God Heals Through Miracles and Medicine — Recovering a Biblical Balance

God Heals Through Miracles and Medicine — Recovering a Biblical Balance

Within the Church today, many believers find themselves trapped between two unhealthy extremes. Some insist that seeking medical treatment is a failure of faith — as though doctors somehow compete with God. Others declare confidently that God will always heal every sickness in this life if we simply believe hard enough. Both positions sound spiritual. Both are profoundly unbiblical. Scripture presents a far more balanced and beautiful picture: God heals through miracles when He chooses, and He also heals through the ordinary means of medical care. And in some cases, God allows the trial of sickness to remain, forming Christlikeness and pointing us to the hope of resurrection. A biblical theology of healing must make room for every one of these truths.

Biblical Foundation

The New Testament does not hide the physical weakness of its heroes. The Apostle Paul, who healed the sick and cast out demons, nonetheless advised Timothy about his own frequent illnesses, saying, “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” (1 Timothy 5:23). Paul later writes with sorrow that he had to leave Trophimus behind because he was sick (2 Timothy 4:20). Epaphroditus, a faithful servant of the gospel, became deathly ill in his ministry to Paul, and though the Lord spared him, Paul reports it as the mercy of God — not as a guaranteed right (Philippians 2:25–27). Meanwhile, Luke, described by Paul as “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), maintains his professional identity even as he travels and ministers. The biblical record reveals something prosperity preachers hope you won’t notice: miracles did happen, but faithful believers still got sick, received medical care, and sometimes were not healed — at least not in this life.

Word Study — Greek Insights into Healing

The healing account on the island of Malta in Acts 28 reveals a crucial linguistic distinction that supports this balanced view. When Paul is told about Publius’s father being sick with fever and dysentery, Scripture says he entered, prayed, laid his hands upon him, and healed him — and the verb Luke uses is ἰάσατο (iasato), from ἰάομαι (iaomai), meaning to heal or restore miraculously, to make whole by divine act (Acts 28:8).

In the very next verse, however, when Luke describes the islanders who came afterward with various diseases, he writes that they were being cured — and here he uses ἐθεραπεύοντο (etherapeuonto), from θεραπεύω (therapeuō), which means to treat medically, to care for, to attend to therapeutically (Acts 28:9).

Luke — a medical professional and an inspired historian — wants his readers to see the difference. Publius’s father experienced an instant and supernatural act of God. The rest received ongoing care and treatment, presumably involving Luke’s own skills. Scripture affirms both forms of healing without embarrassment or contradiction. God is equally sovereign over a miracle and a medicine.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the ancient world, oil was commonly used as a medical treatment for wounds, infections, and skin conditions. When James instructs the elders of the church to pray over the sick and anoint them with oil, the verb used is ἀλείψαντες (aleipsantes) — anointing in the ordinary medicinal sense (James 5:14). This is not the priestly, kingly, or Messianic anointing of the Holy Spirit, which is represented by χρίω (chriō). James gives instruction for both spiritual and practical care working side by side — prayer and treatment. This fits the entire pattern of the early Church: believers prayed with confidence in God’s power, yet they still applied remedies as God’s provision.

Misconceptions / Clarifications

Many Christians feel pressure to pretend that sickness is a sign of spiritual failure. Yet Scripture repeatedly denies this assumption. Paul asked the Lord three times to remove a tormenting physical affliction, and Christ responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Physical frailty is not evidence of weak faith. In fact, God often uses suffering to strengthen faith and to refocus our hope. To insist that every believer must be healed now is to demand that God conform to our timeline and to silence the very Scriptures that teach us perseverance.

Theological Reflection

The prosperity gospel promises comfort now — but Christ promises glory later. A faith that cannot endure sickness is not biblical faith at all. We are reminded that “though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). God may heal instantly; He may heal gradually through treatment; He may heal ultimately in resurrection. What He will not do is abandon His people. We trust Him not because He removes every thorn but because His grace sustains us even when healing tarries.

Connection to Christ

Jesus healed many, but not all. The Gospels are selective for a reason: every healing miracle pointed beyond itself to Jesus’ true mission. His ministry was not to create a world where no one ever got sick — it was to inaugurate a Kingdom where death and sickness would one day be destroyed forever. The Scriptures direct our hope to that future reality: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain…” (Revelation 21:4). Our ultimate healing is secured not by our strength of faith, but by the wounds of Christ (Isaiah 53:5). On the cross, the Healer Himself embraced suffering so that pain would not have the final word.

Christ-Centered Conclusion

A biblical faith welcomes God’s healing through any means He chooses — through the miraculous touch, through the skilled hand of a doctor, or through His sustaining grace while we wait for resurrection. The prosperity gospel robs believers of eternal hope by demanding temporary comfort. The biblical gospel teaches us to suffer faithfully when necessary, to rejoice in every mercy, and to trust that the day is coming when sickness itself will bow before the throne of Christ. Until then, we will pray boldly, endure patiently, and honor God whether healing comes now or later — for our hope is not in the absence of sickness but in the presence of our Savior.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®.

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