The First Healing in the Bible

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NOTE:  An updated version of this post is available on my new website.  It is located here:  http://bornofspirit.net/the-first-healing-in-the-bible/
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When studying the bible, you can find some great truths if you examine the passages where a subject is first mentioned.  That concept is the basis for this article.  We are going to look at the first time divine healing is mentioned in the bible  It is found in Genesis chapter 20.  Here's a link to it on YouVersion.

Here is a brief summary of the story, along with a little background.

• Abraham is married to Sarah.
• Sarah is a very attractive woman.
• Abraham is afraid of someone harming him in order to take his wife.
• On several occasions, he asks Sarah to lie and say she is his sister.  

In Genesis 20, Abraham and Sarah journey to a city named Gerar.  The king of this city is named Abimilech.  Abimilech finds out about Sarah somehow, and he takes her to be in his harem.

Before Abimilech is able to have relations with Sarah, God warns him in a dream that she is Abraham's wife.  God makes it clear that it is in Abimilech's best interest to return her to her husband Abraham, because some bad stuff is going to happen if he doesn't.  In fact, he's going to die, and the women in his land are no longer able to have children

So, Abimilech returns Sarah to Abraham.  Then Abraham prays for healing for Abimilech and everybody else, and God heals them all.

That's it for the summary.  At first glance, it is a strange story that does not go the way most of think it should go.  I want to identify some principles based on this story that carry on throughout the bible and on into the present day.

1 - God works through flawed people.

Abraham is the one at fault here...he lied and caused this whole problem.  Yet, Abraham is the first person that God works through to demonstrate healing power.  This shows us that our ability to avoid sin is not a factor is whether or not we get to operate in divine healing.  Sin does not stop God's power.  God is bigger than our sin.

Sin is bad, don't get me wrong.  But, don't fall for the temptation to think that God won't use you because you aren't good enough.  Divine healing is based on God's divine goodness, not your human goodness.   This is huge, and it is the main point I want to get across in this article. Don't just read past this fact.  Let it take root.  God works through flawed people because that's all He has to choose from.

2 - The person that is ministering healing may be in need of a miracle as well.

At this time, Abraham and Sarah were childless.  They were not able to have children.  But, part of the healing that God ministered in this story was restoring the ability of the women in Gerar to conceive.

If you are fighting some kind of physical condition, don't let that be a roadblock that keeps you from stepping out in faith and ministering to others.  100% perfect health is not a prerequisite to be used in divine healing.  Don't disqualify yourself, and don't disqualify others, just because you (or they) are currently in a struggle with a sickness.

3 - Although the healing may be instant, the physical evidence may show up later.

Part of the healing that took place in this story was the restoration of the ability of the women to conceive.  Because of the nature of the healing, it would be a while before they could tell for sure what happened.  They were totally healed immediately, but they would have no physical evidence until they became pregnant.

Sometimes an action is required on the part of the "patient" in order to fully demonstrate the complete healing.  In this case, each woman would have to have relations with her husband, and then some time would have to pass before they would have some kind of physical proof that the healing was real.

4 - God does things differently than we do.  

I think most of us would expect some kind of punishment for Abraham.  It seems like the wrong guy is getting in trouble (Abimilech).  Now, he is not innocent either, according to our modern moral standards, but it seems like Abraham's dishonesty is the the real cause of all the trouble.  If he would have been truthful, then maybe this whole situation could have been avoided.

But, if you go back a few years in Abraham's history, back to Genesis 12, you will find that God made a promise to him.  God said "I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you."  God is simply keeping His promise here.  This promise wasn't conditional on Abraham's moral behavior.  It was based on the fact that Abraham believed what God said.

This is much like the promise we have from God.  If we will believe the gospel of Jesus, then He will not count any of our sins against us (past, present, or future), He will adopt us into His own family, give us eternal life, and make us a co-heir with Jesus.  And just like the promise to Abraham, this is not dependent on our ability or inability to keep a code of ethics.  It is dependent on whether or not we believe what God said about His Son.

Foolish Galatians

Galatians 3:1-5
1 - O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
2 - This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—
3 - Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
4 - Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 - Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Galatians is a letter that was written to some people that had become Christians as a result of Paul's preaching in their town.  When Paul first came to these people, he told them the good news about Jesus.  Jesus had paid the price for their sins, and now God was offering eternal life to them.  They believed the message, accepted the offer, and were born into God's family and kingdom.

