THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XIV (The Gifts of Healing - I)

WBS.127

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XIV

THE GIFTS OF HEALING - I

1 Corinthians 12:9 …to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit...

There is much to examine in the Scriptures regarding this gift; and by so doing, we may learn many aspects of what this gifting is, how it works, what interferes with its exercise, and what enhances its manifestation.

Literally, the Greek text says “gifts of healings” (or “graces of cures”); so there are different forms or manifestations of this particular enablement of grace resulting in different kinds of results/healings. One may manifest a particular grace to provide one cure or one form of cure; while another may manifest this grace to provide a different cure or form of cure. Through the years, I have known of many ministers who knew they had a particular anointing in this gift to heal a specific problem; and had little confidence to attempt to minister to those who had different ailments or diseases.

[Let us never forget, however, that grace is the power IAUE gives to man that enables man to do His will.  We must keep in mind at all times in this study to be aware that each of the “gifts” of the Spirit of IAUE are designed to give the members of the Body of Messiah the power to do His will in supernatural ways.]

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of IAUE is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

It is important for us to understand that healing was and is an absolutely intrinsic part of the ministry of Yahushua.  In the above passage, Yahushua was in the synagogue and was handed the scroll of Isaiah the prophet; where he read the above passage from Isaiah 61, then closed the book and said, “This day, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  He identified himself as being the one anointed by the Spirit of IAUE in this Scripture.  From this passage we may glean a very important aspect of the gifts of healing.  The anointing is to preach the gospel; and that anointing provided for manifestations of the authority of that gospel to confirm the message.  Specifically, the anointing empowered Messiah to heal, and to cast out demons.  This is much in the same way that Moses was anointed to go to Pharaoh to command him to let the people of IAUE go free, and was provided with signs and wonders to manifest the authority of IAUE that sent him to accomplish the task of bringing deliverance to the captive Hebrews. It is the gospel that liberates man; and it is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that heals.

Acts 10:37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

38 How IAUE anointed Yahushua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for IAUE was with him.

Peter confirms that it is the anointing that heals in his message to the household of Cornelius; but he added one element that, though obvious, was not specifically stated in the book of Isaiah; and that was Yahushua was anointed with the Holy Spirit AND WITH POWER.  This concept was confirmed by Messiah himself when he told his disciples:

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive POWER after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you…”

The gifts of the Spirit are the manifestations of the power to which Peter referred; but the power itself is the anointing…the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  This is a critical element to understand not only the gifts of healing but all of the gifts of the Spirit.  (We will come back to this point in a minute.)

Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Luke 10:1 After these things the Master appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of Elohim is come nigh unto you.

When Yahushua first sent out his 12 apostles, he specifically empowered them to cast out demons and to heal the sick.  When he sent out his 70 hand selected disciples, he empowered them to heal the sick, and in so doing to tell those being healed “The kingdom of Elohim is come nigh unto you.”   With both the 12 and the 70, their mission was to preach the gospel.  The power to heal the sick was inseparable from that gospel.  The purpose of this power to heal was two-fold:  1) It was to destroy the works of the devil; and 2) It was to manifest the authority of the Kingdom of IAUE.  In other words, it was to bring the kingdom of IAUE into direct conflict with and overwhelming victory over the kingdom of Satan; leaving the people with an obvious choice.  Either they remained in allegiance with the clearly inferior and defeated kingdom of Satan, or side with the Kingdom of IAUE that had brought freedom and deliverance to their lives. 

This is why multitudes routinely converted when the gospel was preached and healing and deliverance confirmed the gospel message.  Only fools rejected the Kingdom of IAUE; and before them, the disciples shook the dust from off their shoes and departed from them. It is why contemporary preachers plead with the lost to accept Messiah.  They are offering the lost only a message to be believed; presented as cleverly as they know how in order to convince or cajole the lost to come to Messiah. Paul told the Corinthian disciples:

1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of IAUE.

4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of IAUE.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit provides the power to confirm the gospel.  NO MAN IS EXPECTED TO BELIEVE A MESSAGE WITHOUT A CONFIRMATION OF THE  AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THAT MESSAGE.  Any preaching that is void of the inherent manifestation of the power of IAUE is not the gospel of Yahushua Messiah.  Many of us believed a message at first; but later, hopefully, we believed in the power and authority of the message…or of a message that was necessarily altered in order for the Truth to be revealed.  Virtually no believer ever walks uprightly before IAUE on the basis of believing a wisely crafted presentation of the gospel message.  The Kingdom of IAUE has not come nigh the person who responds only to words.

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19 So then after the Master had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of IAUE.

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Master working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Healing is inseparable from the preaching of the true gospel (“Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.“).  It is part of the mandatory equipment of the evangelist.  Without it, no man may call himself an evangelist.  However, it is not limited to the evangelist.  It is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit guaranteed to all believers who preach the true gospel; for healing is one of the signs IAUE has given to confirm the authority of the gospel.

I specifically express it confirms the “true gospel” because it is not given to confirm a false gospel; which is what has been preached for generations resulting in the contemporary powerless church.  Those who would operate in the gifts of healing should dedicate themselves to understand what is the true gospel message; for the gifts follow the preaching/presentation of the gospel…guaranteed.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of IAUE is upon me, because he hath anointed me…to heal the brokenhearted…

There is a singular anointing to consecrate one to the priesthood; and Peter refers to believers as a royal priesthood in 1 Pet 2:9.  Receiving the Holy Spirit is that anointing of consecration to the priesthood of the believer; and that anointing does not require repeating.  There is, however, a fresh anointing that the disciple should seek on a daily basis.  The anointing of consecration is not the same thing as the anointing of empowerment.  In the temple worship in the day of Moses, Aaron the high priest, and his sons, the Levitical priests, were anointed by oil to their office; but they could not enter the Holy Place simply by virtue of being an anointed priest.  They first had to wash at the brazen laver in the Outer Court of the temple (Exodus 40:30-32). The laver had been anointed by oil for this purpose.  Consequently, the priests could not enter without a fresh cleansing from the anointed laver before they could minister in the Holy Place (the ministry of fellowship at the table of showbread, the ministry of worship at the altar of incense, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit at the candlestick).

When you read the book of Acts, you will see a number of times that disciples and/or apostles who had already received the Holy Spirit, are said to have been filled with, or became full of the Holy Spirit before they moved out in a fresh power/anointing of the Holy Spirit.  It is from this concept, and from the personal experience of myself and many ministers I have known through the years that I offer the following regarding the gifts of healing.

Healing is administered from power that derives from the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  That anointing within the believer functions very much like a battery.  When fully charged, signs and wonders can flow freely from the believer.  When that power has been tapped repeatedly during ministry, the disciple may become aware of a physical tiredness that is associated with a depletion of that anointing.  It is necessary for the disciple to steal away and recharge the battery in order to be able to continue to minister in the gifts of healing.  Messiah did this repeatedly throughout the record of his ministry in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke. (There are specific ways we can recharge the anointing of the Spirit in our lives.  We will discuss them later in this series.)

We have much more to discuss regarding this gifting, as we have barely scratched the surface, today.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XIII (The Gift of Faith - II)

WBS.126

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XIII

THE GIFT OF FAITH - II

1 Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit…

Last week we differentiated among four different usages of the word “faith” in the New Testament Scriptures:

1. Faith in Yahushua.  Salvific faith.  Its sole focus is upon Yahushua Messiah as the way-maker to IAUE.
   
   
2. The faith.  The life that is based upon and proceeds from faith in Yahushua.
   
   
3. The measure of faith.  The capability given to each disciple to believe and act upon the word of IAUE. 
   
   
4. The gift of faith.  The supernatural ability to believe the word of IAUE and thereby manifest the very nature of IAUE as revealed through His Spirit.

The New Testament has many passages that discuss faith in one context or another.  Despite the fact there is a considerable body of Scripture that teaches on the matter of faith; there is precious little that actually addresses the gift of faith.  We noticed one specific connection to the gift of faith last week.

1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

We know, in this chapter, Paul is referring specifically to the supernatural enablements of grace that are listed in the prior chapter; and he is explaining that without love as the motivation of our use of those gifts, WE are nothing. (He does not say that the effects of the gifts are nothing.  There is no way Paul is going to denigrate the Holy Spirit when He is manifested regardless of how He is made manifest.)  This is just the opposite of what we see in churches, today.  People who exercise spiritual gifts (or purport to do so…as many are not manifesting the Holy Spirit) believe that being known for the gifts that are operative in their life makes them somebody.  They have the recognition and the esteem of their brothers and sisters.  

Revelations 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of IAUE, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Master, Master, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

When Paul says that without love we are nothing, he means it.  We are irrelevant to the Kingdom of IAUE, for without love as our motivation, we are building our own kingdom; and we will receive the just fruit of our labors.

Back to 1 Corinthians 13.  It says, “though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains.”  This is a specific reference to the gift of faith; and it is also drawn directly from the words of Messiah to his disciples:

Mark 11:22   And Yahushua answering saith unto them, Have faith in IAUE.

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

See the connection with 1 Corinthians 13?  Both refer to faith that can move mountains; and the reference by Paul specifically refers to the gift of faith.  So, with this connection made, let’s look at some of the properties of the gift of faith as revealed by the Master; as this opens the door to our understanding of the gift of faith.

“Have faith in IAUE.”  The object of the gift of faith is IAUE.  The one with the gift of faith believes confidently in IAUE.  It is IAUE that is going to do whatever is the objective of the operation of the gift of faith, not the man.  How often have we been in situations where we have literally thought to ourselves, “IAUE could do that…but do I really believe He WILL do that?”  I know there are thousands upon thousands of believers who have been at the side of a sick person who have thought to themselves, “IAUE could heal him/her; but I don’t know if He will,” so they only pray for their general well-being, or for the doctor to be skilled in his/her profession…something safe for which they have no need of faith to believe in a visually manifested outcome.  The gift of faith depends upon an awareness of the will of IAUE.  Once His will in a matter is known, once we know what He wants to do, faith rises supernaturally to accomplish His will.  Our faith in IAUE and His desire to meet a need or resolve a circumstance merely waits for us to act upon it.

Smith Wigglesworth, a preacher renowned for the gift of faith, said when the gift of faith is present you already know what IAUE is going to do before He does it.

“whosoever shall say…he shall have whatsoever he saith.”  The gift of faith is released in the spoken word.  In essence, the person with the gift of faith is the mouth piece of IAUE.  He speaks the word of IAUE into circumstances that appear just the opposite of what is said.

Romans 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even IAUE, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Let’s look at some examples of this.

Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, approached Yahushua on behalf of his 12 year old daughter who was dying.  While the crowd pressed him and slowed his movement, one from Jairus’ household met them and said that the girl had died and to trouble not the Master any longer. This word did not phase Yahushua, who proceeded to the house.

Luke 8:54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.

55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

Yahushua commanded the dead girl to do what a dead girl could not possibly do.  He spoke to her as though she were still living.  He “called those things which be not as though they were.” 

Again, a man who was deaf with a speech impediment was brought to the Master.

Mark 7:32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

If you will recall, I mentioned early in this series of studies that most of the gifts of the Spirit have a “trigger,” something that enhances their operation.  The gift of faith has a trigger.

Galatians 5:6 For in Yahushua Messiah neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Faith works by love (agape).  Contemporary teachers/preachers like to refer to “agape” as “the God kind of love.”  This definition is basically religious hype.  The koine Greek did not have a special word for the kind of love demonstrated by IAUE.  The word means “benevolence, good will.”  It relates to actions that are done purely for the benefit that will inure to others.  It does not have in mind a reward or recognition.  The good it will do to others is its own reward.  The gift of faith feeds off of this sense of selfless benevolence.

Notice in the two illustrations above, Messiah told them to tell no man what had been done for them.  He did not seek recognition.  He did not even seek to be identified with the wonders performed.  They were not done for that purpose.

