Sons and Daughters of the Living God
Title: Healing and Forgiveness of Sin
Subject Matter: Some practical instructions on ministering healing, along with some teaching on the forgiveness of sin
Speaker: Neal Leazer
Recorded October 8, 2014 at Spirit Filled Living – a local church in Apex, NC
You can download the audio by right-clicking on the following link: Healing and Forgiveness of Sin
Title: Healing in the Atonement
Subject Matter: Jesus bore our sicknesses and diseases at the same time He bore our sins.
Speaker: Neal Leazer
Recorded September 17, 2014 at Spirit Filled Living – a local church in Apex, NC
You can download the audio by right-clicking on the following link: Healing in the Atonement
Title: Healing
Subject Matter: A discussion on the topic of healing, including lots of talk about God’s will in this area.
Speaker: Neal Leazer
Recorded September 10, 2014 at Spirit Filled Living – a local church in Apex, NC
You can download the audio by right-clicking on the following link: Healing
Mark 1:40-45
40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed
43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,
44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.See also Matthew 8:2-4 and Luke 5:12-15
The leper came in faith the Jesus could heal him, but he did not seem to be in faith that Jesus would heal him.
This reminds me of many prayers I have prayed before (and I am sure that I am not alone in this). I believed that God could heal people, but I didn’t want to presume that He wanted to.
The prayer would go something like this: “Please heal John Doe, if it is your will. Amen.”
That is the way that this leper came to Jesus. He said “if you are willing, You can make me clean.” He believed in the ability of Jesus to heal, but he questioned His willingness to use it.
Jesus wasn’t mad about this. Instead, look at the simple reply. Jesus said “I am willing.”
The Greek word that is translated “willing” gives some additional light to this:
WILLING
Greek = thelo = Strong’s 23091) to will, have in mind, intend
1a) to be resolved or determined, to purpose
1b) to desire, to wish
1c) to love
1c1) to like to do a thing, be fond of doing
1d) to take delight in, have pleasure
Jesus made it clear that healing this man is something he would very much like to do. It’s not like Jesus said “well…ok, but just this once.” It was more like “I would love to!” This attitude toward healing that Jesus displays here is consistent in all other examples we have listed in the four gospels. He is willing to minister healing. That is something to keep in mind when you have the opportunity to minister healing to others.
Let your faith toward Jesus and your opinion of His nature be in harmony with what the bible says about Him. You are not being presumptuous if you believe God wants to heal. Read about Jesus in the four Gospels to see if God wants to heal. Jesus always healed the people that came to Him, and He was always doing the will of the Father (John 5:19).
Jesus was willing to heal, and he still is.
PS. Jesus “strictly warned” this man not to tell anyone what happened, but to go do what the Law required. If we assume that Jesus meant what He said, then we cannot say that the primary purpose of healing this man was to spread the gospel. God can heal you just because He is compassionate. God is good :)
Jesus said “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
Jesus also said “I always do things that please the Father.” (John 8:29)
The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of the Father (Hebrews 1:3)
Jesus came to reveal the Father to us…to make Him known to us…to show us what He is like. Based on the three passages above (along with many others), I believe that we can look at the life of Jesus to learn some things about the character and nature of God, and get to know Him better. We can learn how God the Father feels about different subjects. We can see what it looks like for the Father’s will to be demonstrated and obeyed perfectly on the earth.
Those are some general statements, and now I would like to be more specific. Let us view the actions and attitudes of Jesus during His time on earth in a physical body to get a view of how God our Father feels about sickness, disease, and other physical ailments.
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.
Matthew 8:2-3 – And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:5-6 – Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
Luke 9:10-11 – And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
Matthew 14:14 – And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Luke 4:40 – When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.
Matthew 4:24 – And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
For many more examples just like these, you can read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, looking for instances where people approached Jesus that needed to be healed. You won’t find any cases of a person coming to Him in need of healing, and going away without being healed.
But don’t just take my word for it. Read it and study it yourself. See what you find. When I read about Jesus in the bible, I see him having compassion on sick people, and ministering healing to them. Healing was a large part of what He did, and it was always included in the instructions whenever He sent out people to represent Him.
In John 5:19, He says this: “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 was doing what His Father showed Him to do. All of these times that Jesus was healing people, it was the will of God the Father being acted out by God the Son…Jesus. It was God’s will to heal people. If we go by the accounts provided to us in the four Gospels, it looks like it is ALWAYS God’s will to heal people, because that’s what we see Jesus doing.
Are there exceptions to this? Are there times where God’s will is for the person to remain in their sickness? Read the Gospels and find out for yourself.
(NOTE: If you are thinking about Paul’s thorn right now as an exception, it isn’t. Click here to read about it.)
