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Faith healing for today?

tonychanyt

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John 6:

2 A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.
I.e., Jesus healed the sick to prove that he was sent by God.

Similarly, for the disciples, Matthew 10:

1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
The apostles healed many in Acts 5:

15b People brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.
And for Paul, Acts 19:

12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
All of the above healings show that they were sent by God. Miracles are often signs to demonstrate something. In the last case, it showed that Paul was an apostle.

Later, however, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 5:

23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
Paul didn't send Timothy his handkerchief to heal him. The healing miracles/signs were no longer associated with him.

More generally, individual believers could be gifted. 1 Corinthians 12:

8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit.
Should we pray for healing?

Yes, today, I believe God still heals supernaturally through faith at times, but at other times, he uses doctors. When God heals miraculously, he is proving a point. It is a sign, Mark 16:

17 these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
James 5:

14 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Having prayed, it is not always the will of God to heal everyone every time.

There was a special case of healing: Jesus healed a Canaanite woman's daughter because of her persistence. We cannot demand God to heal, but we can keep asking with faith.

Another unusual case was a woman who suffered from bleeding for 12 years. She was healed by touching Jesus' garment with faith (Mt 9:22).

Is faith healing for today?

On the healers' side, some followers of Jesus were given the power to heal as a sign to demonstrate their God-sent authority. Peter and Paul were apostles. Not every apostle was a healer. These people were extremely rare, then and now.

On the patients' side, some special cases of believers received what they faithfully asked for. This was between the patients and God. We have to distinguish between our wishful thinking and our faithful thinking with peace. Like other kinds of miracles, supernatural healing cannot be systematized. We need to consider them on a case-by-case basis.
 
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Guojing

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In the OT, sickness was always punishment due to disobedience and unbelief but that was under the Law

Under the Law, God literally promised Israel that if they obey him, they will never fall sick (Deuteronomy 7:15, Exodus 15:26)

Under the promised kingdom of heaven on Earth, no one in Israel will be maim or sick too (Isaiah 33:24, Psalms 103:1-5.

Israel broke their covenant of Law that was given at Mount Sinai. They killed or ignored all the prophets that God repeatedly sent to them when they were separated into 2 kingdoms and went into captivity under Babylon, and then under Persia. (Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19).

Thus, at the time of Jesus's first coming to Israel, many people in Israel are sick, demon possessed, precisely because they have forsaken that Law covenant. (Luke 13:11, Acts 3:2)

Jesus thus healed all of them as a sign to what life in that kingdom would be. Acts 10:38 is an especially beautiful summary by Peter to show that
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

But now, God no longer relates to us under the Law (Romans 6:14, 1 Timothy 1:9).

So when we believers are sick nowadays, we can be rest assured that it is not because we have disobeyed God in anyway.

Conversely, if we find ourselves getting better, it is NOT because we are currently doing something that pleases God.

That is what I believe Paul is teaching us now when he shared with us Romans 8:18-25 and 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, and when he gave Timothy common sense advice regarding his frequent stomach aliments.
 
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tonychanyt

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Under the Law, God literally promised Israel that if they obey him, they will never fall sick (Deuteronomy 7:15, Exodus 15:26)
Thanks for the reference. This is how to do referencing and quotation in a scholarly manner:
  1. Display and indent the relevant text.
  2. Selectively bold the particular keywords that are important to your point. There is no need to bold the entire sentence. Have a laser-sharp focus.
  3. Be concise and precise to the point. No need to quote the whole paragraph.
I do this for others who read my posts. It is a standard high-school scholarship. If you practice this, I guarantee it will sharpen your analytical thinking. In any case, no one is required to do it.
 
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Guojing

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Thanks for the reference. This is how to do referencing and quotation in a scholarly manner:
  1. Display and indent the relevant text.
  2. Selectively bold the particular keywords that are important to your point. There is no need to bold the entire sentence. Have a laser-sharp focus.
  3. Be concise and precise to the point. No need to quote the whole paragraph.
I do this for others who read my posts. It is a standard high-school scholarship. If you practice this, I guarantee it will sharpen your analytical thinking. In any case, no one is required to do it.

People are more keen in your response to the post content itself.
 
Upvote 0