CHAPTER 7 WE WERE HEALED
Before you read this lesson pray for wisdom, believing that you have received it when you pray (Ja.1:5), knowing also that you have been given eyes that see and ears that hear (Matt.13:16) God's Words are health to your body if you listen closely to them and keep them in your heart (Prov.4:20-21).
The prophecy concerning Jesus' crucifixion in Isaiah 53:5 contains an often quoted, but seldom believed statement which says "by His wounds we are healed." For Isaiah that was in the future. For those who saw Jesus in Matt.8:17, healing through Him was present tense, for then it was written in fulfillment "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." He carried them for us, and according to I Pe.2:24, healing became past tense on the cross when it says "by His wounds you have been healed." (emphasis added).
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb.13:8). By His stripes I was healed. If I was, then I am, and satan has no right to put something on me that Jesus took upon Himself almost two thousand years ago. Jesus said He must be about His Father's business (Lk.2:49). "I have come down from heaven not to do My will, but to do the will of Him who sent me" (John 6:38). He prayed, "... your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt.6:10), and "yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matt.26:39). If Jesus did it on earth it was the Father's will. Jesus never sinned (Heb.4:15), He healed. Remember also that He didn't do something then that He wouldn't do today, or in the future. We know that if we have Jesus or know Him, we have the Father (John 14:8-9). Just as His actions were directed by the Father, so also were His words (John 14:10). In Matt.8:2-3, Mk.1:40-41 & Lk.5:12-13 the man with leprosy said "Lord if you are willing you can make me clean." Jesus said, "I am willing" (emphasis added). Jesus spoke only what "... the Father has told Me to say" (John 12:50) and He said "I am willing."
As far as Jesus was concerned, healing was the Father's will on earth. If we question that, all we need do is look at the Garden of Eden before man stepped out of God's will. Gen. 1&2 makes no mention of sickness being part of the "good" creation. Even after the fall, the Father says in Deut. 5:23 that He wants us to walk in His ways so "... that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that I give you" (emphasis added). Ex.15:24-26 makes it clear that if we pay attention to God's decrees He will care for us "... for I am the Lord who heals you." Not just from the diseases visited upon Egypt, but He "heals all my diseases (Ps.103:3). According to I Cor.10:6 the examples set down in Exodus still apply to us.
Deut.28:21,27&35 lists specific diseases which come upon those who do not choose life and follow God's decrees (Deut.30: 19). If those are not inclusive, God tells us in Deut.28:61 that He will also allow "every kind of sickness and disaster" not previously mentioned to come upon those who ignore His decrees. The literal Hebrew text says these sicknesses were allowed to come upon the people, they did not come directly from God. Deut.28:15 specifically states that these sicknesses are curses; however, the curse is not upon us, for Christ became a curse for us (Gal.3:13)
Remember, man has dominion over the earth (Gen.1:26 & Ps.115:16), and man gave that to satan (Ro.5:12&18). While Jesus took it back and gave it to the Church, as to all those who will not walk with God, satan has a virtual free reign. However, even in the Old Testament, before satan was defeated on the cross, God offered hope for His own. Ps.34:19-20 says that the bones of a righteous man will not be broken and Ps.41:3 contains the promise that the Lord would restore a sick man from his bed. Developing fear of the Lord (reverence) and shunning evil "will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones" (Prov.3:8).
Jesus' healing ministry was clearly foretold, not only in Isaiah 53, but in Nu.21. John 3:14 tells us that the snake Moses lifted up on a pole in the wilderness was symbolic of Jesus. In Nu.21:8 we find that the people who looked upon the raised snake were healed from the venom which had been placed in their bodies by the poisonous snakes on the ground. We look at Jesus who saves our spirit and soul, but we will also be healed in the body every time we look at Him in faith if we follow His kingdom principles and decrees as found in the New Testament. The Old Testament decrees were fulfilled by Jesus (Matt.5:17-19 & Col.2:14).
