Christ our Healer

 for I am the Lord that healeth thee. Exodus 15:26b KJV

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2 KJV 

 We are continuing our study of divine healing and wholeness. We are examining five proofs that it is always God's will to heal. When a loved one or we have a need for healing we can have boldness and confident assurance it's God's will to heal every time.

 When we speak of praying for another's healing, and that healing isn't instantaneous, then spiritual-sounding religious tradition attempts to provide a reason. They say things like God is more interested in building that person's character through this illness. Or God has a purpose in the delay so as to build endurance, or to use the person as an example of how to suffer joyfully. 

 That is all religious hogwash based on the powerless, Faithless tradition of men. Jesus never withheld healing from anyone. He never used the Curse to perfect, instruct, mold, produce patience, teach or train anyone. Look at Luke 22. Jesus healed a man who came to incarcerate Him. I'm confident that this fellow probably needed some character development.

 Looking at Jesus brings us to the fourth proof of God's will to Heal. Jesus' actions in His ministry reveal God's heart for healing. Peter sums up what Jesus did in His earthly ministry;

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 MEV

 This passage unveils much of Jesus' work of ministry. This passage reveals what Jesus went about doing, good. How many it's God's will to heal, all, and who the oppressor is, that is, the one bringing sickness and disease, which is the enemy, the devil. 

 Jesus only went about doing good. He declared He only does what He sees His Father doing. Since Jesus only went about doing good and healing and delivering and providing for all, then we can rejoice to know this is who our Father is. God is therefore not the author of evil or torment, poverty or disease, or disaster. God is a Good Father and only does good!

 For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 6:38 MEV

 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:9 MEV

 Jesus is the express image of Father God. Jesus is the will of God in action. Jesus is perfect theology. Jesus is our clear perfect picture of God's will. He never brought poverty but provision to all who came to Him. He never made anyone sick. He only healed whosoever came to Him. Looking at Jesus how then can anyone conclude healing isn't always God's will?

 The fifth and final proof of God's will to heal is Jesus' redemptive work on the Cross. On the Cross, Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sins, not only paid the price for the complete forgiveness of every sin, not only made Righteousness by Faith possible, but He also bore every sickness and every disease. He purchased our healing at Calvary. 

4 Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains -- he hath carried them, And we -- we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace [is] on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us. Isaiah 53:4-5 YLT

 Isaiah 53 records Jesus' work of redemption on the Cross. Jesus took your sickness and your disease. Just like salvation is available to whosoever trusts in Christ alone, healing for every sickness and disease is also available for whosoever trusts in Christ alone. In fact, when one places their trust in Christ, all that Christ procured at Calvary is immediately theirs in Him. 

 Tradition rejects this glorious truth of the Gospel. They claim Jesus' bearing all sickness and disease was fulfilled before the Cross. That this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus' earthly ministry. That Isaiah was only referencing Jesus healing people in Israel to prove He was the promised Messiah. They cite Matthew 8 as proof.

 There is a major issue with this. It's true that Matthew 8:17 declared that it be fulfilled what Isaiah spoke, as Jesus ministered healing to a multitude. However, this doesn't prove that healing is not in the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross. How can I say this? Because I, as a Gentile, a non-Jew, have trusted in Christ and have received new life in Him.

 Matthew goes on to say in the 12th chapter that Jesus healing a multitude, and not wanting it broadcast abroad fulfilled another prophecy of Isaiah. This passage in Matthew 12 destroys this weak argument against healing in redemption. Look closely at this passage;

 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:...

 And in His name Gentiles will trust.” Matthew 12:17, 21 NKJV

 This passage tells me salvation being made available to non-Jews was fulfilled before the Cross as well as healing the sick. So because of the way tradition interprets Matthew 8, we have to also conclude that saving non-Jews was only for His earthly ministry too, and not for us today. I hope we can see this is not what these passages are teaching.

 Jesus was simply revealing the Father to mankind. Jesus was giving us a sample of His complete work of Redemption soon to come. Jesus is so Good and merciful He couldn't wait till Calvary to minister help and hope and healing.

