Healing for Body and Soul
Guaranteed in The Atonement ?
Redemption for sin and the
result of sin on the Cross
I have placed 3 views held by
differend groups of people, to show you their perpspective of the biblical view of healing
in the Atonement. At the end I will add a closing comment from Ministry of Hope !
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Is physical healing guaranteed in the
atonement(Isaiah 53:3-5)
Commentary by Ron
RhodesBy Ron Rhodes
No. First of all, while
ultimate physical healing is in the atonement (a healing we will enjoy in our resurrection
bodies), healing of our bodies while in the mortal state (prior to our death and
resurrection) is not guaranteed in the atonement.
Moreover, it is important to note that the Hebrew word for healing (napha)
can refer not just to physical healing but to spiritual healing. The context of
Isaiah 53:4 indicates that spiritual healing is in view. In verse 5 we are clearly told,
"He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed"
(v. 5). Because "transgressions" and "iniquities" set the context,
spiritual healing from the misery of man's sin is in view.
Further, there are numerous verses in Scripture which substantiate
the view that physical healing in mortal life is not guaranteed in the atonement
and that it is not always God's will to heal. The apostle Paul couldn't heal
Timothy's stomach problem (1 Timothy 5:23) 1Tim 5:23 Drink no longer
water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thy frequent infirmities.
nor could he heal Trophimus at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20) 2 Tim
4:20 Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I have left sick at Miletus
or Epaphroditus (Philippians 3:25-27). Phill 3:25-27 Yet I
have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labor
and fellow soldier, but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants. 26 For he
longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because ye had heard that he had been
sick. 27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death, but God had mercy on him, and
not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
Paul spoke of "a bodily illness" he had Galatians
4:13-15).13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the Gospel unto
you at the first. 14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor
rejected, but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 15 Where is then the
blessedness ye spoke of? For I bear you record that, if it had been possible, ye would
have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me.
He also suffered a "thorn in the flesh" which God allowed him to retain (2
Corinthians 12:7-9).2 Corinth 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing,
I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And He said unto me, "My
grace is sufficent for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Most
gladly therefore will I glory rather in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me.
God certainly allowed Job to go through a time of physical suffering (Job 1--2). In none
of these cases is it stated that the sickness was caused by sin or unbelief. Nor did Paul
or any of the others act as if they thought their healing was guaranteed in the atonement.
They accepted their situations and trusted in God's grace for sustenance.
It is noteworthy that on one occasion Jesus indicated that
sickness could be for the glory of God (John 11:4). John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death,
but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."
Finally, there are numerous verses in Scripture which reveal that
our physical bodies are continuously running down and suffering various ailments. Our
present bodies are said to be perishable and weak 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.42
So also is the resurrection of the dead: It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it
is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is
a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
Paul said "our outer man is decaying" 2
Corinthians 4:16. 16 For this cause we faint not, but though our outward man
perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
Death and disease will be a part of the human condition until that time when we receive
resurrection bodies that are immune to such frailties 1 Corinthians 15:51-55.51
¶ Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed 52 in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is
swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
Am I saying we shouldn't pray for healing? No, not at all. I'm just saying that after
we've asked for healing, we need to submit to God's sovereign will. He may have a purpose
in allowing our illness.
Our sins are our sorrows and our griefs (#Isa 53:4), or, as it may be read, our
sicknesses and our wounds: the LXX. read it, our sins; and so the apostle, #1Pe 2:24. Our
original corruptions are the sickness and disease of the soul, an habitual indisposition;
our actual transgressions are the wounds of the soul, which put conscience to pain, if it
be not seared and senseless. Or our sins are called our griefs and sorrows because all our
griefs and sorrows are owing to our sins and our sins deserve all our griefs and sorrows,
even those that are most extreme and everlasting.
(3.) Our Lord Jesus was appointed and did undertake to make satisfaction for our sins
and so to save us from the penal consequences of them. [1.] He was appointed to do it, by
the will of his Father; for the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. God chose him
to be the Saviour of poor sinners and would have him to save them in this way, by bearing
their sins and the punishment of them; not the idem—the same that we should have
suffered, but the tantundem— that which was more than equivalent for the maintaining
of the honour of the holiness and justice of God in the government of the world.