I Cor.6:19-20 says "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you ... you are not your own, you were bought at a price Therefore, honor God with your body" (emphasis added). The price paid was the "precious blood of Christ" (I Pe.1:19). Does God want His temple sick? In II Tim.2:20 we are told that the Lord wants vessels which have been purified so that He may use them as instruments for every good work. Can a body which is crippled by disease be considered purified, or can it be used for every good work? Can a body that is so weak that it cannot get out of bed be used to spread the Gospel across town? If God gets honor from a sick body, why does He tells us that four thousand people praised Him for healing the sick in Matt.15:31? Why does He tells us that God received glory from the fact that Lazarus' sickness did not ultimately end in his death (John 11:4)?
God was glorified by Lazarus' resurrection, not his sickness (John 11:40). God was glorified when the crippled woman in Lk. 13:13 had been made whole, not when she was crippled. The lepers in Lk.17:15 praised God not when they were bound with leprosy, but when they were cleansed. Likewise, the beggar in Acts 3:8 praised God by jumping and leaping after he was healed, not before. We know that sickness destroys our body. Peter says in Acts 10:38 that Jesus healed all who were under the power of the devil. In I Cor.5:5 we are told that satan destroys the flesh, not God. Flesh destruction is the work of satan. I John 3:8 says that "the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."
In Matt.12:24, Mk.3:22 and Lk.11:15 the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons (destroying the works of the devil) by the power of satan himself (see also Matt.9:32-34). Jesus responded to them by saying that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. If satan drove out demons, his kingdom would fall. We are specifically told that the people knew this principle (John 10:21). If sickness is directly from God and Jesus healed, that would be a kingdom divided against itself and it would fall! However we know that God's kingdom will last forever (Rev.11:15).
Jesus did heal. It is God's will that we be well. Sickness is from satan and satan was defeated on the cross. "Having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col.2:15 & Heb.2:14). While it is true that God turns every circumstance to His good, don't let anyone tell you that He uses sickness as a means of teaching, rebuking, or correcting us. God doesn't need to use satan's sickness. He uses the Word. II Tim. 3:16 says that "all Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training ..." He didn't say sickness, He said Scripture. When Paul corrected the Church at Corinth in II Cor 8&9 he didn't call down sickness from heaven, he sent a letter. He used the Word of God. God reserves plague to punish the wicked, not the Church (Rev. 11:6).
Jesus placed a great deal of emphasis upon healing the sick. In Matt.4:23 we are told that He spread the good news of the kingdom and healed every sickness and disease. In Lk.9:2 He sent out the twelve directing them to "...teach, preach the kingdom of God, and heal the sick" (emphasis added; see also Mk.6:12-13 & Matt.10:1-8). When He sent out the seventy two in Lk.10:1-25 they were directed in vs.9 to "heal the sick" and to preach emphasis added). His great commission in Mk.16:15-19 tells of preaching the good news, but it also says that we are to heal the sick. In Matt.9:38 Jesus tells us to ask the Father to send out workers. Look back for a moment to vs. 35 and see what work is being performed, "preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness" (emphasis added).
Let's review for a moment what we have seen about sickness up to this point. We know that sickness is not directly from God. It is not used by God to teach, correct, or rebuke. It is a curse. It is a work of satan. We have clearly seen that Jesus placed great importance upon healing in His ministry, and most importantly we know that by His wounds we were healed. Having said all this, why wasn't everyone healed in the New Testament, and what about now? Let's look at healing in the Gospels, as well as the rest of the New Testament; for it is only in the Word that we will find the answer to these questions.
Certain healings were completed by Jesus in order to deal with topics totally unrelated to the actual question of healing, and do not attempt to answer the central question of "Does God want us healed? For example, the healing which took place in Matt.9:6-8, Mk.2:1-2 & Lk.5:17-26 was done to prove that Jesus had the power to forgive sins. (Note, for future reference remember that faith was a factor in that healing.) The healing recorded in Matt.12:11-13, Mk.3:1-6 & Lk.6:6-11 was done to show the Pharisees that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath, and the healing reported in Lk.13:10-17 showed that people should be set free on the Sabbath. Finally, the healing in John 5:1-30 was used to teach the Pharisees who Jesus was.
