Saviour! Sanctifier! Healer?
I think that ‘we’ get confused on certain points of our believing about divine healing as a part of the finished work of the cross. To a large extent, ‘we’ do not ‘believe’ that healing IS a part of the ‘finished work’. It is OK to admit this. God is not unaware of our unbelief, it does not surprise him! There is a VAST difference between believing that God has the ability to heal, and believing that God has included healing in the finished work of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us acknowledge this difference and admit to ourselves that, while we have no doubt about the former, we have many doubts about the latter.
One of the confusions ‘we’ have is this: IF it is an accomplished fact, then, why do so many Christians still suffer from such a vast array of aches & pains, sicknesses and disease?
This question sounds similar to the often asked question: IF I have been declared righteous and holy by God himself, then, why do I still sin? IF I am dead to sin, as the scriptures teach, then, why does it still hold so much power over me?
Another great IF: IF my sins have been utterly forgiven and there truly is ‘no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’, then, why do I still feel condemned? Why am I still afraid of God, of judgement?
The answer to the third question, (and there is an answer) is that ‘we’ do not yet believe the WORD of GOD on this matter. We trust our feelings over HIS ALMIGHTY HOLY WORD. We give ear to the great tempter, the accuser of the brethren, the wolf in sheeps clothing, when he whispers (and often shouts) the ancient words “DID GOD REALLY SAY….???”
The remedy for this doubting, this wavering, is to throw ourselves fully on the WORD of GOD in this matter; to shout with the apostle Paul, “Let GOD be TRUE and every man (or circumstance, or feeling, or teaching) a liar!” We ask along with the apostle Paul for “the SPIRIT of wisdom and revelation, that we may know God better, that we may know to HOPE to which he has called us!” We know that “faith comes by hearing & hearing by the WORD of GOD.” So, “to him who has ears, let him hear!”
Those of us who have come to believe that “there is, therefore, now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus,” that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” have found that the feelings of guilt and condemnation have been utterly removed and replaced by feelings of indescribable gratitude and praise. Fear has been utterly replaced by love and adoration, for we know that ‘perfect love casts out fear!” We finally experience the ‘joy of my salvation’!
As for the second IF: In my church we are constantly being told, in one way or another, that actions follow faith, and not the other way around. We have been declared righteous and holy and acceptable to God, not based on our own works and achievements, but on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which he exchanged with us for our sin and unrighteousness. There was a trade. My black for his white, my filth for his purity. This exchange occurred (note the past tense of the verb) when I accepted Christ as my Saviour, when I was born again, when I became a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come.
Again, the tempter casts doubt. Again, he throws ‘the evidence’ in the face of the WORD. Again, he is the accuser. Again, we throw ourselves on the WORD of GOD and the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and again, over time, by degrees, we come to FAITH. As we come to FAITH, we find that righteousness, holiness, purity, graciousness, kindness, become our deepest desires, yes, even our identity, and that sin becomes ever more distasteful. We find that we spend more and more time living by the Spirit and less and less time living ‘according to the flesh’. We find that our actions really do follow our faith, like fruit from a vine. We BECOME what we already ARE.
A child who grows tall early in life is tempted to slouch. His parents encourage him to stand up tall. He is already six feet tall, and his parents want him to stand to his full height. He doesn’t become six feet tall when he stands up straight. He is six feet tall, whether he stands up or not. I do not become righteous when I believe it, or when I work toward it. I am righteous in Christ and I learn to stand up tall! Before I believe this, I slouch, I worry, I keep my eyes down, I sluff my feet, I try too hard, I wear myself out. After I believe it I discover that it is for freedom that Christ has set me free! I shout Hallelujah! I sing! I dance! I am no longer burdened and weighed down by the cares of this world! I live an ABUNDANT, JOY FILLED LIFE!
And the first IF??? Dare we approach this question on the same basis? Dare we say that the reason so many believers suffer is because we do not YET believe that healing of the physical body is actually a part of the finished work of the cross? Why would this offend us any more than the second two ‘IF’s? All of us remember the struggle to believe them, the doubting, the questioning, the arguing, the tension between what I once believed and what I am now being presented with. We remember the ‘offence’, the haughtiness, the outright anger when we dared to express to others what we were just beginning to believe, that we are secure in our salvation, saved by grace, righteous through faith… Why would that same tension surprise us now? Of course we will wrestle with it! I did with the other two! Of course the tempter will ask the age old question “DID GOD REALLY SAY….?” Again, he will throw the ‘evidence’, the experience, the feelings, in the face of God and hold them up against the WORD. He will practically demand us to doubt! But….
WHATIF…. We again throw ourselves on the WORD of GOD and the Spirit of wisdom? WHATIF…. We learned to doubt the experience, doubt the discouraging words, doubt the common school of thought and BELIEVE the WORD of GOD that says, “by his stripes we are healed,” that exhorts us to ‘Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all our sins and heals all ours diseases, who redeems our life from the pit, and crowns us with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”? Have we forgotten some of his benefits?? “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak!” “Surely he took up our infirmities…” He wishes, above all things, that we “would prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers”. And “he who raised Christ from the dead will also give LIFE (zoe-life) to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” WHATIF… we believed these things rather than explained them away? (Be honest… you are trying to explain them away right now, aren’t you??) Would our experiences then follow our FAITH? Not the faith that says he could if he wanted to, but the faith that says he already has, it is an accomplished act, a paid-for blessing, a part of our glorious inheritance, a gift held out, a gentle, patient, hand that stands at the door and knocks. WHATIF… we renewed our minds to agree with scripture? WHATIF… we confessed and repented of our unbelief? Would we see less and less sickness and disease, weakness and infirmity? Would we learn how to live in divine health the way we learn to walk in the Spirit? Could it be?
One of the confusions ‘we’ have is this: IF it is an accomplished fact, then, why do so many Christians still suffer from such a vast array of aches & pains, sicknesses and disease?
This question sounds similar to the often asked question: IF I have been declared righteous and holy by God himself, then, why do I still sin? IF I am dead to sin, as the scriptures teach, then, why does it still hold so much power over me?
Another great IF: IF my sins have been utterly forgiven and there truly is ‘no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’, then, why do I still feel condemned? Why am I still afraid of God, of judgement?
The answer to the third question, (and there is an answer) is that ‘we’ do not yet believe the WORD of GOD on this matter. We trust our feelings over HIS ALMIGHTY HOLY WORD. We give ear to the great tempter, the accuser of the brethren, the wolf in sheeps clothing, when he whispers (and often shouts) the ancient words “DID GOD REALLY SAY….???”
The remedy for this doubting, this wavering, is to throw ourselves fully on the WORD of GOD in this matter; to shout with the apostle Paul, “Let GOD be TRUE and every man (or circumstance, or feeling, or teaching) a liar!” We ask along with the apostle Paul for “the SPIRIT of wisdom and revelation, that we may know God better, that we may know to HOPE to which he has called us!” We know that “faith comes by hearing & hearing by the WORD of GOD.” So, “to him who has ears, let him hear!”
Those of us who have come to believe that “there is, therefore, now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus,” that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” have found that the feelings of guilt and condemnation have been utterly removed and replaced by feelings of indescribable gratitude and praise. Fear has been utterly replaced by love and adoration, for we know that ‘perfect love casts out fear!” We finally experience the ‘joy of my salvation’!
As for the second IF: In my church we are constantly being told, in one way or another, that actions follow faith, and not the other way around. We have been declared righteous and holy and acceptable to God, not based on our own works and achievements, but on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which he exchanged with us for our sin and unrighteousness. There was a trade. My black for his white, my filth for his purity. This exchange occurred (note the past tense of the verb) when I accepted Christ as my Saviour, when I was born again, when I became a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come.
Again, the tempter casts doubt. Again, he throws ‘the evidence’ in the face of the WORD. Again, he is the accuser. Again, we throw ourselves on the WORD of GOD and the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and again, over time, by degrees, we come to FAITH. As we come to FAITH, we find that righteousness, holiness, purity, graciousness, kindness, become our deepest desires, yes, even our identity, and that sin becomes ever more distasteful. We find that we spend more and more time living by the Spirit and less and less time living ‘according to the flesh’. We find that our actions really do follow our faith, like fruit from a vine. We BECOME what we already ARE.
A child who grows tall early in life is tempted to slouch. His parents encourage him to stand up tall. He is already six feet tall, and his parents want him to stand to his full height. He doesn’t become six feet tall when he stands up straight. He is six feet tall, whether he stands up or not. I do not become righteous when I believe it, or when I work toward it. I am righteous in Christ and I learn to stand up tall! Before I believe this, I slouch, I worry, I keep my eyes down, I sluff my feet, I try too hard, I wear myself out. After I believe it I discover that it is for freedom that Christ has set me free! I shout Hallelujah! I sing! I dance! I am no longer burdened and weighed down by the cares of this world! I live an ABUNDANT, JOY FILLED LIFE!
And the first IF??? Dare we approach this question on the same basis? Dare we say that the reason so many believers suffer is because we do not YET believe that healing of the physical body is actually a part of the finished work of the cross? Why would this offend us any more than the second two ‘IF’s? All of us remember the struggle to believe them, the doubting, the questioning, the arguing, the tension between what I once believed and what I am now being presented with. We remember the ‘offence’, the haughtiness, the outright anger when we dared to express to others what we were just beginning to believe, that we are secure in our salvation, saved by grace, righteous through faith… Why would that same tension surprise us now? Of course we will wrestle with it! I did with the other two! Of course the tempter will ask the age old question “DID GOD REALLY SAY….?” Again, he will throw the ‘evidence’, the experience, the feelings, in the face of God and hold them up against the WORD. He will practically demand us to doubt! But….
WHATIF…. We again throw ourselves on the WORD of GOD and the Spirit of wisdom? WHATIF…. We learned to doubt the experience, doubt the discouraging words, doubt the common school of thought and BELIEVE the WORD of GOD that says, “by his stripes we are healed,” that exhorts us to ‘Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all our sins and heals all ours diseases, who redeems our life from the pit, and crowns us with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s”? Have we forgotten some of his benefits?? “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak!” “Surely he took up our infirmities…” He wishes, above all things, that we “would prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers”. And “he who raised Christ from the dead will also give LIFE (zoe-life) to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” WHATIF… we believed these things rather than explained them away? (Be honest… you are trying to explain them away right now, aren’t you??) Would our experiences then follow our FAITH? Not the faith that says he could if he wanted to, but the faith that says he already has, it is an accomplished act, a paid-for blessing, a part of our glorious inheritance, a gift held out, a gentle, patient, hand that stands at the door and knocks. WHATIF… we renewed our minds to agree with scripture? WHATIF… we confessed and repented of our unbelief? Would we see less and less sickness and disease, weakness and infirmity? Would we learn how to live in divine health the way we learn to walk in the Spirit? Could it be?
posted by toomanywhatifs at
10:45 AM
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