The nine gifts of the Spirit

7
THE
NINE
'~ GIFTS
OF
THE
SPIRIT
ELISABETH HOEKENDIJK-
....
LA RIVIERE

THE
NINE
GIFTS
OF THE
SPIRIT
by
ELl SA BET H HOE KEN D U K­
LA RIVIERE
'DE NEGEN GAVEN DES GEESTES'

PREFACE
'He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us
all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?'
(Rom. 8 :32)
Have you received Jesus Christ into your heart?
God gave His Son for you and for me to save and keep us.
Have you accepted Him? If so, then the following scripture is for
you, too: 'But as many as received Him, to them gave He power
to become the sons of God' (John I : 12). Then we have ajoyful
song in our hearts: '0 what a joy to be a child of God.'
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the greatest and most
excellent gift which has ever been given to the world. He is our
peace. When we accept Him, we receive these from Him
immediately: Reconciliation, purification of our sins, peace and
joy in our hearts.
But our heavenly Father has still much more for us.
Together with the Son he wants to give us all things. We do not
want to talk now about our daily needs, such as food, clothes
and other needs for our natural life; all these things shall be
added unto us when we first seek the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness (Matt. 6: 33).
God wants to give us life more abundant through the
fulness of His Spirit. Listen to what Jesus said about it: 'If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask Him?' (Luke II : 13) Our heavenly Father offers
us heavenly gifts. The Lord Jesus spoke about the Father's
promise that he would send 'the power from above'.
The Lord commanded His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem
until they had received this power when the Holy Ghost had
come upon them (Acts I : 8). The Lord had told them much
about the 'Comforter' which would come after His departure
from them.
'And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit
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of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him
not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you' (John 14: 16, 17).
'These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present
with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the
Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and
bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said
unto you' (John 14: 25, 26).
'Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you
that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you' (J ohn 16: 7).
'If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He
that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit,
which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy
Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified)' (John 7: 37-39).
'For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost' (Acts I : 5).
Be filled with the Holy Ghost!
What wonderful riches are contained in the promise of the
Father, which Jesus is speaking about here. It is so great and
wonderful to know that we are saved, that we have passed from
death to life. But the Lord has still much more! He wants us to
have life and life more abundantly (John 10: 10). Abundance of
life, abundance of power, abundance oflove, of joy and peaceand
this all through the 'promise of the Father', the baptism of
the Holy Ghost.
We see the fulfilment of the promise in a wonderful way on
the day of Pentecost. 'And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance' (Act 2: 4).
They began to proclaim the wonderful works of God in
languages which they had never learned (verses 8-11). It was
here that the river of living water, which Jesus was speaking
about, began to flow. New life awakens wherever the living
water is flowing. Thousands were converted and were promised
the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2 : 38, 39).
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Many people believe that everybody who is converted is
also filled with the Holy Ghost. God's Word clearly teaches us
that this is not the same. 'Repent, and be baptized everyone of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto
you, and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many
as the Lord our God shall call' (Acts 2 : 38, 39).
Conversion is always the work of the Holy Ghost in our
hearts. 'No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy
Ghost' (I Cor. 12: 3). When Peter said to the Lord: 'Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God !', then Jesus answered: 'Flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is
in heaven' (Matt. 16: 16, 17). How else, but through the
operation of the Holy Ghost?
But this was not yet the filling. Only when Jesus had
accomplished His work and taken His place in the Father's
throne, could the Spirit of God be poured out in the fulness. 'For
the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified' (John 7: 39).
'Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and
having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He
hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear' (Acts 2 : 33).
'Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, He led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men' (Eph. 4 : 8).
When Jesus 'entered in once into the Holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us' (Heb. 9: 12), He opened the
windows of heaven, whereby the Holy Ghost in its fulness can
come upon everybody who is a partakerofthe redemption. This
is the life more abundant!
After Pentecost, we see the same fulness of power and
glory which dwelt in Jesus, revealed in His disciples. With power
they testified of the great works of God, so that thousands were
converted. Great signs and miracles were wrought, and daily
more saved souls were added to the Church.
This is exactly as Jesus had promised: 'Verily, verily, I say
unto you, he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he
do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto My Father' (John 14: 12).
'These signs shall follow them that believe; in My name
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shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they
shall recover' (Mark 16 : 17, 18).
All believers have the same mission as Jesus. 'As Thou hast
sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the
world' (John 17: 18).
And like Jesus, we must also first be filled with the Holy
Ghost in order to do, through the power of the Holy Ghost, the
works which God had prepared for us .
Jesus was baptized with the Holy Ghost
Perhaps you believe that Jesus was able to perform
miracles because He virtually was God, but it is not so. He was
God before the creation, but He put off all His divinity and
became a man like us, but without sin.
'Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like
unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the
sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being
tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted'
(Heb. 2: 17, 18).
'For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin' (Heb. 4: 15).
Christ Jesus 'Who, being in the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no
reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men' (Phil. 2 : 6, 7).
Jesus says: 'I can o( Mine own self do nothing'
(John 5 : 30).
'Verily, verily, 1 say unto you, the Son can do nothing of
Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things
soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise' (J ohn 5; 19).
Jesus could not do anything by Himself. That is why God
first gave Him the Holy Ghost in great fulness. Before Jesus
started His work, the Holy Ghost came upon Him (Matt. 3 : 16).
Everything that He did afterwards was accomplished through
the power of God's Spirit.
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His temptation in the wilderness would not have been a
real temptation, had Jesus been present there as God: 'God
cannot be tempted with evil' (James 1 : 13), but He, Who was
real God, became real man, in dependence of the Father, in
order to resist and to overcome Satan through the power of His
Father's Spirit.
'And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee'
(Luke 4: 14).
After this event He read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue of
Nazareth: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me
to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord'
(Luke 4: 18, 19).
All the people in the synagogue watched Him anxiously as
he told them: 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears'
(Luke 4: 21).
So, Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Ghost to
proclaim the Gospel and to do miracles of deliverance. Through
God's Spirit He cast out evil spirits (Matt. 12: 28) and healed the
sick. In this way the works of the devil were being destroyed and
the Kingdom of God revealed.
Jesus also spoke the words of God through the Holy
Ghost. 'For He Whom God hath sent speaketh the words of
God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him'
(J ohn 3: 34). 'Not by measure' means 'even in an exceeding
fulness'. This was for Jesus, but this is for us as well: for as the
Father has sent the Son, even so is the Lord sending us (see
John 17: 18).
The disciples were baptized with the Holy Ghost
After the disciples were 'endued with power from on high',
they began to testify to the risen Lord. Before Jesus ascended to
heaven, He had said: 'That repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in His Name among all nations'
(Luke 24 : 47).
But He added: 'And, behold I send the promise of My
Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye
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e endued with power from on high' (Luke 24 : 49). The disciples
did wait obediently for the 'promise of the Father'. Jesus, the
great Highpriest, had not yet entered the heavenly temple, into
the Holy of Holies, where God dwells, to obtain eternal
redemption for us with His own Blood (Heb. 9 : 12).
The gift of the Holy Ghost is the 'amen' of the Father to the
finished work of redemption ofthe Son; it is the beginning ofthe
heavenly heritage.
On the day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the
disciples began to testify to the wonderful works of God. Peter
could shout it out: 'Therefore being by the right hand of God
exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the
Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear'
(Acts 2: 33).
What was there to see and to hear? All sorts of supernatural
phenomena, signs and wonders. First of all there was the sound
as of a rushing mighty wind and cloven tongues like as of fire
on the heads of the disciples, as wonderful signs that the Spirit
had been poured out. Then there was the speaking in new
tongues, strange languages, by those who had received the
Spirit. 'And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance'
(Acts 2: 4).
Only through supernatural powers and gifts can we be
witnesses of a supernatural Kingdom. When we read further in
the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, we see that miracles were
performed continually by people who were filled with the Holy
Spirit. They healed the sick and cast out devils. In this manner
they testified through word and deed that Jezus had risen as
Conqueror and that He was seated at the right hand of the
Father.
The gifts of the Spirit
There is much ignorance about the gifts of the Spirit.
Because of this ignorance, there is also much fear for these
things. The Lord does not want us to be ignorant where it
concerns the gifts and operations ofthe Spirit. God's Word says:
'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge' (Hosea 4 : 6).
Much fanaticism and confusion had entered the Church,
because people are unfamiliar with the proper use of the gifts of
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the Spirit. It was exactly the same in Paul's day. Actually, I am
thankful for this, because Paul carefully explained the proper
use of the gifts in three chapters of his letter to the Corinthians.
'Now concerning spiritual gifts (utterance of the Spirit -
Dutch transl.), brethren, I would not have you ignorant'
(I Cor. 12: 1). Paul speaks here about utterances of the Spirit,
but a little further in the same chapter he speaks about other
manifestations or revelations of the Spirit.
'And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation ofthe Spirit
is given to every man to profit withal' (l Cor. 12: 6, 7).
All that God works and reveals through His Spirit is to the
edifying of all. Is it any wonder that the Church of Christ has
become powerless since there are no longer any operations and
revelations of the Spirit? God does not want to leave us
ignorant, and we know therefore that we act according to the
will of God when we examine the Word of God anew pertaining
to the gifts of the Spirit. In this chapter of the letter to the
Corinthians, Paul speaks indirectly about the gifts of the Spirit.
'For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to
another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another
faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the
same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another
prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers
kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But
all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to
every man severally as He will' (l Cor. 12: 8-11).
Many are of the opinion that this means that one receives
this gift and someone else another gift, according to what the
sovereign Spirit desires tot give. But that is not what it says. The
principal thought in this passage of Scripture is the unity, the
harmony. In the diversity of ministries and operations (vs. 4-6),
it is still one Spirit, the same Lord, the same God who works all
in all.
The Spirit is not divided; it is impossible that there should
be contradiction in His manifestations. For example, if
someone calls Jesus or one of His servants accursed, it can never
be of the Holy Ghost. On the other hand, everything which
honours and exalts the Lord is only of the Spirit. 'Wherefore I
give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of
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God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus
is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost' (l Cor. 12: 3).
What confusion there must have been in the Church of
Corinth for Paul to write these words.
Paul did not mean to write that the one who speaks a word
of wisdom should only have the gift of the word of wisdom and
that the one who speaks a word of knowledge should only
possess the gift of the word of knowledge and no other gift. That
the one who in a particular meeting heals the sick through the
laying on of hands should only have the gift of healing, and the
one who casts out demons should only have the gift of
discerning of spirits and no other gifts. No, that is not the case. If
that were so, then every missionary going to an evil, heathen
area, would have to look first for eight others, having the eight
other gifts, in order to be able to do the work of the Lord
together. Where would he find these men? Therefore, that is not
the plan of God.
God works all in all. Only when we are alle equipped with
all the gifts ofthe Spirit, can the Holy Ghost manifest Himself in
His fulness and work in the Church. The Lord is the Giver oflife
and life more abundant, and He gives to us from His abundance.
Therefore, He does not give to each one just one single gift.
Whoever receives the Holy Spirit, receives the fulness of God.
Just as all the fulness of God was in Jesus, so this has been given
to us. 'For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all
principality and power' (Col. 2: 9, 10).
'He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for
us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?'
(Rom. 8: 32)
The nine gifts of the Spirit are only part of the great fulness
and wealth which is ours in Christ.
The gifts of the Spirit in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament we also see the gifts of the Spirit in
operation. It is evident from the letter of Jude that the gift of
prophecy was already present with Enoch, the seventh
generation after Adam.
'And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of
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these, saying, 'Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of
his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that
are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they
have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him' , (Jude 14, 15).
This prophecy, uttered four thousands years before
Christ, is quoted here by Jude. We see that it is a prophecy about
the end of times, about the day of judgment. So wonderful is the
gift of prophecy, that it embraces centuries and speaks about
past and future times as well.
The Bible is full of prophecies which have been fulfilled,
but let us also pay attention to some of those which are still
awaiting their fulfilment.
We see the patriarch Isaac prophesy about his sons when
he blesses them at the end of his life (Gen. 27 : 27-29, 39, 40).
Jacob, too, blessed first his grandsons, later his sons
(Gen. 48 and 49). Joseph prophesied about tbe deliverance of
Israel from Egypt and ordered that they should carry his bones
with them out of the land (Gen. 50: 24, 25).
There are prophecies of the Old Testament which were
uttered to guide the people of God, to encourage them and to
exhort them - prophecies about the Redeemer Who was to
come, about the day of judgment at His coming again, and the
wonderful time which shall follow.
The gift of the word of knowledge we can also find in the
Old Testament. Through this gift of the word of knowledge, the
Lord, through His Holy Spirit, reveals things to His people in a
supernatural way.
God revealed many things to J oseph and Daniel through
dreams and visions (Gen. 40: 13, 19; Gen. 41: 25-32; Dan. 2: 19-
45). The prophets of the Old Covenant were sometimes called
seers, because through the Holy Spirit, they were able to see that
which was hidden to the natural eye (l Sam. 8: 11-18;
I Sam. 9 : 15-20; I Sam. 10; 2 Kings 5 : 26; 2 Kings 6: 12).
The gift of the word of wisdom was present with Joshua
(Deut. 34: 9). We read in Genesis 41: 33-39 how Joseph saved
Egypt from famine through the operation of this gift.
The gift of healing was also present with priests and
prophets. The story of Naaman, who found healing of his
leprosy by the prophet Elisha, is a beautiful example of this
(2 Kings 5).
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What wonderful works our forefathers wrought through
the gift of faith! A few of these are listed in Hebrews 11. The gift
of working miracles, supernatural works, was found with the
leaders of the people of Israel. How clearly we see this with
Moses. God gave this gift to Moses to deliver the people of God
from the bondage of Egypt and to bring them into the promised
land. In the same way, the gifts of the Spirit are given to God's
children today to enable them to set others free from the
bondage of Satan and to start living a life in the liberty of the
Kingdom of God.
Jesus has redeemed us with His blood from the power of
darkness. Few people stand in the liberty of Christ. Paul warns:
'Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made
us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage'
(Gal. 5 : I).
The Church of Jesus Christ has not remained stedfast.
Satan has managed to enter with various laws and yokes to
burden the believers. The filling with the Holy Ghost and the
gifts of the Spirit have been lost. What we see in our days is a
Church in bondage - bound to diseases, to all sorts of sins and
powers of Satan, bound to laws and doctrines. We do not see the
splendour and power of the early Church anymore.
Organisations, doctrines, rules and regulations have taken the
place of the operation of the Holy Spirit. Human wisdom has
pushed aside the wonderful revelations of the Lord. God's Word
says that God has made foolish the wisdom of this world
(I Cor. I : 20). Jesus thanked His Father in heaven for the fact
that the things of the Kingdom were hidden from the wise and
the prudent, but were revealed unto babes (Luke 10: 21). We
must become again as little children to be real children of the
Kingdom. 'For the Kingdom of God is not in the word, but in
power' (I Cor. 4: 20).
Therefore Jesus said before He ascended to heaven: 'But
ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you' (Acts I : 8).
All that is revealed in the Old Testament of the power of
the Holy Spirit is but a faint shadow of what the Lord desires to
do through the sons of God after the outpouring of the Holy
Ghost. Jesus says that streams ofliving water shall flow from the
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innermost being of those who have received the Holy Spirit
(John 7: 37-39). Jesus called John the Baptist greater than all
the prophets who had been before him, but: 'He that is least in
the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he' (Matt. li: lib).
Peter tells us that the prophets have inquired and
searched diligently after the salvation which should come unto
us. They did not serve themselves, but us, the Church of the end
time. Even angels desired to look into these tremendous things
which are happening to the Church, which is filled with the Holy
Spirit (1 Peter 1 : 10-12).
'For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were
written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort
of the scriptures might have hope' (Rom. 15: 4). What has
happened to Israel has taken place for our example
(l Cor. 10: 6; Heb. 3,4).
We scarcely realize how great God's plan is for us and how
He desires to reveal His resurrection power through us. We are
the people of the end of the age, the people in anticipation of the
fulness of times, a people to praise His glory (Eph. 1: 12, 14).
When we realize that the Church has wandered away from her
calling, then we want to repent and reach out anew to the fulness
of the Holy Ghost.