Setting aside those healings for purposes of this discussion we can now divide all the rest of the healings in the New Testament into three basic categories. These are: #1 Healings which deal with demon possession, #2 Healings which come about because of Jesus' compassion, and #3 Healings which come about because of the faith of the people. I do not mean to ignore or put aside the healings mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Keep in mind that while they do not directly address the question which is the topic of this lesson, they are additional examples of Jesus' healing. Furthermore, in Lk.13:10-17 Jesus specifically chastised the Pharisees because the matter of healing had not been previously dealt with by them. This is further indication that Jesus desires healing.
Let us begin our discussion by taking a closer look at the healings listed in category #1. The casting out of demons when the Pharisees said that Jesus had done it by the power of Beelzebub as found in Matt.12:22-37, Mk.3:20-30 & Lk.11:14-14 was already basically discussed earlier. Jesus did it by the power of God, not by the power of satan. The healing of the demon possessed man by the tombs in Matt.28:34, Mk.5:1-21 & Lk.8:26-40 took place by the use of the Word of God. In Matt.28:32 Jesus simply said "Go." The driving out of many spirits in Matt.8:16 was also accomplished by the Word. Lastly we are told that the driving out of the evil spirit at Capernaum in Mk.1:21-28 and Lk. 4:31-37 was also accomplished by words, "...'be quiet,' Jesus said sternly. 'Come out of him.'"
In those accounts we are not told anything more about the process Jesus used in drive out the demons except that He used words. However, in the discussion which took place between the disciples and Jesus concerning the healing of the boy with epilepsy in Matt.17:14-20, Mk.9:14-29 and Lk.9:37-43 we find that the disciples could not drive out the demon which possessed the boy. Matt.17:16 says that the father of the boy brought the boy to Jesus saying, "I brought him to your disciples but they could not heal him." In vs. 17 Jesus responds in part by saying "... O unbelieving and perverse generation ..." (emphasis added). In vs. 18 Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out, leaving the boy healed in the process. In Matt.17:19 the disciples asked Jesus "why couldn't we drive it out?" In verse 20 I believe we find the key to the casting out of all demons, as well as the answer to their question. Jesus said, "because you have so little faith..." (Mk.9:29 adds to this faith requirement an additional factor of prayer.) Faith comes from the Word, and Jesus spoke the Word of God in order to drive out this demon. He specifically said that the disciples could not do so because they did not have sufficient faith and we know that faith comes from hearing the Word. However, before we go into the question of what part faith plays in healing let's first look at what part compassion plays.
We find that the healing of Simon's mother-in-law in Matt.8: 14-15, Lk.4:38-39 and Mk.1:29-31 came about according to Lk.4: 38 because "they asked Jesus to help her." So he bent over her and rebuked the fever and it left her." They had to ask, for they had no authority. They had to rely totally upon Jesus' compassion in order for her to be healed. Likewise, the deaf and dumb man in Mk.7:31-36 came begging to Jesus and he was healed. The blind man at Bethsaida in Mk.8: 22-26 begged Jesus for a healing and it was given to him also. Returning to the Leper who approached Jesus saying "Lord if you are willing you can make me clean", we see in Mk.1:41 that he "... came to Him (Jesus) and begged Him ..." (parenthesis added). Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand, touched him, and instantly he was healed.
You will find that Jesus' attitude towards the sick who were among the five thousand was one of compassion (Matt.14:14, Mk.6: 30-34 Lk.9:10-17 and John 6:1-15). In Matt.14:14 we find that "when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick." The same was true concerning the crowd of four thousand in Matt.15:31 and Mk.8:1-9. According to Matt.15:30 Jesus healed their lame, blind, their crippled, and many others. In vs. 31 we see that these healings followed directly on the heals of an expression of compassion for them. When He raised the widow's son in Lk.7:11-17 it is recorded in vs. 17 that "when the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her..."