 Still another tradition is that Jesus only "healed" us from sin. That Isaiah 53 is speaking of spiritual healing. The problem is we weren't sick with sin. We were dead in sins. Not sure about you but I have yet to see any dead people healed. I know of dead people being raised back to life. That's not healing that's a miracle of resurrection life. 

 On the Cross, Jesus not only made us Righteous and forgiven, but He also made us healed and whole. Look at Jesus' complete work of Redemption. From the garden to the grave, Jesus purchased our total and complete redemption. By His stripe, healing was made ours. He took our curse and gave us the blessing, Redemption from the curse, and complete Righteousness. He became something He never was so we who trust in Him could be something we never were.

 In summation, is healing God's will? Absolutely! His compassion and lovingkindness prove it. His Redemptive name reveals it. His Word confirms it. His ministry and Finished Work of Redemption demonstrated it. Healing is always God's will. Now trust Him for wholeness at all times, trust on the basis of His Goodness and not your own. 

Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay 

Bible evidence Healing is always God's will for you.

 for I am the Lord that healeth thee. Exodus 15:26b KJV

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2 KJV

 We're continuing in our study of Divine Healing. We've looked at five proofs of God's will to heal all. So often many Christians believe God is able to heal, but they lack confident expectation that He wants to heal them. 

 This study is designed to help bridge that gap from unbelief to positive expectation in the power of a loving Father to supply all their need. So far we've seen two proofs of His willingness to heal. One is His merciful kindness and compassion. Jesus was moved with compassion when He healed. Secondly, we saw He revealed His will to heal in His redemptive name Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals.

 The third proof of His will to heal all is God's Word. The Bible is God's Word. Jesus is the Word made flesh. Grace and the Word are inseparable. Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus said the Word is the Truth. Faith comes by hearing the Word, therefore Grace and Faith came through Jesus. As believers, we are to be under Grace, not Law, and walk by Faith. 

 God's Word is the Truth. God's Word is the final authority. Sola Scriptura. God and His Word are one. God's Word is speaking to you and to me. This is why the enemy through religious tradition wants to steal the Word sown in the hearts of anyone who hears it.

 Man-made tradition makes the Word of no effect. Man looking at experience, dogmas, and doctrines of religious orders and institutes from centuries past, giving attention to cessationist leaders ruling Christian media and airwaves, will elevate and exalt the traditions of men over God's declared Word every time. God's will revealed in the Word, will always be lowered to meet and match tradition's view of defeat, disappointment, and disbelief in a deity who neither hears nor answers the prayers and petitions of its followers.

 Throughout the Word, God confirms the Father's will and attitude about healing. The Word reveals the Father's view of sickness and disease. God in Christ decreed "I am willing be cleansed."  God tells us sickness and disease are a curse. 

 Let's look at the Word confirming God's will is your healing;

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that lives in you. Romans 8:11 MEV 

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit, soul, and body be preserved completely whole and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Mounce 

 He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. “By His wounds you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 MEV

 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2 KJV

 This is the decreed will of God for all to see. This is the will of God revealed to all mankind. This is God confirming His ways, will, and attitude concerning sickness disease, healing, and health. 

 God is the unchanging One. He is the existing One. His name is above all names. Yet He declared to us He has magnified His Word even above His own name! God's Word is the final authority, it has the final say over all areas of our life.

 God's Word is true and we can have a confident expectation of its reality and fulfillment in every area of our life. He magnified His Word above His name, and He is always the same. His Word is true whether we experience it or not. His Word isn't true because we sense it or experience something. His Word is truth because He declared it. Because it is the truth we, therefore, should experience it in our own life.

 We can build our life on His Word. We can trust it. Walking by Faith is simply being fully persuaded that what He said is the truth regardless of circumstance or what our senses tell us. God's Word is the sure foundation we can build our life upon. Feed upon it consistently and grow stronger and stronger possessing a confident expectation of good from our Good Father. 

