How Does God In This Day of Grace “Deliver” The Christian From Suffering?

By Arthur J Licursi

 

God does in this time of the “dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph 3:2) still deliver his trusting ones who suffer with physical infirmities, and the difficult situations and circumstances of life. We read of the miraculous deliverances of Israel during their time in the wilderness. We see the miracles by Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospel accounts, when the Kingdom of Heaven was declared to be “at hand”. After the crucifixion and Pentecost, we see miracles when the Messianic Kingdom was being offered to Israel, in the early Acts period. Yet, more often today, deliverance from suffering for the Christian is by a different means than the miracles we read of in those historical Biblical accounts.

 

Personally, there was a time in my wife’s and my early Christian life that we were miraculously delivered out from situations, with physical healings, jobs and such, but now, some 38 years later, this is not how He deals with us. There seems to be a correlation between maturity and responsibility as we’ve grown in Christ, learning now …to trust Him in the midst of all the troublesome situations and things that occur in our lives.

 

Jesus’ Miracles Were Signs to Israel

John 2:11 This beginning of miracles (semeion, signs) did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. KJV

We should note that at the time of Jesus’ first miracle, at Cana when He turned water into wine, the word “miracle” is not properly transliterated from the Greek. As seen in some Bible translations, it is the “beginning of miraculous signs”. The word “miracle” in Greek is “semeion”, meaning sign(s). All the miracles Jesus did, such as noted in John’s Gospel, are to be considered signs for Israel. Paul said, “The Jews require a sign” (1Cor 1:22). From the time of John the Baptist through Jesus’ life, the message they brought was that “…the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat 4:17). We need to see that these miracles were “signs” for the purpose of announcing to Israel the Messianic Kingdom was “at hand”, as long promised by God to Abraham’s seed.

 

Jesus had said in Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them (Jews) that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; This refers to those whom Jesus sent forth to preach the Messianic Kingdom of God, as was long promised to Abraham and his seed. In the days following Pentecost, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers in Israel, Peter, James, John and the others of the twelve Apostles did great miracles (signs), witnessing to the Kingdom then being offered. But we should note that these “signs” began to wane from the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7, and fully stopped at Acts 28:28; when at that time God fully turned from Israel (Acts 13:46) to the Gentiles (Rom 11:25, Acts 28:28).

 

A Change for Paul

With this turning or change, the offering of the Messianic Kingdom to Israel had then passed, for an unknown and specified time. The offer of the Kingdom passed from Israel – as with three strikes and your out. 1) Israel’s rejected of God in the OT, killing His prophets, 2) they rejected the Messiah, Jesus, in the Gospels, and 3) they rejected the Holy Spirit’s witness via Stephen (Act 7:51), who the Jews then stoned to death. The age had turned, it brought on a new dispensational relationship for believers; it came through the grace of God that was given in the receiving of the person of indwelling “spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2, Col 1:25-27, 2Tim 4:22) and their being engulfed, immersed, baptized into the body of Christ. Paul was the dispenser of the dispensation of the grace of God to the Gentiles (Eph 3:1-2), as Moses was the dispenser of the law dispensation.

 

The dispensation had changed from “law” to “grace” and this can be seen in the mode of deliverance in the life of the Apostle Paul, as evidenced by comparing his earlier and later life experiences. In the early Acts period, while God was still offering the Kingdom to Israel, cloths were sent from Paul to others and they would be healed, “delivered” (Act 19:12) as s sign; yet we must note in Paul’s latter epistles (Ephesians – Philemon) he could not bring miraculous deliverance or healing to anyone, including himself – rather he recommended “Timothy take wine for thy stomach sake”, and writes also that he had “the physician, Luke”, with Him (Col 4:14). We might ask, “What happened to change Paul’s apparent display of God’s delivering power?” Why didn’t the mighty Paul just heal his own self and his son in the faith, Timothy? Let’s now look closer.

 

There are Two Kinds of Deliverance from Suffering

To answer this we need to come to an understanding of what it may mean to be miraculously delivered in regard to our difficult situations and circumstances of life. Quite frankly, it is one thing to be delivered “froma situation, that is to have us taken from the situation, or our situation taken away from us, and quite another thing to be delivered while within a situation by having a supernatural ability to endure, cope and overcome, even while suffering within a situation. “Deliver” in Scripture may be transliterated from differing Greek words and does not always mean to “remove from us” or “remove us from” a suffering.

 

1) “Deliver”, as In “Removing From Suffering”

Hebrews 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Here, “deliver” in this verse does mean to deliver or remove us from” a suffering” of “fear of death”.  The Greek word used here for “deliver” is “apallasso”, defined as follows.

Greek 525, Strong’s ap-al-las'-so; from Greek 575 (apo) and Greek 236 (allasso); to change away, i.e. release, (reflexive) remove: - deliver, depart.

This Greek word is to be used by the New Testament writers of scripture if the writer wants to express “deliverance” as being “removal from” a problem.

 

2) “Deliver”, as In “Supplying Us Strength to Endure While Remaining Within a Suffering”

There is another Greek word for “deliver”, often used by the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul. He is the writer of about half the New Testament, and it is defined as we see below in Louw & Nida’s Greek Lexicon.

