The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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Spiritual Gifts are Needed Until Christians Reach Unity in the Faith
Paul asserted that all the gifts Christ gave would continue in His church until it comes to full
unity of faith and to mature spiritual development in Christ:
"It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so
that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the measure of the
fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13).
The church has not yet reached that stage, and it still needs all the gifts of the Spirit.
Healing Gifts are Given to the Whole Church for All Time
The Bible is clear: healing gifts are given to the whole church for all time and the elders of
the church are to have a regular healing ministry:
"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs
of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray
over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith
will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he
will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other
so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
(Jas. 5:13-16)
The statement "If he has sinned, he will be forgiven" emphasizes the interrelatedness of
body and soul. For instance, Jesus healed the paralytic spiritually when He said, "Your sins are
forgiven," and physically by saying, "Get up, take your mat and go home" (Mk. 2:5,9-11). Jesus
heals soul and body to make man complete.
Confession of sin and praying for one another in faith are vital ingredients of the healing
ministry in the Christian community. When sin is removed, the power of prayer becomes evident
in its effectiveness.
As we have already seen, healing is not limited to the elders of the church as God has also
gifted certain individuals within the body of Christ for such ministry. Thus the kingdom of Christ
is meant to have miracles as a normative part of church life.