Christian Healing: Healing By Command
In the last post, we discussed the believer’s authority to heal, and primarily the transferring of that authority from God, through Jesus, to His disciples and the church. We said that the practice of the believer’s authority is linked directly to the believer’s level of belief in God’s desire to heal. In this post, we will now turn our attention to the practical side of the authority to heal, and discuss how it is our privilege to command sickness and disease to leave, in Jesus’ name.
Once again, we look first to Jesus as our example in healing the sick and practicing authority. What stands out to me is that in the gospels, whenever Jesus healed the sick, it was always accomplished in one of two ways. He either healed by physical touch or he healed by commanding the disease to leave.
The act of laying on of hands in scripture is always a physical outworking of the anointing of God on a person, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when Jesus laid hands on someone, I believe it was a practical example of healing through the anointing, which we will discuss in a future post.
For now, I want to focus on Jesus’ practice of commanding or rebuking sickness in people’s bodies, which, instead of demonstrating His anointing, was a manifestation of His authority over the power of sickness and death.
Commanding Sickness is Demonstrated by Jesus
Over and over again in the Bible, when Jesus heals the sick, we see Him do it through a verbal command, either toward the sickness itself, towards a person’s body, or towards a demonic spirit which was causing the disease.
Jesus Commanded Diseases to Go
One of my favorite phrases in the New Testament is “…Jesus rebuked…” This is used in reference to all sorts of earthly phenomenons, such as calming storms, yet most commonly we hear it in regard to sickness. For example, not long into His earthly ministry, Jesus meets Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, who has been sick for some time.
And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
Luke 4:38-39
Jesus doesn’t pray for the woman. He doesn’t implore God to heal her. Instead, He speaks directly to the disease and commands it to leave her body. In His authority from God, He spoke and the disease responded by leaving! Remember, Jesus said that He did nothing, except what God revealed to Him to do (John 5:19). That means that as Jesus healed every sick person around Him, it was God’s will being fulfilled!
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Jesus Commanded Bodies to Receive Healing
Not only do we see Jesus speaking to disease to leave people’s body, but we also see Him speaking to people’s bodies, commanding them to recover from their physically broken state. Take, for example, His healing of the blind man, Bartimeus:
And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Luke 18:40-43
As Jesus spoke to bodies, they responded to His authority, and recovered.
Jesus Commanded Demons to Leave
Another demonstration of Jesus’ authority to heal people was in His rebuke of demonic spirits that were causing sicknesses and diseases. Remember, disease and demonic torments are both results of mankind’s fall into sin. Therefore, the sinless Son of Man has authority over all these things. Take the example we discussed in the last post, of Jesus healing the epileptic boy, after His disciples could not:
While (Jesus) was coming, the demon threw (the boy) to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Luke 9:42
In Jesus’ ministry, we see Him commanding disease to leave in all forms! Jesus commanded invasive sicknesses, like viruses and infections, to get out of people’s bodies. He spoke to people’s bodies to be healed of their own brokenness, like blindness and deafness. He also took authority in the spirit realm, which caused many people’s afflictions, and not only healed them, but also got rid of the tormenting spirits.
Jesus’ Disciples Also Healed by Command
From this discussion, we might well conclude that Jesus’ authority to heal was all-encompassing! However, it did not stop with Jesus. When He gave His authority to His disciples, they responded by practicing their authority in the same ways He did.
Jesus’ Disciples Commanded Diseases to Go
As we have already talked about previously, the Bible records that before Jesus ever gave His Holy Spirit to the disciples, He transferred His God-given authority over sickness and disease to them!
And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal… And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Luke 9:12 and 16
Although this verse doesn’t specifically say they “rebuked the sicknesses” verbally, there is no implication in Jesus command or in their practice that says they were praying for the sick and asking God to heal. It was the disciples who were healing, with the authority Jesus gave them. As disciples following a Rabbi, they most likely did this the same way He demonstrated.
Even after Jesus left this earth and gave them the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Bible still records that the Apostles were the ones active in healing people. They weren’t praying and asking God to do it.
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles (not by the hand of God). And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico…The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Acts 5:12 and 16
Jesus’ Disciples Commanded Bodies to Receive Healing
In the same way that Jesus spoke to people’s bodies to recover, the Bible records the disciples doing so as well. One example is the first miracle after Jesus gave the great commission and left. While going to the temple to pray, Peter and John healed the lame beggar, sitting at the gate of the temple courts:
But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
Acts 3:6
Peter spoke with authority, in Jesus’ name, and commanded the man’s body to function correctly. And it did!
Jesus’ Disciples Commanded Demons to Leave
Not to leave anything out — remember, Jesus promised that all who believe in Him would do the same works that He did (John 14:12) — the bible also records that the disciples, too, cast out demonic spirits that were tormenting and afflicting people. Take the story of Paul, who was being followed around by a demon-possessed girl:
And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
Acts 16:18
The disciples of Jesus demonstrated the same authority as Jesus by commanding sickness, bodily afflictions, and demons, “in Jesus name!”
