“What I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6)
“Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” (Acts 9:34)
“Stand up on your feet!” (Acts 14:10)
Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matt. 21:21)
The fig tree was a real fig tree, and it dried up when Jesus spoke to it. Jesus didn’t ask God; He spoke to the tree, and it died. It wasn’t a spiritual fig tree. Thus, the category is material or physical. When facing mountains in the material world, Jesus didn’t ask God for help but spoke directly to the problem. He then instructs the disciples to do the same: to speak to the mountain or problem and command it in faith, knowing God’s power will back their words. Jesus didn’t tell the disciples to inform God of their problem or mountain or to present a sad sob story about how bad it is. Rather, He said to speak to the problem and tell it what you want it to do.
After the baptism of the Spirit in the opening salvo of the Book of Acts, the disciples did just that. In Acts 3, Peter didn’t tell God how awful it must be for the cripple to suffer so long and beg God to find it in His will to heal the man. No. Peter spoke to the mountain or problem—sickness. He said, “What I have, I give.” It’s not what God has or what God gives. Peter declared the power to heal is what he has and what he gives. He then said, “In Jesus’ Name, walk.” He spoke to the mountain and told it what he wanted: “Walk.” This is exactly what Jesus instructed.
In Acts 9, Peter says, “Jesus heals you, get up.” Peter doesn’t tell God about the mountain of sickness; rather, he tells the sickness what he wants: “Get up.” Peter obeys Jesus’ instructions for interacting with material mountains and problems. In faith, tell them what you want them to do, whether it’s killing a tree, casting it into the sea, healing the sick, or telling a fish to bring you money.
In Acts 14, Paul looks at the mountain of sickness and speaks to it like Peter, saying, “Stand up on your feet!”
These commands are both spoken to the mountain and serve as instructions for the person to act on faith. Because they believe they are healed, then they need to do something they couldn’t do before. This is integrated into speaking to the mountain of sickness. It’s a powerful way to administer healing.
God gave Moses the Staff of God. When they were backed against the sea, God told Moses to stop monologuing about His help and use the Staff of God to divide the sea. Thus, it was not God who divided the sea in the most direct sense, but Moses divided the sea, using God’s power. However, what we have is greater than the Staff of God. We have the name of Jesus Christ engraved on our tongues. We are part of Jesus and so we use His Name as our own.
Jesus didn’t whine to God about fig trees or mountains—He told them what to do, and they obeyed. In Acts, Peter and Paul channel that vibe, bossing sickness around like pros: “Walk!” “Get up!” “Stand!” No sob stories, just faith-fueled commands backed by Jesus’ name. Speak to your problem, not about it—whether it’s a tree, a mountain, or a coinless fish, tell it who’s boss and watch God’s power roll.
For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of law: “The man who does these things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith SPEAKS in this way: “Do NOT SAY in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it SAY? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” —that is, the WORD OF FAITH which we are preaching, that if you CONFESS with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he CONFESSES, leading to salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 10:5-11
The Word of Faith actually does something. It confesses. It declares. It opens its mouth and lets the truth fly out loud. It’s not called the “thought of faith,” because the whole point is about saying and speaking it, not merely thinking it in some quiet mental corner.
Paul’s immediate context here is all about righteousness and salvation. He points out that the Jews simply didn’t have the knowledge of God’s righteousness. Sure, the Old Testament had been talking about faith the whole time, but they disregarded it and tried to get righteous by their own sweat and effort instead.
Faith, in its most foundational definition, is just a mental assent to God’s word and promise. But in the Bible — take Abraham as the classic example — it was always a faith that spoke. It was spoken with bold confidence as if it were already true before it ever happened. Because of God, Abram called himself the father of many nations long before the son of promise ever arrived.
God created us with a body, after all, and that body comes with a mouth. He didn’t design us to agree with the truth only in our heads; He wants us to speak it, sing it, declare it, and let it ring out. This is exactly what James is getting at when he says faith without works is dead. Speaking faith is honestly the smallest work you could possibly do — it’s the bare-bones minimum. It’s like Jesus’ parable about the money bags: the master told the last servant who hid the cash, “At the very least, you could have put my money in a bank and gotten interest.” Your words are that minimum deposit on the promise.
Faith is a mental agreement with everything God has commanded and spoken, whether it’s a historical fact or a sparkling promise of healing. But in the context of a promise — especially the gospel — you’re agreeing about something God has already promised, and in the gospel you’re agreeing it has already happened and been given to you. So in the gospel, faith often gets spoken in shorthand: Faith isn’t my love for God — it’s God’s love for me. Faith is confidence in God’s promise, not our ability. Faith is receiving God’s free supply by grace, not our performance. And faith is God giving to us, not us giving to God.
Paul now expands on what faith really means when it comes to righteousness. The first thing faith speaks is to avoid saying the wrong thing altogether. He gives a crystal-clear example: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up into heaven?” or “Who will go down into the abyss?” The point is simple. Since righteousness is freely given in the gospel, you don’t have to do a single thing to earn it. Jesus, as our Savior, was the Father’s plan from the start. By His own choice He went down, did all the hard work, and by the power of God He went back up. In the context of righteousness accomplished by Jesus, the first thing for faith to speak is a firm “Nope!” to any claim that you did something to make yourself righteous, healed, famous or rich.
