Christ Our Healer
(4FG-3)
I. Why Do I Need a Healer?
A. A universal need
B. A result of the Fall
C. The existence of the medical profession
II. What Is God’s Plan to Meet My Need?
A. OT record
B. NT record
C. A prior question
III. How Do I Receive Christ as My Healer?
A. Through the Word
B. Through Christ Himself
C. Through the Church
Introduction
I need to say at the onset of the sermon, that our topic this morning is one that I bring to you through much wrestling. If you have been here for the previous two sermons in this series, then you realize that the focus of this message is upon Christ our Healer.
Perhaps you’re wondering, “Why was there such a struggle in preparing for this message? I can accept the fact that Christ is our Healer. I’ve seen and experienced His power to heal in my life and in the lives of others. I don’t get it—what’s the problem?” There are two primary reasons behind my struggles.
The first reason I found this subject to be difficult is not because of the theology, but because of the interpretive and practical ramifications associated with the subject of healing. I believe that the Bible clearly teaches that Christ is our Healer—that truth is difficult to deny. The problem lies in coming to a clear understanding of what that means in concrete terms. Christ is our Healer, but how do we personally, corporately and practically experience that healing in our lives and in our church?
The second reason I found this subject to be difficult is borne out my personal experience of Christ our Healer. My wife, Judy, can attest to the fact that we have seen many miraculous manifestations of Jesus’ healing power in our lives and in the lives of others—stuff that would cause your jaw to drop. And at the same time, we have prayed and put our faith and hope and trust in Him to be the Healer of Judy’s body for more than 13 years, but it hasn’t occurred yet. And I have to confess to God many times that I just don’t get it.
I’m living in the real world just like the rest of you. Life doesn’t always make sense or work out the way that I think it should. There are times of confusion and struggling that almost put me down for the “10 count.” When I find myself in the middle of the muddle, then I am faced with a choice: I have to choose between believing what I see, or holding fast to what He says is true. I choose to hold on.
At the risk of sounding wishy-washy (and to hopefully prevent being misquoted later), I want to make it perfectly clear that I’m going to present my interpretation of what Christ our Healer means. This is my understanding of what the scriptures teach on this matter as I have studied and prayed about the issue. You’re free to accept or reject what I present day, but you can only do so on the basis of having investigated the matter yourself. (And by “investigation,” I don’t mean that you’ve read or listened to what others have to say—rather you have searched the word of God and sought His face and come to your own conclusions based on what He has to say.) I am not trying to convince anyone of my position; on the contrary, I hope this sermon will prompt you to search out the truth for yourself.
I believe that the scriptures proclaim that Christ is our Healer. He is the Healer of every aspect of our lives—spiritual, psychological, physical, emotional, relational and financial. Through His death and resurrection, Christ secured healing for the whole person. I also believe that His word teaches us that it is God’s will and intent that we are healthy and whole—a wholeness of body, mind and spirit. He takes no delight in our suffering, rather He came to relieve our suffering. In Christ, we can be freed from all the effects of sin, including freedom from sickness and pain. I further contend that the Bible declares that every Christian has been granted the privilege of knowing Christ as Healer as a daily experience. Like salvation and sanctification, this is appropriated by faith and continued dependence upon Him as our Healer.
Why Do I Need a Healer?
We begin again by looking at our neediness: Why do I need a Healer?
A Universal Need
I think it is safe to say that few would argue against the fact that we need a Healer. It is easy to find numerous examples of human suffering that cry out to be alleviated. There is no one who has ever walked the face of the earth who has never been touched by the merciless hand of sickness, pain or disease in one form or another. It is a universal experience which truly treats all humans as equals, for it knows no prejudice with regard to race, creed, color, social or economic status, or any other distinction. Everyone has encountered spiritual, physical and/or mental anguish.
A Result of the Fall
The problem of human suffering is as old as recorded time. The Bible tells us that it began in the Garden of Eden. It is one of the results of Adam and Eve’s decision to venture out in life on their own without the aid of God. By their act of willing disobedience against what God had clearly told them not to do, sin entered the world and with that sin came every form of affliction. Human suffering is a consequence of the fall of mankind.
We read in Genesis 3 that Adam and Eve were cursed by God because of their disobedience. That passage specifically mentions pain, disorder, suffering, decay and death as curses placed upon them. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that all humans descended from this couple, all participate in that curse. The scriptures declare in Romans 8:22 that the whole of creation has been groaning as in the pains of child-birth right up to the present time. Turn on the news any given day and you are sure to hear reports about pain, disorder, suffering, decay and death. It is a cycle that continues unhindered, and perhaps, has even increased in our day.
