Through Scripture

Healing is not only physical

Healing can take many forms: spiritual, emotional, mental, etc.

We are “complete beings.” Meaning our body, soul, and spirits are connected

When Adam and Even sinned, the effects were all inclusive

There were physical repercussions

Pain in child birth ()

Toil and hardship in work ()

Death ()

There were relational repercussions

The woman would desire to rule equally with man (3:16)

Man would be the head of the home (3:16)

There were Spiritual repercussions

Enmity between man and Satan (3:15)

Satan would have temporary victories (3:15)

Jesus would ultimately destroy the Devil (3:15)

Jesus spent time healing physical ailments, but was always focused on something deeper

The raising of the official’s son ()

“And the official and his whole household believed in Jesus.”

The healing of a paralyzed man ()

“When the crowds saw what had happened they were filled with awe and praised God for giving such power to men”

Healing at the pool of Bethesda ()

“Look: you are a fit man now. Do not sin again or something worse might happen to you!"

The Bible openly states that sin and physical sickness are related

Jesus reminded us to focus on spiritual over physical

While medicine and science can heal a body, the Word of God can heal the spirit

The Bible Heals us through diagnosis

The Bible Heals us through prescription

The Bible Heals us through rehabilitation

Ephesians 5:26

In 2013 Princeton University published a study that found that guilt and feeling “weighed down” physically are connected. Their study found that when a person was put in situations that increased their feeling of guilt they would show physical symptoms such as increases heartbeat, poor sleep, lower oxygen levels, and other medical issues. Their conclusion? The state of one’s spirit and their physical body are related- at least at some level.

When God created us, he created what I like to call complete beings.” Meaning that we are interconnected. When God made man he gave us a body, a mind, a soul, and a spirit. These are not insular pieces that can be separated and isolated. No, these are all interconnected. When the body hurts the spirit suffers with it. When we are troubled in our spirits our minds a weighed down.

We even personify these ideas in common language:

She has a broken heart

You see, when Adam and Eve sinned and sin entered the world the effects were all inclusive. Imagine the branches of a tree that stretch in different directions, but all coming from the same trunk. When sin entered the world there were physical repercussions, relational repercussions, and spiritual repercussions. Like the branches of the tree all of these are connected.

Because of this interconnectedness of the entire person, God offers healing for all aspects of who we are. God is fully aware of our need for healing, and offers reconciliation for all of who are in the person of Jesus. Jesus, after all, healed physical ailments, but he was always focused on something deeper.

Even when Jesus was healing physical sickness he was still pointing and encouraging something deeper. Many times using the healing to reveal who he was to those who were watching, or to teach a lesson about sin and repentance.

One of the most bold cases that reveals a lot about the kind of healing Jesus is interested in happens in . Jesus heals a paralytic in front of the pharisees and says that the man’s “sins are forgiven.” Offended at this idea, the pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus’ response reveals what we really need to understand about healing-

“What is easier, to forgive sins or say get up and walk?” It’s almost as though Jesus is challenging our personal assumptions. We see someone get healed- walk out of a wheelchair, receive a clean bill of health after a diagnosis. or any of those things and we are in awe. We stand baffled in the work of God- but Jesus reminds us that when we see someone accept Christ and be cleansed of their sins we have seen an even greater miracle! The greatest miracle is not that of healing the body, but of healing the soul.

There was another occasion that Jesus directs our attention to the heart and not the physical. This was not in the context of healing, but in the context of teaching about sin in . Jesus reminds us that it is better to enter heaven with one hand or one eye than to go to hell with two hands or two eyes. Jesus says focus on the condition on your soul and spirit more than the condition of your body.

So, what do we do to heal our souls and spirits? That which is deeper than the physical. If you have an infection the doc might give you amoxicillin, if your blood is too thick you will probably get a daily Aspirin or Eliquis. If you have pain a dose of ibprofrin or an oxycodone might be the thing to help… but listen again to -

We find healing for our hearts and relationships in the Word of God.

I do not think it is a coincidence that depression is at an all time high and Biblical exposure is at an all time low. Proverbs tells us that the words of life are contained in this book- that this book will bring life to us. So, if we believe this to be true, that means when we cut out this word of life we should not be surprised when death surrounds our society.

The Bible heals us by diagnosing us.

When you are sick and want to get better, you must first get a diagnosis. Now, many of us are guilty of the Web MD self diagnosis syndrome when you get on the internet and google your symptoms and convince yourself you have some extremely rare western African virus. But most of us

The Bible heals us by prescribing treatment

2 Timothy 3:16