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We are continuing our serialization of a small book regarding spiritual gifts and callings. The book was written by a British-Israel minister, Rev. Rupert Thomas, in 1938—just a year before the outbreak of the second world war. This material seems as vitally necessary for the Body of Christ today as it was nearly 90 years ago.
We have not edited the material except for style—such as breaking up large paragraphs for legibility on the two-inch screens of our modern electronic devices. We have also let the English variant spellings as is; e.g., emphasise as opposed to our American English of *emphasize**.*
All boldface and underlined portions indicate my emphasis. Italics are either by the author or from quoting the KJV, wherein italics indicates words supplied by the KJV translators. All comments in [brackets] and {braces} are mine.
QUOTE:
Chapter 8: Diversities of Gifts but the Same Spirit (continued.)
(d) The Gift of Faith
“To another faith, by the same Spirit.”
In the gift of the word of knowledge and the gift of the word of wisdom we have gifts of revelation. That is, they are gifts which give light to the mind.
We now come to the first of those gifts which, in their manifestation, are a communication of power and might to the will. If the faculty of the mind has been subjected to supernatural impressions of wisdom and knowledge, here is one of the gifts which imparts to the will power to perform that which could not be performed by the normal strength of the ordinary human will.
In this way, the gift of faith, being a supernatural endowment, provides a faith which is essentially different from natural faith, for this latter is possible to every human being.
This gift of faith is faith with a difference. It is a faith which is necessary to accomplish the seeming impossible. It is a faith that requires a power of will which is more than normal, because the backbone to faith is the will to believe.
Ordinary faith is a will that determines to believe, but, normally, has a reasonable right to expect that for which faith is exercised. Yet to remove a mountain and cast it into the depths of the sea, or to cause a fig tree to be plucked up by the roots is something about which there would be, naturally, considerable trepidation as to the possibility.
How long a list might be made of similar things. It is in such cases we have to recognise the possibility of that supernatural operation of the Spirit, which imparts power to will, to believe, to have faith, to expect or to do, that which could not be conceived by the greatest flight of imagination, as attributable to human faith.
[I recall witnessing many years ago an incident where someone believed he/she was exercising this “supernatural operation of the Spirit” in “declaring by faith” that a particular person present at the gathering would experience an immediate healing of his/her malady/handicap.
Unfortunately, the miraculous healing did not occur and the incident caused quite a stir, predicament, and embarrassment in the gathering. It would not be wise for me to share in this essay any further details or identify the persons involved.
As I reflect upon it now, it seems that Rev. Thomas has clarified what may have occurred with his distinguishing between “natural faith” and the “supernatural operation of the Spirit,” and the further distinctions he explains below.]
Such faith is an attribute of God, and can, therefore, only be exercised as imparted by God, the Holy Ghost, to such as He chooses to possess this gift of faith.
“Have the faith of God.” Mark 11: 22.
Moses would not have deliberately chosen to ignore the usual caravan route and be caught between Pharaoh’s hosts and the sea, and still expect a way of escape, apart from the bestowal of power to his will to believe the impossible—the divided sea.
Joshua would not have dared, with human faith, to have stood on the banks of a swollen, swift-flowing Jordan, with thousands upon thousands of people at his heels, and expect to pass over. It was a supernatural faith which went beyond the possibilities of the limited capacity of the human mind.
Elijah upon Mount Carmel would not have faced his ordeal, unless he had been fired by the mighty zeal of a supernaturally inspired faith.
“Have the faith of God.”
Such a gift of faith is more necessary to-day than ever, particularly in our national affairs. For be it noted that the examples given in this chapter were each and all manifestations of the gift for national deliverance, by national leaders. It was not and is not limited to operation in ecclesiastical spheres.
[Let us all be praying for such divine deliverance to once again be accomplished in our day! Will the one assuming the presidency in three weeks be the national leader whom the Father uses in our deliverance from the pharaonic system known as Mystery Babylon the Great? Let it be so, O Lord!]
(e) The Gifts of Healing
“To another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.”
Here, again, is a supernatural bestowal of power to perform that which is naturally impossible. As with the gift which follows—the “working of miracles”—there is undoubtedly a necessary relationship (to what extent is difficult to decide) between these gifts and the gift of faith.
The gifts of healing, as distinct from the ordinary prerogative of every believer to lay hands upon the sick (Mark 16: 15-20), is a gift which seems to impart, simultaneously with the reception of the power necessary to heal, the consciousness that the healing will take place.