Next, Paul shows that faith has plenty of positive things to say. Because the gospel is already finished, faith isn’t just silent mental assent anymore — it’s a living Word of Faith that must be confessed out loud. Why the upgrade from heart to mouth? Because God did something massive for you, and you’re simply called to receive it. The smallest, bare-bones work to authenticate that faith is to open your mouth and declare it. That’s why Paul says you believe in your heart (leading to righteousness) but you also confess with your mouth (leading to salvation). This combo is what saves you.
The biblical principle of first mentions takes us right back to Abraham. He believed and confessed he was the father of many nations before it ever happened, and by that spoken faith God freely credited righteousness to his account. Abraham didn’t work or earn it; it was pure unmerited favor. Think about it. He had to introduce himself as the Father of many Nations to his neighbors before he ever saw the promise fulfilled. Abraham is praised for his faith, and he’s the father of it all. His very name was a Word of Faith declaration! As true children of Abraham who claim to have faith, we also must live this Word of Faith lifestyle.
The Bible shows the children of faith who followed Abraham also lived a “Word of Faith” that confessed and declared confidence in all the good things God promised. David’s Faith Spoke in front of the giant and crowds: “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46 NIV). The Hebrews had a Word of Faith to the King of Babylon: “Our God will deliver us.” Joshua’s Faith Spoke: “Sun, be still.” Peter’s Faith Spoke this way: “What I do have I give to you: Walk, in the Name of Jesus.” There are many ways to say a Word of Faith. Like a child, a simple “thank you” or praise is all that’s needed for Faith to speak.
Abraham’s own Word of Faith was rock-solid confidence that God would perform all the good things He promised: healing, miracles, fame, riches, and every blessing. Galatians tells us the gospel was preached to Abraham — and that gospel was all about making him famous, rich, overly healthy, and powerfully blessed. God didn’t promise those things for Himself; He promised to do them for Abraham. Abraham believed God would make it happen, and God declared him righteous for believing every bit of that health, wealth, and fame. According to Paul, Scripture calls this the “gospel,” and the same gospel is now given to us through Jesus Christ. Through Abraham, God showed Himself as the Savior of the whole man — body, soul, and spirit. God is pleased when we look to Him as total Savior, and the more we ask for (health, wealth, favor), the more He supplies and the more He is glorified. Less glory for God means… well, less glory.
The Word of Faith is this unshakable confidence in God’s word and promise. Faith sees what God promised as already given and deposited into our accounts, so it speaks, knowing the reality has already been set in stone. It’s like a parent who buys the exact gift their child has been wanting, wraps it, and places it right on the bed. The parent says, “I got you something special — it’s already on your bed.” The child’s eyes light up and they scream “Thank you!” because even though they haven’t unwrapped it yet, they know it’s already theirs.
Vincent Cheung nails this in “Adventures of Jesus Christ,” echoing an illustration similar to what F.F. Bosworth taught in “Christ the Healer,” but with a sharper focus on the “already done” aspect. He writes, “When God tells you that a miracle will happen, believe it. When God promises to do a thing for you, accept that he will do it… The Bible says many things that are more than promises, but it tells you that something is already done. Imagine if I say to you, ‘I have put a present in your room.’ And you answer, ‘Well, you will do it if you want to.’ Would that not be silly? I told you that I have already done it, and that the present is already in your room, but you answer as if it is not yet done, and that you are not sure if it would happen at all. Again, it is like you think I have not said anything. It is like you are calling me a liar.”
Yet some people still doubt that Jesus will forgive or heal them. That’s like the child saying, “I don’t believe you put a gift on my bed,” even though it’s sitting right there. It’s insulting — you’re calling God a liar after He’s already done it. Others try to sound humble: “Okay, I believe when you’re dead it’ll be in your will,” or “I’m not worthy to accept it.” None of the excuses work. All of them expose unbelief.
Faith in your heart is how you know it was for you. You’re not saved by asking God to save you; you’re saved by confessing with thanksgiving that Jesus has already forgiven, healed, and prospered you. Peter told the crowd at Pentecost to “repent” and be saved — he didn’t say “ask to be saved.” Because forgiveness and righteousness have already happened, you repent knowing it’s finished. To ask God to forgive you and credit Jesus’ righteousness is like asking Him to re-crucify His Son. Faith receives something God has already given.
There’s a reason the New Testament commands us to always give thanks, always sing songs and psalms to God. Thanksgivings, songs, and psalms are the constant voice of faith; they are word of faith confessions. Many Psalms are straight-up, Name It and Claim it, confessions. Let faith speak nonstop. Faith confessions are living activity of a born-again spirit; they make the inner man strong. They are your lifeblood, especially when eyes, feelings, and circumstances scream the opposite. Double down on the Word of Faith!
Faith has a megaphone — it’s the Word of Faith shouting God’s done-deal promises. Abraham said He was the Daddy of Nations before the kid showed up, and God gave him a righteousness high-five that still echoes. Confess Jesus’ finished work — from healing to riches and everything in between.
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” … 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit… 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed… 38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” 39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. 40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus. (Mark 1:15, 23, 32, 38-40 NLT)
A few quick observations:
After Jesus was anointed as a man by the Spirit for ministry, Mark shows His first church service and ministry involved casting out a demon. Scripture reminds us that judgment begins in the house of God. We are also reminded that churches can become safe houses for demons and prisons for the suffering when the faithless and powerless are in charge. Mark presents a sequence: Jesus declares the Kingdom has come, and His first church ministry is casting out the kingdom of demons, thereby ushering in God’s kingdom. If a space is filled with demons, it is occupied by the kingdom of darkness. The first step, then, is to remove them so the kingdom of God can replace it and take residence. That same evening, Mark shows Jesus continuing to cast out demons and heal the sick; this demonstrates how the kingdom of God comes “near us.”
