Is God still in the healing business?
Last week I got an email from a podcast listener who said she had been kicked out of her church because she believes God still heals today, just like He did in the Bible. Her pastor said that was not true. He said, “God is no longer in the healing business.”
Let that sink in for just a minute. The pastor of a Christian church said, “God is no longer in the healing business.”
Apparently, the other church members agree with him, or go along with him, perhaps because they don’t want to be kicked out of church like this person was.
From where I stand, this is a sad state of affairs. First, that a Christian pastor, who has presumably studied the words of Jesus, could make such a pronouncement. And second, that so many others would agree with him, or at least pretend to because they didn’t have enough courage to disagree out loud.
I don’t have any personal knowledge of this pastor or his congregation, so I can’t speak specifically to why they believe God isn’t in the healing business today. But Jesus makes it very clear that he expected his followers to heal as he did.
God is always in the healing business
Now I quote this verse a lot here on the podcast. I just want to remind you that Jesus would never have said this if he wasn’t 100 percent certain that it was possible for every single follower.
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12 NIV
Jesus doesn’t say this will be true just for his immediate disciples, but to “whoever believes” in him. There’s no time limit on Jesus’s promise here. You and I and anyone can be one of the “whoevers” that believes and does the works he did.
Those works are not limited to healing. Jesus did so much more. I think it includes loving the people society has cast off, walking the extra mile with folks who need it. And what about loving and forgiving your enemies? That is definitely one of the works of Jesus and takes a lot of work to accomplish.
The power of spiritual curiosity
When someone declares emphatically that God is no longer in the healing business and kicks someone out of his church for disagreeing with him, it’s simply a sign that he has not experienced or seen for himself God’s healing power.
It would be like me saying Calculus doesn’t work anymore, just because I don’t understand it and couldn’t work out one of those advanced math problems. Okay, I realize that’s not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea.
What if this pastor had been full of spiritual curiosity instead of dogmatic self-certainty? What if instead of kicking this person out of his church, he had been genuinely interested to find out why they believed God’s healing power is available today?
What if he had looked at the Bible with this question in mind: Is it possible that God can heal today? He might have come to a different conclusion than when he read the Bible through the lens of his own opinions and preconceptions.
On the surface, this situation is unfortunate because the pastor is missing a key element of Jesus’s teaching. But on a deeper level, he’s not just missing, but denying a crucial aspect of Jesus’s overall message: healing. He thinks he’s fighting for Jesus, but on this point, he’s actually fighting against Jesus, what he stood for, and what Jesus knew would be possible for all time, for all his followers.
Why some folks don’t believe God is still in the healing business
Thinking back over many conversations in the last 50 years on this very topic, there have been a lot of people who have not just shared a belief that God doesn’t heal today like He did in Bible times, but they have actually turned it into part of their declaration of faith. It has become a doctrinal platform they stand on.
Somehow, they explain that healing in the New Testament was only to point to Jesus as the Messiah, but that we don’t need these signs and wonders any more.
My response is: What better way to point to Christ today than through healing in his name!
I’ve also talked to people who were taught God does heal today, and they quote various Bible verses such as John 14:12, which I mentioned a couple of minutes ago. As well as this one from
Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, Psalm 103:3, 4 NIV
Even though these folks have been taught these Bible verses and believe them to some degree, they have never experienced healing. So they revise their faith and try to figure out some reason why God is no longer, or not always, in the healing business.
How to discern God’s will
They decide it must not be God’s will for them to be healed. And that gives them some sort of peace so they can get on with their lives.
Who can know whether it’s God’s will for you or someone else to be healed?
Well actually, Jesus gives us some very good clues to help us be more in tune with what God’s will is, including this subject of being healed.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray for whatever God’s will in heaven is to be done here on earth.
…your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 NIV
According to what Jesus tells us in this prayer, God’s will is being done in heaven, always. Have you ever stopped to think about what God’s will in heaven is for you, someone else, or a given situation?
The “healing business” is part of God’s will for you
What is God’s will for you in heaven? It’s only good. His will is that you are free, whole, complete, and loving, that you know you’re loved. And so much more. And it’s all true in heaven right now.
Jesus wants us to pray that whatever God’s will for you is in heaven, that’s what His will is for you here on Earth.
Can you possibly imagine God’s will for you in heaven is to be sick, sinful, scarred, scared or unsatisfied and incomplete? Absolutely not. Then, it is never God’s will for you to experience these things here on Earth.
I did an episode on this topic years ago which you might really enjoy. It’s called: Is It Ever God’s Will You Are NOT Healed When You Pray? It’s episode 29.
In fact I put together a playlist of a few previous episodes called Spiritual Healing Today.
Is God or isn’t He in the healing business today?
So let’s come back to the question of why one person might be convinced God is no longer in the healing business and someone else is convinced He is.
As I already mentioned, it’s easy not to believe in something you haven’t seen or experienced for yourself. But if you believe only what you have seen is possible, it sort of makes you the center and circumference of the universe. But that role belongs only to God.
Just because you haven’t seen God heal someone doesn’t mean He doesn’t heal. It just means you haven’t seen it. That’s it.
