Uponyaji, Miujiza, na Vita vya KirohoHealing, Miracles, and Spiritual Warfare

Karibu na Moyo wa VuguvuguNear the Heart of the Movement

Tangu mwanzo kabisa, uponyaji na miujiza vimesimama karibu na moyo wa vuguvugu tunalojifunza. Wapentekoste wa kwanza waliwaombea wagonjwa na kushuhudia kupona kwao; uamsho wa karismatiki ulipeleka matarajio hayo ndani ya makanisa ya kihistoria; na leo katika Kusini mwa Dunia (Global South) yote, maombi ya uponyaji na hisia kali ya vita vya kiroho ni alama ya sehemu kubwa ya maisha ya kila siku ya vuguvugu hili. Kwa waamini wengi, hasa mahali ambapo dawa na huduma za afya ni haba, imani kwamba Mungu bado huponya na bado huokoa kutoka kwa nguvu za giza si fundisho linalojadiliwa kwa mbali, bali ni tumaini wanaloishi nalo.From the very beginning, healing and the miraculous have stood near the heart of the movement we are studying. The early Pentecostals prayed for the sick and testified of recoveries; the charismatic renewal carried that expectation into the historic churches; and across the Global South today, prayer for healing and a keen sense of the spiritual battle mark much of the movement's daily life. For many believers, especially where medicine is scarce, the conviction that God still heals and still delivers is not a doctrine debated at a distance but a hope they live by.

Kwa hiyo ni lazima tuulize waziwazi Maandiko yanafundisha nini. Je, Mungu huponya leo? Je, karama ya kuponya ni halisi? Je, kila mwamini ameahidiwa afya ikiwa tu ataamini? Vita vya kiroho ni vya namna gani, na vinapiganwaje? Kama ilivyo katika kozi hii yote, tutathibitisha kile ambacho Maandiko yanathibitisha, tutakataa kile ambacho yanakataa, na tutayatenganisha maswali mawili — kwa maana kama Mungu huponya ni jambo moja, na kama uponyaji umehakikishwa wakati wowote unapodaiwa ni jambo jingine kabisa. Nasi tutalishika somo hili lote, kama inavyotupasa, tukinyenyekea chini ya Neno na Kristo akiwa katikati.So we must ask plainly what the Scriptures teach. Does God heal today? Is the gift of healing real? Is every believer promised health if only he believes? What is the nature of the spiritual conflict, and how is it to be fought? As throughout this course, we will affirm what Scripture affirms, decline what it declines, and keep two questions apart — for whether God heals is one matter, and whether healing is guaranteed on demand is quite another. And we will hold the whole subject, as we must, in submission to the Word and with Christ at the center.

Mungu HuponyaGod Heals

Anza na ukweli mkuu unaofurahisha: Mungu huponya. Tangu kurasa za kwanza kabisa za Maandiko Yeye anajifunua kama Mponyaji wa watu wake — "mimi ndimi BWANA nikuponyaye" (Kut 15:26) — na Zaburi zinamhimidi kama Yeye "Akuponya magonjwa yako yote" (Zab 103:3). Ugonjwa uliingia ulimwenguni pamoja na Anguko na si sehemu ya mpango wa asili wa Mungu; na mara kwa mara, kwa rehema zake, Yeye ameurudisha nyuma.Begin with the great and gladdening truth: God heals. From the earliest pages of Scripture He reveals Himself as the Healer of His people — "I am the LORD who heals you" (Ex 15:26) — and the Psalms bless Him as the One "who heals all your diseases" (Ps 103:3). Sickness entered the world with the Fall and is no part of God's original design; and again and again, in His mercy, He has driven it back.