The next observation comes from verses 38-40. Jesus declares He came to preach the gospel. What’s striking is how Mark defines “preaching” in the following verse. It begins with “therefore” or “so,” implying a necessary consequence of the previous statement. Because Jesus was sent to preach, He went to the next town to “preach and cast out demons.” Mark equates preaching with casting out demons, as if they are inseparable. We’re not saying preaching and casting out demons have identical definitions—nor is Mark. However, Mark is defining the ministry of preaching, which is tied to bringing the Kingdom of God near, as preaching with miracles. Preaching the gospel that brings the Kingdom near, cannot be separated from casting out demons and healing the sick. The next verse reinforces this with a leper being healed. As Paul says, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” Preaching proclaims the power of God unto salvation, which requires the very power it proclaims. To Mark and Jesus, preaching that the Kingdom of God has come near isn’t preaching unless demons are cast out and the sick are healed.
Churches with benches full of depressed and demonized people, or sick members who return week after week unchanged, are churches where the kingdom of God has not come near.
“Mark’s Jesus doesn’t just preach with a mic—he kick drops demons and heals the hurting like it’s all part of the sermon. If your church is a demon daycare and the sick leave sicker, maybe the kingdom’s still social-distancing,” (Grok xAi 2025 summary).
“And when [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged,” John 16:8-11 NLT
Picture this: Jesus ascends to the Father like the VIP He is, and the Holy Spirit swoops down to earth like a divine fact-checker, ready to set the record straight on sin, righteousness, and judgment. Jesus even gives us the SparkNotes version of each.
First up, “the” sin of the world—singular, folks—is that people refuse to buy what God’s revealing, especially the whole “Jesus is God’s Son” revelation.
Second, the cosmic swap meet—our sin for Jesus’ righteousness—went down at the atonement, but the official press release? That hit when Jesus rose and got the VIP seat at the Father’s right hand of Power. This was the courtroom gavel slam declaring that everyone Jesus died for is now rocking the “Righteousness of God” title. And trust me, it’s not because of our stellar résumé—God’s the one with the authority, power, and dominion here. The law’s DIY righteousness kit? Total flop, thanks to its pesky human origins.
Third, judgment. Salvation’s a two-parter (we will only focus on the first aspect), Judgment. This is like storming the gates, with guns blazing, to free your enslaved loved one by taking out the bad guys. Exhibit A: Israelites wading through the Red Sea while Pharaoh’s army gets a watery goodbye. Exhibit B: Jesus on the cross, shredding Satan’s accusation privileges (Revelation 12:10) and teleporting us from the devil’s grip (Colossians 1:13) to His kingdom. Greater is Jesus in me than that cosmic loser out there. By judging and trashing Satan’s works, Jesus pulls off the ultimate rescue mission. Jesus vs Satan in this context, is the archetype of Hero vs villain. Jesus won. Pharaoh’s army drowned while Israel was delivered; Satan’s power was broken while humanity was redeemed. This frames judgment not as something believers fear but as something already accomplished on their behalf, securing their freedom. We’re free, because our enemy’s toast.
Now, let’s get to the juicy bit. Jesus dropped this as a mic-drop moment for the whole sinful world, but if you’re already “born-from-above”—congratulations, you’re in the club—what’s this mean for us? We’ve already had our sin epiphany, repented, got the forgiveness stamp, and unlocked the power to heal sickness and evict demons like it’s our day job. So, what’s the Spirit correcting now?
For believers, who have already accepted Jesus, the sin of unbelief no longer defines them. Instead, the Spirit’s role shifts to a positive correction—reminding them of their new reality in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “Paul writes, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (NLT).
The big idea: if you’re already God’s righteousness, the Spirit isn’t here to wag a finger and say, “You’re not righteous, you naughty thing.” No, He’s correcting you when you forget you’re basically divine royalty and start moping around like a spiritual peasant. The word “convict” here means “correct”—when you’re off-the-mark. Pre-salvation, the Spirit was all, “Yikes, you’re a mess.” Post-salvation? It’s, “Honey, you’re dazzling—act like it.” The correction’s positive now, a holy hype session. You’re not seeing yourself as the perfect, glorious righteousness of God? That’s what He’s fixing.
Romans 8:1 declares, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
If you’re saved and still hearing a naggy voice droning on about how sinful you are, newsflash: that’s not God. It’s either Satan doing his accusatory shtick or you secretly loving a good self-pity party. Sure, the Word’s a sharp sword—ouch, it’ll call out sinful behavior when you’ve been sinful. But that’s about your actions. The Spirit’s correction we’re vibing on here? It’s about your shiny new reality in Jesus. He is correcting our vision when we forget our royal status as co-heirs with Jesus. It’s a call to live boldly from that identity He’s whispering (or shouting, if you’re stubborn) in our hearts, “You’re perfect, righteous, glorious—a prince of heaven! So why are you slumming it with sin? It’s beneath you.” You’re righteous, so act righteous. You’re heaven’s VIP, not some back-alley chump chatting up thieves and creeps. You’re a co-heir with Jesus—stop rummaging in human resources’ dumpster and cash that check from heaven’s bank account: withdrawing from “heaven’s bank account” for all the good things Jesus has already give to you by grace.
That’s the Spirit’s vibe today. So, double-check the voice you’re tuning into—it better be the Spirit’s, not some sleazeball demon with a guilt trip agenda.
