Banner of Praises Ministries
Rev. Dr. Levi Howard Wright, Pastor & Founder
“DO YOU HAVE THE DUNAMIS POWER TO HEAL”
Acts 10:37-38: "You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-- how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power [dunamis], and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."
INTRODUCTION
How Did Jesus Heal People?
The Bible says that Jesus came to earth as a man (He was both God and man) and that He received the Holy Spirit in order to be empowered for His earthly ministry. This can be demonstrated by following the sequence of events as Luke described them:
Luke 3:21-22: "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove."
Luke 3:23: "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry."
Luke 4:1-2: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil."
Luke 4:13-14: "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power [dunamis] of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside."
Notice the sequence of events:
First, Jesus was baptized in water and then He received the Holy Spirit.
Next we are told that He began His ministry after receiving the Holy Spirit.
We are then told that He allowed Himself to be led by the Spirit rather than deciding on His own what He wished to do, just as we are to be led by the Holy Spirit rather than following our own wishes and desires.
Next we see Jesus returning to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit after resisting the devil in the desert.
Finally we are told that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power.
The Greek word for "power" in these verses is dunamis, which means "force" or "miraculous power," according to Strong’s Greek Dictionary.
Jesus was born without sin and He lived His life without sin, yet the passages above tell us that He needed to receive dunamis (the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit) in order to be empowered for His earthly ministry.
Jesus is the perfect human and our perfect role model, and we will see in this handout that after we become saved we need to follow His example by receiving the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit in order to fully carry out our roles in the supernatural body of Christ.
It’s the Dunamis Power of the Holy Spirit that Heals People.
Before Jesus came to earth, He emptied Himself of His own power and made Himself "nothing" so that He could become human (Philippians 2:5-8).
As we saw in the previous section, before Jesus did any miracles He received dunamis (the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit) in order to be empowered for His earthly ministry.
As the perfect example of a human, Jesus did not heal people by His own divine power, He healed people by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as you will do!
Now, have you ever wondered why Jesus and the apostles and early Christians healed the sick by laying hands on them?
For example, Luke 4:40 says, "When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them."
It probably took a long time for Jesus to go to each person in the crowd and lay hands on them!
Why didn’t He do what we do by waiting until a more convenient time and then praying privately for God to heal those people?
There’s something about praying for a person when you’re standing right next to him that makes it more effective than praying for someone at a distance.
God certainly can answer prayers for someone at a distance, yet in the Bible we see Jesus touching blind people’s eyes, putting His fingers in deaf people’s ears, and so on (see Mark 7:33 and 8:25, for example).
When people came to Jesus to ask Him to go and pray for a sick person, He didn’t say, "I’ll pray for that person during my prayer time tonight" like we would do.
Instead, He immediately headed off to where the sick person was (as in Matthew 9:18, Luke 7:14) or asked that the sick person be brought to Him (as in Mark 9:19, Luke 13:12).
Jesus did not make it a practice to heal people at a distance.
In fact, there are only three recorded examples where Jesus healed a person who was not physically near Him, and in each case it was because someone else took Jesus at His word and demonstrated great faith (Matthew 8:5-13, 15:21-28, John 4:46-53).
Are we so much better than Jesus that we can just sit back and pray for a sick person without going near him?
If Jesus was more effective in healing by being right there and touching the person, then it will also be more effective for us to pray for someone’s healing by being right there and touching the person as well.
Jesus said that anyone who has faith in Him will do the same miracles that He did (John 14:11-14), and He is our example to guide us in how to do miracles.
Notice that when you turn on a light switch you are making a connection which allows electrical power to flow through the light switch and into the light bulb.
In a similar way, when you lay hands on the sick you are making a connection which allows the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit to flow into the sick person:
Luke 8:46 says that Jesus felt power flow out of Him when a woman touched His cloak:
Luke 8:46: "But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power [dunamis] has gone out from me."
1.Luke 6:19 says that sick people from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon were trying to touch Jesus because power was flowing from Him and healing them all:
Luke 6:19: "and the people all tried to touch him, because power [dunamis] was coming from him and healing them all."
2.On another occasion, sick people from Gennesaret were trying to touch Jesus because power was flowing from Him and healing them all:
Matthew 14:35: "And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed."
3.Luke 5:17 says that the dunamis power of the Lord was present for healing the sick:
Luke 5:17: "One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power [dunamis] of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick."
