In my first article in this series, I concluded that the rejection of present day healing is a form of isogesis in which we seek to conform the Word of God to our own experience, rather than allowing it to conform us to it. Those who deny that healing is for today either reject miracles in general, have little or no faith in God’s ability, or embrace a position called cessationism, which holds that the nine spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 are no longer available since the completion of the New Testament.
The cessationist presupposition is that once the church had in its possession the written New Testament, we no longer need to rely upon the power of the Spirit to work alongside the verbal proclamation of the gospel message. This is a culturally Greek way of thinking that understands faith as being mostly a mental exercise rather than a holistic (spirit, soul, and body) response to the most dynamic and wonderful proclamation ever made. Cessationists are comfortable with limiting the meaning of God’s Word to what we have experienced, which is a form of humanism. The proper approach is to ask God to bring our experience in line with what the Bible teaches. We should never settle for anything less. It is dangerous to discount our need for the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Jesus announced in Luke 4:18 that he was in partnership with the Holy Spirit during his earthly ministry. It is impossible to imagine how he could have carried out his mission without the Spirit’s power and the spiritual gifts.
If Jesus depended completely on the Spirit to fulfill his ministry, how much more must we!
Jesus later instructed his disciples to wait until they received the baptism in the Spirit before embarking on fulfilling the Great Commission. (Acts 1:8) Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica that the gospel had come to them in word and the power of the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 1:5) The first disciples had the written scriptures from the Old Testament; yet, they needed the power of the Spirit working alongside their gospel presentations to convince people of the truth of their message. Today followers of Christ, who have the written scriptures of the New Testament and Old, still need the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit, perhaps more than ever.
The deception that is upon the world has not decreased. Satan has not gone on vacation. People in general are not persuaded by a mere intellectual argument. We need God’s power to work together with the verbal presentation of the gospel!
Jesus is the same today as yesterday. (Hebrews 13:8) The Holy Spirit has not changed either, nor has our need for him diminished. The gifts of the Spirit, including healing, are very much needed today and are still available to us in Christ.
To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. 8 For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NET1)
Rather than deny what we have not experienced personally, we should ask God to let his gifts flow through us to other people. That is the purpose of the gifts. Healing is a demonstration of God’s compassion and power. Jesus showed how much God cares about suffering people by healing and delivering them from demonic oppression.
And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 (NLT)
Jesus promised that his followers would do even greater works than he. (John 14:12) Cessationists limit these greater works to helping people experience the new birth through the verbal gospel message, but where does the Bible teach us to limit our expectations?
The early church expected the Spirit to heal people as part of the gospel proclamation. Jesus did not put an expiration date on his miracle power, and neither should we.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! Matthew 10:8 (NLT)
