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Commentary
by Ron Rhodes
By Ron Rhodes
No. First of all, while ultimate
physical healing is in the atonement (a healing we will enjoy in our
resurrection bodies), healing of our bodies while in the mortal
state (prior to our death and resurrection) is not guaranteed in the
atonement.
Moreover, it is important to note that the
Hebrew word for healing (napha) can refer not just to
physical healing but to spiritual healing. The context of
Isaiah 53:4 indicates that spiritual healing is in view. In verse 5
we are clearly told, "He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being
fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed" (v. 5). Because
"transgressions" and "iniquities" set the context, spiritual healing
from the misery of man's sin is in view.
Further, there are numerous verses in
Scripture which substantiate the view that physical healing
in mortal life is not guaranteed in the atonement and that it is not
always God's will to heal. The apostle Paul couldn't heal
Timothy's stomach problem (1 Timothy 5:23) 1Tim
5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s
sake and thy frequent infirmities.
nor could he heal Trophimus at Miletus (2
Timothy 4:20) 2 Tim 4:20 Erastus remained at Corinth, but
Trophimus I have left sick at Miletus
or Epaphroditus (Philippians 3:25-27).
Phill 3:25-27 Yet I have thought it necessary to send to you
Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labor and fellow soldier,
but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants. 26 For he
longed after you all and was full of heaviness, because ye had heard
that he had been sick. 27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death,
but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me
also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
Paul spoke of "a bodily illness" he had
Galatians 4:13-15).13 Ye know how through infirmity
of the flesh I preached the Gospel unto you at the first. 14 And my
temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected, but
received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 15 Where is
then the blessedness ye spoke of? For I bear you record that, if it
had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes and have
given them to me.
He also suffered a "thorn in the flesh" which God allowed him to
retain (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).2 Corinth 12:7 And lest I
should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above
measure. 8 For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice, that it might
depart from me. 9 And He said unto me, "My grace is sufficient for
thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly
therefore will I glory rather in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.
God certainly allowed Job to go through a time of physical suffering
(Job 1--2). In none of these cases is it stated that the sickness
was caused by sin or unbelief. Nor did Paul or any of the others act
as if they thought their healing was guaranteed in the atonement.
They accepted their situations and trusted in God's grace for
sustenance.
It is noteworthy that on one occasion Jesus
indicated that sickness could be for the glory of God (John 11:4).
John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is
not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might
be glorified thereby."
Finally, there are numerous verses in
Scripture which reveal that our physical bodies are continuously
running down and suffering various ailments. Our present bodies are
said to be perishable and weak 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.42
So also is the resurrection of the dead: It is sown in corruption;
it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is
raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a
natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
Paul said "our outer man is decaying"
2 Corinthians 4:16. 16 For this cause we faint not, but
though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day.
Death and disease will be a part of the human condition until that
time when we receive resurrection bodies that are immune to such
frailties 1 Corinthians 15:51-55.51 ¶ Behold, I
show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be
changed 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So
when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
Am I saying we shouldn't pray for healing? No, not at all. I'm just
saying that after we've asked for healing, we need to submit to
God's sovereign will. He may have a purpose in allowing our illness.
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Comment on Isaiah
53:4-5 by Matthew Henry
Our sins are our sorrows and our
griefs (#Isa 53:4), or, as it may be read, our sicknesses and our
wounds: the LXX. read it, our sins; and so the apostle, #1Pe 2:24.
Our original corruptions are the sickness and disease of the soul,
an habitual indisposition; our actual transgressions are the wounds
of the soul, which put conscience to pain, if it be not seared and
senseless. Or our sins are called our griefs and sorrows because all
our griefs and sorrows are owing to our sins and our sins deserve
all our griefs and sorrows, even those that are most extreme and
everlasting.