——
[Grok (xAI), 2025. Proofreading, copyediting, and stylistic enhancements.]
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.”
We are not talking about denying the resurrection of Jesus, the Trinity, or the forgiveness of sins. Instead, we examine denying people their carnal desires for good sex in marriage and good food. Keeping Christian men from penetrating women in marriage is demon business. According to the Good Book, some morons will ditch faith faster than a priest at a strip club, chasing after demon whispers, from those whose consciences are as burnt as last night’s lasagna.
Marriage offers the pleasure of sex and the joy of family. Although God is a God of fertility and family joy, the biblical emphasis in marriage is on sex. Hence, this becomes our basic emphasis. The Bible has an entire book, the Song of Songs, dedicated to this, not family. Think about that. The Spirit of God, who wrote the Bible, gave the high title, “The Song of Songs,” to celebrate the romance and sex between a man and a woman, not to praise Jesus. Your worldview should include this. Christian sex should be world-envied.
These doctrines did not originate from men but from demons. The concept of restricting sex and food was so vile, a demon conceived it. They’re straight from Satan’s playbook. Only a demon would come up with banning burgers and apple pie. God’s all about the bangin’ and the breedin’, but these fools say no, you can’t enjoy your steak or your spouse.
Some have conspired with demons to spread these doctrines, making them human too. This is the opposite of Isaiah 55. These demon thoughts are too low for a human to think it. Only a demon could think it, and by demon manipulation humans think Satan’s thoughts after him.
The passage states these men have seared their souls with a hot iron. These trash have seared their own souls, not from too much sex or food, but from denying it to others. That’s some twisted stuff! This could mean they become perverted after searing their souls, or teaching such doctrines does this, or both. Either way, the horror is the same. I’ve never heard a pastor use the phrase “seared their conscience with a hot iron” in this context. What else do our pastors not tell us?
Not rejecting the resurrection, but rejecting carnal sex and food is so dark, vile, and rebellious it’s labelled a demon doctrine.
From this, we learn demon dogmatics withhold good things meant for Christians. These doctrines oppose the blessings given to God’s elect. God has given good things in creation, in Abraham and in Jesus, but demon dogmatics are designed to snatch and steal this knowledge. The goal is to ensure faith never has a chance to receive them.
Thus, “how much more,” would rejecting good things, such as miracle ministry, faith and the baptism of the Spirit, be demon doctrine. These good things have the blood of Jesus stained on them, and so they would be greater. If withholding sex is demonic, how much more so is withholding healing and miracles, which Jesus’s blood bought? If withholding a juicy steak is devil’s work, imagine what denying healing or miracles means – that’s like Satan on steroids!
Healing is good; it was part of the atonement, and Jesus spent much time healing, when He could have spent more time preaching. As Peter said, Jesus went about doing “good,” healing all oppressed by the devil. Supernatural healing is a very good thing in the Bible.
And so, to teach healing by putting it behind a paywall of, “if God wills it,” is a demon dogmatic. They block healing’s door, like bouncers at a club you can’t get into. Such a thing is so delusional that only a mind as perverted as a demon, could imagine it.
Jesus said, “if you are not with me, then you are against me.” He said this in context of blaspheming a ministry of healing, miracles and casting out demons. It is the ultimate devil dogmatic.
Those who evangelize these doctrines deserve all the harsh rebukes scripture gives them. Cut them out of your life as you would any demon. Demons cannot enjoy God’s good things and out of envy, they use pastors to propagate their dogmatics, keeping you from God’s gifts.
So, if you’re with Jesus, you’re all about the healing, the miracles, the good stuff his blood paid for. If not, you’re with the other team, the one with the horns and pitchforks.
Cast them out. Expose them for who they truly work for.
[1] Grok Ai 2025 personal editing. Grok aided with proof-reading and some witty summaries.
You did not ask to come into existence. Its not about you. Reality is God’s playdough, and He creates reality how He wants for His own goals. I was given the gift of existence whether I wanted it or not.
Reality is God’s Lego set, but unlike Legos, He created the stuff to build the stuff. H2O does not naturally make water; it acts like water because God decided to make it consistently behave that way. Reality is God’s arbitrary choice.
Some try to play down God’s sovereignty for various reason, but some do it because they think it hurts our ability to have faith and work miracles. This is a shame, because the bible specifically uses election and predestination as a foundation for more faith and miracles and answered prayers.
This is also true when we consider sin and righteousness. Take for example Romans 9 and 5. We are told God chooses to love one and hate another based on His own choice and not based on the good or bad choices of the person. God molds each person from a neutral lump of clay, for His own goals. In Romans five we read Adam fell, and thus, this fall includes God being the ultimate cause. There is no dualism in the bible. Man is responsible because man is not free, but under God sovereign control and command.
In romans 5, it says all people after Adam are born sinners, or born with a sinful mind already in them. Because God is the only cause in reality, He therefore creates every person after Adam with a sinful mind. Because we reject pantheism, then it means God caused the sinful nature, but is not sinful Himself. God is not what He creates or causes. God is not a tree, even though He creates a tree and causes it to be a tree.
The same God who created you caused you to be born as a sinner. I did not ask to be born I did not asked to be born with a pre-installed sinful mind. God did this all on His own. I was never asked or consulted.
The list of sins in my mind is irrelevant. God said He is the judge of reality, and only His on thoughts about my list of sins or obedience is the list that matters. God never asked me about this, or asked if I wanted this. Its His Legos, its His playdough, its His program, its His story.
