In the healing of the paralytic, Jesus Christ demonstrated His fatherly compassion by addressing the man as a child, offering comfort for his debilitating condition. Paralysis symbolizes the crippling power of sin and the sinner's helplessness to alleviate personal suffering. With this miracle, Jesus forgave the penalty incurred through sin and lifted the man from his miserable state. Sin was the root cause of the man's paralysis, and Jesus dealt with this spiritual burden before addressing the physical ailment, showing that physical healing holds little value without a sound mind. The world struggles to solve its issues of poor health because it rejects Christ and continues to disobey God. God, through Christ, is the source of both spiritual and physical healing in this miracle, with His Son as the instrument. Unlike local religious leaders or physicians who could not heal the paralytic and often worsened spiritual conditions with false teachings, only Christ, as God's Son and man's Savior, can forgive sin and provide true healing. It takes His blood to cleanse repentant believers of sin and bring spiritual restoration. The miracle profoundly affected the witnesses, leaving them stunned, moved to glorify God, filled with fear, and confounded. They were amazed at the astounding healing, each gospel account capturing a different shade of awe. Despite the great impact, most were not moved to faith in God, as faith is not produced through sight. Though they glorified God in a limited way and felt fear in the presence of His power, most refused to overcome their sins or change their lives. Some declared they had never seen anything like it, while others noted they had witnessed strange things, emphasizing the unique and paradoxical nature of God's works through Christ, which surpass human understanding. This miracle reveals the incomprehensible sovereignty and glory of God in comforting and healing the sick through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Under the leadership of Joseph Tkach, subtle changes began to undermine faith in healing within the Worldwide Church of God, starting as early as 1987. It was preached that healing was not tied to Christ's sacrifice, equating faith in healing with unlearned religion and suggesting that miraculous healings occur only when God seeks to attract attention to the Gospel. Yet, God heals, and He is a healer, as demonstrated throughout history and Scripture, showing that faith in Him is essential for healing. In Exodus 15:26, God declares, "If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you." This promise links healing to living a godly life and maintaining a relationship with Him, emphasizing that He desires to provide healing and a full life for His people. Psalm 103:1-5 lists God's benefits, with David proclaiming that God forgives all iniquities and heals all diseases, presenting them as parallel acts within the same package of blessings. Forgiveness of sin initiates this relationship, opening the way for healing and other benefits as part of the covenant with Him. Isaiah 53:4-6 and I Peter 2:24 further connect Christ bearing our sins with healing by His stripes, affirming that His sacrificial death made both forgiveness and physical healing possible. This healing, both spiritual and physical, is accessible through faith in Christ, with forgiveness being the foundational step. In Matthew 9:20-22 and 27-29, Jesus heals based on faith, telling a woman, "Your faith has made you well," and to blind men, "According to your faith let it be to you." These accounts, along with the healing of a paralytic, show a correspondence between forgiveness of sins and physical healing, both requiring faith. Psalm 146 underscores that true help and healing come from God alone, not from human means. While we must believe that He can heal, the determination of healing rests on His will. Our faith must be in Him, trusting that He has our best interests at heart, and we must submit to His decision, saying as Jesus did, "Not my will, but Yours be done." God, and God alone, heals, and our trust must remain in Him as the Creator and Deliverer.

In this era of skepticism, where proof is demanded for every belief, the question of faith becomes paramount, especially in matters of healing and forgiveness. Jesus Himself asked if He would find faith on earth upon His return, highlighting the challenge of trusting in God amidst a society that prioritizes tangible evidence over spiritual conviction. Healing serves as a powerful illustration of faith, revealing both its strength and its weaknesses in our lives. Trusting God to heal us is not merely about believing in a promise, but about placing our confidence in the Healer Himself, fostering a personal and intimate relationship with Him. Healing and forgiveness are deeply intertwined, as both require a surrender of self-reliance and a humble acknowledgment of our need for divine intervention. Just as forgiveness involves confessing sins and seeking reconciliation with God, healing demands that we look to Him for deliverance from affliction, recognizing that illness may sometimes be tied to our own shortcomings. Trusting in ourselves or in human solutions—whether through personal strength, knowledge, or medical systems—often leads to disappointment, as these are inadequate substitutes for divine power. God warns against such misplaced trust, equating it to foolishness and idolatry, and promises curses rather than blessings when we prioritize human efforts over His will. Instead, our trust must be in God alone, who offers healing and forgiveness as acts of deliverance. We are called to call upon Him in times of sickness, to confess our sins, repent, and wait patiently for His action, resisting the temptation to cave in or lose heart. The difficulty in maintaining this faith often stems from misplaced trust, whether in promises alone or in external remedies, rather than in a deep, personal connection with the invisible God. Examples from Jesus' ministry show individuals who trusted directly in Him, not just in His words, and were healed as a result of their faith in His authority and presence. To grow in this trust, we must come to know God intimately through prayer, study, meditation, and living each moment with Him. As we experience His faithfulness in our lives, our faith increases, enabling us to rely on Him not only for healing but for every aspect of our existence. Jesus prays for us to be one with Him and the Father, to know Them so deeply that our trust becomes unshakable. For healing, we must trust the Healer; for salvation, we must trust the Savior, acknowledging that true deliverance comes only through a living, active relationship with Them.

In the healing of the paralytic in Capernaum, Jesus Christ demonstrates His divine authority by addressing both spiritual and physical needs. Seeing the faith of the four friends who brought the paralyzed man to Him, Christ first offers forgiveness of sins, declaring to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." This act of forgiveness brings deep relief and joy, highlighting the priority of spiritual healing over physical restoration. Only after addressing the spiritual problem does Christ heal the man's physical affliction, emphasizing that from God's perspective, spiritual needs are always more critical than physical ones. The faith of the paralytic's friends is instrumental in this miracle, as they show determination by overcoming obstacles to place their friend before Christ. Their faith is wise, bringing the man to the only One who can heal; persistent, undeterred by crowds; sacrificial, giving time and effort; unintimidated, displayed publicly; humble, taking him to Christ rather than asking Him to come; loving, expending great effort for their friend's sake; and active, taking decisive steps rather than merely lamenting his condition. Christ honors their faith, responding to their resourcefulness and perseverance by performing this miracle, showing that He often works where faith is present.