Power Healing: Divine Healing and Biblical Theology―An Inspiring Classic for Today's Christian Ministry

by John Wimber, Kevin Springer, Richard J. Foster (Introduction)

“A major work on divine healing, soundly based on biblical scholarship and thoroughly immersed in hands-on ministry experiences.” —C. Peter Wagner, Fuller Theological Seminary   Power Healing by John Wimber, with co-author Kevin Springer, is an illuminating and inspiring look at the power of divine healing. Based on John Wimber’s profound belief that healing is fundamental to the ministry of Jesus Christ, Power Healing explores healing in the Old Testament and in the works of Jesus and his disciples, and offers practical models for today’s healing ministry. One of the founding leaders of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship and author of Power Evangelism and Power Points, John Wimber has given the world a classic overview of the curative power of faith.

Genres: Christian, Spirituality, Prayer, Nonfiction, Theology, Faith, Christian Non Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

John Richard Wimber was a musician, charismatic pastor and one of the founding leaders of the Vineyard Movement, a neocharismatic Evangelical Christian denomination which began in the USA and has now spread to many countries world-wide.

Reviews

[Juanita Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Christian and are interested in Healing, this is probably the book for you. John Wimber gives practical explanations for healing through prayer and also gives personal experience to go along and give examples to help explain. It is fairly basic, but I found that helped more than hindered. Being basic, it is still informative. Unless you are already really knowledgeable in this area. It helped me to define experiences that I have either had myself or seen happen to others. I used it as a sort of devotion to supplement my prayer time and found that God really used this time to grow my personal prayer life.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a calm and gentle read, if books can be said to be such. Wimber develops a biblical theology of healing. He gives a brief rundown of cessationism and in response develops a biblical, supernaturalist worldview. He notes that cessationists often misunderstand the purpose of healing. It isn’t simply to “prove that Jesus was God or the Apostles were right.” It was more. It:
Demonstrates Christ’s compassion and mercy (Matt. 14:14).
Demonstrates God’s kingdom has arrived (Matt. 4:23).
Brings people to repentance (Luke 10: 8-12).
Shows the gospel is intended for Gentiles as well (Luke 7:1-10).

Healing is more than just healing of the body. It is holistic (Wimber understands that word can be misused by New Agers, but it’s still a good word). Healing includes: forgiveness of sins, restoration from sickness, breaking oppressive structures, deliverance from demonic power, and raising the dead (Wimber 38).

Is sickness the Devil? Sometimes. Sometimes we get sick because of natural courses, sometimes because of demonic activity, and sometimes both. Wimber does deal with the inner healing model, but since other writers (Kraft et al) have focused on that, I will move on.

Visible Manifestations

This area really challenged me, as I am wary of Charismatic excesses. Yet, there are Scriptural precedents.

Shaking and trembling: Gen. 42:28, Exod. 19.16; Ezra 9.4; Isaiah 66.5; Jer. 5:22, passim

Falling over: Dan. 817; 10:8-9; Acts 9.4

Appearing Drunk: Hannah, in 1 Sam. 1:12-17

Divine healing is applied to at least four areas: the spirit, the effects of past hurts, the body, and demonization (224).

Conclusion

Much of the book is anecdotal, which made it extra engaging. It’s hard to find where Wimber is wrong. I am convinced.

[Sara Jonsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

En klassiker.

[Brandon H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Power Healing by John Wimber is an excellent defense of the healing ministry in the church today. It's sad I have to frame it in those terms because many in the West have embraced the post-Biblical doctrine called, "cessationism." It's also an important resource for those in the church that are hungry to see God heal and move supernaturally. While I didn't agree with every single thing put forth in the book, the claims of the author are well grounded in scripture and well argued.

Besides the stories, I especially enjoyed the theological depth in the book, especially the discussion of whether or not healing is part of the atonement Christ provided in His suffering and death. After reading this section, I actually changed my position on that subject.

