HEALING: A DISCUSSION STARTER

This document is intended as a discussion starter to help us discern Biblical truth. There is no suggestion that it is either complete or infallible!

Over the past few months at St Matthews we have received a lot of teaching on healing, both through the teaching of New Wine (NW) and more recently through Jude Looser (JL).

I believe that both have been very helpful and have refocused our eyes on Biblical teaching about healing and it has also been a timely reminder of the “supernatural” aspects of our faith. I believe that as a Church, and as individuals, we have learnt a lot about ministering to each other in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I also think that we have learnt a lot about the importance of inner/emotional healing and being able to recognise when it might be appropriate. Human brokenness, a consequence of broken fellowship with God, robs us of the “image of the Divine."

True healing requires healing of the spiritual, mental, emotional and social facets as well as healing of the physical; it requires restoration of the "image of God." We have been reminded that God gifted his Church with many gifts, including the gifts of healing and that he appointed his Church to be communities of healing in the broadest sense of that word. We need to continue to pray for healing in the power of the Holy Spirit simply because, as John Wimber said, “before we prayed for healing no one was healed, now we pray and some are healed”

Nothing that follows is intended to detract from that. However, I also believe that we have been taught some things which may have been controversial or which we need to critically examine in the light of our own experience. For example:

It is always God’s will to heal. He never says “no” or “not yet”(JL&NW)

• No one should die of disease (NW&JL) and we should even be moving towards an expectation that some will never die but will simply be “taken” in the same way that Enoch was (JL)
  
  
• That death before 3 score years and 10 (70) is unscriptural (JL)
  
  
• That God never uses suffering – it is never used a part of his purposes for us. An earthly father would never allow his child to suffer if he could do something about it and therefore neither would God. (NW)
  
  
• We shouldn’t see the death of a Christian as God’s ultimate healing (JL)
  
  
• Etc….

I have some problems with the above, mainly because it just doesn’t equate with our general experience. We don’t see everyone healed- we don’t even see the majority healed. JL claims around 80% but the figures I have heard from NW people are around 20-30%. We have to have some explanation for this and some way of pastoring those people who aren’t healed and also those who pray for them.

Some observations:

• The “Healing for all always” (HFA) teaching fails to see the present in the light of eternity. This earth is not my home – as Paul says “For me to live is Christ but to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). The HFA teaching elevates the significance and importance of earthly life. In Paul Windsor’s words it is anthropocentric and not Theocentric. It says, it’s all about me and my present comfort.
  
  
• Could it be that Christians have become infected with the language of rights that is so common in all aspects of life today and have developed a “right to be well’ theology?
  
  
• It fails to take account of the fact that God is God and I am not! However much truth there may be in the assertion that we have been given the earth as our “patch” to rule over and we have the power of the Holy Spirit within, we are still sinful creatures. Yes, Jesus always healed but he was the sinless son of God, therefore not a good comparison!
  
  
• A truth to keep in mind is that Jesus taught that what happens to our earthly body is not the ultimate concern in life-- much more important than the condition of the body is the eternal state of the soul (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4).
  
  
• I can see occasions when a loving father would allow his child to suffer in order to achieve some higher purpose which may not be able to be achieved without the suffering (for example chemotherapy for cancer, or punishment to teach and correct)
  
  
• The fact that the body heals at all is a God ordained miracle and we should be quicker to acknowledge this. No one really knows why cells regenerate, bones mend or wounds heal. Also, throughout history and still today, many Christians see their calling to medical practice as exactly that – a call of God to be partner with Him in the healing of men and women.
  
  
• Because the teaching (NW&JL) is so rigid in claiming that everyone can be healed since healing provision has already been made- guilt and shame is added to the physical suffering of those not healed.
  
  
• Scripture does teach that in a fallen world people die “before their time” (Isaiah 65 :20). We are told to “number our days”, and that God has established the number of our days before we are even born. All of which suggests that it is different for each of us.

