Gifts of Healing

Paul speaks in the first letter to the Corinthians about various gifts that the Lord gives to the Ecclesia. In chapter twelve, he lists a collection of these. Then in chapter thirteen, he points to the temporary nature of various gifts, such as prophecy and ‘tongues.’ “Prophecies—they will be discarded; tongues—they will cease.” While faith, expectation (hope), and love would remain (13:13), these gifts would cease—as soon as the Ecclesia would become “mature” (“the perfect” in 13:10). This phase began with the full unveiling of the Secret and the completion of the Word of God.

But all right, that’s not what I want to go into in this weblog.

What I want to focus on for now is the gifts of healing that Paul mentions in chapter 12 (verses 9, 28, and 30). These are commonly thought of as the miraculous healing of others. But that is not what it says. God gives to some the gift of healing—in other words, some He heals. Health is a gift, and if a believer recovers from an illness, he or she has received the gift of healing.

This gift stands entirely apart from the healing ministry in connection with Israel’s repentance, as spoken of in the gospels and Acts (see Matthew 10:5–8).

Delen: