Acts 5:14-16 “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (15) so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. (16) Also, a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
Unlike healing through the prayer of faith which all saints can practice, healing through the spiritual gift called “gifts of healings” can only be practiced by those to whom this gift is imparted. So the question is asked, which saints qualify to receive this gift from the Holy Spirit? The first category of saints that qualify are apostles, for one who is called by the Lord to stand in that office will have all nine of the spiritual gifts operating in their ministry, which would include the gifts of healings. That truth is revealed to us in the above quoted passage of scripture, for this passage clearly demonstrates to us that this gift operated through the Apostle Peter’s ministry. The apostle Paul’s ministry is confirmation of this truth, because there is also clear scriptural evidence that the gifts of healings operated in his ministry (Acts 19:11-12). One of the reasons that the Lord gives this gift to His apostles is so that the church can identify them as such, for Paul speaks about the signs of an apostle being displayed through signs and wonders and mighty deeds (2 Corinthians 12:12). The second category of saints that qualify for this gift are evangelists. The only scriptural example we have of an evangelist is Philip, and if we look at his ministry we can clearly see that the gifts of healings operated through his ministry (Acts 8:5-8). The main reason that the Lord gives this gift to His evangelists, is to demonstrate the reality of God’s power to unbelievers so that they can believe the gospel and be saved (Luke 10:9). The third category of saints that can receive this gift are the ministries of the prophet, pastor and teacher. Unlike apostles and evangelists however, this gift is not an essential part of their ministries, and so will only be imparted to certain individuals as the Spirit wills. The fourth and final category of saints that can receive this gift are normal saints. Nevertheless because this gift attracts so much attention, it is rare for this gift to be manifested among the normal saints. The best scriptural example we have of this truth is Stephen. Stephen was an ordinary disciple who had been appointed as a deacon in the church in Jerusalem, and yet the scripture teaches us that through faith and power he performed great signs and wonders among the people (Acts 6:8). The signs that Stephen would have performed would have been miraculous healings, and the reason that Stephen was able to perform those signs was because he was anointed with the spiritual gifts of healings.
Acts 8:5-8 “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. (6) And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. (7) For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. (8) And there was great joy in that city.”
All the gifts of the Spirit operate at differing levels of anointing. The highest level of anointing for the gifts of healings is allocated to the office of the apostle, for it is only in that office that we see scriptural accounts of both a one hundred percent success rate and all manner of sickness being healed, e.g. Peter in Jerusalem (Acts 5:16) and Paul in Malta (Acts 28:9). Nevertheless I want you to notice that this gift is called gifts (plural) of healings (plural). So what does that mean? It simply means that outside of the office of apostle, the Holy Spirit anoints the rest of the saints who receive this gift with specific healing power for specific ailments. For example, some are anointed to heal blindness, while others are anointed to heal people who are paralyzed, etc. In the above quoted account in scripture we see Philip being used to heal paralyzed and lame people. There can be no doubt that there were blind and deaf people in the crowds at Philip’s meetings, but the bible mentions nothing about them being healed. The reason for that is because Philip was not anointed in that area, for he was anointed to heal those who were paralyzed and lame. And so we see that when it comes to operating in this particular gift, it is very important that the saint knows what anointing they have received from the Lord. For those who recognise where their anointing lies are able to more easily exercise their faith in the operation of their gift, for each one receives ministry gift faith according to the measure of the gift that they have received from the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:3).
Michael E.B. Maher
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