spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

can as well open up a relationship to God as the experience of being saved”. This way,
Westermann places healing within the framework of the covenant between God and his people.
5.2.2 New Testament understandings of healing
In the New Testament, healing is inextricably linked with the concept of the new covenant in
Christ, as well as with the promise of God’s Kingdom. The new covenant in Christ is a
continuation and renewal of the divine covenants with Abraham, Moses and David. In Christ,
Yahweh reveals that he makes a new beginning, and he realizes for his people the possibility to
remain faithful to the covenant. In Jesus’ death the new covenant is initiated, and healing can
then be considered as a gift or grace related to the covenant. As such, healing in general can be
linked indirectly to the atoning death of Christ, who inaugurated the new covenant and bestowed
healing as a promised blessing upon the covenant partner (De Vries 2006:380). The biblical
concept of the new covenant is related to the concept of the Kingdom. After all, the thoughts on
the new covenant, as found in the Old Testament and the New Testament, lead to the recognition
of God’s reign. In the light of the (renewed) promise of shalom, the miracles performed by Jesus
testify to the manifestations of God’s emerging rule.
Regarding approaches to healing in the New Testament, academic attention predominantly
focused on the healing miracles Jesus performed during his earthly ministry. On the basis of
historical critical research there is scholarly consensus that Jesus performed miracles (cf.
Twelftree 1984, 1993; Blomberg 1987:90; Wink 1992:134f; Meier 1994:607; Habermas
2001:117; Williams 2002; Borg 2006), and it is now widely accepted to consider Jesus as healer
and exorcist. The synoptic gospels in particular present Jesus’ healing and liberating activities as
a sign of God’s coming kingdom (cf. Carroll 1995:137; Giesen 1995:65; De Vries 2006:391f).
The miracles are construed as references and as provisional manifestations of the kingdom,
arriving in the person of Jesus Christ. Twelftree (1993:170) contends that the miracles that Jesus
performs, constitute the actual message: the miracles “are the kingdom of God in operation”. The
reign of God implies the overthrowing of the kingdom of Satan (cf. France 1990:28f; Giesen
1995:44ff; De Vries 2006:389). In the New Testament, disease is also attributed to Satan, who
obstructs the well-being (shalom) of God’s people. So Jesus’ acts of forgiveness, liberation,
healing and resurrection are inherent in reducing the power of Satan and demonic spirits. Or, in
the words of Goppelt (1978:119), Jesus’ healing miracles imply spiritual, physical and social
healing.
Contrary to the Old Testament, the idea that disease and healing evolve from God is not found in
the New Testament in the same direct manner. New Testament thinking ignores a uniform
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