Covenants and Healing
It has been over two thousand years since Jesus commanded His followers to go and make disciples of all men. (Matthew 28:18-20) And two thousand years later instead of having completed our mission, we seem to be further away then when we started. Instead of gaining ground, we appear to be loosing ground with people walking away from Christianity at an alarming rate. Although many different reasons can be sited, I believe one of the greatest reasons is a lack of understanding of what Jesus did on the cross, paired with apathy and fear. We have allowed our experiences to define our beliefs instead of the Word of God, causing us to doubt God. By allowing our experiences to define our beliefs we form a wrong view of God’s nature and an incorrect understanding of scripture; both which will bring frustration, apathy, and fear. Apathy will keep you from seeking truth while fear will keep you from acting on any truth you may know. Eventually you have what Christianity has become today, a group of people that either don’t care to seek after the truth for themselves or if they do are too afraid to act on that truth. This has led Christianity to appear to be a religion of theory and beliefs but with very little practical life application.
I believe Paul learned this very early on in his ministry. Paul, like most religious leaders of that time, was very adept at debating his point concerning his beliefs; he continued this practice early on in his ministry. Acts 17:17 says that Paul reasoned in the synagogue and marketplace daily. He attempted by way of debate to convince both Jew and Gentile that Jesus was Lord. Then later on we read in 1 Corinthians:
1Corinthians 2:1-2
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Paul had given up on trying to just debate people into the kingdom, instead relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. He gained the understanding that he could not rely on his understanding of scripture and his own knowledge alone, as great as that was, but needed to demonstrate the reality that Jesus was Lord. In Philippians he later stated that everything he had done and been in the past was garbage compared to knowing Jesus and having the reality of Jesus’ resurrected life manifested in his own life.
In the same way as Paul did at first, we have relied on our ability to effectively argue and articulate our beliefs, trusting in our own knowledge, all along neglecting the power that resided in us; the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. We must get back to the place where we not only declare that Jesus is Lord, but also prove it. This is what Jesus meant when He commanded us to obey all that He commanded His followers to do. Not just tell them He died to save them, but to demonstrate it in a very real and personal way. Healing is the proof that Jesus forgave us of our sins.
1 Tim 2:2-4
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.(NIV)
As we clearly showed in the previous chapters that Jesus paid the price for all sin. Not just the sin of the believers or those that He know would make Him Lord of their lives, but the sins of the whole world. God left nobody out when Jesus died on the cross, it is His will that all would be saved. Answer these questions about salvation.
Next, try to answer the same questions again but instead replace “salvation” with “healing.”
Where all your answers about salvation the same as it was for healing? If not, you need to pay very close attention to the next section. If it can be proven to you from scripture that healing is provided in the atonement, then you can’t in good conscience differentiate between God’s will for salvation and God’s will for healing ever again. They are the same, always and forever.
Isa 53:4-6
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes 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. (NKJV)
In Deuteronomy 7:15 we read where the Lord will take away from you all sickness (Kholee). In Job 33:19 we read where the word “Makob” is translated “pain”. So from these scriptures it is very evident that Isaiah 53:4 should read, “Surley He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains.” In Leviticus 5:1 we read that if a soul sins then he shall bear (nasa) his iniquity. In Isaiah 53:12 we read that Jesus was numbered with the transgressors and bare (nasa) the sins of many. It is unquestionably clear that God is telling us that in the same way Jesus bore (nasa) the payment for our sins, He bore (nasa) our sickness and disease and took it away.
The Holy Spirit also declares this to be true when He inspired Matthew to quote the passage in Isaiah 53 showing that He was talking about bodily sickness and disease.
Matt 8:16-17
16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.”
Here we are told that Jesus cast out spirits and healed ALL who were sick, fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah 53 and clearly indicating that Isaiah was talking about physical sickness and disease. Some may say, “you see, it says that Jesus fulfilled that prophesy through His ministry of healing and not through what He did on the cross. Doesn’t that mean healing and deliverance are not for today? That’s a legitimate question so let’s look into what it means when it says that it was fulfilled.
The word fulfilled is the word “plerothe” which is the aorist passive, subjunctive, 3rd person singular of the word “pleroo”. In normal language that means that it was an action that was completed once, and by that one time action the results continue forever. By the mouth of two or three witness every word is established, so let’s look at a few more verses.