There is only one place that I’m aware of the Gospels where people didn’t get healed by Jesus. But in the story it wasn’t because he wasn’t willing to do it, it was because the people wanted nothing to do with him, and so they wouldn’t allow him to minister to them.
Mark 6:5-6 – Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
Notice that is says he “could” do no mighty works there. It doesn’t say that he “would” do no mighty works. The implication is that He was willing, but the people were not interested because of their unbelief. If you read the surrounding verses for context, you will see that they were offended at Him, and basically wanted nothing to do with Him. In spite of all this, He still healed a “few sick people.” He can still heal people even when there is unbelief around. Just come to Him.
(A note on the word “unbelief” in this passage: This is not the Greek word for doubt, or for little faith. It means “faith in reverse” or “believe against.” These were not Christians who were struggling with doubt. These were people who “believed against” Jesus and wanted Him to go away. In spite of this, He still healed some of them.)
So, if we look at Jesus as an accurate representation of the character and nature of God the Father, then we have to conclude that healing is a big part of it. Healing is part of God’s character and nature. It is a part of who He is. He is a healer.
In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we are told that God made earth, and He made the first man (Adam) and the first woman (Eve). Here are a few passages that tell us what life was like at that time in human history:
Genesis 1:27-31
God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” It was so.
God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.
Chapter two gives us more details of the creation of man from chapter one.
Genesis 2:8-17
The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed.
The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)
Now a river flows from Eden to water the orchard, and from there it divides into four headstreams. The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is pure; pearls and lapis lazuli are also there). The name of the second river is Gihon; it runs through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it. Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”
Up this point, sin had not entered the world, and there is no mention of Satan having any influence. Everything is wonderful. There was no sickness or disease or death, and there was no lack (there was an entire planet’s worth of resources, and only two people to use it). With everything in this state, God said that it was “good.”
Then, in chapter 3, we have the story of the serpent deceiving Eve, and then Adam making his decision to join Eve and disobey God.
Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”
The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
At this point in our history, life on earth changed. Originally, man was free from sickness, sin and death. He had unhindered fellowship with God, and God had put him in charge of the earth. But from this day forward, death enters the world, along with increasing amounts of sickness, sin, famine, and poverty. Satan has also usurped man’s role as ruler of the earth (John 12:31, 1 John 5:19, Ephesians 2:2) and we get to see the results of his activities in the world around us from then until now.
If we fast forward, and look into what we know about the future, we see in the last few chapters of the book of Revelation that Satan will be removed from his current role, and cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). After this everything goes back to being wonderful again. There is no more sickness, no more death, no more poverty, no more sin, etc.
So, to summarize…
Sickness entered our world when man gave in to Satan’s influence and committed the first sin. I have heard it said this way: “Sickness is the foul offspring of its father, Satan, and its mother, sin.” This is the source of sickness. This is where it came from.
I am not saying that every sickness is directly caused by Satan, or that every sickness is the direct result of a personal sin. What I am saying is that without Satan and sin, we would not be dealing with sickness. It would not be a part of life for us.
It is always wise to look at Jesus to find an example of how to think and act. Did Jesus do anything about sickness and disease? If so, what did he do? What did that look like?
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.
1 John 3:8b – For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.
John 10:10 – The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Matthew 4:24 – Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
Matthew 8:16 – 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…
Matthew 12:15b – …And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all
Luke 6:19 – And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all
When Jesus encountered sickness and disease, He would remove it from the afflicted person. He healed all that came to Him. Then He sent out people to represent him, and He gave them power and authority to do the same thing (Luke 9:1-2). Then He sent out more people in the same way (Luke 10:1,9). Then He told all of His followers to keep doing these same things, and to make disciples and train them to do the same things they were doing (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:17-20).
Sickness is a result of the influence of sin and Satan in our physical world. Jesus gave us power and authority to do something about it, and we are to do it the same way He did.
I imagine that most people who spend time studying the subject of divine healing will eventually encounter the following question: ”What about Paul’s thorn?” There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about this thorn, and with this article, I hope to bring simple clarity to it.
Before you continue to read my post, I strongly encourage you to read the passage in context for yourself. It is a long passage, but reading the whole thing will provide context and bring understanding.
Here is a link to the passage at Bible Gateway: 2 Corinthians 11:16 – 12:10
Here is a brief overview and some background for this passage. Paul is writing to the believers in the city of Corinth. At the time, there were some people coming through the city that claimed to be apostles. These men were spreading false teachings, and they were also bragging on their own accomplishments in order to boost their influence.
As part of his effort to counter these men, Paul is listing some of his experiences as a Christian to show that his “resume” qualifies him to speak with authority when he comes against these erroneous doctrines. This is an oversimplification, but I provide it here as a brief background to give context.