Observe here, First, In what way we are saved from the ruin to which by sin we had
become liable—by laying our sins on Christ, as the sins of the offerer were laid upon
the sacrifice and those of all Israel upon the head of the scape-goat. Our sins were made
to meet upon him (so the margin reads it); the sins of all that he was to save, from every
place and every age, met upon him, and he was met with for them. They were made to fall
upon him (so some read it) as those rushed upon him that came with swords and staves to
take him.
The laying of our sins upon Christ implies the taking of them off from us; we shall not
fall under the curse of the law if we submit to the grace of the gospel. They were laid
upon Christ when he was made sin (that is, a sin offering) for us, and redeemed us from
the curse of the law by being made a curse for us; thus he put himself into a capacity to
make those easy that come to him heavily laden under the burden of sin. See #Ps 40:6-12.
Secondly, By whom this was appointed. It was the Lord that laid our iniquities on Christ;
he contrived this way of reconciliation and salvation, and he accepted of the vicarious
satisfaction Christ was to make. Christ was delivered to death by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God.
None but God had power to lay our sins upon Christ, both because the sin was committed
against him and to him the satisfaction was to be made, and because Christ, on whom the
iniquity was to be laid, was his own Son, the Son of his love, and his holy child Jesus,
who himself knew no sin. Thirdly, For whom this atonement was to be made. It was the
iniquity of us all that was laid on Christ; for in Christ there is a sufficiency of merit
for the salvation of all, and a serious offer made of that salvation to all, which
excludes none that do not exclude themselves. It intimates that this is the one only way
of salvation. All that are justified are justified by having their sins laid on Jesus
Christ, and, though they were ever so many, he is able to bear the weight of them all.
[2.] He undertook to do it. God laid upon him our iniquity; but did he consent to it?
Yes, he did; for some think that the true reading of the next words (#Isa 53:7) is, It was
exacted, and he answered; divine justice demanded satisfaction for our sins, and he
engaged to make the satisfaction. He became our surety, not as originally bound with us,
but as bail to the action:
"Upon me be the curse, my Father."
And therefore, when he was seized, he stipulated with those into whose hands he
surrendered himself that that should be his disciples’ discharge: If you seek me, let
these go their way, #Joh 18:8. By his own voluntary undertaking he made himself
responsible for our debt, and it is well for us that he was responsible. Thus he restored
that which he took not away.
(4.) Having undertaken our debt, he underwent the penalty. Solomon says: He that is
surety for a stranger shall smart for it. Christ, being surety for us, did smart for it.
[1.] He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, #Isa 53:4. He not only submitted to
the common infirmitiesof human nature, and the common calamities of human life,
which sin had introduced, but he underwent the extremities of grief, when he said, My soul
is exceedingly sorrowful. He made the sorrows of this present time heavy to himself, that
he might make them light and easy for us. Sin is the wormwood and the fall in the
affliction and the misery. Christ bore our sins, and so bore our griefs, bore them off us,
that we should never be pressed above measure. This is quoted (#Mt 8:17) with application
to the compassion Christ had for the sick that came to him to be cured and the power he
put forth to cure them.
[2.] He did this by suffering for our sins (#Isa 53:5): He was wounded for our
transgressions, to make atonement for them and to purchase for us the pardon of them. Our
sins were the thorns in his head, the nails in his hands and feet, the spear in his side.
Wounds and bruises were the consequences of sin, what we deserved and what we had
brought upon ourselves, #Isa 1:6. That these wounds and bruises, though they are painful,
may not be mortal, Christ was wounded for our transgressions, was tormented or pained (the
word is used for the pains of a woman in travail) for our revolts and rebellions.
He was bruised, or crushed, for our iniquities; they were the procuring cause of his
death. To the same purport is #Isa 53:8, for the transgression of my people was he
smitten, the stroke was upon him that should have been upon us; and so some read it, He
was cut off for the iniquity of my people, unto whom the stroke belonged, or was due. He
was delivered to death for our offences, #Ro 4:25.
Hence it is said to be according to the scriptures, according to this scripture,
that Christ died for our sins, #1Co 15:3. Some read this, by the transgressions of my
people; that is, by the wicked hands of the Jews, who were, in profession, God’s
people, he was stricken, was crucified and slain, #Ac 2:23. But, doubtless, we are to take
it in the former sense, which is abundantly confirmed by the angel’s prediction of
the Messiah’s undertaking, solemnly delivered to Daniel, that he shall finish
transgression, make an end of sin, and make reconciliation for iniquity, #Da 9:24.
