings

The second in the group of the expressions of power.

There is often quite some misunderstanding concerning these expressions.
Perhaps it is therefore good to immediately say, that these gifts are an expression of the Holy Spirit.
They are dynamical (powerful) workings for the healing of the body and/or of the inner person.
A special word is used for these expressions of the Spirit: gifts of mercy – charismata.
This word gives a good picture of the working of these expressions.
Also mind the double plural, that is being used: gifts of mercy of healings.
There is no mistake being made here. Look at what is written in:
1 Corinthians 12:9 “…to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by that one Spirit, “
1 Corinthians 12:28 “… also those having gifts of healings, …”
1 Corinthians 12:30 “Do all have gifts of healings?”

The original text says in all these verses: charismata (gifts of mercy) iamatõn (of healings).

Any way, it is very clear that God indeed wanted an abundance of (gifts of) mercy to accomplish healings. God doesn’t restrict healing as an exceptional case, wherein people sometimes think, that you might think of arbitrariness. “Why aren’t all people healed…?”
God desires a rich, abundant sharing of his goodness and love for the sick and the bound person. God is (nothing but) good! God is rich in compassion, mercy  . God doesn’t only love, but He also gives the tools (gifts) to replace this love in redeeming power!

Also with these expressions we find no further instructions. They are workings from God  – to which we have and we want to long for, which we have to strive after -  for the Lord to be able to work (through us).

Gifts of mercy of healings:

Are not: a medical skill or gift. This clearly is a natural cause (a very good one in fact). In this process people are rediscovering and applying natural laws, instructions, following purely the natural way. Hereby assisted by other branches in science, all kinds of medicine can be found, that can be applied to hinder destruction of body and spirit and to activate and stimulate laws of creation (laws of nature). Altogether there is, correctly, a lot of appreciation for this medical science!

Are not: a gift that someone owns. So we can not, have it at our disposal, when it is convenient to us. So we ourselves are not ‘skilled’ to heal.

Are not: anointing with oil. This is an image of the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church; this anointing is being applied in the house of a sick person, who can’t visit the meetings anymore and therefore asks for the elders of the Church to come to his home to pray with him for healing.

Are not: a paranormal gifting, such as magnetism and all kinds of other occult ways of healing. These workings are of satan.

Gifts of mercy from healings:

Are indeed: a supernatural expression of the Holy Spirit, through which He allows us to share in  his Godly power to heal psychological and/or somatic diseases. People that are overwhelmed by satan in their spirit and/or in their body.

Are indeed: a directly/ instantly working healing power of God.

Are indeed: a miraculously intervening from God in the core of the body and/or the spirit.

As it is said before already, the Greek word, that is being used for gifts of mercy is: charismata (plural).
A charisma is a special donation, a gift, for the effect of a certain goal.
If the goal (in this case the healing) is accomplished, the gift, the donation stops.
So there are no people that are ‘healers’ once and for all.
What does happen is, that the gift of healings works more with the one person than with the other person; he obviously strived after it more eagerly, was more focused on this particular gift.
Likewise - All people can prophesy, but the gift works more with the one person than with the other person; these people are called prophets.
In this way there are people, that have the gift of faith more often than another person. They are not being called ’believers’.
All people can speak spiritual languages, but some do this more than others. For example Paul, said this about himself. These people are not called ‘language speakers’.

There are no healers, no permanent prophets, no language speakers, no explainers;  there are indeed people through which these gifts work more (sometimes: a lot more) than through others.
They have strived after it more, are more open to it, are more focused on it. In this way all have something for the construction of the Church!

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire for the gifts of the Spirit!

Medical science

Healing in a natural way happens by the intervention of doctors. Of course this is not the ‘charisma of healing’, as the Bible means.
Indeed medical science is a pure and a good product of human effort, investigation and more sciences, in a natural way.
However this science doesn’t always have a satisfying solution for all sorts and forms of diseases and handicaps. Despite of this medics and the assisting professions  greatly contribute to the wellbeing of people. Whether they are perhaps Christians fulfilled with the Spirit, doesn’t make their profession a Divine ministry.
Their effort is highly appreciated everywhere, there is a lot of acknowledgement for the big significance that this science has for the increase of the quality of human existence.

It is also absolutely not wrong or disapproved for a Spirit fulfilled Christian to make use of medical science.
Our spiritual development and the level of our faith are in many cases not yet ready, for us to always ‘grab’ the spiritual solution that God offers us. We are in the development phase of reaching the spiritual maturity. (Ephesians 4:13 – “…until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”).

What a splendid perspective to eagerly desire, to strive for!

Occult ‘healing’

Satan is more or less capable to copy/imitate the opportunity for recovery which God gives. In that process he uses supernatural powers of the dark side to let miracles of ‘healing’ take place. All kinds of occult healings through the paranormal way are an example of this.

It has to be stated explicitly, that occult healing is a very dangerous path, for children of God as well as for non-believers.
Through this apparent way of healing, satan uses the chance to focus and tighten his grip on the human being. After all the thief (satan) comes to do nothing else than to rob, slaughter and destroy.
Magnetism, quackery and paranormal treatments (through photo, urine, articles, amulets, hypnoses, etc.) bring people under the spell of the darkness.
After a short or longer while they will unfortunately experience the results of it (see further: Chapter 8, ‘Alternative spirit’).

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