We receive everything from God through faith and faith
comes through the Word of God (Rom. 10: 17). Therefore, let
us read the Word together afresh about the gifts and power of
God's Spirit so that our faith may grow and every child of God
may receive and use the gifts of the Spirit again.
What are these gifts?
There are nine gifts of the Spirit, as described in
1 Corinthians 12: 8-10. They can be divided into three groups
according to their character. They are listed here in the sequence
in which they are received and used by us.
Gifts of utterance, inspiration or worship
1. The gift of tongues
2. The gift of interpretation of tongues
3. The gift of prophecy
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Gifts of revelation or instruction
l. The gift of the word of knowledge
2. The gift of the word of wisdom
3. The gift of discerning of spirits
Gifts of power or communication
I. The gift of faith
2. The gift of healing
3. The gift of the working of miracles
All these gifts are abilities which God gives us to perform
supernatural acts. With each of these gifts, the action is
different. For instance, the gift of tongues is an ability which
God gives to speak in languages we do not understand.
The gift of interpretation of tongues is the ability, through
divine inspiration to interpret a message uttered in an unknown
tongue.
The gift of prophecy is the ability to speak out a message
from God directly in our own language. Such a message is
always for edification, exhortation, and encouragement
(l Cor. 14: 3).
The gift of the word of knowledge is the ability to receive a
revelation from God, through which He makes known to us
something we would not have knowledge of by our own naturel
understanding.
The gift of the word of wisdoIl} is the ability to receive a
word of direction from the Lord so that we may know the right
thing to say or do in certain circumstances.
The gift of discerning of spirits is the ability to discover the
presence of demons and to establish their identity.
The gift of faith is the ability which God gives us through
the Spirit to believe that the impossible shall come to pass and
also to inspire this gift in others.
The gift of healing is the ability to communicate the
healing power of Jesus to those who are sick. God's Word
speaks in 1 Corinthians 12: 9 about 'gifts of healing'. This does
not mean that there are different gifts of healing. Some think
that one has the gift to heal rheumatism, another to heal cancer,
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THE GIFTS OF UTTERANCE
I. The gift of tongues
2. The gift of interpretation of tongues
3. The gift of prophecy
These are called gifts of utterance, because speaking is the
character of their operation. We also call them gifts of worship,
because they are principally used in worship services, while we
are worshipping God, reverently listening to His words and
answering Him with our praise. These are also called the gifts of
inspiration, for they operate through the inspiration ofthe Holy
Spirit and because the use of them inspires him who speaks as
well as those who listen.
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THE GIFT OF TONGUES
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave this great
commission to His disciples: 'Go ye into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My
Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues .. .' (Mark 16: 15b-17).
During past centuries, endeavors were made to preach the
Gospel, but the signs which ought to follow the believers were
forgotten. Fortunately, in our time there is a return to the whole
commission, which Jesus Himself has given. Speaking in new
tongues is one of the signs which shall follow the believers.
The sign
When we read through the book of the Acts of the
Apostles, we see that speaking in new tongues is the special sign
of the filling with the Holy Spirit. The other signs follow
afterwards.
On the day the Holy Spirit was poured out, there was a .
sound as of a rushing mighty wind. This was the sign in the air
that the Spirit had come down. But the disciples who were filled
with the Spirit of God 'began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance' (Acts 2: 4).
And so we read again and again that when people were
filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak in new tongues.
In Acts 10 we read the story ofthe first group of Gentiles. While
Peter was still preaching the Gospel 'the Holy Ghost fell on all
them which heard the Word. And they of the circumcision
which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter,
because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and
magnify God' (Acts 10: 44-46).
Everyone knew that this band of people out of the Gentiles
had received the Holy Spirit, because they heard them speak in
new tongues. Peter remarked later that they received the gift in
exactly the same manner as the disciples did, through faith in the
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Lord Jesus Christ (Acts II : 17).
Paul found a group of disciples in Ephesus who had not
yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit; they had not even heard
that there was a Holy Spirit. Paul led them into this fulness
through the laying on of hands. 'And when Paul had laid his
hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they
spake with tongues, and prophesied' (Acts 19: 6).
These passages of Scripture make it clear that speaking in
tongues is the sign ofthe receiving of the baptism with the Holy
Spirit.
The gift
The sign of speaking in tongues at the baptism with the
Spirit is not always the gift. As we remarked earlier, the gift of
speaking in tongues is the God-given ability to speak in tongues
and that according to our own will. There are people who did
speak in tongues when they were baptized with the Spirit, but
never again. We then lay hands on them again so that they might
receive the gift of speaking in tongues.
It is God's desire that we should all speak in tongues, as
Paul writes: 'I would that ye all spake with tongues'
(1 Cor. 14: 5).
Many people hold the opinion that it is the Holy Spirit
Who speaks in tongues, but that is not what the Bible says. The
Holy Spirit gives it to us to speak. He inspires, but the believer
must be at His disposal.
God does not make us act like puppets, nor does He lead
us into a trance, so that we do not know what we are doing. This
is exactly what Satan does - he leads people into bondage. But
Jesus sets us free! 'If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye
shall be free indeed' (John 8: 36). The Lord leads us into liberty
and gives us abilities. He encourages us to use these.
Jesus says: 'They shall speak with new tongues'
(Mark 16: 17b). The believers themselves speak.
'For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue ... in the
Spirit he speaketh mysteries' (1 Cor. 14: 2).
'Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue
pray that he may interpret' (1 Cor. 14: 13).
'For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth'
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(I Cor. 14: 14).
'I will pray with the spirit' (I Cor. 14: 15).
'I thank my God, 1 speak with tongues more than ye all'
(I Cor. 14: 18).
These and other texts make it clear that it is the believer
himself who speaks in tongues; of course, inspired by the Holy
Spirit. This inspiration, this ability, remains with us after the
baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Speaking to God
Speaking in tongues is speaking in mysteries to God
(I Cor. 14: 2). The believer who speaks in tongues does not
know what he speaks, but he knows very well what he does. He
praises and magnifies His Lord in words which he does not
understand. He worships His Creator and Redeemer. While he
is doing this, his heart is being flooded with love, peace andjoy.
His faith is being strengthened and he is encouraged in the battle
against the powers of darkness.
Edification
'He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself
(I Cor. 14: 4). It is very important to edify yourself. To edify is,
among other things, to build up your faith. How shall we ever be
able to edify, build up and help others, if we have no power
ourselves?
We can also sing in tongues. 'I will sing with the Spirit'
(l Cor. 14: ISb). Praising the Lord by singing in new tongues is
also edification. We do this when we are alone with the Lord.
Inspired through the Holy Spirit we worship Him then in a
supernatural way. Doing this brings wonderful release and
renewed strength.
The unknown language
It is clear from God's Word that speaking in tongues is the
expression of languages which are understood neither by
ourselves, nor by others. 'For he that speaketh in an inknown
tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man
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understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries'
(I Cor. 14: 2).
Verses 13, 16, 19, and 27 also make it clear that when
someone speaks in tongues, the language is unknown and is not
understood. 'For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit
prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful' (I Cor. 14: 14).
Our understanding opposes these things: 'What is the use
of speaking words which I cannot understand: I am sure God
does not mind if I pray to Him in my own language, for then I
know what 1 am saying.' That is how we reason, but God's Word
says: 'I would that ye all spake with tongues' (l Cor. 14 : 5).
Jesus said it is one of the signs which shall follow the
believers. Paul thanks God that he speaks in tongues more than
all (I Cor. 14: 18). Can we say then: 'I would rather not'? We will
have to submit ourselves to the Word of God and acknowledge
that the foolishness of God is wiser than men (I Cor. I : 25).
Speaking to men
The gift of speaking in tongues is also given to pass on
messages from God to the people. For this purpose it is
necessary to use the second gift, which belongs with the first, the
gift of interpretation of tongues. Paul speaks about blessing
with the Spirit (I Cor. 14: 16). 'To bless' in the Bible means to
bring a Holy-Ghost-inspired word from God. When the
patriarchs blessed their sons through the laying on of hands,
they received a personal word from God. (Gen. 48 and 49). In
the same way, when we speak out a blessing in the Church, the
people receive a word from God. If the blessing is spoken in new
tongues without interpretation, however, nobody will be able to
understand and nobody will be edified.
There have been times when the strange languages were
understood by those who were present, but those are
exceptions. This was the case on the day of Pentecost, when the
Holy Spirit was poured out on the one hundred twenty people
gathered there (Acts I : IS). 'And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost and (all) began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance' (Acts 2: 4). People from about
fifteen different nations heard them speak in their own
language. That was a special miracle from the Lord, which still
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happens in our time.
There have been occasions when we ourselves have been
part of a group of worshippers where a stranger was spoken to in
his own native tongue, even though the language was unknown
to the one who spoke the message. This, then, was a special sign
for the unbeliever (1 Cor. 14: 22).
A typical example of this is what happened to the wellknown
American evangelist Tommy Hicks while he was
preaching in the Russian town of Rostow. He was being assisted
by a Russian interpreter, but half way through the message, this
woman became very angry. She refused to interpret any further
testimony of Hicks about the miracles he had witnessed. She
spat in his face and left him, saying, 'I will not interpret such
nonsense!' Tommy wiped his face, and in this seemingly
hopeless situation, he looked to the Lord for help. In faith he
began to speak in tongues. He noticed that the audience seemed
to be understanding what he was saying, although he did not
understand a word of it himself. He was speaking in Russian!
The Holy Spirit moved among the crowd and many gave their
lives to Jesus. Hallelujah!
The following excer'pt from the magazine, The Chinese
Christians Today, shows another example of how the gift of
tongues has saved certain followers of Jesus from death.
Brother Wang writes:
'Heart-stirring news from behind the bamboo curtain.
This has truly happened. A group of young Christians of
the Grammar School in Shanghai were on their way into
the interior. In the mountains they'were going to visit lived
a tribe which spoke an entirely different dialect. At last
they arrived, and in one of the villages they began to visit
the people, and in broken sentences, tried to talk to them.
The people however did not trust them. They thought that
they were agents of the Communist government and sent to
spy on the villagers. Because of the broken dialect of the
students, they were not able to express themselves very
well, whereupon the villagers decided to do away with
them. They marched them out of the village and led them
to a huge tree. They put ropes around their necks and the
moment they were going to be hanged had come. In a last
effort, one of the students tried to explain himself to the
21

people. He said: 'Before you kill us, allow us a moment of
prayer.' The villagers allowed this. The students knelt
down, with the ropes still around their necks and began to
pray. They lifted up their hands to heaven and cried to
God to deliver them. While they were still in prayer, one of
the students began to pray in tongues. He fluently spoke
the language of that particular village. All the inhabitants
gathered around them. What did this young man speak
about? He spoke about the love of God, about the
wondrous works of Jesus, about their desire to visit the
villagers, about their love for them. All the villagers were
deeply moved and very much ashamed. They said: 'This
group of young people came to visit us and we wanted to
kill them.' The students were taken back to the village and
a feast was prepared in their honour, which ended in a
Gospel meeting. The majority of the villagers was
converted and received Jesus as their Saviour.'
In the love of God
Many people reject the gifts of the Spirit on the ground of
1 Corinthians 13. Indeed, Paul makes it clear that the use of all
the gifts without love profits nothing. Therefore he says: 'Follow
after charity, and desire spiritual gifts' (I Cor. 14: I). Only the
operation of the gifts together with love is the more excellent
way (1 Cor. 12: 31). 'Because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.'
(Rom. 5: 5).
It is the 'love of the Spirit' (Rom. 15: 30) which we need,
and therefore it is necessary to be baptized with the Spirit. Love
is the fruit of the Spirit. 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance' (Gal. 5 : 22) - a nine-fold fruit, which must come
to full fruition in our lives.
The gift of speaking in tongues is given to us also as a
means to keep ourselves in the love of God. This is what we read
in the letter of Jude, vs 20: 'But ye, beloved, building up yourselves
in your most holy fiath, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep
yourselves in the love of God.'
Two important things: We keep ourselves in the love of
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God and we build up out faith when we pray in the Spirit; that is,
when we pray in tongues. He that dwells in God, sins not. When
we pray in new tongues, we abide in God and the evil one has no
hold on us (IJohn4: 16B;5: 18).
Can we always speak in tongues?
Many people are of the opinion that it is only possible to
speak in tongues when the Holy Spirit prompts us. This is not
so. Anyone who had been baptized with the Spirit and has
received the gift of tongues, can always speak in tongues, at any
moment he desires. God's Word encourages us to do this often,
because through this, we become strong in the Lord. It is also a
mighty weapon in the battle against the powers of darkness,
Paul calls praying in tongues: praying with my spirit, as opposed
to praying with my understanding. 'For if I pray in an unknown
tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful'
(I Cor. 14: 14).
In this connection, my spirit is my new man, the new
creation in me, which I received at the new birth. 'That which is
born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit' (John 3 : 6).
Speaking in tongues does not find its origin in our
understanding, 'the understanding is unfruitful'. It is natural
that we find this difficult in the beginning. We are used to doing
everything with our understanding; we like to be sensible
people. But now God asks something foolish of us: to speak
words we do not understand. We realize that by doing this, we
give our mind, and actually our whole personality into death for
the Word of Jesus: 'They shall speak with new tongues.'
Jesus also says: 'Except ye be converted and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of heaven'
(Matt. 18: 3). Indeed, we can only enter the spiritual world of
the Kingdom of heaven if we, in child-like simplicity, begin to
speak in new tongues. Our thought, our speech and actions are
changed and renewed through the Holy Spirit. Paul says: 'I will
pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also'
(I Cor. 14: 15).
When we first pray with our spirit (in tongues) and then
with our understanding (in our own language), our praying with
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the understanding will be led and inspired by the Spirit of God
also. It is therefore good and beneficial to do as Paul says: First
pray with the spirit and then pray with the understanding.
The spirit of adoption
'For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God' (Rom. 8 : 15, 16).
This new man in us wants to speak with the Father in his
own, intimate way and to this end uses a language unknown to
our natural understanding. The Bible says: 'In the Spirit he
speaketh mysteries' (I Cor. 14: 2b). Through this communion
with his Creator, the new man matures to become a mature son.
This is a mystery, and our understanding opposes this. But
the Lord has shown us this way and we must walk it. His ways
are superior to our ways and who are we that we should criticize
the will of the Lord? When we obediently submit to accept this
way, we shall partake of the full glory of God. We enter upon a
life of freedom and joy which we did not know to exist. So few
have seen this way, but God is opening our eyes so that we may
find the way which leads us to full power in Christ.
Everything in order
Paul's writings show us that it is the person himself who
speaks in tongues and that he is in control of the use of this gift.
Therefore, Paul gives us a few rules to use the gift of tongues in
an orderly manner in the Church.
'If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two or
at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the Church;
and let him speak to himself and to God' (l Cor. 14: 27, 28).
If it were only the Holy Spirit Who spoke and distributed,
outside the will of man, then Paul could not possibly write how
everything should be done. In other words, our spiritual man is
subject to our will. God does not want us to be led by our
feelings, speaking all at the same time, and then say: 'It is all of
the Holy Spirit!' 'For God is not the author of confusion, but of
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peace' (l Cor. 14: 33).
In faith, we hand every meeting over to the Holy Spirit,
but we act and speak according to the directions given to us in
Gods's Word. That is how we come to a perfect cooperation
between God's Spirit and our spirit. To be able to receive the
Spirit of God, we will have to disregard our natural senses. 'The
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets'
(l Cor. 14: 32).
God does want us to use the gifts of the Spirit sensibly.
'Forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done
decently and in order' (I Cor. 14: 39,40).
Giving thanks with the spirit
We can also give thanks in new tongues. Such
thanksgiving is always good, but because nobody understands
it, it is necessary to interpret it in the Church.
'Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he
that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving
of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For
thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified'
(l Cor. 14: 16, 17). 'Wherefore let him that speaketh in an
unknown tongue pray that he may interpret' (l Cor. 14: 13).