(5.) The consequence of this to us is our peace and healing, #Isa 53:5.
[1.] Hereby we have peace: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; he, by
submitting to these chastisements, slew the enmity, and settled an amity, between God and
man; he made peace by the blood of his cross. Whereas by sin we had become odious to
God’s holiness and obnoxious to his justice, through Christ God is reconciled to us,
and not only forgives our sins and saves us from ruin, but takes us into friendship and
fellowship with himself, and thereby peace (that is, all good) comes unto us, #Col 1:20.
He is our peace, #Eph 2:14. Christ was in pain that we might be at ease; he gave
satisfaction to the justice of God that we might have satisfaction in our own minds, might
be of good cheer, knowing that through him our sins are forgiven us.
[2.] Hereby we have healing; for by his stripes we are healed. Sin is not only
a crime, for which we were condemned to die and which Christ purchased for us the pardon
of, but it is a disease, which tends directly to the death of our souls and which Christ
provided for the cure of. By his stripes (that is, the sufferings he underwent)
he purchased for us the Spirit and grace of God to mortify our corruptions, which are the
distempers of our souls, and to put our souls in a good state of health, that they may be
fit to serve God and prepared to enjoy him. And by the doctrine of Christ’s cross,
and the powerful arguments it furnishes us with against sin, the dominion of sin is broken
in us and we are fortified against that which feeds the disease.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows, &c.] Or "nevertheless," as Gussetius {k};
notwithstanding the above usage of him; though it is a certain and undoubted truth, that
Christ not only assumed a true human nature, capable of sorrow and grief, but he took all
the natural sinless infirmities of it; or his human nature was subject to such, as hunger,
thirst, weariness, &c.; and to all the sorrow and pain arising from them; the same
sorrows and griefs he was liable to as we are, and therefore called ours and hence he had
a sympathy with men under affliction and trouble; and, to show
his sympathizing spirit, he healed all sorts of
bodily diseases; and also, to show his power,
He healed the diseases of the soul, by bearing the sins of his people, and making
satisfaction for them;
since
he that could do the one could do the other; wherefore the evangelist applies this passage to the healing
of bodily diseases,
#Mt 8:17Matthew 8:17 That it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities,
and bare our sicknesses,
Though the principal meaning of the words may
be, that all the sorrows and griefs which Christ bore were not for any sins of his own,
but for the sins of his people;
wherefore these
griefs and sorrows signify the punishment of sin, and are put for sins, the cause of them and so the apostle interprets them
of Christ's bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, #1Pe 2:24, and the
Septuagint and Arabic versions render the words here, "he bears our sins"; and
the Targum is,
"wherefore he will entreat for our
sins;"
Matt 8:17 Ver. 17. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet, &c.] In # Isa 53:4 "He hath borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows",
Here rendered, himself took our infirmities
and bare our sicknesses: very agreeable to the Hebrew text, ^awh^, "he himself",
not another; ^avn^, "took up", upon himself voluntarily, freely, as a man lifts
up a burden, and takes it on his shoulders; ^wnylx^, "our infirmities",
diseases, sicknesses
, whether of body or soul, ^Mlbo wnybakmw^, "and bare", or carried, as a man does a burden
upon his back, "our sicknesses", or diseases, which occasion pain and sorrow.
And that these words are spoken of the Messiah, the Jews themselves own; for among the
names they give to the Messiah, "a leper" is one; which they prove from this
passage {u}.
2Peter 2:Ver. 24. Who his own self
bare our sins, &c.] As was typified by the high priest bearing the sins of the holy
things of the people of Israel, when he went into the most holy place, and by the scape
goat bearing the iniquities of all the people unto a land not inhabited, and as was
foretold by the Prophet Isaiah.
The apostle here explains the nature and end
of Christ's sufferings, which were to make
atonement for sins, and which was done by bearing them
.
What Christ bore were sins", even all
sorts of sin, original and actual, and every act of sin of his people
;
And all that is in sin, all that belongs to
it, arises from it,
and
is the demerit of it, as both filth, guilt, and punishment; and a multitude of sins did he
bear, even all the iniquities of all the elect; and a prodigious load and weight it was;
and than which nothing could be more nauseous and disagreeable to him, who loves
righteousness, and hates iniquity:
And these sins he bore were not his own, nor the sins of angels, but of men; and not of
all men, yet of many, even as many as were ordained to eternal life, for whom Christ gave
his life a ransom, whom he justifies and brings to glory; our sins, not the sins of the
Jews only, for Peter was a Jew, and so were those to whom he writes, but of the Gentiles
also, even the sins of all his people, for them he saves from their sins, being stricken
for them.
