Written upon watching some very well made DVD messages made for the benefit of church attendees of a specific denomination. The messages contained many scripture quotes with good verses talking about healing. The conclusions are logical and argued with conviction. However, the emphasis of the videos seems to be that physical healing is a right and can be demanded of God- even to the point of using physical objects which can be purchased from the presenter and somehow contain powers that will bring about the healing in the infirmed.
As logical as arguments and scriptural references are, I am not sure that they start at the real beginning. Is he not taking "a priori" that healing (A.B. Simpson style) is in the atonement?Yes, when Jesus died He died for the sins of the whole world, and that is unlimited atonement as far as God is concerned. We are told that God hates sin and cannot tolerate it. Being eternal anything less than an act of completely cleansing sin from HIS sight and knowledge would not be complete atonement. So Jesus' death even eliminated the offensive odor of sin as far as the eternal holiness was concerned. And this was in His original plan from eternity past, even though such a thought is beyond the comprehension of mortals. And now without doing any damage to holiness or any of God's other perfect characteristics we can say that sin is covered and atoned for. In that aspect the complete righting of all wrongs is certainly covered in the word atonement.
We all agree that in Christ we are new creations, that we have been born again and are new in Him. That we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, that we are citizens of Heaven and will live eternally in the presence of our Holy God because we are saved by the atoning blood of Christ. But, and there is a but. We have problems acting what we are. All of us do -- only Jesus being the exception. And try as we will to live holy we can't be perfect, although we are told to be perfect as God is perfect. And here is where we look for explanations, because the Bible gives us no excuse for less than perfection and living what we are cut out to be in Him. Different theological approaches to this problem are normal, because we know that our church history upholds many men and women who were/are real saints and who were conscientiously at peace with God about themselves as they knew He saw them. So there is an answer to sin in the life of the believer and perfect communion with God. How do we find it?
Each one of us has a personal difference from any other person, so we may expect that the Creator knows this and knows just exactly what needs to be done to make us like His perfect Son. If time made Jesus perfect as the Bible says, it will take time to make us perfect also. Not positionally, because according to Ephesians we are seated with Christ now, but conditionally. Mr Maxwell used to talk about a setting hen which sat on a next of unfertilized eggs for a long time after the incubation period was over. Nothing at all wrong with her position, but the condition was rotten. That is what we are and where we find ourselves. So each of us with his different experiences of finding peace with God in this respect tells his story about it in order to help others. And somewhere along the line that method, which God used to sanctify him (us) becomes a norm among younger followers. It worked for us, so why not for all? If it was not for the need each one of us has for a perfect conscience toward God it would not be the problem it is. We want and need a second experience. If I am going to really enjoy assurance of salvation I want to know that I have peace with God right now.
The presenters are absolutely convinced that they are (almost) exclusively right in saying that the way(s) God dealt with them are valid for everybody. And they are absolutely right for a good many people, because the result of sanctification is of much greater consequence than the method. And it is better than giving up and saying that there is no hope or that it will all be fixed up only when we get to Heaven. God is pleased to have us believe Him and trust Him and expect to become as much like His perfect Son today and tomorrow and every tomorrow.
So, is healing the answer to this second need of daily assurance and is it in the atonement? I was greatly helped in hearing the Brethren explanation of salvation. Perhaps because I am analytical, don't know. Simply put it is that just as God is triune and man is a reflection of this in being body, soul and spirit, so there is a distribution of salvation as applied to the parts of our person. We can't speak of God in parts, but it is useful to refer to ourselves as tripartite beings with body soul and spirit being distinct parts. From Scripture we know that our spirit has been made alive in Christ from the moment of rebirth when we believed. And we have no trouble with getting a new resurrected body like Jesus when He raises us from the grave. However it is the life interval between those two points in time that is the problem, and that is where the soulish (mind) sanctification needs to happen. With my spirit I have consciousness of and can fellowship with God Who is Spirit; with my body I can react to material things, even to cold and heat; and with my mind or soul I can appreciate people and aesthetic virtues, like piano and art and science. Animals of course do not have the spiritual constituent and relatively little of the soul attributes we have.
Depending on how I find the assurance and joy of acceptance and fellowship with God, or in many cases on how I return to an assurance of salvation after straying, I will have a testimony of what brought me into this second blessing, and I might call it whatever word is popular in my denominational circle. Most often it will be an experience of some kind, an unusual experience and even a miraculous experience, because the merciful God does give signs to help us to believe Him. We will remember the experience, even if the experience itself is not the most important part. And if we don't understand what the Bible teaches about it we may find ourselves trying to force our experience on others. That is wrong, because although God deals with us through experiences He knows each one of us as different individuals. In short if we have no experience with God we have nothing. If we have only an original salvation experience with God we have eternal life, but there is more that we want and need.
