What exactly is a spiritual gift? The best way to describe a spiritual gift is by identifying a talent that you possess that can only come from God. Everyone is blessed to have different abilities and talents. Some people are gifted at math, others are great public speakers, and some people excel at sports. Within those gifts are varying levels of accomplishment. A spiritual gift is when we use our talent to further the kingdom of God. Any position that we have in life creates a unique opportunity to serve God’s kingdom by using the gifts and talents that he blesses us with. All of us have our own sphere of influence where we can reach people that others cannot. Using our spiritual gift is a great way to show others who God is by the way we conduct ourselves using our talents.
There is one spiritual gift that we all possess as followers of Christ, that is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The third part of the trinity after Father and Son is Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the experience of God working in our lives. Unlike every other religion in the world, Christianity is a relationship with Christ. The relationship between Christians and the Holy Spirit is the cornerstone of our faith. Our faith can conquer many things when done through Jesus’s name. We possess the power of prayer which is a direct line of communication between ourselves and God. Not only are our words received through prayer, our thoughts and actions are also reflected in our faith.
The spiritual gift of healing.
One point of contention is the spiritual gift of healing. I am sure that most of you have at one time or another seen people who claim to have the spiritual gift of healing. They say that they can touch someone and through their spiritual gift, wield the power of God to heal and drive out demons. I have a couple problems with this. First, like I said above, we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we repent and accept Jesus as our savior. Anyone who has done this is filled with the same Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them. There is power in the name of Jesus and we each possess that power. Let me show you some Bible verses to explain.
Luke 9:1-2 New American Standard Bible
Ministry of the Twelve
9 Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
In this passage, Jesus gave the twelve disciples the power and authority over demons as well as the power to heal. My question for you is did Jesus give us that same power as Christians or did he reserve the power for the twelve disciples only? I believe that the power granted to the twelve disciples was unique to them as I have not found a specific example in the Bible saying that we are given authority over demons and the power to heal. We lack the same supernatural abilities that the twelve apostles had. However, I believe that we possess the power of prayer and can wield that same power through Jesus in his name. The difference between our power and the apostles is that Jesus gave these men the authority. To us Jesus gave us the power of his name. Two completely different things.
We must first understand the difference between a disciple and an apostle. An apostle was those who were chosen by Jesus. A disciple is a person who chooses to follow Jesus. The power that Jesus gave to the men that he personally chose should not be taken out of context and applied to modern day Christians. If you look at Mark 16:17, this verse is often taken out of context in regard to power given to the apostles. In this passage Jesus was specifically addressing the remaining apostles minus Judas who had killed himself. If you read verse 14 it specifically speaks to this. Often this verse is used by people to claim that they have a spiritual gift to drive out demons and the power to heal. I believe that in the context surrounding Mark 16:17 this interpretation is wrong and is being used to create a spiritual gift that doesn’t exist.
Mark 16:14-18 New American Standard Bible
The Disciples Commissioned
14 Later He appeared to the eleven disciples themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reprimanded them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen from the dead. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Here is another example speaking to the twelve specifically.
Matthew 10:1 New American Standard Bible
The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service
10 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.
To circle back to my original point, we have the power of the Holy Spirit. However, we should not test God by claiming that he has gifted us certain spiritual gifts. That would be a misinterpretation of scripture. Our purpose as disciples of Christ is to share the Gospel, plant the seed and show others what the Kingdom of God looks like. We can pray to Jesus to intervene in situations but shouldn’t declare that God has given us a special gift that he clearly has not. That would be considered bearing a false witness and testing God. Both of which are not behaviors that Christ followers should exhibit. We need to stay in our lane, respect the authority of God in our lives and let the Holy Spirit work in us and through us.
If we possessed the gifts as described in the passages above, we would be able to consistently demonstrate those gifts without failure. If the spiritual gift of healing and driving out demons only works now and then, I would take those gifts with a very small grain of salt. If Jesus granted authority and power to that person, the gift wouldn’t work part time. This is why we must realize that the gift of healing and driving out demons only comes through speaking Jesus’s name through the power of prayer. This way, his will be done. The burden is not on us to be flawless in every situation. Praying about the situation and leaving the results up to God’s authority will always follow the Bible and honor who God is. It will also demonstrate the will of God where our prayers will be answered with a yes, no or a not now. I will leave you with this passage from John.
Words to the Disciples
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60 So then many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This statement is very unpleasant; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this offensive to you? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”