I believe that in addition to the fact that Jesus is love, the key to His compassion is found in Matt.9:35-36. Therein we find that when facing the multitude Jesus was "... healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds He had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless..." (emphasis added). Remember, Jesus had not yet died, satan had not yet been defeated, and all believers had not been given authority to heal the sick. They were totally dependent upon His compassion, and when He exercised it, they were healed.
There are however instances where Jesus did not exercise His compassion, and in those instances people were not healed. As you will recall, Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law because they asked Him to do it. According to Matt.8:16-17, Mk.1:32-35 and Lk.4:40-41 that very evening Jesus healed many other sick also. In fact he healed all the sick that were brought to Him that night. But come day break, according to Lk.4:42 "the people were looking for Him and when they came to where He was, they tried to keep Him from leaving. But He said, I must preach the good news ... to other towns ..." They wanted Jesus to stay and continue doing what He had been doing the night before. People were coming down from all around, but He left. No more healings took place in that area at that time.
The Lord says, "I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion" (Ro.9:14 & Ex.33:19). Does that sound cruel? Not at all! God had compassion on us already!!!! You see, Jesus has already died, He already defeated satan. The curse of the law, which includes sickness, has been nailed to the cross (Gal. 3:13). The second paragraph of this study says "by His wounds you have been healed" (I Pe.2:24). That is past tense. Those New Testament Israelites who depended upon His compassion didn't always get it. He did not show compassion all the time. When He did, it was because they were helpless and harassed. Most couldn't act in faith or could not believe, but for those who could step out in faith they were healed every time.
In Matt.13:53-58, Mk.6:1-6 and Lk.4:13-20 Jesus said that He was a prophet without honor in His own town. He tells us in Mk.6:5-6 that He could not do any miracles there except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their "lack of faith" (emphasis added). This seems to indicate that lack of faith on the part of the people hindered His acting on their behalf. This supposition is affirmed in Matt.13:58 which says, "He did not do many miracles because of their lack of faith" (emphasis added). Did Jesus have the power to heal them? Yes. Did He exercise compassion and do so? No.
When He sent out the twelve in Matt.10:1-10, Lk.9:1-6 and Mk.6:6-13 He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to cure every disease and sickness. Now the Greek word for "authority" used in Matt.10:1 literally means "freedom of action." However, the most important point for this lesson is found in vs 14 wherein we are told that if anyone would "not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave ..." We know that faith comes from hearing the Word (Ro.10:17) and if those people would not listen to what the disciples had to say, they could not have faith; they could not believe. If that occurred, the disciples were told to leave.
The same situation occurred when Jesus sent out the seventy two in Lk.10:1-23. According to vs. 16 Jesus said "He who listens to you listens to Me, he who rejects you rejects Me but he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." Again we have the concept of listening. The seventy two were told that if they were rejected and people wouldn't listen to them, they were to leave. If those people didn't listen they couldn't have faith. Furthermore, by rejecting the disciples they rejected Jesus, which also meant they rejected the Father. This in turn meant that they also rejected the Father's healing which Jesus had authorized the disciples to do.
Let's return for just a moment to the concept of compassion. When Jesus healed the ten men with leprosy in Lk.17:11-19 we find that they came begging to Jesus, asking Him to have pity, and they were healed. But one of them, the gentile returned. According to Lk.17:19 he was healed not only by Jesus' compassion, but by his faith, for it says "arise and go, for your faith has made you well." It would appear in that situation that even if Jesus had not exercised His compassion, one of those men would have been healed because of his faith. We find in John 4:43-53, which relates the healing of the Galilean official's son, that the man came begging to Jesus. Jesus said that the man's son was healed. According to vs. 47 the man stopped begging, took Jesus at His word, and left. The man acted upon what Jesus had said. Now this is not in complete faith, for we find that the man's son was healed at the moment Jesus said "Go", but at least the man did not doubt that Jesus could do what He said He had done.
