Apostolic Miracles

Acts 3:2-10

"2And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was

being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of

the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were

entering the temple. 3When he saw Peter and John about to go into the

temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4But Peter, along with John,

fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" 5And he began to give

them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

6But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have

I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!"

7And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately

his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered

the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit

at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled

with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."

The story in this passage recounts the healing of a man who had been lame from birth. Some mistakenly interpret this passage to indicate that the gift of healing is still present among Christians today. There is no question that God still heals; we all have witnessed that in our lifetime. But we believe that God does not bestow the gift of healing on people today.

The apostles had the gift of healing because it was a “sign” gift. It authenticated their role as messengers from God. Jesus also healed many to give evidence that He was the Messiah (Matt. 11:2-5). It was needed because the New Testament was not available at that time and others could identify these men as men of God through the use of this gift. Paul used the gift of healing early in his ministry, but not toward the end of his ministry. There were several times when Paul or one of his friends became ill and they were not miraculously healed. There is very little mention of the gift of healing in the epistles. Today, we have the Bible and the “sign gifts” are no longer exercised.

Today God often brings about healing when people pray, but it is evident that he doesn’t heal everyone. That was even true of Paul (II Cor. 12:7-10). Paul desperately wanted the Lord to remove his infirmity. God chose not to do that but replied “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness”. Some would say that God didn’t answer Paul’s prayer, but I believe He responded negatively and we need to accept that response as Paul did. God knew Paul’s personality much better that he did, and knew that this “thorn in the flesh” would help Paul maintain the right attitude and perspective toward Him.”

But we certainly don’t say that God doesn’t heal. Just recently we have witnessed God heal a physical problem in the heart of an eight year old at our church. The doctors were astounded when they reviewed x-rays taken at two different times. The first x-rays clearly showed a problem with an artery coming from the heart and a few months later the second x-rays showed the problem to be completely eliminated.

Another factor to notice here is that God heals immediately and completely. The paralytic immediately gained full strength (he didn’t have to build up his muscles) and began walking and leaping and praising God.

It is entirely appropriate today to pray for healing and we should give God the glory when that happens. We must beware of those who claim to have the power of healing. They are usually after gain for themselves.