Manna for Ministers III

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NEW perspective for those who want to “depend completely” on God

John 5:8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

Jesus has just performed a miraculous healing. He proceeds to give an explanation regarding how he was able to do it.

John 5:19 …the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing…

He reveals that in doing the miracle he was depending completely upon his Father to show him what to do. Because of this, many believers want to depend upon the Lord to lead them before they undertake anything for His kingdom.

20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

But there will be even “greater things” to come. What could possibly be greater than the mighty miracles Jesus was doing? For a possible answer, let’s look at the very next verse.

21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

Perhaps Jesus was referring to the authority that the Father would give him. With this authority he could give life to whomever he wished to give it. However with this we find a contradiction with Jesus’ earlier declaration that he could do nothing by himself, but only what he saw his Father doing. If this were true, how could he give life to whomever he chose to give it, even though he had not seen his Father do it?

22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

Amazingly, Jesus goes on to declare that all judgment had been entrusted by the Father to him, and that the Father would not be passing judgment on anyone. This was so that the Son would be honoured equally with the Father.

John 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the son to have life in himself.

The pattern continues as Jesus is given the authority to have life in himself, just as the God Almighty Himself.

27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

Jesus repeats that the Father has given him authority to judge because he was not only the Son of God, but also the Son of Man who had humbled himself to become a human being and experienced life as a man on earth.

30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Amazingly, Jesus appears to contradict himself in the above verse. For in verse 22 he said, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” How do we reconcile this to verse 30 above?

We may not be able to resolve this completely to our satisfaction with earthly logic, for Scripture contains mysteries that will be understood only in heaven. But in the above verses we can unearth some underlying reasons for the apparent conflict. One revolves around the seemingly different goals of the Father on the one hand and the Son on the other. The Father desires that “all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” The Son, on the other hand, seeks “not to please myself but him who sent me.” These two different goals result in the apparent contradiction we have discovered. How does this discovery affect our ministry for the gospel?

Like Jesus, we should seek to be balanced. We should seek to be led by the Lord in what we do, yet at the same time recognize that He has given us a measure of authority to do certain things for the sake of the gospel. Being unbalanced in either direction can result in undesirable consequences. If we will not lift a finger until the Lord leads us to do so, there will be a tendency toward inaction because the Lord generally does not lead us in every single matter in life. This inaction on our part can rob God of the glory He deserves to receive through our ministry. There will be situations in which the Lord desires us to move by faith alone in His written word. On the other hand, however, if we fail to seek the Lord’s guidance and rush headlong into every ministry opportunity, we will become exposed to the danger of presumption and wasting time and strength doing things we have not been called to do.

There are commands given in Scripture concerning which we might not need a rhema or a specific word before we obey them. For example, we love our enemies, we forgive those have wronged us, we tithe to our local church without necessarily needing any specific guidance from the Holy Spirit. There are other commands which I believe have nearly the same universal applicability for us: “Preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, make disciples.” In general, we are to obey such commands “in season and out.” We should not need a specific leading or rhema from the Lord in every instance before we engage in these because they can be considered the general will of God.

There is still other light in which we can consider this balance. When Jesus woke up in the morning, often he would seek His Father in prayer. His attitude would be of humility, helplessness, and complete dependence before the Father: “the Son can do nothing of himself.” But after prayer he would rise and go forth into battle to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. Authority and sovereignty from the Father would rise up from within him; he would heal whatever infirm person he wished and cast out any demon he chose: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’" (Matthew 28:18)

We ministers of the gospel should likewise walk in this balance. There is a time to go before the Lord in complete humility; this "pleases Him who sends us." (John 5:30) There is also a time to march forward with assurance and boldness to destroy the works of the enemy with powerful weapons. These weapons the Lord Jesus has entrusted to us are far superior to anything the enemy has, and they consist of authority to heal the sick to prove to lost souls that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and that only he can save them. In such a way, “all will honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” (John 5:22)

Obviously, in ourselves, we believers have no absolute sovereignty. But in John 14:12 Jesus says that for the purpose of confirming his identity as the Son of God "anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing..."