When we find the woman who had a spirit possessed daughter in Matt.15: 21-28 and Mk.7:24-30 we are told in Mk.7:26 that "she begged Jesus to draw the demon out of her daughter." According to Matt.15:23 "Jesus did not answer a word." She came to Jesus seeking compassion and Jesus did not respond to her in a positive way when she was begging. However, we find in Matt.15:27 that she stopped begging and acted boldly. According to vs. 28 Jesus now responded by saying "woman you have great faith, your request is granted." It would appear that her faith is what made it possible for that request to be granted.
She was interceding for her daughter and her faith brought about the healing. The Centurion's servant was healed by the faith of the Centurion (see Matt.8: 5-13 and Lk.7:1-10). In Matt.8:13 Jesus said "go and it will be done as you believe it" (emphasis added). In Matt.9:23-26, Mk.5:35-43 and Lk.8:49-56 we find that the dead daughter of the synagogue ruler would be raised if, according to Mk.5:36, the synagogue ruler would not be afraid and just believe. In Lk.8:40 Jesus told the ruler, "believe and she will be healed" (emphasis added). These accounts show a clear interrelationship between faith and healing.
We are told that the woman with the issue of blood spent all she had on doctors, and was not healed (see Matt.9:18-22, Mk.5:23-34 and Lk.8:40-48). When her faith became strong enough to go to Jesus, we find in Matt.9:22 that "your faith has healed you." Contrast this attitude with that found in II Chron. 16:12. There the king refused to seek the Lord and was not healed. The two blind men in Matt.9:27-31 believed they would be healed. We find in Matt.9:29 that "according to your faith it will be done to you" (emphasis added). In Matt.14:36 and Mk.6:56 the sick knew they would be healed if only they touched Jesus' garment. Their faith was like that of the woman with the issue of blood.
When Jesus was approaching Jericho in Lk.18:35-42 we find a blind man who boldly approached Jesus shouting. In vs. 42 Jesus said "receive your sight your faith has healed you" (emphasis added). When Jesus left Jericho in Matt.20: 29-34 and Mk.10:46-52 there were other blind men. They too shouted and called to Jesus. In Mk.10:52 Jesus again said, "your faith has healed you" (emphasis added). These men, and others like them, were healed because they had faith that Jesus could do what they had seen Him do and what He had said He would do. We, in order to have a 100% guaranteed healing must have faith that He has done what the Word said He has done.
After Jesus ascended into heaven the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). Not half full, not a double portion, but filled. We know that the Holy Spirit is here to teach us (John 14:26, I Cor.2:12 and John 16:13). Miracles don't build faith. Shortly after Peter, James, and John saw Jesus glorified on the Mt. of Transfiguration, and heard the Father speak with them in Matt. cha. 17, we are told that they couldn't cast a demon out of a little boy because of unbelief. However, after they received the Holy Spirit and began to have eyes that truly saw and ears that truly heard, listen to what Peter said brought about the healing of the crippled beggar in Acts 3:16. "By faith in the name of Jesus the man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through Him that has given the complete healing to him" (emphasis added). James states that "the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well" (Ja.5:15 emphasis added). While in Lystra, Paul noticed something about the crippled man in Acts 14:8-10 "... he had faith to be healed." These verses are of course God breathed (II Tim.3:16) and they say healing comes through faith. They were written after the Holy Spirit, our comforter, came to earth. If He is in us, we can understand the Word and have faith that our healing is guaranteed.
Jesus spoke in parables so that "though seeing they do not see. Though hearing they do not hear or understand." (Matt.13: 13) The "they" were all the Israelites but the disciples. Jesus tells us if they had eyes that see and ears that hear, they would understand and "I would heal them" (vs.15). That was spoken in conjunction with the parable of the sower which tells us that the good crop needs roots soaking up water (Matt.13:21 and Lk.8:6). This water is the Holy Spirit. (For a discussion on this water being the Holy Spirit and the power that comes from the Holy Spirit review chapters 2 & 3.) If you question the Holy Spirit's relationship to eyes that see and ears that hear, look at Acts 28:25. The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Isaiah "otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." (emphasis added) We see God's Scriptures with our eyes. We hear His message with our ears. We get faith through His Word. Eyes that see and ears that hear lead to faith in, and understanding of God's Word. With faith our healing comes about.