Look in our bulletins this morning, what do you see listed on the last page? These are the names of but a few who are in need of healing from their present sufferings. There are many more who are not listed but are absent today because of some affliction that is hindering them from participating in worship with us—they need healing. Some of us who are in attendance probably don’t feel 100% but we came anyway—we need healing as well. There are countless numbers of people in our community, our state, our country and our world who are in desperate need of a Healer.
The Existence of the Medical Profession
Maybe you’re still not convinced that there is a real need for a Healer to come and mend us and our world. Perhaps you and your family and loved ones enjoy an unusual degree of health and freedom from all suffering. Well, you can be assured that you are the exception to the rule. One of the major proofs of our need for a Healer is the entire medical profession. It has grown to be one of the largest most successful institutions in our society. No matter how poorly the rest of the economy may be doing, there has been no significant change in the amount of business that is taking place in hospitals and clinics across the country. People are intimately aware of their need to be made whole, and whether they are making enough to get by or not, they still seek out medical assistance.
This is only accentuated by the fact that we are living in a time in which millions of people are exploring alternatives to traditional Western medicine. It has been called an holistic health explosion. Today, millions and millions are exploring a growing list of alternative healing methods: Bio Feedback, Autogenics Training, Kenesiology, Acupuncture, Guided Imagery, Bio Energetics, Reflexology, Stress Management, Gestalt Therapy, Therapeutic Touch, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Macrobiotics—and that’s just a partial listing. There is no doubt that the world, including you and I, are in need of a Healer.
What Is God’s Plan to Meet My Need?
The need is obvious, but what is the solution? Is there such a thing as a solution to meet such a tremendous need as the healing of the world’s suffering? What is God’s plan to meet my need for a Healer?
His answer, once again, came to us in the form of a baby. Through his Son, Jesus, God the Father has made provision for the whole person to be made whole. Christ has come to be our Healer.
OT Record
David spoke of God’s concern to meet our need for healing in several of his psalms. Most notable are Psalms 103 and 147. In Psalm 103, David writes: Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my in most being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases (vv. 1-3).
David knew God to be One who entered into the human dilemma and ministered both spiritual healing (forgives all your sins) and physical healing (heals all your diseases). He viewed these as some of the benefits of his relationship with God. I want you to notice two things in association with this description of God’s ministry of healing. First, is the close connection between spiritual and physical healing. I don’t believe that this is stated this way just coincidentally. Second, is the idea of healing as a benefit of a proper relationship with God. We will look at both of these observations in greater detail later. Psalm 147:3 states, He [that is God] heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Again we see the interrelationship between spiritual and physical healing.
Centuries before the birth of Christ, Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming of One who would heal the wounds inflicted upon humanity by sin. In the familiar 53rd chapter, he writes: Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed (vv. 4-5).
There are several important aspects about Christ’s healing ministry that Isaiah brings out. He tells us that the price for our healing was costly. It comes to us by virtue of the violence that was brought against Jesus. It is through His death upon the cross of Calvary that we can receive healing in our lives. Christ is our Healer because He purchased it with His life. We also see again the intimate connectedness of spiritual and physical healing. Isaiah ties together the ideas on our infirmities and sorrows with that of our transgressions and iniquities. Both are dealt with through the wounding and death of Jesus—we are healed both spiritually and physically. But I think that there is an even deeper, inseparable relationship between our spiritual and physical illnesses. This will become clearer as we move into the NT.
NT Record
The Gospels make it very clear that Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth was to accomplish more than just redeeming us from our sins. His ministry not only addressed the spiritual needs of the individual, He also came to meet our physical needs. “Jesus was firmly convinced that His Father’s purpose for mankind was health, wholeness, and salvation” (IBD, p. 466).
In the Gospel accounts, they refer to some form of the word heal 55 times in connection with Christ’s ministry. What is particularly interesting is the fact that 27 or half of those occurrences are found in the book of Luke. Why would Luke be so interested in the healing ministry of Jesus? The answer is simple: Luke was a doctor. He would have naturally had a special interest in this aspect of Christ’s ministry. Given the fact that he was a doctor, it also adds credibility to the accounts that he records. He would have been able to verify the authenticity of Jesus’ healings. Since Luke deals with the subject of Jesus’ ministry of healing with the greatest detail, I will only refer to some selected passages from his account.
