The Practice of the Healing Ministry Today

I. The Authority of Health in the Church Today.

Reasons on the basis of which the Church today is entitled to believe that it
does possess the authority and power to heal.

1. The intention of Jesus

It is clear that Jesus intended that his disciples should heal the sick.

Matt 10:5-8 heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils
Mark 3:13-15 they might have power to heal, and cast out demons

2. The promise of Jesus

The disciples were promised by Jesus that after his ascension they
would be able to do the same works as he has done whilst he was with
them.

John 14:12 he says to Philip: He who believes in me will also do the

works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go
to my Father.

These works (erga) of which Jesus speaks include his work of healing.

3. The practice of the apostles

Except in Mark 16:17,18, there was no explicit mention of healing in
the final commission of Jesus to the apostles. However, we know from
the book of Acts that the apostles did heal the sick after Jesus left
them at the Ascension. (see Acts 3 the lame man healed)

This suggests that they understood that it was the intention and desire
of Jesus that they should do so. They would not do what they had no
authority to do. The fact that they did continue to heal the sick must
mean that they believed that they still had the authority to heal the
sick in Jesus name

Their example is therefore part of the basis and authority for the
church to engage in its ministry of healing today.

4. The scope of the gospel

Healing the sick was part of the gospel which the apostles and the
church were commissioned to preach. This is another implication of
the fact that the apostles and others did heal the sick after the
ascension of Jesus.
 The gospel included the healing and salvation of the whole human
being in body, mind, and spirit. It is the same gospel that is still
entrusted to the Church to proclaim today, and since it included
healing of the sick in apostolic times, it still does so today.

5. The Power of Prayer

The main agent in the Churchs ministry of healing of the sick is
prayer, and that is still available to the Church today.

After Jesus promised his disciples that they would do the same works
as he did, he goes on immediately to say:

Whatever you ask in name, I will do it, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son John 14:13

This suggests that when they came to do the same works as he had
done, they could request the power to do them through prayer.

Acts 9:40- the healing of Tabitha preceded by prayer by Peter

Acts 28:8 the healing of Publius by Paul
James 5:14-18 James recommends prayer to the elders of the church
for the healing of the sick.

Healing occurred in the apostolic Church in response to the prayer of

faith, and there is no reason that what happened then, should not
happen still in the modern Church.

6. The Presence of healing gifts

Within the Church today there are people who possess undoubted
gifts of healing. Many of these people use these gifts as part of the
ministry of healing which the Church is able to offer. These gifts
would not exist unless the Church had a healing ministry in which
they could be exercised.

7. The Vocation of the Christian

The Church is involved in the ministry of healing through its
corporate and individual vocation.

a. The corporate vocation of the Church is the expression of the

general vocation of its individual members, who are called to
love and serve their neighbors.
Its responsibility is, therefore, to promote their health and to
encourage and produce healing in situation where this is
required.
 b. The vocation of individual Church members may be to
accept and use a gift of healing which is given them.
That vocation may also be to undergo professional health
care training and so share in the healing ministry of the
Church in professional medical way, whether they serve in
Christian or secular institutions or health care schemes

These reasons provide the basis on which the Church today may
legitimately claim that it has the authority to heal the sick and to
engage in the ministry of healing.

II. The Contemporary Context of Healing

When we turn from the NT scene to look at the situation today we soon
become aware of several features in the contemporary scene which are very
different from those of the first-century Hellenictic world.

It is important to remind ourselves of these features because they profoundly

affect the modern attitude to healing and the concept of the role and
involvement of the church in healing.

1. The Loss of the Spiritual Dimension of Life

One marked differences between NT and modern times so far as the

western world is concerned is the loss of the spiritual foundation of
private and community life.

In western society today the emphasis tends to be on the physical and

material with the result that the health of the body takes precedence over
the health of the soul. This is a marked contrast to the world in which the
healing ministry of the Church began, and in marked contrast to the life
and thought of African, Asian and other non-western communities of the
modern world.

The ministry will be rendered more difficult in a situation where an

inadequate view of human nature and destiny prevails, and the reality of
spiritual is ignored or denied.

In such a situation, health, which it is the object of healing to restore, is

inadequately defined, and healing ceases to be complete and
comprehensive in its scope and practice.

The Church in its healing ministry must, however, insist on the wholeness
of the human being in all aspects of that being, and not least in the
spiritual aspect, and seek to recover the spiritual dimension of human like
 of which former generations of western society were very much aware.

2. The Rise in the Status of Medicine

In the Hellenistic world, medicine did not enjoy a very high status.
Among the Greeks the influence of Hippocrates had already waned, and
with a few outstanding exception medicine was practiced on the basis of
theories.

The latter was a panacea originally prescribed by Galen and made up of

about seventy ingredients all compounded together in treacle. According
to Elder Pliny, the Romans had got on well without doctors (but not
without medicines) for six hundred years.

