Healing is it Gods will | |
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Healing, Is It God's Will?
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
And Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
We need to know the will of God, so that we can be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Our minds need to be renewed with God’s Word.
So let’s take a look at some verses that discuss healing and what Jesus did while He was on the earth. Matthew 4:23- 24, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about Him spread ALL over Syria, and people brought to Him ALL who were ill with various diseases and He healed them.”
Let’s look carefully at exactly what God’s Word says here and take note of some key phrases: Jesus preached the GOOD news (when you or someone is healed, that is GOOD news!), He healed EVERY disease and sickness among the people, people brought to Him ALL who were ill and He healed them. Notice the Worddoes not say that Jesus healed a few, or a select group, or some, but that He healed them all.
Matthew 8:16, 17, “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Him, and He drove out the spirits with a Word and healed ALL the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’”
What did Isaiah say about the coming Messiah? Isaiah 53:4,”Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” or some translations say “diseases” or “pains” for sorrows.
The word “infirmities” is not always translated sickness, but in this verse it is translated sickness. So this verse is saying that Jesus, the Messiah, would take our sickness, disease and pains to the cross. They were nailed to the cross. Why? Because sickness and disease were part of the Old Testament curse written in Deuteronomy 28. In Deuteronomy 28 God was giving the Israelites a choice. They could choose blessing for their obedience or they would be cursed for their disobedience. He gave them a right to choose.
The first fourteen verses discuss the blessing that will be on all who walk with God and obey His voice. Notice there is no sickness or disease in the blessing, but rather in the Curse there is all kinds of various diseases and sicknesses.
Galatians 3:13 says that, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’”.
Jesus became a curse for us, so that we wouldn’t have to be under that curse. He set us free from the Law of sin and death. Healing is made available to all who will receive.
I Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”
Many Christians teach that the word “healing” in this verse is not talking about a physical healing, but rather a spiritual healing. However, when a person becomes a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, he is NOT spiritually healed, he is recreated. He becomes a new creature, the old has passed, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” A new creation and a physical healing are NOT the same.
Psalm 103:1-3, “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not ALL His benefits-who forgives ALL your sins AND heals ALL your diseases.”
Eternal life and physical healing are a “package deal”, if you want to word it that way. When a person receives Christ as their Savior, they receive all of the benefits of salvation. I believe I have taught before on the word salvation in the Greek which is Sozo: meaning eternal life, peace, prosperity, health/healing and preservation. We receive ALL of salvation when we receive Christ. The Good News that Jesus preached while on the earth was including the healing that is made available to us.
“Luke 4:18,19 “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], 19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord, the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.”
Do you also see in these verses that the Good News of the gospel INCLUDES healing? Jesus came to preach the good news of deliverance and sight to the blind, to deliver and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. We, as believers, are under a new covenant and it is founded on better promises (Heb 8:6).
It would be scripturally inaccurate to teach salvation apart from healing. The two come together along with peace and those other benefits of salvation listed above. I know many of you are asking this question, “then why did I pray and not receive healing if it was God’s will?” Or you may be saying, “Well, I know Mr. So and so and he was a good man and he and his family and church family prayed and he wasn’t healed of cancer, he died.”
Good questions! First, let me explain by saying that God’s will is not always performed on the earth. We live in a fallen world, a world full of sin, a world where the devil is god.
I John 5:19, “and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
God is NOT in control of ALL things! Second, let me explain that we as believers should NOT determine God’s will by our circumstances. We shouldn’t pray and then look to see what happened and in accordance with what we see take place in the natural and confess that that was God’s will.
I Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by SIGHT.”
We shouldn’t determine the will of God by what we see or feel we should determine the will of God by the Word of God because we live by faith. James 5:14, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith WILL MAKE the sick person well; the Lord WILL raise him up.” There is no question in this verse if the person being prayed for will receive healing or not. There was not one instance where Jesus told someone that it was His will for them to be sick so that He could teach them something. There is also not one instance where Jesus said, “wait and after you suffer for a while, I’ll heal you.”
Some of you may be saying, “Jesus didn’t heal them all, there was a scripture that said He didn’t heal them all.” You may be referring to the verse in Mark chapter 6 verses 5 and 6 that says, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their lack of faith.”
