An essay on the ministry of healing.

By his wounds we are healed – Isaiah 53:5

My father is blind.  He became blind when my son Eli was 9 months old.  I used to pray that the Lord would heal his blindness however after a few weeks I started to pray that he would see Jesus before he saw my son.  I guess in a way I was still praying for dad’s healing but from a different perspective.

Reflecting on healing today leads me to ponder the nature and essence of healing.  I have many questions and I am sure you have many more.  Questions such as, does God play a role in every healing whether physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, or social in nature?  Is the source of healing inside people (such as in their minds), outside people (e.g. God, medicine), between people (as in a therapeutic relationship) or a combination of these?  Are healing ministries of value within the Kingdom of God?  What is the primary purpose of healing?  This reflection has been prompted my appointment to Salvos Counselling.

Many of the traditional ways of understanding healing from a Christian perspective do not easily fit with the real life experiences of those who work within or access Christian healing services[1].  To speak in a meaningful way about a ministry of healing in the 21^st century requires us to enter into a dialogue between traditional perspectives and contemporary experiences.

My theological compass always returns to a familiar answer to each and every theological reflection I engage in.  That is, that the place to begin is with Christ and his perfect adequacy.  In Luke chapter 8:43-48 we see Jesus encounter a women that needed healing.  On the surface the woman was suffering from a seemingly incurable and chronic bleeding.  Yet in the climax of the story we hear Jesus speak grace to her saying, “Daughter, your faith has healed you, go in peace” (v48).

What is fascinating about this story is that there are four different Greek words in the narrative to drive home the message that healing is not an end in itself but functions so we can become what God intends us to be.

Firstly, we see Luke use a word to describe the woman who had no medical hope of a cure, being healed (therapeou) from her hemophilia (v43).   As the story develops the author describes how she had been instantly healed (iaomai, v47).  The word is a translation of a Hebrew word rophe[2] and indicates that this woman was being repaired and restored to healthy functioning.

In verse 48 Luke uses a word for healing (sozo) that in this context means to restore to health but in another context can mean to rescue, set free from sin, or bring to salvation so that they can fulfill their purpose.  The final words in verse 48 go in peace (eirene) has the same meaning as shalom in the Hebrew.  It refers to the woman’s general wellbeing, her positive social relations or welfare and capacity to live with integrity.

The rich interpretation of healing described in this passage by Luke depicts the woman who reached out and touched the cloak of Jesus as experiencing the fullness of what it means to be healed from a Christian perspective – she was cured physically, restored into her community, repaired so that she can now serve her God and her community, while being restored into a peaceful and right relationship with herself, God and others.  For me this is an awesome picture of a woman who is healed, made healthy and set apart to fulfill the purpose God has for her life.

This biblical interpretation raises some important questions for our healing ministries in the 21^st century.  In particular, what role does a ministry like Salvos Counselling play in the mission of God for the Salvation Army?

It should be noted that healing is always contextual and can be very subjective.  We also give categories to types of diseases that require healing.  These include physical, psychological and spiritual disease.  If there is diversity in disease does this allow for diversity in methods of finding healing, wholeness and holiness?

Have you ever experienced healing?  When, where, why, and how?  “Healing is what people most need; often, but not always, it is what they most want”[3].   If you are a Christian and you lose your partner, your child, your job, your physical or psychological health, your self-esteem, your freedom, your hope or your sense of meaning and purpose, where would you turn?  Would you turn to your local pastor, who may have deep love and understanding for you and your situation but quite often simply doesn’t have the time or ability to address your need?

Alternatively, would you consider a person who has committed themselves to Christ and dedicated their vocational life to helping people heal?  People like those I work alongside at Salvos Counselling every day.

I would suggest that if you have had the personal experience of your pain or distress finding the healing grace and hope of Christ in therapy then you will have an appreciation of the value that Salvos Counselling offers people.  If you have experienced the healing power of God at work through counselling, then you probably have a genuine understanding of the kingdom value it supplies to the faith community.