Kenneth Hagin, a well-known minister who taught and performed signs and wonders for a half century, confessed that the gift of faith worked in his life; but it was rare; sometimes years between its manifestations in his life.  Like Smith Wigglesworth, he KNEW beforehand what IAUE wanted to do and was going to do when the gift manifested in his life.  Absolutely nothing would phase him about the condition of the one who was going to be the object of the gift’s manifestation. When he spoke and released the supernaturally provided faith, the results came forth; much like Yahushua with his friend Lazarus.  Remember, Yahushua knew that Lazarus had died before they ever left Jerusalem.  Once at the tomb, he commanded the stone to be rolled away; and they told him that Lazarus had been dead long enough that the decay would have created a stench on his body.  I think most of us would have changed our mind on our plan of action at that point; but it did not phase Yahushua. “Lazarus, come forth” was the command of faith; and Lazarus came forth alive from the tomb. Yahushua already knew what IAUE was going to do, so no circumstance or condition mattered.  He had faith in IAUE; and he spoke IAUE’s command; and he got IAUE’s results.

John 5:19 Then answered Yahushua and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Yahushua had already seen the works IAUE was going to do before he ever confronted the persons or situations that would require him to act.  He saw this when he arose early to pray each day and seek the face of his Father for his “daily bread.”  What he saw IAUE do in his time of prayer, he knew he could do and would do that day, because he already knew it was his Father’s will.  He needed merely to wait for the time and opportunity to speak his Father’s command into the situation. (It may be the general prayerlessness of the church that makes this gift so infrequent in its manifestation.  Disciples spend so little time in prayer and in seeking the face and will of IAUE, that we do not give Him the chance to show us the mighty works He would have us do each day.)

We should note that the gift of faith may be used to achieve a similar effect as the gift of the working of miracles or the gifts of healing.  The one ministering knows which gift is manifesting in his/her life.  We know if it is by faith or by the working of a miracle that a healing is achieved instead of the exercise of a gift of healing.  In my own life, the gifts of healing have been the least manifest of the nine gifts.  However, through the gift of faith or the working of miracles, I have been used to bring healing to individuals. 

Next week: the gifts of healing.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XII (The Gift of Faith - I)

WBS.125

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XII

THE GIFT OF FAITH - I

1 Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit…

Faith (pistis) transcends mere belief.  It is the confident assurance proceeding from belief that produces corresponding action.  I have known many people who “believe” that Yahushua is the Messiah and son of IAUE.  They believe he died for their sins.  They even believe he rose from the dead; but they do not believe in such a way that they are persuaded to act in accordance with their belief.  James, the first pastor of the church in Jerusalem, and the brother of the Master Yahushua wrote the following:

James 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19 Thou believest that there is one Elohim; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

To understand the gift of faith, we first need to sift through the different usages of the word “faith” in the New Testament Scriptures.  There is much confusion regarding this gift in the church today; and that is due mostly to “faith preachers” who themselves do not understanding these Scriptural differences.  There are four ways in which the word “faith” is used in the New Testament.

1. Faith in Yahushua. This is confidence in the person and the work of Yahushua, with a specific reliance upon the provision of the righteousness of IAUE whereby we are made acceptable to IAUE through Yahushua.  This is not mere belief.  It is belief mingled with corresponding actions…specifically, repentance and bowing the knee to Yahushua as Master and Messiah. This is also called “salvific” faith because it is what moves IAUE to provide us with the grace that enables us to do His will (“For by grace are ye saved through faith…” Ephesians 2:8). Its sole focus is upon Yahushua Messiah as the way-maker to IAUE (“…I am the way, the truth and the life.  No man comes unto the Father but by me.”  John 14:6). If its focus moves away from a present-continuous trusting in the person of Yahushua; and we begin to believe something else provides or validates access to IAUE, it (faith) ceases to exist. Confidence in the new birth, of being born again, is the most common overthrower of salvific faith. The newbirth is merely what equips us to enjoy the access to IAUE that is attained only through momentary trust in Yahushua Messiah.  In some denominations, it is baptism that becomes a focus of confidence before IAUE.  In some Pentecostal denominations, it is speaking in tongues that “seals the deal” and becomes the thing upon which they rely. Still, for others it is mere church membership upon which they rely. We either are inexorably linked to Messiah by present continuous faith, or we are self-deceived about the true nature of our condition.  (“The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17)
   
   Paul shows us that this most basic form of faith is “at risk” unless it is protected.  After having to leave Thessalonica prematurely due to uprisings within the city, Paul was concerned about the new disciples he had left behind. He knew they were suffering persecution; and he desperately wanted to return to them to make sure their faith.
   