The apostle Peter summed it up when he said that he with the disciples had the experience of being with Jesus, but that the prophetic Word is more sure than what he saw. Instead of interpreting the Word by our experiences we need to interpret our experiences by the Word. The Word seems to have too many stories about suffering as being the lot of the follower of Jesus for me to accept as proven that healing in this life for all believers is a necessary part of obedience. It is nice and merciful and it is a sign, and no doubt God does keep us from getting sick many times when we ask Him to bless the food. But to me the second blessing is much more than just healing or tongues or other signs. It is the beginning of really enjoying Jesus and His salvation, and it should encourage us to ask for third and fourth and continuous blessings. In the words of the old hymn, "Lord, lead me on to higher ground; a higher plane than I have found; New heights I'm gaining every day." Why limit it to healing when there is so much more in Christ? Life! Life! Abundant life, Jesus alone is the giver. Life! Life! Glory to Jesus forever.
Don
We all agree that in Christ we are new creations, that we have been born again and are new in Him. That we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, that we are citizens of Heaven and will live eternally in the presence of our Holy God because we are saved by the atoning blood of Christ. But, and there is a but. We have problems acting what we are. All of us do -- only Jesus being the exception. And try as we will to live holy we can't be perfect, although we are told to be perfect as God is perfect. And here is where we look for explanations, because the Bible gives us no excuse for less than perfection and living what we are cut out to be in Him. Different theological approaches to this problem are normal, because we know that our church history upholds many men and women who were/are real saints and who were conscientiously at peace with God about themselves as they knew He saw them. So there is an answer to sin in the life of the believer and perfect communion with God. How do we find it?
Each one of us has a personal difference from any other person, so we may expect that the Creator knows this and knows just exactly what needs to be done to make us like His perfect Son. If time made Jesus perfect as the Bible says, it will take time to make us perfect also. Not positionally, because according to Ephesians we are seated with Christ now, but conditionally. Mr Maxwell used to talk about a setting hen which sat on a next of unfertilized eggs for a long time after the incubation period was over. Nothing at all wrong with her position, but the condition was rotten. That is what we are and where we find ourselves. So each of us with his different experiences of finding peace with God in this respect tells his story about it in order to help others. And somewhere along the line that method, which God used to sanctify him (us) becomes a norm among younger followers. It worked for us, so why not for all? If it was not for the need each one of us has for a perfect conscience toward God it would not be the problem it is. We want and need a second experience. If I am going to really enjoy assurance of salvation I want to know that I have peace with God right now.
The presenters are absolutely convinced that they are (almost) exclusively right in saying that the way(s) God dealt with them are valid for everybody. And they are absolutely right for a good many people, because the result of sanctification is of much greater consequence than the method. And it is better than giving up and saying that there is no hope or that it will all be fixed up only when we get to Heaven. God is pleased to have us believe Him and trust Him and expect to become as much like His perfect Son today and tomorrow and every tomorrow.
So, is healing the answer to this second need of daily assurance and is it in the atonement? I was greatly helped in hearing the Brethren explanation of salvation. Perhaps because I am analytical, don't know. Simply put it is that just as God is triune and man is a reflection of this in being body, soul and spirit, so there is a distribution of salvation as applied to the parts of our person. We can't speak of God in parts, but it is useful to refer to ourselves as tripartite beings with body soul and spirit being distinct parts. From Scripture we know that our spirit has been made alive in Christ from the moment of rebirth when we believed. And we have no trouble with getting a new resurrected body like Jesus when He raises us from the grave. However it is the life interval between those two points in time that is the problem, and that is where the soulish (mind) sanctification needs to happen. With my spirit I have consciousness of and can fellowship with God Who is Spirit; with my body I can react to material things, even to cold and heat; and with my mind or soul I can appreciate people and aesthetic virtues, like piano and art and science. Animals of course do not have the spiritual constituent and relatively little of the soul attributes we have.
Depending on how I find the assurance and joy of acceptance and fellowship with God, or in many cases on how I return to an assurance of salvation after straying, I will have a testimony of what brought me into this second blessing, and I might call it whatever word is popular in my denominational circle. Most often it will be an experience of some kind, an unusual experience and even a miraculous experience, because the merciful God does give signs to help us to believe Him. We will remember the experience, even if the experience itself is not the most important part. And if we don't understand what the Bible teaches about it we may find ourselves trying to force our experience on others. That is wrong, because although God deals with us through experiences He knows each one of us as different individuals. In short if we have no experience with God we have nothing. If we have only an original salvation experience with God we have eternal life, but there is more that we want and need.
The apostle Peter summed it up when he said that he with the disciples had the experience of being with Jesus, but that the prophetic Word is more sure than what he saw. Instead of interpreting the Word by our experiences we need to interpret our experiences by the Word. The Word seems to have too many stories about suffering as being the lot of the follower of Jesus for me to accept as proven that healing in this life for all believers is a necessary part of obedience. It is nice and merciful and it is a sign, and no doubt God does keep us from getting sick many times when we ask Him to bless the food. But to me the second blessing is much more than just healing or tongues or other signs. It is the beginning of really enjoying Jesus and His salvation, and it should encourage us to ask for third and fourth and continuous blessings. In the words of the old hymn, "Lord, lead me on to higher ground; a higher plane than I have found; New heights I'm gaining every day." Why limit it to healing when there is so much more in Christ? Life! Life! Abundant life, Jesus alone is the giver. Life! Life! Glory to Jesus forever.
Don
