One of the problems in the world is the prevalence of human healers using methods which involve contact with spirits other than our Holy Creator, God.
This is not surprising as health is a fundamental human need and the right sort of medical aid is not always available. In addition to this, some forms of disease are, so far, untreatable by human ingenuity. Therefore, those who provide alternative means of healing will always be accorded privileged social status.
However, an even worse problem is that the Church of our Lord and Saviour is frequently very lax in ministering healing to the Lord’s people, let alone outsiders. This lack presents a glaring loophole for the devil to introduce counterfeits and confusion.
God’s healing nature
But the Bible is clear. One of God’s names is ‘the Healer’ or ‘the One who heals: “I am Jahweh who heals you”’ (Exodus 15.26). Although this reference may seem incidental, God is making it clear that it is in his nature to heal. It cannot mean anything less than that. This is not saying that God will heal each and every disease every time we ask. But it is still an important facet of God’s character. It is a clear sign of his compassion on suffering humanity, even though sickness entered the world through sin.
When Messiah Jesus came to visit us on the earth, he became noted for his healing ministry. Apart from the wisdom of his teaching and the events connected with his crucifixion at the end of his earthly life, this is one of the most outstanding features of his ministry. Even when he was cleansing the temple shortly before his crucifixion, he was teaching and healing on that same occasion (Matthew 21.14-15; Mark 11.18; Luke 19.48).
During his earthly life, Jesus commissioned his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God, and commanded them to heal sick people, to cleanse lepers, to cast out demons, and even to raise the dead (Matthew 10.8). Of course, this was prior to the Great Commission, but it still presents a prima facie expectation that Jesus saw himself as bringing healing, both spiritual and physical, to the human race. It is interesting that, although it is not stated that Jesus told them to anoint with oil, they did so (Mark 6.13).
After Jesus rose from among the dead, he commissioned his apostles to proclaim God’s message, he told his followers to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to do whatever he commanded (Matthew 28.19-20). They were to proclaim his Good News to the whole creation (Mark 16.15).
Just for the apostles?
Some may argue that the commission was specifically to the apostles. However, as it was not possible for those apostles to go and make disciples of all nations, he must have envisaged a spillover from their ministry to that of other disciples — even those in later times. And one of the associated statements says: ‘These signs will follow those who believe: they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover’ (Mark 16.18).
Sometimes this passage is rejected on the grounds that it was not in the earliest manuscripts. However, the evidence for this is weak. This very passage was quoted by Irenaeus (c.115-c.202) and even the liberal scholar Farmer supported the authenticity of these verses.
Then, after Pentecost, the early church healed people and cast out demons in Jesus’s name. And this ministry was not confined to the apostles, but was exercised by others, such as Philip in the context of proclaiming the Good News to unbelievers (Acts 8.5-7). In the church at Corinth, there were ‘gifts of healings’ (1 Corinthians 12.9). And then James, our Lord’s half-brother, makes reference to healing in connection with the anointing with oil by ‘the elders’ (James 5.14-16).
What fills the gap?
A major concern I have is that, if this ministry is excluded from the church of today, doubtful ministries will fill the gap. It is important for Jesus’s disciples today to continue this tradition.
The two main ways this healing ministry operated according to the Scripture was by laying on of hands or by anointing with oil. It would seem that both are acceptable to the Lord and that he honours both according to his sovereign will.
Acts of service
There is an issue which needs to be flagged up regarding the operation of parapsychical powers through those with occultic backgrounds or whose forebears have been so involved, especially when it comes to physical contact with people requesting personal healing. Some people may be quite innocently demonically contaminated even after practising some socially-acceptable form of ‘complementary medicine’. In cases of doubt, people need to face this full-on and be willing to renounce all such things. Even when there is uncertainty, it is possible to engage in a belt-and-braces approach. After all, we are dealing with people’s lives here and they must come first in our ministry. The ministry is not to gratify ourselves, but involves acts of service to other people made in God’s image. There is no room for pride.
Physical contact?
When we pray for healing, physical contact is not essential. Christians who pray to the living God know that their requests for healing operate in the same way as all other prayer. Any idea of a power passing through physical objects is related to magic, not to the true and living God. The true power of God comes from heaven, not through hands or any other physical object, and he is able to heal anyone anywhere.
The controversy surrounding whether gifts of healing are in operation today does not have to be resolved for a church to practise a healing ministry. It is often difficult to determine whether a healing came about in answer to prayer or as a result of the operation of a healing gift. We actually do not need to worry about that. We can leave issues like that to the Lord.
Cultural resistance
One of the problems with Christians in the UK is that many have been influenced by deistic thinking. In other words, people believe that God starts things off, but they do not expect him to intervene repeatedly along the way. However, God does intervene and this is one way to demonstrate this.
There is also something of a cultural resistance to physical contact among UK Christians. But the touch of someone who is seeking to minister healing can be very reassuring and can help Christians bond together as a community. Of course, such things can be abused — so it is best done in a context which is as public as possible. Then everyone knows what is going on.
Surely it is time to stop debating this issue and just get on with what our Lord has given us to do. He is Lord of the church and will guide us in our Christian practice, often even when we fail to trust him to do so.
Mike Taylor is a medical librarian and psychiatric research assistant.
