There is great debate in the Body of Christ today concerning the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. Did the operation of the gifts cease with the death of the last Apostle? Were signs and wonders, miracles and manifestations of the Spirit only for a season? Does God still heal those who are sick and suffering today? I believe that the Bible answers these question in Hebrews 13:8. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
There are many that believe that God is able to bring healing to those who are suffering. Most believe that God is able, but the question that is often asked; “Is it God’s will to heal?” I believe that the answers for this and for all questions that we may have about healing are to be found in the pages of the Scriptures.
The New Testament Gospels give us a glimpse into the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 9:35-36 reads, “Then Jesus went about all their cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Verse 36 continues, “But when He saw the multitudes He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."
The Bible tells us that when He saw the sick and the suffering that He was moved with compassion and that He healed all that were sick. Does God still heal out of compassion today? The Bible teaches in Mark 16:18, that we are commissioned by the Lord to “lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”
We are instructed by the Apostle James in James 5:14-15, “Is anyone among you sick? 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.” Verse 15 continues, “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
In I Corinthians 12:9, 28 we learn that one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit that is given to the New Testament Church is the gift of healing. These nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the tools of the New Testament Church.
Daniel Van Cleave writes in Kingdom Dynamics, “In order that the church’s mission might not be limited to the abilities of mere human enterprise, the Holy Spirit provides specially designed, distributed, and energized gifts. Among these are gifts of healings. The clear intent is that the supernatural healing of the sick should be a permanent ministry established in the church alongside and abetting the work of evangelizing the world. This is for today – timeless – for “the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance (irrevocable) Romans 11:29.”[i]
Why not look up and meditate on the following Scriptures that reveal God’s will concerning healing:
- Exodus 15:26b – “For I am the Lord that heals you.”
- Psalms 103:3 – “Who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases.”
- Isaiah 53:4,5 – “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” Verse 5b – “…And by His stripes we are healed.”
- Psalms 91:10 – “Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.”
- 1 Peter 2:24 - who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
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