I also enjoyed that the author dared to address the somewhat controversial subject of the strange manifestations that often accompany healings, moves of the Spirit, revival, worship services, etc. A great companion book to that subject would by John White's book, "When the Spirit Comes with Power."

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone praying for a sick loved one, interested in ministering healing, called to heal the sick, or any Christian that struggles with skepticism over the supernatural.

[Bethany R · Rating 5 out of 5]

The practicality of this book is unmatched. The supernatural explained so simply and humbly by John is a testament to the Holy Spirit who is behind the power he describes. This has been a summer of healing. Claiming my own healing and longing for gifts of healing and speaking in tongues. God had me on my knees praying every few chapters in this book so it took a long time to finish. I’m so grateful for John’s wisdom and this book so we can continue to seek Jesus’ power through the Holy Spirit for the Glory of the Father for the sake of the gospel to impact the world.

[Darren Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book twice! My first reading began in the appendix section and from there I read the chapters that caught my interest the most. I realized that a cursory reading would not be enough, so I reread the book cover to cover.

Reading John Wimber confronts my own notions about "divine healing" and how the Spirit of God works in a believer. Wimber was greatly influenced by the Theology of George E. Ladd's Kingdom of God teachings. This book makes me excited about getting in on all that God is doing, but at the same time it has made me question the relationship of healing and the atonement. Wimber has led me to further study of the Scriptures and other authors like Jack Deere, Ken Blue, Charles Kraft, John White...

I appreciated John Wimber's desire to be authentic and his concern for relationship rather than mere formula. He tried to avoid the entrappings of many faith healers like those in the Word of Faith Movement, better known as the health and wealth gospel.

more later...

[Charles Redfern · Rating 5 out of 5]

A landmark book in my own ministry. I had heard of Wimber shortly after becoming a pastor in 1989 and understood he was a man of integrity -- which was vital to me: most "healing ministry" I witnessed involved shouting and the infliction of guilt over the unhealed. Wimber was far different. He anchored his ministry in a solid theology and counseled gentility while praying -- and no fair blaming those who saw no results. Wimber didn't try to make the Holy Spirit do anything; rather, he tapped into the activity of the Holy Spirit and went with His will. After a long dry spell, he saw people healed and experienced God's out-of-this-world activity. I was spellbound by this book -- and even more so when I implemented its teaching and saw results before my eyes.

I read both the first and second editions. The first was far better.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Wimber succeeds where most authors fall short on this topic--in practical application. Many books on the subject of divine healing leave me saying, "that's great, but now what?" Wimber takes enough time to establish a practical theological foundation for what he has experienced in divine healing, and then devotes the appropriate amount of time to the application of those practices. A reader of this book has at least a start to, as Wimber would say, "go do the stuff," and this book is unique among its peers in that regard.

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I read a book with the expectation that it will be more extreme in its theological views than it is. The text, all too often, is more moderate in its claims than those who have read the text before me. This was the case with Power Healing.

Some significant notes:
Carol Wimber looked up every Scripture reference to tongues and interpretation, discovering that they were all related to praise to, or about, God - never in regard to God's instructions to believers in a "Thus sayeth the Lord..." mode. (p25)

Wimber's initial opposition to divine healing came from a doctrinal stance that, ultimately, was revealed to him as a façade for the unbelief and skepticism of his own heart. (p66)

Divine healing is a better term than miracle healing, faith healing, supernatural healing or psychic healing. Miracle healing can come from Satan, faith healing implies the faith may come from us and not Jesus, supernatural healing is not necessarily from God but may be demonic in origin, and psychic healing is occult in nature. (p26f)

God does not directly will evil. God does directly remove evil. God sometimes overcomes evil not by removing it directly but by accomplishing His purposes through it. He frustrates evil and turns it to His good intentions. What this means in practice is that there are many kinds of evil we do not approach passively. (p36)

With Jesus' coming, there was an overflow of God's mercy and compassion in healing, and health was no longer exclusively a reward for obedience, nor sickness a judgment. (p55)