But for the full answer, we have to dig a little deeper. I have noticed over many years, that Christians who take a dogmatic, doctrinal, and legalistic approach to their faith have a harder time seeing God in the healing business today.
The real reason people don’t think God is in the healing business
Their faith depends on correct doctrine. In fact, everything about their faith becomes a doctrine, a theological point, a rule they have to obey. They’re holding their doctrines so tightly they have a hard time receiving healing from the outstretched arms of God.
When your fists are clinched, you can’t accept a gift someone offers you unless you open your hands and set aside what you’re holding.
Then there are the Christians who are not so dogmatic in their doctrines, but are more interested in embracing the spirit of Christ in their daily lives. They conscientiously strive to follow Jesus, obey his commandments, and live each day practicing his teachings.
These folks are much more receptive to the idea that God heals today, as He always has and always will.
God never changes
There is no place in the Bible where Jesus says God will stop healing. In fact, God says emphatically
“I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:6, 7, 10 NIV
God has not changed. His healing power hasn’t gone away or dissolved. He is always willing and able to help and heal us. The problem comes when we turn away from God, or get so blinded by our doctrines, when we do not obey His commands, and we don’t give to Him all that is due Him.
If we tithe will God heal us?
Does that mean we are supposed to tithe, to give ten percent of our income to church, and then God will be pleased with us and heal us?
Some churches insist their members tithe in this literal way. But the tithing referred to here is a very specific arrangement for the Levite priesthood, which is no longer in place. Jesus never said we need to tithe in the sense of giving ten percent of our income.
He wanted us to give 100 percent of ourselves, everything we have and are, to following him.
Does that mean if we don’t give ourselves fully to Christ every minute of every day that God wont’ heal us? Of course not. This is a goal that we strive for. It’s about which direction you’re walking, following in the footsteps of Christ, or going in the opposite direction.
How to experience more healing
Now, you may be wondering: Hey James, this all sounds great, but how do I experience more of God’s healing power in my life. I really do believe God can heal me today. I just want to experience more of it. There are things I need to be healed of.
I’m going to come at this question in a little different way than I usually do. In fact, maybe this isn’t the best way to ask the question. Or it might not even be the right question.
Remember when Jesus sent out 70, or 72 of his followers (depending on which Bible translation you read) to preach and heal? When they returned with amazing reports of healing, Jesus reminded them to keep things in their proper perspective. He tells them,
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:19, 20 NIV
Jesus wanted us to remember that our names are written in heaven. This is what we need to focus on. Yes, of course we should be grateful for all healing we experience or pray for and see evidence of. But Jesus didn’t want us to stop there.
Your name is written in heaven
What does it mean to rejoice that your name is written in heaven? It can be so many things. In short, it means your name, your identity, is inscribed, or established in God’s kingdom. Your true being, the fact you are the image and likeness of God, is recorded in heaven.
Your relationship with God is permanent and cannot be erased. Jesus is saying: Remember who you are in heaven, the image and likeness of my Father.
That is the basis of you being able to heal. That is the reason Jesus can give you “authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.”
So, instead of trying to see more of God’s healing power in your life, perhaps a better place to start is to ponder, cherish, and rejoice over the fact your name is written in heaven. And the names of everyone you’re praying for are written in heaven as well.
This changes your perspective from focusing on the problem that needs to be healed to seeing who you and others are as children of God.
The more clearly you see yourself as the image and likeness of God, with your name, your spiritual identity, established in heaven, the more receptive you’ll be to God’s healing power.
And why is this true? As a child of God, as a follower of Jesus, you become an heir of the kingdom of heaven, where all is good, whole, pure, and complete. Here’s how Paul explains it.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:16, 17 NIV
The reason you can heal and be healed
What does it mean to be an heir of God? It’s quite simple. You inherit all God’s goodness and love, all God’s abundance and well-being, spiritual wholeness, and joy. And so much more.
And if you have experienced some of the suffering Jesus did, which most of us have, it impels you to turn to and lean on God, just as Jesus did, so you can share in his glory.
The reason you can heal and be healed is because you are a child of God, an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ. Don’t put the cart before the horse. Focus on who you are, that your name is written in heaven, and that you have inherited all God’s goodness. You are an heir of the kingdom of God.
God is still in the healing business, even if a pastor declares with absolute certainty that He is not.
I have seen too many healings in my own life and in the lives of friends from many different churches to believe otherwise.
If you are in the God-is-not-in-the-healing-business camp, I urge you to be more curious about why it just might be possible that God still heals today. See what Jesus says about healing. Talk to people who say they’ve been healed. Reach out to me. I’d love to talk. I’ll share the healings I’ve had.
If you do believe God still heals but would like to experience more healing, think about what it means that your name is written in heaven, and ask God to show you whatever else He wants to show you.
And if your life is full of God’s healings, then find ways to share them with others. Help them discover that God is still in the healing business today.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Photo Credit: Sebastien Gabriel
_____________
James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
Make a donation to support the show
Listen and leave a review on
_____________
Bible References
John 14:12 NIV
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Psalm 103:3, 4 NIV
3 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
4 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
Matthew 6:10 NIV
10 …your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Malachi 3:6, 7, 10 NIV
6 “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.
10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
Luke 10:19, 20 NIV
19 “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Romans 8:16, 17 NIV
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
