This document is written to obedient believers, who want to obey God’s will and command in healing the sick. I wrote it because I did not find online literature on this topic that teaches this premise: While obedient believers must suffer pain and persecution (including poverty , 1 Corinthians 4:11) at the hands of evil men, they can access (through the blood of Jesus--Psalm 103:3; Isaiah 53:4, 5; Matthew 8:17; James 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:24) physical healing from disease, sickness, and deliverance from demonic attack for themselves and others who are willing to believe.
III John 2 Beloved, I wish [it
is my will] above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in
health...
Some might say that that is only the Apostle John’s will.
I Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
But they need to
receive the Word of God through John and the other Bible authors on the issue
of healing:
Psalm 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Matthew 8:16b...he cast out spirits with his word, and healed all
that were sick.
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the LORD , O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD , O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
Isaiah 53
4 Surely he took up our
infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Matthew explains Christ fulfillment of this scripture more explicitly in regards to physical healing:
Matthew 8:17 (New International
Version)
16When evening came,
many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits
with a word and healed all the sick. 17This was to fulfill what was
spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
"He took up our infirmities
and carried our diseases."[[c]
After Matthew clarifies that Isaiah is indeed referring to physical
healing in 53:4, Peter quotes Isaiah’s next verse.
1 Peter 2:24 (New International Version)
24He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness; by his wounds you have
been healed.
Peter states that divine
healing has been provided for in the atonement.
Salvation and physical healing (usually in that order) are available to all by faith.
All three of these verses mention both the atonement from sin, and
physical healing, as does this one:
James 5:14-16 (New International Version)
14Is any one of you
sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him
with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well;
the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for
each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful
and effective.
Which makes us a
promise, as does this one:
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
That God will heal His children. Of course there are conditions to this promise, but at least we know that God wants to heal His children, just as he wants to save them. Of course, you could be saved and not healed, like Paul (Galatians 4:13) or Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23) were. Paul’s advice on healthy living may have brought Timothy healing. Do you find it odd that this Paul fell ill?
Acts 19:11-13 (New International Version)
11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
I bet he wished that he saved one of those handkerchiefs. Just kidding. So why isn’t every Christian always healed? There are conditions and blockades to healing that the Bible mentions. This link actually informs the central premise of this document, and will return you to this document.
Even while Paul was sick, he still obeyed God’s command to preach salvation, healing, and deliverance. That was just part of being Paul.
Matthew
4:23
Jesus went throughout
(Whole Chapter: Matthew
4 In context: Matthew
4:22-24)
Notice it does not say, “healing every disease and sickness”
except the ones that were not God’s
will to heal.
John 14
12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even
greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Notice that He says that we (obedient believers) will do the things he has been doing. What was he doing? Peter sums it up this way:
Acts
10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and
how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil,
because God was with him. 39" (Whole Chapter: Acts
10 In context: Acts
10:37-39)
Matthew
10:1
He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out
evil[ 10:1 Greek unclean] spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
(Whole Chapter: Matthew
10 In context: Matthew
10:1-2)
Matthew 10
7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse those who have leprosy,[1]
drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Whole Chapter: Matthew
10 In context: Matthew
10:7-9)
Mark 6
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
7Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling
the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over
evil[2]
spirits.
8These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey
except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear
sandals but not an extra tunic. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay
there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome
you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a
testimony against them."
12They went out and preached
that people should repent. 13They drove out many demons and anointed
many sick people with oil and healed them.
Many teach that this command was only for the twelve, and/or the 72. However, a large random group of believers prayed that God would continue to work through them the same repentance-preaching, demon exorcizing, miracle healing ministry.
Acts 4
The Believers' Prayer
23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and
reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When
they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.
"Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth
and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit
through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
" 'Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.[3]
'[4]
27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and
the people[5]
of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you
anointed. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand
should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your
servants to speak your word with great
boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous
signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
NOTE: Healing the sick is not the only thing that Jesus commanded the 12.
Matt 10 5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following
instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the
Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of
So many interpreters claim that these commands (including healing
the sick) do not apply to us. Otherwise,
we could never “take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take
no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff”. The next time I am traveling through
I would not be greedy though, and bring fancy stuff. In Acts 4, 32-37 below, the believers continued to obey Christ’s leading in humble stewardship and mutual generosity. So in this sense, they and we do obey these specific commands.
[Passage continued from above]
The Believers Share Their Possessions
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that
any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With
great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy
persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold
them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles'
feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from
So, yes, some of the commands have a clear cultural/situational context. That does not mean that we are not commanded to preach the gospel or heal the sick. There is nothing culturally specific about those commands:
Matthew 28 The
Great Commission
16Then the eleven disciples
went to
So that settles it. We must obey everything commanded of the 11, including healing the sick and driving out demons, as He commands us above.
