[This book was found on our library
shelves and is as applicable today as it was in 1925. It provides a solid refutation of
the false claims of the so-called "faith-healers." The book is copyrighted;
however, the book is out of print and the copyright is over 50 years old. "We feel
assured the truth as set forth in this volume is greatly needed, and we believe the Lord
will graciously use this testimony for His Word, and the witness against this present-day
healing delusion." - A.C. Gaebelein, 1925]
The Healing Question
An examination of the claims of
Faith-Healing
and Divine Healing systems in the
light of the Scriptures
and History
By
ARNO CLEMENS GAEBELEIN
Editor of "Our Hope"
CHAPTER III
The Miracles of Healing in the Book of Acts
The Book of Acts records the beginning of the Church on earth, which took place on the
Day of Pentecost when the promised Holy Spirit was poured upon the assembled
believers. The first part of this great historical record is filled with the miraculous.
With the coming of the Holy Spirit there were miraculous outward signs, a miraculous gift
of praise in different tongues, miraculous deliverances by the visible ministry of angels,
miraculous judgments, like the instantaneous death of Ananias and his wife, as well as the
smiting of blasphemous Herod by an angel. There were visions of glory, mysterious
transportation, as in the case of Philip, who was snatched away. There were also true
prophets who had the spirit of prophecy and predicted the future, like Agabus, There were
miracles of healing; the sick were healed and the dead were raised, as in the days our
Lord was on earth. We confine ourselves to the records of these miracles of healing, and
as we did in the previous chapter we shall quote them first.
Acts 3:1-11. This is the first miracle of healing in the Book of Acts. The
Church had been formed. By the one Spirit given on the great Day of Pentecost, they had
been baptized into the one body. On that day no miracles of healing were performed, nor is
there any mention made that the gathered company had such supernatural manifestations in
their midst. It was some time after Pentecost that the first miracle of healing took
place. We leave it to the reader to peruse the text. The helpless beggar, lame from his
mother's womb, expected nothing but alms from [page 28] Peter and John as they entered the
temple gate. Nothing could be further from his thoughts than the expectation that these
two unassuming Jews, fishermen of Galilee,-, would give him perfect health. Peter did not
tell him that if he would believe that the Jesus who had been crucified, is the Christ,
that if he believed that He is "the same yesterday, today and forever" and
yielded himself to Him, he would be cured by believing. Peter did not give the lame man
any kind of a message. For all we know the lame man was entirely ignorant of the fact that
these two men were followers and disciples of Christ. The lame man was daily at the gate.
Through that gate our Lord must have passed frequently. Perhaps he heard from others, this
is the great Prophet and worker of miracles who heals the people. May he not have heard
that an afflicted one like himself had been healed at the pool of Bethesda? We do not
know. But this fact remains, no message that Christ could heal him was given, nor was
there an appeal made to him that he should believe. Peter said, "In the name of Jesus
of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Then Peter "took him by the right hand, and
lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. ' And he
leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and
leaping, and praising God."
This miracle is almost a duplicate of the miracle of the lame man healed by our Lord,
and recorded in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John. Here let us call attention to a
fact which has been frequently, if not altogether, overlooked. The risen Christ did not
perform a single miracle of hearing. He could have done so. He might have stepped in
His glorified human body, showing still the nail prints and the pierced side, into
some public place and called to the sick and afflicted to come to Him [page 29] so that He
might prove that He is "the same yesterday, today and forever." He did not.
Neither did He appear to any unbeliever. The healing of the lame man by Peter using the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth gives us an important lesson which will be pointed out in
this chapter after the examination of the other miracles of healing.
The miracles could not be denied. Even their enemies had to say "that indeed a
notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem;
and we cannot deny it." (Acts 4:16).
After the supernatural judgment of lying Ananias and Sapphira there followed another
demonstration of miraculous healing.
Acts 5:15-16. "They brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them
on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing might overshadow some of
them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing
sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed every
one."
We must not read more into this passage than what it probably means. It does not say
that the shadow of Peter falling upon the sick healed them of diseases. Probably it did.
God can heal even through a shadow as an instrument, or through no instrument at
all. The people were so very eager to be healed, and looked upon Peter as a great man of
God, that they expressed their desire by believing that Peter's shadow would be
beneficial. As far as we know the so-called "miracle men" and "miracle
women" who claim divine healing powers have not yet tried their shadows, nor have
their dupes taken refuge under their shadow. But a multitude was healed who gathered in
Jerusalem from the surrounding towns. Their sick and those vexed with [page 30] unclean
spirits were all healed. There was not a single failure.
Acts 6:8. Miracles and wonders are mentioned here. But we do not know if
Stephen did miracles of healing.
Acts 8:1-7. Philip was not an Apostle, but one of the deacons of the Church in
Jerusalem (Acts 6:5). The Church having been broken up, Philip went down to Samaria and
preached Christ unto them. The Holy Spirit manifested His power through this message and
through Philip. The Samaritans saw the miracles which he did. Here we are told what
miracles they were. "For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many
that were possessed, and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed."
Acts 9:32-43. Peter performed two miracles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A victim of the palsy for eight years. There is not a word said that Aeneas had appealed
to Peter to heal him. Nor was there any preaching done. Peter led by the Spirit, addressed
the sufferer and said, "Jesus Christ maketh thee whole. Arise and take thy bed!"
The cure was instantaneous. Dorcas had died. Peter spoke the word, "Tabitha -
Arise!" Then we read, she opened her eves, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he
gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints (the believers)
and widows, presented her alive."
Acts 14:3. Signs and wonders were done by the hands of the Apostles in Iconium.
Though it is not stated, miracles of hearing were probably among these signs.