After recording Christ’s baptism, temptation and rejection in Nazareth, the next significant act that Luke mentions is Jesus driving out an evil spirit from a man in 4:31. This is immediately followed by the account of Simon’s mother-in-law being healed of a high fever. That evening Luke tells us, many came to him who had various kinds of sickness, and laying hands on each one, he healed them (4:40). The chapter ends with Jesus in a solitary place to get some rest from the pressing crowd. When He is found, they tried to keep him from leaving. We read in v. 43, But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
It is interesting to note that there is no mention of Jesus having preached in the immediate context, but He speaks as though He had preached. What did He mean? I believe He has in effect equated His healing ministry with the preaching of the gospel—part of the good news that Christ came to bring is the gospel of healing.
The next five successive chapters all contain at least one incident of Jesus’ healing ministry. The healings range from individuals being healed to multitudes being healed. Sometimes the people came to Him seeking His healing touch, other times He offered healing to them of His own accord. The methods that He used were as varied as the ailments themselves. He did not even heal the same type of problem with the same procedure. But there are several common elements in all of the occasions:
• All of them had real sufferings that needed to be relieved. Jesus wasn’t just putting on a show. They weren’t just imagining their condition. The problems were real.
• Every healing required some act of faith on the part of the one being healed. Even in the cases where Jesus reached out unprompted, they had to give some gesture of confidence in Him before they were healed.
• And in every case, no one was denied healing. Luke, as well as the other Gospel writers, is careful to report that he healed all the sick (Matthew 8:16).
Luke begins his Gospel account by recording Jesus’ healing ministry and he ends it the same way. In the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ was arrested, He once again demonstrated His love for all—even His enemies. In a zealous act, Peter attempted to protect his Master by drawing his sword on one of the soldiers. As he swung his sword, the soldier reacted by ducking, but his ear was cut off. Luke tells us that Jesus told His disciples to stop what they were doing. Then he touched the man’s ear and healed him (22:51).
Through His death and resurrection, Christ purchased our salvation—a salvation not only to cleanse us of our sinfulness, but also for our sin-stricken bodies. His atonement secured our freedom from sin and its long-reaching effects. Peter repeats what Isaiah had said earlier, 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 (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus Christ came to be our Healer.
A Prior Question
Before I answer the question, “How do I receive Christ as my Healer?” I feel that I must first answer another important question. I know it’s a question that was on my heart when I began this investigation and it probably has crossed your mind as well. If Christ came to be our Healer as the Bible contends, then why don’t I experience Him as my Healer? If salvation is for the body as well as a spirit, then why do I get sick or injured or feel depressed?
I believe the answer is much clearer than we are willing to admit. The main reason that we do not experience His healing in our bodies and minds is because we don’t ask Him to be our Healer—we’ve never really come to the point where we have acknowledged Him as our Healer. It is not a matter of holding an erroneous of view of the biblical data; rather it is one of not acting upon that information. A much better question to ask is, “Why don’t I ask Christ to be my Healer? Why don’t I rely on Him to meet my physical, psychological and spiritual needs?”
And again I believe the answer is simple: it’s a matter of conditioning. Through time, our environment and experiences, we have been conditioned to respond to our illnesses in specific and predictable ways. We know what works for us and one doesn’t work, and we’ve come to accept the results we have received. We just don’t have to think about it anymore; we just do it. For example, when you get a headache is the first thing you think to do? Grab a pain reliever. How about when you get a cold? You look for the medicine that has given you the best results. What about when someone tells you that they have been experiencing some form of depression or other psychological disorder? You give them the name of a trusted counselor or psychologist.
I know we don’t always respond this way, but in general we have some sort of routine that has worked for us and we rely upon it. We have not been conditioned to think of Christ as our Healer, so we don’t experience this aspect of the full salvation He intends for us to know.
How Do I Receive Christ as My Healer?
So how do I receive Christ as my Healer?
Through the Word
It begins with the reconditioning of our thought processes. We need to relearn how we are to respond to the afflictions that come our way in order to know Christ as our Healer. This involves a thorough investigation of His word. The only way that you and I are going to understand and experience all that God has for us is by taking the time to investigate what His plans and designs are. The number one source for that information is His holy, inspired word—the Bible.
You cannot simply accept Christ as your Healer on the word of another Christian. No man or woman is our ultimate authority. Only God Himself can assume that position in our lives. I can stand up here and tell you all kinds of things, but if it is not supported by the scriptures, it will not profit you in the least if you act on it—it is only my word. Each of us must seek out this truth (and every other truth) on our own. We must be convinced in our hearts by God’s word and the illumination of the Holy Spirit that these things are true. When we receive that confirmation, then we must act. It is at that moment we must put our faith into action and live the truth. If we discover, as I propose, that the Bible teaches that Christ is our Healer, then we must recondition our response patterns and recognize Him as our Healer.