Katika Bwana Yesu rehema hii ya uponyaji ilifikia ukamilifu wake. Yeye "alikuwa akizunguka katika Galilaya yote… na kupoza kila ugonjwa na kila udhaifu katika watu" (Mt 4:23), na baadaye Petro alifupisha huduma yake katika sentensi moja: "ndiye aliyezunguka huko na huko, akitenda kazi njema na kuwaponya wote walioonewa na Ibilisi, kwa sababu Mungu alikuwa pamoja naye" (Mdo 10:38). Mitume, kwa jina lake, waliwaponya viwete na wagonjwa baada yake. Kukana kwamba Mungu huponya kungekuwa ni kufumba macho yetu tusione ushuhuda ulio wazi wa Maandiko na huruma ya Kristo Mwenyewe.In the Lord Jesus this healing mercy reached its fullness. He "went about all Galilee… healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people" (Matt 4:23), and Peter later summed up His ministry in a single sentence: He "went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38). The apostles, in His name, healed the lame and the sick after Him. To deny that God heals would be to close our eyes to the plain testimony of Scripture and to the compassion of Christ Himself.

Karama ya Kuponya na Maombi ya KanisaThe Gift of Healing and the Church's Prayer

Wala rehema hii ya uponyaji haikuacha kuligusa kanisa. Miongoni mwa karama ambazo Roho huzigawa, Paulo anataja "karama za kuponya" (1 Kor 12:9), naye Yakobo analipa kanisa agizo lililo wazi kwa ajili ya wagonjwa walio miongoni mwa washiriki wake:Nor did this healing mercy cease to touch the church. Among the gifts the Spirit distributes, Paul names "gifts of healings" (1 Cor 12:9), and James gives the church a plain instruction for the sick among its members:

"Mtu wa kwenu amekuwa hawezi? Na awaite wazee wa kanisa, nao wamwombee, na kumpaka mafuta kwa jina la Bwana. Na kule kuomba kwa imani kutamwokoa mgonjwa yule, na Bwana atamwinua."Yakobo 5:14–15 (SUV)"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up."James 5:14–15 (NKJV)

Kwa hiyo watu wa Mungu hawapaswi kuukabili ugonjwa kwa kuinua mabega tu, kana kwamba uponyaji ni jambo dogo mno kwa maombi yao au ni nje ya uwezo wa Mungu wao. Wanapaswa kuomba, na kuomba kwa imani, wakimwita Bwana aponyaye na kumwomba awainue wagonjwa. Kama karama za ishara za ajabu za kipindi cha mitume zinaendelea kama zilivyokuwa wakati ule ni swali ambalo kozi hii inalipima mahali pengine; lakini kwamba kanisa linapaswa kuwaombea wagonjwa kwa bidii, na kumtazamia Mungu atende, hilo halina ubishi. Pale anapoponya, tunamshukuru; nasi tunaomba kwa ujasiri, kama watoto wa Baba anayefurahia kutoa vipawa vyema.So the people of God are not to meet sickness with a shrug, as though healing were beneath their prayers or beyond their God. They are to pray, and to pray in faith, calling on the Lord who heals and asking Him to raise up the sick. Whether the extraordinary sign-gifts of the apostolic age continue as they were then is a question this course weighs elsewhere; but that the church should pray earnestly for the sick, and look to God to act, is beyond dispute. Where He heals, we give Him thanks; and we ask boldly, as children of a Father who delights to give good gifts.

Lakini Si Uponyaji kwa KudaiBut Not Healing on Demand

Hapa, hata hivyo, ni lazima tuseme kwa uangalifu, kwa maana ukweli halisi umepotoshwa na kuwa kosa la kikatili. Wengine hufundisha kwamba kila mwamini ataponywa daima ikiwa tu imani yake ina nguvu ya kutosha — kwamba afya ni haki iliyohakikishwa ya injili, na kwamba uponyaji usipokuja, kosa ni la kutokuamini kwa mtu mgonjwa. Hili Maandiko hayataliruhusu. Yanatuwekea mbele watu wacha Mungu walioomba na hawakuponywa, wala hayahusishi jambo hilo hata mara moja na kushindwa kwa imani.Here, however, we must speak carefully, for a real truth has been twisted into a cruel error. Some teach that every believer will always be healed if only his faith is strong enough — that health is a guaranteed right of the gospel, and that if healing does not come, the fault lies in the sick person's unbelief. This the Scriptures will not allow. They set before us godly men who prayed and were not healed, and they never once trace it to a failure of faith.

