Healing - a biblical understanding

1. My beliefs about physical healing:

I believe that God heals when He chooses to, and that His healing of a person may align with prayer, but does not always have to.

I believe that God healed spiritually and physically in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

I believe that God continues to heal people physically, under circumstances that are out of our control.

While I see that physical healing is in scripture, I don’t believe that physical healing is the center of God’s focus and purpose.

I believe that upon Glorification all of the body of Christ will be be completely spiritually and physically healed.

2. Groups that are focused on physical healing are typically

Those of the word of faith movement

NAR (New Apostolic Reformation)

3. Cessationism vs Continuationism debate has little to do with the crux of the issue of the word of faith movement and little to do with this discussion.

Not all continuationists are part of the NAR or Word of Faith movement

Charismatics are usually those involved in the NAR and the Word of Faith Movement

Not all continuationists are Charismatics

John Piper

Wayne Grudem

4. The Crux of the issue pertaining to the NAR and the Word of Faith Movement is that scripture is typically used incorrectly and out of context.Most of the incorrect teaching or beliefs are not heresy, but some of the teaching is considered heresy.

It is important to test what people are saying by the word of God no matter who they are or what group they are a part of.

5. The texts that are typically used by the NAR and the Word of Faith Movement

Isaiah 53:4-5.

1 Peter 2:24.

Exodus 15:26.

Jeremiah 30:17.

Romans 8:11.

There are many more, but all of them pertain to or mention healing.

6. All of the listed texts are used by the NAR or WOF on the basis of physical healing

A portion of the texts involve physical healing

Most of the texts are point to spiritual healing

7. My aim is to show that God’s main point of scripture is that of spiritual healing for man in this current age and to reconcile man to Himself.

Man will be completely reconciled and healed upon glorification by God.

With a completely new body

I will use scripture in its context, using scripture to define and back up scripture.

The Scriptures.

We will work our way from Genesis to Revelation. I will show the fall of man and God’s redemptive plan and work throughout the timeline in scripture and how we are to think about healing in the church today.

Genesis 3:6–12 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.””

It didn’t take long for sin to sweep through Adam’s heart mind and soul, killing him spiritually, thus separating him the very moment he sinned against God.

Man’s eyes and ears opened to the sinful desires of the flesh and blinded and deafened to God.

Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

This is God’s first mention of a Savior. He is revealing that He has a redemptive plan for man.

Genesis 6:5 “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

All humanity is affected by sin

Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

This is marked as the beginning of the line of of the Chosen One of God, the Messiah.

Genesis 12:17 “But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.”

This is the first time that God mentions sickness or plague in the Scriptures.

This event foreshadows God bringing His people out of Egypt.

Exodus 3:2 “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.”

God reveals Himself to Moses in Chapter 3 of Exodus

Exodus 4:10–11 “But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”

Here God says He is the one who make people mute, deaf or blind. God makes these points throughout His word to prove his point.

Exodus 7:16 “And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed.”

Chapter 7 -10 of Exodus is God sending the plagues on Egypt

Exodus 19:10–13 “the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.””

Here God has moses start a ceremonial cleansing of the people because of their spiritually fallen state.

Ceremonial cleansing was an act that temporarily removed defilement and declared individuals or object pure.

God has come down to, and stake claim in Mt. Sinai as an extension of His court. Just like in the book of Esther when she was going to go to the King without being summoned, could mean death for her.. This is what we find here, God is telling Moses to keep their curiosities at bay.

Exodus 19:14–17 “So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.” On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.”

Exodus 19:21 “And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish.”

When the people were ceremonially clean they then were invited to come to the base of the mountain to meet God.

All of this points to mans fallenness, his Spiritual deadness, and his inability to come to God on his own lest he perish.

Fallen and spiritually dead man is separated from God.

God Must do something to bring man to himself, man can do nothing on his own to do this.

Isaiah 1:4 “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.”

Isaiah 1:5–6 “Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.”

