21st September 2023. I imagine almost all Christians and Bible Students would reckon me to have gone completely overboard in making this statement! Well, stick with me while I take you to 1Timothy 2:4-6a ‘(God our Saviour) who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all…‘
Many would find it hard to accept that ‘God wants everybody saved’ – even in the traditionally evangelical understanding of ‘salvation’ as Forgivess of Sins, on the grounds that the same author, Paul the Apostle, in some of his other letters argues for ‘Election / Predestination’ – indicating that not all will be saved, because, not only did they not choose to believe, but God himself ultimately chooses his ‘Elect’. This was the essence of the historic debate (using the kindest term!) between the Calvinists and the Arminians – probably still being fought in Bible Colleges late at night sustained by endless cups of coffee! We always need to ground our debates in the context of Jesus, whose death is stated as “a ransom for all”, and we know his earthly ministry involved a tireless commitment to the healing and saving of multitudes of people. And his ‘Great Commission’, coming down the centuries, remains that we all as believers must offer the gospel of salvation to as many as possible. Dr Donald Guthrie, a truly lovely and humble man whose scholarship was displayed in Theology libraries everywhere, not just in evangelical schools, taught me New Testament theology. Writing in his Tyndale commentary and the New Bible Commentary, he reminds us that ‘God’s will’ can be understood as what he permits as well as what he expressly desires, but his compassion for mankind is undeniably and beautifully expressed in Ezekiel 18:32.
So, we can probably accept that God wants everybody to be ‘saved’ (ie sins forgiven), but surely not ‘everybody to be made well’ (ie healed)! The Greek word used for “saved” in this text is ‘sozein’ – which, while certainly denoting the removal of sins and their guilt, has a much wider meaning. It is used of ‘rescue from danger’ (eg the disciples on the stormy water) and certainly of physical healing, many times. Michael Green’s book, “The Meaning of Salvation”, argues that ‘Salvation’ is a much wider concept than traditionally understood by evangelical Christians.
What were Jesus and his Disciples (the 12, the 70 and the Apostles in Acts) doing in their ‘Good News’ mission? They announced and taught “The Kingdom of God” and they healed sickness. I used to think that Jesus performed miracles to prove his divine power, but that is hardly different from Pharaoh wheeling out his magicians to out-perform Moses and Aaron by their “tricks”. No, Jesus’ motivation was his divine compassion for the sick, hungry and lost; and he inculcated in his disciples that same compassion
Healing in Jesus' Name 