Matthew 12:17-21
But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
The word for fulfilled used in Matthew 8:17 is the same word “plerothe” used in Matthew 12:17. And just like the way Matthew 8 is quoting Isaiah 53, Matthew 12 is quoting Isaiah 42.
Isaiah 42:1-4
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
If you say that healing was fulfilled and not part of the atonement, then you have to say He is no longer bringing justice to the Gentiles. That is saying that the Gentiles cannot be saved. Obviously, Jesus is still preaching the gospel to the Gentiles through those who believe in Him and He is also still healing the sick through those that believe in Him!
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (NIV)
Like Matthew, Peter is also quoting the passage in Isaiah 53. But unlike the prophet Isaiah, Peter stated it in past tense. “…By His wounds (stripes) you have been healed. Now Holy Spirit doesn’t make mistakes so why would he have Peter misquote the passage? It is because something very important happened between the two verses; Jesus paid the price! That’s right, in the same way Jesus has already forgiven you of all your sins, He has also already healed you of all your diseases, hurts, pains, and mental anguishes. And in the same way you receive His forgiveness of your sins, you receive His healing of your disease.
Rom 5:12-13
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. (NIV)
When God created Adam and Eve they were created in His image, they were perfect. He then placed His perfect creation in a world that knew no sin; there was no sickness, disease, decay, or death in the world. It wasn’t until Adam knowingly transgressed against God that sin entered the world. Satan didn’t make Adam sin, he didn’t trick him, Adam was fully aware of what he was doing. He entered into the sin of his own will and by doing so caused sin to enter the world.
Now the Greek word for sin used in the previous verse in Romans is “Hamartia” which is a noun, (people, place, thing) and not a verb. The connotation here is that sin itself entered into the world and took dominion of it. With this sin came sickness, disease, and death, and it’s been wrecking havoc ever since; and not just with man, the whole earth has been placed into the bondage of sin against its will. (Romans 8:20) Sickness and disease came from sin, which originated with Satan, it did not come from God!
For our purposes in this book we will say that there are two main causes for sickness and disease, but both fall under the territory of the enemy.
Natural: Caused by viruses, bacteria, lifestyle choices, injuries.
Demonic: Caused by a spirit of infirmity, affliction, or a curse.
John 10:10
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Satan is the thief and his only purpose in his dealing with man is to kill, steal, and destroy. Sickness and disease clearly fall into this category. Jesus however, came that we might have life and that more abundant. It becomes really simple, if it causes killing, stealing, and destruction it is from Satan, if it brings life, peace, joy, then it is from Jesus.
In many teaching you are told to try and differentiate between the two, meaning you will deal with them differently. Practically speaking, it doesn’t really matter, you deal with them in the same way because they both originate from Satan, they are all illegal.
1John 3:8
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
The purpose Jesus came was to destroy the works of the devil. He came to destroy sickness, disease, and death. That is why we can confidently say that sickness and disease never originates from God. God would not cause something that Jesus would have to pay the price for. We also know from scripture that God is light and in Him there is no darkness. Sickness and disease which is darkness can not originate from light. LIGHT ALWAYS DESTROYS DARKNESS!
Matt 12:25
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (NKJV)
Conclusion
All sickness and disease comes from sin, not necessarily your sin directly but because we live in a fallen world. You can be confident that God did not give you that disease, not even to teach you a lesson, and it is always His will for you to be healed. Jesus even paid the price for you to be free. By His stripes you have been healed!
Millian Quinteros interviews Glen Hartline about healing and how he got started praying for the sick.
This is AUDIO ONLY.
In the times in which we are living; a time with the world’s economy falling apart and with wars and uprisings on just about every continent, it’s no wonder so many people are living in fear. I really believe that fear and the stress that comes with it is one of the leading causes, if not the leading cause of sickness and disease today. Scripture even says in Luke 21:26 that men’s hearts will fail them for fear, and for looking toward those things, which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Job 3:25 says what I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. In both of these instances things happened to people because they were afraid. In the one instance people’s hearts failed, and in the other instance, well, we all know what happened with Job. He lost his kids, livestock, pretty much everything except his life, oh yea, and his wife. But even she was trying to convince him to curse God and die. Anyway, fear was a major issue back then, and is even more of an issue now. Because fear and anxiety seem to be playing such an important role in the lives of men and women today, even Christians, it is imperative that we gain understanding as to what fear is, how we as Christians are to address it, and how to overcome it.
