Dr. Bernard, previous episodes, we've talked about the gifts of the spirit,

specifically the gifts that Paul mentions in 1st Corinthians chapter 12.

I want to ask you about another one of those gifts today.

This time I want to talk about the gifts of healing, as the King James Version puts it.

So at first glance, Paul's treatment of

healing seems to create some tension for Pentecostals because in Paul's list of spiritual gifts,

he ends that chapter by making the observation that not everyone is used in every gift. So

according to this, then, not everybody would then be used in the gifts of healing. However,

when we look at Mark chapter 16, Jesus is talking about signs that will follow believers, and he

specifically mentions that believers will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover, which would

indicate that this is, anyone could be used in the gift of healing then.

So it seems to create some tension, perhaps, or conflict between the words of Paul and the words of Jesus.

So which is it?

Can Pentecostals expect that anybody could be used in the gifts of healing or only a select few?

And maybe what is the gifts of healing if you could explain that as well?

The short answer is both. I do discuss this in my book spiritual gifts. So as you rightly point out,

1st Corinthians 12 list nine gifts of the spirit. I don't think they're exhausted, but they're

illustrative. And I believe anyone who is filled with the spirit could potentially exercise

any one of the gifts. I do believe the gifts are for the benefit of the body, and they're

resident in the spirit, not in the individual. So certain people are used in certain gifts,

such as it could be said they have this gift. And 1 Corinthians 12 mentions that.

But I think we do well to remind ourselves that actually the gifts belong to the Spirit

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