However, with the fall and destruction of Corinth in 146 BC, the Roman
power over Greece became supreme and Greek physicians began to
migrate to Rome although they were not held in very high repute there.

The practice of medicine was beneath the dignity of a Roman citizen and
was left to slaves and foreigners. Its pharmacophoeia of effective drugs
was small, its instruments few and crude, and the basis of its practice was
often superstition.

In contrast, medicine today enjoys a very high status in western society.

Its practice is no longer based on superstition but on an advanced
knowledge of the structure and function of the human body, the origin
and processes of disease and of the external and internal factors which
influence the course of diseases.

The physician is now a prominent and trusted member of modern society

and tends to be credited with surprising omnicompetence.

On the other hand, there is another view which regards modern medicine
as no more effective in the control and treatment of disease than primitive
medicine was, and dismisses its claims as myth.

However, the majority of people still belieive in its effectiveness, and

modern medicine continues to enjoy great prestige within the
communities of the western world.

3. The Emergence of the Medical Profession

A well-organized medical profession exist in most countries today, which
has established professional corporation to protect its rights and
privileges, and to control entry into its ranks and monitor the practice of
its art.
 In the NT times Romans left the practice of medicine to slaves and Greeks
who were certainly not organized into a medical profession. We know
there is physician in Palestine who treated the sick. Jesus confirmed this
in Mark 2:17, when he said that those who were healthy did not need a
physician, but those who are sick.

Today, then, in most countries an organized medical profession exists,

whose practice is controlled by law and professional self-regulation. This
means that if the Church wishes to become involved in the practice of
medical healing today it must do so in accordance with the rules and
regulations governing the practice of medicine which have been drawn up
by the representatives of the medical profession and embodied in the laws
of the state.

4. The Establishment of National Health Services.

The fourth feature of the modern situation which affects the practice of
the healing ministry of the Church is the establishment in western
countries of national services. These services have been established as
part of the national health services. These services have been established
as part of the provision of the Welfare State of personal and social care
for its citizen.

The concept arose out of the Christian teaching about the nature and
destiny of human beings and the Christian concern for ones neighbour.

The Christian view of the human being gave human personality a status,
worth and dignity independent of the state and superior to the state,
which is should be the function of the state to recognize and preserve.

This means that any service provided by the Church as part of its
ministry of healing must take account of those services which are already
provided by the state in a national health services.

5. The Uncertainty of the Church about Healing.

One result of these changes in society and in medicine has been an
increasing uncertainty on the part of the Church about the nature of its
healing ministry and its place in the practice of healing.

6. Recent Trends in Healing

In addition to these changes there are more recent trends in society which
also form part of the context in which the church is called to exercise its
ministry of healing. These include an increasing disenchantment of
patients with the services of orthodox medicine shown by the popularity
of what is variously called alternative medicine complementary
medicine and non-conventional therapy.
 Another recent feature is the rise of consumerism with the increasing
recognition of patient autonomy or the right of patients to decide about
the management of their particular illness or disability.
III. The Practice of Healing by the Church Today
If it is accepted that the modern Church has the authority and power to
heal the sick in the name of Jesus Christ, and is called to do so in a
situation which is very different from that of apostolic times, the next
questions which arise concerns the practice of healing by the Church
today.

A. Where is the Healing ministry of the Church to be practiced?

1. In the gospel, the healing ministry of Jesus was practiced in the

community at large wherever the sick were brought to him or
wherever he found those whom he healed.
2. In the Acts, healing was carried out equally in the community at large
and within the newly-established Christian community.
3. In the epistles, however, the healing ministry of the Church is confined
within the Christian community. The gift of healing, like the other
gifts of the Spirit, is to be used within the Christian community for the
common good of the community. (1Cor. 12:7, 28)

If Christian believers fall ill they are to call for the elders of the
congregation to come and heal them (James 5:14). Also members of
the congregation are to pray for the sick amongst them that they may
be healed (James 5:16)

In other words, the congregation plays a vital part in the healing

ministry of the Church.

There is more to this, when we consider the Churchs healing ministry

in the modern situation.

- there is the congregations practice of healing in which the

church acts corporately to practise what is essentially non-
medical healing, there is also
- individual practice of healing by Christians trained in the
art of science of medical healing and in the work of the
various health care profession. As members, they are
practicing the healing ministry in the community at large in
the course of their daily work.

They are the Church scattered in the community at large

and their work of healing is part of the Church ministry of
healing even thou it is exercised in secular situations and
institutions.
 This brings us to two aspects of the Church in its practice of healing:
1. The Church gathered for worship, praise and prayer through
which healing may be found.

2. There is also the Church scattered as its members practice healing

in their daily work and witness in the community.

B. Who Practices the Healing Ministry of the Church?

In the epistles three group of people were expected to practice healing:

1. Those who had been given the gift of healing by the Holy Spirit
(1cor. 12:9
2. The elders of the Church who were called for by the sick (James
5:14)
3. The ordinary members of the Church who by confession to each
other and by prayer for each other could produce healing (James
5:16)

The emphasis in all these references is not the individual but on the
Church as a community.