 

 

New Testament Miracles in Vietnam: The Relationship between Believers’ Authority over Disease and the Gift of Healing

Early last month, the Lord graciously allowed us to hold the largest Crusade meeting in Vietnam since its fall to communism in 1975. In this meeting the Lord did mass miracles greater than we have ever personally seen. Cripples and paralytics were walking, people with cancer were healed, the blind saw, the deaf heard, demons were cast out, and people with depression were healed. The Lord Jesus did many other miraculous healings that went unreported at the meeting. It was said that not since the 1960’s had such miracles taken place in a meeting there.

Some of these miracles took place as believers laid hands on the sick and ministered with authority in the name of Jesus. Others were healed without anyone laying hands on them or praying over them. These apparently were healed directly by the Lord Himself.

How can we explain such miracles according to specific Scripture references?

Scripture teaches that those who proclaim the kingdom of God have been given a measure of authority to minister healing to the sick as confirmation of the gospel.

After this the Lord appointed 70 others and sent them…"Heal the sick...tell them, 'the kingdom of God is near you.’” (Luke 10:1, 9)

Scripture also teaches the practice of the laying of hands to heal the sick as believers preach the gospel.

Mark 16.15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. …17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; …they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

The above verses from Luke and Mark teach that all believers who are sent to preach the gospel have a measure of authority to heal the sick through the laying on of hands. And during the Crusade meeting in Vietnam, there were indeed infirm people who were healed when believers ministered to them in this way. But what of those who were healed apart from any believer ministering to them? It is obvious that the Lord Himself healed them directly. How can we explain this more specifically in terms of New Testament teaching on healing?

The gift of healing

1 Corinthians 4:9 mentions “gifts of healing” through which miraculous healings can take place. From verse 30 it is clear that not every believer has been given such gifts. In contrast, every believer who has been called or sent to proclaim the gospel does have a measure of authority to minister healing for the sake of confirming the gospel. But the “special” gift or gifts of healing can be very powerful and are given to only some believers. In Acts we see a manifestation of such a gift working through the apostle Peter.

Acts 5:15 As a result, 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. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

Such miracles were not a result of Peter deliberately exercising his authority over the sick as a believer---which Scripture records him doing on other occasions---but were “effortless” and powerful as his shadow fell on the sick. I believe this was the operation of the gift of healing through the apostle.

It is reasonable to conclude that this gift was behind the manifestations of “effortless” and powerful healings that occurred in the Vietnam meeting. When a helpless woman dying of cancer who was carried to the meeting on a cot suddenly stands up and climbs up to the platform on her own power to testify that Jesus has healed her, this is a manifestation of the gift of healing. It is powerful and requires little or no effort on the part of a believer…it is “healing grace.”

Scripture teaches that every believer has a measure of authority over disease to use to confirm the gospel of Christ. It also states that there are gifts of healing that the Holy Spirit gives to some believers. Not all believers will receive this gift or these gifts. However, some believers will.

What is the relationship between the authority over disease and the gift of healing?

For possible clarification of this question, let’s look at the Scriptures. In the gospels, before the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost bringing among other things the supernatural gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12, the disciples did not minister through any of these gifts. They ministered healing to the sick simply by virtue of the authority that Jesus gave them according to Luke 9:1-2 and Luke 10:1, 9, 17. However, after the Holy Spirit came upon them in Acts 2, some of them---for example, Peter---began to minister with a powerful gift of healing.

Exercising one's authority over disease can be a prelude to receiving the gift of healing

We see a progression here. First came the authority in the gospels. The disciples learned how to minister healing by virtue of the authority Jesus had given them. Later, after they had become proficient ministering through authority, came the gift in the Book of Acts. This can become a pattern for the believer who is called by the Lord to this type of evangelism. Learn how to minister healing through authority first. This is the most basic type of healing available to all those who are called to preach the gospel. In this way, you are prepared to receive and minister through the gift of healing, if indeed the Holy Spirit wills. As we have seen, the operation of the gift of healing can be very powerful and effortless.

