Saturday, October 8, 2016

31 Days of Healing: Healing in Galatia



One of the things that used to bother me about healing, was where do you find it in the Epistles? Paul didn't seem to talk much about it. There was a lot about healing in the Gospels and in the book of Acts, but it seemed like it was not to be found once we got to the Epistles. So I prayed and asked the Lord to show me where those scriptures were. Here's one:

So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? -Galatians 3:5(HCSB)

The New Living Translation says,

I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

This passage of scripture is from Paul's letter to the Church at Galatia. He spends a lot of time talking about the difference between law and grace because there were those that had come in trying to preach another Gospel and put the church there under the law. So Paul had to remind them who they were.

Then we get to Galatians 3:5. Apparently they had experienced some miracles in their lives. It did not come by them obeying the law. So how did it come? It came by believing what they heard about Jesus.

The word "miracles" in this passage of scripture is the Greek word "dunamis." It means, "might, power, marvelous ability."  That's not our power, but God's.  The might and power part is not our part.  Our part is the faith part.

Under the Old Covenant, the health and wellness of the Jews was because of their obedience to the law.  Under the New Covenant, everything we receive is because of faith.

Later on in Galatians 3:11, Paul says,

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Faith is how we receive everything from God.  It is just a matter of believing the right thing about what He has done for us through Jesus.

May we all continue to grow in our faith in the goodness and love of God,
Beth




To read more in the series go here:


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