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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Isaiah 53:5, which is then quoted in 1 Peter 2:24, is a key verse on healing, but it is often misunderstood and misapplied. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniqui...
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Singapore Moses
Wherever Jesus went He preached the Gospel and healed the sick (Mt 9:35). Miracles were quite normal in His ministry. People came to Him "to hear Him and be healed of their diseases" (Lk 6:17). Miracles of healing were the attesting signs of His Messianic ministry (Mt 11:2-5). When Jesus chose and commissioned the twelve to preach the gospel, He clearly commanded them to "heal the sick" (Mt 10:7,8). Also in the Great Commission to the Church, the ministry of healing is included (Mk 16:15-18). The "gifts of healings" bestowed by the Holy Spirit are to continue Christ's healing ministry on earth today. The ministry of healing for Christians should primarily function in the context of the local Church (Js 5:14). And evangelists with gifts of healing should not be freelancers but be closely linked to the other leaders of the Church for safety and accountability (Acts 8:12-17). Then the result of all such ministries will be Church planting and Church growth and not building of individual empires!
Justin Roberts
It is always God's will to heal. I've witnessed too many people being healed to question that. And below, I will explain why I believe it is just as much a part of the good news as the forgiveness sins. We know healing was a huge part of Jesus's ministry. In fact, it's probably His most recorded act in Scripture. Matthew tells us that "Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." (Matthew 4:23). And it's made clear to us that Jesus is the perfect reflection of the Father's nature: "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power." (Hebrews 1:3). We also know that Jesus did only what He saw the Father doing. (John 5:19). We never saw Jesus curse a person with disease, and we never saw Him tell a person that their hardship was a result of God's will for them. In fact, we're told from whose kingdom disease stems from: "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." And remember that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. (Mark 3:24). And this is stated more than in just the four gospels and Acts. The word we see throughout the New Testament for salvation - sozo in the Greek - means more than just forgiveness of sins. Use your eBible study tools to examine that word. You'll find that it means salvation, deliverance, healing, safety, and even prosperity. I encourage you to look this word up on your own, and particularly in the context of Romans 1:18: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation (forgiveness, healing, deliverance, and more) to everyone who BELIEVES, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." So why isn't everyone healed? Because they don't receive it by faith. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith." (Ephesians 2:8). By grace, Daddy God has already provided a complete salvation - forgiveness, healing, deliverance, safety, and prosperity. That's why Peter says that you have been healed already by Jesus's stripes (or, by another definition, "blowmarks" to His body). (1 Peter 2:24). Now it's up to us to receive it. Some people don't receive healing in the same way that some people don't receive the forgiveness of their sins. It's not that God has not already paid their sin debt, it's just that they don't receive Jesus's shed blood on the cross. In the same way, some people don't receive Jesus's broken body. This is why Jesus repeatedly emphasizes that "your faith has healed you." (Mark 10:52). In Matthew 10, Jesus told his disciples to "heal the sick." (Matthew 10:8). When the disciples couldn't cast a demon out of a boy, the father of the boy asked Jesus why they couldn't. "Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once." (17:18). When the disciples asked why they couldn't cure the boy, Jesus told them: "Because you have so little faith." Then Jesus tells his disciples that with faith the size of a mustard seed, "Nothing will be impossible for you." (17:20). In Jesus's hometown, we are told that even though He wanted to, Jesus could do little because of the people's unbelief. Mark sates that, "He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief." (Mark 6:5-6). God is not holding back on you. He has delegated to us authority over our lives, and we get to decide what we believe. For that reason, it's toxic to believe that God is causing your disease. It's a faith-killer. Study this for yourself, pray, and get good teaching (I really like Andrew Wommack's teaching on grace). And if you need healing, forgive others (I've seen this be a barrier to healing several times). Godspeed.
James Kraft
When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, so did sickness and death. We live in a fallen world. So all men die. Some from sickness and some from old age which is still because of sin. We are born sinners. There is none righteous, no not one. Is it God's will to heal everyone of every sickness or disease? No. Does God still heal? Yes. Some are sick because of sin. Paul said some of the church was sick because they were living out of the will of God. When we trust Jesus as our savior we are given eternal life, but that is not life on this earth. It is life for eternity. If we could have lived without sin, we would live forever on earth. But since all sin, and come short of the glory of God, we all die. The Lord will have mercy on those He will have mercy on. We can cut our lives short if we continue to live in sin after we are saved. First Corinthians 5:5. And the bible says if we honor our parents we will live long on the earth. God sends rain on both the just and the unjust. Unbelievers may live longer and have less sickness than believers. If it was God's will to heal every believer of every sickness and disease, then there would be no sickness and disease among believers. But we know that is not true. Jesus' disciples were given special gifts of healing to further the gospel. They could even cast out demons. But as JD said above, when they healed it was in an instant. When Jesus healed leapers it was in one point in time. We can always ask for God to heal us, but only in His will. God allows sickness in some for His own purpose that we do not understand. I lost a 6 year old grand daughter because she was born with a bad heart that could not be repaired. She lived pretty much normal up to the day she died. She loved Jesus and I know she is with him today. Could God have healed her? Absolutely. God's ways are not our ways, and our ways are not God's ways. Some things we just will not have the answers to until we are in heaven. Job pondered why he was going through what he did, but realized he was a creature, not the creator. God has a right to do with us what ever He wants. Job's friends believed Job had committed some great sin, or he would not be in all the trouble he was having. That is simply not true. All believers go through trials and tribulation in this life for God's own purposes. Sometimes for chastening, and some times for HIs own purpose. We do reap what we sow. And the Lord does chasten his own. If we lose our usefulness to His purpose, He will cut our life short. We can not lose our salvation, because that would make God a liar. John 6:47 Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me HATH ETERNAL LIFE. Eternal life is forever, this life is short.
Salem Markus Purba
Well, what the Bible says about healing is closely related with the relationship between man and God, blessings and curses (Deteronomy 28: 1-68), God's power of healing working through prophets (2 Kings 5: 1-27); Jesus (Mathew 4: 23-25) and believers (Mark 16:17-18). Healing is not just getting cured from any kind of disease, but a salvation on earth and Heaven for the believers and followers of Jesus Christ our LORD.
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