EVER SINCE JESUS EMBARKED on his ministry there has been confusion and disagreement about who he was. Increasing discord over his identity among fourth century Christians—especially his relation to the Father and to the Holy Spirit—caused the Roman emperor Constantine to call together a council of bishops in 325 AD to settle the matter and restore harmony in the Church: Was Jesus Christ—the promised Messiah—God, or the Son of God; coexistent with the Father, or created by Him? At this Council of Nicea the bishops drafted a document known as the Nicene Creed declaring that the Son is "true God from true God," who came down from heaven and "by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man."
This view that God exists as three persons in one Godhead—the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit—known as the trinity—is one most Christians still subscribe to today. But how did Jesus see himself in relation to God, and why does that matter? It's important because Jesus said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12), and "These signs shall follow them that believe" (Mark 16:17). Clearly, Jesus expected the healing he did to continue. And if we believed—had sufficient spiritual understanding of the truth he brought to the world, rather than mere blind faith—we could do these healing works and more.
In the 19th century, a devout Christian who knew of Jesus' promise of great works to those who believed on him was in chronic poor health and suffered greatly. She found no relief in conventional remedies, or in her church's teachings. Healing in the Christian church had greatly diminished since the fourth century. She investigated other systems such as homeopathy, hypnotism, and mesmerism, but to no avail. When everything she pursued failed her, in her moment of greatest need following a serious accident, she reached out to God. After reading one of Jesus' healings in her cherished Bible and earnestly praying, she was healed, even though those present didn't expect her to survive.