Paulo mwenyewe ndiye mfano ulio wazi kuliko yote. Mara tatu alimsihi Bwana amwondolee "mwiba katika mwili," na mara tatu jibu halikuwa uponyaji aliotafuta bali neema kubwa zaidi:Paul himself is the clearest case. Three times he begged the Lord to remove his "thorn in the flesh," and three times the answer was not the healing he sought but a greater grace:

"Neema yangu yakutosha; maana uweza wangu hukamilika katika udhaifu."2 Wakorintho 12:9 (SUV)"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV)

Wala huo haukuwa mfano pekee wa namna hiyo katika mzunguko wa Paulo mwenyewe. Yeye "Trofimo nalimwacha huko Mileto, hawezi" (2 Tim 4:20); alimwambia Timotheo atumie divai kidogo kwa ajili ya tumbo lake na magonjwa yake ya mara kwa mara (1 Tim 5:23), ushauri ambao hangeutoa kamwe kama angedhani ugonjwa huo ni alama ya kutokuamini; na Epafrodito alipokuwa hawezi "karibu na kufa," Paulo aliita kupona kwake rehema ya Mungu, si zawadi ya kanuni fulani (Flp 2:27). Hata Bwana Yesu, kwenye birika la Bethzatha, alimponya mtu mmoja kati ya umati wa wagonjwa waliolala pale. Basi, uponyaji ni wa Mungu kuutoa kama apendavyo, kwa rehema — kamwe si mshahara ambao mwamini anaupata kwa nguvu ya kuamini kwake.Nor was this the only such case in Paul's own circle. He "left Trophimus in Miletus sick" (2 Tim 4:20); he told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach and his frequent infirmities (1 Tim 5:23), counsel he would never have given had he thought the illness a mark of unbelief; and when Epaphroditus was sick "almost unto death," Paul called his recovery the mercy of God, not the reward of a formula (Phil 2:27). Even the Lord Jesus, at the pool of Bethesda, healed one man out of a multitude of the sick who lay there. Healing, then, is God's to give as He wills, in mercy — never a wage the believer earns by the strength of his believing.

Sasa na BadoThe Now and the Not Yet

Basi, kwa nini Mungu huwaponya wengine na si wengine sasa? Maandiko hayatupi jibu lote, lakini yanatupa mfumo ambamo tunaweza kupumzika. Uponyaji kamili na wa mwisho — mwisho wa magonjwa yote, huzuni zote, na mauti yenyewe — ni wa ufufuo na wa ulimwengu ujao, nao umeahidiwa huko bila kumwacha mtu yeyote:Why, then, does God heal some and not others now? Scripture does not give us the whole answer, but it does give us the framework in which to rest. Full and final healing — the end of all sickness, sorrow, and death itself — belongs to the resurrection and the world to come, and is promised there without exception:

"Naye atafuta kila chozi katika macho yao; wala mauti haitakuwapo tena; wala maombolezo, wala kilio, wala maumivu hayatakuwapo tena; kwa kuwa mambo ya kwanza yamekwisha kupita."Ufunuo 21:4 (SUV)"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."Revelation 21:4 (NKJV)