Is there kingdom value in a woman who finds freedom from the emotional abuse suffered from bullying in the workplace?  Is she not healed for the purpose of serving her Lord in her local faith community? Do you think there is value in a husband discovering psychological freedom after visiting a Christian counselor for his pornography addiction?  Is there not value in a person being restored from the emotional distress in her life that prevents her from serving God and others and fulfilling her purpose in life?

Sadly, healing ministries are often misunderstood and undervalued, because the priority of mission is seen in conversion, membership and public affirmation.  To comprehend the ministry of Salvos Counselling in a meaningful way, we have to reconcile the competing voices of tradition and contemporary experience.  We need to appreciate that all people need healing most of the time and that healing is not an end in itself but functions so we can become what God intends us to be.

[1] Stephen Pattison, The challenge of practical theology: Selected essays.  Jessica Kingsley Publishers.  2007, 125-6.

[2] See Exodus 15:26 where the Lord is described as ‘Jehovah Rophe’ – The Lord who heals.  The idea is that I am the Lord who heals/restores you to what you were meant to be.

[3] Stephen Pattison, The challenge of practical theology. 2007, 130.

doctrine of salvation- justification & sanctification

Before a candidate is accepted for the Salvation Army training college they must be interviewed by a divisional board.  This can be quite intimidating as it usually includes the Divisional Commanders (DC), the 2IC, the Divisional Youth & Candidate Secretary, a representative Corps Officer and a representative soldier.  I am sure there was another person at mine but I cannot remember exactly who they represented.  However the purpose of this interview was for the DC to access the suitability of the candidate for training as a Salvation Army officer.  The questions were prepared in advance and although the DC threw in a curly question about baptism the interview went to script. 

One of the question I was asked was, “Which doctrine did I believe was the most important?”  I had been given the heads up that they may ask about my favourite doctrine so I was not entirely unprepared to answer the question.  Confidently I announced that doctrine six was of most significance (it happened to be my favourite to).  I said, “We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by his suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved”. 

I reiterated that, the whosoever was most important to which I received numerous non-verbal encouragements – for the words demonstrate our (Arminian) roots and theologically they maintain the universal character of the atonement.  Of course none of this was clearly within this candidates’ consciousness at the time for I just knew that we did not subscribe to the Calvinistic doctrine of limited atonement and predestination.

Reflecting back now, I still see doctrine six as central and important.  However, I cannot separate the atoning work of Christ on the cross from his faithful obedience within the incarnation.  Within the evangelical tradition we have often focused on the cross at the expense of the word becoming flesh and living among us.  We have highlighted the passion narrative and minimized the faithful obedient life of Jesus of Nazareth.  We have been guilty of emphasizing the sacrificial death and overlooking the sacrificial life.

The consequence of this is that we understand salvation more from the perspective of reconciliation rather than equally emphasizing the sanctifying work of Christ.  Within our contemporary definitions of salvation we often speak of the forgiveness of our sins and being justified by God at the expense of also speaking of the transforming work of the Spirit that begins by grace through faith.  Jesus birth, obedient life of suffering, his death and resurrection cannot be separated out without the danger that we will stress one aspect of salvation at the expense of another.  Jesus incarnation and subsequent holy life was as significant as was his sacrificial death.  Jesus did not come simply to save us from our sins but he also came to transform us into the holy people of God.  If we focus on the sacrificial death at the expense of the sacrificial incarnation then we may overemphasize the benefits to believers through Jesus work on the cross and in doing so we lose the broader purpose of the work of Christ within the doctrine of salvation.

John Wesley correctly related our sanctification to our justification.  In his sermon on The Scriptural way of Salvation he states, “At the same time that we are justified, yea, in that very moment, sanctification begins”[1].

If we are to better understand the person and work of Christ then our soteriology (doctrine of salvation) must proclaim both the doctrines of justification and sanctification.  Dr Skevington Wood in his summary of Wesley’s teaching on sanctification is helpful, stating:

Whereas justification may be defined as ‘what God does for us through his Son’, sanctification is ‘what he works in us by his Spirit’.  The distinction lies in the fact that sanctification has to do with the ongoing life of the Christian, while justification is primarily a matter of initial status.  Hence, for Wesley, sanctification is more properly linked with new birth in which this life begins[2].