Let’s take a closer look at what this verse really says. Does it say, “He would not do any miracles there”? No, it says, “He COULD not do any miracles there.” It goes on to say that He was amazed at their lack of faith. Are you telling me that Jesus could not do miracles there? No, I’m not telling you, that’s what the Bible says in this verse. So according to this verse, Jesus works according to our faith. Let’s look at some more scriptures concerning this.
There is an instance in Matthew chapter 8 verses 6-13 where a centurion came to Jesus asking for help for his servant. He came to Jesus and said his servant is paralyzed and in terrible suffering. Jesus said in verse 7, “I will go and heal him”, but the centurion said, “No, Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed” verse 8. Jesus replied in saying that He had “not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” Then in verse 13, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would”. Again in Matthew 9:22 a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years touched Jesus and He turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter, He said, ‘your faith has healed you.’” And the woman was healed from that moment.”
Matt 9:29, “According to your faith will it be done to you.”
If you are feeling discouraged thinking that you do not have faith to receive, I have more good news! The Word says in Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
We can increase our faith by hearing the Word of God. Every time we read healing scriptures or hear a message on healing we are increasing our faith, but we can also know that His grace comes along side us and helps us in our weakness. All we have to have is a mustard seed sized faith!
Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’; and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
We do not have to have huge faith to move a mountain! That speaks volumes! Read that again and let it sink in. We do not have to have HUGE faith to do HUGE things for the kingdom of God! That is good news!
We believe that the more we allow the Truth of God’s Word to transform and renew our minds, the more we will understand God’s will for our lives. Unfortunately many have taught against the Truth of His Word and taught according to circumstances and traditions of men.
Mark 7:13 says, “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.”
We have made a decision in our home that God’s Word is our final authority. God’s Word is our Truth and His Word is where we always find His will for our lives. We will not bow down to the traditions taught by man or look at circumstances to determine God’s will. We have chosen to believe His Word and take Him at His Word. God’s Word is true and irrevocable! In our home we have made the decision, according to the Word of God, that it is always God’s will to heal.
May you be blessed by this teaching and may it quicken your hearts to receive His revelation of Truth.
We need to know the will of God, so that we can be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Our minds need to be renewed with God’s Word.
So let’s take a look at some verses that discuss healing and what Jesus did while He was on the earth. Matthew 4:23- 24, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about Him spread ALL over Syria, and people brought to Him ALL who were ill with various diseases and He healed them.”
Let’s look carefully at exactly what God’s Word says here and take note of some key phrases: Jesus preached the GOOD news (when you or someone is healed, that is GOOD news!), He healed EVERY disease and sickness among the people, people brought to Him ALL who were ill and He healed them. Notice the Worddoes not say that Jesus healed a few, or a select group, or some, but that He healed them all.
Matthew 8:16, 17, “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Him, and He drove out the spirits with a Word and healed ALL the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’”
What did Isaiah say about the coming Messiah? Isaiah 53:4,”Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” or some translations say “diseases” or “pains” for sorrows.
The word “infirmities” is not always translated sickness, but in this verse it is translated sickness. So this verse is saying that Jesus, the Messiah, would take our sickness, disease and pains to the cross. They were nailed to the cross. Why? Because sickness and disease were part of the Old Testament curse written in Deuteronomy 28. In Deuteronomy 28 God was giving the Israelites a choice. They could choose blessing for their obedience or they would be cursed for their disobedience. He gave them a right to choose.
The first fourteen verses discuss the blessing that will be on all who walk with God and obey His voice. Notice there is no sickness or disease in the blessing, but rather in the Curse there is all kinds of various diseases and sicknesses.
Galatians 3:13 says that, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’”.
Jesus became a curse for us, so that we wouldn’t have to be under that curse. He set us free from the Law of sin and death. Healing is made available to all who will receive.
I Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”
Many Christians teach that the word “healing” in this verse is not talking about a physical healing, but rather a spiritual healing. However, when a person becomes a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, he is NOT spiritually healed, he is recreated. He becomes a new creature, the old has passed, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” A new creation and a physical healing are NOT the same.
Psalm 103:1-3, “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not ALL His benefits-who forgives ALL your sins AND heals ALL your diseases.”