Isaiah is proclaiming the word of God, he is saying that the people rebel because of iniquity, he is referring to their sickness that has swallowed up their bodies as sin or iniquity.

That nothing they do can cure themselves of the ailment of sin other than to submit to the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 6:9–10 “And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.””

Just like Adam in the garden, his eyes are open and seeing, his ears are open and hearing, but they do not see or hear God, they must see and hear and understand and turn to God to be healed of this blindness and deafness.

Again this is spiritual blindness and deafness.

Isaiah 19:1 “An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.”

Isaiah 19:22 “And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.”

God sends calamity upon all nations of man.

God does this to the Israelites and Gentiles alike for all man is fallen and spiritually dead.

God is priming man for salvation.

Isaiah 30:26 “Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.”

Chapter 30 of Isaiah, God is telling Israel that their confidence in Egypt is Futile. ( People go to Egypt for deliverance. ) God tells Israel that they are a rebellious people who have close their eyes and shut their ears to God, but God will heal their blindness and deafness.

Isaiah 45:7 “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

Here God is bringing a message to the Gentile King Cyrus.

God is showing another group of Gentiles that he is sovereign and that through Him alone are people set free from the bondage of sin.

Isaiah 53:4–5 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

This passage is the pinnacle of the statements from God about healing the nations from their bondage to sin.

Transgressions and Iniquities is what is being healed here.

This event to come and is past is what the entire Christian faith hinges on. All of Humanity is lost, fall and spiritually dead forever in eternity without this event.

1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

Here Peter reiterates what the Prophet Isaiah wrote about our Lord Jesus Christ and his work on the cross, pointing why he died on the cross and what was being healed by his stripes. Peter did not use the word griefs or illness, sickness. Instead the Holy Spirit through working through Peter wrote “hamartias”. The word is sins, Gods word qualifies what he meant by griefs. God is calling the sickness and illness of the fallen, spiritually dead man sin.

Jesus’ Ministry which includes Miracles of Healing

How are we to Biblically understand His ministry? The Purpose of Christ’s Coming.

Jesus main message was the gospel. (basically a summation of the passages we just went trough)

1 John 2:1–2 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.”

Colossians 2:13 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,”

Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”

In the Old and New Testament we can see clearly that Christ came to save and to heal his people from the fallen spiritual deadness, deafness and blindness caused by sin, and now His people are made alive because of Christ’s person and work on the cross.

How to biblically understand Christ’s healing and healing today

Matthew 20:28 “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

John 2:11 “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

John 2:23 “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.”

John 4:54 “This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.”

John call Jesus miracles signs, this displayed Jesus’ divine power and attested that He was the Son of God.

John 20:30–31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Jesus used miraculous healing to show He had the authority to forgive sins

Matthew 9:2–6 “And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.””

Christ healed for compassion also.

Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Luke 7:11–14 “Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.””

Jesus’ act of healing served two purposes, they were needed to authenticate His Divine Sonship, but in this process Jesus wanted to respond to true human needs. We should not overlook application to the church. While spiritual needs are the main focus, we must not neglect or ignore physical needs.

Matthew 25:31–35 ““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,”

Matthew 25:35–40 “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Matthew 25:40–46 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””

The next area we will look at is that of faith

Matthew 9:2 “And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.””

Matthew 9:22 “Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.”

Matthew 9:29 “Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.””

In these we see that Jesus is discussing faith. The Object was in Jesus’ ability to heal not His will to heal.

Is God limited by our faith? …NO

Today when we pray for the healing of our friends or family who are suffering from severe illness we should also believe that God is able to heal, either directly or by conventional means.

To say that I have faith that God WILL heal is presumptuous because we do not know the mind of God.

We must say God is ABLE to heal because that is an exercise in faith.

Mark 9:24 “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!””

Mark 6:3–6 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.”

this is the difference between struggling faith and stubborn unbelief.

James 5:14–15 “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 of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

Revelation 22:1–5 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”

Glorified in Heaven worshiping The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, perfectly healed from our spiritual deadness and all our afflictions and sickness. We will be made perfect and whole by our LORD.