Is it God’s will and desire to heal every Christian of every illness they ever have? The answer is simply, no. Clearly this is not the case based on scripture. Let’s look at some examples. This is Paul talking to Timothy. 1 Timothy 5:23 “23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” If anyone had the faith to pray away illness, it was Paul and Timothy. But here is Paul telling Timothy to drink something besides just water...because of his frequent ailments. No only did Timothy suffer ailments, they happened often. But maybe Paul just didn’t care about Timothy. Paul would not agree. Philippians 2:19-22 “19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.” Paul loved and valued Timothy as a spiritual son. So if He was going to pray away an illness off of someone, it would have been Timothy. Let’s look at another example that happens just three verses later. This time Paul’s friend Epaphroditus is sick. Philippians 2:25-27 “25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he
has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.” Epaphroditus was going through a rough time. He was so sick, that he was near death. This time it says God had mercy on him and Paul. Obviously he got better, but it doesn’t say anything about a sudden miracle of healing. We have to examine why someone was healed or not healed in the Bible by looking at the healing passages in context. Luke 5:17 “17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.” Did you see that? It said “the power of the Lord was with Him to heal.” Why would that be mentioned if it was with Him all the time? The power to heal was used at specific times for specific purposes, even by Jesus. Let’s continue reading. Luke 5:18-26 “18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may
know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” Verse 24 is the key to understanding this. It says that Jesus healed the paralyzed guy to show the Pharisees that He had both the power to heal physically and the power to heal spiritually. The healing wasn’t for the comfort of the paralytic. It was for the glory of God. It’s time we become just as concerned with our spiritual health as we are with our physical health. Are you preoccupied with what’s wrong with you physically, but unconcerned with what’s wrong with you spiritually? John 5:36 “36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.” Here we clearly see the purpose of the miracle works that Jesus was doing. When we see specific healings in the bible, they are used to show that Jesus is the messiah sent from the Father, and His name has power over the enemy. The issue we have today is that we want an instant miracle healing, because we don’t want to wait for anything. We have a fast food mentality toward God. But Jesus didn’t heal everyone who was sick every time with an immediate miracle. Do you remember what happened to Lazarus?
John 11:3-4 “3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” Jesus allowed Lazarus to suffer an illness that killed him. Was that painful and uncomfortable for both Lazarus and his family and friends? Yes, it was. Could Jesus have prevented it? Yes, but He chose not to. And the point we have to understand is why did Jesus do that. The suffering and death of Lazarus was for God’s glory. John 11:14 “14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Now, this next part is going to be difficult for people like me who grew up in a Pentecostal church or charismatic environment. The main verse we’ve used to quote and preach to show that we can be assured of physical healing in this life may not mean what we want it to mean. Hear me out. What is the first passage you quote when you pray for someone to be healed? It’s probably Isaiah 53:5. Isaiah 53:5-6 “5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one —to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
“With His wounds we are healed”...case closed, right? Let’s break it down. The first part of verse 5 is describing the various issues we had. Transgressions, iniquities and lack of peace. Those are all sin problems. It ends by saying that what Jesus did in His suffering, was to deal with those things. In verse 6, Isaiah answers the question of whether or not this verse describes physical healing. He says we all went astray, turning away from God, but...“the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” We are healed of our iniquity through the suffering of Jesus. What iniquity? Our turning away from God. Our sin. Isaiah 53 deals with the Messiah suffering in order to take away the guilt of our transgressions, iniquity and sins. That is the context of Isaiah 53:5. It is contrasting what Jesus went through physically in order to heal us spiritually. Now, it does not specifically preclude physical healing, but spiritual healing is the immediate context. So we must read, interpret and accept it with that meaning. We cannot create a doctrine based on what a scripture does not say. Peter confirms this in his first letter when he quotes Isaiah 53. 1 Peter 2:23-25 “23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Peter is quoting the passage from Isaiah 53 and he does not connect it to physical health...he connects it to spiritual health.
