God’s Will in Healing part 2 – Timeline

The Bible presents a timeline of the human experience.  It begins before we were created, and it goes beyond our time on earth into the infinite future.

When we look at the timeline, we can see some places where God’s will towards mankind is on full display.  These are the times where there are no opposing forces or corrupting influences in the picture.  As we examine the details about these points in time, we learn interesting things about God’s will.  In this post, we are going to use these to look at God’s will in healing.

The first point on the timeline we will look at is the Garden of Eden.

The Garden of Eden

Beginning on the day where Adam was created. and extending to the point where he and Eve sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, we have a very good view of what God’s will for mankind looks like.  This is the time where man lived on earth prior to what we call “the fall of man.”

During this time before “the fall” we are told that Adam and Eve lived in an environment where everything was “good.”  From the context, we see that their bodies were free from disease and decay, and they would apparently live forever if they were to continue in the state they were in.  There was no sickness, depression, anxiety, fear, greed, crime, or poverty.   They had been given dominion over the earth and over all of the other living things on the earth.

This is a time in the Bible where God’s will was in full effect, on full display and this is what God’s will for mankind looks like:  healthy bodies, healthy minds,  healthy emotions, abundant supply for every need, and a perfect unhindered relationship with God.

That was the state of our environment before Adam and Eve chose to allow the influence of Satan and sin to enter.

When Adam and Eve believed the lie from Satan and rebelled against God, they chose to lay aside God’s will for themselves.  They chose to obey the temptation of Satan, allowing his will to come into the picture.  They introduced a corrupting influence into their environment by their own choice.

Beginning at this point in our history, we start to see a change.  There begins to be increasing amounts of things like murder, rape, robbery, sickness and disease, mental and emotional problems, and so on.  None of these things were God’s will for mankind.  They came as a direct result of rejecting the will of God and accepting the influence of sin and Satan.  Sickness and disease did not come into the human experience because of God’s will.  God told them not to do it.   He didn’t want them to experience sickness and sin and death.  Man wasn’t designed to deal with the knowledge of good and evil.  Man was designed for relationship with God,

(Please note that I am not implying that every sickness is a result of the sin of the individual, nor am I saying that every sickness is caused by the devil.    What I am saying is that without sin and the devil, we would not see any sickness in our world).

To summarize:

• When God’s will was in full effect, there was no sickness
• When man rejected God’s will and invited the influence of Satan and sin, then sickness entered the human experience.
• Health was God’s will.  Sickness was not.

And now, we will fast forward to a time in the future.

The New Heaven and New Earth

At some point in the future, our present world will be replaced with a new one (Revelation 21:1).  This new creation is called the “new heaven and new earth.”  It comes into existence after the final judgment, where Satan and all of the fallen angels (along with all people that rejected the offer of eternal life from Jesus) are removed from our environment.  Notice some of the characteristics of this new environment from Revelation 21:4

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

As you read the various descriptions of the new creation, you will find that it is very similar to the Garden of Eden in many ways.  For example, there is no death and no pain.  There is no sin or crime.  There is no depression, worry, or anxiety.  Instead there is health, eternal life, joy, abundant provision, and many other wonderful things.

To summarize once again…

• When we see God’s will for mankind in full effect, without the influence of sin and Satan in the equation, there is no sickness or disease in the picture.
• The only time sickness comes into play is when Satan and sin are influencing the environment.
• Sickness is not God’s will for man.  Health and well-being is God’s will.

Let us now proceed to the third example that I want to share…the life of our Lord.

The Life of Jesus

Jesus came to do the will of God the Father.  Jesus always said what the Father wanted to be said, and He always did what the Father wanted to be done.  This fact is talked about repeatedly throughout the New Testament.  John 5:19 provides a nice summary for us:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

Jesus showed us what God’s will looks like when someone chooses to obey it perfectly.  He put the will of God on display for all of us to see.  We can look at Him to learn about the will of God.

If we examine the attitude of Jesus towards sickness and disease, we can see what God’s will is on the matter.  Based on the information we have in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we have a clear and consistent picture.  What we see over and over again is Jesus healing people that are sick.

Jesus healed all that came to Him.  There is not a single example in the life of Jesus where a sick person comes to Him for healing and does not get healed.   Conversely, there is not a single example of Jesus afflicting someone with a disease or sickness.

Where sickness is concerned, the attitude is very consistent.  Jesus always healed people.   And since Jesus only did the will of God the Father, then it was always God’s will in action when Jesus was healing the sick people.

This is spelled out very clearly for us by Peter in Acts 10:38:

…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Notice that Jesus brings healing, while the devil brings oppression in the form of sickness.  Jesus doesn’t make people sick.  Jesus heals sick people.  Sickness is oppression from the devil.  It is so clear and plain that you almost need help to misunderstand this.

To summarize:

• Jesus demonstrated God’s will perfectly.
• Jesus always healed every sick person that came to Him
• Jesus never put sickness on people.
• Sickness is a result of the influence of Satan and sin

Putting it All Together

In the Bible, whenever we see God’s will in full effect, free from the influence of sin and Satan, the resulting environment  includes healing and health.

The period of time where sickness is present is when sin and Satan have influence.

Healing is God’s will for mankind, and it is His will for you.

Next in Series:  God’s Will in Healing Part 3 – The Atonement

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