Unlike the Old Testament, the minority of all illnesses in the New Testament are the direct result of habitual sin in the individual. So sickness may be caused by our own sinfulness, but not all sickness is caused by sin. (p57)

Of the 3774 verses in the gospels, 484 relate to physical and mental healing as well as resurrection. These 484 verses describing Jesus' healing miracles constitute 38.5% of the 1257 narrative verses. (p59)

Under Roman law, an adopted son was recognised in the same way as a natural son and, on adoption, all records of his previous life were destroyed, indicating that he was a new person. He had all the privileges of a natural son, including inheritance. (p88)

Michael Scanlan defines brokenheartedness as "the centre of love within [being] shattered, never again to be the same source of giving and receiving love." (p101f)

Other than in the rite of baptism, the early church used exorcism on water and food, places and persons. (p130)

Self-deliverance is possible, but fraternal deliverance or pastoral deliverance may be necessary. (p137)

Despite the prayers of the saints, some people in the early church were not healed immediately:
Timothy, Ephaphroditus, Trophimus and Paul himself. (p163)

Some commentators (eg RA Torrey) believe healing is part of Christ's atonement, others (eg J Sidlow Baxter and Colin Brown) do not think it is. (p166) Baxter believes in healing through the atonement, but not in the atonement. That is, it is an outcome of the atonement and is a blessing of it, but is not a promise for all, such as forgiveness of sins is. (p166f)

Russell Spittler translates charismata in 1 Corinthians 12:9 as “gracelets”. (p203)

Dunamis can be translated as miracles or power.

Intercession comes from the Latin for “to go between” or “to pass between”. (p217)

Demons talk to distract the minister from casting them out. It is wise to silence them. (p241)

One method for identifying evil spirits is to consecrate parts of the body. If the person reacts negatively at a specific point, then it is wise to identify, silence and cast out. (p243)

Hospitals are difficult places for healing. This may be because they are places under the authority of those who oppose divine healing (being influenced by materialism and rationalism). (p274)

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wimber’s biblical balance truly amazes me. His conviction to pray for healing despite his experience not always matching up with what he sees in scripture is inspiring.

Wimber is theologically and practically challenging in this work. “Power Healing” pushes me into riskier continuationism.

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings significant understanding and emphasis through God's word on the importance of healing. It talks about steps to heal, and what to expect when healing. Huge emphasis on healing happening by the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

In, Power Healing, John Wimber seeks to place healing in the biblical and ongoing ministry of the church and offer a practical model for this ministry.

“By 1977 I believed God could heal the sick today. There were many factors that contributed to the evolution of my thinking and attitude about divine healing: new knowledge gained from Scripture study and prayer; my experience… and the Holy Spirit’s Continual prodding” (44).

In his study of scripture Wimber looked for patterns. He would look at instances of sickness and healing in the old and new testaments and chart the characteristics of the events (like the one in Appendix D). In this way he built himself a biblical systematic theology of healing. This is the way he handles the scripture in this book as well. He gives us the characteristic patterns of healing citing various instances in scripture to support his claim. In this way his treatment of scripture isn’t an inductive exposition as much as it is a look at scripture through the lens of divine healing.

Wimber alternates between his story of reluctantly coming to the healing ministry and exploring the patterns of healing he discovered in scripture and practice. The way he builds his argument from experience into scripture has the effect of taking skeptics of their guard. He was a skeptic and makes his arguments implicitly, as an explanation of his personal discoveries. I get the sense that the experiences he describes at the beginning of a chapter set up some assumptions for the rest of the exploration. The rest of the treatment, then, isn’t so much a proof as it is an exploration of the outcomes of these assumptions. For instance in his chapter, “An Unlikely Healer,” Wimber describes his encounters with God that convince him that God is still active in healing ministry, then the rest of the chapter he discusses reasons that God does heal today, using the patterns in the Old and New Testaments that he had found. The experiences brought Wimber, “to a place where I was open to his supernatural work in my life” (34). They changed his underlying assumptions about scripture and invite the reader to approach the scriptures he will present with the assumption that the supernatural is at work today.

