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Today, supernatural healing is controversial. A friend warned me to not address the subject of healing on this website. He told me that it would cause wrath to come down on my head. I don't doubt it. I have taught on this subject and, amazingly, some people get angry when you tell them that God wants them to be well.
It wasn't always this way. When Jesus was around, healing was normal and expected. Healing people never became a controversy for him, unless, of course, he committed the sin of healing on the Sabbath (See Luke 13:14). No, the big controversy in his day was forgiving sins. Healing? No biggie. Forgiving sins? Blasphemy! (See Matthew 9:2-3) Today, this is reversed. Forgiving sins? No biggie. Forgiveness of sin is normal and universally expected when one meets the conditions of repentance and confession. Healing? Controversial!
Some say that it's God's will to heal, sometimes. Some say it's His will to heal, every time. Some say that supernatural healing is part of the gospel. Some say it is a thing of the past. I can't emphasize, enough, how critical it is to know God's will on this matter. Especially, if you are the one seeking healing. If you have the slightest doubt as to God's will, Satan will use it on you. Constantly questioning God's will on this subject causes one to waver. Wavering is a no-no - "he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord" (James 1:6-7). "...he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). Don't waver. Get a clear understanding of God's will regarding healing. Hopefully, these articles will help you do that. Let's begin by discussing sickness and from where it comes.
Sickness can come from the devil and demons!
The Bible clearly teaches that sickness can come from our enemy. The devil and demons can cause physical maladies. Let's look at a few scripture references:
Job 2:6-7 "And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he (Job) 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."
Luke 13:11-12, 16 "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…ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond…?
Acts 10:38 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil…"
1 John 3:8 "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
1 Corinthians 5:5 "...deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh…"
John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…"
Matthew 12:22 "Then was brought unto him one that was possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."
Acts 19:12 "So that from his (Paul's) body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them."
In several other places, healing and demon spirits are mentioned together, i.e. Matthew 4:24, 10:1, Luke 4:40-41, 6:17-19, 9:1-2, Acts 5:16, 8:7.
Sickness can come as a result of sin
Now, I didn't say that you were sick because you've sinned or that being sick is a sin. Examine yourself. If you haven't sinned, then you can rule it out.
It is generally believed by most all Christians, that, had man not sinned, we wouldn't have the problem of sickness. That, in itself, indicates a direct link between sickness and sin and is, literally, a belief that sickness entered as a result of sin. This idea is further advanced by the fact that the Bible clearly states that sickness and disease can be a result of disobedience:
Deuteronomy 7:11-12, 15 "Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them...the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt...upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee."
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...I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee."
Exodus 23:25 "And ye shall serve the Lord your God...and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee."
Deuteronomy 28:58-61 "If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law...Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses...Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt...Also every sickness, and every plague…"
John 5:8-9, 14 "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole...Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
1 Corinthians 11:29-30 "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."
It may appear as if God, Himself, causes sickness and disease to come upon people. The sense in which He "causes" it is by allowing disease causing agents to do their work, much like in the case of Job. That does not mean that it is His will that we become sick. God allows lots of things that aren't His will, i.e. abortion, rape, murder, abuse, etc.. Anything that has ever happened in the world was allowed by God. If not - if He hadn't allowed it - then how could it have happened? God allows evil but evil is not His will.
In Isaiah 45:7, God states that He creates evil. The only way that He creates evil is by establishing reaping and sowing laws, as stated below, and by creating the capacity for evil. If you break commandments, you'll suffer the consequences. If you sow to the flesh, you'll reap corruption (Galatians 6:8).
I suppose that one could say that God created disobedience. But, the only way that He created disobedience was by creating free wills that could choose to disobey. By giving a commandment, He created choice - to obey or disobey the commandment . He created the capacity for evil, sin, disobedience, corruption, etc. and provided the occasion for these things to manifest themselves. In that sense, God created evil.
In a similar sense, God brings diseases upon the disobedient. He made the law that, if one is disobedient, diseases could come upon him. God gives man the choice. In truth, by being disobedient, the individual brings disease upon himself. All God does is allow the law that he established to perform as declared. Once God established the law of reaping and sowing, it was out of His hands. It's up to us to not put ourselves in such a precarious position.
Sickness can come from unhealthy living conditions and lifestyles
There were many laws for Israel concerning what to eat and what not to eat (See Leviticus). There were laws concerning the touching of dead carcasses, eating blood, incest, bestiality, segregation of the diseased, washing of clothes, etc.. Sickness and disease could result from unhealthy living conditions and practices. We know this is true. It has been shown that abusing the body can result in sickness and disease. Smoking cigarettes can lead to various forms of cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other diseases. Heavy drinking of alcohol can affect the liver and other organs. Not exercising properly will lead to increased susceptibility to sickness and physical maladies. Being over-weight can lead to all kinds of physical problems, including diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and joint problems. Lack of proper sleep and rest, lack of proper eating habits, prolonged inclination to stress and worry, and unsanitary living conditions can lead to breakdowns of the immune system, susceptibility to disease germs, high cholesterol, hypertension, heart disease, and can accelerate the advance of deterioration of the bones, the organs, and other things. The Bible warns against harming the body in any way.
1 Corinthians 3:17 "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy...which temple ye are."
2 Cor. 7:1 "let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit"
Philippians 2:26-27, 30 "For he (Epaphroditus) longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death...for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death…to supply your lack of service toward me." (This is an example of overworking the body.)
Galatians 6:7 "...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap"
So, sickness and disease can be a result of a number of things. It is, sometimes, an attack of demons. Sometimes, there is sin in the life, in which case, one can still ascertain that it is an attack of demons. Sometimes, it is a result of not taking proper care of the body. In any case, sickness and disease should be regarded as an enemy. As we demonstrated above, God considered and treated sickness as a curse and health as a blessing. Disease destroys the body and incapacitates the individual, preventing the individual from enjoying the abundant life that Christ came to give us (John 10:10) and hindering the individual from being about the Father's business. As we shall see, when Jesus walked the earth, he acted aggressively against disease and destroyed it wherever he went. He forgave sins, cast out demons, and healed people of diseases. One can, then, conclude that sin, demons, and disease are all to be considered enemies of man and of God for Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).
Click here to continue this topic: Healing - Is It Always God's Will to Heal?
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