Deliverance and Healing
Current Theological Viewpoints on Divine Healing
In our days divine healing is very little believed in, because it has almost entirely disappeared from the Christian Church. One may ask the reason and here are the two answers which have been given. The greater number think that miracles, the gift of healing included, should be limited to the time of the primitive Church; that their object was to establish the first foundation of Christianity but that from that time circumstance have altered. Other believers say unhesitantly that if the Church has lost these gifts, it is by her own fault; it is because she has become worldly that the Spirit acts but feebly in her; it is because she has not remained in direct and habitual relation with the full power of the unseen world; but that if she were to see a new springing up within her men and women who live the life of faith of the holy Spirit, entirely consecrated to their God she would see again the manifestation of the same gifts as in former times.
Miraculous healings are recorded throughout the Bible, but many people rarely think of the possibility of healing being applicable to their ailments today. Often, when we talk about miracles, we speak of them in the past tense, as if to say that God no longer performs them. This is a falsehood that has been bred in us because, today, the church as a whole does not emphasize miracles as much as it once did.
The proofs of Truth, Life, and Love, which Jesus gave by casting out error and healing the sick, completed his earthly mission; but in the Christian Church this demonstration of healing was early lost, about three centuries after the crucifixion. No ancient school of philosophy, material medica, or scholastic theology ever taught or demonstrated the divine healing of absolute Science.
To succeed in healing, you must conquer your own fears, as well as those of your [patients], and rise into higher and holier consciousness.
I know people who made themselves at home in a pit of a hundred feet deep and a thousand days long and, seemingly without warning, experienced the instantaneous deliverance of God.
The word save in the original Greek language is the word sozo. It refers specifically to the forgiveness of sin, the healing of disease, and the deliverance from torment. That is salvation. Jesus made the provision needed to save the whole person – mind, soul, and body: Spirit – forgiveness, Soul – deliverance, and Body – healing
According to Strong’s Concordance SOZO means, “To save, deliver or protect, heal, preserve, so well, be whole.” This word is used in Matt. 14:35-36, Mark 5:34, Acts 4:9 and other passages of Scripture when dealing with the healing of the sick. It is the same word used in Romans 10:9-10 – the Scripture we give to sinners to show them how to receive salvation.
So we see that salvation is not only forgiveness of sins and a free ticket to heaven when we die. Healing and deliverance comes with the package too. Do not let the lies of man and Satan deceive you in only taking part of the package. Healing is part of your salvation. You can receive this just as you have received the assurance that you will go to heaven when you die. Christ paid a heavy price so that you can have divine health. Receive this blessing in Jesus name.
Deliverance and healing were a physical manifestation of God’s kingdom being at hand.Healing is part of your salvation. You can receive this just as you have received the Assurance that you will go to heaven when you die. Christ paid a heavy price so that you can have divine health. Receive this blessing in Jesus name.
We see by the accounts given in the Gospels, that it was more difficult for the Jews at that time to believe in the pardon of their sins than in divine healing. Now it is just the contrary.
In order to receive it, it is necessary to begin by confession of sin and the purpose to live a holy life.
We may be thankful to God for having given us doctors. Their vocation is one of the most noble, for a large number of them seek truly to do, with love & compassion, all they are able to alleviate the evils & sufferings which burden humanity as a result of sin. There are even some who are zealous servants of Jesus Christ and who seek also the good of their patients’ souls. Nevertheless, it is Jesus Himself who is always the first, the best, the greatest physician.
The power of God manifested to heal, restore, and strengthen us, this is as available to us as the atmosphere. (1 Cor 2:12-16).
Theological Accounts of Healing
If the church as whole did emphasize miracles as it once did, stories of healing similar to these biblical accounts of healing would be common testimony.
Heals Leprosy:
When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said, “Be clean.” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy (Matthew 8:1-3).
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”… So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. (Matthew 9:1-2, 5b-7).
Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant:
Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. (Luke 7:2-10).
Jesus heals a woman with hemorrhages:
Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
Jesus Heals the Blind:
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”“Yes, Lord,” they replied.Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this” (Matthew 9:27-34).
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. (John 9:1-7)
Jesus Raises the Dead:
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. (John 11:38-45).
Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and those who carried it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has come to help his people!” (Luke 7:11-16).
Theological Concept of Deliverance
Jesus Cast out many demons from a man:
So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him. This man lived among the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.
When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!”For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”
Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”And he replied, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man.”Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place. There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby. “Send us into those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter them.”So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened.A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.”So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.(Mark 5:5-20).
Jesus Cast out a mute demon:
While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” (Matthew 9:32-33)
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy:
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “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. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”“You 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.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small 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” (Matthew 17:14-20).
Is deliverance necessary for healing?
Conclusion
Of the few Christians that have faith in and practice divine healing, it appears they are doing so because Jesus did: “And Jesus went about Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases among the people” (Matt. 4:23). And because the scriptures command it: “And as you go preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matt 10:7-8), “And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and heal the sick” (Luke 9:2), “And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come night unto you” (Luke 10:9).
Some Christians/Biblical scholars perceive deliverance & healing as one and the same, while others see these as two separate actions. Although they have different definitions of deliverance and healing, they do agree deliverance is part of healing.
Therefore, my research has provided me with enough information to conclude that deliverance & healing, along with salvation, are like the trinity. They are one and the same, yet they are each separate. But they are all necessary for divine healing to take place.
Sources
Baxter, Mary K., A Divine Revelation of Healing (New Kensington, Whitaker House, 2009), 5.Murray, Andew, Divine Healing (New Kensingtion, Whitaker House, 1982).
Connelly, Sean, New Testament Miracles, (Brooklyn, Enchanted Lion Books, 2003).
Eddy, Mary Baker, Science and Health (Boston, The Christian Science Board of Directors, 1934).
Edwards, Troy J., Divine Healing: Guaranteed (Pawtucket, Victorious Word Christian Fellowship, 1997).
Johnson, Bill and Clark, Randy, The Essential Guide to Healing, (Bloomington, Chosen Books, 2011).Moore, Beth, Get out of that Pit (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, Inc.,2007).
Murray, Andew, Divine Healing (New Kensingtion, Whitaker House, 1982).
Sumo, Jean-Marie, Divine Healing Power: Today’s Greatest Hope (Bloomington, IN iUniverse, 2009).
Edwards, Troy J. , Divine Healing: Guaranteed (Pawtucket, Victorious Word Christian Fellowship, 1997).
© 2013 Christi Torgusson