Healing … Part II

Continuing with the question … "Is healing really promised?"

May I start again with this declaration … "God heals" … that is never in doubt.


The following statement is from the commentary of … John Gill.

"Sin is a disease, a natural and hereditary one, an epidemic that reaches to all men, and to all the powers and faculties of their souls, and members of their bodies; 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 sovereign medicine that cleanses all the disease of sin. Through it is the remission of sin, which is meant by healing … for the healing of diseases, and forgiving iniquities … is one and the same thing.
Sin is a disease belonging to all men, a natural, hereditary and incurable one; but by the blood of Christ, forgiving sin … is a healing of this disease; and this is to be had in no other way, than through the stripes and wounds, the blood and sacrifice of the Son of God.
Christ is a wonderful physician; He heals by taking the sicknesses of His people upon Himself, by bearing their sins, and being wounded and bruised for them, and suffering death itself for them."


Matthew Henry wrote these words …

"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 prepare 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."


Psalm 103:2-3 … "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases …"


John Gill continues with …

"The Lord is the physician of the bodies as well as of the souls of men, and sometimes heals the diseases of soul and body at once, as in the case of the paralytic man in the Gospel. (Mark 2:1-12.)
Spiritual disease is a natural, hereditary and mortal disease. There are many of them in men, which God only can cure; and He heals them by His Word, by means of His Gospel, preaching peace, pardon, and righteousness by Christ; by the blood, wounds, and stripes of His Son; by the application of pardoning grace and mercy; for healing diseases, and forgiving iniquities, are one and the same thing. This the Lord does freely, fully, and infallibly, and for which thanks are due unto Him; and it would be very ungrateful should they not be returned to Him."


Exodus 15:26 … "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."

God heals. Again, that has never been in question. I just question if what we "think" are promises, aren't really something else. That would explain why it is so hard to receive our healing every time, if it is not promised every time, in every situation like salvation is. I'm beginning to wonder …

Can you show me in the Bible, when Jesus was on the Earth, walking as a man, where He refused to heal anyone who asked Him for healing? Can't do it can you? Jesus never turned anyone down.

So today, when we ask Him for healing … what's the problem? We still have to ask … "in faith" … just like they did; except they could see Him in person and look Him in the eye which might be part of the answer. It's a lot easier to believe when you are "looking at the answer" right in front of you. And Jesus is always the answer.

That's why I named this blog … "GOD'S ANSWER is always Jesus."

But concerning prayer for the sick … I still don't know where I'm at. At least I'm honest about that.

I would really like to believe that Isaiah 53:5 and 1st Peter 2:24 are promises for today; promises that you can stand on that work every time; I want to believe … but I'm sorry … I don't.

I'd like to believe James 5:14-15 is only about healing, but it also talks about the forgiving of sins which is more important than healing. I want to believe that every time you are anointed with oil … the Lord will raise you up, that you are healed … but it isn't so, is it?

I wonder when dealing with healing, if we shouldn't be like Isaiah when he said this … "I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face … and I will look for and hope in Him."

Solomon said … "For all this I considered in my heart … that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God …"

This following verse is stated by Paul in Romans 9:15, as he is basically putting Exodus 33:19 into his own words. "God said to Moses …'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion'."

The sense of the passage is clearly this … that God would choose the objects of His favor, and bestow His mercies as He chooses.

No man deserves His favor; and He has a right to save or heal whom He pleases, and to do this on His own terms according to His sovereign will and pleasure.

"On whom I will have mercy." Maybe this phrase should read this way… "On whom I choose to have mercy."

Could there be a more positive declaration of this truth than the following four statements…

(1)That God does it as sovereign, without giving an account of the reason of His choice to any.
(2)That God does it without regard to any claim on the part of man as having a right to His mercy.
(3)That God will do it to any extent which He pleases, and in whatever time and manner that may be in accord with His own will.
(4)That no one has a right to complain.

Basically God is saying … I am a debtor to none of my creatures. I will give my healing in my own way and on my own terms.

Does God have a right to do whatever He wants? Psalm 24:1 … "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world and they who dwell in it."

Romans 9:20-24, "… who are you, a mere man, to criticize, contradict and answer back to God? Will what is formed say to Him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? Has the potter no right over the clay …"

God is going to do whatever He wants … who's going to stop Him anyway? Besides whatever God does is right, in that He cannot make a mistake and He is never too late with the answer to our prayers. It's just that sometimes God, knowing what is best for His purpose, gives us His answer to our prayers according to His time table … which is not always what we expected.

I'm still going to pray for healing when someone asks it of me; it's just that I am now going to ask God to give healing through His mercy and grace … and not because it is a promise … because it might not be … but I'll keep praying because He has a heart of love and compassion for us. Jesus proved that when He walked as a man in the dust of the earth here among us.

I have no doubt in the ability of Jesus to heal the sick. I have heard all of the arguments about healing. It's God's purpose and will each time that I'm not sure of.

Even Paul said … "In everything willed by God." (Colossians 4:12, Amp.)

Including … "healing" … for the sick?


Where noted … taken from the commentaries of John Gill and Matthew Henry.


Comments welcome.