Healing

Healing

These are Chapel Hill Church’s core beliefs on healing.

  1. God is sovereign. He heals his people by whatever means and in whatever time he chooses. (Mt. 8:1-3; Mk. 1:40-42)
  2. God alone is the source of all restoration and healing.
  3. Spiritual reality encapsulates every aspect of human life, affecting mind, body and soul. (Job, esp. chapter 1); (Mt. 9:5; Mk. 6:12-13; 9:17; Lk. 10:17-20; Eph. 2:1-6) 
  4. God is in the process of bringing wholeness, best described by the biblical term “shalom.” (Mt. 9:1-8; Mk. 2:5-12)
  5. All healing is for the chief purpose of glorifying God. (Mt. 4:23-25; 9:8; 15:30-31; Mk. 2:12; 5:19-20; Acts 14:3)
  6. Whether or not healing occurs, God ultimately uses all things, including suffering, to his glory. (Mk. 2:9-12; Acts 9:33-35, 36-42; 14:3)
  7. We at Chapel Hill  believe in miraculous healing as taught in Scripture. We also believe God heals in many ways, including through medicine, counseling, and Christian community. 
  8. Jesus demonstrated the Father’s desire for our healing and his compassion for us in our infirmity. This is why we continue to intercede with prayer for healing, both individually and corporately. (Mt. 9:36; 12:12; 14:14; 20:34; Mk. 1:41)
  9. God sometimes considers people’s faith in deciding when to heal. (Mt. 9:2; Mk. 2:5; 6:1-6; 9:19, 23; 10:52; Lk. 18:42; Acts 14:9-10)
  10. People are designed to operate within a community of truth which is loving, accountable, and honest. We must depend upon one another both in ministry and in our individual lives for confirmation and correction as we seek to follow the will of God in all matters, including sickness, health and healing.
  11. Humankind is fallen. A particular illness may or may not be related to a specific sin in an individual’s life. However, every illness is a symptom of the fallen, sinful state of all humanity. (Mt. 9:5; Mk. 5:21-34; Westminster Confession 6.031-6.036)
  12. A believer experiences ongoing freedom from demonic power through a trusting relationship with Christ characterized by submission to his authority, reliance upon his power and protection, accountability to other believers, and the practice of spiritual disciplines. (Eph. 4:20-27, 29-5:4; 5:8-21; 6:10-20; 2 Tim. 1:3-7; 2:1-3, 8-13)
  13. Jesus gives believers the authority and power, through the Holy Spirit, to release others from demonic influence. (Mk. 6:7, 12-13; Lk. 10:17-19)
  14. Satan and demons cannot attain absolute authority over or possession (ownership) of a believer, who is under the authority of the indwelling Holy Spirit. However, a believer can be influenced by demons, who can wield persistent power if given access through sin (the believer’s sin or that which has been committed against the believer). (Rom. 6:12; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Col. 1:13)
  15. Satan is no match for God, lacking God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Satan is a created, fallen, finite being who works against the purposes of God. (Mk. 3:11-12; 5:1-20; Lk. 10:17-19)
  16. God has defeated Satan and the power of evil, but until Satan is abolished, God allows him to test and challenge God’s people. (Mk. 3:10-12; Revelation)
  17. Every believer will ultimately be healed, either in this life or in the next. “…He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)