His "bearing" them was in this
manner: he becoming the surety and substitute of his people, their sins were laid upon him
by his Father, that is, they were imputed to him, they were reckoned as his, and placed to
his account; and Christ voluntarily took them upon himself; he took them to himself, as
one may take the debt of
another, and make
himself answerable for it; or as a man takes up a burden, and lays it on his shoulders;
So Christ took up our sins, and "carried" them "up", as the word
here used signifies, alluding to the priests carrying up the sacrifice to the altar, and
referring to the lifting up of Christ upon the cross; whither he carried the sins of his
people, and bore them, and did not sink under the weight of them, being the mighty God,
and the man of God's right hand, made strong for himself; and so made entire satisfaction
for them, by enduring the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and all that punishment
which was due unto them;
And thereby bore them away, both from his people, and out of the sight of God, and his
vindictive justice; and removed them as far as the east is from the west, and made a full
end of them; and this he himself did, and not another, nor by another, or with the help of
another; not by the means of a goat, as the high priest, but by himself; though he was
assisted in bearing his cross, yet he had no help in bearing our sins; angels could not
help him; his Father stood at a distance from him; there was none to help;
His own arm brought salvation to him; but his own self, who knew no sin, nor did any,
he
by himself purged
away our sins, and made reconciliation for them, by bearing them: and which he did in his
own body, and not another's;
In that body which his Father prepared for him, and which he took of the virgin, and
was free from sin; though not to the exclusion of his soul, which also was made an
offering for sin, and in which he endured great pains and sorrows for sin:
And all this on the tree; the accursed tree, the cross; which is expressive both of the
shame and pain of his sufferings and death.
The end of which was, that we being dead to sin; "to our sins", as the
Alexandrian copy, and the Ethiopic version read; as all the elect are, through bearing
their sins, and suffering death for them, so as that sin shall not be imputed to them; it
is as though it never was; it is dead to them, and they to that, as to its damning power
and influence; so as that they are entirely discharged from it, and can never come into
condemnation on account of it, and can never be hurt, so as to be destroyed by it; nor by
death, either corporeal or eternal, since the sting of death, which is sin, is taken away,
and the strength of sin, which is the law, is dead to them, and they to that: In short,
through the death of Christ they are so dead to sin, that it is not only finished, made an
end of, and put away, but the body of it is destroyed, that it should not be served; which
is an end subordinate to the former, and expressed in the next clause:should live unto
righteousness;
Live, and not die the second death, and live by faith on the righteousness of Christ,
for justification of life, and soberly, righteously, and godly in this present evil world;
which the grace of God teaches, and the love of Christ in bearing sin constrains to, and
the redemption by his precious blood lays under an obligation to do; for those whose sins
Christ has bore are not their own, but being bought with the price of his blood,
They are bound to live to him who has a property in them, and a right to claim all
obedience from them
: by
whose stripes ye were healed; the passage referred to is in # Isa 53:5 which is a prophecy of the
Messiah, as is acknowledged by the Jews {g}, who say {h},
This is the King Messiah, who was in the generation of the ungodly, as it is said, #
Isa 53:5 "and with his stripes we are healed"; and for this cause God saved him,
that he might save Israel, and rejoice with them in the resurrection of the dead.''
Sin is a disease, a natural and hereditary
one, an epidemic distemper, that reaches to all men, and to all the powers and faculties
of their souls, and members of their bodies; and which is nauseous and
loathsome, and in itself mortal and incurable; nor can it be healed by any creature, or
anything that a creature can do.
Christ is the only physician, and his blood the balm and sovereign medicine; this
cleanses from all sin;
through it is the
remission of sin, which is meant by healing; for healing of diseases, and forgiving
iniquities, is one and the same thing;
Although He took out infirmities and carried
away our diseases we also have to understand that we are not automatically healed from all
diseases when we accept jesus as our Savior and Lord, We know this for a fact, also we
know that our minds have to be renewd, all trouble comming fort from wrong habbits are not
gone at the moment we receive the Lord as our Savior, we also know that Paul (Galatians 4:13-15) and Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23) both had sickness to endure,
Trophimus at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20), Epaphroditus (Philippians 3:25-27)
On the other hand we see that Jesus healed every
where he went, we can not overlook that the Lord Jesus did not do anything unless it came
from the Father.