Acts 5:15-16 says that people were healed when the apostle Peter was close enough to them that his shadow fell on them. The sick people were brought close enough to Peter so that the dunamis power would flow from him to heal them:
Acts 5:15-16: "As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."
4.Acts 19:11-12 says that handkerchiefs and aprons which had touched the apostle Paul were taken to the sick, and all the sick were healed. The dunamis power was somehow transferred from Paul onto these objects:
Acts 19:11-12: "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."
After you receive the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit, when you lay hands on someone in faith and in the Name of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit can flow from you into the sick person.
More Examples of the Dunamis Power of the Holy Spirit
The following passages demonstrate that the apostles and some of the early Christians had received the same dunamis power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had received, and it empowered them to carry on Jesus’ evangelism and healing ministry. This is the same dunamis power that we need to receive as well.
1.Acts 10:38 says that Jesus received dunamis in order to be empowered for His ministry:
Acts 10:38: "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power [dunamis], and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."
As we saw in Part One of these handouts, Jesus turned His evangelism and healing ministry over to us in the Great Commission. After we become saved we need to receive this dunamis power in order to continue Jesus’ evangelism and healing ministry until He returns.
Jesus needed it. The apostles needed it. The Christians in the New Testament needed it. We need it.
2.In Luke 24:46-49, Jesus told the disciples that they were to go out and carry on His earthly ministry, but He specifically commanded them not to do anything until they had received dunamis:
Luke 24:46-49 "He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power [dunamis] from on high."
The disciples needed the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit in order to fully carry out the Great Commission, and so do we.
3.In Acts 1:8 we again see Jesus telling the disciples that they will receive dunamis in order to empower them for carrying out the Great Commission:
Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power [dunamis] when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
As we will see, on the day of Pentecost the disciples received this dunamis power when they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).
4.In Acts 4:29-30, the apostles and believers specifically prayed for miraculous signs, wonders, and healings to occur:
Acts 4:29-30: "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
We have Scriptural support to pray for and expect miraculous signs, wonders, and healings to occur. However, miracles require faith, and many Christians lack faith for instant miracles to occur. No faith, no miracles. No faith, no healings.
5.Acts 4:33 says that after Pentecost the apostles operated in great power (dunamis):
Acts 4:33: "With great power [dunamis] the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all."
6.In Acts 6:2-3, the apostles gathered all of the disciples together and told them to choose seven men who were known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom:
Acts 6:2-3: "So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them"
This is interesting, because it tells us that not every Christian in the first century was "full of the Spirit."
All Christians receive the indwelling Holy Spirit at the time of their salvation (according to passages such as Ephesians 1:13-14), but the passage above says that all Christians are not necessarily "Spirit-filled."
Of these seven men who were known to be "full of the Spirit" (or "Spirit-filled") in Acts 6:2-5, only two of them (Stephen and Philip) are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament.
Both of these men demonstrated the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit:
Acts 6:8: "Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power [dunamis], did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people."
Acts 8:13: "And he [Simon the Sorcerer] followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles [literally, "signs and works of power" (dunamis)] he saw.
Stephen and Philip were not apostles, yet they are described as being "Spirit-filled," and they operated in the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit as they carried out the Great Commission.
7.It is well-known that the apostle Paul operated mightily in the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit, as in Acts 19:11, for example:
Acts 19:11: "God did extraordinary miracles [literally, "works of power" (dunamis)] through Paul"
8.The apostle Paul told the church at Rome that he fully proclaimed the Gospel by demonstrating the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit:
Romans 15:18-19: "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done--by the power [dunamis] of signs and miracles, through the power [dunamis] of the Spirit.
So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ."
As we will continue to see, Paul did not consider the Great Commission to be simply a matter of "witnessing" to people (as we call it) and getting them to say a "sinner’s prayer."
Paul said that he fully proclaimed the Gospel by demonstrating the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit.
9.In 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, Paul said that he did not preach the Gospel merely with words (what we call "witnessing") because he did not want to rob the cross of its power.
Why? Because the message of the cross is the power (dunamis) of God:
1 Corinthians 1:17-18: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-- not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power [dunamis] of God."
There is power in the message of the cross, and it is our job to demonstrate that power.
10.The apostle Paul was highly intelligent and highly educated.
(See Acts 22:2-3 and Galatians 1:13-14, for example), and he received amazing revelation knowledge directly from Christ (Galatians 1:11-12), yet he said that he did not rely on "witnessing" to preach the Gospel.
Instead, he demonstrated the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit so that people’s faith would rest on God’s power:
1 Corinthians 2:4-5: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power [dunamis], so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power [dunamis]."