Through Christ Himself
This leads us to the second part of receiving Christ as our Healer: we move from the testimony and conviction of the word to the appropriation of Christ as our Healer. We ask Him to come and be our Healer—not only of our souls, but of our bodies and minds also.
This is perhaps the main area of contention with regard to the subject of Christ our Healer because of the varied understandings of what it all means. It raises the question of the place of secondary means, such as medicines and medical treatments: If Christ is my Healer, do I still need these things? Is it wrong to seek medical help if I’m relying on Christ? It also raises the question of whether Christ’s healings are always instantaneous, or does He do it gradually some times. And it raises the question of whether it is, in fact, foolish or presumptuous to expect Christ to heal me.
To the disappointment of some (and perhaps to the delight or relief of others), I am not going to address those kinds of questions. I have complete confidence in the ministry of the Holy Spirit—as you seek Him out in this matter, He will make it abundantly clear to you concerning how far it is appropriate for you to take this teaching. But what I do want to say is this: Christ becomes our Healer in the same way that He has always healed, and that is through faith in Him. We must settle the issue in our hearts and by faith in Him accept Him as our Healer. I have no doubt that the same Jesus who healed the lame, the blind, the deaf, the mute, the paralytic, the demon-possessed, the dead and all other ailments still has the power and willingness to do that today. I believe that He wants to do it in this church. And I believe that He wants to do it for you. As the Bible declares, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Through the Church
Finally, we receive Christ as our Healer through His Church. This is His chosen instrument through which He generally demonstrates His healing power. The main passage in support of this truth is James 5:13-16. Let’s look at this passage together (p. 899). [Read]
I could preach a whole sermon just on this passage, but I’m only going to quickly note the specific outline that James gives us for experiencing Christ as our Healer. It begins with a request from the sick person to the elders of the local church to pray for him/her. This is the first act of faith. It is submitting our condition to God. It is also a beautiful picture of our interdependence upon one another.
Next there is the prayer and anointing with oil by the elders. Notice it does not say call the pastor or one of the elders; it specifically says call the elders, plural. I believe the purpose of this is to prevent/protect the one seeking God’s healing from putting his/her trust in a human instrument. The trust for this healing has to be in Christ alone—He is our Healer. The text then boldly states, And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up (v. 15a). It does not say that the person may be healed; it says the sick person will be healed. The only condition for receiving this healing is faith in the Lord to do it.
Then it says something that seems a bit out of place at first: If he has sinned, he will be forgiven (v. 15b). Here James mentions the forgiveness of sins in the context of physical healing. Earlier I pointed out the interrelationship between the body and the spirit. I believe that this reveals to us that there exists a connectedness between physical health and spiritual health. Moreover, I believe that it suggests our need for spiritual healing to take place before physical healing can/will occur. God is deeply concerned about our physical and mental well being, but the condition of our spirits is of greatest concern to Him. This may mean the confession of sin, or submitting to God’s call on our lives, or any one of a number of spiritual hindrances.
The final thing to note in this passage is that this healing is to take place in the context of the worshiping Church. Look at v. 16: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. The picture here is that of the church united together in prayer and confession so the healing can take place. It is all of us holding hands together on behalf of the one who is in need of healing. In order for our prayers to be powerful and effective, we need to be righteous. The way of righteousness is through confession to God and one another. I believe this is the key to seeing healings take place in our midst, not as an unusual event like right now, but as a normal activity and blessing. Christ is our Healer and we are the hands through which He usually chooses to dispense His healing touch.
Conclusion
There is so much more that I could say on this subject. I could have perhaps been more effective if I had given you some examples of the healings I’ve witnessed in my life. However, I knew that to do so I could not address this important facet of the ministry of Christ to the believer in just one sermon. What I hope to have accomplished is to have placed a little “spiritual salt” on your tongue that will drive you to seek out this truth from God’s word on your own. He delights in revealing Himself to us, but we must commit to making and taking the time to do it.
Christ is our Healer. He is the only Healer. He can be your Healer if you desire Him to be. Make a commitment to search out this truth on your own. Then feel free to come and talk to me about it, but only after you’ve taken a look on your own. It is my prayer that each of us comes to know Christ as our Healer just as He wants us to.
[Be open to ministering to people’s healing issues]