From the context of the entire letter, it is apparent that they also had seen some demonstrations of the supernatural power of God.  And not only had they seen God's power in operation, they were beginning to operate in this power themselves.

At some point, Paul moved on to the next town and some religious leaders came in here behind him and started trying to put additional requirements on these people.  These new believers were being told that they had to keep the rules and regulations of Judaism (a.k.a "works of the law") in order to be in right standing with God.

When Paul found out about this, he wrote this letter that we call "Galatians."  In this letter, he is very upset, and uses some very strong  language.  He is urging these new believers to reject this false teaching.

We get great benefit from being able to read this letter, because there are some very powerful truths contained in the arguments that Paul set forth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

1 - A person's entry into God's kingdom has nothing to do with any religious activities.

These people simply believed the message Paul brought to them.  That's it.  They weren't keeping the Sabbath, going to church, praying, paying tithes, reading the bible, or anything like that.  They didn't even have a bible because there weren't any bibles yet.  There weren't even any churches there yet.  They probably didn't even know about most of that stuff.  They just believed what Paul said about Jesus.  God was extending peace to these people through an offer that is almost too good to be true.  If they would believe this message about Jesus, God would adopt them as sons and welcome them into His eternal kingdom.

2 - Operating in the power of God is not enhanced by keeping religious rules or traditions.  In fact, it can be hindered by that stuff.

God works through people that exercise faith...people that take Him at His word.  He doesn't require us to be perfect in our behavior and obedience as a prerequisite   Jesus already took care of all prerequisites on our behalf.  We just need to believe it.  Check it out...

2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  

You see, Jesus has already made amends for all of our failures and shortcomings.  Our failure to meet the standards has already been dealt with once for all time.  So, we are no longer viewed by God as sinners who are trying to get better.  We are viewed by Him in the same way He views Jesus....totally righteous.

With that in mind, take a fresh look at this phrase again from Galatians chapter 3, verse 5. It is a very amazing statement:


He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

God supplies the Spirit to us and works miracles among us as we act in faith.  This is not limited by a person's maturity level, nor is it limited by a person's ability to avoid sin.  It is limited by unbelief.  As far as I have been able to understand, the only thing that can limit God operating in power through us is unbelief.

Unbelief comes in many forms.  Here are a few of the most powerful ways that we can be drawn into unbelief.

1 - Trying to work to earn the right or privilege to operate in the power of God is actually a form of unbelief.  The very act of trying to earn it shows that you don't believe it is freely given.  Ouch.

2 - Trusting in human religious tradition rather than in God is also a form of unbelief.  Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

• If you are part of an organization that believes that miracles were only for the days of the original apostles, then you will will be tempted to agree with that, and you can find yourself in unbelief towards the power of God working in you or in others today.  
• If you believe that miracles are done through the pastor or the priest or any other title, but not through those without a religious title, then you will also be in unbelief towards the power of God working through you.  
• If you believe God doesn't heal people that have sin in their life, then you will be in unbelief towards the "gifts" of healings.  You will disqualify people based on their addictions, habits, behaviors, sexual preferences, and etc.  You will be trusting in man's ability to perform rather than God's grace to give freely to those in need, and draw them to Himself through His love and kindness.  That is unbelief.

Our main enemy, most of the time, is not the devil, and it is not sin.  It is unbelief.  As Jesus said, all things are possible to him to believes.  We need to believe, and let this foolishness loosen its grip on us.

Radically Good News

John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

This is a very radical set of statements.  I would like to examine them individually.

v16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God loved the world before Jesus came and paid for our sins.  He loved the world while our sins were in full view.  He wanted to have fellowship with us.  He wanted us to be with Him through eternity.    

Because of this love, Jesus came on a mission.  God initiated the action, sending His Son to rescue the very people that were sinning against Him.  He paid for our salvation by taking our death sentence on Himself, dying in our place.  The price has been paid once for all time (Hebrews 10:10) for the whole world (1 John 2:2).

And now, everlasting life is given to anyone that believes in Jesus..."whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

v17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Many people have a picture of God that is something like this:  God is up in heaven somewhere with His arms crossed, looking down on humanity with anger because of our sin.  And, if we beg and plead, and promise to act better, then He may consider letting us go to heaven, but He's still mad at us.