Much of Scripture is about suffering – the death of a child (Genesis 37:33-35); the pain of barrenness (Genesis 15:2); homesickness (Psalm 137); physical pain (Job); persecution (Psalm 22:17-21); loneliness and abandonment; remorse (Psalm 51); etc.

We must remember that suffering is at the centre of our salvation. Redemption was accomplished through the Cross of Christ, that is, through His suffering.

There are passages in Scripture which encourage us to also embrace suffering as Christ did. (2 Corinthians 1:5; Philippians 3: 10-11; Romans 8:17-18; 2 Corinthians 4: 17-18; 1 Peter 4: 13).

In the same way that Christ emptied himself in order to be lifted up so suffering and glory seem to be inextricably linked. It is an expression of the gospel paradox of weakness and strength (2 Corinthians 12:9; 2 Timothy 1:12; Philippians 4:13).

There is also the disturbing passage in Colossians 1:24: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the Church”. I can’t really grasp what this means. I am certain that the redemption achieved by Christ is complete but this passage seems to suggest that in some way we, the community that is the Church, are called to continue the work of the redemption of the world through our own suffering.

So… why do we get sick and suffer and aren’t healed?

There are many reasons that I think we could explore:

· As a consequence of personal sin. David suffered the grief of the loss of a child because of his sin (also, some saw the AIDS epidemic in this light)

· As a consequence of general sin “the sin of the world”. Because we are part of a fallen world – but there is no personal equation

· As a way of teaching us more of God. C.S Lewis said that pain is sometimes God’s megaphone to a deaf world.

· To test and strengthen our faith (Romans 5:3-5)

· As a witness to others. When the body is gravely ill, and totally incapacitated, a Christians’ inner maturity and spiritual confidence can be a lesson to others.

· As discipline from God (Hebrews 12:6)

· Because Jesus told us that we should expect it (Luke 9:23)

· Early death could sometimes be a mark of God’s “severe mercy”

I think that ultimately we can only stand in silence before a Holy triune God and acknowledge that when there is God there is mystery, if there wasn’t there wouldn’t be God! We need to trust that “goodness and mercy” will indeed follow us all the days of our lives and we also need to learn to trust God with the mystery of our lives and also to trust him when he is silent!

For those who want to take this further I would recommend two very good sources: “How long O Lord” by D.A. Carson and the Apostolic letter “Salvifici Dolores” By Pope John Paul II written on 11 February 1984 (esp sections 14-24)

Sandy Elkin
Women and Families Ministry
May 2010

Lest We Forget

Last week I received an interesting letter in the church office. One I wasn’t really sure what to do with. It was from an older person from Queensland asking about a particular stained glass window in the church building. The Harvey Memorial Glass. Now I had no idea which window they were referring to.

Today, I have been along to the church, looking at the windows to try and see if I could help this person. While I was doing this, it really struck me how much history St Matthews really has. I mean, we all know it is an old building with problems that need to be fixed, like earthquake proofing etc.I think we all take it for granted what a beautiful place we have.

While it may seem like a huge thing we are doing with the new buildings, and believe me, it seems like it has taken a huge amount of time, we must remember that without the people who were members of this congregation years ago, the church wouldn’t be where it is today.

St Matthew’s history goes back a long way, and I think the words we say each ANZAC day really ring true. Lest we forget. The plaques around the church building represent real people, and while we may not have known them, they were people who obviously made an impact in the church’s history.

Coming back to the Harvey Memorial Window (It is the third window on the Stafford Street side, after you come through the doors). Captain Harvey was killed in battle on 16th August 1900, and this Sunday just past marked the 109th anniversary of his death. While I don’t know much more about the man, his family and friends cared enough about him to commemorate his memory with a beautiful stained glass window.

I think it is timely to appreciate the age of this church building, in the midst of the chaos that is the new buildings.

If you are in Dunedin, I would invite you all to come and spend some time looking at the stained glass windows and various plaques around the church, and appreciate what God has truly blessed us with, a rich and varied history. Lest we forget.