In Christian terms, a radical belief in healing is one based on the promises of God and the works of Jesus, as set down in the Bible. While we have heard of miraculous healings (and I personally have witnessed many) we also sadly hear of Christians praying for healings, yet still suffering and sometimes dying – and some wonder why this is so.   

This article explains the biblical basis for a radical belief in healing, why divine healing for Christians does (and does not) occur, how divine healing can be assured, and the approach for those whose faith in regard to healing could be stronger.

God’s will about health

The starting point must be to establish whether or not it is God‘s will that we be healthy.  It clearly is, as demonstrated in four areas:

• The life of Jesus - Jesus said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me” (John 6:38).  So we know that all of Jesus’ actions were the will of God. The gospels reveal that Jesus: healed multitudes of people (Matthew 4:23); did not reject anyone who came to Him in faith for healing; not once said to a person “it is not God’s will to heal you, it is better for you to stay sick”.  No - Jesus “healed them all” (Matthew 12:15)!

• The death of Jesus - When Jesus died on the Cross, was resurrected and ascended to heaven, He not only provided remission and forgiveness for our sins - at the same time Jesus took upon himself all our illness and provided healing from the curse of sickness and disease (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:17,  Galatians 3:13).

•  The teachings of Jesus to future Christians - Jesus commanded physical healing to be performed with the preaching of the gospel (Luke 9:1-2, 10:1, 9, Mark 16:15, 18) and this was performed by His followers (Acts 3:6-7, 4:29-30, 28:8-9).

• The covenant promises of God - A short list of additional Scriptures to prove that healing belongs to us, through faith in the redemptive work of Christ, would include: Psalm 103:2-3, 107:20, Proverbs 3:8, Isaiah 52:14, 53:4-5, Matthew 8:16-17, Galatians 3:13-14, James 5:14-15, 1 Peter 2:24.

 

How God’s will is achieved in an imperfect world

Knowing that God wants us to be healthy is one thing.  Knowledge of how we achieve that health requires more careful study of the Bible, and action.  To determine the precise way in which God’s kingdom operates on earth, we need to distinguish between two types of divine healing:

• a divine gift of the Holy Spirit – this may be independent of our belief, knowledge and faith (Luke 7:12-15): we often do not know why God might choose one person over another; the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given as the Holy Spirit wills (1 Corinthians 12:4, 9-11)

• faith-based healing based on covenant promises – this type of healing (addressed in this article) is available to all Christians and involves receiving our covenant promises from God

 

Covenant promises affect both our spirits and our bodies and souls:

• The promises in regard to our spirits.  These include the remission of our sins and entry into heaven.  To receive these promises we require the basic level of faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25, 1 John 5:11-13). These promises are guaranteed immediately a person becomes ‘born again’, and assured as long as the Christian maintains faith in Jesus, as our spirits are sealed in Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly realm, far above the devil’s influence (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 1:13, 20-21, 2:6).

• The promises in regard to our natural bodies and souls.   These promises also become available immediately upon accepting Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).  However, because these promises must manifest in this world, and Satan still has influence in this world, he will try to stop God’s promises manifesting (John 10:10, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 6:10-18, Hebrews 6:12).  Also, we reduce our capacity to receive the promises while we retain our old (pre-Christian) habits, thoughts, speech, and actions. The extent to which we can overcome Satan’s attacks, and our own self-sabotage, depends on the extent to which our soul and body have changed under the influence of our re-born spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God (Romans 12:2, Hebrews 6:12, Mark 4:27) – this usually requires working diligently on growing our faith and takes time… (to be continued).

This itinerary is subject to change without notice