Can God Heal? Mark 1:29-39

FRIDAY

Just the Highlights

There are two types of believers in two different realities. Believers in ‘only’ the natural world and believers in the supernatural world. The supernatural world is inclusive of the natural world. This may NOT be a fact recognized by the "only naturalists." The God of the super and by default, the natural, can intervene by suspending the rules of creation or by using them. Miracles are a reality in either case. I consider it a miracle when I see my body heal by supposed natural means. However, I also thank God when He appears to ‘miraculously’ change the rules of creation to intervene in this world on our behalf. And, often we do not recognize a miracle when it is before our very eyes! For example, would it be any LESS of a miracle, if there was a natural explanation for the parting of the RED or REED Sea for the Israelites to cross? I think not! God could have caused a ‘natural’ phenomena to drain the REED/RED Sea back while having ‘supernatural’ timing for the 2 million Israelites to cross. Be careful not to minimize or rationalize how God works!

If you are brave and ready for a headache, read C. S. Lewis' book, "Miracles." In this book, Dr. Lewis explains we must solve the philosophical problem of miracles before we worry about the historical-experiential aspects of miracles. In short, God brought the children out of Egypt. However, overtime while in the wilderness, many doubted this as a "miracle." If you cannot get by the philosophical problem of belief, then even if it could be proven a miracle took place… even by your own experience, your bias would diminish it as a miracle.  Jesus said, in Matthew 12:39… "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." The sign of Jonah of course is Jesus' resurrection. In other words, even if you personally witnessed the miraculous you would not believe it!

In any event, I consider the greatest miracle to be when God can move a stubborn heart to receive His grace and direction. And, if God can do that as well as create the heavens and earth… then healing us is a piece of cake!

Digging Deeper and Thinking Harder

Let’s build upon yesterday’s message of healing! Some people do not believe in miracles. C. S. Lewis in his book, “Miracles” indicates that before you have a debate regarding “Miracles” you need to define what a miracle may be.

There are two types of people in this world: (1) Those who believe in the natural world only; (2) And, those who believe in the super-natural world.

Now this is the interesting point, and a point demonstrated by Jesus in Mark 1. Those whose confidence is only in the natural world, will only have natural world idols to depend on. This belief is seen in the hearts of the religious leaders in Mark 1. They want to define how God works, rather than letting God be God. Second, we have those who believe in the supernatural. Super-naturalists are broader in their understanding because their world INCLUDES the natural with a supernatural point of control.

For those who only believe in the natural world, “nature” is god. At odds with this idea are those who believe in the supernatural. A force or god that is the creator and the SUSTAINER of the natural world. For the natural world ‘only’ believers, Nature is a steady-state ecosystem. A self-sustaining ecosystem turned on by its own force, and this force just lets it run… come hell or high-water. In this view, Nature is a TRANSENDENT force or god. An impersonal god desiring not to be involved in the lives of creation.

Let me take a moment to explain TRANSCENDENT and it’s opposite, IMMANENT. The word transcendent means, “…beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience.” For our purposes, a force or god which is impossible to KNOW personally. I call this the great big force or god that is "up there" somewhere. A force or god that is unapproachable.

Conversely, the word IMMANENT means, “…permanently pervading and sustaining the universe.” Therefore, the idea of an immanent force or god is one which continues to be INTERACTIVE and INTERVENES in creation. A force or god, who can choose to perform MIRACLES by staying WITHIN OR OUTSIDE the design rules of creation: i.e. gravity. This force or god can, for its own reasons, choose to suspend these rules. In other words, this force or god… WANTS TO BE KNOWN AND KNOWABLE. This force or god will choose to “suspend” the rules of creation, on behalf of creation... IF it will make this force or god MORE KNOWABLE!

The Super-naturalists of the Judeo-Christian faith: Israel’s patriarchs and matriarchs, and all the faithful who came before us believe the ONE TRUE GOD IS BOTH, TRANSCENDENT and IMMAMENT!

How Is Our God Both?

The Old Testament uses many names for God. As an aside, “the presence of God” called the Shekinah glory of God is feminine. Therefore, it could be asked, “When Moses stepped into the Tabernacle did Moses hear a female voice directing him?” There is some humor there somewhere, but that’s a blog for another day! The point is this… the Bible often uses multiple words in the original languages to give us a clue to some aspect of a God. In chapter one of Genesis, we find the Creator of the Universe(s) as the God Elohim. Then, without warning, and apparently because of the advent of human creation, God expands the name, to the LORD GOD (YAHWEH) in Genesis 2:5. Here is the difference:

Elohim is the general name for God and is used to signify God as CREATOR. In some parts of the Bible, elohim is even a reference for false/foreign gods… but you guessed it, that’s another blog for another day. Just remember, for our current discussion of the ONE TRUE GOD, Elohim is the UNKNOWABLE CREATOR GOD. This is the God who appears to be TRANSCENDENT!

Yahweh (the Lord) is God's personal name. A personal name is the name to indicate a level of intimacy. Folks who meet me for the first time often call me Reverend Allen. As our relationship grows, they start calling me “Pastor Jim.” In a few cases, they even call me “Jim.” And, as our relationship continues to grow, people seem to develop “pet” names for me indicating their close relationship, ‘fondness,’ or even level of irritation. We feel comfortable to get irritated with the those who are closest to us! Yahweh is the IMMAMENT name for God making us realize God is KNOWABLE and wants to INTERVENE in our lives.

Here is the point, the Scriptures migrate from the UNKNOWABLE, WONDERFUL, MAJESTIC and a little bit scary God (Elohim) of creation in Genesis 1:1; to the KNOWABLE, INTIMATE God called the Lord God in Genesis 2:5. The latter name is the Lord God who steps into creation to walk in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

TEACHING POINT: It is useful to know how the names are represented in most English Bibles without having to look up the Hebrew. The following is a generally accepted representation:

Yahweh is represented as “LORD.” Written with all capital letters. Yahweh is also written with a capital “L” and small capitals “ord.”

Elohim is represented as “God.” In some Jewish translations, God will be represented as “G-d.” If the Bible is referring to false/foreign deities, then elohim will be represented as god. Note the lack of capitalization.

As indicated, there are many names for God in the Bible. However, another common expression for God is “Adon” or “Adonai/Adonay.”

Adonai is another term used for God and it means master or Master. When this term is used in the English Scriptures it is represented as lord when indicating a human with authority; or “Lord” written with a capital “L”  when referring to God or Jesus.

There are many other variants. There are also adjectives which often combine with God’s various names to emphasize some attribute of God.

Now back to work! The point of all this is the God who created ALL THINGS, this intimidating God also wants to be the KNOWABLE God and in relationship with YOU! Why? Because God is NO LONGER is just TRANSCENDENT, but also IMMANENT. This is especially true after the work of Christ on the cross. Just think, because of Christ, the unapproachable God is now APPROACHABLE! We can walk into God’s throne room.  See Hebrews 4:14-16…:

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest (Jesus) who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He (Jesus) did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Conclusion

The healings in the Bible transcend the physical healing provided at the moment for the given individual. Each healing was a picture of a TRANSCENDENT Creator God, who now in JESUS CHRIST is also an IMMANENT God! In other words, as we turn our eyes to look at a SOVEREIGN, ALL MAJESTIC GOD, we can also look into our hearts to find the IMMANENT GOD JESUS!

Tomorrow, as time permits, we will look at the most famous mother-in-law of the Bible, Naomi from the Book of Ruth. And, I hope to be able to cover the bronze serpent called Nehushtan from Numbers 21:9.

See you tomorrow!