He bore our “sins” in his body. That is the thing we have been healed of...the most deadly disease of all...our sins. You never hear someone using 1 Peter 2:24 to pray for someone’s physical healing. Because it’s clear that is not what is in view. This is how we say the Bible provides its own interpretation. Scripture interprets scripture. We compare one verse to another verse that appears to provide the same information in order to see if their context agrees, and if it does, we can determine the meaning of the verse. But now, let’s look at another passage where we are given instructions on how to pray for the sick. James 5:14-15 “14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” So does this passage guarantee healing if the elders pray for someone? It looks that way on the surface. Let’s break this down and examine what’s going on. First, the prayer has to be initiated by the one who is sick. It says: If anyone is sick, let them call for the elders to pray over them. This requires action on the part of the sick person, which shows that faith is active in their life. The prayer of the elders is an agreement with the sick person who is already praying. Then look at what it says for the elders to do: Anoint them with oil. Now there are two ways to understand this practice and its purpose.
Anointing oil was used in the Old Testament for pouring on the head of the high priest and his descendants and sprinkling the tabernacle and its furnishings to mark them as holy and set apart to the Lord. This is also why it was used to anoint kings. They are to be set apart for God’s service. In the New Testament, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Which again, is a mark that you are holy, which means set apart for God’s service. When you call for the elders to pray for you...this is what you are asking...that God will heal you physically so you can be set apart for His service. This carries a much greater responsibility than just wanting to feel better for your own physical comfort. If you call for the elders of this church to pray over you, we will ask this: What have you been praying for? The answer I’m looking for, is that God’s will be done. We will then agree with you in prayer that God’s will be done in your life. We cannot pray that your will be done, because we are anointing and praying in the name of Jesus. We are saying that Jesus has endorsed our prayer. The elders are supposed to pray that God’s will is done in the life of a believer, because it is the same thing Jesus prayed for in the garden, before He was crucified. He was dealing with more than we can imagine, and yet He said “not My will, but Your’s be done.” The other thing we need to understand about being anointed with oil is that in the Bible it can also carry the idea of medical treatment. This idea should not be overlooked, because it has both scriptural and historical support. Luke 10:33-34 “33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and
wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” This is a quote from Jesus as part of the Good Samaritan parable. In this passage, oil was clearly understood to have medical benefits. Luke, who wrote this, was himself a doctor. So from this we should understand that the practice of anointing a sick person with oil was not only a symbol of the Holy Spirit, but it also meant they were receiving medical treatment. Let’s look at the entire passage in context again. This time listen carefully at the last part , which is verse 15. James 5:14-15 “14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” Verse 15 uses specific language. It says after a prayer of faith the sick person will be “saved” and the Lord will “raise him up.” And if he has committed sins, “he will be forgiven.” Who is offering this prayer of faith? The sick person, not just elders. You have to pray in faith for your salvation, the forgiveness of your sins and The Lord will raise you up. This is unusual language if this passage is only speaking about physical sickness. It seems that James is making an illusion to a prayer of faith providing salvation by the forgiveness of sin and a person being raised to life with Christ. But he is speaking in the immediate context of being physically sick. So we have to keep that in view. I believe he is making a point about both physical healing and spiritual healing, because look at what he says in the very next verse.
James 5:16 “16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” He has just described the way to be righteous. Prayer of faith, confession of sin and then forgiveness of those sins. Being righteous before God, by having confessed our sins is the first step towards physical healing as a believer. 1 Corinthians 11:28-30 “28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” It is clear from this passage that sometimes they were sick because they brought it on themselves by having unconfessed ongoing sin in their life. We open ourselves up to an attack from the enemy if we engage in willful sin. As I said earlier, it’s time we become just as concerned with our spiritual health as we are with our physical health...because they can be tied together. The vow you took when you were married was that you would love in sickness and in health...are you committed to God at that same level? Do you still love God when you are dealing with major physical issues? I want you to be encouraged today, because our God is a God who loves His children. He has called us to be a reflection of His glory in the earth, wether we are sick or healthy.
That is how the world will see a difference in us. That is how we proclaim that He is Lord. The joy we have, while in the midst of suffering, is the mark that we are a true witness for Jesus. Our God is Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals. He heals both spiritually and physically.
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