Piper begins by affirming Scripture as I understand it.
1 Corinthians 12:9 and 28 and Galatians 3:5 that gifts of healings were intended for the church in Paul's day and in our day. But I stressed that the New Testament does not talk about THE gift of healing. Nor does it talk about people in the church who are known as healers. The phrase "gifts of healings" (two plurals) in 1 Corinthians 12:9 and 28 suggests rather that at different times for different sicknesses God gives to different people different "gifts of healings." In other words, you might find yourself drawn to pray for one person with remarkable, expectant faith and see that person healed, but then pray for others and not experience that same gift.
He then goes on to describe that the text in James does not contradict this. The first observation he makes is that there are three kinds of prayer found in James 5.
- Praying for Yourself
- Praying of the Elders over a Sick Person
- Praying for Each Other
[W]hat's the point of saying, "Elijah was a man of like nature with ourselves"? The point is to block the objection that says he was somehow extraordinary and cannot serve as a model for our praying. The point is just the opposite of those who say Elijah and Elisha experienced miracles because they were unique spokesmen for God. The point is: Elijah was just like you so that you can be encouraged that YOUR prayers will have great effect—like stopping the rain for three and a half years.
Now notice that the example of Elijah was brought in by James to encourage all of us who are referred to in verse 16 to pray for each other that we may be healed. After he says, "Pray for each other that you may be healed," he says, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its effects." Then he gives Elijah as the example and stresses that he is not in a class by himself when he prays for a three-year drought. The logic of the passage seems pretty plain: All of us should be praying for each other and our goal in praying should be to live and pray in a way that would have the same kind of healing effects as Elijah had when he prayed for rain after a three-year drought.
Piper then outlines the prayer of faith and that shepherds are sometimes used as channels for this. Here is his point on the prayer of faith.
The "prayer of faith" will heal the sick person. James 5:15, "And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up."
The Gift of Faith Is in View—the Sphere of Spiritual Gifts
The text does not teach that everyone the elders pray for will be healed. It teaches that if the elders pray "the prayer of faith," the sick person will be healed. This is stated so absolutely that it seems to me that a gift of faith is meant here which assures the elders the healing will be done.
In other words, I think this phrase ("prayer of faith") puts right back into the sphere of spiritual gifts rather than taking us out of that sphere. The elders seek God's gifting for faith so that they might pray "the prayer of faith." That gift is referred to in 1 Corinthians 12:9, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one [this] . . . to another faith by the same Spirit." There is a faith that comes as a special gift to pray for something extraordinary.
God's Special Gift of Assurance
1 Corinthians 13:2 says, "Though I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." There is a gift of faith that can remove mountains. This goes back to what Jesus said in Mark 11:23–24, "Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
It seems to me that what we have in Mark 11:23–24 and 1 Corinthians 12:9 and 13:2 and James 5:15 is an unbroken line of teaching about a gift of faith that enables a person to pray a completely assured prayer because God has given extraordinary assurance. This is why the "prayer of faith" in James 5:15 WILL heal the sick person. It is certain because this faith is God's special gift of assurance about what he intends to do.
So the picture I have of the elders at the bedside of the sick person is not of a group of men who think gifts of faith and healing are past, but of a group of men who earnestly desire a spiritual gift of faith so that they might pray the prayer of faith which in this case would amount to the same thing as a gift of healing.
7 comments:
Too complicated. Just everyone ask for healing while deferring to the parameters of God's will. The formula type approach doesn't work for me.
Especially you silly Calvinistic guys, you of all people defer to God's sovereignty and move on.
Que sera, sera!
Obviously I think the healing room guy was a bit off. And Piper's article is helpful, although I don't think it's the end of the story.
I don't know if I've made this comment before, if I have you'll have to forgive me for repeating myself.
I don't think one can have a proper theology of healing without the recognition that there are two wills in God. The revealed will (e.g. thou shalt not kill) and the will of decree (e.g. jesus shalt be killed on a cross).
As Christians, we must understand that God always desires to heal as a component of his revealed will. Just as he desires us to never kill, he also desires us to always pray for healing and believe we will receive it.
But we must also understand that God may decree something contrary to what he has revealed (as in the case of Jesus' death). So that while we can pray in full confidence that God desires to heal, if healing does not occur, we must understand that God then has a purpose for our being afflicted with a certain physical problem and humbly accept it.
We can really think of anything in the already/not yet category this way. For a more clear example, Christ died and rose to give us eternal life, and we know that someday, we will live forever - that is God's perfect will for us. Yet the truth is we will still die someday. God's revealed will is obviously that we never die (therefore we may confidently pray for the resurrection of the dead, as Paul did) but equally clearly, we will die someday and it is God's will (in another sense) that we do so.
Hope that helps.
Bottom line: pray for everyone who is sick, believing that God can, and wants to, heal. But understand that God's ways are higher than our ways and sometimes God desires to show us how when we are weak, then we are strong.
The Word says let "your" requests be mad unto God. I do not know God's will in a given matter of sickness, but my request is healing. But His will be done.
Robert - I'm with you on the will business and that's why I found it awkward in dealing with this guy. His application (as well as some other things) was wrong but in a pastoral situation in front of the man whose wife was suffering, I couldn't find words to confront yet encourage. So I let it go.
Anyway, as always, I like your thinking and when God 'wills' for Rick Frueh to join his more spiritual Calvinist brothers, I will like his thinking more also.
Until then Deo Volente
Rick F. - I think your typo was a Freudian slip. Let your requests be "mad" unto God.
I'll let you sort out the meaning ...
As a Vineyard guy (or Third Wave or whatever category helps), I would say God's bent is to heal. He however chooses to not in most cases. The Already, Not Yet thing.
When we pray, we need to make a decision. Are we going to petition God and share our hearts with Him? Are we going to appeal to Him by letting Him know how much He will be glorified if He would just do this thing (I always struggle with that one)? Etc.. But one that we often miss in Evangelical circles is sometimes God says, I'm going to do X, and we still pray "Lord, if you will" rather than "Demon come out" (or whatever).
The Biblical prayer model doesn't sync with much of what I see. There is plenty of room for "speaking to the disease". I don't see many people doing that and the problem is that the people that do see doing that seem to do it all of the time as opposed to when they think they are speaking what they hear from God (like the healing room guy).
Rick - you are a doctrinal mongrel. Calvin and Vineyard, like putting whipped cream on an onion. Me too, I'm a mix of Wesley - Finney - Luther - Moody - Bunyan - and MacArthur. Yes I said MacArthur. I still contend that The Gosple According to Jesus is one of the top ten books I've ever read.
But as far as worship music - Hillsong!
I asked God to let me become a Calvinist and He said No!.
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