The blind man healed in John 8:1-12 was instructed to wash His eyes in the pool of Siloam which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit (see Cha.3). When he did, he had eyes that see. Because of the Holy Spirit he could see with eyes that had been blind and covered with mud. Please don't say that he was made blind by God so that God could make him well and thereby display His word in him.
In the Greek there are no punctuation marks. Furthermore, the words "this happened" found in some translations of vs. 3 are not present in the Greek. The punctuation of verses 3&4 should be as follows: "Jesus said, `Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But, so that the work of God might be displayed in his life we must do the work of Him who sent me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no one can work'" Jesus answered the disciples' question as to who sinned by saying "neither." That ended that. He then began a new thought by stating that among the Israelites He must perform the works of the Father while He was still there, for He was a light unto them, and that light would soon be gone (a reference to His crucifixion). Darkness would then settle in for them (John 12:35). At that time the Gospel would go to the Gentiles. The Israelites would be hardened in part until the number of Gentiles who would come into the kingdom would be completed. Then the Israelites would be grafted back onto the vine Ro.11:11-23).
The point is, God did not make that man blind so that He could then heal him. God receives glory from healing, not sickness. Sickness is a curse, a tool of satan. God will use sickness to His advantage as He uses all things to His advantage. But He doesn't bring it on His children. It is not His will that we be sick. Our faith in Jesus will overcome sickness. That blind man had to depend upon Jesus' compassion, for there is no evidence that he had faith before he talked with Jesus. However, when he walked in faith by doing what Jesus commanded, he was healed (John 9:7).
The same was true of Lazarus. At that time Jesus had not died and satan had not been defeated. As such, the healing of Lazarus had to depend upon Jesus' compassion. As was noted before, God was not glorified by Lazarus' sickness, but by his resurrection. I know Jesus delayed two days before going to him, but we have to remember the concept of having compassion upon whom He will have compassion. Furthermore, the possibility exists that he was dead by the time Jesus "received word" that he was sick. It was only a short journey from where Jesus was to where Mary and Martha were, and Lazarus was buried four days by the time Jesus arrived though he only delayed two days in coming.
We are not dependent upon a future compassion which Jesus may or may not exercise. We are to have faith in the compassion which He already exercised on our behalf when He died on the cross. Since that is true, what about Paul's thorn in the flesh (II Cor.12:7)? That thorn was not a sickness, it was a messenger of satan, a spirit from the devil trying to get Paul to give up, back off, and forget what glories the Lord had shown him. It was a physical attempt, not ailment, from satan to make Paul forget the spiritual glory he had witnessed.
When Paul pleaded to have it removed, God didn't tell him, "No, it is good for you and I think you should keep it." God said in vs. 9 "My grace is sufficient for you." The Greek word translated "grace" in vs. 9 is translated "power" in Acts 4:33 wherein the disciples testified about Jesus' power. In Acts 4:16 we find that we are to approach the throne of grace in order to receive grace to help us in our time of need. This grace includes the ability to "overcome all the power of the enemy" (Lk.10:19) and to cast out devils in the name of Jesus (Mk.16:17). We must never give the devil a foothold (Eph.4:27). In effect I believe that God told Paul to take care of it himself using the power and authority which God had already given him.
We have already been healed. The Spirit of God, through His Holy Word says, "by His stripes we were healed." Spirit creates physical (see Chapter 1). When we acknowledge our healing by confessing it to the Father, thanking Him for our healing, believing we receive it when we pray, meditating on the Scriptures upon which our faith is based, the physical appearance of our healing must take place at some point. It will take place if we do not say things or act in such a way as to negate our confession of faith.
