The earliest mention in Scripture of the gifts of the Spirit is when Isaiah prophesies of the Messiah. The reason we receive these gifts, all embodied in Jesus, is so the body of Christ will function with diverse gifts, each “according to the grace that is given to us.”
As Paul tells us, “If prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; if service, in serving; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom. 12:6b-8, MEV). Most evangelicals would agree that the gifts of the Spirit are unique skills and abilities given by the Holy Spirit to faithful followers of Christ to serve God and benefit His people, the church. However, many seemingly sincere Christians twist their beliefs into pretzels to say that these gifts ended with the death of the last apostle, or otherwise with the establishment of the New Testament church. This is known as cessationism across the body of Christ.
Gift of Faith
One of the most powerful is the gift of faith. The Bible says every believer is given a “measure of faith.” The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (11:1). And Jesus told us that if we have faith as tiny as a mustard seed, we can speak to mountains and they will be removed and cast into the sea. This type of faith is available to all believers.
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But the gift of faith is something more. It’s not saving faith but an extraordinary faith to see the impossible done. Without realizing it, I believe God gave me faith to believe Charisma magazine—and all the things we’ve done since its founding—into existence.
I can remember once lying flat on my face, praying for a financial miracle at an important time, and what I prayed for came to pass. Another time I fasted for 40 days during a time when I needed to hear from God. It wasn’t easy, but I was desperate for an answer, and I believe the answer came. Although not everyone operates in the gift of faith, as each of us walks in the Spirit we can believe and be inspired.
Gifts of Healings
Another spiritual gift is the gifts of healings. These gifts (plural) are given to the church to restore healing in a miraculous manner. Every believer may not operate in this gift, but it’s for the church as a whole.
In the last chapter of her book “I Believe in Miracles,” Kathryn Kuhlman shared what she believed to be the key to healing. Her quest to know this truth started with her heartbreak over some of the practices among faith healers she encountered early in her ministry. Often if people received prayer and weren’t healed, they were told they didn’t have enough faith, and Kuhlman said the looks of despair on those people’s faces haunted her.
She remembered sobbing and asking God why some were healed and others were not. She knew God was a healer because she had seen people healed with her own eyes, but one question plagued her: What was the key? She knew God could do anything, but there were those who were bringing reproach to the cause of Christ “through ignorance and lack of spiritual knowledge.” But what was the answer?
Kuhlman said the answer came one night during a series of services. A woman in the audience stood up and asked if she could share a testimony from the previous night’s service. “As you were preaching on the Holy Ghost,” she said, “telling us that in Him lay the Resurrection power, I felt the power of God flow through my body. Although not a word had been spoken regarding the healing of the sick, I knew instantly and definitely that my body had been healed. So sure was I of this, that I went to the doctor today and had my healing verified.”
The fact is that God’s Word is true today. And it will still be true a thousand years from now. You must believe it, just as you must believe the other promises of God as you walk in the Spirit. Hear Jesus’ words to Thomas in John 20:27, “Do not be faithless, but believing.”
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Stephen Strang has seen major changes in the church, the culture and technology since he founded Charisma magazine in 1975. In addition to being CEO of Charisma Media, he hosts a Strang Report podcast live on YouTube and Rumble at 4 p.m. EST every Tuesday and Thursday. His important recent book Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-World is available wherever fine Christian books are sold.
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