Mpaka siku ile, tunaishi katika "bado." "Tunaugua ndani ya nafsi zetu, tukiutazamia… ukombozi wa mwili wetu" (Rum 8:23), na uponyaji wetu wa sasa, ingawa ni halisi na wa neema, ni malimbuko (ladha ya mapema) ya uzima ule kamili wa mwisho kuliko kufika kwake kikamilifu. Mungu anaweza kuponya sasa, na mara nyingi huponya, kama rehema na ishara ya kile kinachokuja; lakini pia ana makusudi ambayo mateso yanaweza kuyatumikia — kukamilishwa kwa uweza wake katika udhaifu wetu, kuzidishwa kwa tumaini letu kwake, na, kama ilivyokuwa kwa yule mtu aliyezaliwa kipofu, kudhihirishwa kwa kazi zake Mwenyewe (Yn 9:3). Mwamini ambaye bado hajaponywa hajaangushwa na Mungu; anangoja, pamoja na viumbe vyote, uponyaji ulio hakika.Until that day, we live in the "not yet." We "groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for… the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:23), and our present healings, real and gracious as they are, are foretastes of that final wholeness rather than its full arrival. God may heal now, and often does, as a mercy and a sign of what is to come; but He also has purposes that suffering can serve — the perfecting of His strength in our weakness, the deepening of our trust, and, as with the man born blind, the display of His own works (John 9:3). The believer who is not yet healed has not been failed by God; he is waiting, with all creation, for a healing that is sure.

Miujiza na Moyo Unaotafuta IsharaMiracles and the Sign-Seeking Heart

Kile kilicho kweli kuhusu uponyaji ni kweli pia kuhusu miujiza kwa upana zaidi. Mungu ni mwenye enzi juu ya uumbaji wake na anaweza kufanya maajabu; hakuna kitu katika Maandiko kinachoufunga mkono wake. Ishara na maajabu ya kipindi cha mitume yalitumika kuithibitisha injili ilipohubiriwa kwa mara ya kwanza, "Mungu naye akishuhudia pamoja nao kwa ishara na maajabu" (Ebr 2:4). Kama karama hizo za ishara zinaendelea kwa namna ile ile leo ni swali lililo wazi linalopimwa katika sehemu nyingine, nasi hatulimalizi hapa; lakini kwamba Mungu bado anatenda, bado anajibu maombi, na anaweza kuponya kupita maelezo ya kibinadamu, tunathibitisha kwa furaha.What is true of healing is true of the miraculous more broadly. God is sovereign over His creation and is able to do wonders; nothing in Scripture shuts His hand. The signs and wonders of the apostolic age served to attest the gospel as it was first preached, God "bearing witness both with signs and wonders" (Heb 2:4). Whether such sign-gifts continue in the same manner today is the open question weighed in other units, and we do not settle it here; but that God still acts, still answers prayer, and can heal beyond human explanation, we gladly affirm.

Hata hivyo Maandiko pia yanaonya dhidi ya aina fulani ya njaa ya miujiza. "Kizazi kibaya na cha zinaa kinatafuta ishara," Bwana alisema (Mt 12:39), akiwakemea wale waliotaka maajabu kuliko walivyomtaka Mungu. Moyo uliojielekeza kwenye ishara unaweza kumwacha Mtoaji na kuvifuata vipawa, ukithamini mambo ya kustaajabisha kuliko Mwokozi na kupima imani kwa maajabu badala ya kwa utii na upendo. Tunapaswa kumtafuta Mungu Mwenyewe, kumtumaini kama atatupa au hatatupa ajabu tunaloomba, na kukumbuka kwamba muujiza mkuu kuliko yote si mwili ulioponywa bali nafsi iliyookolewa na kubadilishwa.Yet Scripture also warns against a certain hunger for the miraculous. "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign," the Lord said (Matt 12:39), rebuking those who wanted wonders more than they wanted God. A heart set on signs can drift from the Giver to the gifts, prizing the spectacular over the Savior and measuring faith by marvels rather than by obedience and love. We are to seek God Himself, to trust Him whether or not He grants the wonder we ask, and to remember that the greatest miracle is not a healed body but a saved and changed soul.

