Acts 4:8-10. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
There are countless diseases in the world today that cannot be cured by conventional medicine. The root cause of many of these conditions lies in the spiritual state of people living separated from God.
Unless a person receives life through faith in Jesus Christ, true healing from such diseases is impossible. Any attempt to find healing apart from Christ may offer temporary relief, but ultimately leads to a deeper and worse condition. That’s why spiritual healing must come first.
Spiritual healing comes only by faith: “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven” (James 5:15).
The prayer of faith is the starting point of healing. When we pray with wholehearted trust in the power of God, His work of healing begins. Yet God works according to the measure of our faith.
Our faith must rest solely on Jesus the Christ. Bartimaeus had this kind of faith when he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). Though he was a blind beggar, he recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the one who had come through David’s lineage.
Bartimaeus’s prayer of faith restored his sight: “‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road” (Mark 10:52).
This is the kind of prayer that James describes: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). The righteous person is the one who believes that Jesus is the Christ. Holding firmly to His name is the ultimate path to true healing.
As Peter boldly testified before the rulers and elders in Jerusalem, healing comes through the power of the name of Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified and rose again: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
To hold onto His name, one must receive and believe in Jesus as the Christ: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). For people to believe, we must proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Through the proclamation of the gospel, they will hear and see its evidence.
That’s exactly what Philip did in Samaria: “Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:5–8).
When the people of Samaria received and believed in Jesus as the Christ, they were set free from deep-rooted spiritual problems. This led to physical healing from many kinds of diseases.
The power of Jesus is far greater than that of evil spirits. Even Simon the sorcerer surrendered his life to Christ after hearing and seeing the gospel preached by Philip: “Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw” (Acts 8:13).
The incredible power of Christ will inevitably appear when one receives and believes that Jesus is the Christ. Wherever the name of Jesus is proclaimed, there will be freedom: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38).
The moment a person believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in them, bringing freedom from demonic power and healing from spiritual disease.
But how does this transformation happen? It begins with a permanent change in identity: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
When you believed, your identity was changed—from a child of the devil to a child of the Most High God. God adopted you into His family. You received the Spirit that confirms you are God’s chosen child. The Holy Spirit testifies with your spirit that you are indeed a child of God (Romans 8:15–16).
God also transformed the state of your heart and mind—from a slave to sin to a servant of righteousness. Once, sin ruled over you. But through Christ, you have been set free from the power of sin and have become a slave to righteousness (Romans 6:17–18). Now that you belong to God, live your life for Him alone (Romans 6:22).
God has invited you to live the life He intended for you—a Spirit-led life. Once, you followed the ways of this world, ruled by the powers of the air (Ephesians 2:2). But now, you are a new creation in Christ. Be led by the Spirit, for you are no longer under law (Galatians 5:18). The Spirit will lead you to places you never imagined—even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Do not let sin reign over you any longer. You have been completely set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). On the cross, Christ paid in full for every sin: original sin, ancestral sin, and your own personal sins.
The accuser, Satan, no longer has any power over you. You are no longer indebted to your former master and father. Your sinful nature and weaknesses were nailed to the cross and are covered by the blood of Christ.
You have been given authority over the forces of darkness and over every disease. Your spiritual and physical afflictions are now opportunities to witness the power of God.
This is the day of God’s salvation. This is the time to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Prayer. Father, open my eyes to see the things that come from Your Spirit. Help me understand the true changes that have taken place in me since Jesus came into my life. Strengthen my faith, and help my unbelief. In Jesus’ name, Amen.