   1 Thessalonians 3:5  For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.
   
   
2. “The faith.” This refers to the gospel message and the life it produces.  Used in this manner, it relates generally to discipleship to Messiah as a way of life.  It is a quantifiable lifestyle produced by salvific faith (“And so were the churches established in the faith…” Acts 16:5; “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:” Romans 1:5). Salvific faith is the door by which man accesses righteousness.  “The faith” is the path of righteousness unto which that door opens.  If the door is shut, the path disappears.
   
   Man can “fall away from the faith” by turning away from salvific faith. Stated another way: by present continuous faith in Messiah, grace is provided to the disciple to empower him/her to do the will of IAUE (This is the Scripture’s definition of salvation.). That faith instantly begins to transform the person and life of the disciple.  When that momentary reliance upon Messiah is interrupted, so too is the flow of grace; and the disciple instantly ceases to be able to do the will of IAUE (ceases to be able to walk on the path of righteousness).  His/her life at that point is inescapably works of the flesh, which is at enmity with IAUE and is incapable of pleasing Him (Romans 8:7-8). This is what converts one from “the faith” to “the religion.”
   
   
3. The measure of faith.  Scripture says that each person in the Body of Messiah has been given a “measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). To understand what this means, we need to know from whence faith comes.  Romans 10:17 says “Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (rhema) of IAUE.”  Faith, that confident assurance, that persuasion that is ready to act upon what it believes, is produced from hearing the “rhema” of IAUE.  That is His spoken word.  That word may be what we read in Scripture, the word He speaks to our heart by His Spirit, or a word that He speaks to us through another disciple (through a word of knowledge or word of wisdom, etc.).  We are not given different measures of faith, as some would have us believe.  We are each given the capacity to convert the spoken word of IAUE into corresponding actions on our part.  What we do with that measure of faith is largely determined by us. We might liken it to a group of cooks who are each given a measure of flour.  They can make something with the flour; or just leave it on a shelf, or even permit weevils to infest it and render it useless. 
   
   This measure of faith is described in different places in the New Testament as being “little faith,” “great faith,” “all faith,” “shipwrecked faith,” “faith as a mustard seed,” etc.  Stated simply, it is the measure of our ability to believe the word of IAUE. Messiah Yahushua said that if we had the faith of a mustard seed nothing would be impossible to us; not even speaking to a mountain to tell it to be removed (Matthew 17:20). He said that to indicate that we should not be deceived into thinking that great things require more faith than we could ever muster.  No, great things simply need faith…period. That same mountain-moving illustration is used in 1 Corinthians 13 to describe having “all faith;” so mustard seed sized faith has the same effectiveness as all faith…and very likely another term for “a measure of faith.”  In other words, unto each of us has been given virtually unlimited capacity to believe and to act upon the word of IAUE.  (One of the first jobs of the enemy of our souls is to convince us NOT to believe that.) Our root problem in this area is moving from belief to corresponding actions.  Of course we believe that Yahushua could act on His Father’s word and accomplish anything; but we do not believe that of ourselves; and yet, we have been given the measure of faith sufficient to do just that.
   
   
4. The gift of faith.  This is not salvific faith by which we trust in the person and work of our Master Yahushua Messiah; nor is it “the faith” which represents our life in Messiah.  This is also not the measure of faith given to us as a member of the Body of Messiah. This is a supernatural ability to believe the word of IAUE. It is a manifestation of the very nature of IAUE as revealed through His Spirit. One minister refers to this gift as a momentary encounter with mustard seed sized faith, the ability to believe in that moment the incredible, the impossible.  The Scripture tells us that Stephen was a man who was FULL of faith, and that he wrought “great wonders” among the people (Acts 6:8).

For the past half century, many preachers and teachers have focused on the teaching of faith.  Their efforts have caused the terms, “faith preacher,” “faith community,” and “name-it/claim-it teachers” to emerge in Christian vocabulary. These well intended ministers have brought much of the church into bondage by teaching salvific faith as a means of obtaining prosperity, healing, miracles, etc.  Those who listen to their messages cannot seem to find fault with the Scriptural validity of their teaching; but the outworking of their teaching actually finds manifestation in the lives of very very few.  The problem is, now that the believer is under the impression that his faith is personally responsible for the successfulness of his life, health and material possessions, he cannot “confess” to anything less than what he “hopes for” because what he actually has shows no fruit being born of such faith teaching.  Embarrassment or pride prevents them from being honest with each other.  They smile and confess good things, and yet possess virtually nothing that is promised by these faith preachers/teachers.

