Kenneth Copeland - The Purpose of the Gifts of Healing
Hello, everybody. Welcome to class again this morning at Kenneth Copeland Bible college. Just take your seat there and get your Bibles to make notes on, because we're going into this thing big time. We're over in to the 1 Corinthians, the 12th chapter, where we find out about what is referred to as the gifts, the ministry gifts, of the Spirit of God. Father, we thank You for this, open the eyes of our understanding, so that we see and understand what You're saying through Your Word. "Now, concerning spiritual gifts, and we pointed out that gifts", there is in italicized, but later it's not. "Brethren, I would not have you ignorant", so we're not supposed to be ignorant of this, and to not be ignorant of it, we need to take these things apart and study them.
Now they will operate all in this. Not one at a time, sometime one at a time, but they'll manifest all together, but we need to be able to tell what each of these are. They're very important. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit, there are differences of administration, but the same Lord. There's a difference of the ministries of Sampson and Daniel, both of them dealt with lions. Daniel went in and just went to sleep in their presence, because the angels shut the mouth of the lions. Sampson killed them with his bare hands. Both were manifestations of the Spirit, different administrations. I mean that shows you what the difference is to me. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to everybody, to profit. The manifestation of the Spirit, the will of the Spirit is to manifest himself, to profit every believer.
Always remember this, and preach it like this, Jesus was the gift to the whole world. God so loved his only begotten Son that he gave. What? That you live and not perish. The Holy Spirit is the gift to the church, and in praying in tongues, there's a difference we're going to see here. The ministry gift of tongues and praying in tongues are totally two different things, and therein is the confusion in the 13th chapter, when it says tongues shall pass away. No, he's talking about these ministry gifts. It hadn't passed away, but people confusing that with the help of the devil. Well, you know, people don't do that anymore. Well, I didn't know that. I didn't hear that until after. Amen.
So, now watch now, for to one is given by the Spirit a word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healings, it's plural in the Greek, gifts of healings. I wanted you to see that, gifts of healings. Here we are, again. That's manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus never did claim to heal anybody. He said, it's the Father within me. He does the works. Jesus was not the healer. The Spirit of God in him did the healing. The Spirit of God in you will do the healing. And I was with Brother Roberts, and someone walked up to him, and I'll tell you about two things. And they said, which of the gifts do you believe is the most important? He said, "The one you need at the time".
Now, the Lord listed them in the way he wanted them listed. So a word of wisdom has to do with the future things, most particularly, in governments and so forth like that. A word of knowledge, is a word of his knowledge, about a situation, person, or a thing. Now, to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another a word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healings by the same Spirit; to another working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. There they are.
Now, gifts of healings, purpose of gifts of healings, to deliver the sick, and destroy the works of the devil in the human body. Number two, to confirm Jesus' claim that he has power to forgive sins. You remember that? Now, he was in his own house. There were many there from all around. Now, I used to believe this was a hostile crowd, but it was not. This was not in a synagogue, it was in his house that, read it for yourself in the different accounts, he was in the house. And here's this man that had had a stroke, and do you have your Blue Bible yet? Blue Letter Bible? Look it up. And it denotes, paralyzed on one side, and he said, can't you just see him standing there, "Son, cheer up, your sins are forgiven you".
Now, nobody said it, they thought it, they came there to hear him. They didn't say it, but they thought it, but he perceived it. You can't even think around him without him that's good. But I've had that at times. I'll tell you, if I have time, I'll tell you about one, but anyway. And they said, nobody but God, this man blasphemes. Who, but God, can forgive sins? And he said, "To prove to you that the Son of man has power or authority on Earth to forgive sins," he said to the man sick with the palsy, "Rise, take up your bed, and go home". So the man did. The same God, the same authority. It is the same Jesus that is the Savior and the Healer. He is the One. According to 1 John the first chapter, glory to God, he is the one who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, when we confess them, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and it has nothing to do with your feelings.
Now, you probably feel like a dog, because you wish you hadn't have done, but wishing you hadn't have done it, that won't get rid of it. And I've said this to you before, that happened to me years ago in a meeting, that was, it was a tough one. And I got mad, and I didn't cuss, because I don't do that. I got close, and then I repented, Oh, Jesus. Oh, I feel so bad. Oh, it's so bad. And I said, "Lord, I'm not going over there tonight and preach I said just get you another boy. Oh no, I'm not going to do it. I can't do it". And then, here inside me, the Lord said "Why"? I said, "You know why! Because of what I did". "Why"? I said, "Lord, I'm not going over there". "Why"? I said, "Because of what I did". He said, "Didn't you confess that before me"? I said, "Well, yes I did". He said, Kenneth, when you confessed, it is not when I found out about it. That was a great revelation to me It helped me. Amen. He said, "When you confessed, it is when you got rid of it. Now you get up and go on over there and preach tonight".
