Physical Healing

Good news! The Lord Jesus Christ not only healed people when on the Earth, He still heals people today!

He has not changed. And His provision for healing is contained in His holy Word, the Bible. Healing was, and still is, a part of His gospel.

 Actually, the word gospel means "good news," and this good news of God's love is much more than forgiveness and saving one's soul for eternity, as wonderful as that is. Physical healing is one of the benefits of the atonement (at-one-ment) of the God-man, Jesus Christ, bridging the gap between a holy God and sinful man, which He provided by His substitutionary suffering and death in Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago. His great sacrifice provided reconciliation with and access to God for all those who believe in and put their trust in Him.

The benefits of Christ's atonement are actually listed in two prophetic Old Testament (Covenant) passages written hundreds of years before He was even born: Psalm 103:3-6 and Isaiah 53:4-5. Note: Physical healing is included in both of these passages! In the New Testament, Matthew (8:17) clearly confirms the healing meaning of Isaiah 53:4. Numerous other passages confirm it.

Receiving forgiveness, eternal life and the other free benefits of Christ's atonement is the most wonderful thing that can ever happen to a person. It results from receiving Him.

If you have never received Christ into your heart, you can, you must, do so right now. Don't wait! He is only a prayer away. You do this by believing that Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah in Hebrew) is the Son of God, that He died for your sins, that He was raised from the dead; and then by receiving Him into your heart as your personal Savior and Lord. God's grace is totally free; you can never earn it or deserve it. Nor is anything bad you have ever done too much for Him to forgive if you are sincerely repentant.

Here is a suggested prayer: "Dear Lord Jesus. I need you. I believe you are the Son of God, that you died for my sins, and that you rose from the dead. I ask you to forgive my sins, and come into heart to be my Savior and Lord. Please help me to be what you want me to be and help me to live for you. By faith, I thank you for answering this prayer, and I receive you right now. In Jesus' name. Amen."

(For a fuller explanation of God's plan of salvation with relevant Scripture verses and in 63 languages, see htt p://www.ccci.org/laws/languages.html.)

The following applies to all who have received Jesus Christ, and thus are members of His eternal kingdom and full beneficiaries of His atonement and what the Bible calls "the New Covenant."

 All of our needs are met in Jesus Christ, the living Word, and in the Bible, God's written Word.

God has sent His Word to you this day. "He sent His Word and healed them" (Psalm 107:20). God's Word is "living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow" (Hebrews 4:12).

Receive God's Word for you today, as shared below. Expect your healing!

Most people believe God can heal but they are not sure it is His will, either for themselves or for others. For lack of a right understanding of God's attitude and will on healing, many people remain sick and die. God says, "My people are destroyed (perish) for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6), and that includes lack of knowledge about God's healing provisions in His Word.

We learn from God's holy, inerrant Word that it is clearly God's will to heal. When we realize this, we can pray according to His will, and He says, "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him" (1 John 5:14-15).

So, how do we know that healing is, in truth, God's will?

The Father's will revealed in Christ. God clearly demonstrated His will in His Son, Jesus Christ, who is "the exact representation of His (God's) nature" (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). If Jesus, then, was a full and perfect representation of His Father, it is very important to understand that Jesus healed all who came to Him. "And many followed Him, and He healed them all" (Matthew 12:15). Jesus "healed all who were ill" (Matthew 8:16). There is not one instance in the Bible where Jesus refused to heal anyone! This is significant. He healed them all. And remember, Jesus always did the will of the Father . Jesus said, "...the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner" (John 5:19).

It could not be more clear. The Lord Jesus, God incarnate (in human form), healed everyone who came to Him, revealing to us the Father's will about healing.

That the sick people took the initiative is probably very significant. Jesus never forced healing on anyone. We should first desire and seek Jesus, just for who He is. As we find Him, and "touch His garment," so to speak, as did the woman sick for 12 years (Luke 8:44), our healing can come.

Has Jesus changed, no longer healing people as He did before? Emphatically, no. The Bible says that He "is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). What He did when physically on Earth, He is still doing today by His Spirit. Jesus commanded His disciples to go and heal the sick, which they did. Further, healing the sick is part of His Great Commission for the church age. He commanded, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.... and these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will... lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:15,17-18).

The Great Physician. In the four Gospels, there are 41 separate accounts of Jesus healing people, 72 in all with duplicated accounts. Those healed were not just individuals but sometimes multitudes. Christ was the Great Physician then; He is the Great Physician now.