Uhalisi wa Vita vya KirohoThe Reality of Spiritual Warfare

Sambamba na uponyaji, vuguvugu hili daima limechukulia kwa uzito uhalisi wa vita vya kiroho, na katika hili liko sahihi, kwa maana Maandiko yako wazi kwamba maisha ya Kikristo ni vita. Kuna adui halisi, Ibilisi, na kuna nguvu halisi za kiroho za uovu zilizojipanga dhidi ya watu wa Mungu:Alongside healing, the movement has always taken seriously the reality of spiritual warfare, and in this it is right, for Scripture is plain that the Christian life is a battle. There is a real enemy, the devil, and there are real spiritual powers of evil arrayed against the people of God:

"Kwa maana kushindana kwetu sisi si juu ya damu na nyama; bali ni juu ya falme na mamlaka, juu ya wakuu wa giza hili, juu ya majeshi ya pepo wabaya katika ulimwengu wa roho."Waefeso 6:12 (SUV)"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

Basi, hatupigani tu dhidi ya wapinzani wa kibinadamu au dhidi ya udhaifu wetu wenyewe; nyuma ya hayo yote yupo adui wa kiroho, mjanja na mwenye nia mbaya, ambaye "kama simba angurumaye, huzunguka-zunguka akitafuta mtu ammeze" (1 Pet 5:8). Kujifanya kwamba sivyo, kuuchukulia ulimwengu wa roho kama hadithi tu, ni kunaswa bila kujua katika vita vinavyopiganwa kweli. Mwamini lazima awe na kiasi na kukesha, wala asikose kuzijua hila za adui.We do not fight, then, merely against human opponents or against our own weakness; behind these stands a spiritual adversary, cunning and malicious, who "walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet 5:8). To pretend otherwise, to treat the spiritual realm as a fable, is to be caught unaware in a war that is really being waged. The believer must be sober and watchful, and must not be ignorant of the enemy's devices.

Vita kwa Kipimo cha KibibliaWarfare in Biblical Proportion

Lakini Maandiko pia yanaviweka vita hivi katika kipimo cha uangalifu, na hapa vuguvugu hili wakati mwingine limejikwaa. Silaha anazotoa Mungu si mkusanyiko wa mbinu, kanuni, au taratibu za kusisimua; ni kweli, haki, utayari wa injili, imani, wokovu, Neno la Mungu, na maombi (Efe 6:14–18). Ushindi haupokonywi kutoka kwa adui kwa maneno sahihi wala kwa sauti kubwa kuliko zote; ni wa Kristo, ambaye "akiisha kuzivua enzi na mamlaka" msalabani, "alizifanya kuwa mkogo kwa ujasiri" (Kol 2:15). "Mpingeni Shetani," Yakobo anaandika, "naye atawakimbia" (Yak 4:7), naye Yohana anatuhakikishia, "yeye aliye ndani yenu ni mkuu kuliko yeye aliye ndani ya dunia" (1 Yoh 4:4).But Scripture also keeps this warfare in careful proportion, and here the movement has sometimes stumbled. The armor God gives is not a set of techniques, formulas, or sensational rituals; it is truth, righteousness, the readiness of the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer (Eph 6:14–18). Victory is not wrung from the enemy by the right words or the loudest voice; it is Christ's, who "disarmed principalities and powers" at the cross and made a public spectacle of them (Col 2:15). "Resist the devil," James writes, "and he will flee from you" (James 4:7), and John assures us, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