In the meeting, everything must be directed towards the
edifying of the Church. For this reason, Paul would rather
speak five words with his understanding to teach others, than
thousands of words in a tongue. (I Cor. 14: 19)
Paul thanks God that he speaks in tongues more than all.
Indeed, it is a gift for which we cannot thank the Lord enough.
Everyone who has received this gift and uses it, can say with
Paul: 'I thank God that I speak in tongues' (I Cor. 14: 18)
Intercession
Praying in tongues is also the best form of intercession.
When we pray with our understanding, it is possible to pray
outside the will of God, trying to make God's plan fit into our
plan through our prayers. Therefore the Holy Spirit comes to
our aid and allows us to pray according to God's will.
'Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we
25

know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit
itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the
mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God' (Rom. 8: 26, 27).
The Holy Spirit searches and knows our hearts, but He
also knows the will of God. 'For the Spirit searcheth all things,
yea, the deep things of God' (l Cor. 2 : lOb). 'Even so, the things
of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God' (vs. lIb).
'Which things also we speak, not in words which man's
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost · teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual' (I Cor. 2 : 13).
Praying in tongues is the perfect form of intercession. Paul
writes that we should pray in the Spirit with perseverance for all
saints.
'Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints; and for me that utterance may be
given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make
known the mystery of the Gospel' (Eph. 6: 18, 19).
Let us not neglect to pray in the Spirit for those who are
carrying the Gospel, especially for those who are being sent out
to new areas, for those in difficult and often very lonely places,
or in countries where persecution and oppression reign.
The weapon
Praying in tongues is a mighty weapon in the battle against
the powers of Satan. In the letter to the Ephesians, it is
mentioned in connection with the armour of God. Only when
we are filled with the Spirit can we realize what Paul means
when he teaches:
'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places'
(Eph. 6 : 12).
Everyone who has learned to use praying in tongues as a
sword realizes how mighty a weapon this is. So many times we
have seen devils flee when tongues were used with authority.
This weapon is indispensable when powers of darkness are
26

eing bound and demons cast out in the Name of Jesus. Two
weapons of attack are mentioned with the armour of God;
namely, the sword ofthe Spirit (the Word of God), and prayer in
the Spirit (praying in tongues) (Eph. 6: 17, 18).
The power
The promise of Jesus was: 'But ye shall receive power after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you' (Acts 1 : 8).
This power of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with our
feelings. So many people who seek the baptism with the Spirit
think that they must first feel the Spirit before they can speak in
tongues. In the original text it says: 'Ye shall receive power after
that the Holy Spirit has come over you.' This power ofthe Holy
Spirit is released after we are filled. We become powerful
witnesses of Jesus. The power is revealed through the use of the
nine gifts.
On the first day of Pentecost, the power was disclosed
when they all began to speak in tongues and Peter began to
preach, after which three thousand souls were saved. Sick
people were healed and demons cast out. This was power and
certainly not feeling. Let everyone who is seeking the baptism
with the Holy Spirit know that it is not something strange which
overpowers us, but rather the new spirit in us through the new
birth which comes to fulness at the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
'Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of
God' (1 John 5: I). A born-again person has reveived the Spirit
of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of adoption, through Whom we know
God as our Father. Through this Spirit, we belong to Him
(Rom. 8: 9).
The Spirit, Who dwells in us, fills us to overflowing when
we are baptized in or with the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus says
of the believers: 'Out of his belly shall flow rivers ofliving water'
(John 7: 38b). The spring is not outside us, but in us. An
unconverted person cannot receive this. 'But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God' (1 Cor. 2: 14).
Through praying in tongues we are 'strengthened with
might by His Spirit in the inner man' (Eph. 3 : 16). This Spirit
will lead us into all the fulness of God (Eph. 3: 19). 'Till we all
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
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God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ' (Eph. 4: 13).
This power, which works in us, is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph. 3 : 20). It is the
same power which raised Jesus from the dead and set Him at the
. right hand of God, far above all principalities and powers
(Eph. I : 19-20). This ressurection power has already placed us
with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2: 6). It gives us power now
over all demons and rulers of the darkness of this world.
Our body is renewed through this power also. 'But if the
Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your
mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you' (Rom. 8 : 11). It
is therefore good for people who are seeking divine healing to
receive also the baptism with the Holy Spirit. This power, which
conquered even death, is able to conquer every weakness and
disease and all mortality in us.
There are many people who think that the gifts and
powers, the signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit were only
necessary to start otrthe early Church. They refer to: 'Tongues,
they shall cease' (l Cor. 13 : 8).
But when shall tongues cease and prophecies fail? When
that which is perfect has come, and we shall see our Lord face to
face and know Him even as we are known (l Cor. 13 : 10).
'For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to
face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known' (1 Cor. 13 : 12).
Until we shall see Jesus face to face, praying in tongues
remains the most intimate communion with Him for every child
of God. And the supernatural operation of all the gifts of the
Spirit remains the most powerful connection with the Head of
the Church, which is His Body. We need the gifts ofthe Spirit to
lead us to perfection, until this corruptible has put on
incorruption and we shall meet the Lord in the air
(l Cor. 15: 50-53).
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THE GIFT OF INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES
The interpretation of tongues is, like the gift of tongues, a
supernatural gift. 'But all these worketh that one and the
selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will'
(l Cor. 12: 11).
The gift of interpretation does not enable us to understand
the tongues which are spoken. 'For he that speaketh in an
unknown tongue ... no man understandeth him' (1 Cor. 14: 2).
The language of tongues remains an unknown language, even to
the one who has received the gift of interpretation of tongues.
The gift is not an ability to interpret literally into the native
language or tongue.
It is, instead, the inspired ability to expound the contents
of a message given in tongues. Through this gift we give an
interpretation, which does not need to be a literal translation.
Therefore, never judge these things critically with your
understanding, but receive it in faith.
No one needs to doubt whether the gift of tongues and
interpretation is meant for men or women. God's Word says: 'I
would that ye all spake with tongues' (1 Cor. 14: 5). It is very
clear that the Lord desires that we all should possess and use this
gift. Therefore, let no one hesitate to receive this gift from the
Lord.
Edifying the Body of Christ
Everything the Holy Spirit works is to edify the Church;
therefore, prophecy is more important than tongues, unless
tongues are interpreted. 'For greater is he that prophesieth than
he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the
Church may receive edifying' (1 Cor. 14: 5b). When tongues are
interpreted, it is equal to prophecy.
Paul exhorts us to endeavour to edify the Church as much
as we can. 'Even so ye, foreasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual
gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the Church.
Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray
that he may interpret' (1 Cor. 14: 12, 13).
When two, or at the most three, people speak in tongues in
29

the Church, then there must be an interpretation. Should no one
be present who has or uses the gift of interpretation, then one
must remain silent.
'If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two,
or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the Church;
and let him speak to himself and to God' (l Cor. 14 : 27, 28).
Paul does not speak here of tongues with interpretation;
those messages are not limited to two or three. However, it is
better not to continue speaking in tongues in the Church when
there is no interpreter present.
If the same person who speaks in tongues also brings the
interpretation, there will never be confusion and everyone will
receive a full blessing.
Sometimes the Lord so leads it that one of the people
present understands the message in tongues as well as the
interpretation. This happens when the Lord wants to speak to
someone in a very special way. It happened with us once when a
sister visited a meeting for the first time where the gifts were in
operation. She was full of doubt and had prayed that the Lord
would make it very clear to her whether these meetings were
really of God. A friend, who had been wonderfully healed and
was baptized with the Holy Spirit had brought her along. But
this sister had so many objections and people had warned her so
much that she did not know what to believe. During our time of
worship, someone gave a Holy Ghost-inspired message in
tongues, in which the Lord spoke especially to her. The speaker
had, without being aware of it, spoken in perfect Hebrew, with
the interpretation in Dutch, our own language. The woman was
Jewish and understood Hebrew. She was convinced through the
Holy Spirit, when the Lord spoke to her in a supernatural way
and confirmed it by repeating it in the interpretation.
It also happened that the Lord spoke a very serious
warning to someone who had come along to disturb the
meeting. This man, a theologian, was addressed in Latin, which
he had learned at the university, but which nobody in the
meeting understood or spoke. This man had to acknowledge
that it could only be a miracle from God for someone to speak
this language without having learned it, and to follow with a
30

perfect interpretation into Dutch. Still, he was not converted.
We saw a passage of scripture literally come to pass: '
'With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this
people; and yet for all that will they not hear Me', saith the Lord.
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to
them that believe not' (I Cor. 14: 21, 22). To one it is a sign
through which he is drawn and convinced; to another it is a sign
which shall testify against him, through the hardening of his
heart.
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THE GIFT OF PROPHECY
It is often suggested that the gift of prophecy is the ability
to preach. Actually, it is something entirely different. A sermon
is prepared beforehand, with the help of the Word of God. To
prophesy is to utter words which the Holy Spirit inspires at that
particular moment, and of which nothing is known beforehand.
The gift of prophecy is the God-given ability to give a
message from the heart of God to the people in our own
language. Such a message is always to the edification of the
Church.
'But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification
and exhortation and comfort' (l Cor. 14: 3).
How wonderful that the Lord desires to speak to us with
comforting, exhorting words. How we need this encouragement
in the world in which we live, full of hardship and struggle.
Satan goes about as a roaring lion, and he shall try to
antagonize people against us in order to hinder our work and
witness for the Lord. When we then come to a meeting where the
gifts of the Spirit function, we receive new power through the
words of the Lord, which He speaks to us through prophecy or
the interpretation of tongues.
Also, when the Lord warns us, He does not threaten us
with judgment or damnation, but rather stimulates us to go on
in the power of Jesus Christ, to stand in His victory, to fight and
witness more. Perhaps you have noticed, that in the Bible we can
find many prophecies of judgment and doom. Indeed, the Lord
often speaks about darkness and judgment which shall come -
but not for the children of God. Jesus has carried away all our
punishment. We can be clothed with His righteousness and
stand on victory ground against all the works of the evil one.
'The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with
His stripes we are healed' (Isa. 53 : 5b). The love of God for His
creatures is so great! Jesus has borne all the punishment of our
sin and now we only receive blessing and good gifts from our
God. Everything the Holy Spirit gives is to bless us and to build
us up. So many times, when we were discouraged in the battle
and disappointed, we received encouragement and joy when we
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went to a meeting where the Lord spoke to us in loving words
during our time of worhsip.
'Let all things be done unto edifying' (l Cor. 14: 26b).
Examples of prophecies in the Bible
'Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I
am thy God: I will strengthen thee; ,yea I will help thee; yea I will
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness'
(lsa. 41 : 10).
'And thou shalt glory in the Lord, and shalt glory in the
Holy One of Israel' (lsa. 41 : 16b).
'Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he
that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine
and milk ... Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your
soul shall live' (lsa. 55: 1-3).
'And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely' (Rev. 22: 17b).
There is nothing which strengthens and encourages our
faith more than to listen to the words of the Lord.
There are people who say that under the New Covenant,
the Lord does not speak in the form of 'I' anymore. But we read
in the New Testament that the Lord speaks in the same way as
He did in past times.
On the first day of Pentecost, Peter, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, repeats the words of Joel: ' 'And it shall come to pass in
the last days', saith God, 'I will pour out of My Spirit upon all
flesh; ... I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall
prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs
in the earth beneath' , (Acts. 2: 17, 18, 19).
When the Lord appeared to Paul on the road to
Damascus, He said: 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? ... I
am Jesus Whom thou persecutest' (Acts 9: 4b, 5).
Later the Lord reveals Himself in a vision to Ananias and
says: 'Go (to Saul): for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My
name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My
Name's sake' (Acts 9: 15).
Peter also receives a vision and a word from the Lord when
he is called to preach the Gospel to the first group out of the
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Gentiles. The Spirit speaks to Peter: 'Behold, three men seek
thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them,
doubting nothing: for I have sent them' (Acts 10 : 20).
Sometimes it is an angel, sometimes a man, who brings the
message, but they are the words of the Lord: Thus saith the
Lord.
'For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy'
(Rev. 19: lOb).
Give heed to prophecies
Prophecies played an important part in the life of the first
Christians. Paul writes to Timothy that he should be guided by
the prophecies which had been given to him; should he not do
this, his faith could be shipwrecked.
'This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according
to the prophecies which went before thee, that thou by them
mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good
conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have
made shipwreck' (I Tim. I : 18, 19).
Paul himself knew that he was sent through the Word of
the Lord: 'And as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the
Holy Ghost said: 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work
whereunto I have called them' , (Acts 13: 2).
'For so that the Lord commanded us saying, I have set thee
to be light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth' (Acts 13 : 47).
Prove all things
'Prove all things; hold fast that which is good'
(l Thess. 5: 21).
Prove prophecies by comparing them with Biblical
prophecies. Never try or judge anything according to your own
feeling or understanding. We can test the spoken prophecies by
looking for any ofthese characteristics: edifying, exhorting, and
comforting.
Edifying means directing the upbuilding of the faith. An
example of this is the prophecy Elizabeth spoke to Mary
through the Holy Ghost (Luke I : 42-45). We read further in
vs. 46-55 Mary's wonderful song of praise. When we compare
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this song with the song of Hannah, the mother of Samuel in
\ Samuel 2 : I-I 0, we sense and recognize that they were inspired
by the same Spirit.
Exhorting means stimulating to a higher goal, as in the
following scripture from Rev. 22: 12-14: 'And behold, I come
quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give to every man
according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first I;lnd the last. Blessed are they
that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree
of life.'
Prophecy is a means for God to give us a word of comfort
and encouragement that can compare to the words of angels,
such as in Luke I : 13-17 and 28-38. God often spoke through
Isaiah to comfort His people: '0 Israel, Fear not: for I have
redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine'
(lsa.43: I).
After John the Baptist was born, his father Zacharias was
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy. In
Luke 1 : 67-79 we read his inspired utterance, which starts with
praise and ends with a prophetic word about the child. This is an
example of a blessing pronounced over a small child, as in
Luke 2: 29-35 about the Child Jesus.
No fortune-telling
God gives us spiritual gifts for spiritual matters. Do not
misuse these gifts as some kind of fortune-telling. Sometimes
they are used to give guidance to others; e.g., when they must
fast, whom they must marry, etc., as if the one who possesses the
gifts of the Spirit is a mediator. So often people are inclined to
ask a word from the Lord for all sorts of things. Do not allow
yourself to misuse the gifts in this manner. This only leads to
fanaticism and to situations where one dominates the other.
There are circles in which those who possess the gifts have
everything to say and rule the whole church. Everything they say
is taken and received as the word of the Lord, which everyone
anxiously obeys. Out of this arise the most terrible situations.
That is not why the gift of prophecy is given. The Lord wants not
lead us all personally, by making His will known to us in our
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hearts. To us, children of the New Covenant, applies this word:
'I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people'
(Jer. 31 : 33b, 34).
Through the Holy Spirit, the Lord desires to reveal His
guidance and His will personally, to each one of His children,
without any medium. Yet very often the Lord does want to
confirm to us in a word of prophecy, that which He has already
put in our heart is truly His will. When we all desire to receive
the gifts of the Spirit and use them as God intends, we shall
never arrive at such situations as described above.
The ministry not the same as the gift
The gift of prophecy does not make us prophets. A
prophet is a person with a special ministry. In Ephesians 4 we
read offive ministries, which the Lord has appointed, to preach
the Word in the Church.
'And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and
some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ' (Eph. 4 : 11,12).
The ministry of the prophet is, among other things, to
preach or teach in the Church because of a special insight or
revelation of God's Word which he has received.
Confusion had entered the Church at Corinth. Many
people thought they were prophets. They wanted to preach in
the meeting, but could not wait until the other person had
finished speaking. This was no longer an endeavour to edify the
Church to the utmost of their ability, but an urge to outrival
others. In this church, the ministry of the prophets had to be put
in order again: 'Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the
other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let
the first hold his peace' (1 Cor. 14: 29, 30).
We can see from this that the Lord wants to give His words
and revelations when the Church comes together. Before
bringing into the Church the revelations which are received
outside of the meetings, judge first to determine if these are from
God.
There were people in the Church of Corinth who called
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themselves prophets or prophetesses and only brought
confusion, but no edification. Therefore Paul writes: 'And the
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is not
the author of confusion, but of peace' (I Cor. 14: 32, 33).
