If God gave someone the gift of healing but to another person he did not, would that make Him a respecter of persons?<\/p>\n\t
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;\u00a0to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills<\/em>” (I Corinthians 12:4-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Every Christian during the first century did not receive the same gifts from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit decided how best to distribute His gifts. Some Christians received no gift at all. “All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?<\/em>” (I Corinthians 12:29-30). However, this doesn’t mean God was preferring some Christians over others.<\/p>\n
Do you remember the parable of the vineyard workers? All were paid the same amount, regardless of how long they worked. “When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’<\/em>” (Matthew 20:10-15). The mistake was made in viewing gifts as something owed to us. Gifts are given at the discretion of the giver. The one receiving a gift is favored, but it doesn’t mean others are less because a gift was given.<\/p>\n
The Holy Spirit had a purpose for the various gifts. The gifts helped confirm that the message being taught came from Him. Not everyone needed the gifts.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: If God gave someone the gift of healing but to another person he did not, would that make Him a respecter of persons? Answer: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[428,90,1208],"class_list":["post-29958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit","tag-god","tag-impartiality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8090,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-anointing-him-with-oil-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":29958,"position":0},"title":"What does “anointing him with oil” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Will you please explain James 5:14 to me? I am especially interested in understanding \"Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.\" I have heard of elders in the church just recently who did this to a very sick lady that was on her deathbed. Is this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1734,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-you-speak-in-tongues-to-have-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":29958,"position":1},"title":"Must you speak in tongues to have the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true, as most Pentecostals say, that if you do not speak in tongues, you do not have the Holy Spirit? Answer: \"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: ... There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2829,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":29958,"position":2},"title":"What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 18, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Answer: When used in the plural (more than one gift), the gifts of the Holy Spirit refer to the miraculous gifts that Holy Spirit gave the early Christians. \"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9120,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-many-gifts-did-the-early-christians-receive-from-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":29958,"position":3},"title":"How many gifts did the early Christians receive from the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering from I Corinthians 12:4-11 and other related passages, what you think to these questions. Did a Christian receive from the Holy Spirit only one spiritual gift or was it possible to receive more than one? In Acts 8:7, we read of Philip able to cast out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86094,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-miracles-still-occurring-because-they-are-not-specifically-listed-as-ending\/","url_meta":{"origin":29958,"position":4},"title":"Are miracles still occurring because they are not specifically listed as ending?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Mr. Hamilton, I have a question for you. I know how people believe that miracles have ceased according to 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. But I have a question about that. In those verses, it says: \"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28162,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-elders-limited-to-the-age-of-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":29958,"position":5},"title":"Were elders limited to the age of miracles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Were elders limited to the age of miracles? Was the church only supposed to have elders while the miraculous gifts were present? I have someone here who is claiming this and he bases it on Acts 20:28, Ephesians 4:11, and I Timothy 4:14. Answer: Stated to End? 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