Jesus faithfully lived and died to restore us into right relations with God and to transform us into the very people of God.  The salvific purpose of Christ is the ‘bringing together’ of the human to the divine that God the Father effects in Christ the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit”[3].

So this year if someone was to ask me which doctrine is the most important one, I would have to answer that it is the doctrine of salvation which is expressed in, The Salvation  Army Handbook of Doctrine[4], chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 because we must not seperate Christ’s atoning work on the cross from his faithful obedient life in the incarnation.   It is important that we proclaim salvation through Jesus as more than simply the status of being right with God and include the more challenging relational aspect between the creator and the created of right living.

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[1] Edward H. Sugden, The Standard Sermons of John Wesley (Epworth Press: London, 1921), 2.446.

[2] Skevington Wood, Love Excluding Sin: John Wesley’s Teaching on Sanctification  (Wesley Fellowship, 1986).

[3] Robert Sherman, King, Priest and Prophet; A Trinitarian Theology of Atonement (New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 10.

[4] The General of The Salvation Army, Handbook of Doctrine (London: Salvation Books, 2010).

Healing, Wholness and Holiness

In the beginning God created a perfect world with perfect people and he saw that it was good. Humanity lived at peace with God until the day they fell into disobedience. As a result of the fall all of creation suffered – Sin entered the world bringing disease, decay, destruction and the final consequence of sin, death.
God did not stop loving his creation and the bible tell us the story of how God brought restoration to all creation through Jesus the anointed one.
Humanity along with all of creation is sick, diseased and broken and is in need of healing. What do we suffer from? All kinds of physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual maladies. We need to be healed, made whole and holy. How is this possible?
Thanks be to God for his love that sends Jesus to bring healing. Thanks be to God for his power that sends his Holy Spirit to bring transformation. And thanks be to God that by his grace we can cooperate as the holy people of God.

Holiness

I have been thinking a lot about holiness lately in light of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. I have reflected on what Paul theology is and have allowed that to shape my beliefs. I also should confess I have in the back of my mind the expression of holiness within a Salvation Army context in which I live. 

Holiness within the Salvation Army, generally speaking, can be divided into three main perspectives: firstly, holiness as crisis and second work of grace in the believer (Samuel Logan Brengle); secondly, holiness as a process in which believers grows in grace (Frederick Coutts); and finally, those who are indifferent or disinterested to holiness as an issue for believers .
It is scary to think that for many 21st century Salvationists holiness is something separate from salvation, or something to be overlooked within the Christian life. It is sad to think that some Salvationists have been discouraged or disillusioned by holiness models that have been preached and taught to them over the years. I must admit that in my own quest for sanctification I have fallen into this camp at times.

For now, in light of my recent exploration of Paul’s letter to the Romans, I wish to explore a different perspective of holiness in which holiness is seen in the context of God’s salvation story worked out in the faithfulness of Jesus. As Chick Yuill rightly states when critiquing holiness teaching, “The place to begin is with Jesus Christ and his perfect adequacy. We need to remind ourselves that holiness is conferred by God through the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ”.

In my humble opinion, holiness is best thought of as participation in the faithfulness of Christ. Sanctification is not detached from justification; instead they are partners in God’s salvific purposes worked out in Jesus Christ. Holiness is not the product of our faithful obedience, expressed as growth in Christ-likeness; rather we become the holy people of God as we participate in God’s restorative-transformation in pistis Christou (faithfulness of Christ).

This restorative-transformation by the Spirit involves both the justification and sanctification of the believers, so that humanity is restored into right relationship with God and made into the likeness of Christ. The participationist language used by Paul in Romans, links the people of God with Christ and sees the goal of the ecclesia as being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

As we participate in the faithfulness of Christ – his obedient life and death on a cross – we are transformed into the holy people of God. As God’s people we are justified and holy now and live with the hope that we will be vindicated at the final judgment. Our experience of the holy life now, remains in tension, as God’s ecclesia waits in hope for the Parousia. Until that day the Spirit of Christ remains to sanctify the church waiting for God to complete what he has already accomplished in Christ.