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E7 Power in the Church
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We come in our study of the book of Acts to a very interesting story.
Peter and John are about to go into the temple for prayer.
There are a couple of questions that could be addressed here. These two men are now Christians, … should they still be going to the Jewish temple? Are they going here out of ‘Jewish ritual’ that is carrying over into their Christian lives? Peter and John have their ‘homes’ in Galilee, a hundred miles or so to the north. Apparently they ‘move’ here permanently. This can be seen as we go through the book of Acts. So, now that they are living in Jerusalem, perhaps going to the temple is a special treat? Perhaps they go to the temple simply because they ‘can’ as Jews?
We can’t really answer any of these questions, but another possibility remains. It may be an intentional action on the part of these two, to go here hoping for the opportunity to testify for Christ. After all, Jesus had said, ‘From now on you will not catch fish, but men’. What a better place to catch fish (men) but where the fishing are congregating.
They are going to the temple at the set aside hour of prayer. There will be lots of people there.
Let’s read the story.
1 ¶ Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;
3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
The time of day is the ninth hour … 3pm according to present day clocks. Peter and John are asked for a gift of alms ...money. Peter claims that he does not have any money. What we read earlier was 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
Perhaps, or should I say, obviously, if money was also shared equally, individuals did not carry it around. It may have been brought to the disciples to dispense. In that case even the disciples would not carry it around with them.
The crippled person that is asking for money is carried here daily by family or friend or care-giver. The people passing by at 3pm every day are likely giving something to this man, but not enough for him to get rich.
He holds out his hand hoping for a gift from Peter and John. I like the way that Peter speaks to him. He first says, “Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
I picture a rather dejected person, his gaze fixed on the ground, with an outstretched hand, maybe with a tin cup. “Look at us” Peter says.
And then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you:
The words of an old song go something like, “Little is much when God is in it.”
Paul said, If a man is ready and willing to give, his gift is acceptable in accordance with what he has, not with what he does not have. 2Co 8:12
From the perspective of the giver, God blesses the intention of your heart. Jesus said this about a very poor widow who gave a small offering. Mr 12:43 And He called His disciples to Him and said, "I solemnly say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all these others who have been putting money into the collection-box.
44 For all of them put in out of their surplus, but she in her want put in all she had, yes, all she had to live on." (Williams translation)
Apostle Paul said, “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Ac 20:35
Peter and John have the love of Jesus in their hearts. But they are carrying no money. In faith Peter says ``”In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
If this were a ‘first time occasion’ Peter may not have sounded so sure of himself. How silly would a person look if he said these words and then nothing happened? But we read earlier in Acts, 42 ¶ And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
So Peter and John, as well as the other apostles, have been able to perform many ‘wonders and signs. I would imagine that the wonders and signs were mostly healing the sick. Now Peter and John are entering the temple and this man asks for money. I am supposing that the temple approach may be quite massive, so large in fact, that Peter had not noticed him there on previous visits to the temple. Otherwise Peter may have spoken to him then.
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
This man has never walked. He had never even learned how to walk. Suddenly he finds his ankle and legs bones and muscles feeling different. Perhaps he had no feeling in his feet at all prior to this.
… About this healing: This man did not ask for healing. He did not know healing was a possibility so he certainly did not expect to be healed. So, it follows that he did not have the faith to be healed. And yet he was healed. We Christians of the present age have tried to come up with formulas and teachings about what it takes for a real healing to take place.
I use the words ‘real healing’ for a reason. I discovered, quite by accident, another use of the word healing, that did mean an actual healing, but rather a ‘claimed’ healing.
I had attended a function to which persons from all of the local churches had also been invited. The meeting took place in a banquet/dinner type of arrangement.
Sitting across from me I overheard a woman saying to the woman beside her, “So Kayla has been healed!?” “Yes”, she replied, “We are so happy and excited for her!”
Kayla, the woman’s daughter, was also a friend of our daughter. We had known that Kayla was a diabetic. I couldn't believe my ears. So I entered the conversation and added, “That is wonderful. She no longer is using insulin?”
“Oh no, she is still using insulin.”
“I don’t understand.” I said.
She explained to me. “We are ‘believing God’ for a miracle.”
I had never heard of that kind of healing before. Apparently, in a case like that, a person prays for healing, then believes by faith that it has happened, speaks of it as if it had actually happened until it finally does happen.
But I have to say that this is not a healing in the biblical sense.
In the bible, a healing seems to always have occurred immediately.
But, even so, as we look at examples of healing we see certain differences between them. Perhaps answers to a few questions about healing might be appreciated.
For example,
Does healing depend on the sick person’s faith?
Does healing depend on the faith of the one praying for the sick person?
Do both the ‘healer’ and the recipient need to have faith?
What is the difference between a healing and a miracle?
What is the difference between a person having the gift of healing, or a person praying for a healing even though they do not have the gift?
Does healing require a ‘physical touch’ or can it be done remotely?
Does healing always take place regardless of the will of God in the matter?
Does healing always include two parties, or can a person alone pray to be healed and have God answer with a miracle healing?
Is there a difference between the healings performed by believers compared to those done by Jesus, himself?
Is healing only possible because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross?
I have added these questions as they came to me, so they are in no specific order.
To answer one of the questions, Does the sick or crippled person need to have faith in order to be healed? In our example in our study of Acts, we have to notice, this crippled man did not have faith. Did not expect a healing. Did not even ask for a healing. So what happened there?
I think it is quite obvious that Peter totally expected a healing to take place. He gripped this man by the hand and literally lifted him up.
I suppose we need to decide, was Peter doing this based on his own faith, or had he been given the gift of healing?
Because we are not actually told, I am going to say that it was likely a little bit of both.
On the day of Pentecost, God gave gifts. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." Eph 4:8
This was His way of empowering the church to carry the gospel into the whole world. One of the gifts was the gift of speaking a foreign language without first having had to attend a language school.
But that was only one of the gifts. It was a very powerful gift, enabling them to break the language barrier. But there were many other barriers that needed to be broken.
In the healing of the lame man at the entrance of the temple, this was another barrier that was being broken. I am not sure what to call the barrier, but what the miracle or healing did was to provide proof that Jesus indeed was and is the Messiah. The miracles provided proof that all the words and ministry of Jesus and the disciples were actually from God.
Here is a passage that says it nicely, ¶ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Mark 16:19
This passage is very clear … confirmed their message as true, how? By the accompanying signs or miracles.
As Peter and John were going to the temple at the hour of prayer, they encountered a crippled man asking for help, and then they healed him. They are confirming words that they have not yet spoken. Peter is about to preach an entire sermon and the results will be far greater than the harvest on the day of Pentecost. But I am getting ahead of myself.
So spiritual gifts of special abilities were given on the day of Pentecost, and it appears Peter has the gift of healing, the gift of faith, maybe the gift of knowledge (knowing that this was going to work for sure as he gripped the man’s hand and lifted him up.)
In his case, Peter had direct physical contact with the man. Is that essential? It wasn’t essential for Jesus to go to the sick person when He told a particular ‘nobleman’ to go home and discover his son was healed.
Yet when a woman with a bleeding/hemorrhaging problem touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, she was instantly healed. She had faith.
Many times Jesus told a person, Your faith has made you whole. Is faith always required?
This man at the temple porch was healed and had not even asked for it. We cannot say that ‘his faith made him whole.’ We can’t make any kind of rule here.
The apostle Paul seems to have had the gift of healing … or of faith, or the gift of miracles. We will see on a number of occasions that this was evident in Paul’s ministry. He was bitten by a serpent on one occasion, a poisonous snake, but he merely shook it off of his hand and into a fire … and nothing bad happened to him at all.
But then we read this; … I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 2Ti 4:20
This is Paul writing to Timothy and catching him up on a bit of news. Paul travelled a lot in his ‘church-planting’ ministry. As he encountered certain situations his gifts became very useful. He was used to heal people on numerous occasions.
But if you can imagine with me, Paul leaves a sick travelling companion at Miletus. What a decision. Traveling would have been much more difficult and expensive at that time. Paul is inconvenienced because he will have one less helper. Trophimus is inconvenienced as well. Once he recovers he will have to try to catch up to Paul.
But this begs the question, why did Paul not use his gift of healing to fix Trophimus on the spot?
It sounds to me that overriding it all is this question, Is healing always the will of God? The answer is no. God’s ways are much higher than ours. God's ways and His will and plan for our lives is much better than any plan we can have for our own lives.
This brings me to the question, Is healing only possible because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross?
We raise this question because of the use and misuse of the following passage.
1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Some have taken from this verse that the wounds of Jesus on the cross provide healing for us. It kind of sounds like it, doesn’t it?
One church has this statement in their denomination's statement of faith.
8. Healing: Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil as taught in the Scriptures are privileges for the Church in this present age.19
It is important to grasp what this statement means. Christ died on the cross to ‘redeem us’. This is what ‘redemptive work’ refers to. All who call on the name of the Lord can be redeemed of their sin, have their name written in the Book of life and enjoy eternal life with Jesus forever. Anyone who calls on the Lord. Anyone. There will never be a person who sincerely calls on the Lord for salvation … but nothing happens. Never. ALL who call will be saved.
But … if physical healing of the body is to be offered on the same basis, through the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross, is it true that ALL who call for healing receive it? If physical healing was provided on the same basis as salvation, then all who call on God will be healed.
You know the answer to this. No. Healing of the body is NOT provided for through the redemptive work of Christ.
It is God’s will that ALL people get saved. Peter says, 2Pe 3:9 ¶ The Lord is ... longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
And so, as we read earlier in Acts, Ac 2:21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’
All who call will be saved. All who call for healing are not necessarily healed … It depends on the will of God.
So, if we are not PHYSICALLY healed by the work of Christ on the cross, it means that we are SPIRITUALLY healed by his ‘stripes’, his suffering and death.
How then are we healed? How were people healed in the Old Testament before Jesus time? Simply by the power and will of God. And that is still true today.
Regarding Jesus’ healing we read, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
Greater things than these … Jesus raised the dead, healed people by touching them, healed people from a distance, calmed the storm, cast out legions of demons, raised a man to life who had been dead for four days, turned water into wine, read people’s thoughts, and on and on we could go. And once again I remind you of what John said at the end of his gospel, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” John 21:25
And yet Jesus predicted that we would do greater things? Clearly the miracles that we do … are not greater than those done by Jesus. I realise that you can find TV evangelists who claim to be doing greater miracles than Jesus did, but it is simply not true.
So what did Jesus mean? The answer is not really all that complicated. The miracles done by the church are greater in number. And yet the miracles done by the church seem to have changed from the book of Acts to now? What has changed? Actually for more on that subject please read chapter 15 in our study of First Corinthians.
As we close off this part of our study, we have noted several things:
The church has been empowered to spread the gospel into all the world.
This power included the use of miracles.
A forty year old man, lame from birth, is healed.
8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
The result of this miracle will be the opportunity for Peter to preach an evangelistic message. The response of the people is nothing short of astounding. Let’s look at this together next week.
Peter and John are about to go into the temple for prayer.
There are a couple of questions that could be addressed here. These two men are now Christians, … should they still be going to the Jewish temple? Are they going here out of ‘Jewish ritual’ that is carrying over into their Christian lives? Peter and John have their ‘homes’ in Galilee, a hundred miles or so to the north. Apparently they ‘move’ here permanently. This can be seen as we go through the book of Acts. So, now that they are living in Jerusalem, perhaps going to the temple is a special treat? Perhaps they go to the temple simply because they ‘can’ as Jews?
We can’t really answer any of these questions, but another possibility remains. It may be an intentional action on the part of these two, to go here hoping for the opportunity to testify for Christ. After all, Jesus had said, ‘From now on you will not catch fish, but men’. What a better place to catch fish (men) but where the fishing are congregating.
They are going to the temple at the set aside hour of prayer. There will be lots of people there.
Let’s read the story.
1 ¶ Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;
3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
The time of day is the ninth hour … 3pm according to present day clocks. Peter and John are asked for a gift of alms ...money. Peter claims that he does not have any money. What we read earlier was 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
Perhaps, or should I say, obviously, if money was also shared equally, individuals did not carry it around. It may have been brought to the disciples to dispense. In that case even the disciples would not carry it around with them.
The crippled person that is asking for money is carried here daily by family or friend or care-giver. The people passing by at 3pm every day are likely giving something to this man, but not enough for him to get rich.
He holds out his hand hoping for a gift from Peter and John. I like the way that Peter speaks to him. He first says, “Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
I picture a rather dejected person, his gaze fixed on the ground, with an outstretched hand, maybe with a tin cup. “Look at us” Peter says.
And then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you:
The words of an old song go something like, “Little is much when God is in it.”
Paul said, If a man is ready and willing to give, his gift is acceptable in accordance with what he has, not with what he does not have. 2Co 8:12
From the perspective of the giver, God blesses the intention of your heart. Jesus said this about a very poor widow who gave a small offering. Mr 12:43 And He called His disciples to Him and said, "I solemnly say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all these others who have been putting money into the collection-box.
44 For all of them put in out of their surplus, but she in her want put in all she had, yes, all she had to live on." (Williams translation)
Apostle Paul said, “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Ac 20:35
Peter and John have the love of Jesus in their hearts. But they are carrying no money. In faith Peter says ``”In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
If this were a ‘first time occasion’ Peter may not have sounded so sure of himself. How silly would a person look if he said these words and then nothing happened? But we read earlier in Acts, 42 ¶ And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
So Peter and John, as well as the other apostles, have been able to perform many ‘wonders and signs. I would imagine that the wonders and signs were mostly healing the sick. Now Peter and John are entering the temple and this man asks for money. I am supposing that the temple approach may be quite massive, so large in fact, that Peter had not noticed him there on previous visits to the temple. Otherwise Peter may have spoken to him then.
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
This man has never walked. He had never even learned how to walk. Suddenly he finds his ankle and legs bones and muscles feeling different. Perhaps he had no feeling in his feet at all prior to this.
… About this healing: This man did not ask for healing. He did not know healing was a possibility so he certainly did not expect to be healed. So, it follows that he did not have the faith to be healed. And yet he was healed. We Christians of the present age have tried to come up with formulas and teachings about what it takes for a real healing to take place.
I use the words ‘real healing’ for a reason. I discovered, quite by accident, another use of the word healing, that did mean an actual healing, but rather a ‘claimed’ healing.
I had attended a function to which persons from all of the local churches had also been invited. The meeting took place in a banquet/dinner type of arrangement.
Sitting across from me I overheard a woman saying to the woman beside her, “So Kayla has been healed!?” “Yes”, she replied, “We are so happy and excited for her!”
Kayla, the woman’s daughter, was also a friend of our daughter. We had known that Kayla was a diabetic. I couldn't believe my ears. So I entered the conversation and added, “That is wonderful. She no longer is using insulin?”
“Oh no, she is still using insulin.”
“I don’t understand.” I said.
She explained to me. “We are ‘believing God’ for a miracle.”
I had never heard of that kind of healing before. Apparently, in a case like that, a person prays for healing, then believes by faith that it has happened, speaks of it as if it had actually happened until it finally does happen.
But I have to say that this is not a healing in the biblical sense.
In the bible, a healing seems to always have occurred immediately.
But, even so, as we look at examples of healing we see certain differences between them. Perhaps answers to a few questions about healing might be appreciated.
For example,
Does healing depend on the sick person’s faith?
Does healing depend on the faith of the one praying for the sick person?
Do both the ‘healer’ and the recipient need to have faith?
What is the difference between a healing and a miracle?
What is the difference between a person having the gift of healing, or a person praying for a healing even though they do not have the gift?
Does healing require a ‘physical touch’ or can it be done remotely?
Does healing always take place regardless of the will of God in the matter?
Does healing always include two parties, or can a person alone pray to be healed and have God answer with a miracle healing?
Is there a difference between the healings performed by believers compared to those done by Jesus, himself?
Is healing only possible because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross?
I have added these questions as they came to me, so they are in no specific order.
To answer one of the questions, Does the sick or crippled person need to have faith in order to be healed? In our example in our study of Acts, we have to notice, this crippled man did not have faith. Did not expect a healing. Did not even ask for a healing. So what happened there?
I think it is quite obvious that Peter totally expected a healing to take place. He gripped this man by the hand and literally lifted him up.
I suppose we need to decide, was Peter doing this based on his own faith, or had he been given the gift of healing?
Because we are not actually told, I am going to say that it was likely a little bit of both.
On the day of Pentecost, God gave gifts. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." Eph 4:8
This was His way of empowering the church to carry the gospel into the whole world. One of the gifts was the gift of speaking a foreign language without first having had to attend a language school.
But that was only one of the gifts. It was a very powerful gift, enabling them to break the language barrier. But there were many other barriers that needed to be broken.
In the healing of the lame man at the entrance of the temple, this was another barrier that was being broken. I am not sure what to call the barrier, but what the miracle or healing did was to provide proof that Jesus indeed was and is the Messiah. The miracles provided proof that all the words and ministry of Jesus and the disciples were actually from God.
Here is a passage that says it nicely, ¶ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Mark 16:19
This passage is very clear … confirmed their message as true, how? By the accompanying signs or miracles.
As Peter and John were going to the temple at the hour of prayer, they encountered a crippled man asking for help, and then they healed him. They are confirming words that they have not yet spoken. Peter is about to preach an entire sermon and the results will be far greater than the harvest on the day of Pentecost. But I am getting ahead of myself.