John 8:28 Then said Jesus unto
them, "When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He, and
that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and ye believed not.
The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.
John 10:37 If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works, that
ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."
John 14:12 Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth in Me, the
works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go
unto My Father. John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son.
(doing only what the Father showed Him) and so did
the Apostles and others, even to the 72 Jesus gave them power to heal the sick. We
see that Jesus claimed to be He was by the signs and wonders he performed and so did the
Apostles.
Never the less Jesus brought Healing, healing the
sick and the lame, as was foretold in Isaiah 53:4,5 These healings were acts
of mercy done by God, Through the Lord jesus
God was able to extend His mercy upon the people. Even paul the great Evangelist had to
rely on the mercy of God to do the work for the Kingdom of God (Phill 3:27For indeed he (Epaphroditus) was sick nigh unto death, but God had mercy
on him, and not on him only, but on me (Paul) also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow)
.
God wanted to make certain that the only way to establish the church was by His power
only.
God did this also to show fort His Goodness and
leave no doubt that these things were from God, the Church had to be born and people had
to believe that Jesus was send from God, in order to show us the way of salvation. Jesus
was going to redeem us, and was setting us free from the power of sin. Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
-(that is our souls and not our bodies, our bodies, sinfull as they are causing to be at
war most of our earthly existance, being an entrance of Satan (weak as the flesh is) to
perform his diluted works by the lust of the flesh (if we let him) flesh and blood cannot
inherent the Kingdom of God 1 Corinth 15:53 For
this corruptible must put on incorruption.... therefore we still have to die and await a new spiritual
body at the resurrection, unless our Lord is returning while we are still alive)
The body, to be a vessel of righteousness When we gave our lives to Christ and were burried (the old self) and raised onto
a new life,( through Baptism) now, we see that with the deadness to sin (our old
self) that our bodies are no longer to be the instruments of sin. And we see that in being freed from the power of sin this includes the body and all
the members of the body. Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so
that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so
we too might [habitually] live {and} behave in newness of life. Rom 6:5 For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His,
we shall also be [one with Him in sharing] His resurrection [by a new life lived for God]. Rom 6:6 We know that our old (unrenewed) self
was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is the instrument] of
sin might be made ineffective {and} inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the
slaves of sin.
But we have a responsebility
to yield to God and not to the flesh.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived,
perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings {and} be subject to its lusts {and}
evil passions. Rom 6:13 Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and
faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer {and} yield yourselves
to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily
members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness. Rom 6:14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since
now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor
and mercy].
Our bodies are also (in obedience) implements of rigteousness, (included in the) as
subjects of His favor and mercy.
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called His disciples unto
Him and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now
three days and have had nothing to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they
faint on the way." Matthew 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion,
and loosed him and forgave him the debt. Matthew 20:34 So Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes, and
immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. Mark 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and
touched him, and said unto him, "I will; be thou clean." Mark 5:19 But Jesus suffered him not, and said unto him, "Go home to
thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee, and how He hath
had compassion on thee."
There is no reason to believe that God lost His compassion towards His
children, there is no reason why God would treat born again believers with less mercy and
grace then those in Jesus time. no there is not.
But in the Time of Jesus there was the person of Jesus, the faith of Jesus, the obedient
Jesus and the perfect Jesus, through who'm the Father would show Himself fully. Now
Jesus and the Apostles are gone we also see little healing in comparrison.
I also believe that faith is an important ingredient in healing of
the body. We see that in James 5: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and certainly for
salvation Eph 2:8,9.these are gifts, faith and salvation God's grace!
Deuteronomy 32:39 "‘See now that I, even I, am He, and there is
no god besides Me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any
that can deliver out of My hand.
Concerning Mercy and sovereignty
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (held in
relative disregard in comparison with My feeling for Jacob). Rom 9:14 What shall we conclude then? Is there injustice upon God's part?
Certainly not!