'If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let
him acknowledge that the t!1ings that 1 write unto you are the
commandments of the Lord' (I Cor. 14 : 37).
All may prophesy
As far as the gift of prophecy is concerned: not only the
prophets, but all can prophesy. Paul writes: 'I would that ye all
spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied' (I Cor. 14: 5).
'For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn,
and all may be comforted' (I Cor. 14: 31). Prophecies should
not be spoken all at the same time; but one by one, the one after
the other. Nobody needs to say: 'I could not wait to give out a
prophecy, 1 had to speak at that moment, because the Holy
Spirit prompted me.' 1 say to you: God is a God of order and
does not want us to interrupt the prophecy or preaching of
someone else with our message. We must wait until the other
has finished.
The desire of God is made known to us here - that we
should all prophesy. He gives us the ability so that we all can
prophesy.
The woman in the Church
When we see that Paul was trying to bring back good order
out of confusion we realize better why he forbade the women to
speak in the Church. It was because of the tremendous disorder
that women especially had to be called to order and even had to
be referred to the law (1 Cor. 14: 34).
Paul writes many times in his letters that children of God
are free from the law. 'For ye are not under the law, but under
grace' (Rom. 6: 14b).
'The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the
lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners'
(I Tim. I : 9).
Because they were not spiritual, but carnal (1 Cor. 3: 2b),
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Paul had to restore the order and harmony in the Church
through various instructions. When we are spiritual, and
completely led by the Holy Spirit, then there is no other law than
the leading of the Holy Spirit. 'For the law ofthe Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death'
(Rom. 8: 2).
For a spiritual person, there is no difference between man
and woman, but neither of them shall rule the other. When the
Spirit of God is in control, everyone shall endeavour to serve the
Church as much as possible in the place where God has put him.
'For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on
Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus' (Gal. 3 : 26- 28).
To the spiritual person, there is no difference between
male and female, and therefore Paul's warning that the women
should be silent in the Church remains no longer in force.
During the time of the Acts of the Apostles, there were also
prophetesses who took their place in the Church (Acts 21 : 9).
In faith
Often we have heard it said that one must wait for the
prompting of the Holy Spirit before one can prophesy. But
God's Word says: Ye may all prophesy one by one. We need not
wait for anything, but may act in faith according to the Word of
God.
'How is it then, brethren? When ye come together,
everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue,
hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done
unto edifying' (I Cor. 14: 26) ..
The Holy Spirit gives something to everyone, all to the
edification of the Church. What matters is that we take God at
His Word and speak out in the Church that which we have
received in faith. The use of all the gifts of the Spirit, but
especially the gift of prophecy, is an act of faith. In Romans 12
we read something of the ministries and the gifts, especially that
prophesying is through faith.
'Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is
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given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the
proportion of faith' (Rom. 12: 6).
The prophecies that patriarchs uttered at the end of their
live about their sons and grandsons are mentioned to us in the
letter to the Hebrews and reckoned among the acts of the heroes
of faith. 'By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning
things to come' (Heb. II : 20).
'By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons
of J oseph' (vs. 21).
No one needs to be afraid. When we ask God for a word,
then He is a loving Father Who does not give His children stones
instead of bread. 'For everyone that asketh receiveth'
(Matt. 7: 8).
'Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread,
. will give him a stone?' (vs. 9)
'If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall your Father which is in
heaven give good things to them that ask Him?' (vs. 11)
We must trust the Lord for these things. Christ lives in us.
He is the Word of God. (John I : 14).
'Not I, but Christ liveth in me' (Gal. 2 : 20b)~
Everything was not quite so easy under the Old Covenant.
We read of the prophet Balaam that he first had to climb the
mountain to have a meeting with the Lord, and only after that
was he able to speak the word which God had laid in his mouth
(Numbers 23). Moses climbed Mount Sinai to receive God's
Word for Israel in the midst of fire and tumult, smoke and
earthquake (Ex. 19 and 20). But praise God, we need not climb
up to heaven anymore to bring God's Words down; the 'Word of
God', Jesus, has come down to us. Through the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit, this Word had forever been laid in our hearts.
'Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven?
(that is, to bring Christ down from above), or, Who shall
descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the
dead). But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy
mouth, and in thy heart' (Rom. 10 : 6b-8).
It is wise, in order to build up our faith and to cleanse us of
our own will and thoughts, to pray in the Spirit before we give
out a prophecy.
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Despise not prophesyings
We must on no account neglect the prophecies. 'Quench
not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold
fast that which is good' (1 Thess. 5 : 19-21).
We have to be very careful here. When we reject or
disregard the Spirit-inspired prophecies, we quench the Holy
Spirit. It is much better to receive everything from the Lord in
child-like simplicity, than reject one word from God and so
grieve and quench the Spirit. Trust in the fact that the Holy
Spirit divides everything, as the Word of God tells us: 'But all
these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every
man severally as He will' (I Cor. 12 : 11).
'Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of
any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old
time by the will of man: but holy man of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost' (2 Peter I : 20, 21). If there is
something of which the meaning is not immediately understood,
ask the Spirit to explain it to you. He is the Author. He will
make everything clear.
It is wonderful to notice how the Lord fulfills His words
literally. God stands behind His own words and He fulfills them,
too. 'I will hasten my word to perform it' (Jer. I : 12).
Neither can we reject the prophecies of the Old Testament,
because these prophecies are a ministry unto us, the Church of
the End Time.
'Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and
searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should
come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should
follow. Unto who is was revealed, that not unto themselves, but
unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported
unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels
desire to look into' (l Peter I : 10-12).
'We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye
do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark
place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts'
(2 Peter 1 : 19).
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Seek after prophecy
God desires that His words should be known on this earth
in these last times. We read this in many passages of the Bible:
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy' (Acts 2: 17b).
'And on my servants and on my hand maidens I will pour
out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy' (vs. 18).
In some measure it is true that God is hindered in fulfilling
His plans, as when there is nobody to speak the words of God.
'Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His
secret unto His servants the prophets' (Amos 3 : 7).
It has been proved that churches where the gift of
prophecy is in operation are churches that are full with the
power of God. The worship meetings open with the words ofthe
Lord, inspired by the Spirit and spoken by the people. Is is not
the highest form of worship to listen reverently to the words
which He speaks to us and to answer with praise, honoring
Him?
No prophesying for ourselves
Do not misuse the gift of prophecy by speaking for
yourself. The Lord does allow this sometimes and that is
wonderful, but we should not make a habit of this or seek
guidance along this way. We must use the gifts for the purpose
for which God had given them; namely, to the edification ofthe
Church.
Sometimes the Lord uses a prophecy to convince an
unbeliever. 'But if all prophesy, and there come in one that
believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is
judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made
manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God,
and report that God is in you of a truth' (1 Cor. 14: 24, 25).
The gift of prophecy is for all Spirit-filled believers
All that is happening in our time, in the Church as well as
in the world shows us that time is short. Daily the Lord is
baptizing people with His Spirit and prophets are being raised
up all over the world. We find encouragement in 1 Corinthians
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14 to use the gift for the fulfilment of God' purpose:
'Follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts' (vs. 1).
'I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye
prophesied' (vs. 5).
'For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn,
and all may be comforted' (vs. 31).
'Wherefore brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to
speak with tongues' (vs. 39).
'Let all things be done decently and in order' (vs. 40).
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THE GIFTS OF REVELATION
The first three gifts we discussed were the gifts of
utterance. The second group we call the gifts of revelation
because they operate through God revealing information in a
supernatural way.
1. The gift of the word of knowledge
2. The gift of the word of wisdom
3. The gift of the discerning of spirits.
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THE GIFT OF THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE
The gift of the word of knowledge is an ability, which the
Holy Spirit gives us, through which we are able to receive a
revelation from God about something which is not known to
our natural mind. This ability is not an enlargement of human
knowledge which can be achieved through studying. It is
possible to gain knowledge of the Bible, for instance, through
studying with our natural mind. This knowledge is of little value
if the Holy Spirit does not make the Word alive. It was the
scribes, among others, who persecuted and killed Jesus.
'For the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life'
(2 Cor. 3: 6b).
No clairvoyance
The gift of the word of knowledge is not clairvoyance or
fortune-telling, for this is from the devil. When a fortune-teller
or an occultist reveals various things in a supernatural way and
'reads' the future, you can be sure that it is a spirit from Satan
who gives these revelations. The devil endeavours to bring you,
through the means of clairvoyants and fortune-tellers, to a state
of depression and fear, and in this way tries to destroy you -
spirit, soul and body.
God's Word forbids us very clearly to associate ourselves
with these things (Lev. 19: 31; 20: 6; Deut. 18: 10-12). 'For all
that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord'
(Deut. 18: 12).
No psychology
The gift of the word of knowledge is not psychology either.
An unconverted person can study psychology. A psychologist
tries to penetrate into the soul of man and clear away any
conflicts. This surely is a very worthy effort. However, for a
child of God there is a better way. Only the Holy Spirit can fully
fathom the spirit and soul of man. Only God knows every need
and bondage of every human being. He is also the only One
Who can help and deliver in all circumstances.
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'For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of
God' (l Cor. 2 : lOb).
Divine knowledge
The Holy Spirit does not give us divine knowledge, for in
that case we would be omniscient. What we receive is the gift of
the word of knowledge.
This is the ability to receive just that part of divine
knowledge which we need, maybe for ourselves, maybe to help
others. That is why the Bible speaks about 'the word of
knowledge'. The word of knowledge is communicated to us by
the Holy Ghost. He makes something known to our hearts. We
know, therefore, what we are going to say, in contrast of the gift
of prophecy, when we only know the word after it has been
spoken. It is a gift of revelation. The things which the Lord
reveals through this gift can refer to natural, as well as to
spiritual matters, to things in the past, present or future. Very
often God reveals to us the diseases of people: sometimes the
sins or bondages which prevent a person from being healed or
from receiving the baptism with the Spirit. In the Old Testament
we see this gift in operation, too.
Joseph
With J oseph, this gift worked through the means of
interpretation of dreams. J oseph was used by God to make
known unto the Pharaoh of Egypt that a great famine would
come. This saved a great people from starvation (Gen. 41: 25-
32).
None of the magicians and wise men of Egypt could give
the interpretation of Pharaoh's peculiar dream. Joseph was
brought from the dungeon and taken to Pharaoh. God showed
Joseph (divine revelation) the meaning of Pharaoh's dream.
After Pharaoh had told him his dreams, he said:
'And I told this unto the magicians; but there was none
that could declare it to me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh: The
dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what He is
about to do' (Gen. 41 : 24-25).
When Joseph had made known the interpretation of the
45

dreams, Pharaoh and his servants had to acknowledge that it
was the wisdom of the Spirit of God which worked in Joseph.
'And Pharaoh said unto his servants: Can we find such a
one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh
said unto Joseph: Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this,
there is none so discreet and wise as thou art' (Gen. 41: 38-39).
The wisdom and knowledge of God have made foolish the
wisdom of this world.
Daniel
God revealed much to Daniel in dreams and visions -
much about the times of the empires, about the end of times, the
Antichrist ('The abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel
the prophet' - Matt. 24: 15), the Kingdom of God which shall
come to make an end to all the world empires.
We read of several dreams which Nebuchadnezzar had
and which no wise man or scientist, no magician or charmer,
could explain. In Daniel 2 : 26-45 we read that Nebuchadnezzar's
dream, as well as the interpretation, were shown to Daniel,
not because he had more knowledge than the wise men of the
world, 'but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets and
maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the
latter days' (Dan. 2: 28).
When Nebuchadnezzar had become proud, God was
going to judge him in order to humble him. In a dream, through
a word of knowledge, Daniel received the interpretation. God
was telling Nebuchadnezzar what judgment would come over
him. Daniel tried, through wise counsel, a word of wisdom
(Dan. 4: 27), to show the king a way to escape this terrible
judgment; but the king persevered in his pride, and judgment
took place after a short while (Dan. 4 : 28-36).
Because of these revelations, God was able to make
Himself known to Nebuchadnezzar in a mighty way and through
him, to all the peoples of the world. He wrote a letter to all the
peoples, nations, and languages of the earth, which he
concluded thus:
'Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the
King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways
judgment and those that walk in pride he is able to abase'
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(Dan. 4 :37).
Later, judgment was foretold to King Belshazzar through
a hand which wrote on the wall of the royal palace in a
supernatural way. None of the wise men and magicians could
tell the king what these strange words meant. Again Daniel was
brought unto the king. Through God's revelation, Daniel was
able to interpret the handwriting on the wall. God was making it
known that He was going to bring an end to the godless rule of
Belshazzar.
Samuel
God revealed to Samuel (l Sam. 9: 15-27 and I Sam. 10)
that Saul was going to be the future king and that he would
come to him and when he would come. He revealed to Samuel
Saul's concern about the lost asses and where these were to be
found; and further, what would happen to Saul after he left
Samuel. Many other things were revealed to Samuel, and for
this reason he was called 'the seer'.
With other prophets, too, we find these revelations of the
Holy Spirit. Often we read the expression, 'And the Word of the
Lord came to him' (I Kings 17: 2, 8, etc.). In general, the Lord
does not speak to us with an audible voice, but the Word of the
Lord comes to our heart.
Elijah
Through a word of knowledge, Elijah knew that God
would protect him in a time of drought and famine and feed him
at the brook Cerith. The ravens brought him bread and flesh,
and he drank from the brook. Later, when the brook dried up,
the Lord made known to him that he had to go to Zarephath,
where the Lord had commanded a widow to sustain him
(I Kings 17 : 2-9).
Elisha
Elisha also had many revelations of the Holy Ghost.
Elisha's servant Gehazi wanted to deceive him; he accepted
treasures from Naaman for himself and lied to Elisha. Elisha
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confronted him, saying:
'Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned
again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money,
. and to receive garments and oliveyards, and vineyards, and
sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?'
(2 Kings 5 : 26)
God not only revealed to Elisha what Gehazi had done,
what had happened and exactly what he had taken, but also the
thoughts and plans which were in the heart of this servant.
When a hostile king had declared war on the people of
Israel, the Lord revealed to His servant Elisha again and again
the place where the army of the enemy was going to attack. The
plans which the king of Syria discussed in his bedroom were
made known by God to Elisha (2 Kings 6: 12). A strong army
was then sent to the place where Elisha stayed. The army of the
king of Syria besieged the city. Elisha did not look at the army of
the enemy with his natural eye, but with his spiritual eye he saw
the armies of God, which were sent to help him. He said to his
servant: 'Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they
that be with them' (2 Kings 6 : 16).
Then Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of
his servant, and he also received a revelation, a word of
knowledge. 'And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee,
open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of
the young man: and he saw: and, behold the mountain was full
of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha'
(2 Kings 6: 17).
Jesus
In the New Testament we also find many examples of the
gift of the word of knowledge in operation. Very often we read
that Jesus answered because He knew the thoughts and
reasonings of the heart. 'But when Jesus perceived their
thoughts, He answering said unto them: What reason ye in your
hearts?' (Luke 5 : 22)
Jesus knew Nathanael and said of him: 'Behold an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile' (John I : 47b).
Nathanael was astounded and said: 'Whence knowest
Thou me?'
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Then Jesus answered him and said: 'Before that Philip
called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee'
(John I : 48b).
Through these revelations, Nathanael believed and cried
out: 'Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of
Israel' (John I : 50).
During the conversation which Jesus had with the
Samaritan woman, the Lord told her the whole story of her life
(John 4: 18), through which she first became a believer herself.
Because of her experience, many others from Samaria believed
as well. 'And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on
Him for the saying of the woman, which testified: He told me all
that ever I did' (John 4 : 39).
We see so clearly, especially in the Gospel of John, that the
Lord was entirely led by revelations, as He said Himself: 'Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but
what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth,
these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son,
and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will
shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel'
(John 5 : 19-20).
