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NASB | 1 Corinthians 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 12:9 to another [wonder-working] faith [is given] by the same [Holy] Spirit, and to another the [extraordinary] gifts of healings by the one Spirit; |
Subject: gift of healing same as prayer of faith |
Bible Note: Greetings Makarios! I pray that you had a great Lord's Day my friend! Allow me to touch upon your points. 1) First of all, let's be clear that I am not an advocate of Hagin or his ilk. What they may or may not do or believe is not germane to this particular discussion. My point of contention has simply been that Dr. MacArthur calls the 'gift of healing' a temporary gift that is no longer for today. 2) We would certainly agree that Mt. 10:1 was addressed to the disciples. However, 1 Cor. 12-14 was not. 3) You write: "They were not given to the average Christian (Luke 9:1-2, Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:3-4),..." Yet, none of these verses prohbit the gift of healing to anyone other than the apostles. They are historical descriptions about the ministry of the apostles, but nothing is said in them that would limit the gift only to apostles. 3) I would agree that Jesus healed everyone that He healed, but He did not heal 'everyone' in every place. There were still sick people alive during the time of Christ. ;-) 4) You wrote: "And the apostles were able to heal people with a word or touch, instantly, totally, and they could heal anyone. In fact, the apostles were even able to raise people from the dead. " This isn't quite true! There are several places where the apostles were not able to heal some people. And, only Paul is ever recorded to have raised a dead person (to the best of my recollection). 5) Finally, you asked me about funerals. Where does Scripture say that a person with a gift of healing can use it anytime they choose? Where does Scripture prescribe how the gift of healing must be accomplished? My understanding of the gifts is that they are given and used as God wills, not the individual (See 1 Cor. 12). You rely heavily upon verses that describe the apostle's message being confirmed by signs and wonders. Yet, we also know from Scripture that Jesus spoke very negatively of the demand for signs. We know that many people did not believe even with the signs. We also know that false teachers will come in the last days with the ability to perform signs and wonders and deceive the elect. My contention is simple. There is no verse that calls the gifts temporary gifts only for the apostles. There is no verse that prescribes a certain method that must be followed. Given that 1 Cor. (and other passages dealing with spiritual gifts) was written to Christians, not apostles, I believe that the gifts are still in effect today. As I said earlier my friend, we may just have to disagree on this one point. :-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |