Is Healing For Today?

Published August 01, 2008

Isaiah 53, verse 5 says, “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.” (KJV) This of course is a messianic prophecy about Jesus Christ, and what His beating and death would provide for those who believe on His name… part of which, is healing.

How do we know that Jesus fulfilled this verse? Matthew 8:16, 17 tell us, ‘When 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. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”’ So, this is proof that Jesus was the fulfillment to the prophecy.

1 Peter 2:24 declares, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (KJV) Look at what we are told here. He bore our sins on the cross, and we have become righteous; He took the stripes, and we were healed. The redemption that Christ provided was both spirit, emotional and physical… today, we will focus primarily on the physical aspect of Christ’s atonement made for us.  (Also see Psalms 103:1-3)
Now, if healing was provided on the cross along with the forgiveness of sins, wouldn’t both be available today? Of course they would – or why would Jesus have bore them? Look at what we are told in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (NASB) If healing was part of the atonement, and God was willing to heal then, He must be willing to heal today.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was exactly the same as the Father, and that He did nothing except that which He saw His Father do. (John 8:18, 8:28, 10:30, 17:1) If Jesus was the exact representation of the Father, and Jesus healed all (Matt. 4:24, 8:16, 12:15, 14:36), don’t you think the Father wants to heal all too? Of course He does; but if all of this is true, than we need to be asking another question:

If Christ provided healing, why isn’t everyone healed?

This is a very common question, and one that many people are asking. It is also simple to answer. We are told in 1 Timothy 2:3, 4, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This verse tells us that it is the desire of God that all people become saved, yet many are not, why? Because they have not put faith in Christ and repented of their sins.

Why aren’t all healed? Because, for the most part, people are not sure that God wants them to be healed, and because of that, do not believe that healing was provided by Christ for them once and for all; consequently, they are not healed. Just as Christ died for the sins of everyone, and yet no one is saved until they appropriate salvation through faith and repentance, so too, there is appropriation and principles to healing which we will discuss in greater detail a little later on in this series.
Look at the example the Christ gave us in the model prayer in Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” If God’s will were automatically enforced upon the earth, why are we told by Jesus to ask for it?

God’s Will Concerning Healing

God’s will concerning healing is already known, because it was provided when Christ was gruesomely beaten. When leading someone to the Lord, we do not wonder if God will accept their repentant heart, because Christ made the atonement, and that is the basis of us being forgiven, not our goodness or the quality of our prayer. The same is true with healing. Because Christ provided healing, we need never wonder if it is God’s will to heal… like salvation, we should already know the answer.

If you came to me, would expect me to give you one million dollars? Of course not, because I have not told you that I wanted to give you that money, and therefore, you would have no confidence that I would give you the money.Instead, you would simply beg and see if I would give you something. This is how we often are with God, because we do not understand what His will is. So, we start begging God to do something for us when all the while it is faith that we must have in order to receive anything from God… not lengthy prayers(James 1:6,7; Mark 12:40). So then, there is no need to need to wonder if God will give us something He has promised us. His promises are yes and amen, aren’t they? (2 Corinthians 1:20)

We are told numerous times how Christ told someone, “your faith has made you whole.” (Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34, 10:53; Luke 8:48, 17:19)We are also told, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6, 7) But how can we have faith for something, if we have never been told that it is God’s will for us to have it? We cannot have faith until the will of God is known to us… otherwise we ask not knowing what God will do, and hence, have no faith for it at all. I hope I made that as clear as possible, because it is important, and is the biggest reason that people are not healed.

Wanting More?

This is only the beginning of our "Healing Series." For more, please read the next installment in this series: "Faith For Healing."