Acts 14: 8-10. At Lystra a cripple, who had never walked in his life, was
noticed by Paul, and in some way Paul noticed that he had faith to be healed. This faith
came by hearing, for Paul preached the Gospel. Paul then [page 31] commanded him to stand
upright, and he leaped and walked.
Acts 16:16-18. A demon-possessed damsel is healed by the Apostle Paul. He said,
"I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." The demon left
the girl the same hour. The case is an illustration of the fact that there are demons
which speak the truth, and are not, like others, lying spirits.
Acts 19:11-12. "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. So
that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs and aprons, aid the diseases
departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." The meaning of these
special miracles mentioned here, and the foolish attempt to reproduce them in the Church
today, follows later in this chapter.
Acts 20:9-12. Eutychus was killed by a fall from a window. Paul went down and
embraced him. "And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little
comforted."
Acts 28:8-9. Paul healed by the laying on of hands the father of a Roman, by the
name of Publius, from fever and a bloody flux. Then other inhabitants of the island Melita
who had diseases came and were healed. Here ends the story of the miracles of healing in
the Book of Acts.
The Meaning of the Miracles of Healing in the
Acts
The Book of Acts begins with Jerusalem and ends with the greatest Apostle as a prisoner
in Rome. The Book begins with many supernatural manifestations, including the miracles of
healing, but gradually these manifestations become less and less, and the end of the Book
sees them entirely gone.
In the first place miracles of healing are so prominent in the beginning of this
book because the Gospel was preached [page 32] in Jerusalem, and only Jews were addressed.
Strictly speaking the message was to the Jews to repent; it was a repeated message, the
same the Lord had preached (Acts 3:19-21). The Lord was still waiting for their
repentance. To convict the Jews and leave them without excuse, the preaching was backed
"both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit,
according to His own will" (Hebrews 2:4). God willed it to be so.
In the second place these miracles of healing are prominent in the beginning of
Acts to witness to the fact that the Christ, who was crucified, is living at the right
hand of God, as taught and preached by His witnesses, the Apostles. The healing of the
lame man at the temple gate, healed in the name of Jesus Christ, showed that He who had
healed the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda is the living Christ and has the same
power to heal. All these miracles done by the Apostles in Jerusalem were renewed evidences
to the Jews that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the King, the Lamb of God, the
Sin-bearer who died, who was buried, who rose from among the dead on the third day and who
is gone to heaven and sits at the right hand of God.
In the third place the miracles in the first part of the Book of Acts happened
in fulfillment of His own words addressed, not to the Church, but to His disciples. We
read in Mark 16:17,18: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands
on the sick, and they shall recover." In John 16:12 He said, "Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do, because I go to my Father." What the greater works are
is explained in another [page 33] chapter. When He spoke of the works He had done, which
the disciples should do also, He meant the works of healing. The fulfillment came after
His return to the Father. The sick and diseased were healed; demons were driven out and
the dead were raised. Though Paul did not hear Him speak the words in the closing verses
of Mark's Gospel, yet he experienced the truth of His promise when a serpent bit him and
did him no harm (Acts 28). Mark 16:17-18 is taken up in detail in another chapter. The
promise given there does not extend beyond the Apostles.
In the fourth place the miracles of healing, as well as others, were essential
in the beginning of a new dispensation, and equally essential for the introduction of
Christianity among the Gentiles. The Apostles proclaimed a supernatural message,
concerning a supernatural person. The supernatural can only be proved by the supernatural.
If the supernatural is ruled out of Christianity, if it is stripped of its supernatural
origin and the supernatural evidences of its beginning, then it ceases to be Christianity.
Without miracles Christianity is absolutely worthless. For this reason these miracles took
place not only in Jerusalem in the beginning, but also in different parts of the Gentile
world. The message of Christianity, as preached by the Apostles, was demonstrated to be a
message from God by the miracles and signs which took place. But after the message
manifested its supernatural power in the conversion and transformation of thousands of
lives, and after the full revelation of the Truth of God had been communicated in what we
call the New Testament, outward signs, miracles of healing, as well as others were no
longer needed and therefore ceased. We must remember that when the recorded miracles
happened in Jerusalem not a single book of our New Testament was in existence, and the
greatest revelations which [page 34] God gave to man were penned by the prisoner of the
Lord in Rome, the Apostle Paul, after the Gospel had been introduced by him in a good part
of the known world of his times.
It is highly significant that the beginning of the Book of Acts is filled with the
miraculous, but after we leave Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria behind, the miracles of
healing decrease. To this we might add that in many places the Apostle Paul and his
companions visited no miracles of healing, nor any other miracles are recorded.
As is well known, Roman Catholicism believes that the power of working miracles was
given by Christ to His Church, and that it never has and never will be withdrawn. Much of
the superstition of Rome, as to miraculous healing and other miracles, in connection with
relics, garments of saints and similar objects, is founded upon miracles recorded in the
Book of Acts. Romanists point to Acts 19:12 as sanctioning of wearing articles
"blessed" for healing and protection. But what shall we say when we find the
same invention today among a certain class of Christians? There is a certain Baptist
Church in which weekly meetings are held, handkerchiefs are blessed and sent to the sick.
The pastor has no sympathy with it, yet he does not want to interfere. Christians who
think that the Lord will continue to heal divers diseases through handkerchiefs (though
nothing is said about "blessing") overlook the fact that these miracles were special
miracles, at a special time (Verse 11).
Paul was in the midst of a very wicked city, filled with superstitions, with sorcerers
and others who manifested Satan's power. A signal manifestation of the power of God was
needed to counteract these wicked demonstrations. God granted such a manifestation in the
manner [page 35] recorded in the above text. To make use of handkerchiefs today as
"divine healers" do, is a foolish invention, akin to Romish superstitions and
practices.
Chapter 4:
What the
Epistles Teach as to Physical Healing
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