The Lord Jesus gave us a model prayer, the Lord's prayer, recorded in Matthew, chapter six. In it, He told us to pray: "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." It is clear that God wants His will on earth as it is in heaven. Can you picture heaven filled with crutches, wheelchairs, the blind and the lame? Not really. From the Bible we know that heaven is a place of eternal joy and bliss; a place where there is no sickness, sorrow or death.

The clincher! Not only is God's Word full of promises for healing, revealing His will, we learn of His deep desire for our health by His words prayed through the apostle John in 3 John 2: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou...be in health" (KJV). God said "above all things." This verse alone is sufficient proof that health and healing are God's will!

God hates sickness. The Bible reveals that God not only advocates health, but He actually abhors sickness! Leviticus 21 clearly reveals that God would not allow sickness in His presence, which in those days was in the temple. Now, in New Testament times, our bodies are His temple! According to 1 Corinthians 3:16: "Do you not know that you are a temple of God?" Actually, the word temple here (Greek: naos) is mistranslated. Used elsewhere, the Greek word nieron means the full temple, where there was also the Court of Gentiles (symbolic of the world of sin and sickness). The word naos really means the especially sacred part of the temple that is the sanctuary, or Holy Place, where the Holy of Holies is. There, no Gentiles (sin and sickness) were allowed. Sickness has no divine right to be in our naos, or sanctuary, is contrary to God's will, and by faith in His Word and power, we must drive it out!

A "better covenant." As mentioned, one of many healing promises in God's Word is Psalm 103:2-3. "Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases." God does not say "some" of your diseases, nor "half" of your diseases, or a few, but all of your diseases! But wait-this is important: This promise in Psalm 103:3, as well as Isaiah 53, is a part of the Old Covenant. Hebrews 8:6 says that with Christ and the New Covenant, we have an even "better covenant" than the old one! Under this "better covenant," we should certainly expect nothing less than the old!

Our Healer. One of God's names is revealed in the Bible as "Yahweh Rapha" (Hebrew) which means "the Lord, your healer." God used various name suffixes to reveal His provisions for humanity's needs. ("Jesus," or Y'shua, from Yeshoshua, means "the Lord is salvation.")

From all these examples in the Bible we clearly learn that that it is God's perfect will to heal and that His children be healthy. Knowing this, that we are actually agreeing with God and that we are praying in His will, it is easier for us to pray the prayer of faith and receive from Him.

God sometimes allows sickness for certain purposes, but He does not cause it. Sickness is from the devil, about whom Jesus said, "The thief (Satan) comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life..." (John 10:10).

At the same time, He is a God of perfect love. God, then, was faced with the necessity of both judging and punishing sin, but also being perfect love.

Did God have a dilemma? No, in His infinite, perfect wisdom, He had the perfect solution. He would take all our punishment upon Himself! That is what Jesus did, the glory of the gospel. He became our substitute, taking our sins and giving us His righteousness! Praise His name!

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came from heaven to take all the judgment that we deserved. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). "He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases'' (Matthew 8:17).

When we acknowledge what God has done for us and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer under a curse! We can then receive all that Christ has provided for us.

Question: On what basis can we expect a healing? Answer: Jesus paid for it already!

It is important for us to realize that God does not just give a whimsical promise for our healing, without cost. Jesus has already paid dearly for it, with horrible, excruciating pain, and with His own divine, precious blood. And what He paid so greatly for, He wants us to understand and benefit from. He did it just for us. For you! Let His sacrifice not be in vain.

Hundreds of years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah wrote about this Messiah to come: "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried... and by His scourging (stripes) we are healed" (53:4-5). The two words "griefs" and "sorrows" literally mean "sickness" and "pains" in the original Hebrew. In the New testament, quoting from Isaiah, Matthew 8:17 confirms the meaning of this and says, "He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases."

It is the scourging (stripes) Jesus experienced that we need to better understand. If you review the events of that awful day we call Good Friday, you remember that Jesus Christ was tried before Pontius Pilate, then surrendered to the Roman soldiers to be scourged. The word "scourged" doesn't have much impact until one realizes what it really means. In scourging Jesus Christ, the Son of God, they took Him and tied Him to a pillar, or post. Then they stripped the clothes from His back. He was handed over to a Roman legionnaire, a man probably without moral convictions, a man used to brutality and violence, a coarse man of brute strength. He was a Roman soldier.