Kwa hiyo tunaepuka makosa mawili yanayopingana. Upande mmoja kuna kukana kunakoyapuuza mapepo kuwa si halisi; upande mwingine kuna kuzama kupita kiasi kunakoona pepo nyuma ya kila ugonjwa, kila dhambi, na kila bahati mbaya, na kunakompa Ibilisi uangalifu zaidi na sifa zaidi kuliko Maandiko yanavyompa kamwe. Kulaumu pepo wabaya kwa taabu zetu zote ni kujitetea katika dhambi yetu wenyewe na kusahau udhaifu wa kawaida wa mwili na mvuto wa dunia. Tumaini la mwamini haliko katika ustadi wake wa mapambano ya kiroho bali katika Bwana wake; anamtazama adui, lakini anamweka Kristo katikati, na ni Kristo, si Ibilisi, anayejaza mawazo yake na sifa zake.So we avoid the two opposite errors. On one side is the denial that dismisses the demonic as unreal; on the other is the obsession that finds a demon behind every illness, every sin, and every misfortune, and that gives the devil more attention and more credit than Scripture ever does. To blame all our troubles on evil spirits is to excuse our own sin and to forget the ordinary weakness of the flesh and the pull of the world. The believer's confidence is not in his skill at spiritual combat but in his Lord; he keeps the enemy in view, but he keeps Christ at the center, and it is Christ, not the devil, who fills his thoughts and his praise.

Jeraha la KichungajiThe Pastoral Wound

Kama ilivyo kwa mafundisho ya injili ya mafanikio, makosa yanayohusu uponyaji si kwamba ni makosa tu; yanajeruhi. Mfikirie mwamini, ambaye tayari anabeba uzito wa ugonjwa wa muda mrefu, anayeambiwa kwamba ugonjwa wake unaendelea kwa sababu imani yake ni dhaifu mno — au familia inayoomboleza inayojulishwa kwamba mpendwa wao alikufa kwa kukosa kuamini. Juu ya maumivu ya mwili, mafundisho kama hayo yanaongeza maumivu ya hatia ya uongo, na yanamsingizia Mungu aliye karibu zaidi na waliovunjika.As with the prosperity teaching, the errors around healing are not merely mistaken; they wound. Picture the believer, already bearing the weight of a long illness, who is told that his sickness lingers because his faith is too weak — or the grieving family informed that their loved one died for want of believing. To the pain of the body such teaching adds the pain of false guilt, and it slanders the God who is nearest to the broken.

Maandiko yanasema neno la upole zaidi na la kweli zaidi. "BWANA yu karibu nao waliovunjika moyo" (Zab 34:18). Mwiba wa Paulo ulibaki, na neema ya Mungu ilitosha. Mchungaji mwaminifu atawaombea watu wake kwa bidii wapone, na atatumia kila rehema ya kawaida ya dawa na matunzo bila aibu — kwa maana Luka, yule tabibu mpendwa, alikuwa mwenzi wa Paulo mwenyewe, na divai ilikuwa dawa aliyoandikiwa Timotheo. Lakini kamwe hatawatwika wanaoteseka mzigo mzito wa lawama unaoponda; atawafariji kwa uwepo wa Mungu na utoshelevu wa neema yake.The Scriptures speak a kinder and truer word. "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart" (Ps 34:18). Paul's thorn remained, and God's grace was enough. A faithful shepherd will pray earnestly for the healing of his people, and will use every ordinary mercy of medicine and care without shame — for Luke, the beloved physician, was Paul's own companion, and wine was Timothy's prescribed remedy. But he will never lay upon the suffering the crushing burden of blame; he will comfort them with the presence of God and the sufficiency of His grace.