Same God who caused all of this is the same God who caused me to be righteous. Out of favor to me, God sent His only Son to be a propitiation for my sins. In the Father’s mind, my sinful list was transferred to Jesus’ list, and so the Father punished Jesus for having my sinful list. In addition to this Romans 5 says, in the Father’s thoughts, He considered Jesus’ righteous action to be transferred to my list, as if I did it. Because of this, my sinful nature is removed, I get born from above with God’s mind, and I rule in life with Jesus.
Just as with everything preceding this, I did not ask God to send His Son out of love for me. God did not ask me or get my permission. He just did it, because reality is His personal Lego set. He put me together. He originally put me with the bad guys, in the Lego playground He made. However, later He gave me a new Lego head and relocated me in the good-guys part of the Lego set. He did not ask or consult me about it. He did it, because He wanted to. When God gave me faith, it was when God was letting me know the good things He did for me.
The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is to bulldozer over any sense of lack and over any consciousness of sin.
It is about God, not you. When Satan or your old way of thinking wants to condemn you, or remind you of past sins, the goal is to make it all about you. The goal is to make you fight a battle on the wrong hill. The hill that matters, which will determine who wins or loses, is God’s actions, not yours.
As Romans 5 says, it is the gift of unearned favor and righteousness that makes me rule in life with Jesus. Just as the gift of existence was given to me without my asking or consent, and likewise, the gift of unmerited favor and the gift of Jesus’ righteousness was given to me without my asking or consent. It is about God’s work, not mine. The Holy Spirit causing me to believe this is God letting me know about what He did for me. Just as the gift of existence does not come and go for me, the gift of unmerited favor and my righteous standing, and sonship, and my royal priesthood does not come and go. Just like a child pulling off a red leg piece, from a Lego man, and then replacing it with a green leg piece, God did this for me in Jesus Christ. Being righteous is my definition, my identity and my reality. It is about Him, not me. It is about what Jesus already did for me, and what is already me and already mine.
In the sense of affirming reality and my definition, then it is about me. God has already finished the atonement and caused me to be born from above. I am already a new creation, with new definitions. I am the righteousness of God. I am what I am, by the grace of God, but I am still what I am. I am the righteousness of God. I am a royal priesthood. Jesus has given me the royal authority to heal all sickness and cast out all demons. Jesus has given me the position to boldly march into His royal throne room to ask and receive. Jesus has given me the position to sling His Name around to ask whatever I want and get it. It is about God and not me. This reality is God’s Playdough, and this is how God has shaped and made me.
Thus we have boldness in the Day of Judgment. Because just as Jesus is, so are we in this world. God’s love is perfected in us, when we have no fear, but only faith, joy and confidence, for all the good things God has done for us.
The Christian God is a God of wealth and for our present focus, a God of good Real Estate. In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. We are told every day how God made the earth better and better real estate. After making a perfect and good real estate God created man. God gave the dominion of this luxury real estate to man. God commanded man to use his dominion, to dominate the earth, to be blessed and multiply. God gave the world to man. However, man sinned against God, by believing the word of a snake over the word of God. The first doctrine man learned in this, was the doctrine of faith. Man should have believed God.
God cursed man for his sin. Because man had dominion of God’s rich real estate, God’s curse greatly effected this aspect in two primary ways. First, this good real estate was cursed with corruption. This premium real estate that worked with man, now worked against him. Second, the dominion of the earth that was given to man, God revoked and transferred into the hands of the devil (Eph. 2:2, Luke 4:6).
However, not all was lost. After man learned the importance to believe God and not other epistemologies, God made a promise that a savior would be born from a woman, who would destroy the devil. An important consequence of the savior destroying the devil would arise. The devil would lose his dominion over the earth that he received because of man’s sin.
The start of God transferring His premium real estate back to man, started with Abraham. God promised Abraham an onslaught of good things, and among these good things was the world itself. Paul says in Romans “God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on [righteousness] that comes by faith.”[1] Paul summed up all the good things promised to Abraham by boiling it down to good real estate. Also, Abraham did what Adam did not. Abraham believed God.
God started the entire world transfer with promising Abraham a specific piece of good real estate. When Abraham’s children were later slaves to the Egyptians, God told Moses that He must bring the Israelites to the “Promise” Land, because God “promised,” Abraham that land. God is faithful to His promises. Jacob must possess his inheritance.
In Jesus Christ the gentiles have been grafted into God’s promise to bless Abraham. Paul argues, it was a promise based on grace, not works, and is received by faith. Jesus’ atonement does not make it obsolete, but ensures those who are saved by His atonement also receive the blessing of Abraham. Paul sums up the blessing of Abraham as the Spirit and miracles.
Paul also makes a substitutionary contrast with Jesus taking on our curses, and giving us the blessing of Abraham. Part of the curses that came with the law was bad real estate and/or having no real estate. One curse was to have your real estate filled with wild animals that would attack and harass you. Jesus was not only nailed to a tree, as a curse of the law itself, but had a crown of thorns on His head. This symbolized the curse of the ground from Genesis, which mentions thorns. In exchange Jesus gave us the blessing of Abraham.
We can see how the blessing of Abraham overrides the curse of Genesis, when Issac reaped 100-fold in a time of famine and drought. The curse should have worked against Issac. The land was not producing and was doing its job to work against man. But Issac, through the blessing of real estate, override the curse and produced 100-fold. The passage goes on to say that Issac was made wealthy because of this. His blessing over real estate made him wealthy. This wealth from real estate was God’s mercy and love to Abraham and his descendants. This wealth made him the envy of kings. It gave Abraham and his descendants fame and gave them audiences with powerful people.