They gave this soldier a cat-o'-nine-tails, a whip that had nine thongs with little metal or stone pellets at the end of each of the thongs. The scourging was what the Jews called "the near death": 40 lashes less one-39 stripes. This ordeal alone actually caused death in many victims. STRIPE! The lash whistled through the air into the back of Jesus. Little bits of flesh tore loose and red welts developed. STRIPE! STRIPE! STRIPE! Again and again, the lash. More skin torn off. The flesh was opened up. Bone began to show. The Savior's blood was pouring down His back out of those cuts. They called them stripes. They looked like paint stripes but it was not paint-it was the blood of Jesus, pouring from those 39 deep, oozing slashes in His body .

Jesus did not have to endure this horrible scourging for our salvation. He was still going to the cross for that. Yet, each of those momentous events on that Friday was for a specific, divine purpose. Why the stripes? Jesus came to deliver us from the curse and to make us whole in spirit, soul and body. He paid the total price. The stripes were for our physical healing! "By His scourging (stripes) we are healed." We are healed for eternity, but also available now.

Referring to events after His departure, Jesus said, "These signs will accompany those who have believed: In My Name they will...lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:17-18).

As recorded in the book of Acts, believers in the early church expected and experienced physical healing. In I Corinthians 12:9, healing is described as one of the gifts God has given to His church in perpetuity. In James 5:14:15, God again confirms the provision of physical healing for His people with instructions for the church. In addition, the fulfillment of the healing promises has been experienced by multitudes through the centuries and in our generation.

Jesus Christ healed in New Testament times; He still heals today. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Call on Him now, and receive your healing from Him!

There are many reasons why some people do not get healed, but only one that would clearly rule out your healing, and that is if God has truly decided that your designated time on Earth is complete, unlikely unless you have finished out the duration He has revealed in His Word. In Genesis 6:3, God revealed to Noah 120 years for our life expectancy, to which a few have attained. (My wife's great-grandmother lived to 120; her grandmother to 98!) Science has recently confirmed God's words in Genesis 6:3 about a 120-year lifespan! In his book, The Bible Cure, Reginald Cherry, M.D. (Creation House, 1998) points out that researchers have discovered that human cells are able to reproduce themselves only about 50-60 times. They have discovered a built-in "cellular timetable" that would place the human lifespan maximum at 120 years. That is exactly what God said thousands of years ago! However, while 120 years are biologically possible, the psalms reveal a lesser life expectancy than in Noah's day, perhaps due to the accumulated effects of sin. "As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years" (Psalm 90:10). It is rare now to see people live beyond 100, probably due to modern lifestyles, soils depleted of nutrients, modern food processing and environmental pollution in food and air.

 But unless God has clearly shown you that He is going to take you home (actually a better alternative), you have every right to ask for and expect your healing. Until God whisks the church off the Earth in the rapture (probably soon), "it is appointed unto man once to die." Yet we want to live out the time God has allowed for us, according to the provisions of His Word.

 Paul's "thorn in the flesh." Doubters often cite Paul's thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7) as proof that it is not always God's will to heal, a misinterpretation that Satan has used to sow doubt and rob many people of their healing. In so doing, they improperly generalize a doctrine against healing based on an isolated text with questionable meaning, which is not even good theology. It is important to note that (1) there is no evidence that this was a physical sickness, (2) we know it was a "messenger of Satan," probably a spiritual attack as verse 7 implies, and (3), this is very important¾the phrase "thorn in the flesh" was a Hebrew idiomatic expression for what today we would call "a pain in the neck."

This is also very important to remember: The Bible reveals that Paul's thorn came only because of his deep, totally unique revelations and actually being caught up into Paradise, to keep him from being proud. Even if a sickness, which is doubtful, you should never expect a similar thorn, whatever it was, unless you have had the equivalent of Paul's revelations and similar trip to Paradise! Yet, many people falsely identify with Paul's "thorn" and unnecessarily give up hope for their healing.

 Where does faith come from? Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). You are hearing God's Word on healing. God has sent His Word to you to heal you and build your faith. His Word, that living and sharp Word, has penetrated your soul and spirit, even to the marrow of your bones.

 Now is the moment to call on Jesus, the One who took your sickness with the painful, bloody scourges. Jesus said, "Ask and you shall receive.. . For everyone who asks receives" (Matthew 7:7-8).

