The Gift of Special Faith
In previous chapters, we covered the revelation gifts of the Holy Spirit: the word of wisdom, the
word of knowledge, and the discerning of spirits.
Now let's study the three power gifts of the Holy Spirit: the gift of faith, the working of miracles,
and the gifts of healings.
In this lesson, we will discuss the first of the power gifts: the gift of faith. The Amplified Bible
reads, "To another (wonder-working), faith . . ." (1 Cor. 12:9). This gift of the Spirit is also
called special faith.
The Gift of Special Faith Is Not the Same as Saving Faith
Every believer already has general faith or saving faith, which is also a gift. Ephesians 2:8
says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
The faith that you are saved by is a gift of God, but it is not one of the nine gifts of the Spirit.
Saving faith is given to you through hearing the Word, because the Bible says, "So then faith
[saving faith ] cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).
The faith which we are talking about in this lesson — special faith — is something other than
general faith or saving faith. It is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit whereby a
believer is empowered with special faith, or wonder-working faith, and it is beyond simple
saving faith.
The gift of faith is the greatest of the three power gifts. And this gift is miraculous just as the
rest of the gifts of the Spirit are miraculous.
The gift of faith is a gift of the Spirit to the believer in order that he might receive miracles. The
working of miracles, on the other hand, is a gift of the Spirit given to the believer that he might
work miracles. One gift receives, the other does something.
Notice the Bible says, "To another the WORKING of miracles . . ." (1 Cor. 12:10). In other
words, when you receive a miracle, you don't work the miracle. But when you perform a
miracle by the unction of the Holy Ghost, you are working a miracle by this supernatural gift of
the Spirit, the working of miracles.
These power gifts are very closely associated one with another and many times work together.
The same is true of the revelation gifts; they also are closely related and work together as do
the utterance gifts.
It is also important to note that all of the gifts of the Spirit operate by faith — by ordinary faith
on the part of the believer through which the gift is being manifested. In other words, a person
must step out in faith and yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. That's where simple faith is
involved. This ordinary faith is the faith that comes by hearing God's Word. Therefore, the gifts
of the Spirit do not operate by the gift of faith, but they do operate by general or ordinary faith.
Remember, the Bible says, ". . . Ifthou canst believe, all things are possible to him that
believeth" (Mark 9:23).
As we said, the gift of faith, one of the nine gifts of the Spirit, is separate and distinct from the
simple