Here is the problem.  Salvific faith is focused on only one thing – reliance upon Messiah to place us in an acceptable relationship with IAUE unto the view of receiving the grace of IAUE to empower lives of obedience to His will.  Period!  Salvific faith is not the faith that believes for better worldly circumstances.  That is abjectly selfish and not the concern of a disciple.  In fact, the Master taught in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of IAUE, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Next week we will continue our discussion on the gift of faith.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XI (The Word of Wisdom & The Word of Knowledge - 2)

WBS.124

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT – XI

THE WORD OF WISDOM & THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE - II

1 Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

Review of last week’s discussion:

1. The word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are gifts that are extremely similar in their operation and experience.  The only thing that distinguishes one from the other is the nature of the content of the word.  In my experience, these gifts are almost always found together in a disciple. It is rare for a disciple only to have one and not the other.

2. The gifts of the Spirit tend to each have a “trigger” or condition within the disciple that enhances the reception and delivery of the gift.  The trigger for the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge is the fear of IAUE.  The manifestation of these gifts will be increasingly awesome in direct proportion to the degree the fear of IAUE is a vital reality within the heart, mind and spirit of the disciple.
   
   
3. The word of wisdom is an impartation of the wisdom or counsel of IAUE that tends to deal with a specific issue, providing insight or a solution to that issue.  It also is the gift that provides insight or information into things that are yet to happen.  It is the only gift with this futuristic element.

4. The word of knowledge is an impartation of information that could not have been known by natural means to the one receiving the word. This gift tends to provide a starting point for ministry in one of the other gifts of the Spirit; or simply to provide the hearer an awareness of the presence of the Spirit of IAUE, to give demonstration of the reality of the unseen Creator.

In our discussion last week, we focused primarily on the gift of the word of wisdom.  I would like to focus more on the gift of the word of knowledge, today.

Examples of the Word of Knowledge in the Scriptures:

John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Yahushua answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of Elohim; thou art the King of Israel.

Yahushua told Nathanael a fact about him that he knew Yahushua could not have known by natural means. Nathanael considered this word of knowledge enough evidence to prove to his satisfaction that Yahushua was the Messiah. 

John 2:16  Yahushua saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Yahushua said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Messiah?

Messiah spoke to the woman at the well a fact he could not have known by natural means; and the result was the woman perceived him to be a prophet, but not just any prophet.  She perceived him to be the prophet of whom Moses instructed Israel to take heed, the Messiah.

John 11:14 Then said Yahushua unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Two days prior, he had been told that Lazarus was sick.  He had no natural way of knowing that Lazarus actually had already died.  Even the messengers who brought him word of Lazarus being sick did not know that he had died before they had even reached Yashushua.

John 13:10 Yahushua said to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

Yahushua knew from his understanding of the Scriptures that he would be betrayed; but he had no natural means of knowing who it would be.  The Holy Spirit gave him supernatural knowledge to know Judas was the betrayer.

Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

 

Peter was given to know that Ananias and Sapphira had agreed to lie about the sale price of their property.  It cost them their lives.  The result was that the fear of IAUE spread throughout Jerusalem and multitudes were being added to the assembly.

From my own personal experience, I remember several years ago confronting a man I knew well and telling him that he needed to break off his adulterous relationship.  He knew there was no way I could have known the thing he had taken great care to keep secret.  Bringing the light upon the matter exposed his sin, and the fear of IAUE drove him to break off the relationship. 

Perhaps the most prevalent manifestation of the gift of the word of knowledge is the way it is used in “Spirit-filled” conferences throughout the USA and the world.  The minister typically teaches on a topic then begins ministering in the gifts of the Spirit at the conclusion of the teaching.  Through the word of knowledge they identify people in the assembly who have a specific need in their life that the ministry of the gifts of the Spirit can supply.  For example:

“There is a woman here who has had chest pains since this past Saturday.  You have not told anyone about this, and you have not gone to the doctors about it, yet.”

