In the process of the discussion, I would like to address the surface issue first, and then perhaps comment on the deeper issue if there is one. This deeper issue us usually where the true disagreement exists. I am not offering this information here for debating. It is just and explanation to the question you have asked.
Question 1 : Healing
God wants us to live healthy. And Jesus wants to heal us. When a believer makes a confession of faith that Jesus was sent by God, Jesus gives healing to the believer.
Of course I know what you mean iktca when you say this, and I do not want you to think I am overly rigid when I attempt to clarify what I am hearing from you. I have noticed that sometimes people who love God (like you do!) tend to say things with a certain "devotional" tone because of the sacred nature of the topic that is being discussed. The things they believe are very personal and close to their heart. That is good! Praise God! But for someone who is listening, it is hard to discern between the "devotion" and the "faith"... or the bone and the marrow if you will.
"
When a believer makes a confession of faith that Jesus was sent by God, Jesus gives healing to the believer.."
This statement assumes a number of things some of which will illustrate where WOF differs.
You statement assumes:
1.
That a confession of faith that "Jesus was sent by God" affects God in some way.(It does not... God has already done everything that needs to be done to effect your healing. Jesus is the one who performed all the actions required to acquire your healing and health.)
2
That God is going to change His mind about something because of something we do.(He is not... He made His mind up on the Garden when He refused let Jesus "drop the cup". It was finished then and there in the heart and mind of God. He is no longer deciding anything along these lines. We do not change God. His will has already been manifest in the gospel. It has all been decided.)
3.
That Healing has not already been given.(Yet it has. Jesus became a curse for us when He hung on the tree. In doing so He redeemed us from the curse of the law. It is primarily the curse of the law that gives sickness a right to exist in people. When Jesus redeemed us from sickness, sickness no longer has any legal right to exist on us.)
4.
That God is presently withholding healing from people.(He is not. He is not withholding anything from us. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. All the promises of God have been made yes and amen because of what Jesus did.)
5.
That Jesus is currently in the healing business.(Of course Jesus can do anything. But in the church age, Jesus has delegated healing to the church. We minister healing to people. We also obtain healing and health via faith in His word and the gospel. He is the vine we are the branches. We are the fruit bearing part of the plant.)
This same train of thought flows through all the WOF teachings. God and Jesus have already accomplished everything that needs to be done to provide you with salvation from every foe and the provision of every need. There is nothing left to do on their part. His will has been manifest in the life and ministry of Jesus. His will is not going to change for individuals. He does not want one sick while another well. All of this was decided on the day Jesus suffered and died for us. This is the greatest single difference (in my mind) between WOF and what is commonly called "orthodox" Christianity.
Most of Christianity does not really believe that it is finished. They think that God and Jesus are in heaven deciding who will be saved and who will not, who will be healed and who will not, what prayers will be answered and which ones will not. They act as though the gospel is a flexible contract that God can renege on at any time. That is not the gospel.
Bible says Jesus healed the sick. But Jesus said oftentimes, "Your faith made you well." Our Lord is truly humble!
I hear a silent conversation between Jesus and the cured. The cured says, "Thank you, Lord for healing me." Jesus says, "No, my child. Your faith made you well." The cured says, "No, Lord. Your grace made me well." Jesus says, "No, it was your faith that moved the heart of my Father and He sent the healing." The cured says, "Yes, Lord. I praise the Father for healing me."
Who cured the sick? Jesus did. Jesus is a humble God. He considers His healing power as nothing and praises the faith of the sick. By praising his faith, He is praising the Father who gave him the faith.
I understand what you are saying. You are presenting the idea that Jesus healed the sick regardless of their faith and was just being humble when He told them that it was their faith that made them well. Let me put that aside for a moment and try to get to the meat of the matter. The kind of faith held by most of Christianity (even Charismatic and Pentecostal believers) is what I call "
general faith." General faith basically says that no matter happens God will take care of us. No specific scriptures are being believed. Nothing specific is expected. General faith gets general results. This is why most believers do not get specific results to prayer. It is because they pray general prayers. They get non-specific answers. This is still better than those who live in the area of "
resignation faith". Resignation faith means we just accept whatever comes to be His will and live with it. They essentially do not believe anything at all. Everything that comes to pass is the same as if they believed nothing at all. I submit to you this is a very shallow sort of faith that pleases God very little. This is not overcoming faith... this is undergoing faith. It thinks that God may give us grace to
undergo the suffering... but not to
overcome it. Forget for a moment about receiving. Think about pleasing God. Those who come to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those Who diligently seek Him. Resignation faith may believe in Him, but it does not expect any sort of reward.