The gift of healing is indeed real (I Cor.12:9). I believe that it is an extension of God's compassion to man. Think about that for a moment. God had enough compassion and love to send His Son (John 3:16) by whom we can all have healing through faith. But He also added some ways in case our faith wasn't strong enough. Remember though the gift of healing will not be available every time. He has compassion on whom He will have compassion, for He will not change the rules in mid stream. Paul had at least one occasion where an opportunity to heal was available, but none took place. He "left Trophumus sick in Miletus" (II Tim.4:20). However, complete faith on the part of the one seeking healing works every time.
The literal Greek in Matt.16:19 says that we bind on earth that which has already been bound in heaven and we loose on earth that which has already been loosed in heaven. satan was defeated at Calvary. He has been bound by Jesus who is in heaven and we, who comprise His body on earth, are to bind him here. We bind the strong man (Matt.12:29) and loose God's power on earth just as that power is loosed in heaven. All sickness can be traced back to satan. Whether it is a direct result of sin (see John 5:14, Ps.38:5 and Ps.31:10), a result of the curse put on the earth by Adam's sin, (germs or bacteria may be examples of this - present before the fall, but perverted by satan at the fall), or our failure to care for our bodies because of a failure to follow God's directions, the foundation is still satan. Since we are now the righteousness of Jesus (Ro.4:22 and Phil.3:9), Sons of God (Ro.8:14), of the same family as Jesus (Heb.2:11), and have the authority of His Name (Matt.28:18 and Mk.16:17), we should not accept anything from satan, let alone destruction of our body.
God's will is healing, His perfect way, to which He devoted the most time in the Gospels is healing through faith. Do not misunderstand me. God's perfect will for us is divine health; however, should one of satan's fiery darts of sickness get past our armor, faith is the best medicine. It is impossible to please God without faith (Heb.11:16) and we are to have the faith of God (Mk.11:22). This is not a lesson in condemnation. If our faith is not strong enough, we must depend upon the gift of healing and or godly physicians until, and I emphasize 'until' we have gotten into the Word and built our faith. Other means of healing are available, but God wants todeal with us directly through His Word, through His Spirit, through prayer, standing on our own faith.
In the Old Testament they were not healed by Jesus' wounds, and did not have the Holy Spirit to unlock the Word. Their faith and power were somewhat limited. According to Hosea 4:6 God's people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge. Those people who deny the power of God at work today in the area of divine healing are denying themselves knowledge. Their faith cannot grow beyond a certain point because they cannot understand the Word. Sadly, they are all to often, destroyed by sickness and disease.
These are the same people who find it necessary to say that I Pe.2:24 which says "... by His wounds you have been healed", does not apply to physical ailments. Let's look at the context of that verse. "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." There is no doubt that the first portion of that verse deals with sin and our dependence upon His death for forgiveness. However, to now say that since the first part deals with sin, the last part automatically does not deal with physical healing is incorrect. Forgiveness of sins through Christ, the very Gospel itself, and physical healing are mentioned together numerous times in Scripture. As we saw earlier in this study, the preaching of salvation through the kingdom of God and healing were joined when Jesus sent out the 12 in Matt.10:1-10 and when He sent out the 72 in Lk.10:1-23.
Failure to forgive and failure to recognize the fact that Jesus' wounds healed us are specifically given as reasons for sickness and death among the Corinthians in, I Cor.11:28-29. Now turn to Isa.53:5, the very prophecy of Christ's death. "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities" - that part takes care of our sins. "...The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him" - that part means that we do not have to fear physical punishment from God. "... By His wounds we are healed" - the price for physical healing of our physical bodies was also paid on the cross. Salvation, peace, and healing of our physical bodies were all prophesied in that verse. Are we now to say that only two out of three were completed when Jesus died on the cross? The verse in I Peter says "were" healed. That is past tense. Healing has also been completed.
