Objection: Only Some People Have the “Gift of Faith” to Believe for Healing

This is no more intelligent than saying that only some people have the “gift of faith” to get saved.  Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), so anyone who hears the word of God can act in faith.

This objection is simply a misunderstanding of the “gift of faith” in 1 Corinthians 12:9, which does not refer to the general faith that every believer has.  It refers to faith for something specific that would be impossible to believe for by only believing the Bible.  This is clear because this gift is only worked through “some,” whereas God has given to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).  Similarly, the gift of “the word of knowledge” involves having knowledge that would otherwise be impossible to have, not doctrinal knowledge.  All believers can have knowledge of the Word of God by reading it!  Also, the gift of “the word of wisdom” involves obtaining a piece of God’s wisdom that you couldn’t get just by reading the Word.  Any believer can ask for practical wisdom for a specific situation and get it (James 1:5-8).  Christ has been made wisdom to us (1 Corinthians 1:30).

So, while not everyone operates in the manifestation of the Spirit known as the “gift of faith,” all believers can operate in faith in God’s promises.

To say that you need “the gift of faith” to believe for healing is tantamount to saying that there is no promise in the Bible you could believe to receive healing.  If healing can be obtained through believing and acting on God’s Word, you do not need “the gift of faith” to get it.  You can just believe and act on the Word.

But doesn’t Romans 12:3 say that God gives every believer a different “measure” of faith?  No, it doesn’t.  Read it carefully: “According as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”  The Greek word metron used for measure implies a fixed amount, and God has given to every man the measure, not a different measure of faith.  God does not play favorites.  What you do with that faith is up to you, just as it is up to you how much you develop the muscles that God gave you.

But don’t we know that some people can believe God more easily than others?  Yes, we do know that.  The Christians who spend more time reading God’s Word can believe more easily than those who don’t.  It is not up to God how much faith you walk in.  It is up to you.

Faith is definitely a gift (Ephesians 2:8), but the kind referred to in that verse is the faith available to everyone that can get you into God’s family, not “the gift of faith” in 1 Corinthians 12:9.  Everyone has the first kind, but not everyone will flow in the second kind.

The fact that healing is promised universally (as you can see elsewhere in this book) proves that anyone can have it, not just some who operate in special faith of some kind.