Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt (2 page)

2
The
Will of God Doubt

Christ Heals All Who Come to Him.
One of the major theological stumbling blocks that produces doubt and restricts healing is the idea that it might be God’s will for Him to heal some sick and injured people but not all people. The reasons given for why God will not heal vary but all reasons have the theological idea that God’s will for healing varies from individual to individual and circumstance to circumstance. Is this true? Does God’s will in healing vary with individuals? How can we determine the truth about this matter? How can we get beyond a shadow of a doubt? We determine the truth simply by observing Jesus Christ in the Gospels as He deals with sick and injured people. Christ perfectly reveals the will of the Father in all matters.

The life and ministry of Jesus Christ does not support the particular theological view that God’s will in healing varies with individuals. There are absolutely no scriptural facts to support that idea. If that view were true, you should find some events supporting it in the ministry of Christ since He reveals the will of the Father in every detail. The facts of Christ’s ministry support the opposite conclusion. The Gospels reveal Christ healing everyone who needed healing within the multitudes. It was the will of the Father to heal everyone who came to Christ as Healer. Nothing has changed. Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and therefore the Father’s will remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

All Healed in a Multitude.
If it was the Father’s will for some to remain sick, the ministry of Christ to large groups of people who came to Him does not reveal it. If it were the Father’s will for some to remain sick, surely a few in a multitude would not be healed because it was God’s will for them to remain sick or injured. However, this kind of situation is never found in the Gospels. Support for the theological view that the Father’s will in healing is different for some people and in some circumstances is completely absent from the four Gospels. Christ never reveals it in any way. In fact, Christ reveals the very opposite. For instance, Matthew records that Christ healed all who were ill in a group that came to Christ that included many demon-possessed people.

And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. Matthew 8:16

It was not the will of the Father for any to remain ill in this group of people. This is often repeated in the Gospels. For instance, a few chapters later in Matthew’s Gospel many followed Christ and all were healed who needed healing.

And many followed Him, and He healed them all… Matthew 12:15b

Again this reveals the will of God is the same for all since Christ perfectly demonstrates the will of God. Indeed, Christ is the only person who does reveal the will of the Father perfectly! If the will of God concerning healing was different for different people, the Father certainly is not demonstrating that it is different through the ministry of Christ. Luke reveals the very same thing. All within a multitude of sick and injured people were healed.

And
all the
multitude were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all. Luke 6:19

Again, there is no revelation that the will of the Father might be different for different people. Instead, Christ healing a large group of people demonstrates that the will of God is precisely the same for all. The Father wants them well.

The ministries of the Twelve Apostles reveal the same thing. The apostles heal all who needed healing that came to them. This is the Father once again revealing that His will is the same for all who need healing. The book of Acts records this same truth.

And also the people from the cities in the vicinity of
Jerusalem
were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits; and they were all being healed. Acts 5:16

The story of the healing of the ten lepers, found in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17, also wonderfully illustrates the will of the Father is the same for all in healing. This would have been a perfect place for the Father to demonstrate that His will is different for different individuals and yet all ten are healed in this story.

And as He entered a certain village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" And when He saw them, He said to them, "Go and show
yourselves
to the priests." And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine-- where are they? Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:12-19

If God’s will were different for different individuals, then we would expect to see one or several individuals not healed in situations like this. However, this is not the case anywhere in the ministry of Christ and His disciples. Whether it is one person, a small group of people or a multitude, Christ heals all who come to Him. The will of the Father is clear in this matter. The Father wishes all to receive healing. The only ones who are not healed are those who do not come to Christ because of unbelief and doubt. This was true in Christ’s own hometown. The reason that few were healed and there were no miracles was because of their unbelief not because of a problem with God’s will
^[
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. They allowed shadows of doubt to obscure their vision of the Light of the World. The problem was never the will of the Father but their reaction to Christ the Healer. They believed and came to Christ or they doubted and were double-minded. It is no different today.

God Does Not Show Partiality.
The idea that God wants one person healed but will not heal another also violates a well-known spiritual principle in Scripture. That principle is often expressed using the words not a respecter of persons taken from the King James Version of the Bible. This phrase in more modern English simply means that God shows no partiality or favoritism. This is true in both blessing and judgment. This is true for those seeking forgiveness and those seeking healing. The apostle Peter expresses this principle in Acts by saying:

And opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him. Acts 10:34-35

In these verses, Peter says that God welcomes everyone who meets certain conditions. This is exactly how healing works with God. God welcomes anyone to be healed who meets the proper conditions of faith in Christ. This is precisely why this doubt about the will of God being different for different people must be assaulted and destroyed. The Light must remove the shadow of doubt. As long as a believer believes this false doctrine, they will not be able to have the necessary faith in Christ for healing. They will be double-minded and doubting. The truth that God does not show partiality means that everyone who meets the conditions of faith in Christ as Healer will be healed. This principle is also expressed repeatedly by the apostle Paul, not only referring to blessing but also sometimes referring to God’s judgment. For instance, he writes:

For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. Colossians 3:25

And again in the book of Romans:

There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For there is no partiality with God.
Romans 2:9-11

In these passages, once again it is clear that God is not drawing distinctions between people. He reminds us that God shows no partiality or favoritism in matters of blessing or judgment. Everyone who sins will face the same consequences of their sin. (Thankfully, forgiveness of sin is open to all as well who believe in Christ.) Everyone who does good will experience the same blessings from God.

Paul expresses this same principle in another passage where he is discussing the proper behavior of Christians in the institution of slavery. He writes:

And, masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. Ephesians 6:9

In this situation, Paul reminds his readers that God does not show partiality either to master or slave. God treats people exactly the same in all situations. He is always fair in blessing and in judgment. What one person can receive as blessing from God by faith, another may receive if they meet the same conditions.

Everyone is the
Same
before God.
The use of the word everyone by the writers of the New Testament continually reveals the principle of no partiality or favoritism with God as well. It is used so many times that it is impossible for this text to relate all of them. It is clear that God does not draw distinctions between people. Everyone who meets the same conditions has the same results. For instance, regarding believing in Christ, Luke tells us this as he quotes Peter:

…everyone who believes in Him…has forgiveness of sins… Acts 10:43b

God does not draw distinctions between people. The will of God is exactly the same for everyone regarding forgiveness. He forgives everyone who meets the same conditions by sincerely believing in Christ.

A similar truth is found in the Gospel of John. John reveals the will of God for everyone by writing:

…everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him…have eternal life… John 6:40a

John reveals the same truth a few chapters later:

…everyone who lives and believes in
Me
shall never die…John 11:26a

The principle of no partiality is present again in both the above verses from the apostle John. God gives eternal life to everyone who believes in Christ. He draws no distinctions between people. All are capable of believing and all are capable of receiving. The apostle Paul reveals this principle by writing:

…the gospel…the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes…
Romans 1:16

Paul explains that everyone who believes the gospel message about Jesus Christ receives the power of God for salvation. Again, God does not play favorites and allow some to receive and somehow reject others. Everyone who believes the gospel receives salvation. The will of God is plain. God wants the gospel to be preached to all. God wants us to believe in Christ and receive all that Christ has done for us including healing.

The New Testament reveals that God does not draw distinctions for any matter or for any person. The same sin will have the same consequence no matter who commits it. For instance, in regard to the sin of anger:

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty…Matthew 5:22a

or
the sin of lusting after a woman:

…everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery… Matthew 5:28

or
the consequences of committing sin…

…everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin... John 8:34

This principle is universal. God shows no respect of persons. He does not show partiality in any matter. For instance, consider the matter of answered prayer:

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.
Matthew 7:8 (Luke 11:10)