Gospel of Healing

Albert Benjamin Simpson's The Gospel of Healing emerged from his personal encounter with divine healing in 1881, when the Presbyterian minister experienced what he believed to be miraculous recovery from a heart condition. Published in 1885, this work represents one of the earliest systematic theological treatments of divine healing in American Protestant thought, written during Simpson's transition from mainline Presbyterian ministry to founding the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

Simpson argues that physical healing is not merely possible but is part of Christ's atonement, available to believers through faith just as spiritual salvation is. He grounds this "fourfold gospel" — Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King — in careful exegesis of biblical passages, particularly Isaiah 53:4-5 and Matthew 8:17. Rather than dismissing medical care entirely, Simpson presents healing as a higher provision that God offers to those with sufficient faith, while acknowledging that healing may not always occur according to human timing or understanding. He addresses common objections systematically, drawing on both scripture and contemporary testimonies of healing experiences.

The work became foundational for the emerging Pentecostal and divine healing movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, influencing figures like John Alexander Dowie and later Pentecostal theologians. Simpson's measured tone and careful biblical argumentation gave intellectual respectability to healing theology during a period when such beliefs were often dismissed as fanaticism. The book continues to be studied as a primary source for understanding the theological development of divine healing doctrine in American Christianity.

Who should read this: Students of Pentecostal and charismatic theology will find this essential for understanding the biblical and theological foundations of healing doctrine. Those interested in the intersection of faith and medicine in nineteenth-century American religion will appreciate Simpson's careful reasoning, though readers seeking either purely medical or purely skeptical perspectives on healing claims should look elsewhere.