In the passage we are looking at, he spends nearly all of his time talking about the persecution he has faced. Rather than brag on how awesome he is, he lists all the ways he has experienced trouble. He had been beaten, stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, lost at sea, hungry, thirsty, cold, and naked (and the list goes on).
Then, in the middle of this list, he says the following:
2 Corinthians 11:30 – If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.
Notice two things here. Number one, the infirmity that he is boasting of is the collection of difficulties and persecutions that he has faced. Number two, physical disease is not mentioned anywhere as part of his list of trials. This is a VERY important point that should be kept in mind as you read the passage where he gives more detail regarding his “thorn.” When Paul is talking about his infirmity in this letter, he is talking about persecution that he has faced.
Next, he talks about “surpassingly great revelations” that he received. We know of no man that ever lived that received more revelation concerning the gospel of grace than Paul. God showed him things that he was not even allowed to talk about.
And then we come to the passage that contains the thorn.
2 Corinthians 12:7b-10
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Notice the word that appears here again: infirmities. If you read this verse by itself, without the context of all the preceding verses, it would appear that he may be talking about some kind of physical ailment. However, he is using the exact same Greek word that he did back in chapter 11 when he was boasting about his many troubles. So he is not talking about being sick, he is talking about different forms of persecutions and troubles.
Next I want to focus on a phrase he uses in verse 7. According to Paul, the thorn in his flesh is actually a messenger from Satan. Satan’s messengers are also called demons, evil spirits, or unclean spirits. Paul is saying that there was a demon that was causing problems for him.
So, Paul’s thorn was a demon,
That brings up another question, though. What was this demon doing?
There are many possibilities, but I believe the three choices below provide a general summary of the main explanations I have come across in my studies.
The demon was either…
If we limit our view to the immediate context of the passage, the option that appears to be the best fit is number 3. Paul has been talking at great length about the persecutions and troubles he has been facing, but he says nothing about having diseases or deformities, and he says nothing about having a guilty conscience.
The messenger from Satan was probably inciting resistance to Paul’s ministry, which often led to him being physically mistreated. This doesn’t mean that the other two options are not possible, just that they are much less likely, if we are to base our opinion on the immediate context.
If we are to look outside of the immediate context, we must remember the fact that Paul had authority over demons. He exercised this authority on several occasions in Acts, and he taught on this authority in his letters to the churches. He exercised his authority in such a way that his reputation became well known even among the demons themselves. (See Acts 19:13-16)
I find it very unlikely that Paul would permit a demon to operate continually in his body or in his conscience. However, the idea that a demon or a group of demons would go around stirring up trouble for him is not difficult to imagine.
If it is true that the demon was stirring up persecution, then Paul would have been praying for Jesus to remove the persecution he was facing. However, Jesus has warned all of His followers that persecution is part of the journey, and the fact that he said “no” to Paul’s request should not be surprising.
However, for Jesus to say no to a request for physical healing would go against the many examples he set forth when he walked the earth as detailed in the four gospels. Jesus always healed everyone that came to him. And Jesus always told everyone He sent to represent Him to do the same.
For these reasons, it seeems clear to me that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a form of spiritual warfare that was manifested in persecution. The idea that this thorn was a sickness that Jesus refused to heal is not represented in the passage when read in context, and this whole idea contradicts the life and example of Jesus.
Jesus warned his followers that there would be persecution and hard times for them (John 16:33). He walked this earth as a living example of enduring persecution. He suffered persecution, and so did those around him. When he encountered persecution, he endured it.
He was slandered, shunned, and hated by his enemies, and he was eventually beaten and executed. He warned his disciples that that they too would encounter many trials, and we know from the bible and from history that this is indeed what happened. Many disciples were treated in the same way, including beatings, imprisonments, and executions. Many of His disciples are still treated this way.
It is important to note, however, that the persecution and hard times were not physical ailments in His body. Jesus did not endure sickness and disease as part of his ministry, nor did he instruct his followers to do so. In fact, when Jesus encountered sickness and disease, he ministered healing to those that needed it.
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.”
During his earthly ministry, Jesus encountered many people with health problems. When people came to him that were in need of healing, he healed them. This is the case in every example that we have in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
There is not a single example of someone coming to him for healing and going away with their condition unchanged. Rather, we see the exact opposite. From the examples we have available for us to read, Jesus was always willing to minister healing.
We also see that every time he sent out anyone to represent him, he instructed them them to function in the same way.
He did this when he sent out the 12:
Luke 9:1 – “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.”
He did this when we sent out the 70:
Luke 10:1,9 – “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go……And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
He did this when he sent out everyone else(including you and me) at what we call “the great commission”
Mark 16:15-18 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel…And these signs will follow those who believe…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
I have heard people teach that sometimes God wants us to endure sickness and disease as part of the “many trials” that we face. That contradicts the life, words, and actions of Jesus. Jesus always did the Father’s will, and His days were filled with healing people and setting them free from ailments. There are many scriptures that say things like “He healed all that came to Him” or “they brought all the sick people to Him and He healed them all.”
