Some Thoughts on Divine Healing https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/t273 Runboard| Some Thoughts on Divine Healing en-us Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:10:45 +0000 Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:10:45 +0000 https://www.runboard.com/ rssfeeds_managingeditor@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds managing editor) rssfeeds_webmaster@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds webmaster) akBBS 60 Some Thoughts on Divine Healinghttps://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/p403,from=rss#post403https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/p403,from=rss#post403Some Thoughts on Divine Healing  "Have all the gifts of healing?" (1 Corinthians 12:30) (The context shows the implied answer is NO!) Dear people, while I definitely believe that God does and often will heal people in answer to the prayer of faith, I also believe that we must be careful NOT to insist that miracles of healing should be the same (in type and quantity) as they were in the time of the apostles, nor that they MUST always happen. I would like to remind us of some important points surrounding healing and other miracles: 1. To Peter and the other apostles the Lord gave special gifts, one of which was the gift of healing. Not everyone has the gift of healing, though I certainly believe that God can and does answer any Christian's prayer for healing -- according to His will and according to their faith. "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:14-16) 2. Miracles were used of God more during the time when the New Testament church did NOT yet have all the New Testament Scriptures. Miracles, including healing, were often used to substantiate that the words spoken by the apostles (and even Jesus Christ Himself) were indeed from God. Now that we have the New Testament Scriptures, which were already substantiated around the time that they were written, we are more in need of faith in the Word than of faith for physical healing. Remember that when Thomas believed after seeing our risen Lord, Jesus Christ, because he saw the marks of the nails and the wound from the spear in His side, then Jesus said unto him, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29) 3. Though there certainly is a lack of faith for healing in our day, faith itself may be present even when there is no healing. Remember that Paul, the apostle, even left someone sick somewhere ("but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick." {2 Timothy 4:20}. He did NOT heal everyone, nor did he always receive healing for himself -- having besought the Lord three times to be healed of his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). In this case, it certainly was NOT God's will to heal him. There are times when a sickness or disability are used by God. Sometimes we might have no idea why God continues to allow sickness. IF it is His will to heal, then we most assuredly should believe and be healed by His all-powerful hand, but IF it is not His will, it will take just as much a genuine faith to trust that He knows what He is doing -- to leave it in His hands. There is coming a day when all sickness will be gone and all tears will be wiped away! Let us so live and believe God today that we may be accounted worthy to enjoy such glorious bounties throughout eternity! 4. The spiritual healing of souls is far more important than any and all physical healing. The greatest of all miracles are the miracles of the new birth and of becoming sanctified wholly! There have been fake healings and even demonic healings of physical bodies, but no false prophet or miracle worker can do for the human heart what God's great salvation can do through Jesus Christ our Lord. 5. Not all "miracles" are of God. Remember when Aaron threw down his rod and God made it to become a snake. Then the sorcerers of Pharoah's court also threw down their rods and they also became snakes. Both were miracles as far as man was concerned, but only one was done by God; and, the others were demonic in nature. Finally, the snake of Aaron's rod swallowed up those of the sorcerers. Upon taking the tail of the snake, it once again became Aaron's rod. By this the Egyptians knew that they were not just dealing with something supernatural, but rather they were dealing with the Almighty God, the only true God, the Creator of the world and mankind, and also He who is the Savior of His people! (Exodus 7:8-12) By the way, IF God leads a person into a ministry in which God heals people, I do not have a problem with that -- as long as it is indeed God (and, it will therefore be REAL!). IF God gives someone a gift of healing, I do NOT have a problem with that. I DO, however, have a problem with an emphasis on healing that puts the healing of the body on a higher pedestal than the healing of the soul!nondisclosed_email@example.com (BibleNote Writer)Mon, 09 Jul 2018 10:21:36 +0000