Was the believers’ prayer in Acts 4
presumptuous or unbiblical? Or is it something
that we should also pray and obey?
Notice that this prayer was confirmed by a miracle in verse 31. Let me warn you to obey it:
Hebrews 2
Warning to Pay Attention
1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have
heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by
angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just
punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?
This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by
those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and
various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his
will.
Paul was not even saved yet at the time of
this prayer, but when he got saved, he obeyed the healing command to the
12. So did Barnabas.
Acts
14:3
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the
Lord, who confirmed the message of
his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.
(Whole Chapter: Acts
14 In context: Acts
14:2-4)
Romans
15:19
by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So
from
(Whole Chapter: Romans
15 In context: Romans
15:18-20)
Ezekiel 34
3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter
the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You
have not strengthened the weak or healed
the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or
searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5
So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were
scattered they became food for all the wild animals.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, don’t be a bad Shepherd. Heal the sick as He commanded. You are not commanded to explain why people do not get healed (I’ll try to explain some of that here). You are commanded to pray in faith (not doubting).
James 5
14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to
pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And
the prayer offered in faith will
make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will
be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray
for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is
powerful and effective.
.
Some scriptures make it seem like Healing is sometimes not God’s will—or that God does not want to heal His people. However, He always wants to heal people on His terms—not necessarily theirs.
As far as the devils children, yes He can send sickness upon them. Even in the New Testament, He struck a sorcerer blind (below), and he killed two “Christian” liars in .
Acts 13
4The two of them, sent
on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to
6They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos.
There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7who
was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an
intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word
of God. 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means)
opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9Then
Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at
Elymas and said, 10"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You
are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting
the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against
you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the
light of the sun."
12Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about,
seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had
happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Rev 21:8 tells us that neither of these people who were physically afflicted by God were His children.
Psalm
(119:67)
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
(119:68)
You are good, and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.
(119:69)
Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,
I keep your precepts with all my heart.
(119:70)
Their hearts are callous and unfeeling,
but I delight in your law.
(119:71)
It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.
(119:72)
The law from your mouth is more precious
to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and
gold.
“Afflicted” here does not refer to physical illness.
6031 `anah-
1) (Qal) to be occupied, to be busied with
2) to afflict, to oppress, to humble, to be afflicted, to be bowed down
a) (Qal)
1) to be put down, to become low
2) to be depressed, to be downcast
3) to be afflicted
4) to stoop
b) (Niphal)
1) to humble oneself, to bow down
2) to be afflicted, to be humbled
c) (Piel)
1) to humble, to mishandle, to afflict
2) to humble, to be humiliated
3) to afflict
4) to humble, to weaken oneself
d) (Pual)
1) to be afflicted
2) to be humbled
e) (Hiphil) to afflict
f) (Hithpael)
1) to humble oneself
2) to be afflicted
6031 `anah (aw-naw');
a primitive root [possibly rather ident. with 6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating]; to depress literally or figuratively, transitive or intransitive (in various applications, as follows):
KJV-- abaseself, afflict (-ionself,), answer [by mistake for 6030], chastenself, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing [by mistake for 6030], speak [by mistake for 6030], submitself, weaken, X in any wise.
Paul’s thorn was not a sickness that was God’s will for him to have. He himself identified it as a demon, or messenger (angel) of Satan.
2 Corinthians 12
7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The preceding chapter and surrounding context tells us that this demon may have followed Paul around and stirred up trouble for him, in the form of “insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties” not in physical illness.
2 Corinthians 11
23Are they servants of
Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much
harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been
exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the
Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with
rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a
day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have
been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own
countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the
country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I
have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger
and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides
everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29Who
is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly
burn?
30If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised
forever, knows that I am not lying. 32In Damascus the governor under
King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33But
I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his
hands.
Job got healed eventually did he not? Should he have not prayed for his own healing? Did he not say, “Though you slay me, I will trust you Lord”? That is a prayer of faith, to trust in “The Lord your Healer”, when you think it was Him that afflicted you.
Job
2:10
He replied, "You are talking like a foolish [
(Whole Chapter: Job
2 In context: Job
2:9-11)
You could blame God for indirectly afflicting Job via Satan.
Job
2:7
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job
with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
(Whole Chapter: Job
2 In context: Job
2:6-8)
After all, God is bigger than Satan and He did allow it. Even if God directly sickened Job, what would be wrong with Job asking Him to heal him? What could be wrong with believing in God’s will to heal? However, I’d be real careful about attributing Satan’s actions to God.