(3.) Our Lord Jesus was appointed and did undertake to make
satisfaction for our sins and so to save us from the penal
consequences of them. [1.] He was appointed to do it, by the will of
his Father; for the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. God
chose him to be the Saviour of poor sinners and would have him to
save them in this way, by bearing their sins and the punishment of
them; not the idem—the same that we should have suffered, but the
tantundem— that which was more than equivalent for the maintaining
of the honour of the holiness and justice of God in the government
of the world.
Observe here, First, In what way we are saved from the ruin to
which by sin we had become liable—by laying our sins on Christ, as
the sins of the offerer were laid upon the sacrifice and those of
all Israel upon the head of the scape-goat. Our sins were made to
meet upon him (so the margin reads it); the sins of all that he was
to save, from every place and every age, met upon him, and he was
met with for them. They were made to fall upon him (so some read it)
as those rushed upon him that came with swords and staves to take
him.
The laying of our sins upon Christ implies the taking of them off
from us; we shall not fall under the curse of the law if we submit
to the grace of the gospel. They were laid upon Christ when he was
made sin (that is, a sin offering) for us, and redeemed us from the
curse of the law by being made a curse for us; thus he put himself
into a capacity to make those easy that come to him heavily laden
under the burden of sin. See #Ps 40:6-12. Secondly, By whom this was
appointed. It was the Lord that laid our iniquities on Christ; he
contrived this way of reconciliation and salvation, and he accepted
of the vicarious satisfaction Christ was to make. Christ was
delivered to death by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God.
None but God had power to lay our sins upon Christ, both because
the sin was committed against him and to him the satisfaction was to
be made, and because Christ, on whom the iniquity was to be laid,
was his own Son, the Son of his love, and his holy child Jesus, who
himself knew no sin. Thirdly, For whom this atonement was to be
made. It was the iniquity of us all that was laid on Christ; for in
Christ there is a sufficiency of merit for the salvation of all, and
a serious offer made of that salvation to all, which excludes none
that do not exclude themselves. It intimates that this is the one
only way of salvation. All that are justified are justified by
having their sins laid on Jesus Christ, and, though they were ever
so many, he is able to bear the weight of them all.
[2.] He undertook to do it. God laid upon him our iniquity; but
did he consent to it? Yes, he did; for some think that the true
reading of the next words (#Isa 53:7) is, It was exacted, and he
answered; divine justice demanded satisfaction for our sins, and he
engaged to make the satisfaction. He became our surety, not as
originally bound with us, but as bail to the action:
"Upon me be the curse, my Father."
And therefore, when he was seized, he stipulated with those into
whose hands he surrendered himself that that should be his
disciples’ discharge: If you seek me, let these go their way, #Joh
18:8. By his own voluntary undertaking he made himself responsible
for our debt, and it is well for us that he was responsible. Thus he
restored that which he took not away.
(4.) Having undertaken our debt, he underwent the penalty.
Solomon says: He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.
Christ, being surety for us, did smart for it.
[1.] He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, #Isa 53:4. He
not only submitted to the common infirmities of human nature,
and the common calamities of human life, which sin had introduced,
but he underwent the extremities of grief, when he said, My soul is
exceedingly sorrowful. He made the sorrows of this present time
heavy to himself, that he might make them light and easy for us. Sin
is the wormwood and the fall in the affliction and the misery.
Christ bore our sins, and so bore our griefs, bore them off us, that
we should never be pressed above measure. This is quoted (#Mt 8:17)
with application to the compassion Christ had for the sick that came
to him to be cured and the power he put forth to cure them.
[2.] He did this by suffering for our sins (#Isa 53:5): He was
wounded for our transgressions, to make atonement for them and to
purchase for us the pardon of them. Our sins were the thorns in his
head, the nails in his hands and feet, the spear in his side.
Wounds and bruises were the consequences of sin, what we deserved
and what we had brought upon ourselves, #Isa 1:6. That these wounds
and bruises, though they are painful, may not be mortal, Christ was
wounded for our transgressions, was tormented or pained (the word is
used for the pains of a woman in travail) for our revolts and
rebellions.