Hebrews 11:6 MSG
6 It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
Before we go one. Let's return to the idea that Jesus healed people regardless of what they believed, and that Their faith was not really a factor.
Mar 6 (ISV)
5 He couldn't perform a miracle there except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
6 He was utterly amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around to the villages and continued teaching.
These verses are pretty clear that what people believed was a factor in releasing the power of God that was resident in Jesus to heal.
Look at also these revealing verses:
Mark 5:25-34 ISV
25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years.
26 Although she had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all of her money, she had not been helped at all but rather grew worse.
27 Since she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his robe.
28 For she had been saying, "If I can just touch his robe, I will get well."
29 Her bleeding stopped at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her illness.
30 Immediately Jesus became aware that power had gone out of him. So he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
31 His disciples said to him, "You see the crowd jostling you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
32 But he kept looking around to see the woman who had done this.
33 So the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.
34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your illness."
These verses show that the power of God to heal was released by her faith. The power was present in Jesus at all times. It was her faith in this case that released it. Jesus felt the power leave Him, and looked for who it was that touched Him. It is evident in this case that It was truly her faith that caused the power to go out of Him. Jesus and the author of the gospel want us to know that it was her faith, and not His conscious action that released the power.
Bible says salvation is grace. No one deserves it. Every faith falls short of salvation. Since no one deserves it, salvation is grace. Healing is also grace. No one deserves it. No faith deserves healing. Every faith falls short of healing.
Grace is a wonderful subject. Let's look at when the grace of God was manifested, what role grace has in the redemption process, and exactly when this grace was exercised.
Hebrews 2:9 Webster
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
The grace (or mercy) of God was manifest for us when Jesus died for us. This was a one time event, and something that is settled and finished. Once that grace (or mercy) moved Him to that act of sacrifice... it is no longer grace, but faith in that act of grace that effects our salvation. Salvation today is not grace... it is a covenant fact. It is done. The blood as been shed. The transaction has been made. The day before He went to the cross no one deserved it.. but the day after everyone does. The price has been paid. Every price has been paid. He took away the sins of the world. They are gone as far as God is concerned. God is not taking back these things. He is not ignoring the sacrifice. It is no longer mercy.. it is a redemptive fact. Mercy was needed until the price was paid. After that, it is a possession. Salvation was effected by the grace (mercy) of God when Jesus made the sacrifice... but now it is obtained by faith in that finished sacrifice.
Once again we return to the same principle. WOF believes it is already done. It is no longer a matter of mercy. It is a matter of covenant law. To subject us who have believed to the punishment that Jesus already took would not only be unjust to us, but to Him as well. Why did he suffer and die for us if we are going to suffer and die as a result of sin anyway?
Some might say, Because Jesus received stripes for us, now we have the legal right for healing. It sounds so logical. But its equivalent to saying, Because of the cross, we now have the legal right to have salvation. We all know its a false statement.
But that is exactly what we are saying. We do have a legal right to salvation. He has purchased it for us, and all we need to do is take it. Not only salvation for our spirits, but salvation for every area of life. It is His will and purpose that we believe and receive these things. If they are not complete and if we cannot have confidence that they are true, then we have no basis for faith. We only have hope. Hope that He in His mercy will save us. But because the work of the Lord is complete, we can know, and have full confidence that is it truly finished. It is done! It is ours!
didaskalos,
Sometimes we miss to recognize that healing is grace and make the mistake of becoming legalistic. If we have the humility of Jesus, we will only say, Lord, it is your grace that healed us. We praise you and the Father.
We all need to seek the humility of Jesus and be restored to his grace. I wonder if some parts of the Word of Faith movement need the same.
You are in WOF. What is your observation?
I think I covered most of this above. Grace, mercy, and love pressed Jesus to the cross. Once the price has been paid... God's part in the redemption process is complete. You do not need mercy for salvation when it belongs to you and everyone else who will believe. You only need believe in the gospel.. that He has died for your sins according to the scriptures and was raised from the dead. It is a finished legal fact now. I suggest it is not "humility" but a lack of knowledge about what Jesus has truly accomplished for us.
I am not sure where you are getting the "legalistic" idea, perhaps you can expand on this.
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at your honorable feet while you perform your Christian duty of CRITICISM? 
