Does God Still Heal the Sick? Written by: Joseph Lyles

Most people today, even Christians, think of supernatural healing as something that happened long ago. There are those who have not been taught the truth of what God’s word says about healing. I was once in that group, but when I heard the truth the Lord gave me faith for healing. Then there are those who have been taught against divine healing. (Personally I believe most people are in the first group.) Whichever group you may be in now or were once in, this article will increase you faith by giving three biblical reasons why God does still heal the sick today. I would like to point out that in addition to these three reasons, I know from experience that God still heals the sick. I have prayed for people and seen God heal them. 1. God is concerned about the whole person: 1Thessalonians 5:23- “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Most people today think that salvation is something that only concerns the spirit, however, this verse shows otherwise. We see in this verse the three parts of our being: The spirit, which is the “real” us and which comes alive at the point of salvation. Our “spirit man” as I have frequently heard it called is completely made new. For the rest of our lives here on earth our “soul” and “body” are trying to “catch up” with where our spirit is. The “soul” is our mind, will, and emotions. Many people are open to the truth that God brings emotional healing to us. It is extremely important that this area of our lives be healed, for when that happens our effectiveness in serving God greatly increases. If we have mindsets that are not in line with God’s will it is a big hindrance to serving Him. God wants us to be happy! Part of that “abundant life” Jesus came to give is being happy. This happiness is actually the joy of the Lord that does not depend on circumstances. Once the Holy Spirit told me to be happy just because God loves me. The point was that because God never changes, His love for me will never change. Therefore, if God is the reason I am happy, then nothing can steal my joy! Then this verse mentions “body.” The fact that this verse includes “body” shows us that God’s desire is to heal the whole person, including the body. This verse tells us that God wants the whole person (spirit, soul, and body) to be “preserved blameless.” For the body, that refers to walking in divine health. God’s desire is for us to walk in divine health. In 1 Corinthians, it talks about how one day we will receive a new, glorified body. That shows that God’s plan of redemption involves our physical bodies. Since that is the case, then why wouldn’t healing be included in salvation? All would agree that God’s desire is for us to be totally without sin (which will happen when we stand before Jesus), and if someone stumbled in some area and sinned, we would not say that it must be God’s will for us to sin. Yet we do just that with sickness. We see a person sick and many people assume that God wants us to be sick. I believe that God wants us to see sickness and sin in the same way. Just as we do not tolerate sin when we see it in our lives (if our heart is right before God), we should not tolerate sickness. God’s love is so great that it covers the whole man, and therefore His plan of redemption covers the whole man. Healing is still God’s will! 2. Jesus healed all who came to Him Matthew 12:15- “But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.”

Luke 6:19 -“And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.” (Emphasis added) These two verses show us that Jesus healed everyone who came to Him for healing. As we read these two verses, we must remember what it says in Hebrews 13:8- “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” We also must remember what Jesus Himself said in John 6:38: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” If Jesus came to do God’s will, and He healed all the sick who came to Him, then what is His will concerning the sick? If He healed all the sick who came to Him in the past and He doesn’t change, then what will His response be to the sick who come to Him today? I once was discussing this and one person asked me, “Well what about the man at the pool of Bethesda? Jesus passed up all those sick people and only healed that one.” (John 5:1-9) Does the Bible say Jesus passed up the others? I read that passage in the Bible to see for myself and it does not. Is it possible that Jesus was healing all the people at the pool and when Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to be made well?” Is it possible that it was something like when we say today, “Can I pray for you?” The Bible does not say whether Jesus was healing all the people at the pool or just that one. You can probably guess which theory I lean toward. That is just one of the instances recorded in the Bible about how Jesus healed the sick. It was also mentioned to me (by the same person who asked about the man at the pool at Bethesda) about the guy at the Gate Beautiful that Peter and John healed in the book of Acts. He had been lying at that gate for years and yet he was still crippled after Jesus went back to heaven. As soon as the question was posed to me, I said, “Did he ask Jesus to heal Him?” I remembered as I spoke (I didn’t think about it, the question just came out) that the guy did not even ask Peter and John to heal him. The person who mentioned it pointed out that the man did not expect Peter and John to heal him, he expected money. As I said earlier, Jesus healed all who came to Him and asked for healing. In James 4:2 we read, “you do not have because you do not ask.” Jesus healed every sick person who came to Him, and when we see that He is the same now as He was then, we see that God does indeed still heal the sick.

3. Jesus said His followers would heal the sick Mark 16:15-18- “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ ” (Emphasis added) Another thing I see in the Word of God to support the fact that God still heals the sick is the fact that Jesus said that those who believe in Him would heal the sick. Most will agree that the early Church in the book of Acts healed the sick, but will say that healing stopped when the New Testament was completed, which is taught nowhere in the Bible. The passage quoted above is a statement from Jesus promising that those who believe will heal the sick. In John 14:12 Jesus said, “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” Jesus gave this promise, and there is no place in the Bible that says it would end. Jesus expects us to go out and heal the sick in His name. In Matthew 28 Jesus said that the disciples were to go into all nations and teach them all that He had commanded them. Included in that commission is the command in Matthew 10:8 to “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Healing the sick is a command, and we are to do it. Does Jesus expect us to do what He says? Of course He does, and that includes healing the sick just as much as it includes His command for us to love our neighbor as ourselves. These three reasons give support from the word of God to the belief that God still heals the sick. I encourage you to pray and study the Bible for yourself. As you do, you will see faith for healing rise up within you. I have been reading the Gospels lately and I can’t help but notice that Jesus’ ministry was a healing ministry. If Jesus’ ministry was a healing ministry, and He said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21), then healing must be a part of our ministry as well. May the Lord who heals bless you with divine health and an abundance of His grace.