He was bruised, or crushed, for our iniquities; they were the
procuring cause of his death. To the same purport is #Isa 53:8, for
the transgression of my people was he smitten, the stroke was upon
him that should have been upon us; and so some read it, He was cut
off for the iniquity of my people, unto whom the stroke belonged, or
was due. He was delivered to death for our offences, #Ro 4:25.
Hence it is said to be according to the scriptures, according
to this scripture, that Christ died for our sins, #1Co 15:3. Some
read this, by the transgressions of my people; that is, by the
wicked hands of the Jews, who were, in profession, God’s people, he
was stricken, was crucified and slain, #Ac 2:23. But, doubtless, we
are to take it in the former sense, which is abundantly confirmed by
the angel’s prediction of the Messiah’s undertaking, solemnly
delivered to Daniel, that he shall finish transgression, make an end
of sin, and make reconciliation for iniquity, #Da 9:24.
(5.) The consequence of this to us is our peace and healing, #Isa
53:5.
[1.] Hereby we have peace: The chastisement of our peace was upon
him; he, by submitting to these chastisements, slew the enmity, and
settled an amity, between God and man; he made peace by the blood of
his cross. Whereas by sin we had become odious to God’s holiness and
obnoxious to his justice, through Christ God is reconciled to us,
and not only forgives our sins and saves us from ruin, but takes us
into friendship and fellowship with himself, and thereby peace (that
is, all good) comes unto us, #Col 1:20. He is our peace, #Eph 2:14.
Christ was in pain that we might be at ease; he gave satisfaction to
the justice of God that we might have satisfaction in our own minds,
might be of good cheer, knowing that through him our sins are
forgiven us.
[2.] Hereby we have healing; for by his stripes we are healed.
Sin is not only a crime, for which we were condemned to die
and which Christ purchased for us the pardon of, but it is a
disease, which tends directly to the death of our souls and which
Christ provided for the cure of. By his stripes (that is,
the sufferings he underwent) he purchased for us the Spirit and
grace of God to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of
our souls, and to put our souls in a good state of health, that they
may be fit to serve God and prepared to enjoy him. And by the
doctrine of Christ’s cross, and the powerful arguments it furnishes
us with against sin, the dominion of sin is broken in us and we are
fortified against that which feeds the disease.
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Gill's commentary on
Isaiah 53:4-5
Isaiah
53:Vers. 4.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, &c.] Or
"nevertheless," as Gussetius {k}; notwithstanding the above usage of
him; though it is a certain and undoubted truth, that Christ not
only assumed a true human nature, capable of sorrow and grief, but
he took all the natural sinless infirmities of it; or his human
nature was subject to such, as hunger, thirst, weariness, &c.; and
to all the sorrow and pain arising from them; the same sorrows and
griefs he was liable to as we are, and therefore called ours and
hence he had a sympathy with men under affliction and trouble; and,
to show his sympathizing spirit, he healed all sorts of bodily
diseases; and also, to show his power,
He healed the diseases of the soul, by bearing the sins of his
people, and making satisfaction for them; since he that could
do the one could do the other; wherefore the evangelist
applies this passage to the healing of bodily diseases,
#Mt 8:17Matthew 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken
by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and
bare our sicknesses,
Though the principal meaning of the words may be, that all the
sorrows and griefs which Christ bore were not for any sins of his
own, but for the sins of his people; wherefore these griefs and
sorrows signify the punishment of sin, and are put for sins, the
cause of them and so the apostle interprets them of Christ's bearing
our sins in his own body on the tree, #1Pe 2:24, and the
Septuagint and Arabic versions render the words here, "he bears our
sins"; and the Targum is,
"wherefore he will entreat for our sins;"
Matt 8:17 Ver. 17. That it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Esaias the
prophet, &c.] In # Isa 53:4 "He hath borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows",
Here rendered, himself took our infirmities and bare our
sicknesses: very agreeable to the Hebrew text, ^awh^, "he himself",
not another; ^avn^, "took up", upon himself voluntarily, freely, as
a man lifts up a burden, and takes it on his shoulders; ^wnylx^,
"our infirmities", diseases, sicknesses ,
whether of body or soul, ^Mlbo wnybakmw^,
"and bare", or carried, as a man does a burden upon his back, "our
sicknesses", or diseases, which occasion pain and sorrow. And that
these words are spoken of the Messiah, the Jews themselves own; for
among the names they give to the Messiah, "a leper" is one; which
they prove from this passage {u}.