Jesus knew who would betray Him (John 6: 71). Jesus
knew that the illness of Lazarus would lead to the glory of the
Son of God (John 11 : 4). Jesus knew that Lazarus had died
while He was still four days' journey away from him
(John 11 : 11-17). Jesus knew the thoughts of the Pharisees
(Luke 6 : 8, 5: 22). He knew that with the lamed man who had
been let down to Him through the roof, He first had to take
away the burden of sin before He raised him up. Jesus Himself
did this, dismaying all those who saw it (Luke 5: 20-26).
Peter
It was through revelation, a word of knowledge, that Peter
knew of the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5 : 3-9). He
received instructions through a vision to preach the Gospel to
the Gentiles for the first time (Acts 10 : 11-16).
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Paul
The apostle Paul was led continually through revelations
(Gal. I : 12). It was because of a revelation that he knew that he
had to go to Jerusalem after fourteen years (Gal. 2 : 2). It was
through a word of knowledge that Paul knew that the crippled
man at Lystra, who had never been able to walk, had faith to
receive healing.
'The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding
him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a
loud voice: Stand upright on thy feet And he leaped and walked'
(Acts 14 : 9-10).
See how the Holy Spirit guided Paul on his journeys;
forbad him to speak the Word in Asia; led him on to Troas and
how God made it known to him in a dream that he should go
over to Macedonia. 'And a vision appeared to Paul in the night;
there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him saying: Come
over into Macedonia, and help us' (Acts 16 : 9).
When Paul was being transported to Rome as a prisoner,
he knew, through a word of knowledge, that the ship and the
crew were going to be in danger. 'Sirs, I perceive that this voyage
will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and
ship, but also of our lives' (Acts 27 : 10).
Later, when the heavy weather had come indeed, God
made it known to him that all who here with him on the ship
were going to be safe (Acts 27 : 24).
In the letter to the Ephesians, we read that the Gospel
which is being preached to the Gentiles had been hidden until
the time it was revealed unto Paul and the other apostles and
prophets. God revealed that the Gentiles were fellow heirs of the
promise in Christ Jesus.
'Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my
knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not
made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His
holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles
should be fellowheirs and of the same body, and partakers of
His promise in Christ by the Gospel' (Eph. 3 : 4-6).
50

For us all
God desires to make known the riches of the Gospel, not
only to Paul, but to us all.
'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His
Spirit' (I Cor. 2 : 9-10). God, thro\lgh the Holy Spirit, wants to
reveal to everyone all we need to know in the ministry which
God has given us.
Jesus said: 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth
on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works
than these shall he do' (John 14 : 12).
This is not a word for very special preachers, but for
everyone who believes. Just as Jesus knew everything about the
life of the Samaritan woman, in order to make her believe, so the
Spirit wants to reveal everything to us today to be able to help
others.
When Ben Hoekendijk was in French Guiana and for this
first time in his life had to preach in French, the Lord helped him
in a very special way, by giving him many revelations about the
people in the gathering. He wrote:
For the first time during the meeting, it was dead quiet.
I forgot the things around me, because the Holy Spirit
began to speak to my heart ... While it was absolutely
quiet, I told the people through the microphone what the
Lord was revealing to me: 'It is a man - on the left side of
the room - he is in pain -left, underneath his stomach -
he is in pain now - he has been ill for years - he has had
an operation.' Suddenly I was interrupted by a man who
stood up and cried: 'That is me, that is me!' Amazement
with the people; mumbling among the crowd. He came
forward and told through the microphone that what the
Lord had revealed to me, literally applied to him. He had
this pain, which I had described, already seven years, had
undergone an operation, but was always in pain. But the
pain had gone. Yes, he was very sure. He was healed.
Gloire it Dieu! Gloire it Dieu! (Glory to God!) This man
was sitting on the left side of the room. Literally and
immediately the revelation had come true and the people
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were astonished. For the first time in history, a nation saw
the gifts of the Spirit in operation. It moved them to the
depths of their hearts. This is the answer to the hunger of
their soul. For this they have longed; to serve a living God;
to believe a joyful Gospel; to see miracles happen in a
meeting!
This young preacher had the privilege of leading thousands of
souls to the Lord, because the people flocked to the meetings
and everyone spoke about the supernatural things which God
did through his ministry.
In a meeting in Amsterdam, a woman came forward for
healing. She told us that she had been prayed for many times,
but had not received healing. Brother Karel Hoekendijk asked
her: 'Shall we ask the Lord to reveal to us why you are not
healed?' She agreed. He laid hands on her and the Lord revealed
that she had resentment in her heart; there was a woman who
had caused her much sorrow, who had taken her husband from
her. She hated this woman and could not forgive her. She began
to weep and said: 'Yes, that is true, I cannot forgive her; I hate
this woman.' Brother Hoekendijk then said: 'Would you like the
Lord to deliver you from it; shall we ask Him?' 'Yes, please,' was
the answer. Then this need was taken to the Lord, the power of
this spirit of hatred in her was broken, and immediately she was
healed of her complaint. Her leg, which had been stiff, and
which she had not been able to move, was now healed and the
Lord was praised and honoured for her complete deliverance.
In one of the meetings in Holland, a woman had been
converted. She knew she was a child of God, washed in the
blood of Jesus. Yet she did not have joy. Each time she entered a
meeting, she was overwhelmed by sadness and wept continually.
One day, she asked for prayer. The Lord led a young sister to lay
hands on her, and the Lord revealed to her that she had been to a
fortune teller and that she still kept letters of this fortune teller in
her home. Through these letters the power of the soothsaying
spirits had a hold on her. She was delivered of this power, and
she cleaned her home of everything which had to do with occult
powers. She became ajoyful child ofthe Lord, and was baptized
with the Spirit soon afterwards.
We were at a meeting of Brother Branham when a man
came forward for healing. The Holy Spirit revealed to Brother
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Branham that this man was a preacher who had just come from
America and that he lived in sin. Through this, he was
absolutely broken, confessed his sin, dedicated himself to the
Lord anew and was wonderfully healed. We saw many other
wonderful revelations under the ministry of Brother Branham.
Every child of God needs this gift, if we really want to be
led by the Spirit in everything we say and do. When we lay hands
on sick people, it is necessary to ask the Lord for a word of
knowledge, in order to know what we must do. Sometimes it is
necessary that unconfessed sins are cleared away first;
sometimes demon powers of magnetism or spiritism have to be
broken. Someone may come forward for healing, mentioning
all sorts of aches and pains; but the Lord may show that the real
cause of the illness is the state of the soul. In such a case a
spiritual problem has to be solved first. It happens occasionally
that someone comes forward for healing who has no faith to be
healed. The Lord will reveal this to us through a word of
knowledge. All to be able to serve Him better.
'Let all things be done unto edifying' (l Cor. 14: 26b).
It is therefore necessary, with the gift of the word of
knowledge, to have the gift of the word of wisdom, too. For
instance, when the Lord reveals through the first gift that
someone has no faith to be healed, although he has asked for the
laying on of hands, then we need immediately a word of
wisdom. Through this we know how to speak and to act further,
to build up the faith so that the person shall receive healing and
the Lord will be glorified. The natural understanding would say
in such a case: 'You have no faith, we cannot do anything,' but
the word of wisdom will show us how this man's faith can be
built up.
53

THE GIFT OF THE WORD OF WISDOM
Just as the gift of tongues is incomplete in operation to the
edification of the Church without the gift of the interpretation
of tongues, so the gift of the word of knowledge is incomplete
without the gift of the word of wisdom.
What is the gift of the word of wisdom? Like all gifts of the
Spirit, it is supernatural and does not work through our
understanding. The operations and products of this gift are also
inspired by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12: 11). Through the gift of
knowledge, the Lord reveals to us things of which we know
nothing with our natural understanding; through the gift of
wisdom He reveals to us what we must do or speak after He has
shown us something.
After God had revealed to Joseph that seven plenteous
years and seven years of famine would come over Egypt, He
made known through a word of wisdom what Pharoah had to
do to save the peoplefrom starvation (Gen. 41: 33-36). Through
this advice, not only were the Egyptians saved, but God also
carried out His plan with regard to the people of Israel.
God showed King Nebuchadnezzar, through a word of
knowledge to Daniel, that judgment was about to take place.
Then through a word of wisdom, Daniel gave the king advice as
to what he should do to escape the judgment.
The Lord gives this gift especially to those whom He
appoints to lead a people. Joshua received this gift when Moses
laid hands on him.
King Solomon asked God for knowledge and wisdom to
lead the people of Israel. The Bible gives us an example of this
gift in operation in a very difficult situation when justice had to
be administrated. Two women came to the king with a living
child and a dead child, and nobody was able to tell to whom the
dead child and to whom the living child belonged. No witnesses
and no laws could give clarity. But through a word of wisdom,
Solomon knew what he should do. He commanded: 'Bring me a
sword and divide the living child in two.' Immediately, it was
known which woman was the mother of the living child. Then
all people recognized that the wisdom of God was in the king to
do judgment (l Kings 3: 16-28).
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Through the gift of wisdom, we are often led to give an
entirely different answer in situations which appear to be exactly
the same. At the death of Lazarus, Martha and Mary came with
the same need to Jesus. They both used the words: 'Lord, if
Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.' In His answer to
Martha, Jesus led her to believe in the Lord of life and death,
and she confessed her faith in Him as the Christ, the son of God.
There was no need for Him to do this with Mary; she had
already 'chosen that good part' (Luke 10 : 42). His answer to her
was anger against the power of death and He spoke of the
resurrection of Lazarus (John 11 : 21-44).
When the Lord, through a word of knowledge, reveals a
serious illness, we might have to express this revelation in one
case, but not in another. A person who knows what his desease
is may be edified when he hears that the Lord has revealed his
illness to the servant of the Lord who is ministering to him. On
the other hand, if someone does not know that he is suffering
from a serious illness and we tell him: 'You have cancer' or
'You have a heart disease', the patient could be so terrified, that
he would not be in a state to receive his healing. After he has
been ministered to, he would still be thinking: 'Oh, I have
cancer', or 'Oh, I am a heart patient'. Through the shock he
would forget that the Lord only revealed it to take the desease
away. Therefore, divine wisdom can often make it clear to us
that we should not name the disease, or very carefully explain
something to the patient, which will serve to build up his faith.
Especially when the Lord shows us sin, which prevents
healing, we should not mention this in the meeting. Usually the
Lord will make it clear to us that we should further minister to
such a person privately.
Sometimes people who come forward for healing must
first be led to Christ, so that they know Him as their Redeemer
and Saviour. Then, when they have become a child of God, they
have a right to be healed, for healing is the children's bread
(Matt. 15: 26).
The Lord might lead us to ask: 'If the Lord would heal you
now, would you then give Him your life?' The Lord desires to
make His glory known through signs and wonders. Healing is a
sign by which souls are being led from darkness into His
wonderful light.
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Jesus once said to a sick person, first: 'Man, thy sins are
forgiven thee' and later, 'Arise, and take up thy couch, and go
into thine house', proving that He had power on earth to forgive
sins (Luke 5 : 20-26). On one occasion He said to a man who had
been ill for thirty-eight years, 'Behold, thou art made whole: sin
no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee' (John 5: 14).
Through this, He showed that this disease was a result of sin.
On another occasion, when they brought a blind man to
Jesus, they asked Him the question: 'Master, who did Sill, this
man, or his parents, that he was born blind?'
And Jesus answered: 'Neither this man sinned, nor his
parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in
him' (John 9: 3).
Like Jesus, we also must work the works of Him that sent
us while it is day (vs. 4) and not allow ourselves to be occupied
with the sins of the people. For as the Father has sent Jesus, so
He has sent us (John 20: 21).
When the Parisees came with a trick question to Jesus, He
sometimes answered them, through the gift of wisdom, by
asking them another question (Matt. 21 : 23-27). At one time,
when they tempted Him concerning the tribute, He sa w through
their craftiness and answered them with a word of wisdom:
'Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and
unto God the things which be God's' (Luke 20 : 25). Because of
His words of wisdom, 'they could not take hold of His words'
(vs. 26) and very often none dared to ask Him another question.
Was Jesus not led through divine wisdom when they
brought that adulterous woman to Him? (John 8: 3-11) The
Law of Moses commanded that she should be stoned and the
law is of God. Look how Jesus exposed these hypocrites
through the word: 'He that is without sin among you, let him
first cast a stone at her' (John 8: 7).
Also note the combination of the word of knowledge and
the word of wisdom in the conversation of Jesus with the
Samaritan woman. So we must also in our ministry, in our
conversations, in answer to trick questions, even when we
answer letters, pray continually for knowledge and wisdom. Not
what people tell us, but what the Lord shows us is the truth. Not
what we would answer with our understanding or feeling, but
what the Lord gives to us, is the word of wisdom.
56

The unbelieving highpriest Caiaphas speaks through the
Holy Ghost the word: 'Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that
it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and
that the whole nation perish not' (John 11 : 50).
In the same way, the Holy Spirit put the word of wisdom in
the mouth of Gamaliel: 'For if this counsel or this work be of
men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot
overthrow it' (Acts 5: 38-39).
Our meetings would be very different if all were led by the
Spirit of wisdom. During the first Church Council meeting,
described to us in Acts 15, difficult problems had to be
discussed. The Church was saved from controversy and schism,
because they all listened to the word of wisdom which Peter and
James spoke. At the word of divine wisdom, all become silent
(vs. 12), while at the word of human wisdom, contradiction
comes, for one always seems to know better than the other. It is
wiser to remain silent and quietly speak in tongues and cast out
these spirits of controversy, than to partake in such discussions.
When we pray silently for the Spirit of wisdom, then we find that
the Lord gives to us or to someone else a word through which
hearts are moved and people led in the way of truth.
Divine wisdom does not bring confusion, but peace
(l Cor. 14: 33).
In the letter of James, human wisdom and divine wisdom
are placed opposite to each other. Human wisdom is earthly,
unspiritual, evil. It works strife and jealousy in the hearts and
causes confusion and evil practice (James3: 3-16).
'But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and
good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy'
(James 3 : 17).
57

THE GIFT OF THE DISCERNING OF SPIRITS
The gift of the discerning of spirits is not a gift to discern or
judge people.
Through this gift, God enables us to discover the presence
of evil spirits and to know what spirits they are in order for us to
be able to cast them out.
Jesus said: 'In my Name they (the believers) shall cast out
devils' (Mark 16: 17).
Because it is mentioned as one of the first signs which shall
follow the believers, we know also that the Lord wants to give
the ability to discern the spirits to all. How would we otherwise
be able to do this work? There are still people who deny the
existence of evil spirits. This is how Satan blinds the eyes. There
is nothing he desires more than that we should not recognize
him and his agents. Only born-again people, filled with the Holy
Ghost, see the battle of Satan and his hosts against man and
especially against the children of God.
'But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them because they are spiritually discerned' (l COL 2: 14).
'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places'
(Eph. 6: 12).
Satan tempts us continually to battle against flesh and
blood. If he can lead us to strife and schisms, he laughs. It is his
intention to try to get us in his power again. If he succeeds in
sowing hatred and implacability in our hearts, then he again has
an advantage over us. That is why Paul writes that he forgives
everything and everybody in advance, before the face of Christ.
'Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not
ignorant of his devices' (2 COL 2: 11).
There are not only evil spirits; but the angels of God are
spirits as well (Heb. I : 7, 14).
The angels are ministering spirits of God; the demons are
ministering spirits of Satan. Originally, Satan and his ministers
were also angels of God, but when he exalted himself and
wanted to be like God, he was cast out of heaven
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(lsa. 14: 12; Ez. 28 : 14-17). The word 'angel' means: mInIster,
servant. And so we read in the Bible about angels of God and
angels of Satan (Rev. 12: 7-9). The judgment of the everlasting
fire is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25: 41).
Recognizing the Holy Spirit and the angels of God is also
possible through the gift of discerning of spirits. The angels of
God are sent out to minister to God' children (Heb. 1 : 14). There
are also angels who protect the children (Matt. 18: 10). Praise
the Lord!
Examples
We see the gift ofthe discerning of spirits in operation with
John the Baptist when he calls the Pharisees 'generation of
vipers'. It is clear that he calls them by that which he saw in them
and controlled them. While they came to him to be baptized, he
saw their hypocrisy and called them by the name of the spirits
which controlled them. Jesus also called them 'serpents and
generation of vipers' (Matt. 12: 34,23: 33).