Those who are given the gift of healing are placed by God in the
Church to manifest and use their gift for the common good (1 cor
12:7,28

The elders and Church members are spoken of by James in the plural
which suggests that the authority to heal is not vested in them as
individual but in the Church as a corporate body which they
represent in their ministry of healing.

It is implied that they are able to heal by virtue of belonging to the

Church and because of their function in it. Their healing is non-
medical in character and does not depend on any medical training or
skill.

In the modern Church there is no difficulty about the recognition of

the elders and ordinary members of the Church, but there is
controversy about those who may possess the gift of healing.

When we discussed what the epistles had to say about healing, we took
the view that the gift of healing was neither natural and supernatural,
but shared the characteristics of both spheres.
 It was given by God to certain individuals as a natural endowment
which was then supernaturally enhanced by the Holy Spirit once they
become Christians.
Healing is possible in some cases on the basis of this natural
endowment, Only in this way can we explain how healing results from
the activity of the traditional healers of Africa and elsewhere, or how
exorcism results from the practice of non-Christian exorcists such as
Jesus himself recognized in Matt 7:22 and Luke 11:19.

The natural endowment includes such characteristics as:

Sympathy, or the ability to enter into another persons situation.

Patience, or the facility to listen to their story,

Wisdom to know how to advise them on what to do in that particular

case

Confidence to encourage them to expect recovery and healing

In the modern situation it is also possible to combine the gift of

healing with training in the art and practice of medicine, whether it
consist of a natural endowment alone or a natural endowment
supernaturally enhanced.

By virtue of their medical training, and the professional recognition of

their qualifications, they are able to practice medical healing and so
bring medical practice into the healing ministry of the Church.

Those who are most conscious of combining medical practice with a

gift of healing are the Christian professional health care workers who
serve in a hospital or community health care scheme provided by the
Church as part of its healing ministry.

In situation in which other agencies provide a healthcare service, the

committed Christian staff who work may not be so conscious of
forming a part of the Churchs ministry, nevertheless, they are
exercising the churchs ministry of healing even though they work in a
secular health care service.

C. How is the Healing Ministry of the Church to be Practised?

The same methods of healing are available to the church today as
Jesus and the Apostles use in the NT.

a. Prayer The basic method by which the Church practices its

healing ministry today is by prayer.
 Prayer is the foundation of all Christian healing, whether medcial
or non-medical. It may be all that is required in any particular
situation, or it may be combined with the use of the other methods.
Jesus pointed out the importance of prayer after the cure of the
epileptic boy. The disciple asked Jesus why they had not been able
to cast out the demon, and he answered simply, this kind cannot
be driven out by anything but prayer. Mark 9:29

Acts 9:40; 28:8 prayer may be offered in their presence

Mark 7: 24-30 prayer may be offered in their absence
Prayer could also be form as part of the service to be held for the
sick, often with the sick persons present.

b. Word the use of word of command is still the means of casting

out demons as it was with Jesus in the gospels.
Mark 9:29 Jesus used by word of command that he expelled the
demon (vs25).

It is by prayer and the word of authority from Jesus Christ that

demons are still cast out today

c. Touch The laying on of hands or the touching of a sick was a

method of healing used by Jesus and the apostles; consequently we
have the example of their practice to guide us in the modern
practice of healing by the Church.

Touch is a means of conveying sympathy to a person, but it is more

than this when it is done in the name of Jesus Christ.

It was never used in the casting out of demons, and so has no place
in Christian exorcism. It may be used combined with prayer or
accompanied by other methods of healing.

Luke 13:13- touch combined with word.

It is not stated where Jesus and apostles applied their hands when
they touch the sick.

Matt 9: 29 at the affected part (eye)

Luke 22:51 ear of Malchus
Matt 8:3 Jesus laid hands on the sick person without specified
body area.

In modern practice, hands are commonly laid on the head or

shoulders of the sick person, but it could be laid in the diseased
part of the sick person.
d. Means There are several instances in the Bible where medical
means are used.
2 Kings 20:7 and Isa 38: 21 fig poultice used for King Hezekiahs
boil
Mark 7:33 Jesus used saliva for the dumb man
Mark 8: 23 and John 9:6 twice Jesus used saliva for the blind
men
Mark 6:13 disciples used olive oil

The Church today is able to practice a healing ministry using the

same methods as Jesus did during his earthly ministry. Prayer
still forms the basis of its ministry of healing, but a far greater
variety of means is available now than was available then.

More is known of the identity, activity and efficacy of medicines

and of the nature and effectiveness of medical and surgical
procedures than was known in NT times.

This knowledge is at the disposal of those who practice healing and

may be used along with the other recognized methods of healing as
part of the healing ministry of the Church.

This ministry included all methods of healing, both physical and

spiritual, medical and non-medical, for all true healing comes from
God.