We have no account in the Gospels that He told anyone to remain in their sickness as part of His plan. If sickness was His plan, then He was fighting against His own plan every day with multitudes of people.
His plan was to heal the people, and tell them that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Some people liked that message, and some people reacted violently. They all had the right to choose, and people still have the right to choose. Jesus did not override the choices of people, and He knew that there would be those that would react violently to the message of the Kingdom. And He told His followers not to be surprised if and when they encounter reactions like that.
Those are the trials that Christians must endure, because they come as a result of the free-will choices of other people. Sickness, disease, and physical problems are not included in this. Jesus healed the sick people. He “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38) As His representatives, we should be doing the same thing. We shouldn’t be telling people that God wants them to stay in their sickness. We should be telling them that God wants to heal them.
When studying the Bible, you can find some great truths if you examine the passages where a subject is first mentioned. That concept is the basis for this article. We are going to look at the first time divine healing is mentioned in the Bible. It is found in Genesis chapter 20. Here’s a link to it on Bible Gateway.
Here is a brief background of the story, followed by a short summary of the story.
As strange and awful as that sounds, that is backdrop for this story. Now on to the actual story.
In Genesis 20, Abraham and Sarah journey to a city named Gerar. The king of this city is named Abimilech. Abimilech finds out about Sarah somehow, and he takes her to be in his harem.
Before Abimilech is able to have relations with Sarah, God warns him in a dream that she is Abraham’s wife. God makes it clear that it is in Abimilech’s best interest to return her to her husband Abraham, because some bad stuff is going to happen if he doesn’t. In fact, he’s going to die, and the women in his land are no longer able to have children!
So, Abimilech returns Sarah to Abraham. Then Abraham prays for healing for Abimilech and everybody else, and God heals them all.
That’s it for the summary. It is a strange story that does not go the way most of us think it should go.
Now I want to identify some principles based on this story that carry on throughout the Bible and on into the present day.
In the story, nobody got healed until Abraham prayed for healing. Abraham was cooperating with God to bring about God’s will. This very frequently the way that miracles work throughout the Bible. God works through human beings to release, exercise, or manifest His power in the tangible, physical realm. God desires to do miracles through us, but we have to be willing to do our part and cooperate by taking steps of faith.
Abraham is the one at fault here. He lied and caused this whole problem. Yet, Abraham is the first person that God works through to demonstrate healing power. Abraham was dishonest, but he was the one that ministered healing. This shows us that our ability to avoid sin is not a prerequisite to operate in divine healing. Sin does not stop God’s power. God is bigger than our sins.
Sin is bad, don’t get me wrong. But, don’t fall for the temptation to think that God won’t use you because you aren’t good enough. Divine healing is based on God’s divine goodness, not your human goodness. This is huge, and it is the main point I want to get across in this article. Don’t just read past this fact. Let it take root. God works through flawed people. That’s all He has to choose from.
At the time this story took place, Abraham and Sarah were childless. They were not able to have children. But, part of the healing that God ministered in this story was restoring the ability of the women in Gerar to conceive.
If you are fighting some kind of physical condition, don’t let that be a roadblock that keeps you from stepping out in faith and ministering to others. 100% perfect health is not a prerequisite to be used in divine healing. Don’t disqualify yourself, and don’t disqualify others, just because you (or they) are currently in a struggle with a sickness.
Part of the healing that took place in this story was the restoration of the ability of the women to conceive. Because of the nature of the healing, it would be a while before they could tell for sure what happened. They were totally healed immediately, but they would have no physical evidence until they became pregnant.
Sometimes an action is required on the part of the “patient” in order to fully demonstrate the complete healing. In this case, each woman would have to have relations with her husband, and then some time would have to pass before they would have some kind of physical proof that the healing was real.
I think most of us would expect some kind of punishment for Abraham. It seems like the wrong guy is getting in trouble (Abimilech).
Abilich is not innocent according to our modern moral standards, but it seems like Abraham’s dishonesty is the the real cause of all the trouble. If he would have been truthful, then maybe this whole situation could have been avoided.
But, if you go back a few years in Abraham’s history, back to Genesis 12, you will find that God made a promise to Abraham. God said “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” God is simply keeping His promise here. This promise wasn’t conditional on Abraham’s moral behavior. It was based on the fact that Abraham believed what God said.
This is much like the promise we have from God. If we will believe the gospel of Jesus, then He will not count any of our sins against us (past, present, or future), He will adopt us into His own family, give us eternal life, and make us a co-heir with Jesus. And just like the promise to Abraham, this is not dependent on our ability or inability to keep a code of ethics . It is dependent on whether or not we believe what God said about His Son.