2Peter 2:Ver. 24. Who his own self bare our sins, &c.] As was
typified by the high priest bearing the sins of the holy things of
the people of Israel, when he went into the most holy place, and by
the scape goat bearing the iniquities of all the people unto a land
not inhabited, and as was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah.
The apostle here explains the nature and end of Christ's
sufferings, which were to make
atonement for sins, and which was done by bearing them .
What Christ bore were sins", even all sorts of sin, original and
actual, and every act of sin of his people;
And all that is in sin, all that belongs to it, arises from it,
and is the demerit of it, as both filth, guilt, and punishment; and
a multitude of sins did he bear, even all the iniquities of all the
elect; and a prodigious load and weight it was; and than which
nothing could be more nauseous and disagreeable to him, who loves
righteousness, and hates iniquity:
And these sins he bore were not his own, nor the sins of angels,
but of men; and not of all men, yet of many, even as many as were
ordained to eternal life, for whom Christ gave his life a ransom,
whom he justifies and brings to glory; our sins, not the sins of the
Jews only, for Peter was a Jew, and so were those to whom he writes,
but of the Gentiles also, even the sins of all his people, for them
he saves from their sins, being stricken for them.
His "bearing" them was in this manner: he becoming the surety and
substitute of his people, their sins were laid upon him by his
Father, that is, they were imputed to him, they were reckoned as
his, and placed to his account; and Christ voluntarily took them
upon himself; he took them to himself, as one may take the debt of
another, and make himself answerable for it; or as a man takes up a
burden, and lays it on his shoulders;
So Christ took up our sins, and "carried" them "up", as the word
here used signifies, alluding to the priests carrying up the
sacrifice to the altar, and referring to the lifting up of Christ
upon the cross; whither he carried the sins of his people, and bore
them, and did not sink under the weight of them, being the mighty
God, and the man of God's right hand, made strong for himself; and
so made entire satisfaction for them, by enduring the wrath of God,
the curse of the law, and all that punishment which was due unto
them;
And thereby bore them away, both from his people, and out of the
sight of God, and his vindictive justice; and removed them as far as
the east is from the west, and made a full end of them; and this he
himself did, and not another, nor by another, or with the help of
another; not by the means of a goat, as the high priest, but by
himself; though he was assisted in bearing his cross, yet he had no
help in bearing our sins; angels could not help him; his Father
stood at a distance from him; there was none to help;
His own arm brought salvation to him; but his own self, who knew
no sin, nor did any, he by himself purged away our sins, and made
reconciliation for them, by bearing them: and which he did in his
own body, and not another's;
In that body which his Father prepared for him, and which he took
of the virgin, and was free from sin; though not to the exclusion of
his soul, which also was made an offering for sin, and in which he
endured great pains and sorrows for sin:
And all this on the tree; the accursed tree, the cross; which is
expressive both of the shame and pain of his sufferings and death.
