A Spoon Full of Sugar ....
Question
If miracles (healings) are real and Christ is still alive, then why do we need doctors?
Answer
There are many good and reasonable answers to this. I will be brief and comment on only a few.
First, every healing that happens presently is God’s miracle. Honest doctors will tell you that they do not heal – they merely treat. The Bible and history itself teach us that God is not only a God of miracles, but also one that uses secondary causes (WCF, Chapter 5, Of Providence) in the execution of his eternal plan. Some of these secondary causes are devoted doctors and nurses, the medicines they prescribe, and the procedures they perform. God still heals and does miracles. Thus, what is really at issue here is the “gift of healings” or the “gift of miracles” still existing.
Second, though Christ is the God of miracles, he also had Luke the “beloved physician” on his staff (Col 4:14). We note that Paul several years after Christ’s resurrection still calls Luke a doctor. This is significant to note in a day of healing and miracles as in the time of the apostles. Moreover, Jesus recognized the benefit of medicine in his relating of the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30 ff). Doctors still existed in apostolic times.
Third, Jesus and the apostles did not heal “everybody.” Matthew records, “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matt. 13:58). Moreover, the ultimate sickness is death, which is at an appointed time (Heb. 9:27) that very few escaped (Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11)) even in Jesus day (Lazarus, but only temporally). Thus, doctors are still needed, for though they do not heal they may assist with pain management and other treatments – for which the current author and many others are very grateful.
Fourth, some are not healed immediately, or at all, so God may be glorified (John 9:3). In addition, some have concluded that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” may have been some sort of sickness or disease which gave glory to God (2 Cor. 12:7 ff, it may also have been a harassing demon or the constant harassment of Jewish persecutors). However, while it is impossible to prove that Paul was actually sick in this text, few, if any, of God’s greatest servants throughout history have been free from some kind of hindrance, weakness, or opposition (Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible, p. 1887). Thus, there is still a need for doctors.
Fifth, the gift of miracles and healings appear to come for specific periods of time throughout the redemptive history: (1) the time of Moses and Joshua, (2) the time of Elijah and Elisha, and (3) the time of Christ and the Apostles. God moved in tremendous ways during these ages. However, none of these periods lasted more than 100 years (please note, there are some isolated miracles not in these periods (2 Kings 19-20, Daniel 3), and I personally believe that isolated miracles of this sort may still be possible today – but this is not the norm). This is significant as it reveals that God has chosen to move in different ways in redemptive history. For whatever reason(s) God has not chosen to always heal as he did in the day of the Apostles. He allows us the knowledge that sin is still very devastating. Glory to God.
Sixth, our Lord has called us to pray for the sick (Jam. 5:14 ff). It should be noted that just prior to this that James teaches a lesson on patience in suffering (Jam. 5:7-12). It should also be stated here that olive oil (Jam. 5:14) had a common medicinal use in the ancient world (Mark 6:13; Luke 10:34), but the oil had a symbolic use in reference to the healing power of God. Thus, all the sick are not healed in the same way – even in the New Testament – revealing that God does things in different ways, even during the same historical age.
Thus, there is still a genuine need for competent doctors. Sin is ravings the bodies of humanity more and more with each passing decade. Though there has been numerous astounding strides in medicine, in the United States alone there were 2,397,615 deaths in 2004 (STATS: National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). Only 112,012 of these were unintentional injuries, leaving millions to have died by heart disease, cancer, strokes and assorted other ailments. Of course, this number does not include the millions of individuals that lived through and still may be sick and suffering. Thank God he has given us doctors, medicine, and hospitals. Christ is still alive making intercession for us (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25).
For more on miracles please consult the articles: (1) A Test Case: Miracles and (2) Pastoral Healing in the Miracles Controversy.
Answer by: Joseph R. Nally, Theological Editor, on behalf of the staff at IIIM. The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily the “official position” of Third Millennial Ministries.