What does the Bible teach about healing?

Today we have many different teachings about Divine healing, some say that healing was "only for the days of the apostles", others say when we want God to heal us that "we must pray, If it be thy will." Still some teach that "we don’t need Divine healing today because of the medical advances." What does the Bible say about Divine healing? and where do we find the Scripture? Let us start with the atonement. Isaiah 53:4 - 5 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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.

According to Strong’s exhaustive concordance the word "griefs" in Isaiah 53:4 is the Hebrew word "Choliy" and means 1) malady,    2) disease,    3) grief. The word "healed " in verse 5 is the Hebrew word "Rapha" and means 1) to cure    2) to heal    3) cause to heal     4) thoroughly to make whole. I contend that the last part of this verse (Isaiah 54:5) Is our release from sickness and disease (and with His stripes we are healed). Many people disagree with me here, in fact, I would say that most pastors today probably disagree with me on my understanding of this verse. They say that portion of scripture refers to spiritual healing. Let me make my defense, first of all the Bible tells us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin!

They didn’t beat the lamb before they sacrificed It. It is clear that the first part of this verse deals with Spiritual healing. (But He [was] wounded for our transgressions, [He was] bruised for our iniquities) Did our Heavenly Father allow unnecessary punishment for His beloved Son? Never,  it was because of His great love with which He loves us, it was for our well being that He permitted the stripes, they were necessary . Let’s look at how the writers of God’s Word viewed this scripture. What did they believe it meant?

Matthew 8:14 - 17 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with [His] word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare [our] sicknesses.

Observe, Matthew quoted Isaiah (Esaias) saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare [our] sicknesses.

Also, please note the context in which this comment by Matthew has been placed, right after Jesus has healed, not only Peter’s mother but all that they brought to Him that evening! Physical healing! I agree with Matthew’s understanding of Isaiah 53! The Bible has established the fact that Divine healing is in the atonement! Let us now see how the rest of the Bible deals with this subject. First of all, I ask this question, who did Jesus commission to preach His gospel and did not command to heal the sick and cast out demons? The answer NO ONE! When He sent out the twelve He said Matthew 10:7 - 8 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. When He sent out the seventy He said:

Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.

Luke 10:9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name. ( please read all of the passages,

Luke 10:1 to 19) Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.  And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. "Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. "And whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace be to this house.' "And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. "And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. "And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.' "But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' "I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. "But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment, than for you. "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! "The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me." Happy Results And the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.

And then in the Great Commission:

Mark 16:15 - 18 And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

The reason for our Lord commanding this is simple, the Gospel of the Living God is not like the teachings of other religions, because our God is God! He demonstrates His Gospel with signs and wonders. We can sit down and dream up a new religion today, but just because we dreamed it up don’t expect the supernatural presence of God to accompany it. (It won’t!) By the way, the "dreaming" up of a new religion is happening a lot lately.

My friend are you in a dead religion? One that has to suppose God? It is time to switch. Let me illustrate my point: Some time ago I was in my office and a man came in and asked to see me. After introductions, he said that he had something important to tell me. Right then the Holy Spirit said to me that this man represented a mid-east religion. He was an American, born in this country, without any accent. I could not detect through my natural senses anything different about this man, but God let me know what this man had come to see me about. So I said to him, "Have you ever raised the dead? Laid hands on someone with a terminal illness and had the Living God instantly heal the person? He said a startled "No". I said to him, "Then my friend, you have need to listen to me, for I have done these things, through the Mighty power of the Living God, who dwells in me!" And he did listen. Friend, we have been given a Gospel that is to be Demonstrated not just talked about! My God Lives, and never changes, never lies, always keeps His word. Do you believe Him?

Where do we go next? Well, why not to the only scripture in the Bible that directly answers the question for us. James 5:14 - 16 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. Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Observe the Bible asks "Is any sick among you?" If God wanted to "teach" some of us something through sickness, He made a big mistake in the wording of this scripture! But don’t worry God doesn’t make mistakes. He meant exactly what He said! Do you take the Bible as the final authority? I hope your answer is Yes! What is the sick believer to do "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" What will the out come be? 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. What!, where is the doubt ? We have a promise, but there is a requirement, "the prayer of faith"!   Not the prayer of doubt!   We must believe to be saved, in fact, to receive anything from God we must have faith.

Do you see the folly of those who suppose that praying, "If it be thy will" is proper here. I believe that sometimes it is a good and proper way to start a prayer to God, but only when His will is hid from us. On this subject it has been made abundantly clear. "Is any sick among you?" This, my friend, is the only place in the Bible (all 66 books) where this question is addressed, and answered in a direct way. Are you sick? Have you taken the instruction of the Bible?

Common questions that need to be answered.

Over the years , (36 years) That I have been preaching, praying for the sick, and casting out devils, I have been asked questions about praying for the sick, here are a few of them, and my response.

What about Paul’s thorn?

1) Ophthalmia is a disease, which causes puss to run down from the eyes of the victim continually. Now read the following scripture and see for yourself if this "conjecture" makes any sense. Acts 14:8 - 10 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. What do you think, and please be honest , if you were sick or crippled and someone was preaching "healing thru faith" with puss running down his face from his eyes. Would you "have faith"? Would you not say and with reason "physician heal thyself"?