The end of which was, that we being dead to sin; "to our sins",
as the Alexandrian copy, and the Ethiopic version read; as all the
elect are, through bearing their sins, and suffering death for them,
so as that sin shall not be imputed to them; it is as though it
never was; it is dead to them, and they to that, as to its damning
power and influence; so as that they are entirely discharged from
it, and can never come into condemnation on account of it, and can
never be hurt, so as to be destroyed by it; nor by death, either
corporeal or eternal, since the sting of death, which is sin, is
taken away, and the strength of sin, which is the law, is dead to
them, and they to that: In short, through the death of Christ they
are so dead to sin, that it is not only finished, made an end of,
and put away, but the body of it is destroyed, that it should not be
served; which is an end subordinate to the former, and expressed in
the next clause:should live unto righteousness;
Live, and not die the second death, and live by faith on the
righteousness of Christ, for justification of life, and soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present evil world; which the grace
of God teaches, and the love of Christ in bearing sin constrains to,
and the redemption by his precious blood lays under an obligation to
do; for those whose sins Christ has bore are not their own, but
being bought with the price of his blood,
They are bound to live to him who has a property in them, and a
right to claim all obedience from them: by whose stripes ye were
healed; the passage referred to is in # Isa 53:5 which is a prophecy
of the Messiah, as is acknowledged by the Jews {g}, who say {h},
This is the King Messiah, who was in the generation of the
ungodly, as it is said, # Isa 53:5 "and with his stripes we are
healed"; and for this cause God saved him, that he might save
Israel, and rejoice with them in the resurrection of the dead.''
Sin is a disease, a natural and hereditary one, an epidemic
distemper, that reaches to all men, and to all the powers and
faculties of their souls, and members of their bodies;
and which is nauseous and loathsome, and in itself mortal and
incurable; nor can it be healed by any creature, or anything that a
creature can do.
Christ is the only physician, and his blood the balm and
sovereign medicine; this cleanses from all sin;
through it is the
remission of sin, which is meant by healing; for healing of
diseases, and forgiving iniquities, is one and the same thing;
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Comments
Ministry of Hope
Although He took out infirmities and carried
away our diseases we also have to understand that we are not
automatically healed from all diseases when we accept jesus as our
Savior and Lord, We know this for a fact, also we know that our
minds have to be renewd, all trouble comming fort from wrong habbits
are not gone at the moment we receive the Lord as our Savior, we
also know that Paul (Galatians 4:13-15) and Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23)
both had sickness to endure, Trophimus at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20),
Epaphroditus (Philippians 3:25-27)
On the other hand we see that Jesus healed
every where he went, we can not overlook that the Lord Jesus did not
do anything unless it came from the Father.
John 8:28 Then said Jesus
unto them, "When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye
know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father
hath taught Me, I speak these things.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and ye
believed not. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear
witness of Me.
John 10:37 If I do not the works of My Father,
believe Me not.
John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not Me,
believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is
in Me, and I in Him."
John 14:12 Verily, verily I say unto you, he that
believeth in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater
works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father.
John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name,
that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
(doing only what the Father showed Him) and so
did the Apostles and others, even to the 72 Jesus gave them power
to heal the sick. We see that Jesus claimed to be He was by the
signs and wonders he performed and so did the Apostles.
Never the less Jesus brought Healing, healing
the sick and the lame, as was foretold in Isaiah 53:4,5
These healings were acts of mercy done by God,
Through the Lord jesus God was able to extend His mercy upon the
people. Even paul the great Evangelist had to rely on the mercy of
God to do the work for the Kingdom of God (Phill 3:27
For indeed he (Epaphroditus) was sick nigh unto
death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me
(Paul) also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow)
.
God wanted to make certain that the only way to
establish the church was by His power only.
God did this also to show fort His Goodness
and leave no doubt that these things were from God, the Church had
to be born and people had to believe that Jesus was send from God,
in order to show us the way of salvation. Jesus was going to redeem
us, and was setting us free from the power of sin. Rom 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free
from the law of sin and death.
-(that is our souls and not our bodies, our bodies, sinfull as they
are causing to be at war most of our earthly existance, being an
entrance of Satan (weak as the flesh is) to perform his diluted
works by the lust of the flesh (if we let him) flesh and blood
cannot inherent the Kingdom of God 1 Corinth 15:53
For this corruptible must put on incorruption.... therefore we still
have to die and await a new spiritual body at the resurrection,
unless our Lord is returning while we are still alive)
The body, to be
a vessel of righteousness
When we gave our lives to Christ and were burried (the old
self) and raised onto a new life,( through Baptism) now, we see
that with the deadness to sin (our old self) that our bodies are no
longer to be the instruments of sin.