Job
1:22
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
(Whole Chapter: Job
1 In context: Job
1:21-23)
Don’t blame God for Satan’s works.
Matthew 12
Jesus and Beelzebub
22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute,
and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23All the
people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by
Beelzebub,[4]
the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided
against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against
itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided
against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive
out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they
will be your judges. 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of
God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29"Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and
carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can
rob his house.
30"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not
gather with me scatters. 31And so I tell you, every sin and
blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not
be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will
be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
33"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree
bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You
brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the
mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good
stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up
in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the
day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by
your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Blame Adam or Eve for sickness if you have to. They gave the devil authority, by following him, and made him the “prince of this world” (John 16:10). They did this by following his idea to disobey God. Have you ever disobeyed God? You gave authority to the Devil then too. Why don’t you blame yourself for the sickness you see?
Hebrews 12
10Our fathers
disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us
for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline
seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a
harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet,"[2]
so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Verse 13 tells you that if you obeyed God more, maybe the lame people that you come across would be healed. Don’t blame that lame person for being sick, and quit blaming God for sickness. Why are you always trying to blame everyone but yourself? You are the only one that you can change. Are you going to part of the problem or part of the solution?
Don’t be a bad Shepard. Heal the sick. Quit blaming and start obeying. Heal the sick. You (and we all) may have given authority to the Devil by not obeying God’s command to heal, but enough is enough. Now Jesus has given those of us who obey Him “authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy”.
Luke 10
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two
1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[1]
others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he
was about to go. 2He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but
the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out
workers into his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs
among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not
greet anyone on the road.
5"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' 6If
a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to
you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give
you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set
before you. 9Heal the sick
who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 10But
when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11'Even
the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be
sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' 12I tell you, it will be
more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the
miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But
it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15And
you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the
depths.[2]
16"He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you
rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the
demons submit to us in your name."
18He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to
trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy;
nothing will harm you. 20However, do not rejoice that the spirits
submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
God wants to heal
the sick in His name. That is one of the
things he wants us to do. If it was not
His will, he would not have commanded us to do it. He definitely would not give us authority
to do it. How then, do we do it? That is
a topic for another document: We can get
started in doing it by addressing any blockades
to healing in our lives.
We observe plenty of
cases where people do not get healed.
That does not mean that God’s will is done in those cases. God’s will is not always done on this earth. Otherwise, He would not tell us to pray for it
to be done on earth.
He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father,[ 11:2 Some
manuscripts Our Father in heaven] hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.[ 11:2 Some manuscripts come. May
your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.]
(Whole Chapter: In
context: )
The implication is that God’s will is always done in heaven, but not always
done on earth. Therefore, He tells us to
pray that His kingdom come and His will be done here on earth. Not only did he tell us to pray, but He also
commands us to heal. Not only does he
command us to heal, but He gives us authority
to heal, among other things (v 19).
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has
been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
(Whole Chapter: In
context: )
God’s will can be done on earth where forceful men lay hold of it: Taking authority over the devils powers and loosing God’s heavenly (or Kingdom) will on earth.
Matthew
18:18
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth
will be[
(Whole Chapter: Matthew
18 In context: Matthew
18:17-19)
Sickness is part of the curse on man from original and/or personal sin. It is one of the powers of the enemy referred to in Luke 10:19 above.
Hebrews
2:14
Since the children have flesh
and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death–that
is, the devil–
(Whole Chapter: Hebrews
2 In context: Hebrews
2:13-15)
What is the power of death? Scientists might describe it as “entropy”—the tendency of any system in the universe to move from order to disorder. A layman would describe entropy this way: Things get old and they break. When people get old, they eventually die of some disorder, or sickness.
1
Corinthians 15:56
The sting of death is sin…..(Whole Chapter: 1
Corinthians 15 In context: 1
Corinthians 15:55-57)
Another way to describe sickness is a lack of health. A lack of health is caused by biological disorder. An orderly (or healthy) body has all its parts working together in an orderly way. This is God’s will. This was the case in the Garden of Eden, and is the case in heaven. God is a god of order (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Jeremiah 33
25 This is what the LORD says: 'If I have not established my
covenant with day and night and the fixed
laws of heaven and earth, 26
His laws are fixed. Without his sustaining (or life-giving) power, everything, including people, would fall apart into disorder.
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his
being, sustaining all things
by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
(Whole Chapter: In
context: )
This disorder is reflected in many disorders and sicknesses. However, if we belong to the Sustainer Himself, then He can quicken (or supernaturally give life to) our physical bodies: bringing them back into His working order.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Also, the Sustainer has given us “authority to trample on
snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke
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