 There are several ways your healing may come, as God may lead you to use one, more or all of them. The below Bible prescriptions bring healing in churches and in Spirit-filled prayer groups and Bible studies all the time.

In the church. God has given very specific instructions for healing in the church throughout the centuries. "Is anyone among you sick? 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 offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up" (James 5:14-15.) This is God's prescription for healing in the church. Do not ignore it. If your church does not believe in or literally practice this direct command from God Himself for the benefit of His people, you should lovingly consider finding a church that does.

Gift of healing. By His Holy Spirit, God gives certain people the gift or manifestation of healing, as revealed in 1 Corinthians 12:9. This may include a pastor, an evangelist, or any other believer. They can pray for you and you can receive your healing.

By any believer. Jesus said to anyone who believes, "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:18). Any believer, one who believes God's Word, can do this for you.

Or alone. We draw spiritual strength from the fellowship and prayers of others, which is strongly recommended. However, your healing may also come to you directly, all by yourself, from any of the many healing promises in God's Word and as you meditate upon and believe them.

Receive (and keep) your healing! (1) Saturate your spirit with God's Word and promises, (2) ask, then by faith, (3) receive, and begin to thank and praise Him. "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you" (Mark 11:24).

Radical faith. Biblical faith is not passive. It is active¾acting on God's Word. Confess it. Act like it. The devil, and some Christians, will try to talk you out of it. Lying symptoms from the devil may even remain, or come back, but reject everything but God's Word.

Sometimes we have to get "violent" in our faith. Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force" (Matthew 11:12). This is referring to forceful faith often needed to obtain kingdom benefits. That is because Satan was given certain dominion in the world at Adam's fall. The second Adam, Christ, came to break Satan's power and restore God's authority on Earth. This is done through the obedience and faith of Christ's followers. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church, but God's people must be aggressive in their faith to forcefully seize back what Satan has stolen. Remember: This is spiritual warfare! (See Ephesians 6:10-18.) It may seem physical, but it is a spiritual battle. Satan may not give up easily, even though he was already defeated at the cross.

Speak to that mountain! A sickness can be like a mountain in our lives. If yours is a mountain to you, remember this powerful promise of our Lord: "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him" (Mark 11:22-23). Jesus said to actually "speak" directly to the mountain in our lives. Speak to it! Take authority over it. Command it! Romans 4:14 says that God "calls into being that which does not exist." To receive from God, we speak His Word and call it into existence! And do not doubt in your heart. It will be granted you!

Angelic help! God's angels "...perform His Word, obeying the voice of His Word" (Psalm 103: 20). When you speak God's Word in faith according to His Will, God dispatches angels to make it happen, bringing it "into being" in your circumstances! "For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11). Angels are "ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14).

Fasting. Some people find fasting helpful, not as a gimmick, and not to try to "force" God to heal them, but to help them focus on God and His Word by suppressing this bodily urge. Cautions about fasting: Do not go without liquids; medical supervision may be advised, especially if you have certain conditions; consult a good book about spiritual fasting, which can provide wise counsel and safety precautions.

Hold on to God and His Word. Your healing will be manifest. It is yours. "By His stripes, you have been healed."
Immediate or gradual. Some healings are immediate, but many are gradual. If yours is gradual, hold on. Do not give up. Never say later, "Well, it's not working," which cancels your faith. Or never say, "Well, I guess God is not going to heal me." Your healing will come in His perfect timing. Assume that it begins the very moment you believe for it! He wants you to keep believing His Word and His promises. He has not forgotten you, and is pleased with your faith.

Unconfessed sin in our lives is one hindrance. Not that we are ever perfect in this life, but I am referring to any specific sin that we have refused to release. This may include unforgiveness or bitterness towards others. It has been shown that such attitudes can affect our physical health.

Not recognizing (discerning) the Lord's body. This is rarely mentioned by others, but it is clearly Scriptural. Concerning partaking of the body and blood of our Lord at communion, Paul wrote, "A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 11:29-30, NIV). He is speaking of not recognizing (discerning) the body of Christ. Many believers angrily deny that others outside their church or group who also trust Christ are really His, thus not recognizing His body. This is spiritually and physically dangerous.