Because the blessing of real estate from the start was a “good” thing, and because it was a “good” thing given to Abraham, and a “good” thing ensured by the atonement of Jesus, it means it is a good thing for God’s children to be people of wealth and real estate. It is good in and of itself, and it is good because by such, Christians can richly fund the advance of the gospel. Rather than giving only 10%, they can give 20, 30 and 60% of their abundance to the gospel. Even if a Christian is a masochist, who likes being poor, they should stop being so selfish with their so-called faith and by it gain wealth and real estate, so they can give it all away, to the gospel, worthy widows and ministries.
Also, heaven is a real place. It is real, real estate. God’s elect have houses there. They have fantastic real estate promised them. Jesus is not invisible. He sits on a real throne, on the best real estate. Hell is also real. It is the worst sort of real estate. It is a land you do not want to live on.
The Christian God is a God of real estate. It was so from the beginning. It was so in Abraham, and it is so through Jesus Christ. We need to take off our limited, self-debasing thinking and embrace the God of real good, real estate. It is given freely by God, by unmerited and undeserved favor, and is received freely by faith in Jesus Christ.
“What I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6 NIV.)
Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? (v.12)
Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days… He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.” (v.24-25).
The first statement from Peter would get you kicked out of most churches. God’s power healed the cripple. This is the context. Peter didn’t say, “What Jesus has, Jesus gives to you,” or “what Jesus has, I give it to you.” No. Peter said, “What I have, I give to you.”
Peter did affirm the ultimate level of reality by saying, this was not our godliness or power. This is like saying, “when I shot the man who was trying to kill me, the gun and the bullet is not my power. It wasn’t my power that blew a hole through his chest.”
The power is God’s, but God gave the power to Peter and Peter pulled the trigger by saying, “in the Name of Jesus, walk.”
How does Peter have this power? Do we have it?
The power is the Spirit and the authority is the access to use Jesus Name. Jesus said, “if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God.” And so, it was the Spirit’s power not Jesus’ power, when He was healing and casting out demons. In John 14:10 Jesus also says, the Father does His works, referring to the miracles Jesus was doing. Thus, Jesus was not doing miracles by Jesus’ power, but the Spirit’s power. The power of the Spirit, Jesus gives to us, as Peter argues in Acts chapter 2. It was promised by the Father, and Jesus sitting at God’s right hand ensures the Spirit of power is poured out on all those God calls to Himself. Jesus said, referring to the Spirit, that life giving waters will flow out of our inner man. The authority is given to us to use Jesus’ name to ask for whatever we want. Jesus says this 4 to 5 times in John 14-16.
Our identity in Jesus, as Peter says, means we are a royal priesthood. We are not just sub-heirs with Jesus, but co-heirs with Him. We are called children of God. Paul says in Ephesians that all blessings have already been given to us, and that we are already seated in the heavenly places with Jesus, above all names, times and authorities. All of this means we have divine, heavenly and royal authority. The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable.
Also, as purchased gifts we have power and authority. The power of the Spirit is a promise of the Father to Jesus, to give to us, upon His resurrection. It is part of the finished atonement and resurrection of Jesus. The authority to use Jesus’ Name is our definition for having our identity in Jesus. Water baptism means we are raised in new life, with Jesus, as part of Jesus. This new identity includes having the definition to wield Jesus’ name to ask for whatever we want.
What is interesting about this, is that it has nothing to do with apostles. It is centered on the finished work of Jesus and His current position of ruling from the Power’s right hand.
Peter makes a last reference to Abraham. The context is why the man was healed in the Name and power of Jesus, and how Peter did it, and how the man received it by faith in Jesus. Peter’s last point to explain all of this was Abraham and God’s promise to bless all people through his offspring. Think about that. According to Peter, the ability to use Jesus Name, and power to heal, is based on the blessing of Abraham. This blessing, as Peter also says, means forgiveness and salvation. But our point of interest in the context of Peter explaining the healing to the authorities.
It was not as if Abraham is so important, but that God made a promise. Abraham was asleep. It was all God. God gave a promise to bless Abraham with fame, favor, healing, supernatural healing, wealth, victories and etc, and to do the same with his children, and by this bless the whole world. Paul argues in Galatians 3, that the atonement of Jesus did not replace Abraham’s blessing, but Jesus’ crucifixion grafts us into this blessing. Jesus took on our curses and in substitutionary exchange gave us the blessing of Abraham. Paul also sums up this gospel as the “Spirit and miracles,” which is received by faith in Jesus. Paul says the power of the Spirit for miracles is part of Abraham’s blessing, and Peter sums up the access to use Jesus’ Name to heal as part of Abraham’s blessing.
Acts opens of with Jesus’ command to receive power by the baptism of the Spirit. The first miracle is Peter claiming to have Jesus’ authority. Rather than saying it was a gift of the Spirit, Peter says it was faith in Jesus that caused the healing. Thus, the first miracle was performed by normal discipleship faith. Peter knew his identity and authority in Jesus. He knew about the privilege and command to use Jesus’ name to heal the sick and cast out demons. He then used it. Peter then says this is part of Abraham’s blessing.