My own experience has lead me to a place similar to Wimber as he started out. As I entered early adulthood I was desperately hungry to see God move through me. I have always been hounded by fear. To begin with I wanted God to give me the boldness to evangelize, then in college the boldness to speak up when I felt I had a word of prophesy or interpretation of tongues. I have had an enchantment with the Power of God and I too wanted to play in that power.

A couple of things slowed down my search and probably still affect me as I read Wimber. Once, when I was beginning to experiment in delivering a word, the pastoral staff called me out as being out of order. I made an inward vow that night to no longer seek God to use me in that way again. Another, more positive, lesson learned was that I didn’t have to run after displays of God’s power to enjoy God’s presence and activity in my life. When I was a youth sponsor, the youth group made a few trips to a revival that was going on in Pensacola Florida. It was wonderful and refreshing to be immersed in worship and the ministry of the Spirit in power. One trip, though, I couldn’t go. God made it all right by meeting me in a more powerfully personal way that week alone. While I don’t doubt the power of the Spirit moving today and I still hunger for God to move, these experiences left me struggling with the place of these displays of power and my own roll in them. I appreciated Wimber’s story and the way he struggled with me as I read.

I find Wimber’s experiences and the practical model for healing prayer that he offers to be the strengths of the book. He gives me permission to hunger again and challenges me to make healing a part of our ministry. I wrestle with how to do this. His integrated method for praying takes time and a lot of emotional investment. Even if I was completely prepared to make that kind of commitment, my congregation, who are quickly out the door are likely not. I have started making more of a concerted effort to pray for healing individually during the service, touching each with my hands and anointing with oil. I would like more involvement from the congregation. Often my experiences with healing services include getting lost in worship for extended periods. Getting my congregation to worship is difficult, perhaps there is a connection to explore in relation to the move of the Spirit.

Where I have a hard time agreeing with Wimber is when he discusses sexuality. I suspect he inherited the Augustinian view of sex that twisted the church for so long (though I’m not convinced that Augustine was as hard on sex as the church later would be). I am not convinced that homosexuality is a disease in need of cure or that masturbation is inherently sinful. That aside, Wimber’s warning that these may be indications of demonic influence for people bound sexually is well taken.

[Stefan Salonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the swedish version Helandets kraft.

[Matthew C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably even more practical than Power Evangelism. Fantastic stuff, and I enjoyed the anthropologist's perspective at the end.

[Richard Worden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Fred Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a bit challenging to me. I had already read a good bit of Dallas Willard but was trying to overcome the results of my own prior deep conviction that all divinely manifested power had left with the death of the last person who was directly empowered by the original apostles and Paul.

Fortunately, Wimber starts with his own early experiences and deep struggles with much the same misunderstanding.

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid theology of healing meets real testimonies of God's healing power today. I enjoy Wimber's honest and holistic approach to healing. He is a breath of fresh air to a movement that is all too often hijacked by money hungry con-artists. Wimber gives me hope that healing and Spirit-led ministry can be done in a tasteful and God-honoring way.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on miraculous healing. The name of the book sounds sensationalist, but the book is actually very down-to-earth, informative, and scripturally based. I found it immensely helpful to my own limited understanding of this kind of ministry.

[Kevin Pons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro con mucho valor teológico e histórico. Le pongo 3 estrellas porque es una obra que a muchos ratos es lento y tedioso de leer. Para nada es una buena obra en la forma, pero sí en el fondo. Recomendado a quienes quieran entender la importancia de la sanidad sobrenatural.

[Jacquie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must read for all who want to learn how to pray for others!

[Pete Husky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive biblical and practical book. Scholarly, full of integrity, and with a humility which is refreshing. John Wimber is the most gifted healer of my generation.

[Carey Oster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this book down! Loved it!!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought God into today for me.