 “Deliver”- rhuomai, Greek 4506, Strong’s rhuomai, rhoo'-om-ahee; middle of an obsolete verb, akin to Greek 4482 (rheo) (through the idea of a current; compare Greek 4511 (rhusis)); to rush or draw (for oneself), i.e. rescue: - deliver (-er).

 

“Deliver” here then means to flow Christ’s energizing life supply to us, as a RUSH OF CURRENT to supply one in the midst of a suffering. This is the precise meaning of “deliver” as used in the following verse.

2 Tim. 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions (Gk pathema, sufferings), which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. (Delivered, Gk. rhuomai, flowed as “current” to me in them all)

 

In 2Tim 3:11 (above) and below in 2Cor 1:10 “deliver” means Christ flowed His rich supply as a “current or flow of supernatural overcoming resurrection life to Paul in the midst of Paul’s “sufferings”, such that Paul could then “endure”.

John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

Philip. 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ

These verses speak of such a flow of indwelling life supply as being the Spirit.

 

Paul’s Prayer for Deliverance Was Answered - but not as we may expect. (2Cor 12:7-10)

While God is certainly able, and sometimes willing that we be delivered “from our situation”, I find that most often now His will for me and most maturing Christians is that we endure by availing ourselves of the indwelling supply of Christ’s life as the grace of God. Again, this is consistent with the situation we see when the Apostle Paul besought the Lord three times for deliverance from His “thorn in his flesh” and the Lord did not comply, but rather said, my grace (Christ) is sufficient”. Further, the Lord communicated to Paul that his thorn in his flesh was a “messenger of Satan (obviously permitted by God) to buffet” Paul, lest Paul “be lifted with pride”. I personally believe that Paul’s thorn was not a physical problem, but rather a chronic fleshly temptation, that was ever-present, and used by God to humble Paul’s pride.

 

In the following we see that Paul speaks of “deliverance” that is working in his life and in the life of all Christians in three ways, 1) delivered (past tense), 2) being delivered (present tense) and 3) will be delivered (future tense). These three deliverances apply to three parts of man’s being, spirit, soul, and body (1Thes 5:23).

2 Cor. 1:8-10 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 9But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10Who delivered us (has delivered us by flowing His life to us in our spirit) from so great a death, and doth deliver (continuing to flow His life to us in soul, se Rom 5:10b): in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us (will yet flow life to us bodily in resurrection of our bodies - see v9b);

 

Three Deliverances:

1)     At our rebirth our spirit is regenerated with Christ’s very life, totally delivered (2Cor 5:17, Col 1:27).

2)     As we live our life on earth our soul is being delivered as it is being “renewed” (2Cor 4:16), Thus Paul commends us to be renewed in our soul’s mindset or attitude (Philip 2:5).

3)     We as Christians are yet to be delivered in body - in the twinkling of an eye we will exchange these corruptible bodies for incorruptible spirit bodies (1Cor 15:52).

Philip. 3:21 Who shall change (metaschematizo, transfigure) our vile (earthly) body, that it may be fashioned  like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

 

What is it that we are we being “delivered of or from" in the three parts of our being? We see in verse 9 that Paul is speaking of deliverance from of the “sentence of death” in himself. Formerly being dead in trespasses and sins, our death is being fully swallowed up of His life.

 

The life of Christ we received into our spirit at the time of our has rebirth enlivened us, dealing with the sentence of death upon us. He has made us alive in spirit. (Eph 2:1-2, Titus 3:5). We were made alive in our spirit where we had “been dead in trespasses and sins” – we had been dead toward God, much as we might say a phone line is said to be dead. There had been a break or cessation of communication and relationship between fallen man and God – sin had separated man from God.

1)     All mankind is born “dead in spirit” toward God, since sin in his being has made him unable to live righteously. Due to the effects of sin in man’s being, fallen man is strong toward sin and weak toward righteousness. If we deny this we lie or we’re burying our head in the sand.

2)     Our bodies have a sentence of death in them. The death rate is still unchanged – one per person. These vile bodies will one day be exchanged for a glorious body like unto Jesus’ resurrected body.

 

Sin works death in us completely, 1 Cor. 15:56a “The sting of death is sin”. Thus we see that Christ came that we might have His resurrection life and have His life (Gk, Zoë, spirit life) more abundantly (Jn 10:10) – to permeate our entire being, eradicating death in our spirit, soul, and body (1Thes 5:23).

 

Deliverance by Trusting Him

It is His enlivening and empowering life within the believer’s spirit that delivers them today in this age of grace, while living upon the earth (Gal 2:20).

1)     1st we receive Christ, as the Spirit of LIFE into our spirit at our new birth (John 3:6, 1Cor 617).

2)     Then He works His life into our self-soul by the situations and circumstances that He permits into our lives, “for the good” (Rom 8:28-29a).

  • The Lord purposes that we might let go of believing our outward circumstance, to “believe – that is trust – Him” who is over all things and loves us unconditionally.
  • He is also delivering us from self-dependence, depending upon our fallen and sin-infected self-life, in order to bring us to cooperate with His work in our lives; that we might rely upon His overcoming uplifted, indwelling, life to deliver us. We are delivered by His spreading from our spirit to our soul.

Our soul thereby is delivered, changed from glory to glory when we turn to Him (2Cor 3:15-18) in our spirit, yielding our soul’s mind, emotion, and will, to receive the current or flow of His life supply as our normal supply.                                                                                                                                    <End>

 

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