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The Power Gifts of the Holy Spirit

In the last study, we began a study of the specific gifts of the Holy Spirit. We looked at the revelation gifts – Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge and Discerning of Spirits – and the differences between these gifts. Today, we will be studying in detail the power gifts of the Holy Spirit – Gifts of Healings, Working of Miracles, and Faith. May the Lord incline our hearts to His Word. Amen!

Main Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Significance of the Power Gifts

The revelation gifts we considered last week are manifested for the Christian to know something God wants him to know. While the vocal gifts we will be considering next week are gifts the Christian can exercise to speak God’s will. Power is simply defined as the ability to do something; hence, power gifts are used by the Christian to do God’s will.  Thus, this set of gifts are quite important. Why? James 1:22, Matthew 7:24. The power gifts are useful for (a) doing the Father’s will (b) offering service to humanity (c) edifying the body of Christ and (d) living a victorious Christian life.

The Gift of Faith

What is Faith? Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) How is this gift used to “do” God’s will? Faith is the fuel that causes us to believe the unseen and do the impossible. All the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 did remarkable things because they were not low on this fuel. How is the gift of faith different from the fruit of faith? The gift of faith, as other gifts of the Holy Spirit, is primarily for the edification of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7) while the fruit of faith is the result of God’s presence within us and is primarily for our personal walk with God (Galatians 5:22-25). Is the “mustard seed faith” prescription in Matthew 17:20 for those with the gift of faith or for every Christian?

The Gifts of Healing

It is interesting to note that the Bible says the “gifts” of healing in verse 9, suggesting that there are different components of the healing and different types of healing (some translations say “the gifts of healings”). God is interested in healing every area of our lives – mentally, physically, spiritually, socially and financially. Is it mandatory for the sick person to have faith as well for healing to manifest?

Matthew 8:1-3; Luke 4:31-35, Luke 5:1-7

The Gift of Working of Miracles

A miracle is an extraordinary event that cannot be explained by natural/scientific laws. Is it possible for a miracle to occur in your life even without you having faith? Consider Moses and the burning bush. Because God is sovereign, He can work miracles as He chooses. When He does these, they are usually to draw our attention to Him.

John 2:1-11; Luke 7:11-17; Matthew 8:23-27, Matthew  14:13-21

Relationship between the Power Gifts

The gift of faith is the foundation on which the other two power gifts are built (Matthew 14:28-31; Matthew 17:14-20). Is it possible for someone to have either one of these gifts without first having the gift of faith? Also, some healings that do the impossible are miracles themselves. So, we can say there is an intersection between the gifts of healing and the gift of working of miracles. Hence, it’s possible for a Christian to operate in both power gifts.

How Can I Build up my Faith?

Given that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit become manifest through faith, we should desire to build up our most holy faith. We can do this by hearing and reading the Word of God (Romans 10:17), praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20-21), and getting associated with people who have great faith (Proverbs 27:17).