And I did and praise God, and it worked. That is an important revelation. It has nothing to do with your feelings. Put the feelings aside and turn your faith on. And believe, you turn to 1 John, and you read that. I've done this. Turn to 1 John, get on your knees and read that. Lord, I believe this, I choose to believe this, and I'm forgiven of this sin, and now I receive my cleansing with your help. That's not going to happen again. Praise God. So now notice these things. To another special faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healings, the working of miracles, to another prophecy to another, discerning of spirits to another, different kinds of tongues, and another interpretation of tongues; where all these work, that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man separately as he wills.
Now back to this, to deliver the sick and destroy the works of the devil in the human body, to confirm Jesus' claim that he has power to forgive sins. All right, "Well Brother Copeland, how do we do that"? Well, put your little marker right there, and turn with me to the book of James. Go to the book of Hebrews and turn right. Now, this is a small book, but I want you, I want to reiterate this again, and these covenants were written for our correction. They came about because of the sin of Adam. The devil got into this thing, and so we need correction, we need teaching, we need direction, all the time. So, it's about correction. But the healing is in the fifth chapter of James, but start at the first chapter, go through all of the corrections first.
Count it all joy, when you fall into different temptations and trials, knowing this, the trying of your faith works patience, let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire and wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and unbraideth not; it shall be given him and let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. Hallelujah. So now you just slip right on over here to the fifth chapter of James. After you have spent some time in the fourth chapter, and you come over to the fifth chapter of James, and you come down to the 14th verse, "Is any sick among you"? That indicates there shouldn't be. Amen? All pastors, all evangelists, all apostles, prophets evangelists, pastors, teachers, all should be teaching and preaching healing. Divine healing. You should teach people how to receive medicine by faith.
The fourth chapter of the book of Proverbs, cause the Word of God health to all of our flesh, but that word health in Hebrew is medicine. God's Word is medicine, but medicine is no good, unless you get it into the system. You can have a prescription right there, by your bedstand. There it is right there. Well, how foolish it would be to call the doctor and say, "I'm not a bit better". " Did you take that prescription"? "No, but it's right there by my bed. I have it handy".
Well, you have to get it into the system. You are a triune being. You are a spirit, you have a soul made up of your mind, your will and your emotions, and you live in a physical body. So this system needs the Word of God. While we're at it, let's just talk about this for a moment, this is the way this works. The curse is threefold, spiritual death, poverty, sickness and disease. Just a way of life. The blessing of the Lord is threefold, Spiritual life, Amen, through the new birth, spiritual life, healing and divine health, and supernatural prosperity. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. And if the devil can keep you broke and poor, well, you know, Lord, you keep him humble, and we'll keep him broke. There are people that believe that the pastor should have nothing, but just like Jesus, just be poor.
Brother Hagin was pastoring, somebody in his church got all bent out of shape, because they saw Brother Hagin downtown with his two children, and he bought the kids an ice cream cone. "I want you to look at that, that pastor took my tithe to buy those kids ice cream". Well, why don't you just get on out of the church and go somewhere where they hate ice cream? Don't go to a church like that. Don't just go there because your grandma went there. Somebody said, "Grandma taught it and we bought it". No, you go to church where the Lord leads you to go. That sheepfold is extremely important. You need to be, and people need to be, you need to be, in the sheepfold where God leads you to be. I don't care if it's on the other side of the world. Because that place where God's grace is, that place of grace, let's say, well, let's just use this; this congregation right here.
This has happened where people have been watching online and the Lord said, "Move to Fort Worth and go to that church". And why did he say that? Not just to get them in this spiritual atmosphere, but he has a job of employment for them here. He needs them here. He has a school here that he wants their children to be in. Because just a few miles from here, is one of the finest Christian schools in this country. Amen. Thank You Jesus for that. Oh my, I got so thrilled. I mean, just my, my little granddaughters in school over there, doing trigonometry. I can't spell trigonometry. You know why? Because I didn't have that kind of teaching. We didn't realize it at the time, we didn't recognize the phrase.
I was in Abilene, Texas moving into the seventh grade and they introduced progressive education. In other words, you are not going to learn anything. We'll pass you whatever you do. Progressive, you better watch that. You better watch it in this country. You listening to me? It just says socialism all over it. "Well Brother," don't, "Well Brother Copeland me". "Well you just old". That's right. I'm old school. I'm old, and I went to school long enough to learn a little, but I've lived a long time. I've been in this ministry 55 years, and I learned from some powerful, powerful people. Not just Brother Roberts and Brother Hagin. I associated with people that are in heaven right now. T.L. Lowery, T.L. Osborn, glory to God, hallelujah! And that, they were all, I was just this young whipper snapper around and running around teaching faith. "He is just a Hagin repeater". That's what people were saying.
So Brother Lowery invited me to preach in Washington DC, at The Washington Church, where presidents and senators go. He invited me to preach, and he's a big man and a big voice, then of course he is up on the platform and he sat right behind me, where the whole bunch could see him. And I'd say something, and he'd jump out there and say, yes, Amen! And by the time he did that two or three times, then the whole congregation figured, well, this kid must be all right because look what the pastor's doing. Oh, glory to God, glory to God, powerhouses of evangelism and the gospel all over the world. Hallelujah. And to be in that kind of company, you learn this one thing, and we're out of time Well there's more than one thing, but... Okay, we'll be back in just a moment.