2) My second reason for not agreeing with this conjecture is this. The Apostle Paul had just said: 2 Corinthians 11:22 - 30 Are they Hebrews? so [am] I. Are they Israelites? so [am] I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so [am] I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty [stripes] save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; [In] journeyings often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. Notice, in prisons, in deaths oft, beaten, shipwrecked, perils of robbers, In weariness and painfulness, hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness. What is missing? Sickness!

3) We have no need to use "conjecture" here, for the text in question gives us the answer to our question! What was the "thorn"? ‘There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me.’ We do not need to "conjecture" about this, we need not guess! The same text that announces a "thorn in the flesh" tells us just exactly what that "thorn in the flesh" was! Reread 2 Corinthians 11:22 - 30 you will see over and over "beaten", in stripes above measure, The word "buffet" in the text above according to Strong’s exhaustive concordance Strong’s reference # 2852 Greek (Kolaphizo) means: to rap with the fists (to hit). So we can see this is exactly what happened to Paul over and over. Here is the picture, we have a person that has been given the task of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and every where he goes he is beaten, or put in prison and beaten. He has asked of the Lord three times to release him of this "thorn" but the Divine response is, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Where does sickness come from?

Let us read Job 1:9 - 12 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

And also let us read Job 2:3 - 7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth Thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to Thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he [is] in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

Observe, God allowed Satan to do as he wished with Job, but He did not allow Satan to kill Job.

Now we see the Lord saying "although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause." Notice Satan, not God did the evil but God took the responsibility, because He "allowed" Satan to do it! God is not the author of sickness for He is "the Lord that healeth thee" Satan is the destroyer , the one who smites with sickness. It is God who heals! "So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown." God has made available through the Gospel a relief from sickness, if we study the book of Job we find who the author of sickness is.

Don’t you believe we will die?

Many times when discussing Divine healing I have been asked "Don’t you believe we will die?" Yes, I believe the Bible and life itself teaches that we will die, Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" but we do not have to be placed in the bondage of sickness. Our body will wear out as we grow old, we will become a little hard of hearing, (especially if we are in a workplace that has a high noise level) we will not see as well when we are 60 years old as when we were 16. But growing old, (wearing out) and contracting a life threartening disease are two different things. The former is natural, the later is not! We have to grow old (wear out) we don’t have to endure a life threatening disease, Praise be to God!

Won’t people praise God by our being sick?

I have heard this one many times, I know that sometimes people bear up under pain, but my question is this, should we "bear up" ? If so, why didn’t Jesus know about this? Did He instruct anyone to "bear up" NO! He healed them. Now watch and see when the people praised God. Luke 13:11 - 17 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up [herself]. And when Jesus saw her, He called [her to Him], and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And He laid [His] hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or [his] ass from the stall, and lead [him] away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. The praise comes when the healing takes place, at least that is the way it happened with Jesus.

What about medicines?

Some people have taught that the taking of medicines is a lack of faith. I don’t believe this. The Bible doesn’t teach that either, lets look at 1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.  Paul didn’t think it a lack of faith to take a natural remedy to help an infirmity. On the other hand the medical profession have had a few "treatments" in years gone by, that I have disagreed with, for instance, drilling holes in the head of a person suffering with a migraine headache, bleeding a person for common colds and the such. (Common nineteenth century cures) Today we would laugh at such cures, but no one laughed then, as I am sure some would laugh in the next century (If the Lord tarried) at some of the cures commonly practiced today! Doctors are great at fixing broken bones, and without doubt, modern doctors are light years, medically speaking, beyond their nineteenth century counterparts. But when it comes to cancer and various other diseases, often the doctor finds his limitations. I believe that the Lord is the great Physician! And He makes house calls!

Why were some believers left in a state of sickness?

Often people have wondered, why if divine healing is true, did Paul leave Trophimus sick in Miletum! It is simple, Trophimus did not exercise faith. In my 32 years of praying for the sick I have found that about eighty five percent have been healed and approximately fifteen percent were left sick. Why, I don’t know, but I believe the same is true about people being saved, all are not saved when the word of truth goes forth! People must believe to receive salvation or healing, and for that matter anything from God must be received by FAITH! I am certain when God’s condition of faith is met, The person will be saved or healed! If this is a problem for you reread James 5:14 - 17

Why not go to hospitals and heal them all?

A few years ago I had a minister seek me out ( he didn’t believe in Divine healing) to ask me one question, "Why, if I believed in Divine healing, as he had heard, didn’t I go to all of the hospitals and heal all of the sick people in them?" A good question, one that had to be answered. I answered the question with a question. Here was my answer, I asked him if he believed that in those hospitals there would be people that weren’t Born of the Spirit of God? He said that he guessed that there probably were people in hospitals that weren’t born of God. So I asked him why he didn’t go and have all of the people not born of God’s Spirit born again? He said they would have to believe and repent. I said that is also why they are sick, they have to believe! Without faith it is impossible to please God.

(p.s. I can’t count the trips made going to hospitals to pray for the sick).

A though to dwell on.

Where in all of the New Testament Scripture did someone come to The Lord Jesus in faith, and ask for healing, only to be refused? Jesus Came to minister to the lost sheep of Israel, But when the Samaritan women with the daughter who was grievously vexed with a devil came to Him, even when He refused at first, ultimately He cast the demon out! read the account for yourself and see; Matthew 15:22 - 28 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, [thou] Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast [it] to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great [is] thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

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