All healing today brings God the Glory ----in my view
The point is some are sick because God allows it. I use the word sick loosely because the scripture mentions a man who was blind.
I know why would a loving God allow this? Well, He didn't at first before the fall. The ultimate plan for God is soul salvation so if trials or suffering is what gets rebellious people to surrender, He would rather allow temporary pain versus eternal pain.
Like a parent who knows their child needs dental work. The child will fight, scream, and cry because they do not understand the longterm effects. A little pain now prevents a lot of pain later.
Why are we told not to spare the rod from the children?
But what of a believer? Is God unloving to allow suffering? Well again, ultimate goal is soul salvation. The blind man who had been blind to bring God glory. He was healed. Now how many may have given their life to Christ?
God allowed like Job for Satan or in Paul's case a messenger of Satan
F F Bosworth says, “Both of these translators use personal pronouns, viz., he and him when speaking of Paul’s thorn. These two pronouns, as well as the word angel, or messenger, prove that Paul’s “thorn” was, as he himself plainly shows, a satanic personality and not a disease. We could not use the personal pronouns he or him when speaking of ophthalmia, or any other disease, because there is no gender to ophthalmia.” page 206
Except Bosworth is wrong,
Luke 13:11
English Standard Version
11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
(interesting enough this teaching contradicts what the same circle teaches in deliverance ministries.)
Paul found great humility and strength from something that God answered no to his prayers.
Did that humility and strength benefit the Kingdom? It definitely did not hinder it. How many people have found salvation due to Paul? Was he hindered by his thorn
in the flesh?
But we must keep balance. We know that things happen due to the fallen nature of the world like Jesus responding to the tower that collapsed and killed many people.
Or spiritual warfare, demonic possession and oppression, and sin due to free will.
God to a large degree allows free will which allows true love to exist. So much that occurs, God may allow but it may not be His perfect will. His perfect will is within the New Earth to come. For now, He is patient and patiently putting up with sin and evil while like His Son, watching His children choose to take up their crosses. There is even a crown for the martyrs in Revelation.
Jesus said if we love Him, we will suffer. We will be hated by the world. But do not be discouraged He has conquered the world. Again this was accomplished at the cross but we know it to be a future event. We claim it today because our faith is in what He completed. It is done. We know it and therefore it shall pass.
I just do not see the healing gospel when you study the early church being used as roman candles, roman entertainment in the Colosseum being slaughtered, raped, and torn apart by wild beasts. Being imprisoned, beheaded, impaled, boiled alive, stoned, or crucified.
I'm not saying that healing doesn't serve a purpose as it gave authority to the messengers and sheds light to the gospel but it is not the thing to be worshipped.
We do not worship the power and sign gifts. There is a song that sings about the Holy Spirit saying
“Come rest on us (I feel the fire)
Fire and wind, come and do it again, Open up the gates, let Heaven on in, Your all we want!”
I get the Holy Spirit is of the Trinity and God but we are never once commanded that this be all we want, the fire and wind, the power of Pentecost or as they teach a 2nd baptism that brings power to the Christian.
The first baptism being of salvation but powerless to bring authority to the gospel. So seek the 2nd baptism they say. Create the right hyped up environment.
The song again,
“You're here and I know You are moving
I'm here and I know You will fill me
Come down
Spirit, when You move, You make my heart pound
When You fill the room
You're here and I know You are moving”
My question is, how does something rest on you that you should already have? Scripture says there is but one baptism of Christ.
Jesus your all we want! Everything else comes through You!