Kuyashika Pamoja: Kristo MponyajiHolding It Together: Christ the Healer

Basi, tuyashike haya yote pamoja kwa namna gani? Tunawaombea wagonjwa kwa ujasiri, tukimtazamia Mungu atende, nasi tunawapaka mafuta na kuweka mikono kama Yakobo anavyoagiza. Tunatumia njia za kawaida ambazo Mungu ametupa, tukimshukuru kwa dawa na ujuzi kama vipawa vyake. Tunanyenyekeza maombi yetu chini ya mapenzi yake, tukiomba kama yule mwenye ukoma alivyoomba, "Bwana, ukitaka" (Mt 8:2), na kama Bwana wetu Mwenyewe alivyoomba bustanini, "si mapenzi yangu, bali yako." Tunavichukulia vita vya kiroho kwa uzito, lakini kwa kipimo cha Kibiblia, tukipumzika katika ushindi wa Kristo uliokamilika. Nasi tunawafariji walioteswa badala ya kuwahukumu.How, then, shall we hold all this together? We pray boldly for the sick, expecting God to act, and we anoint and lay on hands as James directs. We use the ordinary means God has given, thanking Him for medicine and skill as His gifts. We submit our asking to His will, praying as the leper did, "Lord, if You are willing" (Matt 8:2), and as our Lord Himself did in the garden, "not My will, but Yours." We take the spiritual battle seriously, but in biblical proportion, resting in Christ's finished victory. And we comfort the afflicted rather than condemning them.

Katika hayo yote tunakumbuka kwamba Mponyaji ndiye Mwokozi, na kwamba lengo la kila uponyaji na kila ukombozi kutoka kwa nguvu za giza ni kumtukuza Yeye na kuelekeza zaidi ya jambo lenyewe — kwenye uponyaji mkuu zaidi wa nafsi kutoka katika dhambi, na kwenye uponyaji wa mwisho wa ufufuo, atakapofuta kila chozi. Anaweza kuuponya mwili sasa, kwa rehema; ataupoza kikamilifu wakati ule, katika utukufu; na katika uzima au katika mauti, katika ugonjwa au katika afya, Yeye Mwenyewe ndiye tumaini la mwamini.Through it all we remember that the Healer is the Savior, and that the aim of every healing and every deliverance is to glorify Him and to point beyond itself — to the greater healing of the soul from sin, and to the final healing of the resurrection, when He will wipe away every tear. He may heal the body now, in mercy; He will heal it fully then, in glory; and in life or in death, in sickness or in health, He Himself is the believer's hope.

Tukitazama MbeleLooking Ahead

Katika sehemu inayofuata tutachukua maswali ambayo yamepita chini ya sehemu kubwa ya somo hili na kuyashughulikia moja kwa moja: kama unabii na kunena kwa lugha vinaendelea katika kanisa leo, na jinsi karama yoyote ya namna hiyo inavyohusiana na Maandiko yaliyofungwa na kukamilika. Tutaweka hoja yenye nguvu zaidi ya kila upande na, kama kawaida, tutaipima kwa Neno.In the next unit we take up the questions that have run beneath much of this study and press them directly: whether prophecy and tongues continue in the church today, and how any such gift relates to the closed and completed Scriptures. We will set out the strongest case on each side and, as ever, weigh it by the Word.

Maswali ya MajadilianoDiscussion Questions

• Kanisa linawezaje kuomba kwa ujasiri kwa ajili ya uponyaji huku likinyenyekea pia chini ya mapenzi ya Mungu?How can a church pray boldly for healing while also submitting to God's will?
• Kwa nini si kweli, tena ni ukatili, kumwambia mwamini mgonjwa kwamba ugonjwa wake unathibitisha imani dhaifu?Why is it both untrue and cruel to tell a sick believer that his illness proves weak faith?
• Ni mifano gani kutoka katika Maandiko inayotuzuia kuamini kwamba uponyaji umehakikishwa wakati wowote unapodaiwa?What examples from Scripture keep us from believing that healing is guaranteed on demand?
• Tunawezaje kuvichukulia vita vya kiroho kwa uzito bila kuangukia katika kuzama kupita kiasi katika mambo ya mapepo?How do we take spiritual warfare seriously without falling into obsession with the demonic?

Matumizi katika HudumaMinistry Application

Andika sentensi mbili au tatu za faraja ambazo ungeweza kumpa mwamini aliyeomba uponyaji na hakuupokea, zikiwa zimejengwa juu ya ukaribu wa Mungu na utoshelevu wa neema yake.Write two or three sentences of comfort you might offer a believer who has prayed for healing and not received it, grounded in God's nearness and the sufficiency of His grace.