Divine Healing

Divine Healing

Intro.: Divine healing for the whole man as an important part of the gospel. It is part of the good news which Jesus commissioned His disciples to proclaim. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers.”

I. Healing is an Integral Part of the Gospel

A. Divine healing was not something peripheral in Jesus’ time

1. It proclaimed Jesus as Messiah and Saviour

a. There is a close connection between the healing ministry of Jesus & His

saving, forgiving ministry

b. His power to heal verified His authority to forgive– READ: Mark 2:5-12

c. People came from everywhere to hear Him and to be healed

2. Jesus recognized that sickness is often the result of sin – READ: John 5:14

a. But sickness was not always the direct result of sin, there were times

when it was to glorify God – READ: John 9:2-3; Mark 2:12

NOTE: When John the Baptist was imprisoned, he began to wonder whether or not Jesus was actually the promised Messiah or just another forerunner like himself. Jesus responded by calling attention to His Messianic works which linked miracles & the preaching of the gospel. Healing was a witness & an integral part of the gospel

B. Divine healing was part of the ministry of the apostles and the Early Church

1. Jesus sent the 12 and the 70 to preach & heal – READ: Luke 9:1-2, 10:1,9

C. Miracles, however, were not limited to the apostles

1. The promise of Jesus was to all believers – READ: John 14:12-14

a. All who recognize His authority and conform to His nature & purposes

II. Healing is Provided for in the Atonement

A. The primary purpose of the atonement was cleansing from sin

B. But, atonement also brought release from the penalty and consequences of sin

1. To bring the restoration of God’s blessing and favor.

2. This was accomplished through Jesus death on the cross

a. The NT calls this redemption, which has the same meaning as atonement NOTE: The atonement provides for the consequences of sin. Even where sickness is not the direct result of sin, it is still in the world because of sin. Therefore it is among the works of the devil Jesus came to destroy. The Bible indicates that until Jesus comes we groan because we have not yet received the full redemption of our bodies. Divine healing is a foretaste of this, and, like all the blessings of the gospel, flows from the atonement.

NOTE: The language of Isaiah 53 speaks of physical ills and shows that Christ was concerned about providing for sickness as well as sin. Matthew 8:16-17 not only confirms this, but shows that the atonement includes divine healing as a means of meeting the needs of those who come to Jesus.

III. The Privilege of all Believers

A. Just as salvation is by grace through faith, so all of God’s blessings and gifts

are ours by His grace or unmerited favor.

1. No one in the NT demanded healing

2. People came to Jesus beseeching Him

3. They did not look on healing as a right, but as a privilege (unlike today)

B. The promise of healing does not rule out suffering for Christ’s sake

1. We are expected to follow His example

a. READ: Heb 5:8; 1 Peter 2:19,21; 4:12-16,19

C. We shouldn’t see healing as a substitute for obedience to the rules of physical

and mental health

1. Jesus recognized the need to get away from the crowds and rest awhile

2. Jethro saw Moses’ need to delegate some of his responsibilities to others

D. Healing is not a means of avoiding the effects of old age

NOTE: The aging process, pictured in Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 is common to believers as well as unbelievers. Healing is still available to the elderly, but the part that is healed usually continues to age like the rest of the body. We do not yet have the redemption of the body. Believers groan and travail like the rest of creation, waiting patiently for the fulfillment of our hope – READ: Romans 8:21-25. No matter what we do for this body, no matter how many times we are healed, if Jesus tarries we will die.

But remember, even though the outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day - 2 Corinthians 4:16 and it is this inner renewal that makes us best able to have the faith to claim the privilege of divine healing

E. Healing comes through faith

1. Unbelief hindered its reception at Nazareth – READ: Mark 6:5-6

Concl.: Prayer is one of the chief means of healing in the Old Testament

Many of the Psalms include prayers for healing

Many of the prophets prayed for the healing of others