Other reasons for sickness are: (1) Some people abuse their bodies, using harmful substances, or not allowing enough rest; (2) excessive stress; and (3) some people do not provide the body with nutritious food, often substituting junk or processed food. Much modern commercial food is deficient in nutrients and contains chemical additives, such as hormones and antibiotics in meat and dairy products, and environmental pollutants. Also, many people violate God's food guidelines in the Bible and still expect to remain healthy. Examples are in Leviticus chapter 11, no longer a ceremonial requirement but still the wisdom of God. God's law of sowing and reaping always applies, but His grace transcends our past mistakes. Be open to God showing you any area of your life that needs attention.

Suggested prayer: Dear Heavenly Father. I see in your Word that healing is your will, and that the Lord Jesus has paid for my healing by His stripes. I believe what He has done. I confess and repent of (name any known sin, including sins of attitude). I confess and repent of (any unhealthy habits or carelessness in taking care of Good's temple, your body). I receive my healing now, by faith. I thank you in advance. Be glorified in me and in my body. In Jesus' name. Amen."
 

"What about brother or sister so and so, a 'good Christian,' who did not get healed?" No one is ever good enough to be saved or to be healed. It is only by grace through faith. If faith seems to be applied and someone still does not get healed, we have to trust God's sovereignty and grace. His Word says, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever..." (Deuteronomy 29:29). The secret things do belong to Him, and we may not understand them; however, "the things revealed belong to us," and we must act with faith on what He has revealed in His Word about healing.

"What about when an infant or child dies? Was there not enough faith?" Millions of children die around the world due to neglect and starvation, part of the general curse on the Earth. Children of affluent families also die, ostensibly due to no one's fault, and again part of the curse of sickness in the world. I believe God's angels surround and take these little ones directly into the arms of Jesus, as with aborted babies. Again, Deuteronomy 29:29 applies. However, there are cases where tenacious faith on the part of parents and loved ones have brought back babies and children from certain death. In 1997 a 12-year-old cousin of mine was in a coma for weeks due to brain encephalitis. The doctors finally gave up and suggested removing her life support. The parents said no, preferring to trust God. A prayer network diligently sought for her healing. Miraculously, the child later regained consciousness and is back home. We must pray fervently, believe, leave the results to God. then praise Him, no matter what.

"But some people say..." About healing, someone always remarks, "But some people say such and such..." citing all kinds of arguments against God's healing provision. I once heard a wise, elderly minister from Australia respond to that remark. A Bible scholar who had been in the healing ministry for some 40 years, he had heard every objection, and had seen many people miraculously healed. His simple response rang with eternal truth and power: "It doesn't matter what people say. The only thing that matters is what God says!" Let that be your guide. Be convinced of what God says, act upon it, and be unconcerned at what people say. As Satan once used the disciple Peter, whom Jesus rebuked, he will sometimes use well-intended Christians to talk you out of your healing.

"Thy word is truth" (Psalm 119:160. John 17:17).

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (1 Timothy 3:16).

(Jesus said) "Scripture cannot be broken."

"Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89).

"Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever" (Psalm 119:160, KJV).
"I will restore health to you" (Jeremiah 30:17).

"He (God) sent His Word and healed them" (Psalm 107:20). (God's Word actually heals.)

What is "His Word"? Just abstract thoughts? No, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow" (Hebrews 4:12).

Other promises of deliverance:

"The righteous cry and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 34:17).

"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

"He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him, And let him behold My salvation" (Psalm 91:15-16).

The following are other passages included for further reading and meditation: Exodus 23:25
Psalms 30:2; 41:3; 103:1-3; 107:20

Proverbs 3:7-8

Isaiah 57:18-19

Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 10:1; 10:8; 14:14

Acts 3:6-7; 5:12-15; 19:11-12

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:20, NIV)
 

2. Praise and worship God continually, thanking Him both before and after your healing. He is loving, kind, full of mercies, compassionate, wonderful, all-powerful, and worthy of our praise. Review and recite to Him the praise psalms, such as 144-150.

A senior Christian leader who has seen many healings and miracles told the story of a girl who had sought diligently for her healing, but it never came. One day the Lord spoke to her heart and told her that she needed to stop asking for healing and instead to start worshipping Him. She immediately began worshipping the Lord, and her healing came soon thereafter!
The lesson in this story is that we need the Healer more than the healing. We must draw close to the Lord Jesus, get to know Him better, honor Him and give Him glory. That must be our top priority. Then we can better rest in Him, confident of His love and power.

Then our healing can come.

May God bless you richly.