As in all things we should seek first our Lord and Savior. It would be a tragedy to receive a compassionate healing through the workings of the gifts of the Spirit, and not find Jesus. Like the gift of healing, faith is the vehicle through which healing manifests itself in the physical realm. We do not want to worship the vehicle or tool through which God acts. The worship of the tool was a mistake the Israelites made once before and the tool was destroyed and made useless to them. Return for a moment to the Bronze Snake which God directed Moses to make in order for the people to be healed (Nu.21:4-9). That snake was the tool through which they were healed. The sad thing is, by the time of the reign of King Hezekiah, the people had begun to actually worship the snake itself (see I Ki.18:4). It was therefore destroyed. We must not worship our faith, for that is merely the preferred tool through which God will manifest our healing.
We are to know, through the Holy Spirit, that His grace is sufficient. We can go boldly to the throne (Heb.4:16) saying His Words (I John 5:14), which include "by His stripes we are healed" (I Pe.2:24 and Isa.53:5), and "He took upon Himself our sickness and infirmities" (Matt.8:17). We know His Words do not return unto Him void (Isa.55:11) and that not one of His promises has ever failed (Joshua 23:14). Praise God I am healed and can now, by my shield of faith (Eph.6:16), fend off every sickness satan tries to put, or keep, on me.
Prayer for Healing
Father, Most High God, in Jesus name;
Your Word tells us in John 16:23 that You will give us whatever we ask for in Jesus' name. You tell us in I John 5:14 that if we ask anything according to Your will, You hear us and that since we know You hear us, we have whatever we have asked for. I come before you now, standing on Your Word, which includes Ja.5:15 wherein we are told that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.
You tells us in Prov.4:20 that we are to listen to Your Words for they are life to those who find them and health to our bodies. We know from John 1:1 that Jesus is the Word and from Ps.107:20 that You sent forth Your Word to heal. In Ex.15:26 You tell us that You are the Lord who heals us. We are then shown in Ps.103:3 that you forgive all our sins and heal all our diseases.
You tells us in Deut.28:15-16 that all diseases and sickness are curses; however, You also show us in Gal.3:13 that Christ has redeemed us from the curse. Isa.53:5 foretold Christ's healing ministry by saying, "By His wounds we are healed." Jesus told us in Matt.8:17 that He took upon Himself our infirmities and diseases. In fact, I John 3:8 clearly says that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and we know from Acts 10:38 that He healed all who were under the power of the devil.
Thank you Father for showing us that it is Your will for us to be healed. In Lk.5:12-13 the leper said to Jesus, "Lord if you are willing You can make me clean," and Jesus answered Him by saying, "I am willing." According to Heb.13:8 Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. According to Heb.17:7 Your nature is unchanging and Mal.3:6 tells us that as our Lord, You do not change. Lk.2:49 says that Jesus came to earth to do Your work. In John 6:38 Jesus said that He came down from heaven not to do His will, but to do Yours. Since He healed then, He heals now. Since it was Your will then, I know it is Your will now.
We know from Heb.6:18, Titus 1:2 & I Sam.15:29 that it is impossible for Your to lie. Josh. 21:45 & 23:14 tell us that not one of Your good promises has ever failed. In Nu.23:19 we see that You do not speak without acting or make a promise without fulfilling it. According to Isa.55:11 Your Word does not return to You void. You even tell us in Jer.1:12 that You are watching to see that Your Words are fulfilled. Your Words in I Pe.2:24 say that 'by His wounds we have been healed." That is past tense. The price for our healing has been paid.
We know from I Cor.5:5 that it is satan who destroys the flesh. On the other hand, we know from John 10:10 that Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the fullest. We praise You Father for You tell us in Matt.13:16 that You have given us eyes that see. We are therefore comforted because we know from Acts 28:27 that with eyes that see we are healed. We do praise You and thank You and worship You and adore You for that healing. I do further praise You and thank You, for Your love, which sent Christ to earth to die for me, has also provided me with my healing as well as my salvation. Your Word tells us in Acts 3:16 that it is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through Him that has given us our complete healing.
We know that our faith rests on Your power, and not on man's wisdom. I shall now take the shield of faith You have given me according to Eph.6:16, along with the rest of my armor, and stand on Your Word and rebuke satan's sickness.
In Christ Jesus, praise be unto You forever - Amen