Everywhere Jesus went, the demon powers showed
themselves. He called them by their names and cast them out. In
Mark I : 21-27 we read of an unclean spirit which cried out that
he knew Jesus as the Holy One of God. But Jesus commanded
him to be silent and to leave the person. Under convulsions and
loud crying, the spirit had to leave this man because of the
authority of Jesus. And they were all amazed this new doctrine
with authority.
It is possible for legions or demons to possess one person,
as we see in the story of the Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5: 1-20).
We read here also that Jesus commanded the spirits to make
known their name (vs. 9). It is clear that it is easier to cast out
demons when we know their names.
Sometimes we have to command them in Jesus' name to
make known their name. But very often the Lord wants to reveal
the names of the spirits through the gifts of the discerning of
spirits. Sometimes we know the name of the spirit through
inspiration, sometimes through visions and revelations. When
two of us are dealing with a demon-possessed person, it often
happens that, while one knows the names of the powers through
inspiration, they are revealed to the other through a revelation.
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It has often happened to me that, while I was breaking the
powers of spiritism, magnetism, magic etc. in a person's life, the
one who was ministering with me saw that iron chains were
being broken. When I had finished casting out all the evil
powers which were there, all the iron fetters were broken, too.
Praise the Lord! This was a confirmation that the work was
finished and the captive free!
The variety in the spirit world is so great that I would like
to compare it with the animal world. There are big and small
spirits. There are those which have monstrous, beastlike forms,
but there are also others who reveal themselves as human beings
or as angels of light. Many diseases are evil powers. Jesus calls
epilipsy a devil (Luke 9: 42). He speaks of a spirit of infirmity,
which had kept a woman in bondage for eighteen years, so that
her back was totally bent and she was unable to lift herself up
(Luke 13: 11). Jesus cast out a deaf and dumb spirit
(Mark 9: 25) and a dumb spirit (Luke II : 14). We need not
conclude from this that all infirmity, deafness and dumbness are
caused by indwelling demons. There may be a lack of
something, a deficiency. Only through the gift of the discerning
of spirits can we know whether there are demons or not, and
what they are.
Never think that evil spirits can not be present with a child
of God. Many spirits of Satan find themselves a way into the
lives of the children of the Lord, spirits which cause various
forms of possession.
In Paramaribo, an official who had been charmed, came
to us for deliverance. An employee who hated him had gone to a
loekoeman (witchdoctor) in the jungle with some dried up
perspiration taken from off his watch. He was charmed from a
distance and the most terrible things began to happen to him
afterwards. He got growths as hard and as large as a coconut. As
soon as the surgeon had taken them away, another, even harder
and larger growth appeared at almost the same place. His teeth
broke off like cheap glass; he had trouble with his eyes; his arms
and legs were suddenly paralyzed; sometimes he lost his
memory and did not know who he was and what he was doing.
His wife and daughter were also attacked in a most terrible way.
After the power of Satan had been broken in this man's
life, he and his family were completely delivered and healed.
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Praise God, that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have
received power to destroy the works of the devil.
There was a young girl from Indonesia in the meeting; she
was converted and baptized with the Spirit, but often had spells
of anger and possession. In the young people's prayer meeting
they fasted and prayed for her. The Lord revealed to one ofthe
young people an idol, in front of which sacrifices were being made
Evidently, the girl had been dedicated to the idols when she was
still a child, and in this way had come into the power of the evil
spirits. After these powers were broken, this girl was free and a
happy child of the Lord.
The Lord sometimes shows us the causes through which
evil spirits gain control over someone. Yet it is not always our
task to find out why demon possession or disease had entered a
life; our commission is: 'Cast out demons' (Matt. lO: 8b). When
a demon-possessed or sick person is brought to us, we should
not ask ourselves, 'Who has sinned, he or his parents', but
realize that they are brought to us in order that the glory of God
might be revealed, just as with the man born blind in John 9: 3.
The Church of Jesus Christ stands guilty here for not doing
enough of these works.
Many spirits have entered the Church through spiritism
and magnetism. These magnetic healers are often being
accepted as a blessing and occupy important places in the
Churches. Magnetism has been considered a 'divine gift'; a
'force of nature' to aid us, but people do not realize that such
powers are of the devil. 'My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge' (Hosea 4: 6).
In Deuteronomy 18: 9-12 we read of various abominations,
which are forbidden to God's people; these abominations
were the reason that God, in His anger, destroyed whole
nations. Magnetism is one of these abominations. But today
people no longer know the difference between good en evil.
Indeed Satan often appears in a religious form, with pious
words and prayers.
Jesus speaks about this: 'Not everyone that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the the kingdom of heaven; but he
that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will
say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
Thy name and in Thy name cast out devils and in Thy name
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done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them,
I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity'
(Matt. 7: 21-23).
Note that it does not tell us here that Jesus will say to those
who have cast out demons in His name: I never knew you. Here
it concerns the workers of iniquity, who say: 'Lord, Lord', but
who refuse to do the will of the Father. There are magnetic
healers who speak pious words and sometimes even pray the
Lord's prayer; who say that they do everything through divine
power or through Christ 'in' them, but watch what they do. They
do not lay hands on people or cast out demons in the name of
Jesus. The abomination of fortune-telling is also a wide-spread
sin among Christians. Some are of the opinion that if a fortune
teller has spoken the truth, it must be right. 'But it has come
true', they would say. Do not be misled. Soothsaying spirits will
always begin by telling you something which is true, and then,
when your are fascinated, they will bind you in their sinister
world of lies and deceit. Once the apostle Paul was followed by a
woman who had a spirit of divination. Although this spirit
spoke the truth, Paul did not like this propaganda and cast out
the spirit (Acts 16: 16-18).
The Lord Jesus does not give us the commission to listen
to what the spirits have to say. He gives us the commission to
cast them out in His name. 'Hold thy peace and come out of
him' (Luke 4: 35) is what Jesus continually said to evil spirits.
Let us follow this good example. I know preachers who have
become mixed up with spiritism, because they listened to evil
spirits. They thought that if they had spoken with the spirits,
they would learn more of the world of demons and be able to
cast them out better. The contrary is true. When we listen to
them, we are being trapped into their world of lies and deceit.
There are several spirits whose names are mentioned to us
in the Bible. There is a spirit of the antichrist (I John 4: 3). There
is also the spirit of error (l John4: 6, 2 Thess. 2: 11). There is a
spirit of bondage (Rom. 8: 15), which wants to keep people
under the law, in fear. To be bound to various laws and rules,
even among the people of God, is the work of Satan.
The Bible speaks of 'rudiments of the world' which are
spirits also world spirits. 'Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ
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from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the
world, are ye subject to ordinances?' (Col. 2 : 20)
'But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are
known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly
elements (rudiments), whereunto ye desire again to be in
bondage?' (Gal. 4: 9)
Fear or faint-heartedness is a power of Satan. 'For God
hath not given us the spirit offear, but of power .. .' (2 Tim. 1 : 7)
There are many spirits of false doctrines, also called
seducing spirits. 'Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils' (1 Tim. 4: 1).
There is a spirit of whoredom, which makes people
worship other gods. 'My people ask counsel at their stocks, and
their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath
caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under
their God' (Hosea 4: 12).
The spirit of spiritual fornication or adultery tries to enter
our churches, leading people from the unity of God and making
them worship three separate gods - Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
'Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord'
(Deut. 6: 4).
'Thou shalt have no other gods before Me' (Ex. 20 : 3).
'The first of all commandments is: Hear, 0 Israel: the Lord
our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart' (Mark 12: 29).
'We know . .. that there is none other God but one'
(l Cor. 8 : 4).
'Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well'
(James2 : 19).
The evil spirits also know that God is one and they tremble
before Him. When we worship Jesus Christ, we worship in Him
the Father also, for He and the Father are one (John 10 : 30).
The Holy Spirit is the power Who works everything in us.
together they remain one God.
We must return to the recognition and worship of the only
true God: Father-Son-Holy Ghost; everything outside this is the
influence of the spirit of whoredom.
The Bible also mentions to us a spirit of deep sleep
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(Rom. 11 : 8, Isa. 29 : 10). Have you ever felt the influence of
these sleep spirits in church service? You can resist them in
yourself and in your neighbour in the name of Jesus. You will
. notice with joy how soon these spirits react when you quietly
break their power.
There is a perverse spirit (lsa. 19: 14); a lying spirit
'(1 Kings 22: 22-23); a spirit of jealousy (Numbers 5 : 14). There
are many other spirits which are not mentioned in the Bible, but
the Holy Spirit teaches us to recognize them all.
Jesus said: 'I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye
cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is
come, He will guide you into all truth' (John 16 : 12-13).
There are spirits of strife and of criticism, sensual spirits,
spirits of anxiety, spirits of murder and suicide, spirits of
depression, of hallucinations, obsessions, of pride, hatred, selfpity,
nagging spirits, gloomy spirits, peevish spirits, sadistic
spirits, cursing spirits. There are various sorts of spirits of
insanity, oppression, fixation, sexuality, etc. There are spirits of
alcohol, nicotine, morphia, cocaine, heroine and other doping
spirits, which take people captive until they are completely
destroyed.
However, we must understand that sins are not spirits, but
through sin we come into the power of the demons. Jesus says:
'Verily, verily, 1 say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the
servant of sin' (John 8: 34).
To every sin belongs a particular power. For instance,
someone who starts using alcohol regularly soon notices that he
cannot do without it. A spirit of alcohol has taken possession of
him and will try to" bind him more and more, until he is ruined
completely, spiritually as well as materially.
Or someone begins telling a little lie. 'Just a white lie does
not matter', they say. But a lying spirit will enter and m~ke this
person lie more and more. Such people lie without being aware
of it themselves and in the end they cannot discern what is the
truth and what is a lie. When you notice these things perhaps
with your children, do not punish them all the time, but break
the power of this lying spirit in your child and he shall be free.
It is the same with all sins. If you consult a fortune teller,
you come into the power of witchcraft and you will want to go to
fortune tellers more and more, while fear, restlessness en
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depression begin to control your life. Astrology is another sin
through which we come into the power of Satan. The prophet
Isaiah puts it on the same level with enchantments and
witchcraft.
'For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: ... Therefore
shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it
riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to
put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which
thou shalt not know. Stand now with thine enchantments, and
with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured
from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou
mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy
counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly
prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that
shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire
shall burn them' (Isa47: 10-14).
When you go to a magnetic healer to have your disease
charmed, the power of magnetism robs you of your joy and puts
a dark cloud over your life. When later you go for healing to a
servant of the Lord, he will first have to break these powers
before you can receive healing from the Lord. Also, when you
desire to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, you must first be
delivered from these evil powers, and this is often quite a battle.
Once a woman came to me in great need. I was privileged
to lead her to Jesus, and with tears, she received Him as her
Saviour. Afterwards she told me that she was afraid to go home,
because her husband was terribly angry and cursed all day long.
I told her that these were evil powers controlling her husband.
We knelt together and brought this man before the face of Jesus.
Then, from a distance, we cast out these spirits of strife, temper
and this cursing spirit. We also cleansed the house of every
unclean power. I said to this sister: 'Don't be afraid to go home,
you will find a new husband.' And it was true. Everyone in the
neighbourhood noticed it and they asked the woman: 'What has
happened to your husband? He no longer uses bad language and
is so friendly.' The following week he came to the meeting
himself to give his life to Jesus.
We must help the people God brings us in contact with, by
fighting the powers which bind them. Only when the powers in
them are broken, are they able to come to Jesus and be further
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delivered.
There are children of the Lord who are being warned
against the casting out of demons on the grounds of Jesus' words:
'When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh
through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he
saith: I will return into my house from whence I came out; and
when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then
goeth he, and taketh with himself other spirits more wicked than
himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of
that man is worse than the first' (Matt. 12: 43-45).
The Lord Jesus does not tell us this to keep us from casting
out evil spirits - His commission is 'cast out demons'
(Matt. 10: 8). He says this about the evil and adulterous
generations of the Pharisees, who refuse to repent
(Matt. 12: 38-45). When someone has been delivered from an
evil power, his 'house' must not remain empty. He must repent
and give his life to Jesus. Then the Lord Himself will occupy that
empty place. It is also important for such a person to be baptized
with the Spirit soon. The evil spirit will indeed return to the
house which they have left. Therefore, someone who has been
delivered has to learn how to fight against the powers, which
want to return. This is only possible in the power of the baptism
with the Spirit. The many spirits we have described dwell in or
control the minds of persons. There are also spirits which dwell
in the body of a man and torment his flesh; e.g., cancer, tumour,
epilipsy, asthma, etc.
When we use the gift of the discerning of spiritis in the
ministry of healing, it is amazing to see how cancer spirits, for
instance, react at praying in tongues. When the name of Jesus is
pronounced with authority, we see them shrink and shrivel. We
continue the battle until the Lord shows us that the power has
disappeared. When in a particular case we do not gain victory,
prayer and fasting is the only way. 'This kind goeth not out but
by prayer and fasting' (Matt. 17 : 21).
All life is spirit. When some spirit or other manifests itself,
it takes form; it uses a person or matter, some means or other.
All manifestation is revelation of spirit - of the spirit of man,
which is in him; of the Holy Spirit; or of one or more spirits of
Satan. The spirit of man only understands the things of man,
just as the Holy Spirit knows what is in God.
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'For what man knoweth the things of man save the spirit of
man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no
man, but the Spirit of God' (I Cor. 2 : 11).
The evil spirits have knowledge concerning spiritual
things. They believe that God is one and tremble before Him
(James 2: 19).
They know Jesus (Mark I : 23, 24; 5: 7).
They know Paul (Acts 19: I~).
Much of God is revealed to us through the Holy Spirit
(l Cor. 2: 10-16).
When we do not use the gifts of the Spirit as taught in
1 Cor. 14, wrong spirits will try to enter the Church to cause
confusion. Those in charge are often afraid to stop wrong
things, because they think that all spiritual manifestations are
manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In many churches, the most
terrible situations have arisen because of this. God's Word says:
'Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they
are of God ... Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist
whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now
already is it in the world' (l John 4: 13).
'Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man
speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no
man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost'
(l Cor. 12: 3).
Where Jesus is praised and honoured as Lord, there we
can see the Holy Spirit at work. Would there be anything more
necessary for the children of God than to possess the gift of the
discerning of spirits? Satan has been able to do his destructive
work in the world and even in the children of God long enough.
Jesus has triumphed over all the powers of the enemy and
disarmed them at the cross of Calvary. .
'And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a
shew of them openly, triumphing over them' (Col. 2 : 15).
Why should we fear any longer? Jesus has given us power
over all the power of the enemy. 'Behold, I give unto you power
to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you' (Luke 10: 19).
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See also Ephesians I : 21-23, 2 : 6.
Awake, people of God. Cease to battle against flesh and
blood, but fight against the armies of Satan.
'For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the
flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ' (2 Cor. 10 : 3-5).
'Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto
you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand
in the evil day and having done all, to stand' (Eph. 6: 10-13).
Through the gift of the discerning of spirits, God makes
known to us, humble instruments in His hand, what and how
many spirits are present. We can recognize them and then fight
them better in the name of Jesus. These demons must leave, as
Jesus says: 'In My name shall they cast out devils' (Mark 16: 17).
Jesus cast out the spirits with His word (Matt. 8: 16).
The word of authority, spoken in confident faith, gives
victory over all the power of Satan.
'Have faith in God ... whosoever shall believe that those
things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have
whatsoever he saith' (Mark 11 : 22b, 23).
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THE GIFTS OF POWER
I. The gift of faith
2. The gift of healing
3. The gift of the working of miracles
The last three gifts of the Spirit we call gifts of power,
because they work through the power of God.
'For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which
Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient,
by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the
power of the Spirit of God' (Rom. 15: 18-19).
This power is in us through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 : 8).
'But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us'
(2 Cor. 4 : 7).
'Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think' (Eph. 3 : 20).
We also call these gifts 'the gifts of communication',
because through this gift we can communicate the power of God
to others.