Fear is an unpleasant emotion like dread, fright, and apprehension that manifests as an expression of ones belief (or faith) that someone or something else has a greater ability to influence their circumstance than God.
Once while teaching on fear in a conference the Lord gave me a vision of how fear influences people. I saw all the people as puppets with strings attached at one end to the peoples feet, legs, arms and hands, while the other ends of the strings were attached to the word ‘FEAR’ that was suspended above their heads. Fear was pulling the strings attached to the individuals and by doing so controlled their actions. One way this is demonstrated in the natural is in the fight or flight response. When you are confronted with a fearful event your body will react by either fighting to rid yourself of the threat or by running away, that is what is meant by fight or flight. This is shown spiritually when you are presented with the opportunity to pray for someone who is injured or sick on the street or in the store. Fear will grip you and cause doubt to enter your mind. It will say something like, “If you go over there and pray for them nothing will happen and you’ll look like a fool!” At that point you have two choices. One is to go and pray for the sick (fight), the other is to walk away (flight). If you pray for them you are declaring that God’s word, which says we will lay hands on the sick and they will recover, is true and greater than fear. If you walk away you’re saying that fear and the lies it tells are truer than the Word of God. By walking away and giving into fear, you have just made fear the potter in your life instead of the only One who is to be the potter, God. That may sound a little harsh but sometimes the truth is harsh, even when spoken in love. In cases where the threat is not imminent like being attacked physically, or praying for the sick, but more like being fearful of losing a job or getting sick, your body will react by becoming anxious or stressed. Many times this stress and anxiety will cause you to make irrational or unwise decisions in order to get free of the perceived threat. As Christians however, we are not called to live in fear or even allow fear to have a say in our lives; we are called to live in His love, since He is love, and to become love. As He is so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has to do with punishment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. (1John 4:18)
Like we mentioned above, God is love and when we have a revelation of His perfect, unconditional love, we understand that there is no way He will let us down. There is no way He won’t do whatever it takes to meet our needs, if we will just allow Him. We will believe Him above anything else because we gained an understanding of His true nature, we know who He really is.
The Gospel of the Kingdom is the power of God for salvation. The word used here for power is the Greek word “dunamis”, the word we get dynamite from; and the Greek word for salvation is “soteria” which means welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, and safety. The Gospel is the explosive power of God to keep you safe, prosper you, deliver you, protect you, and save you. Unfortunately for many, the Gospel has been reduced to a debate as to why you should say a prayer to go to Heaven.
I was out in the city one day with a friend teaching him how I minister healing to people on the street and shooting video for teaching purposes. A young couple sitting and talking on a bench caught my eye so I went over and introduced myself. We started talking about Jesus and it came up that people say that Jesus is Lord because the Bible says so, but what makes the Bible more reliable than other books such as the Koran. To them, just saying the Bible says so is a useless argument. I agreed with them and then said, “but if I could prove Jesus is Lord then that would be different.” They agreed. I then pointed to the guy and said, “you have back problems, and so if I can heal that problem in Jesus’ name and all the pain left, then that would prove Jesus is who the Bible said He was”. They both agreed. I then commanded his back to be healed; he said he felt movement in his back and immediately all the pain left.
The interesting thing is that both said they had prayed the salvation prayer at one time in their life. Someone had convinced them earlier in their lives that Jesus was Lord, but neither had ever personally encountered the Living God. Without this encounter, the decision to say the prayer is based on an intellectual argument, one that leads an individual to question the reality of their beliefs when confronted with another seemingly viable argument. But that day Jesus became real to them, no longer just a theological debate. That moment He became their living savior.
Some months ago my son and I were in an Asian country just loving on people. Our last day there we decided to go to the market and make ourselves available to see what God could do. As we walked down the narrow dirt road with small “stores” on each side not many people were willing to talk to us Americans about anything other than their merchandise; so we decided to go behind the shops where the people lived.
