The Greatest Physician

The Greatest Physician

Psalm 103:3

Does God still heal? Is it always God’s will to heal a Christian? Why do Christians get sick? What about the faith healers? These are not simple questions to answer. This is not a simple subject…it’s complicated. It’s impossible to put into one basket all the differing views on this.

The perspectives on “faith healing” today are as varied as the number of faith healers…

Some say, God wants to heal all sickness, it’s not God’s will for you to be sick, if you’re sick, you’re simply not walking in the divine will of God.

Others say, it’s a result of personal sin/or, a lack of faith/or, the devil at work/some claim to have the Biblical gift of healing/others claim they don’t have the gift, but are simply being used of God to lead others to walk in faith/some claim to be able to heal w/ their touch, others with a spoken word, even thru tv and radio/some say that when you are healed as soon as you “claim it”, and that if you still feel sick, those are just “lying symptoms”…if I have the flu, and claim healing, and still have a temperature, it’s just a lying symptom from the devil, trying to convince me I’m still sick, and shake my faith.

1. Healing Defined

Healing is an ability of God which existed before there was anyone to heal. In the NT, healing was a sign gift. God chose to use that ability to make a point. And He gave that gift to some of His own as well, for the same purpose.

Today, God continues to heal, sovereignly, whom He will, but the sign gifts have ceased. Yet, He still chooses to heal oftentimes.

When the body heals, it’s by God’s power…when modern medicine heals, it’s only because of God’s power enabling man to work in that area physically, tho’ it’s still miraculous in appearance, and is to the extent that God is making it possible.

Bkgrnd: When Jesus walked the earth, He claimed to be God, and authenticated that fact w/ many signs and wonders, and even gave gifts unto His disciples…sign gifts…to testify to Who He is. Mt. 10 makes that clear. Acts 2:22, Jn. 2:11, Jn. 5:36

Once the Bible was completed, there was no longer a need for the sign gifts. Peter said, “We now have a more sure word of prophecy than a voice from heaven”…he was talking about the written word of God.

How did Jesus heal?

The Word-Faith movement love to quote Heb. 13:8 “Jesus, the same yesterday, today, forever”

In context, that verse is talking about his essence and attributes, not the methods that He uses throughout history, which do change.

Their “yesterday” only goes back 2000 years. Was Jesus present in the OT, sure He was (fiery furnace/creation, etc.) Were there sign gifts in the OT! No!

For the sake of argument, let’s say Jesus will still give the gift of healing today, to men like these today. If so, the gift will be the same as it was 2,000 years ago, correct?

2. Healing Demonstrated

Six characteristics of Jesus’ healing

1. Jesus went to the sick, He didn’t wait for them to come to Him!

Mt. 9:35

35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Today’s faith healers rarely leave their coliseums/tents/tv studios. They need a controlled environment, staged their way, where an offering plate can be passed, or a toll-free # given!

The same gift would be in hospitals, nursing homes, and sanitariums!

2. Jesus healed instantly

“immediately” the woman w/ issue of blood was healed

ten lepers cleansed “instantaneously”

crippled man at pool of Bethesda “immediately became well”

“that same hour” often used, meaning, right then.

3. Jesus healed totally

No recuperation period needed when Jesus healed. Diseases didn’t go into remission, only to later return…and there were no lying symptoms. When Jesus heals, the disease AND the symptoms depart!

One day Kenneth Hagan proclaimed at a mtg that a pastor was healed of deafness. After the mtg, the pastor still couldn’t hear. Here’s how Hagan rationalized it,

“if you don’t have enough faith in you to hold onto what you have, the devil will steal it away”

Now the pastor is not only deaf, now he’s on a guilt trip!

4. Jesus healed everyone

He didn’t leave long lines of disappointed people who had to go home in wheelchairs. He didn’t end a healing service to catch a plane, or because the TV airtime had expired!

Lk. 4:40

40Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.