So spiritual gifts of special abilities were given on the day of Pentecost, and it appears Peter has the gift of healing, the gift of faith, maybe the gift of knowledge (knowing that this was going to work for sure as he gripped the man’s hand and lifted him up.)
In his case, Peter had direct physical contact with the man. Is that essential? It wasn’t essential for Jesus to go to the sick person when He told a particular ‘nobleman’ to go home and discover his son was healed.
Yet when a woman with a bleeding/hemorrhaging problem touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, she was instantly healed. She had faith.
Many times Jesus told a person, Your faith has made you whole. Is faith always required?
This man at the temple porch was healed and had not even asked for it. We cannot say that ‘his faith made him whole.’ We can’t make any kind of rule here.
The apostle Paul seems to have had the gift of healing … or of faith, or the gift of miracles. We will see on a number of occasions that this was evident in Paul’s ministry. He was bitten by a serpent on one occasion, a poisonous snake, but he merely shook it off of his hand and into a fire … and nothing bad happened to him at all.
But then we read this; … I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 2Ti 4:20
This is Paul writing to Timothy and catching him up on a bit of news. Paul travelled a lot in his ‘church-planting’ ministry. As he encountered certain situations his gifts became very useful. He was used to heal people on numerous occasions.
But if you can imagine with me, Paul leaves a sick travelling companion at Miletus. What a decision. Traveling would have been much more difficult and expensive at that time. Paul is inconvenienced because he will have one less helper. Trophimus is inconvenienced as well. Once he recovers he will have to try to catch up to Paul.
But this begs the question, why did Paul not use his gift of healing to fix Trophimus on the spot?
It sounds to me that overriding it all is this question, Is healing always the will of God? The answer is no. God’s ways are much higher than ours. God's ways and His will and plan for our lives is much better than any plan we can have for our own lives.
This brings me to the question, Is healing only possible because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross?
We raise this question because of the use and misuse of the following passage.
1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Some have taken from this verse that the wounds of Jesus on the cross provide healing for us. It kind of sounds like it, doesn’t it?
One church has this statement in their denomination's statement of faith.
8. Healing: Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil as taught in the Scriptures are privileges for the Church in this present age.19
It is important to grasp what this statement means. Christ died on the cross to ‘redeem us’. This is what ‘redemptive work’ refers to. All who call on the name of the Lord can be redeemed of their sin, have their name written in the Book of life and enjoy eternal life with Jesus forever. Anyone who calls on the Lord. Anyone. There will never be a person who sincerely calls on the Lord for salvation … but nothing happens. Never. ALL who call will be saved.
But … if physical healing of the body is to be offered on the same basis, through the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross, is it true that ALL who call for healing receive it? If physical healing was provided on the same basis as salvation, then all who call on God will be healed.
You know the answer to this. No. Healing of the body is NOT provided for through the redemptive work of Christ.
It is God’s will that ALL people get saved. Peter says, 2Pe 3:9 ¶ The Lord is ... longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
And so, as we read earlier in Acts, Ac 2:21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’
All who call will be saved. All who call for healing are not necessarily healed … It depends on the will of God.
So, if we are not PHYSICALLY healed by the work of Christ on the cross, it means that we are SPIRITUALLY healed by his ‘stripes’, his suffering and death.
How then are we healed? How were people healed in the Old Testament before Jesus time? Simply by the power and will of God. And that is still true today.
Regarding Jesus’ healing we read, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
Greater things than these … Jesus raised the dead, healed people by touching them, healed people from a distance, calmed the storm, cast out legions of demons, raised a man to life who had been dead for four days, turned water into wine, read people’s thoughts, and on and on we could go. And once again I remind you of what John said at the end of his gospel, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” John 21:25
And yet Jesus predicted that we would do greater things? Clearly the miracles that we do … are not greater than those done by Jesus. I realise that you can find TV evangelists who claim to be doing greater miracles than Jesus did, but it is simply not true.
So what did Jesus mean? The answer is not really all that complicated. The miracles done by the church are greater in number. And yet the miracles done by the church seem to have changed from the book of Acts to now? What has changed? Actually for more on that subject please read chapter 15 in our study of First Corinthians.
As we close off this part of our study, we have noted several things:
The church has been empowered to spread the gospel into all the world.
This power included the use of miracles.
A forty year old man, lame from birth, is healed.
8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
The result of this miracle will be the opportunity for Peter to preach an evangelistic message. The response of the people is nothing short of astounding. Let’s look at this together next week.