To Be Healed

At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother's womb, who had never walked.  This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leaped up and began to walk. (Acts 14:8-10 NASB)

Right before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples that one benefit for them that He ascend back to heaven was that they would do even great things than Jesus had done (John 14:12).  The allusion was to the arrival of the Holy Spirit in power, but this statement has still "haunted" some believers.  There is an entire belief system within modern Christianity which holds that the Holy Spirit no longer does miracles.  That's an over simplification, but the "cessationist" belief is that He no longer works this way, and only did so while the church was getting started.

The problem is in interpreting what Jesus meant by "greater works".  The easiest and most common is to interpret it to refer to the miraculous signs Jesus did throughout His ministry.  Jesus, in His arguments with the Jews would call on them to believe the miracles and refer to those to overcome their disbelief.  Since the statement is in John, and this call to the Jews is in John, and John records the reception of the Holy Spirit differently (i.e. sooner than Acts 2), I conclude that when John records this statement of Jesus he too considers it to refer to the miracles.  After Jesus leaves, the miracles seem to become less prevalent.  Peter does many and then they seem to fade.  Paul does a few, but only a few.  Or does he?

Luke is the recorder of the explosion of the church in the First Century, and while he includes specific miracles less and less as Acts progresses, he does make references to "signs and wonders" performed.  This statement is what makes up for what is lacking in his specific references to miracles.  In other words, lots of miraculous signs occur, but he only mentions a few specifically, where they are important to piece of his plot or scene (or city, like here in 14:8-10).

It's my theory that cessationists beliefs are more a reaction against ecstatic practices of "spiritual gifts".  I have problems with most of these practices as well because of the unbiblical views they espouse.  There is no biblical support to put in place a "spiritual hierarchy" based on "gifting".  Such a view is actually preached against by Paul in the very books often used for support.

But it is also wrong for cessationists to ignore other passages which not only permit, but promote the use of spiritual gifts, even "ecstatic" ones.  I have a pastor friend who calls them "special effects" gifts.  The problem is that there are inherent problems associated with these expressions of the Holy Spirit.  Not the least is that they must be seen and understood in submission to the Holy Spirit rather than the other way around.  But another issue is the problems such expressions can cause when they become the focus instead of the One dispensing them.  These two issues are very closely related.

In Lystra, the focus quickly shifted from the message of Paul and Barnabas to the two men themselves.  It would seem that such a miracle was virtually unheard of in that region.  What I infer from that is that even "magic" of a dramatic sort was also unusual.  On Cyprus, the proconsul was impressed, but not to the point of worshiping Paul and Barnabas.  The miracle produced through Paul was to blind a magician.  So, he may have been somewhat acclimated to "dramatic special effects".  Here in Lystra, not so much.  They think gods have come down as men.  But even so, miracles of healing and raising the dead can't be common.  They have to be shocking reversals of universal assumptions about the world and how it works.  That is one reason Jesus came in the first place, was to push back on such assumptions.

The problem I see is that healing and other expressions of the Holy Spirit are hampered by the lack of what Paul saw in the lame man.  Paul saw that he had faith to be made well.  Where is ours?  Do I have such faith?  Or have I given up hope that my Master still works this way in this world of His?  I have a friend who has just gone through a very radical cancer surgery as the final step in combating a very aggressive form of cancer.  So far the results are the best that could be hoped for.  He is in ICU and recovering.  The doctors believe they got all of the cancer and were able to effectively rebuild the affected organs.  There may be complications to come, but that part which was trying to kill him is gone.  Is this healing from God?  Why not?  But am I able to have faith that God could have done it without the doctors?  That's where the rub comes.

I don't believe that I have a choice, but to accept my Master as Master over all physical life.  If He can and did "breathe" life into existence, then what sense does it make to not believe He still has mastery over it?  If the Spirit of the Living God decides, for the edification of His people, to heal someone, through someone else (for instance, doctors) or on their own, who can speak against it?  Is there something God is not "permitted" to do in this world?  It's not "my world" or "our world", it's His.  He made it.  So why would I limit my Master in His work, either through me, or, more likely, around me?  Paul stared straight at this guy, saw he had faith to be healed, and in a loud voice (as opposed to his "orator voice") commanded him to stand.  It wasn't Paul healing him, it was Paul telling him to act on being healed.  God healed the man.  Isn't this always the case? 

So whether healing, tongues, prophecy, or other gift of the Holy Spirit, I must seek to perceive the hand of my Master and not be distracted by either the act or the agent.  Perceiving the Spirit of my Master I should worship!  But if I don't perceive the Holy Spirit, and all that remains is the act and/or actor, then I should address the circumstances boldly.  The Scriptures will help me understand the difference.