Why is this important. It is important because we have the same blessing of Abraham. The blessing of Abraham is not one thing for one person and something different for another. The only real factor is faith. Your faith determines how much you can extract out of your blessing in Abraham. This is why Paul rebuked the Galatians. Their faith in Jesus, giving them access to Abraham’s blessing, extracted miracles for them. But now they want to abandon faith for works. A relationship of works will stop the miracles that came to the Galatians, from being grafted into Abraham’s blessing.
Lastly, remember again, this has nothing to do with apostles. It is about God and how faithful, true and awesome He is in keeping promises. God made a very old promise, and after all these years, He still keeps His promise. And so, if you hear someone say, “but the book of Acts, is about the apostles; the miracles are only for them; the miracles stopped with them,” then you understand how dumb and perverted they are.
“So, the Book of Acts isn’t just a highlight reel for the apostles. No siree, it’s the kickoff for the “Age of Abraham’s Kids Doing Cool Stuff.” It’s not about how special the apostles were; it’s about how faithful God is. He made a promise to Abe, and centuries later, He’s still like, “Yeah, I got you.”
In short, if you believe in Jesus, you’re not just saved; you’re also signed up for the spiritual sequel where you get to do the stuff. The power’s there, the name’s yours to use, and the only limit? Your faith. So, go out there and make some divine mischief in the name of Jesus, because according to Peter, it’s all part of the family business!”[1]
The book of Acts, is not the age of the apostles. It is not about the apostles. The book of Acts is about the Acts of Abraham’s children. It is the Age of Abraham’s blessing. It is the Age of the power of the Spirit and authority of Jesus Christ spoken by the lips of His children. The book of Acts is the age of faith and power, in the Name of Jesus Christ.
“Get up and Walk!”
[1] Grok AI, fun mode 2024, summary of this essay.
Sickness, cancers, diabetes arthritis and the like, did not come into the world because people were not eating the right foods or not getting their 10,000 daily steps. They came into the world because God opened His mouth and spoke a curse against all reality, because Adam and Eve refused to believe what God said. Sickness and health problems is a result of sin and God speaking a curse against mankind.
The main point is that sickness is a result of words spoken, not a result of eating or exercising. Sickness and health problems is not a natural aspect of reality. Sickness came by words spoken by God with power.
Now, take a guess how sickness is removed? It is removed by the same way it came into existence. It is removed by words, spoken with power. The bible never condemns medicine or doctors, but it never endorses it either. The bible exclusively says health comes by righteousness and faith. The only exception is a command not to be a glutton. Thus, if you eat 10,000 calories of donuts and sugary drinks, you are being unrighteous. Proverbs and the Psalms says over and over, that health comes by righteousness and faith. It never attributes health to how you eat.
The bible does not condemn doctors or supplements. And so, there is nothing wrong in taking a vitamin, or changing your diet because it seems to make you feel better; however, the bible always endorses supernatural healing and never endorses doctors or medicine. Some need to meditate on this truth for many days to let it sink in. On this foundation think about how much time you spend on thinking about doctors, medicine and health reports and how much money a year you spend on human help that the scripture never endorses? Now think about how much time you spend on thinking about all passages in the bible that talk about healing by miracle power and how much time and money you spend on developing your faith to perform supernatural healing? You probably give more money to humans to save your health than you give to God in all your tithes and offerings. It is no wonder why you are still suffering.
Because many so-called Christians use their observations as a greater starting point for knowledge over the scripture, they end up being man-focused. They focus on what other men tell them about what they observe, or what they see and feel about health and sickness. For every one time they read a verse about health being related to righteousness, and faith in God’s promise, they think about food, doctors and their observations relating to health 1000 times more. They are the pinnacle of man focused. It’s all they think about, when it comes to health and sickness. And then they wonder why they still hurt. As in all things, God is our foundation, not man. He is our healer. He is our savior. He will deliver and heal.
Jesus Christ became a curse for us by substitutionary exchange, and by this we are also given the blessing of Abraham. This blessing includes health and supernatural healing, among other things. The curses of the law included all sickness not recorded (Duet 28). Thus, every sickness, every arthritis and every pain is a curse from God Almighty. But Jesus became our curse for us. We receive the removing of God’s curses by faith in Jesus Christ, just as we receive forgiveness and righteousness by faith in Jesus.
How did we receive forgiveness, by faith in the heart and confession with the mouth. The same is for healing. We believe Christ was already our curse for us, we believe by His stripes we are already healed, and then we confess it in faith. Jesus in John 14-16 says many times and in different ways, we have been given His authority, given His spiritual power, and given the right to use His name to ask for anything, which includes healing. This is why Peter said, “What I have, I give, in Jesus Name, Walk.” We have the same.
Jesus went so far as to teach us that we do not tell God about our mountain, but to use our authority in Him to open our mouths and command the mountain to move.
And now we are full circle. We started with God opening His mouth to speak a curse on reality, which brought sickness into our bodies. But now in Jesus Christ, God has put His words and authority in our mouths. Thus, we remove sickness by opening our mouths and commanding the sickness to get out. If you act sinfully, by not speaking in faith and asking God, or commanding the sickness to leave, then it will not, because you are acting in unrighteousness. Sickness came into our bodies by words spoken with power, and they also leave our bodies by words spoken in power.
I’ve heard that tired tale more times than I care to count: Jesus is the kind of shepherd who snaps the legs of a wandering sheep to keep it from straying. Sounds compassionate if you’re into Eastern pagan mysticism, but crack open your Bible and you won’t find it. Not once.