But even if a believer receives the gift of healing from the Lord, that does not mean that he ceases to minister through authority. The gift is not always operating, but according to the will of the Holy Spirit. When it is not operating, the believer can still minister healing through authority alone. This is how Peter raised the lame beggar at the temple gate in Acts 3 and in Christ’s name healed the paralytic Aeneas in Acts 9. There is still a third possibility. Some believers will learn to minister through a dynamic interplay of both the authority and the gift operating in turns. But whatever the case, the goal is the same: to heal the sick as a means of drawing souls to Christ.


 

The Balance between Power and Holiness

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to follow in His footsteps. Most believers understand this to mean we should be Christ-like in His character and holiness. We should learn to think like Jesus, to speak like Jesus, to love and forgive like Jesus. And we are to minister like Him, bringing souls into the kingdom of God through the sharing of the gospel. But we know Jesus also performed many miracles, especially healing the sick to demonstrate His compassion and to show that He was indeed the Son of God.

John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Strangely, this is where many believers draw the line. We are to do everything like Jesus, even laying down our lives for the gospel, except we do not do miracles like He did. However, as long as there are unbelievers on earth before Christ returns, miracles will be important in showing “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” And who will the Lord use to do these miracles?

John 14.11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. (NIV) 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; (NKJV)

One of the main purposes for His miracles was to prove that He and the Father were one. And, clearly, those who believe in Him would do the same works for the same purpose.

It is of course clear that power to do miracles is not the outward evidence of a born-again believer in Christ:

Matthew 7: 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

But without the understanding of preaching the gospel with power, we will have difficulty fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission to us, especially in making disciples of nations where Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and witchcraft have imprisoned billions of souls.

Just as we study the life of Christ in order to be like Him in His character, we can also study the miracles of Christ (and the early disciples) in order to do the works that He did in His ministry on earth.

 

 

 

The Faith of God

In contemporary charismatic circles there is an emphasis on “the anointing.” When the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, He brought this anointing to the Church and to the followers of Jesus Christ. Through this anointing, we can know Jesus intimately and serve Him with supernatural power. In charismatic meetings preachers will often lay hands on seekers to impart this anointing to them.

While the laying on of hands to impart spiritual gifts is certainly scriptural (2 Timothy 1:6), this is not the only area that needs to be addressed for believers to be able to minister with power, especially in the area of ministering healing to the sick. There is another factor which has been ignored with the result that most believers cannot minister to the infirm with any consistency or effectiveness. The anointing is of course important for ministering in the gift of healing. But this gift is not always in operation for those who have it, and moreover not all believers have it. What can be done when the gift is not present or not in operation?

When the gift of healing is not operating, all witnesses of Christ can still minister to the sick using the authority over disease that He has given us. (Luke 9:1,2; Luke 10:1,9) How do we release this power to heal?

Matthew 17:14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. 21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Although the disciples had been given authority to cast out demons, the demon would not obey their command to leave. The reason was because they lacked mountain-moving faith as they issued the command to the demon. In the incident recounted below, Jesus demonstrated the nature of this faith to Peter when he cursed the fig tree. The tree obeyed his command and withered. Prayer and fasting increase this kind of mountain-moving faith.

Mark 11:14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. …20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” 22 “Have faith in God [the original Greek manuscript reads ‘have the faith of God’],” Jesus answered. 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

In his explanation, Jesus identifies mountain-moving faith with the “faith of God.” This is the faith which the disciples lacked when they tried to cast out the demon. They did not lack authority, but they lacked mountain-moving faith, or the “faith of God.”

In the same way, it is not necessarily a lack of “the anointing” which lies behind our failure to heal the sick or cast out demons on a more consistent basis. (How many “anointing services” does a believer need to attend in order to receive enough of it?) Rather, in many cases, it is a lack of understanding the “faith of God” which cripples the church in the area of supernatural healing.

In certain circles, much is said about "the anointing," and perhaps enough has been said. Jesus identified the source of the disciples' failure to heal the boy not as a lack of "the anointing," but rather as a lack of "the faith of God." How can we explain this kind of faith?

Should God desire to move a mountain, He might issue a command to it. If He should speak to a mountain and command it to move, would He ever doubt that the mountain would obey Him? Of course not. Why would God not doubt? When God said, “Let there be light,” did He have any doubt that the light would obey His command? Of course not. God does not doubt because He knows He is God and therefore has all authority. Whatsoever He commands must be done. In the same way, when Jesus spoke to the fig tree, did he entertain any doubt that the fig tree would obey him and die? Certainly not; Jesus knew the Father had given him all authority. Therefore he knew the fig tree had to obey his command. This is the “faith of God.” It is based on authority. We have also been given a measure of authority over disease and demons for proclaiming the gospel (Luke 9:1-2; 10:1, 9). Therefore we do not doubt that they will obey us when we command them to leave. This is the “faith of God” that releases the power to heal the sick to demonstrate to non-believers that Jesus is the only Savior. But when we issue commands with doubt and fear, disease and demons can sense it and will not obey us. The power will not be manfest.

How did Jesus heal the sick in the gospels? He did not pray for them, but rather issued authoritative commands for their healing. In the same way, we disciples to a certain degree can heal the sick by issuing commands to disease and demons authoritatively and without any doubt. This is precisely how a General in the military or a CEO issues commands. There is no doubt in their hearts that their commands will be obeyed.

 


 

Does the Church have a spirit of fear?

In many Christian circles, it is taught that believers should usually wait for a "rhema" before taking action regarding a particular matter of importance. This refers to the word of the Lord or leading of the Holy Spirit regarding the matter. This is especially true when moving in the area of the supernatural. For example, before attempting to minister actual healing to an infirm person---not just to pray for him---we want first to be sure that it is the Lord’s will and time to heal. This is especially crucial when we are ministering before a crowd of people. After all, it will prove very embarrassing to us in front of the people if the person is not healed. Thus we attempt to minister the healing only when the Holy Spirit gives us a rhema.

While there is much to be said for this particular approach (especially as taught by John Wimber), there is another factor which can add balance to this approach. This other factor we call the “logos,” which is the written word of God.

The reason why we want to address this issue is our finding that at least part of our motivation for wanting a rhema is our fear of failure in the sight of man. We are concerned that if we attempt to minister healing without first receiving a rhema, the person might not be healed. If this happens, we might cause someone to stumble. Or we are concerned that we could end up guilty of presumption or of tempting God or “forcing” Him to heal. However, could it be that these reasons are partly a cover-up for the fear of public failure and embarrassment when the sick are not healed?

Fear is certainly not the best reason for which we wait on the Lord. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. We do not believe that Jesus in the gospels and the early disciples in Acts operated with any element of fear. Did they always wait for a rhema from the Holy Spirit before ministering healing to the sick? From a study of the Scriptures it turns out sometimes they did not. The reason they did not was because they understood the role of the logos as well.

In Acts 3, Peter heals a beggar born lame in the name of Jesus Christ. Although it is very likely from the context that Peter and John had met this man before on previous occasions, Peter did not attempt to heal the man until that particular day. As the beggar asked Peter for alms at the temple gate, he was stirred by the Holy Spirit---perhaps through a rhema---to command the man to stand up and walk. A great miracle took place, and a crowd gathered to hear the gospel from Peter. The man had been lame for over forty years. It is likely that a rhema from the Holy Spirit in this situation prompted Peter to act.

In contrast, Peter meets a man named Aeneas in Acts 9 who had been paralyzed for only a mere eight years. Peter did not waste time---did not wait for a rhema from the Holy Spirit---because he knew that this case would be easy by comparison. He knew from the logos (from Jesus himself according to Luke 9:1-2) that he had already been given a measure of authority to heal the sick and cast out demons.

Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. …9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

Although this measure of authority was not sufficient to bring healing to the man lame since birth, Peter knew that healing Aeneas of his mere eight-year condition would be a simple matter by comparison. The authority he was given was enough, and so he exercised it by commanding Aeneas to get up.

It is good to receive a rhema or leading from the Holy Spirit in a particular matter. But when these are absent, as is often the case, we are not necessarily helpless. We might have direction from the logos upon which we can act. We can walk by faith in the logos, not only by sight, i.e., by hearing the rhema.

I recently experienced this as I taught in a Plenary Session at Global Prayerquake Summit 2004, a conference in Nigeria attended by 10,000 delegates. I had taught the people about the measure of authority over disease and demons that the Lord had given to every disciple in order to confirm the gospel. Then I set about demonstrating this authority so that the people would know that this teaching was not theory only. Before 10,000 people I asked for someone with pain in their knees to come forward for healing. How could I possibly dare to attempt such a thing before such a large crowd? I dared to because the logos says that I have a measure of authority over disease, and I believe the word of God. And from much experience I knew that the level of authority I had been given was sufficient to minister relief to arthritic knees.

A woman came forward with pain in her knees such that she could not bend them. I laid hands on her in the name of Jesus Christ and with authority rebuked the pain, commanding her knees to be healed. She tested her knees and reported that she felt better. Again I laid hands on her knees and rebuked the pain. This time she was able to bend her knees and there was no more pain. Afterwards more people with similar problems were healed as I invited delegates to come forward to minister as I had just taught them.

I did this before 10,000 people not because I received a rhema from the Holy Spirit instructing me to do so, but because the logos, the written word of God, said that I could. For something as simple as arthritis, that’s all I needed.

Luke 10:9 …Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

The church no longer needs to be crippled by a spirit of fear. These are the days of Elijah, and the Lord is restoring to us the spirit and power that He gave to Elijah. This spirit gives us the boldness to proclaim to the world publicly: “my God is the true God, and I will demonstrate it to you in power.” God has begun to restore His miraculous healing power to His Church.

 

 

COMMAND the healing instead of merely CLAIMING the healing

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Based upon this verse, it has been taught in some circles that when praying for the sick we should pray just once and after that believe that the person has been healed, whether or not the healing has occurred. Moreover, the person receiving the healing prayer should likewise henceforth believe that he or she has been healed regardless of whether or not the healing has taken place. This is known in some churches as “claiming one’s healing by faith.”

While there appears to be some scriptural basis for this practice and undoubtedly some have received their healing in this way, there may be another way which also has scriptural backing. Often the practice of simply “claiming by faith” does not result in actual healing.

In the gospels and Acts, Jesus and His disciples most often ministered to the sick by commanding them to be healed using the authority God had given them over disease and demons in the context of proclaiming the gospel of His kingdom. The healing was not necessarily always instant, but may at times have been a process in which the sick person’s condition improved by stages as they continued to minister. Mark 8:22-25 records an incident in which Jesus healed a blind man. After His first attempt He asked if the man could see anything. Instead of claiming his healing by faith the man simply told Jesus that he had begun to see but not very clearly. Jesus did not rebuke the man for his “negative confession” based on a possible lack of faith but simply laid hands on the man a second time. After that the man’s vision was completely restored.

If we combine these two elements---commanding in the name of Jesus with perseverance until the healing is complete---we see an alternative or additional way to receive healing from the Lord. Instead of merely praying and asking the Lord to heal our disease, we can after prayer command the pain or disease in our own body to leave in the name of Jesus. While this authority is generally to be exercised over disease when ministering to the sick in the context of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, it can also apply to disease or pain in our own bodies as well.

