ach,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons."

That the twelve disciples undertook to do the Master's work of healing,
and that they, in their measure, succeeded, seems beyond question. They
found in themselves the same power that the Master found in Himself,
and they used it as He had used His power. The record of The Acts of the
Apostles, if at all trustworthy history, shows that they, too, healed
the sick.

Beyond the circle of the original twelve, it is equally clear that the
early disciples believed themselves charged with the same mission, and
that they sought to fulfil it. The records of the early Church make it
indisputable that powers of healing were recognized as among the gifts
of the Spirit. St. Paul's letters render it certain that these gifts
were not a privilege of the original twelve, merely, but that they were
the heritage into which all the disciples entered.

Beyond the era of the primitive Church, through several generations, the
early Christians felt themselves called to the same ministry of healing,
and enabled with the same secret of power. Through wellnigh three
centuries, the gifts of healing appear to have been, more or less,
recognized and exercised in the Church. Through those generations,
however, there was a gradual disuse of this power, following upon a
failing recognition of its possession. That which was originally the
rule became the exception. By degrees, the sense of authority and power
to heal passed out from the consciousness of the Church. It ceased to be
a sign of the indwelling Spirit. For fifteen centuries, the recognition
of this authority and power has been altogether exceptional. Here and
there, through the history of these centuries, there have been those who
have entered into this belief of their own privilege and duty, and have
used the gift which they recognized. The Church has never been left
without a line of witnesses to this aspect of the discipleship of
Christ. But she has come to accept it as the normal order of things that
what was once the rule in the Christian Church should be now only
the exception. Orthodoxy has framed a theory of the words of Jesus to
account for this strange departure of His Church from them. It teaches
us to believe that His example was not meant to be followed, in this
respect, by all His disciples. The power of healing which was in Him
was a purely exceptional power.