The Authority to Command “In Jesus’ Name”
This brings us back to the point we made before: Jesus said in John 14:
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:13
The authority of a believer, today, does not come from within ourselves, and it cannot be something we claim for ourselves. Our authority is explicitly given by Jesus, the same as it was to His disciples, and therefore we can only accomplish the things He commanded us to do, by doing them “in His name.” It is the name of Jesus that is our ‘badge’ of authority.
When Peter was called to the authorities and had to explain the healing of the lame man mentioned above, he goes out of his way to explain that it was not his own authority, but that of Christ, that the man was healed:
And (Jesus) name—by faith in his name—(God) made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
Acts 3:16
One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is when the governing authorities take note and wonder if this authority must have come from Jesus, because these men on their own were nothing:
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
John 4:13
Later, as the church prayed for more boldness to continue doing what Jesus had commanded them, it is clear that they understood there was a distinction between the hand of God working sovereignly, and what was being done through them by the authority in His name.
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Acts 4:29-30
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The Authority for Healing Continues in the Church
Now, knowing that Jesus passed His authority to His apostles and the other early disciples, and that His expectation is that His Kingdom and authority would continue to grow in the earth (Isaiah 9:7), it is not surprising that Jesus’ stated intention was that His authority would remain with His people, the church, until His second coming!
Authority is in the Great Commission
Once again, this command to “heal the sick” — complete with His authority to do so — continued in the church after His departure. It is an inseparable part of the Great Commission.
And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 16:17-18
Although citations are impossible and I cannot give a full account in this blog post, I can boldly say that Christian history has recorded healing in EVERY branch of the church since Jesus spoke the Great Commission. Even in the most cessationist denominations, room is occasionally given to pray for the sick, and at times healing miracles have been recorded by all of them.
God is Glorified by our practicing Authority “in the name of Jesus”
The Bible is clear of Jesus’ intention that believer’s would use the authority given by Christ to the church. This is not an abuse or a misuse of His power. It is how He gets glory! We need to practice doing what He said, even more.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
The Great Controversy: Can Man Tell God What to Do?
One of the biggest criticisms I see of those who practice Christian healing is that “these healers command God, telling Him what to do.”
If that were the case, I agree with the critics that it would demonstrate the utmost arrogance by mere men, elevating themselves above God Himself. However, from my own experience in the healing ministry and in my observation of dozens of other healing ministers, both contemporary and historical, this is a major misunderstanding by the critics of the practice of healing.
I have never seen a credible healing minister command God to do anything! Yes, they do make commands, but God is not the target; sickness is, the same as it was for Jesus and the early disciples. Even though this practice is often called a “prayer of command”, the truth is that this is not really a prayer to God, petitioning Him to move. Instead, this is an exhibition of the believer’s authority, which was first demonstrated by Jesus Himself.
When speaking in training conferences and discipling believers to pray for the sick, I am always diligent to make this distinction clear. “As believers, we ask God to heal, and we command sickness to go. Don’t get this confused. We do not ask sickness to go — ‘oh cancer, please, if it be your will, leave this body…’ — nor do we ever command God to do anything — ‘Lord, I command You to remove this cancer…” To do those things would lead to devastating results in the pursuit of healing, and would bring a major level of sin into our relationship with the Lord.
However, as we are careful to point our commands appropriately, it is a practice as old as the New Testament for believer’s to speak to sickness, in the Name of Jesus, and command it to go.
It’s Time to Use Your Authority
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you have been given His authority as His representative in the earth. In His name, you have the right to speak to every manner of sickness, affliction, and demonic torment, and command them to go! What is lacking is a motivation among God’s people to do what Jesus told us to do, either due to a lack of belief, or a lack of boldness to operate in our authority.
If you lack belief, then please go back and read my previous posts, dig into scripture, and see what Jesus says you carry. If you lack boldness, then do as the early church did, and pray for God to give you more. However, to be faithful to Jesus’ command to heal the sick, you are eventually going to have to look at the sickness in front of you and command it to go, “in Jesus’ name.”
As John Wimber is often credited with saying, “faith is spelled R-I-S-K.” It is one of those things that you will never know, until you try! I cannot guarantee anything, concerning your efforts. There are often other, unseen realities at work that may prevent healing from coming immediately, yet that is not an excuse to not make the attempt! Jesus wants the sick to be healed, and He wants you to be the one doing it. So go for it! “In Jesus’ name,” tell those diseases to get out and not come back. (Then share your testimony with me, so we can celebrate and give glory to God together)
What Are Your Thoughts?
In our next post we will turn our attention to the Holy Spirit’s role in healing ministry, and how to work under His anointing to see even more power for healing in your life.
Until then, I would love to hear your questions, thoughts and testimonies in the comment section below.
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© Anthony Scott Ingram 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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