Understanding why God heals people will help us participate in this excellent ministry. If you read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series of articles, hopefully you are convinced that it is God’s will to heal people today. After all, Jesus is the same today (Hebrews 13:8) as he was when he walked the earth, healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). This article examines what the Bible says about God’s motivation for healing people.
If we want to join our Lord in the ministry of healing, it is important for us to think as he does.
The more our hearts align with his, the better will be our understanding of his ways, and the easier it will be for us to walk in agreement with him.
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14–15 (NKJV)
It Is God’s Nature to Heal People
The first reason why God heals people is that it is part of his essential nature to heal and restore those he loves.
One of the Old Testament compound names of God was Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals you. All the compound names of God reveal who God is at his core.
He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you [Jehovah-rapha].” Exodus 15:26 (NLT)
God healed those who were faithful to him in the Old Testament. Under the New Covenant, blessings come to us based on the faithfulness of Christ. He is the One who earned this blessing for us, having paid for it dearly.
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:5 (NLT)
My first article in this series goes into great detail regarding the proper interpretation of this verse.
Once a bill has been paid, nothing more is owed. We do not have to earn our healing in any way because Jesus completely paid for it!
It is a gift from a very gracious God whose nature is to heal and restore those he loves, and now he has the legitimate basis for doing so.
God’s Compassion Motivates Him
Compassion for those who are suffering was and is a primary motivation for Jesus to heal people.
Once when Jesus was tired from ministry to the crowds who thronged him, he tried to get away for some rest and recuperation. Instead, he found large numbers of people waiting for him when his boat reached the shore. Rather than being disappointed or irritable, this is what the Bible says about our Lord’s attitude.
Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14 (NLT)
Sickness and disease are part of the aftermath of Adam’s first sin. Death entered the world, with sickness being an ever present threat to diminish or end our physical lives.
God promises that in the new heaven and earth that is coming, there will be no sickness, death, suffering, pain, or even sorrow! (Revelation 21:4) As we wait for that glorious day, when God will permanently remove the horrible consequences of sin, our Lord is not content to leave us without remedy. Today he compassionately provides relief through gifts of healing. (1 Corinthians 12:9) What a privilege it is for us to be part of this ministry!
Jesus demonstrated God’s heart in this matter very clearly during his short earthly ministry. (Acts 10:38) He instructed his disciples to operate in the same way.
Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! Matthew 10:7-8 (NLT)
After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, the early church continued to demonstrate God’s love to people through preaching the gospel of reconciliation and performing compassionate healings. A reading of the Book of Acts confirms this. The disciples understood that Jesus’ mission of demonstrating God’s love to people is ongoing.
Healing Confirms the Truth of the Gospel
This leads us to another powerful reason God continues to heal today.
Our Lord uses healing and other miracles and signs to confirm the truth of his Word.
Jesus urged his hearers to pay attention to the miracles and healings he performed, because these things testified to his identity as the Messiah.
Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. 12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:11-14 (NLT)
Knowing how strong our propensity toward unbelief is, Jesus graciously performed signs and wonders to release people from their spiritual blindness. It still works today for many.
Those who teach and preach God’s Word should be unafraid to ask God to confirm the truth of the Bible by healing their listeners.
Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. Matthew 9:35 (NLT)
Jesus said that certain signs, including healing, attest to the reality of the Kingdom of God in our midst.
Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ Luke 10:9 (NLT)
I believe that God does not expect people to believe solely because of our words, as important as they are.
The gospel was designed to come to people through preaching and the demonstration of the power of the kingdom of God.
For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 (NLT)
I believe it is disingenuous to claim that these signs and wonders only continued until the publication of the text of the New Testament. The early disciples also had the Scriptures, although limited to the Old Testament. Nevertheless, the gospel can be fully preached out of the Old Testament scriptures, as shown in the book of Acts. God backed up those infallible words of Scripture with tangible demonstrations of the Spirit’s power in the physical realm. He does the same today. His strategy has not changed.
What has changed is the way people interpret God’s Word. Instead of taking it at face value, as the early church did, many try to limit the meaning of the Scriptures to what they have personally experienced or can conceive to be true. This is simply another form of humanism, in which we seek to make ourselves the measure of all things. We must allow God’s word to measure and change us: not the other way around.
Jesus warned that we must know both the Word of God and the power of God in order to avoid error.
Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. Mark 12:24 (NLT)
I hope that we will repent of the sin of diluting God’s Word to conform to our biases and get back to a God-centered interpretation of the Bible that includes the power of God being released through his people by means of the Holy Spirit. You and I can be part of this if we are willing.
Click here to see all the articles in this series on healing.
