1 Corinthians 12:9 Commentary and Bible Study

Every Christian has a measure of faith: the Scripture tells us so. This probably refers to the special faith that was given to the apostles. Take the apostle Paul: involved in that shipwreck. He is given this faith to believe and the understanding that all on board are going to be delivered, and he announces it in the midst of the storm. That is a special gift of foresight and faith. ‘To another, the gifts of healing.’ Who received that? The Scriptures tell us repeatedly: ‘by the hands of the apostles’. The Charismatics, the Pentecostals, don’t notice that. The gifts of healing were given by the hands of the apostles. To listen to our friends in the Charismatic Movement you would think that healings happened by the hands of different people all the time in the New Testament church: that healings and prophecies were constant. But when you read the Scripture, the data doesn't support it. It tells us that at Antioch, there were only three prophets including Paul, an apostle. Paul is going to tell instruct the Corinthians in future a chapter that never more than three should prophets prophesy in an assembly meeting. So there were very few; they were thin on the ground. It was only the apostolic band who needed special authentication. Why did they have the gift of healing? To authenticate them. The apostle says so. ‘Were not the signs of an apostle done among you?’ he says. ‘That is how I am authenticated as an apostle,’ he tells the people. ‘I was able to work the signs and wonders and the mighty deeds that marked me out, and you knew that I was really speaking from God the inspired word.’