We have seen believers apply this to infirmities in their own bodies. After prayer, they might lay their own hand on the location of the infirmity and command it to go or be healed in the name of Jesus. A brother in Christ whose chronic lower back pain and developing arthritis in his hips were totally healed by the Lord in one of our meetings decided to minister to himself the next day regarding an ear infection. While driving on the road he inserted his finger into the infected ear and commanded it to be healed in Jesus’ name. He felt his ear popping, and his hearing was completely restored. The infected ear dried up and was healed by the Lord as he ministered to himself. Through this gracious touch of the Lord this brother has returned to his original calling as a preacher of the gospel.

If you are a believer with a physical infirmity, don’t just claim your healing by faith. Command it to be healed and rebuke the condition as well in the name of Jesus with the laying on of your hands. Claiming and commanding need not conflict with one another, just as there is no conflict between the fact that we are already perfect in Christ while yet continuing to be perfected in Him. Persevere in exercising this authority, and you may see God’s grace of healing in your body. As you experience this, remember the primary purpose for which the Lord has given you this authority: to witness for Christ and to confirm His saving power to the lost.

For related teaching on this subject, please go to Is there a strong Scriptural basis for "claiming one's healing by faith?"

 

 

Healing: Ministering by authority or spiritual gifting?

In the New Testament we find two basic approaches to healing which contrast with one another. The two approaches are generally meant for different purposes and contexts, although the demarcation between the two is not strict and there can be overlap.

In the gospels, Jesus and his disciples ministered to the infirm by exercising their authority over disease and demons.

Luke 4:32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. 33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice. 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. 36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ….38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.

Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. …6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. …9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

We note that the purpose for which Jesus came was to preach the gospel and proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost. He also sent His disciples out to do the very same. The miraculous healings they performed were for the purpose of confirming the coming of the Messiah’s Kingdom as prophesied in the Old Testament. The purpose of the healings was not primarily to show God’s compassion for infirm believers. At that time there weren’t any born-believers. There was not yet any Church. The disciples were commissioned to preach the gospel to the lost, and the miracles confirmed its truth.

We may conclude that when the context of a particular ministry event is primarily evangelistic, the approach to ministering healing to the sick should be primarily based upon exercising the authority given to us over disease and demons. This approach involves issuing authoritative and forceful commands to diseases and demons in the name of Jesus Christ. The result is simply a visible demonstration of brute power that impresses the lost and can attract them to the gospel.

In contrast, the second approach to healing in the New Testament centers around prayer and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the gifts of healing.

1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. …7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 For through the Spirit is given to one a word of wisdom; and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit….

From the context of 1 Corinthians 12, we know the gifts of the Spirit are given to us for the common good, that is to build up the whole body of Christ. Thus the gifts of healing are primarily for ministering to infirm believers. The context of such ministry is not evangelistic, but simply to build up the body of Christ by alleviating the suffering of infirm believers. If the gifts of healing are in operation during the ministry, then one might simply pray and ask God to heal the person directly. The minister might wait for a word of knowledge, word of wisdom, or discernment from the Holy Spirit about the sick person before proceeding. At times there are issues or sin in the life of the sick believer that need to be addressed before God heals. This kind of gentle and probing approach toward a believer differs sharply from the approach used when we desire a demonstration of pure power to draw the lost to Christ. In the latter case, we do not usually need to know much about the infirm person or to ask him to repent of sin. Rather, a manifestation of raw power to heal is indeed what is often needed to convince the sinner to follow Christ, after which he will confess his sins. This power is the result of the active exercise of the minister’s authority over disease and demons in the form of a command, not a prayer.

The instructions for ministering to sick believers in James 5:14-16 might also fit in neatly with this approach. There we are instructed to “pray over” (however, this might not be the same as to “pray for”) the sick believer.

However, in some cases, the approach of utilizing prayer and the gifts of the Spirit do not result in healing for the believer. In such a situation the minister can unsheathe her other weapon, authority, to directly command the disease to be healed in the name of Jesus. There are cases in which prayer did not bring about the healing, but the exercise of authority did. It is good to have both weapons ready for use!