Eternal life and physical healing are a “package deal”, if you want to word it that way. When a person receives Christ as their Savior, they receive all of the benefits of salvation. I believe I have taught before on the word salvation in the Greek which is Sozo: meaning eternal life, peace, prosperity, health/healing and preservation. We receive ALL of salvation when we receive Christ. The Good News that Jesus preached while on the earth was including the healing that is made available to us.
“Luke 4:18,19 “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], 19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord, the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.”
Do you also see in these verses that the Good News of the gospel INCLUDES healing? Jesus came to preach the good news of deliverance and sight to the blind, to deliver and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. We, as believers, are under a new covenant and it is founded on better promises (Heb 8:6).
It would be scripturally inaccurate to teach salvation apart from healing. The two come together along with peace and those other benefits of salvation listed above. I know many of you are asking this question, “then why did I pray and not receive healing if it was God’s will?” Or you may be saying, “Well, I know Mr. So and so and he was a good man and he and his family and church family prayed and he wasn’t healed of cancer, he died.”
Good questions! First, let me explain by saying that God’s will is not always performed on the earth. We live in a fallen world, a world full of sin, a world where the devil is god.
I John 5:19, “and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
God is NOT in control of ALL things! Second, let me explain that we as believers should NOT determine God’s will by our circumstances. We shouldn’t pray and then look to see what happened and in accordance with what we see take place in the natural and confess that that was God’s will.
I Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by SIGHT.”
We shouldn’t determine the will of God by what we see or feel we should determine the will of God by the Word of God because we live by faith. James 5:14, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith WILL MAKE the sick person well; the Lord WILL raise him up.” There is no question in this verse if the person being prayed for will receive healing or not. There was not one instance where Jesus told someone that it was His will for them to be sick so that He could teach them something. There is also not one instance where Jesus said, “wait and after you suffer for a while, I’ll heal you.”
Some of you may be saying, “Jesus didn’t heal them all, there was a scripture that said He didn’t heal them all.” You may be referring to the verse in Mark chapter 6 verses 5 and 6 that says, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their lack of faith.”
Let’s take a closer look at what this verse really says. Does it say, “He would not do any miracles there”? No, it says, “He COULD not do any miracles there.” It goes on to say that He was amazed at their lack of faith. Are you telling me that Jesus could not do miracles there? No, I’m not telling you, that’s what the Bible says in this verse. So according to this verse, Jesus works according to our faith. Let’s look at some more scriptures concerning this.
There is an instance in Matthew chapter 8 verses 6-13 where a centurion came to Jesus asking for help for his servant. He came to Jesus and said his servant is paralyzed and in terrible suffering. Jesus said in verse 7, “I will go and heal him”, but the centurion said, “No, Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed” verse 8. Jesus replied in saying that He had “not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” Then in verse 13, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would”. Again in Matthew 9:22 a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years touched Jesus and He turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter, He said, ‘your faith has healed you.’” And the woman was healed from that moment.”
Matt 9:29, “According to your faith will it be done to you.”
If you are feeling discouraged thinking that you do not have faith to receive, I have more good news! The Word says in Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
We can increase our faith by hearing the Word of God. Every time we read healing scriptures or hear a message on healing we are increasing our faith, but we can also know that His grace comes along side us and helps us in our weakness. All we have to have is a mustard seed sized faith!
Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’; and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
We do not have to have huge faith to move a mountain! That speaks volumes! Read that again and let it sink in. We do not have to have HUGE faith to do HUGE things for the kingdom of God! That is good news!
We believe that the more we allow the Truth of God’s Word to transform and renew our minds, the more we will understand God’s will for our lives. Unfortunately many have taught against the Truth of His Word and taught according to circumstances and traditions of men.
Mark 7:13 says, “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.”
We have made a decision in our home that God’s Word is our final authority. God’s Word is our Truth and His Word is where we always find His will for our lives. We will not bow down to the traditions taught by man or look at circumstances to determine God’s will. We have chosen to believe His Word and take Him at His Word. God’s Word is true and irrevocable! In our home we have made the decision, according to the Word of God, that it is always God’s will to heal.
May you be blessed by this teaching and may it quicken your hearts to receive His revelation of Truth.