Does God heal today?

This blogpost comes from David Robertson, who blogs at theweeflea.com”.

Acts 3:1-10 is the account of Peter healing a lame beggar. It says (NIV):
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Here the gift of healing is displayed by Peter. But someone can’t do that today because they are not an apostle. This gift was a mark of an apostle. Paul said, “I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles” (2 Cor. 12:12). There are not New Testament apostles now. We can’t promise people that God will heal them of their illnesses and disabilities. It we promised that we would cause a lot of psychological harm to people.

But does God heal today? God can heal miraculously in the sense of a direct supernatural intervention. But normally God heals through means like doctors, nurses and medicine. It’s not a sin to take medicine. I sometimes hear Christians argue as though it were. For example, a young man in a wheelchair called Duncan was told by a faith healer, “if only you have enough faith you would get up out of that chair”. With muscular dystrophy it was cruel. The response of one of his friends was beautiful. He said to the man, “you’re bald and you have false teeth. It you have enough faith you’d take your false teeth out”!

Yes, God can heal. And in James for example we are told if someone is sick in the congregation you call for the elders and they anoint you with oil and they pray (Jas. 5:13-16). Of course, we can do that and pray for healing. But none of us have the ability to heal miraculously.

I remember talking about this once in a newsagency once and the guy was not even remotely a Christian. He said, “Oh I’ve got the gift of healing”. I said, “Really, what is it?”. And he said, “Watch this”. And I had a big thick coat on because it was in Scotland. And he came and put his hands on me, and I just felt this warm burning sensation. That would have him enough in some churches to be anointed as a prophet. But he was a complete pagan.

Yes, God can heal, but it doesn’t mean that He’s going to. It was not the primary mission of Jesus or of the apostles. For example, Paul said, “I left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2 Tim. 4:20). Why didn’t Paul just heal him and take him along? Maybe it was not God’s will or because Paul’s gift of healing was mainly a sign to unbelieving Jews.

So, pray to God for healing for yourselves and for others knowing that God can heal. But knowing also that the ultimate healing will only come at the resurrection where in heaven you will have a new body that will live forever (1 Cor. 15:42, 52). Until then we live in bodies that are weak and fragile and ultimately die (2 Cor. 4:7; 1 Cor. 15:42-43).

Appendix: The signs of an apostle

Paul said, “I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles” (2 Cor. 12:12). A “sign” is a miracle that points to something important. A “wonder” is a miracle that causes astonishment and conveys unusual events that engender awe. And “miracles” are supernatural events that transcend the natural order. “Signs and wonders” mark the authenticity of an apostle. False apostles could not demonstrate their authenticity via signs and wonders.

The apostles were unique and existed only during the New Testament era. They were uniquely connected to Jesus Christ (Jn. 13:20; Acts  9:15; 10:41; Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11). These men were the personal apostles of Christ (Lk. 6:13; Jn. 6:70-71; 15:16). They must have personally seen the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:15-20; 18:9-10; 22:17-21; 23:11; 26:16; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8).

Christ’s apostles received the gospel by direct revelation, not from other men (1 Cor. 11:23-25; 15:3; Gal. 1:11-12). Paul was given the unique disclosure of the church (Eph. 3:3-5). Christ’s apostles founded the church (Eph. 2:20; 4:12). Christ gave the apostles an extraordinary ability to perform miracles and healing (Mt. 10:1, 8; Mk. 3:15; Lk. 9:1). One of the most critical responsibilities of apostles, which was unique to them, was writing the New Testament. All the New Testament books were written by an apostle or a close associate (Mark, Luke, James, Jude). They wrote under the inspiration from the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26; 1 Cor. 2:13).

However, the Bible also uses the word “apostles” in a broader sense as missionaries sent by the local church. This latter group does not have miracle-working power like the apostles of Christ (Acts 14:4, 14; Rom. 16:7; Gal.1:19; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25). Apostles from churches are not commissioned by Christ but by the local church, who serve as their authorized representatives.

Acknowledgements

This blogpost comes from David Robertson, a Scottish commentator on religious, social, and political affairs. David moved to Australia in 2019 and currently lives in Newcastle in New South Wales.

The appendix comes from Grant Richison.

Posted, April 2024