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THE GIFT OF FAITH
When we speak about the gift of faith, we do not mean the
faith which leads to salvation, through which we are justified, of
which we read in Romans 5 : I and Galatians 3: 8. But it is one of
the nine gifts of the Spirit through which we are able to believe
that the absolute impossible shall come to pass, and also, to
communicate this faith to others.
Jesus
With the Lord Jesus we see an example of this gift in operation
when He cursed the fig tree with the words: 'No man eat fruit of
thee hereafter for ever' (Mark 11 : 14b).
The next morning the tree had dried up from the roots.
When this amazed the disciples, Jesus said: 'Have faith in God'
(Have the faith of God - Greek) (Mark II : 22b).
The faith of God is this: speak and it is there, command
and it comes to pass. It is the faith through which heaven and
earth were created.
·'For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto
this mountain: Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those
things which he saith come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he
saith' (Mark 11 : 23). The Lord teaches us here to use the gift of
faith by believing without doubting that what we say shall come
to pass.
In the same way, when we pray for something, we must
believe that we have received it. 'Therefore I say unto you, what
things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them' (Mark 11 : 24). So we thank and
praise the Lord for that which we have asked Him and which He
is going to give us. It was at the shout of praise that the walls of
Jericho fell down!
Peter
When the man who was lame from his mother's womb was
healed, we see how Peter used the gift of faith in the same way as
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Jesus taught.
'Such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand,
and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones
received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and
entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and
praising God' (Acts 3: 6b-8).
Peter says here that he gives something which he possesses
himself. He communicated the resurrection power of Jesus, in
faith, through speaking the word. He believed that what he said
would come to pass.
Joshua
In the same way, Joshua performed one of the greatest
miracles which have ever taken place. He said:
'Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, moon, in the
valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the 'moon stayed,
until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is
not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in
the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole
day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the
Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for
Israel' (Joshua 10: 12-14).
Elijah
The gift of faith also gives courage to challenge everyone
to come and see the miracle which God is going to perform. We
see this with Elijah, when he challenged Ahab, all Israel, and the
prophets of Baal. Elijah prayed fire from heaven in order to lead
the people back to God (I Kings 18 : 18-24). We do the same
when we invite the sick to come forward for healing. We invite
everyone to watch the miracles God is going to do. We believe
that the sick are going to be healed. Sometimes we bring them
near the microphone, so everyone shall be able to hear when
they tell about the miracle of their healing. This is even more
convincing when the sick are ministered to via television or
radio. This is the challenge of faith, the gift of faith in operation.
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Elisha
Through his servant, Elisha directed Naaman the leper:
'Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come
again to thee, and thou shalt be clean' (2 Kings 5: 10). And as the
prophet had spoken, so it came to pass.
The woman with the issue of blood
A woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years
believed for her healing.
'For she said, if I may touch but His clothes, I shall be
whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up;
and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague'
(Mark 5 : 28).
The Roman centurion
The Lord said the Roman centurion had greater faith than
anyone in Israel. The centurion had said to Jesus: 'Speak the
word only, and my servant shall be healed' (Matt. 8: 8b).
Then Jesus answered: 'Go thy way; and as thou hast
believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in
the selfsame hour' (vs. 13).
Jairus
When Jalrus' daughter had died, he had faith and asked
Jesus: 'My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy
hand upon her, and she shall live' (Matt. 9: 18b).
Faith in miracles
It is worth reading in Hebrews 11 what the heroes of faith
have accomplished. Yet the Lord expects from us even greater
works. 'And these all, having obtained a good report through
faith, received not the promise: God having provided some
better thing for us' (Heb. 11 : 39).
We have received the prorriis'e; namely, the promise of the
Father, the Holy Spirit. This is 'the better thing' which has been
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given to us, through which we are being 'made perfect' (vs. 40).
God's plan with us is so much greater than we have ever known,
but it is all through faith. It is our faith that overcomes the world
(lJohn5:4).
The other aspect of the gift of faith is the communication
of faith to others. With all we do and speak, it is necessary to
exercise this operation of the gift of faith. With our preaching,
witnessing and singing, everything should be directed at
building up the faith in others.
Many people are of the OpInIOn that the Lord Jesus
performed miracles regardless whether there was faith or not.
But this is not so; where there was no faith, even Jesus could do
very little. 'And He did not many mighty works there because of
their unbelief' (Matt. 13: 58).
'And He could there do no mighty work ... And He
marvelled because of their unbelief' (Mark 6 : 5,6).
When a father who had no faith came with his possessed
boy to the Lord Jesus, we see how Jesus, through carefully
chosen words, works faith in the heart of the man. 'If thou canst
believe, all things are possible to him that believeth'
(Mark 9: 23).
With the Canaanite woman, the Lord exercised her faith
by not answering her immediately. It is evident from the
conversation how sure she was that the Lord would help her. At
last Jesus answered her: '0 woman, great is thy faith: be it unto
thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from
that very hour' (Matt. 15: 28).
Two blind people came to Jesus and He asked them the
question: 'Believe ye that I am able to do this?' When they
answered Him: 'Yes, Lord', He said: 'According to your faith be
it unto you' (Matt. 9: 28-29).
We often ask the question: 'Do you think Jesus can heal
you?' Very often this question does not seem to be too difficult:
'Yes, the Lord is able.' But then, when we ask the second
question: 'Do you think Jesus will heal you?', we often
encounter doubt and unbelief.
Would it be the Lord's will? 'Thy will be done' is often used
as a weapon against faith. Then, when we have explained from
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God's Word that there is nothing the Lord desires more than
that the sick should be healed, a third question is necessary:
'Will the Lord heal you now?'
'Yes, in God's time', is an answer which is a snare of Satan,
through which the sick cannot exercise faith. It has been the day
of grace for almost two thousand years, in which the Lord wants
to save, deliver and heal. 'Behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation' (2 Cor. 6: 2b).
Very often we let the sick quote a word from the Bible
themselves, which shows that they trust in God's Word for their
healing.
'Without faith, it is impossible to please Him' (Heb. 11 : 6).
Without faith we cannot receive anything from Him. Through
examples and through the testimonies of those who have been
healed, we use the gift of faith to inspire faith in others. With the
lame man at the gate of the temple, Peter first brought him so far
that he expected to receive something, something more than
alms. 'Look on us. And he gave heed unto them; expecting to
receive something of them' (Acts 3: 4-5).
Through the gift of faith, we endeavour to impart the
knowledge to every sick person, that to the Almighty God,
Creator of heaven and earth, it is but a small thing to heal him or
her and that He longs to do this, for through it His name is being
glorified. When we name the diseases and needs which the Holy
Spirit reveals to us, we also use the gifts of revelation in order to
strengthen the faith and enable the Lord to do many
supernatural miracles through His servants.
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THE GIFT OF HEALING
The gift of healing is the ability to communicate the
healing power of Jesus to others. It is not some sort of magic
touch. To communicate healing does not happen automatically.
It is all by faith. To communicate as well as to receive healing is
through faith.
The administration of healing can take place in several
ways: through the laying on of hands, through a word from the
Lord, or through the anointing with oil and the prayer of faith
according to James 5: 14-15. All in the name of Jesus.
It is sometimes said that there are different gifts of healing;
that is, one has the gift to heal the blind, another to heal cancer,
etc. This, of course, is foolishness. Through the gift of healing,
we communicate the healing power of Jesus to the entire body,
against every possible disease. It is true that 1 Corinthians 12: 9
speaks of the gifts of healing, plural, but this indicates the
healings which are being received, the products of the gift of
healing, just as this passage of Scripture speaks about the
products of all the gifts. The point of this study is not the gift of
restoration, but the gift of healing, through which healing power
is being communicated.
We read in the Old Testament that this gift was present
with priests and prophets.
Abraham
Abraham administered healing to Abimelech and his
family. This was healing from barrenness. 'So Abraham prayed
unto God: And God healed Abimelech, and his wife and his
maid-servants; and they bare children' (Gen. 20: 17).
Moses
Moses' sister Miriam had leprosy, because she had spoken
evil of the servant of the Lord. Moses prayed the prayer of faith
for her healing (Numbers 12 : 13).
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EH
The priest Eli spoke the word and Hannah, the mother of
Samuel, was healed of her barrenness (I Sam.1 : 17).
EHsha
The story of Naaman's healing shows that administering
healing was one of the tasks of the prophets in Israel. The maidservant
of Naaman said: 'Would God my lord was with the
prophet that is in Samaria for he would recover him of his
leprosy'.
Elisha ministered to him with the words: 'Go and wash in
Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee and
thou shalt be clean' (2 Kings 5 : 3-10).
In the New Testament, we read of numerous healings.
Jesus
We see the Lord Jesus continually healing the sick. Many
times we read that He healed them all.
'And healing all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease among the people (Matt. 4: 23).
'And they brought unto Him all sick people that were
taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were
possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those
that had the palsy; and He healed them' (vs. 24).
'When the even was come, they brought unto Him many
that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with
His word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took
our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses' (Matt. 8: 16-17).
'And Jesus went ... preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom
and healing every sickness and every disease among the people'
(Matt. 9 : 35).
With His touch
The Lord administered healing in different ways. Usually
He communicated His healing power through the laying on of
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hands or through taking hold of someone else's hand.
Sometimes He laid His finger on the diseased spot.
'And He laid His hands on everyone of them and healed
them' (Luke 4 : 40).
'And He laid His hands on her: and immediately she was
made straight, and glorified God' (Luke 13 : 13).
'And He took him, and healed him, and let him go'
(Luke 14: 4).
'And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, He saw his
wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And He touched her
hand, and the fever left her' (Matt. 8: 14-15). In Luke 4: 39 we
read also that He rebuked the fever.
He even took the hand of a dead body, the daughter of
Jairus, and she came to life again at His word: 'Maid arise! And
her spirit came again, and she arose straightway' (Luke
8: 54-55).
'And He put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I
will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from
him' (Luke 5: 13).
'And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands upon
him, He asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said:
I see men as trees walking. After that He put His hands again
upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and
saw every man clearly' (Mark 8: 24).
'And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His
fingers into his ears, and He spit and touched his tongue; And
looking up to heaven, He sighed and saith unto him:
Ephphatha, that is, Be opened! And straightway his ears were
opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake
plain' (Mark 7: 33-35).
We also read that the sick touched Jesus, or the border of
His garment, because power went forth from Him.
'And they ran through that whole region about, and began
to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard He
was. And whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or
country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that
they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as
many as touched Him were made whole' (Mark 6 : 55-56).
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By speaking the word
Healing also happened through speaking a word without
any physical touch.
'Then saith He to the man: Stretch forth thine hand. And
he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other'
(Matt. 12: 13).
'And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath
saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed
Him, glorifying God' (Luke 18: 42-43).
To the father of the dying boy, Jesus said: 'Go thy way, thy
son liveth.' Through this miracle, his whole house believed.
(John 4: 50-53).
'Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and waik.
And immediately the man was made whole' (John 5: 8-9).
Death also had to give way at the word of Jesus. 'Young
man, I say unto thee, arise. And he that was dead sat up and
began to speak' (Luke 7: 14-15).
'He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he
that was dead came forth' (John II : 43-44).
The disciples
When the Lord sent out His disciples, He gave them the
same power. 'Then He called His twelve disciples together, and
gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure
diseases' (Luke 9: 1-2).
They did not receive this power permanently then, but
later, when they were filled with the Spirit on the day of
Pentecost, Jesus gave them power to do the same works as He
did. 'But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is OOnlo
upon you' (Acts I : 8).
Peter
That is why Peter was able to say to the paralytic: 'But such
as I have give I thee' (Acts 3 : 6).
The resurrection power of Jesus - the Holy Spirit - was
in Peter, and he communicated this to others. After the paralytic
was healed, the crowds came with their sick. 'Insomuch that
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they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on
beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing
by might overshadow some of them. There came also a
multitude out of the cities round about Jerusalem, bringing sick
folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they
were healed everyone' (Acts 5: 15-16).
Philip
Philip went to Samaria and preached the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
'And the people with one accord gave heed unto those
things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles
which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came
out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken
with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was
great joy in that city' (Acts 8: 6-8).
Paul
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, administered healing
wherever he went to.preach the Gospel. Sometimes the power of
healing came through speaking a word, sometimes through the
touch of his hands or through handkerchiefs.
'Paul, stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had
faith to be healed, said with a loud voice: Stand upright on thy
feet. And he leaped and walked' (Acts 14: 9-10).
'And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs
or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil
spirits went out from them' (Acts 19: 11, 12).
For us
These things also happen in our time. When faith rises and
the crowd begins to move so that it becomes impossible to
minister to everyone individually, it does happen that in faith
the sick touch a garment of the servant of God, or the place
where the servant of the Lord stood, and so receive healing.
When Full Gospel preachers pray for the sick by means of radio
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or television, people sometimes touch the apparatus in faith and
are healed. People lay their own hands on the sick part of the
body, while the preacher on the radio or television prays and
rebukes the powers of disease. It also happens that healing is
received through watching a film about divine miracles or
through listening to a record or tape. Sometimes healing is
communicated through the means of 'handkerchiefs' which
have been prayed over.
The Lord has not changed. What He did in past times, He
can to today. It was then the Holy Spirit Who worked
everything; the same Holy Spirit is now in us.
THE HEALING OF THE SICK CAN
MEAN SEVERAL THINGS
Firstly: To recover or to return to health
This supposes that the patient has been healthy in days
gone by. This can happen through an instantaneous miracle, but
it is also possible that it may take some time. Some people
cannot believe they are healed when they do not experience or
feel a sudden miracle. Jesus says: 'They shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover' (Mark 16: 18).
'And He laid His hands on everyone of them, and healed
(recovered) them' (Luke 4: 40). Everyone who asks for the
laying on of hands must believe that at that moment healing has
been received, irrespective of experiences or feelings. We must
take God's Word as it is written: 'And they shall recover.' From
the moment we take it in faith, God starts His work of healing.
We must believe this with all our heart.
'Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire,
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have
them' (Mark II : 24).
Secondly: To remove the cause of the disease
The illness can have various causes. A doctor knows that
in most cases when he succeeds in removing the cause of the
disease, the body soon recovers. The cause of the diseases can be
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demon powers. Cancer and tumours, for instance, are powers
which nestle themselves in the tissues of the body. What
becomes visible are the growths.
A surgeon can take away a tumour with his knife, but he
cannot kill the demon. Therefore it very often happens that,
even after a successful operation, these diseases appear in
another part of the body. Praise God, we have a mightier
weapon than the knife of the surgeon. Every demon power of
disease has to give way at the name of Jesus. Some demon
powers which cause disease are mentioned by Jesus and are
recorded in the Bible:
A spirit of infirmity (Luke 13 : 11).
A deaf and dumb spirit (Mark 9 : 25; Matt. 9: 32-33).
A dumb spirit (Luke II : 14).
A demon-possessed person, who was blind and dumb
(Matt. 12:22).
Epilepsy is also a spirit (Luke 9 : 39).
There can be other causes of illnesses, e.g., bacilli. Also,
over-fatigue or spiritual depressions can cause illness. We
recognize these as works of Satan, although disease in the body
is not always caused by demon power. Sin is another cause of
disease.
Thirdly: To make whole
Where there is a physical defect, we must add what is
missing. This is what Peter did with the lame man at the gate
called Beautiful (Acts 3: 1-8). The man had been lame from his
mother's womb; there was a defect, a lack. Peter added what was
missing and the man was made whole (Acts 4: 9).
Sometimes we have to supplement that which has been
removed through an operation. In our experiences there have
been people who were missing a lung because of surgery, and
who received a new lung from the Lord under the laying on of
hands. Others, whose auditory organs had been removed
through an operation, began to hear again. Arms and legs which
were too short received normal length, etc.
The Lord, Who created heaven and earth for His glory,
longs to restore everything which has been destroyed by Satan.
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Fourthly: To reconcile or to bring together
Everything which has been broken or torn can be
reconciled or brought together through the healing power of
Jesus. He heals all that is broken. 'For I am the Lord that
healeth thee' (Ex. 15: 26).
When an accident has taken place or in case of a serious
injury, we always advise the patient to be looked after by a
doctor or nurse. The Lord can do a miracle, so that no doctor or
other help will be necessary, but the one does not need to
exclude the other.