 

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What's in a name? God's will to heal revealed in His name

 for I am the Lord that healeth thee. Exodus 15:26b KJV

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2 KJV

 We've been in an ongoing study examining the question of God's willingness to heal. Many Christians believe God is able to heal the sick and afflicted. Many believe He has the power to heal. The real question concerns His willingness to actually heal someone when they ask for healing.

  In answering this question, this study series offers five proofs of God's all-the-time willingness to heal. Recall five is the number of Grace. These are Graceful proofs of His provision of healing. The first proof we saw is the Lord's mercy and compassion.

 God is a merciful Father. Jesus is the express image of Father God. Jesus displayed His Father's Love and compassion throughout His ministry. Wherein cold, dead religious traditions of man declare Jesus only healed to prove He was Messiah Yeshua, Jesus Himself revealed He healed because He was moved with compassion. Jesus demonstrated mercy, lovingkindness, and compassion by relieving the afflicted, healing the sick and raising the dead. 

  Today, we want to examine another proof of His all the time Goodness and willingness to heal. God has proven His will to heal by revealing to man His character, His Love, His Goodness in His redemptive names. He revealed Himself to men of that He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that heals you.

 In Exodus 15:26 He declared to the children of Israel that He was the God who heals them. This is one of the foundation texts of this study. In revealing who He was in the redemptive name of Jehovah Rapha, He let His people know He was healer. 

 If He is the healer, then He is not the afflictor. Understand, just as Jesus declared, a house divided against itself cannot stand. If God is afflicting people with disease and then also healing them, then His house is divided against itself and will not stand or last. 

 God gave these name to the patriarchs of old to reveals Himself to mankind. In essence, He was providing Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets and children of Israel His "ID card." When a local gov't institution, or business establishment asks for your ID card, it's what proves and confirms who you are. Well God has ID, it's found in His redemptive names.

 Imagine if you will though, if you went to renew your driver's license and you handed the clerk your current ID card and they stated to you, "no that's not you." You surely would show the clerk your ID again, show them the picture and address. You would be confirming that you are who you say you are. Your legal current ID card doesn't lie. The clerk would be mistaken, not you.

 Now with that mental image, think of how religious tradition, the world, the enemy and men's own experience question God's ID. What could I possibly mean? Well, He has revealed His identity through His redemptive name of Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals, but men and the enemy declare no that's not who you are. You may have the ID card of Jehovah Rapha, but that's not who you are. 

 Men say God has ceased His healing miracles today. The enemy accuses God in the minds of men declaring He is not Faithful and true to His Word. Some say I asked God to heal me and He didn't, so He isn't who He says He is.

 In all this maligning of God's character, I notice that men have no problem accepting God's other character traits revealed in His redemptive names. In Jeremiah, the Lord reveals who He is to us, the Lord our Righteousness. So why have we not seen religious leaders question this aspect of God?

 Why no questions asked, and concerns raised when God declares He is our Righteousness? God revealed that He is Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness. We readily accept this aspect of God's character and nature and revealing of who He is without objection. Yet when this same Jehovah declared He is Jehovah Rapha, religious tradition and man's experience quickly protest. 

 Somehow, those of us who accepted God at His Word, and revealed identity, and God Himself, are actually mistaken. God isn't the Lord who heals. He is either the God who used to heal, or the God who sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. You can never know for certain.  

 When did God reserve the right to dishoner His own Word? When did God declare it's ok to deny my own nature, character and revealed name? God Himself has revealed Himself as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. He was healer then, when He introduced Himself as healer, and He is healer still today, He is the existing one, the unchanging One, the One who was, and is, and is to come. 

 This name doesn't prove He wants to heal me, some would cry out. That is untrue. He declared He is the Lord who heals. He didn't add a clause or stipulation in this declaration. He said He is healer. If He heals one, He heals all, there is no respect of persons. Again, why is this same objection not lobbed at the revelation of The Lord our Righteousness, and the Lord our Peace? 

 In summation, God has revealed to man who He is through His name. His name is highly exalted. He is who He says He is. Let's take Him at His Word.  

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