The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

127
1. In the first one hundred years (the apostolic era) of the Church healing was a common
activity. A byword among Christians was, 'If you see a brother who is sick and do not heal him,
his blood will be on your hands.' Healings, signs and wonders were an integral part of the
proclamation of the gospel in the Early Church.
2. It is surprising to see how many references to healing miracles occur in the ministry of the
early church fathers, e.g. Irenaeus (140-202), Origen (185-254). Ambrose (340-97), Athanasius
(296-373), Basil (3209-79), Gregory of Nazianzus (329-89), Macrina (327-379), Augustine of
Hippo (354-430), Benedict (480-547), Gregory of Tours (538-594), Pope Gregory I (540-604),
Bede (673-735), Marlarchy of Ireland (1094-1149), Antony of Padua (1195-1231), Edmund of
Canterbury (1180-1240), Richard of Chichester (1193-1253), Dominic (1170-1221), Francis of
Assisi (1182-1226), Thomas of Hereford (1218-1282), and Catherine of Siena (1333-1380).
3. Healing was taken over into the Reformist Movement; cf. the life and work of Peter Waldo
of Lyons (died 1217), founder of the Waldensians, Martin Luther (1483-1546), and Blaise
Paschal, a leading Jansenist (from 1656 onwards).
4. Healing has always accompanied the great religious revivals: John Wesley (1703-91),
Prince Alexander of Hohenlohe (c.1815), Johann Cristoph Blumhardt (Black Forest-1842),
Dorothy Trudel (USA) (1850), Alexander Dowie (1847-1906, Mary Woodworth-Etter (1876),
Smith Wigglesworth (1860-1947).
5. Healing has been a common phenomenon in the proclamation of the gospel by many
missionaries during the history of the protestant missionary movement commenced by
William Carey (1761-1834).
6. In this present century Smith Wigglesworth, Alexander Peddie, F. L. Wyman, Kathryn
Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, Francis MacNutt, Jim Glennon—and a vast number of others have
become increasingly involved. 34
It is obvious from this study that all spiritual gifts have continued throughout the
centuries since the time of Paul.
It is also true that the manifestation of the "sign" gifts became less after the first four centuries
of the church. No reasons were given in the early church as to why certain gifts diminished in use.
Only after their disuse do we see reasons given. These seem to be rationalizations to justify their
virtual absence. With the renewal of the church there has also been a resurgence of the
"supernatural" gifts.