Any believer has the right to pray for another that he be healed; any Christian has the right to call the elders of the Church to pray for him that, by the prayer of faith, the sick may be saved. (James 5.) But no one, be he elder or otherwise, would presume the right emphatically to declare that everyone so prayed for would be healed.
[Although the gathering I witnessed above was not a “Pentecostal/charismatic” gathering per se, I—and probably many of our readers—have seen the abuses of the underlined portion in the paragraph above, whether in person in “healing” services or certainly we have all seen the charlatanry on the televangelists’ “shows.”
Decades ago, I nearly tossed the baby out with the bath by forsaking all that was labeled “pentecostal” and/or “charismatic” because of the (to me) obvious charlatanry and fakery in many such “services.”
But I praise God that He prevented me from presenting a lecture series “exposing” what I then thought was the entirety of the pentecostal-charismatic movement. Not long thereafter, He gave me my own personal experience of one of the gifts—the interpretation of tongues.
It so stunned me when it happened that I knew that I knew that the Father had just showed me that there are jewels in the garbage heap, that there are true supernatural gifts amid the sham portions of the pentecostal-charismatic movement.
I have shared that experience in one or more of my lectures, so I shall not take the time to tell the story here. And sorry, I cannot remember in which lecture(s) I told the story.]
With the gifts of healing, it is suggested there would be given, when they came into operation, such a conception of power and of the accomplishment of the work that there could be an unhesitating and emphatic declaration that the sick would be healed, as in the case of Peter and John with the cripple at the gate of the Temple. Acts 3: 1-9.
It is a gift which is not in perpetual operation, but is intermittent, as and when occasion is deemed fit, by the Holy Spirit. Hence it is that both the Lord, and Paul, healed a great multitude of sick, but not all.
The Lord stirred up faith in the impotent one at the pool of Bethseda [sic, should be Bethesda] and healed him, yet passed by others that were there, leaving them with their sicknesses.
Paul, with such a one as he would have desired to heal, was not so used. What pathos there is in the words of one, by whom God has wrought special miracles, when he says:
“Trophimus have I left at Miletum, sick.” 2 Timothy 4: 20.
Still further distinction might be drawn between this gift and every manifestation of healing through the ordinance of James 5: 14-15 and Mark 16: 15-20, in this way, that the prayer of faith exercised by the elders of the Church or others, demands on the part of the one prayed for, a reciprocating faith, whereas “the gifts of healing” is a supernatural power to declare healing, even when there is no such faith on the part of the one to be healed.
[At numerous Bible camps and conferences since the 1980s, I have been asked to be a part of the elders team to pray for the sick per James 5. I can attest to the fact that while we did witness some instantaneous healings, and some healings what occurred in days/weeks following the elders laying on hands, it is also a fact that many were not healed.
After one miraculous healing, (of a friend who had a death sentence upon him by the medical community for a brain tumor which was further inoperable; he was given four months max.) I asked several others in our gathering to join me in laying hands on the man with the tumor, and anointing with essential oil of frankincense.
I always request others to also join in the laying on of hands specifically so that others do not think that, in the case of a healing, that they do not think I am some great healer. It is always the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who does the healing.
One particular brother “did not get the memo” because he—upon hearing of the healing of the man with the brain tumor—insisted on making a long trip so that I could lay hands on him to heal him of his terminal internal organ disease.
I did accede to his request after making sure he understood Who is doing the healing. And I prayed just as fervently for his healing as I did for any and all others for whom I have prayed over the decades. This man was not healed and has long since passed away.
Moreover, long time readers and friends of this ministry will recall that despite all our human efforts for natural healing, along with numerous requests for supernatural healing from the Father, Roxanne and I lost our then 13-year-old daughter, Sarah, to a brain stem tumor.
And again despite all my prayers and those of the brethren for Roxanne, she passed away 11½ years ago, and last year our son, David, died way too young. So indeed, like Paul and the Savior, not all are healed.
At some point, we must all go the way of all men—dust to dust—with the notable exceptions, of course, of the living overcomers when the Lord returns.]
(f) Miracles
“To another working of miracles.”
The working of miracles, or, more literally, miraculous operations: this is a gift which, by the operation of supernatural power, enables its possessor to perform works of power other than the cure of diseases, sicknesses and deformities of the body. This working of miracles is necessary for operation on inanimate objects or creatures lower than the rational standard of man.
It was a manifestation of this gift when the water was turned into wine; when the bread and the fishes were multiplied to feed thousands; when the sea was made calm; when Lazarus was raised from the dead, and when Peter raised a Dorcas, and Paul a Eutychus, from death.