This verse paints a very different picture.  God loved us before we were saved, before our sins were paid for, before we were even looking His way.  He sent His Son on a rescue mission, to save us.  He  wants all of us to be with him (1 Tim 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9).  This was His idea, not ours.  He is coming for us, rather than us begging and crawling to come to Him.  He took care of everything, and now all we have to do is exercise our free will and choose to believe.

v18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

If the other two passages were not enough to amaze you, this one should make everyone examine his thinking.

If you believe in Jesus, you are not condemned.

If you don't believe in Jesus, then you are condemned.

Notice that your ability to avoid sin is not a part of the equation.  You do not escape condemnation though good morals and ethics. You only avoid condemnation by believing in Jesus.  We are saved by grace through faith, not by works.

If you don't believe in Jesus, then you are condemned, period.  It makes no difference what else you do.

But, on the other hand, of you do believe in Jesus, then you are not condemned, no matter what else you do.  Sin and bad choices can totally ruin your life, and put you in situations that you will not enjoy.  There are  reasons that sin is called sin.  We should avoid sin.  But sin is not what condemns you.  Unbelief...rejection of Jesus...that is how a person is condemned.

We often think that condemnation comes from God as a result of our behavior.  This is not true.  Romans 8:1 says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (see also Romans 8:31-34).  Condemnation only comes if you don't believe in Jesus.   It is not what you do that saves you or condemns you.  It is faith in Jesus.  You must believe that He paid it all for you.  Then you can stop approaching God based on how you feel about your performance, and come to Him based Jesus' performance (Romans 5:19).

God wants fellowship with you.  He has made peace from His side.  We have nothing to offer in return except to believe it.  We should take Him at His word, believe in Jesus, and receive eternal life.

Healings Testimonies

Here is a list of conditions that God has healed, and I was a personal witness to it.

These are first hand.testimonies, people healed in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  I got to see it happen, or I am a personal friend of the person that experienced it.  I am putting these on here in hopes that this may build your faith, and give you hope if you are fighting some kind of health issue.

These are listed in no particular order.

Fibromyalgia
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Headaches
Tendinitis
Hearing loss
Vision loss
Degenerative Brain Disease
Asthma
Plantar fasciitis
Neck Pain
Back Pain
Leg pain
Arthritis
Spinal cord injury
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Ménière's disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Poison Ivy
Shingles
Cancer
Swelling and loss of movement in a thumb
Loss of feeling and loss of movement in a toe
Exposed nerve in a finger
Torn muscle in a shoulder
Uneven legs growing out to be even


If you are suffering with one of these, then just know that God's power heals your condition.

There are many ways to be healed.  All of them are accomplished by the Holy Spirit working on your body.

You can be healed through your own faith (Mark 5:34)
You can be healed through the faith of a friend (Matthew 8:13)
You can be healed by having others pray for you (James 5:14-15)
You can be healed by commanding the condition to leave your body in the name of Jesus (Luke 4:39)

There are many other ways too.  This is just to get your started.  A good way to start is to believe that God is good, and that He is willing (Matthew 8:3).  You can even ask Him to help you believe (Mark 9:24)

Jesus vs demons - part 1

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NOTE: An updated version of this post is available on my new website located here: http://bornofspirit.net/demons-a-proper-balanced-biblical-perspective/
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Jesus spent a considerable amount of His time on earth dealing with demons (aka evil spirits, unclean spirits, etc).  This was one of His main activities.  It was also one of the things that really drew people to him.  Take a look at these passages.

Matthew 8:16
When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,

Mark 1:34
Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him

Mark 1:39
39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Mark 3:11
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."

Luke 4:36
Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."

Luke 6:17-18
And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.

Luke 7:21
And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

Preaching, teaching, healing the sick, and casting out demons.  That's what you would see if you went to see Jesus in action.  He would preach the Kingdom of God, and then demonstrate it with displays of supernatural power.  Or, He would do it in reverse order.  He would exercise supernatural power over sickness and demons, and then He would preach and teach.  

That is what the ministry of Jesus looked like.  Casting out demons was a big part of it.  

If we are going to follow His example, then we should be doing the same thing.  It is not like all of the demons in the world suddenly stopped bothering people after Jesus ascended into heaven.

You can see His followers dealing with demons throughout the book of Acts, so demons were still causing problems for people.  But the disciples of Jesus were driving them out and rescuing the oppressed.  That is part of our mission as Christians.  We are to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the gospel.