And we see that in being freed from the power of sin this
includes the body and all the members of the body.
Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with Him by the
baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might
[habitually] live {and} behave in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have become one with Him by
sharing a death like His, we shall also be [one with Him in sharing]
His
resurrection [by a new life lived for God].
Rom 6:6 We know that our
old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order
that [our] body [which is the instrument] of sin might be made
ineffective {and} inactive for evil, that we might no longer be
the slaves of sin.
But we
have a responsebility to yield to God and not to the flesh.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal
(short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings
{and} be subject to its lusts {and} evil passions.
Rom 6:13 Do not continue offering or yielding your
bodily members [and faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of
wickedness. But offer {and} yield yourselves to God as though you
have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily
members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as
implements of righteousness.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert
dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but
under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy].
Our bodies are also (in obedience) implements of rigteousness,
(included in the) as subjects of His favor and mercy.
Jesus also had
compassion (pity) (equal the Father) when He healed and
delivered many people.
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus
called His disciples unto Him and said, "I have compassion on the
multitude, because they continue with Me now three days and have had
nothing to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they
faint on the way."
Matthew 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was
moved with compassion, and loosed him and forgave him the debt.
Matthew 20:34 So Jesus had compassion on them and
touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and
they followed Him.
Mark 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put
forth His hand and touched him, and said unto him, "I will; be thou
clean."
Mark 5:19 But Jesus suffered him not, and said unto
him, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the
Lord hath done for thee, and how He hath had compassion on thee."
There is no reason to believe that God lost His
compassion towards His children, there is no reason why God would
treat born again believers with less mercy and grace then those in
Jesus time. no there is not.
But in the Time of Jesus there was the person of Jesus, the faith of
Jesus, the obedient Jesus and the perfect Jesus, through who'm the
Father would show Himself fully. Now Jesus and the Apostles are gone
we also see little healing in comparrison.
I also believe that faith is an important
ingredient in healing of the body. We see that in James 5:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and
certainly for salvation Eph 2:8,9.these are gifts, faith and
salvation God's grace!
In all this God is still God and He is the sovereign God
Deuteronomy 32:39 "‘See now that I, even I, am He,
and there is no god besides Me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound,
and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand.
Concerning Mercy and sovereignty
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated (held in relative disregard in comparison with My
feeling for Jacob).
Rom 9:14 What shall we conclude then? Is there
injustice upon God's part? Certainly not!
Rom 9:15 For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy and I will have compassion (pity) on whom I will
have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then [God's gift] is not a question of human
will and human effort, but of God's mercy. [It depends not on one's
own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race,
but on God's having mercy on him.]
Rom 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, I have
raised you up for this very purpose of displaying My power in
[dealing with] you, so that My name may be proclaimed the whole
world over.
Rom 9:18 So then He has mercy on whomever He wills
(chooses) and He hardens (makes stubborn and unyielding the heart
of) whomever He wills.
Rom 9:19 You will say to me, Why then does He still
find fault {and} blame us [for sinning]? For who can resist {and}
withstand His will?
Rom 9:20 But who are you, a mere man, to criticize {and}
contradict {and} answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him
that formed it, Why have you made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to
make out of the same mass (lump) one vessel for beauty {and}
distinction {and} honorable use, and another for menial {or} ignoble
{and} dishonorable use?
Also in the church in James 5:14-15
we are called to go for healing to the elders to have them pray over
us for healing.
It is therefore save to conclude that God
provided a way for healing, for evangelists and also for the
believers.
We also see examples of sickness not being healed or to take some
sort medicine. To say to pray for healing and leave like that, is
to say don't go to the hospital either for it is not God's will for
you to be healed as some teach, while others teach that you have to
hold on by faith and eventually you will receive.