All the gifts necessary
To administer divine healing successfully, it is not enough
to possess the gift of healing. Nearly all nine gifts of the Spirit
work together to accomplish healing. First of all, we must
quietly pray in tongues to edify ourselves. By doing this, we
allow all other gifts to come into operation at the same time.
Through the gifts of knowledge and wisdom, we become aware
of how to handle each individual case. The Lord wants to show
us the cause of the disease. The pain which the patient feels may
not show the real cause; more important is what the Lord shows
as the real cause of the illness.
There can be many hindrances through which the patient
cannot receive healing. Through the gift of knowledge the Lord
can show us any such hindrances. Through the gift of wisdom,
He shows us the way to help the patient best. The gift of faith we
need for ourselves to believe that, in the name of Jesus, we can
do supernatural things, and we must build up the patient in the
right manner. We must use the gift of the discerning of spirits to
know whether there are powers of disease, but also whether
there any other hindering spirits at work, which we must first
cast out. The gift of the working of miracles we need both with
the miracles of healing and with the casting out of demons. In
addition, the Lord may want to speak a word to the person who
is sick. For this we need the gift of tongues and interpretation of
tongues or the gift of prophecy.
Finally, we use the gift of healing. When all the causes and
hindrances have been discovered, broken or cast out in the
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name of Jesus, we can communicate His healing power to the
whole body, from head to foot. With this, the work is
completed. We encourage the brother or sister we have
ministered to not to trust feelings, but to trust in and to praise
the Lord for a complete recovery.
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THE GIFT OF THE WORKING OF MIRACLES
The Bible is full of the wonderful deeds of the Almighty
God. However, this study is not directed af the mighty works of
the Creator of heaven and earth, but at what people, servants of
God, have done through the gift of the working of miracles.
This gift is the God-given ability to perform supernatural
works at His command.
Moses
Moses was a humble shepherd, a son of the people of Israel
in bondage. God spoke to him out of the midst of a bush. He
called Moses to deliver His people from the power of Pharaoh.
This would have been a ridiculous commission if the 'I AM
THAT I AM' had not also given him the power to perform
miracles. How would the people of Israel believe that God had .
indeed appeared to Moses; how would Pharaoh ever listen to
the voice of this humble shepherd, if he could not prove through
miracles that the Almighty God had sent him? Out of the midst
of the fire of His holiness, God gave Moses a gospel with proof;
He gave him the ability to do wonders.
'And the Lord said unto him: What is that in thine hand?
And he said: A rod. And He said: Cast it on the ground. And he
cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled
before it. And the Lord said unto Moses: Put forth thine hand,
and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it,
and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the
Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God Of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee'
(Ex. 4 : 2-5).
God gave him other signs: his hand became leprous and
was healed; the water of the river Nile turned into blood. 'And
he did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people
believed' (Ex. 4 : 30-31).
First of all, God gave Moses the commission to perform
miracles to make Israel believe that the God ot their fathers had
sent him; afterwards Moses wrought mighty miracles before
Pharaoh, to prove that the Lord of lords demanded of him: Let
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My people go!
'And the Lord said unto Moses ... see that thou do all
those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand'
(Ex. 4: 21). God gave Moses the ability, the supernatural power,
to do wonders, but Moses himself had to perform the miracles.
Moses and Aaron did many wonders before the face of Pharaoh
and the Egyptians. These are described in Exod us 7,8,9, and 10.
'And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before
Pharaoh' (Ex. 11 : 10).
When at last the Israelites left the land of Egypt and came
to the Red Sea, they were afraid, because they learned that
Pharaoh and his mighty army were pursuing them. God
directed Moses to divide the sea so that the Israelites could
escape.
'And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou
unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go
forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand
over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on
dry ground through the midst of the sea' (Ex. 14: 15-16). He also
made the waters flow back again, so that the army of the
Egyptians drowned in the" sea (vs. 26).
Moses made bitter water sweet (Ex. 15: 25) and made
water stream out of a rock (Ex. 17: 6). Isn't it wonderful that the
servants of the Lord are allowed to do such mighty deeds, which
aid God's children and make God's greatness known to
everyone!
Joshua
Perhaps the greatest miracle we read of is that which
Joshua did: he commanded the moon and the sun to stand still
(J oshua 10 : 12-13). Through the gift of faith, he believed that
this absolute impossibility would happen and through the gift of
the working of miracles, it was brought about. These two gifts
supplement each other.
Elijah
Elijah, too, performed many miracles. He shut the heavens so
that it did not rain for three and a half years.
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'And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of
Gilead, said unto Ahab: As the Lord God of Israelliveth, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
according to my word' (I Kings 17: I).
We read further that the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil
of the widow at Zarephath were not empty until the day the
Lord sent rain on the earth (I Kings 17: 14-16). He raised the
widow's son from the dead (I Kings 17: 20-24). He smote the
waters of the Jordan and divided them, so that he and Elisha
went over on dry ground (2 Kings 2 : 8).
Elijah was not a very special man to be able to do this. No,
the Bible tells us that he was a man like you and me
(James 5 : 17), but God gave him the gift to do miracles in His
service.
Elisha
God's Word mentions the mighty works of the prophet
Elisha. He made bad water drinkable. 'The water is naught and
the ground barren. And he said: Bring me a new cruse, and put
salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto
the spring of waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus
saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be
from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were
healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he
spake' (2 Kings 2 : 19-22).
Elisha also divided the waters of the Jordan (2 Kings 2 : 14).
He multiplied the oil of the widow (2 Kings 4: 1-7). He raised up
a dead child; made poisonous food healthy (2 Kings 4: 32-41).
He healed Naaman of his leprosy (2 Kings 5) and made an iron
axe-head float on water (2 Kings 6: 6).
Jesus
Countless are the miracles which Jesus has done. He
entered public life with the miracle of turning water into wine
(John 2: 1-11). We read that it was through this that His
disciples believed in Him. He walked on the sea, and when He
had come to the ship 'immediately the ship was at the land
whither they went' (John 6: 16-21).
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And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His
miracles which He did on them that were diseased' (John 6: 2).
When a great crowd of about five thousand people began
to feel hungry, He fed them with five barley loaves. Everyone ate
sufficiently and afterwards they gathered twelve baskets of the
fragments which remained (John 6: 1-14). On another occasion
He fed four thousand people with seven loaves (Matt. 15: 32-
38).
The miracles of healing which Jesus did are too numerous
to mention. 'And great multitudes came unto Him, having with
them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many
others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and He healed them:
Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the
dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and
the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel'
(Matt. 15 : 30-31).
Three times Jesus brought a dead person back to life again
(Luke 8 : 49-55, Luke 7 : 11-15, John I1 : 11-44).
The casting out of evil spirits are also wonders which Jesus
did. The Gospel of Mark related many of these wonders. Here
follow some of them:
'And Jesus rebuked him saying: Hold thy peace, and come
out of him. And then the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried
with a loud voice, he came out of him' (Mark I : 25).
'And he cast out many devils' (vs. 34).
'For He said unto him: Come out of the man, thou unclean
spirit' (A legion of spirits were in this man) (Mark 5: 8).
'And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the
swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea
(they were about two thousand) and were choked in the sea'
(vs. 13).
The signs and wonders which Jesus did were clear proof
that He was sent from God, as Peter declared. 'Ye men of
Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of
God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God
did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know'
(Acts 2 : 22).
'How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing
all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him'
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(Acts 10: 38).
Just as Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with
power to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, so also
were the apostles 'endued with power from on high'
(Luke 24 : 49).
Jesus said: 'As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I
you' (John 20: 21).
The apostles
With the apostles we also see many great miracles happen
through the gift of the working of miracles. A lame man, who
had never been able to walk, was healed in one moment under
the ministry of Peter and John. Even the men of the Jewish
Sanhedrin could not deny this.
'What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable
miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that
dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it' (Acts 4: 16).
'For all men glorified God for that which was done. For
the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of
healing was shewed' (vs. 21-22).
Wherever Peter went on his journeys, he did great
wonders. In Lydda, a man was healed who had been lame for
eight years. 'And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ
maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose
immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him
and turned to the Lord' (Acts 9: 34-35).
The dead were also raised by those who believed on Jesus.
Tabitha, a woman who was held in high esteem in the Church,
died. Peter was called and he was used to perform the great
miracle of raising her from the dead.
'But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down and
prayed; and turning him to the body said: Tabitha, arise. And
she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he
gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the
saints and widows, presented her alive. And it was known
throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord'
(Acts 9: 40-42).
In Acts 20: 7-12 we read of Paul raising a dead body.
Of Stephen, the deacon, we read: 'And Stephen, full of
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faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the
people' (Acts 6: 8).
Philip went to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in
Samaria. Would there have been one person who would have
listened to his preaching, had he not proved through signs and
wonders that Jesus was risen? 'And the people with one accord
gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and
seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with
loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them:
and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
And there was great joy in that city' (Acts 8: 6-8).
When Paul and Barnabas were sent out as witnesses ofthe
living Lord, signs and wonders attended their ministry. At
Iconium: 'Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the
Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of grace, and granted
signs and wonders to be done by their hands' (Acts 14: 3).
At Lystra, a man was healed who had been a cripple from
his mother's womb (Acts 14: 9-10).
At Philippi, Paul cast out a spirit of divination
(Acts 16: 16-18).
The Gospel was made known throughout all Asia, because
Paul not only preached, but performed signs and wonders. 'And
God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from
his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons,
and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went
out of them' (Acts 19: 11-12).
'So that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the
Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks' (vs. 10).
The Lord wants to give to all believers this wonderful gift
of the Holy Spirit. Everyone who desires to be a witness of Jesus
may count on the fact that in the name of Jesus he can do signs
and wonders. These are the signs which shall follow the believers
(Mark 16: 17-18).
Since we preach the Gospel in all its fullness, we have been
allowed to perform many miracles and signs ourselves. We saw
paralyzed people healed in one moment. People whose limbs
were stiff began to walk again, raised their arms and legs and
bent their back, which in some cases, they had not been able to
do for years. We saw deaf people who received hearing and
blind people who began to see. We were privileged to cast out
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many demons in the mighty name of Jesus.
We can do wonders in Jesus' name - not only Gospel
preachers, but also ordinary brothers and sisters, housewives,
school children, all those who have been baptized in the Holy
Spirit and use the gift in faith. Jesus said: 'He that believeth on
Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do' (John 14: 12).
We have seen children who cast out powers of disease with
authority; farmers who saw rain come or rain stopped in answer
to prayer. A married couple in one of the northern counties of
Holland saw a terrible storm, a cyclone, come over their area.
While everybody else sought shelter and was full of fear, they
began to praise the Lord for His protecting hand and they
commanded the storm not to touch their house. When the storm
had passed, the miracle was clear to everyone. Every house in
the neighbourhood had been damaged; windows were broken,
roofs destroyed, but their house stood undamaged in the midst
of it all. Hallelujah!
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CONCLUSION
As the time of Jesus' return is drawing near, it becomes
clear how necessary it is to possess the gifts of the Spirit. It is
strange that most Christians do believe in the supernatural
things which Satan does, yet when the servants of God perform
signs and wonders in the name of Jesus, they are afraid that this
might be of the devil. God is a God of miracles. He has done
miracles through His servants, His ambassadors on earth. He
has never changed. As He was with Moses, so He is also with us.
The God of Elijah is also our God. Yes, and more: the same
power with which Jesus was anointed, He has poured out to fill
every child of His.
Satan and those who serve him have also done wonders;
we read of those in Exodus 7: 11-12; 8: 7. In Deuteronomy
18: 9-14 we are told that all supernatural things which the
heathen do are an abomination to God. Because of these
abominations, whole nations were destroyed.
In the time of the apostles, there were sorcerers who
baffled the people (Acts 8 : 9-11; Acts 13 : 8). In the end time
there will be servants of Satan doing wonders until at last the
antichrist will lead the whole world astray with mighty miracles
and signs (2 Thess. 2: 9-12; Rev. 13 : 13-14; 19-20). Jesus warns
against false prophets and false christs, which shall come to
deceive the people (Matt. 24: 24).
Note that they are never people who come in the name of
Jesus to witness of Him. More than ever, we need the gifts ofthe
Spirit in these last days, in the first place to discern the spirits,
but also to confirm the Gospel of grace and the coming of the
Kingdom of God.
Isaiah already prophesied: 'Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then
shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb
sing' (Isa. 35 : 5-6).
God does not give us a powerless doctrine to combat the
works of Satan, but He reveals His omnipotence there, where
He sends His servants to preach the Gospel. Through revealing
'the powers of the world to come' (Heb. 6: 5), we can only be real
witnesses of the coming Kingdom.
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'And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word with signs
following' (Mark 16: 20).
Dogmas, systems and formulas do not glorify the Lord,
but wonders performed in His name do. Like Peter declared
when the lame man at the gate called Beautiful was healed: 'Why
marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though
by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our
fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus' (Acts 3: 12-13).
'For all men glorified God for that which was done'
(Acts 4 : 21 b).
It is never through the power of man, but through the
power of God that miracles are done in the name of Jesus.
Nicodemus testified of the Lord: 'We know that Thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that
Thou doest, except God be with him' (John 3 : 2).
Everywhere Paul preached the Gospel, he revealed the
power of God. 'And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God' (1 Cor. 2 : 4).
'For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which
Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient,
by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders by the
power of the Spirit of God' (Rom. 15 : 18-19).
We receive the power of God-at the baptism with the Holy Spirit
'But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is
come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me' (Acts 1 : 8).
When we have received this power, then He is in us,Jt is
the same power which raised Jesus from the dead and through
which He has put all things under His feet (Eph. 1 : 19-21).
'But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you'
(Rom. 8: 11).
'But we have this treasure in earthen vessels , that the
excellency of the power may be of God an l~ m)t of us'
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(2 Cor. 4: 7).
'Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that
worketh in us' (Eph. 3 : 20).
That is why Peter was able to say to the lame man: 'But
such as I have give I thee' (Acts 3: 6). Peter knew what he had
received when he had been baptized with the Holy Spirit; it was
the resurrection power of Jesus. He also knew that he was able
to communicate this power to others.
'They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover'
(Mark 16: 17). We can communicate healing as well as the
baptism with the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit to others
through the laying on of hands.
When Peter and John heard that many souls had been
saved in Samaria, but nobody had been baptized in the Spirit
yet, they travelled to Samaria. 'They laid their hands on them,
and they received the Holy Ghost' (Acts 8: 17).
Ananias laid hands on Paul after his conversion for
healing and filling with the Spirit. 'And Ananias went his way,
and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said:
Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in
the way as thou camest hath sent me, that thou mightest receive
thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost' (Acts 9: 17).
We also read of Paul that he laid on hands for the baptism
with the Spirit. 'And when Paul had laid his hands upon them,
the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with other
tongues, and prophesied' (Acts 19: 6).
~ Of course, it is possible to be filled and healed without the
laying on of hands. 'According to your faith be it unto you.' But
the Bible shm1 ' ': us the way to help each other to believe and to
receive, through the laying on of hands.
The gifts of the Spirit can also be communicated to others
through the laying on of hands. Twice we read of Timothy
receiving gifts when hands were laid on him, once through Paul,
and on another occasion when the elders laid hands on him
together. 'Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given
thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the
presbytery' (l Tim. 4: 14).
'Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the
gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands'
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(2 Tim. 1 : 6).
Moses laid hands on Joshua, through which he received
the gift of the word of wisdom. 'And Joshua the son of Nun was
. full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon
him' (Deut. 34 : 9).
God had said to Moses: 'Lay thine hand upon him .. . and
thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him' (Numbers
27: 18-20).
The Lord desires that we strive to receive the gifts of the
Spirit (1 Cor. 14: 1), and that we strive to use them well, to the
edification of the Church (1 Cor. 14: 12). We are also warned
not to neglect them (1 Tim. 4 : 14), but on the contrary, to stir
them up (2 Tim. 1 : 6).
When we pray in tongues continually, we edify ourselves,
through which we also allow the other gifts to come into
operation, as the Lord leads us.
The more excellent way is: 'Follow after charity, and
desire spiritual gifts' (1 Cor. 14 : 1).
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