Some folks picture God up there playing cosmic orthopedic surgeon, breaking legs to “teach lessons.” Not in my Bible. The script flips hard: it’s not the Father handing out fractures. It’s Satan slinging sickness like cheap candy on Halloween.
Let me hit you with a straight question. When Paul dealt with the man sleeping with his mother-in-law, who did he hand that guy over to? Paul said he delivered him “to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved” (1 Corinthians 5:5). Paul was letting the guy’s “legs get broken,” so to speak. But who actually did the breaking? Who ministered the sickness? God or Satan? Paul handed him straight to Satan. The devil was the one swinging the wrecking ball. The sickness, on the human level, was Satan’s will—not God’s.
God’s not your sickness Santa Claus. That’s the devil’s gig.
This was an extreme case—an outlier sin among believers. Same with the Corinthians who trashed the Lord’s Supper and dishonored the blood of Jesus. Paul brought discipline, and you could say God worked through Paul, yet even then God wasn’t the one dishing out the sickness. Satan was.
God sovereign? Absolutely. He controls every atom, every thought, every faith, every unbelief, every election and reprobation with the same direct, absolute power a programmer has over his code—only infinitely more. He is the metaphysical author of all things, including sin and evil. But Scripture denies pantheism. On the human, relative level—the level Jesus and the apostles mostly preach from—God doesn’t minister sickness to His own. If you don’t mostly speak on the human level in theology and doctrine, then you stop talking like the Bible.
Jesus never said, “God willed this boy blind.” He said, “Your faith has healed you.” We say the same.
Take Job. No New Covenant, no Abrahamic blessing yet. God sovereignly pointed Satan at Job—essentially baiting the fight. God orchestrated it all. But who actually inflicted the boils, the loss, the destruction? Satan. God didn’t swing the hammer. Satan did. Same with King David’s census. Scripture says both God and Satan “incited” David. Two categories. Metaphysically, God is the only real cause. On the human level, Satan ministered the sin.
Even in Job’s story—where God plays the ultimate Director of “Temptation Island”—Satan’s still the one holding the wrecking ball. Jesus never walks around saying, “Here’s a cold for your sins.” He says, “Your faith got this. Now walk.”
Remember the woman bent over for eighteen years? Jesus didn’t blame the Father. He said it was Satan who bound her. Satan ministered the sickness; God, faithful to Abraham’s promise, ministered the healing. Peter nails it in Acts 10:38: Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” Satan is the priest of darkness—his ministry is sin and sickness. Jesus is the High Priest of God—His ministry is righteousness, wealth, and healing. If you’re inside the Contract with Jesus, He pours out good things, not evil ones.
“But God sometimes gives sickness!” some bark. True in one narrow sense, but check the category. Who does God personally strike? His enemies. He didn’t send Satan after Egypt’s firstborn—He sent His own angel. Why the switch? Egypt wasn’t a Contract insider. They were outsiders, under condemnation. God wanted to destroy them Himself. Same with the Philistines and their tumors after stealing the Ark. Outsiders. Enemies. God cursed them directly. Their sickness was God’s will.
That’s huge. If you stand up and say, “God gave me this sickness,” you’re identifying yourself as a reprobate Egyptian or a cursed Philistine. You’re claiming to be God’s enemy, under His curse, not His salvation. If God is attacking you with disease, your first concern isn’t healing—it’s escaping hell.
There’s one more category: sickness as the curse of Adam’s Fall or the law of Moses. But Galatians 3 shouts it: Jesus became that curse for us so that, in substitutionary exchange, we receive the blessing of Abraham—miracles and the baptism of the Spirit. We don’t carry curses anymore. We carry blessings. Just like forgiveness, you receive it by faith. Doubt it, and James and Jesus both say don’t expect the exchange.
If you’re on Team Jesus, you’re in the healing line, not the disease queue. Claiming God gave you the flu is like saying you’re still on the naughty list. Spoiler: that’s not the team you signed up for.
As a Contract insider, God doesn’t minister sickness to me. He ministers healing and miracles. Sickness only hits me two ways: Satan’s direct attack or lingering curses I’ve already been redeemed from. I’ve been rescued from both.
This matters. When you see sickness as Satan’s will—not God’s—you’re not only free to fight it, you’re commanded to. Jesus didn’t suggest, “Maybe cast out a demon if you feel like it.” He commanded it. James didn’t whisper, “Resist the devil… if it’s convenient.” He commanded, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Even if the sickness came as discipline, the standing order is still the same: cast it out. Resist. Make Satan run.
You do not have permission to let the enemy bulldoze you. As a soldier in God’s kingdom, you don’t get to sit there while Satan’s kingdom beats you down. You’re commanded to expand God’s kingdom with truth and power. They retreat. We advance. The only way? Faith and power. Take the authority Jesus already gave you. Heal the sick. Cast out demons. Command mountains to move.
In my Systematic Theology 2025, I lay out the full deductive case: God authors all things metaphysically, yet on the relative level we fight like the victors we are. Sickness is Satan’s glory, not God’s. Healing is Jesus slamming His fist into the devil’s smug face—again and again.
So if you’re sick right now, blame the right culprit. Satan’s your unwanted health advisor. As a card-carrying member of the Jesus Club, you’re commanded to kick him to the curb, resist like you’re in a cosmic tug-of-war you were rigged to win, and heal like you’ve got divine health insurance that never lapses.
In this divine comedy, you’re strengthened to be the victor, not the victim. Now go expand the kingdom. The devil’s already lost—make him feel it.
Oshea Davis 