Rom 9:15 For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I
will have compassion (pity) on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then [God's gift] is not a question of human will and human effort,
but of God's mercy. [It depends not on one's own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion
as in running a race, but on God's having mercy on him.] Rom 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have raised you up for this
very purpose of displaying My power in [dealing with] you, so that My name may be
proclaimed the whole world over.
Rom 9:18 So then He has mercy on whomever He wills (chooses) and He hardens
(makes stubborn and unyielding the heart of) whomever He wills. Rom 9:19 You will say to me, Why then does He still find fault {and}
blame us [for sinning]? For who can resist {and} withstand His will?
Rom 9:20 But who are you, a mere man, to criticize {and} contradict {and} answer
back to God? Will what is formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? Rom 9:21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same
mass (lump) one vessel for beauty {and} distinction {and} honorable use, and another for
menial {or} ignoble {and} dishonorable use?
Also in the church in James 5:14-15
we are called to go for healing to the elders to have them pray over us for healing.
It is therefore save to conclude that God provided a
way for healing, for evangelists and also for the believers.
We also see examples of sickness not being healed or to take some sort medicine. To say to
pray for healing and leave like that, is to say don't go to the hospital either for
it is not God's will for you to be healed as some teach, while others teach that you have
to hold on by faith and eventually you will receive. Not so, many have died, believing for healing, while they could have been save by
doctors, we cannot force Gods pity on us? no, we have to maintain a humble trusting
attitude in all circumstances, is God not able to deliver you? of course He can, if you
belong to Christ shall he not be trusted with our wellbeing, healing, needs. Our bodies
are meant to be replaced at the proper time, but God is able to see us through and to heal
us in our earlthly state, as He sees fit to do so, it is our part to exercise our faith by
trusting Him that He knows best.
I believe we should pray for healing, I also
believe to go to the doctor or hospital if healing does not occur through prayer or laying
on hands, but still go prayerfully, not only trusting medication and doctors, but also in
God's healing power, even through docters and hospitals, don't limit God in any way, even
though He doesn't heal us all the time as we would like, ultimatily He wants to see our
soul to prosper and beïng in good heath. 3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish
above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
James 5:14-15 "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of
the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he
have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Father God, In
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, we ask you in prayer and believing to touch and heal
this person. We pray and believe the promises of your Word Lord and agree for the
healing of every sick person praying with me right now, we ask this in the name of Jesus
our redeemer and healer Amen!"
"Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases…"
Psalm 103:3
"And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy
water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." Exodus 23:25
"Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal
unto them the abundance of peace and truth." Jeremiah 33:6
"He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their
destructions." Psalm 107:20
And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water;
and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. Exodus 23:25
The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.
Ps 41:3(NIV)
Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sins,
might live f or righteousness - by whose stripes you are healed." I Peter 2:24
"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people." Matthew 9:35
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
Matthew 8:17
"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith
shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him.
Stay focussed on the healer rather than on
the healing, we are so much after blessings that we forget the blesser, we so much are
focussed on the here and now that we lose sight of God and His purpose for our life, above
all is our relationship with Him, that the one who loved us first, pours out his Spirit
upon us and filling us with Himself.
To be in Christ
The most important thing in all this is
that you "feel and sense God." There are some people who are hard as rocks and
feel nothing. But let me ask you this: Doesn't your heart palpitate when you are sitting
next to someone whom you love? When God is here with us, for some reason we just feel
good. Even during times of sickness, He can be so near. We experience His peace No further
explanation is needed. God is near, His approval is upon us, I surrender all. No matter
how angry or stressed we may get, we are filled with delight just experiencing God's peace
that passes all understanding. It doesn't matter what suffering or hardship - even death -
may befall us.
In military affairs, there is a term
"disarmament." When we stand before God, we too must be disarmed. We must let
God enter into us, just as we would open a closed window to let in the sunlight. When we
say before God, "I love you, Lord our king. I have tormented myself for too long. I
lay down all things before You," then in an instant, our hearts that were filled with
turmoil, anxiety, and depression will be changed in an instant, and the peace of God will
fill us. Hallelujah!
When we have such peace, we begin to hear the voice of God. And when we hear His voice we
are filled with delight and assurrance. When we fight with God, we cannot hear His voice.
When we raise His name, we hear His voice. When our relationships are restored, we hear
His voice; if they are not restored, and we do not hear.
I pray that all of your hearts would be overflowing with incredible spiritual peace, joy,
and praise, so that you may hear the voice of God and enter into His rest and assurance.