“There are two people here who have arthritis, one in the left hand and the other in the right hand.  It is so progressed and painful that you have been thinking you might have to quit your job.”

“There is a young man who bought a ticket last month to travel to Europe for the first time in his life; but he just found out he has cancer; and now he is wondering if he should not stay home to spend more time with his family.”

Such announcements are based on information that is not known naturally to the minister. It allows the individuals to know and understand that IAUE has specific knowledge of them and cares for them. It gives them the faith to believe that if they come forward to the minister, a second gift of the Spirit will be manifested that will heal or transform their circumstances or provide them the wisdom that they need.  Now, I know that there are a lot of charlatans that are con-artists that mimic this technique of ministry for financial gain.  That should not discourage anyone.  There would be no “fakers” if there wasn’t something real to imitate.

My personal opinion is that this last example, though it is how the gift of the word of knowledge is most commonly manifest today, is NOT the way it was intended to be used.  This expression of the gift has been created by someone’s experiences becoming a method which has now become a religious tradition. 

Remember that the primary purpose of the gifts of the Spirit are to manifest the presence, reality and power of the invisible IAUE to the world unto the profit of the assembly of IAUE; just like in the book of Acts where the routine response to the gifts was multitudes coming to Messiah.

Try to imagine sitting in a restaurant and the Holy Spirit bringing to your attention a middle aged man preparing to eat his meal.  You walk over to him quickly and say, “Sir, do not eat this meal. It has peanut oil in it; and you are gravely allergic to peanut oil.”  In such situations, you have an audience who will hear what you have to say about the need to repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

We are to be the people who turn the world upside down, and thereby also make the Jews jealous of the covenant relationship we have with IAUE.  How many churches do you know have something…anything…that would make the Jews jealous?

1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Master.

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same Elohim which worketh all in all.

Though there are nine separate gifts, they are used in many different kinds of ministries; and the way in which they are experienced and/or manifest are quite varied.  The gifts of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are typically spoken as a simple one or two sentence statement; but there are many different ways the disciple may actually experience receiving that word.  Here are some examples of “diversities of operations.” IAUE is personally responsible for how these gifts are experienced.

1. Some people with these gifts hear the Holy Spirit speak the words, and they simply repeat what they hear.
   
   
2. Some have spontaneous wisdom or knowledge. It comes to them almost like recalling a memory.  It is as though it is already in them, and they speak what they simply know to be the case. I have been the one sitting in a restaurant that looked at someone and just knew about their life. I never met them, and naturally knew not one thing about them; but I knew what the Holy Spirit revealed to me about them to be true just as much as I knew them to be wearing a blue shirt or a brown skirt.
   
   
3. I have known some people who actually “see” with the eyes of their spirit something like a ticker tape, like messages you see scrolling across the bottom of a television screen.  They just read the message that passes before them.
   
   
4. I have known some who are given a passage of Scripture; and when looking at the verse(s) of Scripture, an answer to a solution is provided.  We gave an example of this last week.  I had a friend who called me once, desperate for a word from IAUE.  He begged me for a word.  I prayed and asked the Father to meet my friend’s need and I told him to look up a specific passage of Scripture.  He called me back after reading this passage. He was utterly overwhelmed at the precision with which the Father had addressed his situation.

There may certainly be more ways in which people experience the receipt of a word of wisdom or word of knowledge.  This is just a few based on my own experiences.

Now, there are “differences of administrations,” and Messiah our Master is responsible for their placement in the Body.  We have already discussed ministers who operate in the gifts of the Spirit in their meetings.  That is one form of ministry in these gifts.  Others may be appointed as deacons in the fellowship to handle the logistical and financial affairs of the Body because of the wisdom flowing through them (see Acts 6:2-3). Others may simply be the quiet ones who are used in their day to day contacts with other people in this world bringing them into confrontation with their Creator who knows them and cares for them.  Still others may be members of an assembly where the leadership knows these gifts work through them, and they are called upon to provide counsel to aid in decision-making processes.  These are just some ways in which ministry in these particular gifts may be appointed unto us by the Master.

Next week:  The Gift of Faith

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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