As we turned the corner, behind one of the first shops an elderly lady caught my eye as I could see a joy and love hidden deep within her. I began talking to her she shared with me how she had received Jesus as Lord years ago but not long after there was a government change which resulted in the murder of almost all Christians, especially the leaders. Without guidance she adopted many of the practices of Buddhism forgetting the love of Jesus. As I talked with her reminding her of God’s love for her and how He did not resent her or hold anything against her, I noticed a young lady about 18 years old. I could see pain and torment in her eyes and my heart hurt for her. I found out she was the granddaughter of the lady I was speaking with so I asked if I could pray for her. As I approached her Holy Spirit told me she is being tormented in her dreams. As I told her what Holy Spirit said she was shocked and said that just a couple nights before a red dragon had come to her in her dreams and cursed her. Ever since she had intense pain in her abdomen. I told her that there is good news because Jesus was Lord and that dragon wasn’t. I commanded the pain to leave and instantly she was healed.
Immediately after that people started coming from all over. Blind eyes, the deaf, the lame, and the sick; one by one they came and Jesus healed every one of them. This went on until it was starting to get dark and our interpreter said we must leave.
The reason I’m writing this is our Heavenly Father is just looking for one of His children to make themselves available to demonstrate His love for all. I don’t have anything that every believer doesn’t have. We have Jesus. I hadn’t “prayed up” or fasted for an extended period of time. Actually we were tired from all the traveling. He is our hope of glory, and He desires you to just step out and allow His glory to be manifest to the entire world. Whatever you do don’t allow the enemy to convince you that you don’t have what it takes. YOU HAVE THE FULLNESS OF JESUS!
If you have been a christian for very long you’ve probably heard the teaching that if you pray more than once about something then you’re in unbelief. Most of the time this is preached in reference to praying for the sick or the sick person receiving their healing. They say that if you ask God for your healing then you are to stand in faith that what you asked for will come to pass. In other words, as Smith Wigglesworth has been quoted as saying, “If you pray for healing six times, then five of them are in unbelief.” We are to “walk by faith”, “not doubt in our heart”, and not be “double minded” because if we are we can not expect to receive anything from God. This sounds really spiritual, even scriptural, but there is a problem with this as it pertains to healing; Healing was accomplished as part of the atonement. Isa 53:4-6 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes 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. (NKJV)
In Leviticus 5:1 we read that if a soul sins then he shall bear (nasa) his iniquity. In Isaiah 53:12 we read that Jesus was numbered with the transgressors and bore (nasa) the sins of many. It is unquestionably clear that God is telling us that in the same way Jesus bore (nasa) the payment for our sins, He bore (nasa) our sickness and disease and took it away. The Holy Spirit also declares this to be true when He inspired Matthew (Mat 8:16-17) to quote the passage in Isaiah 53 showing that He was talking about bodily sickness and disease. Matt 8:16-17 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities
Some may say, “you see, it says that Jesus fulfilled that prophesy through His ministry of healing and not through what He did on the cross. Healing and deliverance are not for today. According to Luke 4:17-21 Jesus took the scripture and opened it up to Isaiah where it spoke about Him having the Spirit of God on Him to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, set at liberty those who are oppressed. He then closed the book and said that today this scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. If you say that healing was fulfilled and not part of the atonement, then you have to say that the preaching of the gospel, healing the broken-hearted, and delivering the captives has also ceased. Obviously, Jesus is still preaching the gospel through those who believe in Him and He is also still healing the sick through those that believe in Him! 1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (NIV)
Peter quoted the passage in Isaiah but made it past tense indicated that this is something that has already happened. Just as Jesus has already forgiven you of all your sins, He has also already healed you! You just need to receive it by faith. So you see, we can’t be in unbelief because we don’t pray for healing. You don’t ask God to do something that He has already done. You don’t ask Him to save you again, you receive what He has already accomplished at the whipping post and on the cross one time for all. We don’t ask God to heal us, we command the sickness / disease / problem to leave the body and for the body to be here on earth as it is in Heaven. For it to line up with the truth we have already been healed. So you are not in unbelief because you are NOT asking or believing God to do anything. You believe He has already healed you or the person you are praying for and are persisting until everything bows to the reality of Jesus’ Lordship. You don’t just tell it what to do then walk away, you persist until it does what you commanded it to do. To say that you’re in unbelief if you pray twice is admitting that you don’t believe that healing was part of the atonement and so in reality you are denying the finished work of the cross. You are the one in unbelief, not the one demanding that everything be on earth as it is in heaven. |
Written
on December 18, 2013