It would appear that under the category of this gift and its exercise there can be the manifestation of special, as distinct from ordinary, works of power. That is, the manifestation of power in regard to some purely local condition, such as was made in Ephesus through Paul. Acts 19: 11-12; and, as for example, upon Elymas the Sorcerer in Acts 13: 8-11.
(g) The Gift of Discerning Spirits
“To another discerning of Spirits.”
This gift is not next in order. Prophecy comes before it, but with a view to a clear conception of the “gift of prophecy” we shall deal with it in conjunction with the “gift of tongues” and the “interpretation of tongues.”
Continuing to emphasise the supernatural origin and nature of all of these gifts, the idea that this particular one can be identified with natural insight or intuition is precluded. There is nothing natural about it.
Neither is it a psychic ability to read thoughts. It is an operation of the Spirit of God that gives ability to distinguish the nature and character of all beings coming to us from the spirit realm. It is the supernatural ability to discern the nature and origin of spirits that may present themselves, embodied or disembodied.
What does this presuppose? In the first place, it presupposes the existence of spirit manifestations; secondly, the existence of bad, as well as good, spirits and spirit forces; thirdly, the necessity to be protected and guarded against the bad.
Concerning the first and second of these presuppositions, none who rightly reads the Scriptures of Truth, and depends upon them for the revelation of what is and what is not possible from the supernatural realm, will deny the fact that there can be, in the experience of every human being, manifestations of phenomena which are purely spiritual, conveyed and performed by spirit beings.
This brings us to the third point: The necessity of being guarded and protected in the midst of such phenomena of spirit forces: That, inasmuch as there exist bad as well as good spirits, it would be possible for the bad spirits to camouflage themselves, and bring untold harm and deception to those upon whom they foist the phenomena proceeding from their works.
The fact of these two forces of spirits is obvious from the injunction of John in 1 John 4: 1.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits . . . .” [Recall in my recent series on prayer how I incorporate this injunction into my daily prayer sessions.]
There is nothing to indicate that he is referring to the human spirit in this passage. On the contrary, it is evident that he is referring to spirits that may operate through human beings, but could as quickly and easily operate without human instrumentality, through the phenomena of voices and the like.
In the Church, where supernatural phenomena are expected and allowed, there will, in consequence, be a greater possibility for the intrusion of evil spirit phenomena. This would be largely through individuals who have come under the power of evil spirit forces.
The nature of our warfare is not with flesh and blood, it is with the spirit wickedness, principalities and powers of darkness. It is with spiritual forces which, failing to lead individuals into gross and open sins, will endeavour to foist upon them, with a religious glamour, counterfeit operations and experiences, producing phenomena and messages which deny the Lord Jesus Christ, finally causing those deluded to tread underfoot the blood of Jesus, and count it a common thing.
[Hence, we see some of the charlatanry and sham operations in the garbage which is present in some Christian gatherings.]
On the other hand, there are good spirits, and it is a mistake to assert that no spirit manifestation should be recognised apart from those spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12.
The first chapter of Hebrews distinctly declares that angels are ministering spirits, definitely sent forth to perform a ministry to the heirs of salvation. Such is given to us in the beginning of Hebrews and, as though to clinch the matter, the last chapter of the epistle exhorts us to:
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.” Hebrews 13: 2.
We are brought, therefore, to the recognition of the fact that there are spirits called angels, and that those spirits are engaged in a ministry to and for the heirs of salvation.
Of what kind that ministry may be is not within the province of this book to discuss, but it can be partially understood by calling to mind the experiences of Old and New Testament characters, who were from time to time attended with spirit ministry. They were manifested in human form as with Abraham and others; or, again, in angelic form, as when Peter was visited in prison.
To discern between the good and the bad, and enable us to have the greatest advantage from the realm of the spirit, the gift of “Discerning of Spirits” was given.
In the work of God, it is indispensable, though its exercise will often be rewarded with little thanks, as in the case of Paul in Acts 16: 16-24. It landed him in gaol.
It might be argued from the foregoing that, therefore, it is desirable, indeed necessary, for every believer to possess the gift we are considering. But the Scripture does not say so.
The gifts of the Spirit are given to profit withal, but all have not the same gifts, and while the gift of discerning of spirits is necessary to the benefit of the Church, there have been ample instructions and proper tests for the use of the believer, without the gift, so that he is guarded and protected. 1 John 4: 1-3.
The fact that all believers have not the same gifts emphasises the interdependence of believers. None can say to the other, “I have no need of thee.”
END QUOTE
(To be continued.)
END
