|
Healing and Miracles (1 Corinthians 1:22 KJV) For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: The reason that healings and miracles were given is to be a confirmation that a man was sent from God with a message from God. Question: If this is the true purpose for healings and miracles, why don't we see the healings and miracles today? Healings and Miracles Not Common to ManThe whole message to Israel fits in with a physical salvation, a physical demonstration. The miracles of signs and wonders are limited to certain time frames when God was introducing something human history. Signs and wonders and miracles did not happen all the time. That was not the norm in God's dealings with man. Miracles confirm a ministry, that the man is of God and the message is from God. Three times in Scripture is this type of ministry with confirmation of signs and wonders is prevalent, the ministry of Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Moses - Law(Exodus 4:1-9 KJV) And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. {2} And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. {3} And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. {4} And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his and: {5} That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. {6} And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. {7} And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. {8} And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. {9} And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. Signs were given to prove that Moses was sent from God.
Moses was the "dispenser of the Law". God was giving to Israel His righteous standard and judgement. Elijah - Prophets(1 Kings 17:1 KJV) And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. When God gave Israel the Law it was confirmed with signs and wonders. When God began to deal with Israel through the prophets it was confirmed with signs and wonders. Elijah represents the time of the prophets. (1 Kings 17:17-24 KJV) And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. {18} And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? {19} And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. {20} And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? {21} And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. {22} And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. {23} And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. {24} And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. It is important to note verse 24, the sign convinced the woman that Elijah was a man of God with a message from God; it was confirmed with a healing. Healing is always used to confirm what God is doing. In Israel's program, healing accompanies the message from God. Jesus(Matthew 4:23 KJV) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. (Matthew 11:1-5 KJV) And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. {2} Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, {3} And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? {4} Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: {5} The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. John asked if Jesus was the one that was to come and Jesus told them to tell him the things they saw and heard (signs). (Matthew 12:38-39 KJV) Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. {39} But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: This verse seems to be contradictory, Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees that an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and yet, the Jews require a sign. We need to keep this in context, signs and wonders were happening all over the place and the scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus and say, "Show us a sign." The did not recognize the signs. The number one sign was that a virgin should give birth to a son, called Emmanuel (God with us). In Matthew 23, Jesus describes the heart of the scribes and the Pharisees, rotten to the core; they had purposed in their heart not to believe. Signs and wonders demonstrated that the prophets had the authority to preach the word of God and that the message was from God. Message also importantIn Matthew 11:5, Jesus says that the poor shall have the gospel preached to them, it is not just the miracle and signs and wonders but also the message that goes with it. They need more than just the signs and wonders. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5 KJV) If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, {2} And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; {3} Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. {4} Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. {5} And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. These verses state that there may be signs and wonders accompanying a false message. If a prophet spoke a message that was not of God, then he was to be stoned. False signs and wonders can accompany the false message. That is why Jesus tells the disciples of John to tell them that the blind see, deaf hear, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. What gospel? The gospel of the kingdom, what was promised to Abraham. (Isaiah 61:1-2 KJV) The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; {2} To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; Healing is a Part of the Kingdom Message(Exodus 15:26 KJV) And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. One of the first covenants God made with Israel was a healing covenant. (Isaiah 35:1-6 KJV) The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. {2} It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. {3} Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. {4} Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. {5} Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. {6} Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. This was a promise of the coming kingdom. Israel was aware of what the kingdom was to include. In Exodus 15, they knew if they obeyed His laws, they would have healing. In Ezekiel, when the kingdom comes they were told about the new covenant and God's laws written in their heart and they would keep God's ordinances. Isaiah confirmed that message (Isaiah 35). So when a man came that could heal, it meant something to Israel. (Matthew 4:23-25 KJV) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. {24} And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. {25} And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. Notice it says that Jesus healed all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. He had told His disciples that greater works shall they do. Does this in any way compare with what we see today in the ministries of those who claim to have a healing ministry? (Matthew 10:5-8 KJV) These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: {6} But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. {7} And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. {8} Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Jesus sends the twelve to go out and do the same thing, freely you have received, freely give (the power to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils). That is what Peter and John gave to the lame man at the temple gate. (Matthew 9:1-8 KJV) And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. {2} And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. {3} And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. {4} And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? {5} For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? {6} But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. {7} And he arose, and departed to his house. {8} But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. The physical deliverance that Jesus demonstrated to Israel was that He was the one who could bring the spiritual deliverance that they seek in the kingdom. Jeremiah 31:31-14, forgive iniquity and remember their sin no more. Forgiveness, as well as healing was part of the kingdom. By Jesus saying that the man's sins were forgiven, He was saying; that He was God, able to forgive sins. Jesus was, in fact, telling them that he can give them spiritual deliverance as well as physical deliverance. His message was confirmed with signs and wonders, of which was healing. Why Healing Is Important To Israel(Genesis 1:26 KJV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28 KJV) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. God gave Adam dominion over the earth, he gave Adam a body from the earth. Adam's body is of the earth. There are two places in the universe, heaven and earth. God creates Adam and puts Adam on the earth and gives him dominion of the earth. God gave Adam a body that was made to function on the earth, not the heavens. Adam was not given a body that could function in the heavens, his body is to function on the earth. We, as descendants of Adam, have a body that is equipped for the earth. Our body is stained with sin, it is mortal and it will die. A physical body is important to those who will function on the earth. The subject of the prophets is the establishment of a kingdom on the earth. From Adam until the raising up of the Apostle Paul, the subject has been a kingdom on earth (Daniel 2:34-35 KJV) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. {35} Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. Jesus in His earthly ministry told His disciples to pray for the Kingdom to come. The kingdom is coming and we are going. If one is to be in an eternal kingdom one the earth, even for 1,000 years, one needs a body that will last. For Israel, the healing of the body is so important is because the body is the vehicle they will use to rule and reign with Jesus. Why Healing is Not Important for Members of the Body of Christ(Philippians 3:20-21 KJV) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: {21} Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Our bodies will be changed for us to take our place in the heavens. (1 Corinthians 15:40 KJV) There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. (1 Corinthians 15:49-51 KJV) And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. {50} Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. {51} Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, Even if we do not die, our body will need to be changed. For Israel, if they are alive when the kingdom comes, the curse will need to be taken off because they need the terrestrial body. But members of the Body of Christ need to have a changed body. There is no purpose for God to heal our body today in this dispensation of grace because our bodies will be changed. This physical body is not the issue for us as it is for Israel. So Then, Why Did Paul Do Miracles?(Acts 15:12 KJV) Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. The audience in Acts 15 is the nation of Israel, the Jews require a sign. The miracles confirmed that Paul was from God and had a message that was from God. It told the nation of Israel that God was now working among the Gentiles (Israel set aside). (Romans 15:18-19 KJV) For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, {19} Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Reason For the Miracles Wrought by Paul(Romans 11:11 KJV) I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. The Jews were seeing all the blessings among the Gentiles, the purpose was to make them jealous enough to want what they have. The miracles went to the Gentiles because that is where the message is. (Romans 11:13-14 KJV) For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: {14} If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. Paul's hope was that Israel would realize that they had missed it and receive their salvation like the Gentiles. In times past, a Gentile had to become a Jew in order to receive from God. Now, a Jew has to become like a Gentile. Why We Do Not Need Confirmation TodayToday, we have the completed book, therefore, the need for confirmation had gone away. In other words, there are no men today coming forth with a new message from God. Therefore, there is no new message that needs to be confirmed with healings and signs and wonders.
|