Not so, many have died, believing for healing, while they
could have been save by doctors, we cannot force Gods pity on us?
no, we have to maintain a humble trusting attitude in all
circumstances, is God not able to deliver you? of course He can, if
you belong to Christ shall he not be trusted with our wellbeing,
healing, needs. Our bodies are meant to be replaced at the proper
time, but God is able to see us through and to heal us in our
earlthly state, as He sees fit to do so, it is our part to exercise
our faith by trusting Him that He knows best.
I believe we should pray for healing, I
also believe to go to the doctor or hospital if healing does not
occur through prayer or laying on hands, but still go prayerfully,
not only trusting medication and doctors, but also in God's healing
power, even through doctors and hospitals, don't limit God in any
way, even though He doesn't heal us all the time as we would like,
ultimatily He wants to see our soul to prosper and being in good
heath. 3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things
that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul
prospereth.
James 5:14-15 "Is any
sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall
raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven
him.
see # Ps 103:3 Isa 33:24
Ps 41:4
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Prayer for Healing
Father God,
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, we ask you in
prayer and believing to touch and heal this person. We pray
and believe the promises of your Word Lord and agree for
the healing of every sick person praying with me right now,
we ask this in the name of Jesus our redeemer and healer
Amen!"
"Who forgiveth all thine
iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases…"
Psalm 103:3
"And ye shall serve the LORD your
God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will
take sickness away from the midst of thee."
Exodus 23:25
"Behold, I will bring it health and
cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the
abundance of peace and truth."
Jeremiah 33:6
"He sent his word, and healed them,
and delivered them from their destructions."
Psalm 107:20
And ye shall serve the LORD your
God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will
take sickness away from the midst of thee.
Exodus 23:25
The LORD will sustain him on his
sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.
Ps 41:3(NIV)
Who Himself bore our sins in His
own body on the tree, that we having died to sins, might
live f or righteousness - by whose stripes you are healed."
I Peter 2:24
"And Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every
sickness and every disease among the people."
Matthew 9:35
"But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes
we are healed." Isaiah 53:5
17 That it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
Matthew 8:17
"Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall
raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be
forgiven him.
"
James 5:14-15
Receive; My prayer for you
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Something more than healing
is God Himself and surrender to Him and experience His peace.
Stay focussed on the healer rather
than on the healing, we are so much after blessings that we forget
the blesser, we so much are focussed on the here and now that we
lose sight of God and His purpose for our life, above all is our
relationship with Him, that the one who loved us first, pours out
his Spirit upon us and filling us with Himself.
To be in Christ
The most important thing in all this
is that you "feel and sense God." There are some people who are hard
as rocks and feel nothing. But let me ask you this: Doesn't your
heart palpitate when you are sitting next to someone whom you love?
When God is here with us, for some reason we just feel good. Even
during times of sickness, He can be so near. We experience His peace
No further explanation is needed. God is near, His approval is upon
us, I surrender all. No matter how angry or stressed we may get, we
are filled with delight just experiencing God's peace that passes
all understanding. It doesn't matter what suffering or hardship -
even death - may befall us.
In military affairs, there is a term "disarmament." When we stand
before God, we too must be disarmed. We must let God enter into us,
just as we would open a closed window to let in the sunlight. When
we say before God, "I love you, Lord our king. I have tormented
myself for too long. I lay down all things before You," then in an
instant, our hearts that were filled with turmoil, anxiety, and
depression will be changed in an instant, and the peace of God will
fill us. Hallelujah!
When we have such peace, we begin to hear the voice of God. And when
we hear His voice we are filled with delight and assurrance. When we
fight with God, we cannot hear His voice. When we raise His name, we
hear His voice. When our relationships are restored, we hear His
voice; if they are not restored, and we do not hear.
I pray that all of your hearts would be overflowing with incredible
spiritual peace, joy, and praise, so that you may hear the voice of
God and enter into His rest and assurance.
Ministry of Hope
God Bless!! |
