The Gift of Healing

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Jun Malazo

“Hey Pastor…Do you have the power of healing?”  I was recently asked this question after visiting someone.  The topic of miraculous divine healing has been an issue that many well- meaning people do not have a clear understanding of and in turn are being deceived.  There are many so-called “faith healers” today that mislead people to believing that whatever physical ailment they have will be healed if they just have enough faith. 

We often see advertisements for a “Healing Crusade” in our town.  Sadly, many attend these meetings with high hopes that God will heal their physical ailments but in turn come away empty.  Faith healers and those that advocate them make merchandise of peoples’ desperate situations.  They will sell items that they say contain miracle healing powers (oils, napkins, etc.).  Because of their desperation, people fall into the deception only to walk away disappointed. 

Those who advocate the practice of faith healing do so for many reasons.  One of the core reasons is often because of some misinterpreted Scriptural passages in the Bible that lead to a confusion of the miracles sign gifts practiced by the apostles in the early church.  One question that must be considered is this:  Are the miracles sign gifts of the early New Testament Church supposed to be practiced today?  In order to fully give an adequate answer to this question, we must first understand spiritual gifts given to the New Testament Church and how this applies today.  Notice what the Apostle says in Romans 12:1-8:

"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness"  (Romans 12:3-8, KJV).

According to the verses above, every believer and member of a local church is gifted in one or more areas to compliment the body of Christ—the church.  The list starts with prophecy which is basically proclaiming the truth.  The list goes on to ministering, teaching, exhorting, giving, ruling, and mercy.  To stay on topic I will not expound on each one of these gifts.  However, suffice it to say, that none of these gifts involve any supernatural ability of the gift of healing.

There is yet another set of gifts given to us in 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul expounds on the gifts of healing, miracles, tongues, and interpretation of tongues, etc.  We call these gifts sign or revelatory gifts.  There is no doubt that the gift of healing was present during the early New Testament era.  However, looking at the bigger picture of the background of 1 Corinthians and looking at its context as a whole will prove that sign gifts ceased at the end of the apostolic age. 

A careful observation of 1 Corinthians would reveal a reoccurring theme that the Apostle Paul was trying to emphasize.  There is always an exhortation of unity specially in the context of the church as a body of believers.  This is because one of the issues that Paul was dealing with was the issue of disunity within the church.  The whole idea of 1 Corinthians 12 is that, as the body has many parts and functions unique within the parts and must work as a whole, a church also must operate in unity in order to function properly.  No part is greater than the other.  And if one part neglects its function the entire body is affected. 

The church in Corinth was overemphasizing the sign gifts so much that they were neglecting a more important aspect of church which is unity in love and truth.  This is not to say that sign gifts given during the apostolic era were not important at all.  The sign gifts were all part of God’s overall plan to give the apostles authority as they preached the gospel.

The very next chapter in 1 Corinthians reveals to us that the sign gifts will end. 

"Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away"  (1 Corinthians 13:8-10, KJV).

The Apostle says that there will be a cessation of the sign gifts.  When will this be?  He says, “But when that which is perfect is come….”  Paul was speaking of the completed Word of God—the Bible.  During the time of Paul’s writing to the Corinthian Church the Bible was not yet put together as a whole.  The Bible is the compete revelation of God to mankind.  Through its pages we see the Person and Work of Jesus Christ as it authenticates His deity and His Messiahship.

What about the healings recorded in the Bible?  The miracles of Jesus Christ recorded in all the gospels were unique.  It is important to remember the very central reason why these miracles were recorded in the Bible.  Christ’s miracles authenticated that He was the Messiah.  His miracles were never meant for us to imitate.  Notice what the Apostle John said about the miracles of Christ:

"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name"  (John 20:30-31, KJV).

Likewise, the Apostles’ miracles were not to set a pattern for believers to follow.  Rather, the miracles were for the sign of their apostleship (2 Corinthians 12:12).  If the gift of healing was meant for every believer, then the sign of apostleship would be of no effect.  If believers in general could have performed sign miracles, even in the first century, the brethren at Joppa would not have called for Peter to come and raise Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:36-42). Peter’s miracle that day was the “sign of an apostle.”

“Does God have the power to heal today?”  The answer to that question is a resounding absolutely yes!  As mentioned earlier, God is the Master of healing.  Jesus is referred to as the Great Physician.  However, it is important to know that God heals according to His own will and timing.  Faith healers make it seem that divine healing can be on demand.  The fact of the matter is that there are many instances in the Bible that godly people did not receive healing through divine intervention.

After Paul’s writing to the Corinthians we see many evidences of believers who suffered physical ailments and yet were not healed with the gift of healing.  They prayed and asked God for healing, but it wasn’t God will to miraculously heal them in the same manner that Jesus and the Apostles healed people. 

Timothy was not healed supernaturally.  The Apostle Paul did not perform a healing miracle, but instead, advised him to consider a remedy to take care of an ongoing condition (1 Timothy 5:23).  Paul himself learned that it is not always God’s will to heal.  In 2 Corinthians 12:10, he said, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”  Paul learned a valuable lesson that sometimes God doesn’t remove the pain.  This is because the pain often comes with a valuable lesson.  Instead of immediate healing, God gave Paul the grace to endure the pain as he wrote, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me"  (2 Corinthians 12:9, KJV).

“Only God has the power of healing,” was my response to the question above.  The God of the Bible is the God of miracles.  The Bible is filled with God’s display of His power to heal those that are blind, lame and even to raise the dead back to life. 

Divine healing has always been and will always be in accordance to God’s will and timing.  We can ask and pray for healing, but we must be surrendered to whatever God’s will is for our lives.  We must remember that God has a purpose for our lives. 

Sometimes the physical ailments are His way of drawing us closer to Him.  Whatever God does in our lives, it is for our good and it is always for His glory and honor.