GIFTS OF HEALINGS

the "gift of healing," he would be suggesting that he could heal every illness or

everybody. On the other hand, for one to say that he had "gifts of healings" leads

to various interpretations of this manifestation of the Spirit: 1) a person may have

more success in bringing healing for one type of illness than for others; 2) the

Spirit may impart a specific gift of healing for a specific illness at a specific time;

or 3) a person may bring healing for the same illness in a variety of ways. For

instance, Jesus used various methods in the healing of blindness: He touched

eyes (Matt. 9:27-31), He spit in eyes (Mark 8:22-26), He spoke the word over

eyes (Luke 18:35-43), and He told one man to wash in the pool after He had spit

on the ground, made a mudball, and placed it on the man's eyes (John 9:1-41).

One of the major concerns about the gifts of the Spirit, especially the "gifts

of healings," is that we want to make a method out of the means by which the

Spirit manifests Himself. The different ways that Jesus healed the blind could give

rise to a variety of doctrines of healing. We could organize the "Spit in the Eye

School," the "Wash in the Pool School," or the "Speak the Word School." People

would then join a school, embrace the doctrine as THE truth, and teach that

method as the ONLY way God can perform a healing. However, we cannot reduce

God to a method; He is a person. He has a variety of ways of meeting the needs

of His children. There are many ways to be healed; therefore, the Spirit bestows

"gifts of healings." God through His Spirit will manifest the particular gift of

healing for someone in need through any one of His children.