The apostle Paul could have led multitudes to Jesus through "witnessing," but he believed that it was important to demonstrate the dunamis power of God.
This is exactly what Jesus told us to do in the Great Commission (as we saw in Part One of these handouts).
11.In 1 Corinthians 4:19-20, the apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that he planned to visit them and that he was going to take the measure of certain people who spoke arrogantly against him.
Notice that Paul planned to put to the test what kind of dunamis power these arrogant people had.
Why? Because the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (dunamis):
1 Corinthians 4:19-20: "But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power [dunamis] they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power [dunamis]."
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to give them correction and instruction, which means that neither he nor any other apostle was in Corinth at that time.
Yet Paul said that when they were assembled in the Name of the Lord, the dunamis power of the Lord was present:
1 Corinthians 5:5: "When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power [dunamis] of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan"
The dunamis power of the Holy Spirit was never meant to be just for the apostles.
12.The apostle Paul said that we have "all-surpassing power [dunamis]" from God:
2 Corinthians 4:7: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power [dunamis] is from God and not from us."
Why are we given this all-surpassing power from God? Because we are meant to use it!
13.The apostle Paul said that as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way, which includes operating in the dunamis power of God:
2 Corinthians 6:4-7: "Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power [dunamis] of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;"
14.Jesus told the apostle Paul that His dunamis power is made perfect in weakness:
2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power [dunamis] is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power [dunamis] may rest on me."
People often quote this passage when they (or their friends or loved ones) are going through difficult times, but we overlook the fact that it is the dunamis power of God which is supposed to operate through us in our weaknesses!
15.The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia in order to correct certain practices going on there.
The fact that Paul had to write to the Galatians indicates that neither he nor any other apostles were in Galatia at that time to personally correct the church body there.
Yet Paul said that the Holy Spirit was demonstrating works of dunamis (miraculous power) among them:
Galatians 3:5: "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles [literally, "works of power" (dunamis)] among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"
The dunamis power of the Holy Spirit works through believers (by faith) whether there are apostles present or not. This power was never meant to be just for the apostles.
16.The apostle Paul prayed specifically that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened so that we would know the incomparably great power (dunamis) that is available to every believer:
Ephesians 1:18-19: "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power [dunamis] for us who believe. That power [dunamis] is like the working of his mighty strength..."
Why do all believers have this incomparably great power available to us? Because we are meant to use it to point people to Jesus!
17.In Colossians 1:10-12, Paul tells us to bear fruit in every good work, to grow in the knowledge of God, and to be empowered with all power (dunamis):
Colossians 1:10-12: "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power [literally, "being empowered with all power" (dunamis)] according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father"
18.In 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Paul said that his "witnessing" was done not simply with words but with demonstrations of the power (dunamis) of the Holy Spirit:
1 Thessalonians 1:5: "because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power [dunamis], with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction."
19.Paul said that God has given us a spirit of power (dunamis):
2 Timothy 1:7: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power [dunamis], of love and of self-discipline."
Why did God give us this power? Because we are meant to use it to point people to Jesus!
20.Paul told Timothy that there would come a time in the future (Paul’s and Timothy’s future) when people would deny the dunamis power of God:
2 Timothy 3:1-5: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power [dunamis].
Have nothing to do with them."
In my religious background I was always taught (like so many other Christians) that certain spiritual gifts and laying hands on the sick "died out" in the first century, even though the Bible never says such a thing.
Is this an example of denying the dunamis power of God, just as Paul said would happen in the "last days"?
Many Christian scholars believe that we are in the "last days" now, in which case the things that Paul described must be happening right now.
"Coincidentally" we can see that many churches are denying that the dunamis power of God still operates through laying hands on the sick, speaking in tongues, prophesying, and so on, just as Paul said would happen!
Paul said that it is wrong to deny the dunamis power of God.
Instead, we should be demonstrating God’s power.
21.The writer of the book of Hebrews said that it is impossible for people to be brought back to repentance after they have shared in the Holy Spirit and in the powers (dunamis) of the coming age:
Hebrews 6:4-6: "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers [dunamis] of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace."
We are meant to be operating in the dunamis powers of the coming age right now.
Conclusion: The apostles and early Christians received the same dunamis power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had received, and it empowered them to carry on Jesus’ evangelism and healing ministry.
This is the same dunamis power that we need to receive as well, because we have been commissioned, in writing, to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit in order to point people to Jesus. Amen.... Amen.....
