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2. Healing Through the Word
In the last study we ascertained that by
the fall mankind came under the control of Satan, and the power of sin and
death. Sickness and disease entered the
world, and man was subject to the law of sin and death.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin
entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to
all men, bec
Bec
REDEMPTION
Strong’s definition -- "to tear loose," "to rescue," to pay a ransom
price to release from bondage.”
In the Old Testament men could redeem
property, animals, and individuals (slaves, prisoners, or indentured relatives)
who were in bondage or debt to another person.
For example, to redeem an enslaved person, a ransom of an equivalent
price of the slave had to be paid to procure his freedom.
In our case, man was in bondage to
Satan and the law of sin and death. Our redemption has two aspects
1. Our
Eternal Destiny.
We had to be redeemed from Satan’s rights
to enslave us, so that we might be transferred to God’s kingdom, with the
restoration of our eternal destiny of everlasting life.
“He
has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of
the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins.” Col 1:13-14.
2. Set
Free From Satan in Our Daily Lives
We had to be redeemed from Satan’s
right to hold us in bondage in our daily living. In the light of this study, our mortal bodies
had to be redeemed from bodies of sin and death and made bodies of
righteousness and life. This is the foundational truth for healing.
Scriptural
References to the Redemption of Our Mortal Bodies
“Surely He has borne our griefs [literally, sicknesses]
And carried our sorrows [literally, pains];
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
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.”
Isa 53:4-5.
That Isaiah was talking about Christ
bearing our sicknesses and infirmities, is borne out in this reading from
Matthew:
“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, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our
infirmities.” Matt
8:16-17.
And
also in this reading from Peter:
“…who
Himself bore our sins in His own body
[with their
consequence of sicknesses and pains] on
the tree [cross], that we, having
died to sins, might live for righteousness -- by whose stripes you were
healed.” 1
Peter 2:24-25.
What These Readings are Saying
In their unredeemed state, our bodies
are in bondage to the law of sin and death. Without claiming the redemption of
our bodies that Christ procured for us, we have bodies of sin and death. This is evident in the following reading from
Romans.
“And
if Christ is in you, the body is dead
bec
The first part of the reading states
that, “the
body is dead bec
The second statement is, the
Spirit is life bec
HOW WAS OUR REDEMEMPTION BROUGHT
ABOUT?
Of course we are not talking about the
ultimate complete redemption of our bodies, where “the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this * mortal must put on
immortality.” 1 Cor 15:52.
We are looking at a ‘down payment’ of
the full redemption of our bodies, which enables us to receive a portion of
Christ’s resurrection life in our bodies here and now, so that we might overcome
the power of sickness and disease working in our bodies.
How Did Jesus Justly
Bring About the Redemption of Our Bodies
According to justice, we have bodies
of sin and death bec
Jesus had to fulfil the demands of
justice – sin must be punished.
For man to be set free from his burden of sin and death, someone had to pay
his debt by bearing the punishment for his sins. As the representative of
mankind Jesus accepted the responsibility for our sins, and agreed to bear the
ultimate punishment for sin - that of death - even to submitting to the
horrendous torture of the cross.
In effect, Jesus was mankind on the
cross, bearing its label of sin, and receiving its punishment.
“For He[God] made Him [Jesus] who knew
no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him.” 2
Cor 5:21.
Jesus received the punishment for our
sins in His own Body on
the cross to set our bodies free. The suffering of His body is prophetically
portrayed in Psalm 22.
“I
am poured out like water,
And
all My bones are out of joint;
My
heart is like wax;
It
has melted within Me.
My
strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And
My tongue clings to My jaws;
You
have brought Me to the dust of death.
For
dogs have surrounded Me;
The
congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They
pierced My hands and My feet;
I
can count all My bones.
They
look and stare at Me.
They
divide My garments among them,
And
for My clothing they cast lots.” Ps 22:14-18.
HOW DO WE RECEIVE WHAT JESUS PROCURED
FOR US ON THE CROSS?
By Testifying to
Our Redemption
Psalm 107, which largely concerns
God’s healing, starts off with the command, “let the redeemed of the Lord say
so.”
Oh,
give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For
His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say
so,
Whom
He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” Ps 107:1-2.
To gain the fruit of our redemption, we
must testify with our mouths to the truth we have received in our hearts. In
healing, our testimonies are the main weapon of our overcoming.
“…they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and
they did not love their lives to the death.” Rev 12:11-12.
Speak to the Mountain
When Jesus taught His
disciples how to exercise their faith, He actually spoke directly to the mountain
which is a symbol of any obstruction standing in our way, as in a sickness.
“…assuredly, I say
to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for
you.” Matt
17:20.
A sample testimony may be, “Jesus has borne my sicknesses and
carried away my pains, and so I rebuke you headache and reject you from my body
in the name of Jesus Christ.”
The Holy Spirit expresses His
agreement to our testimony by releasing His power to heal.
“For there are three that bear witness in
heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7.
FAITH FOR HEALING
Faith comes from hearing the WORD
Many are perturbed that they do no
have enough faith to receive healing, and in resignation they give up praying. But smallness of faith is common to nearly
everyone, and it is not a unsurmountable deterrent, for the bible says, “faith
comes.”
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God.” Rom
10:17.
1.
“faith comes by hearing”
Faith
comes through the physical act of hearing, but the manner of hearing is vastly
important, as we see from the following readings.
“He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your
ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of
men." But they did not understand this saying…” Luke 9:43-45.
“So that you incline your ear
to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;” Prov 2:2.
"Set your hearts on all the
words which I testify among you today…” Deut 32:46.
“These were more fair-minded than those
in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness,” Acts 17:11.
“Therefore take heed how you hear.
For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even
what he seems to have will be taken from him." Luke 8:18.
“Therefore we must give the more
earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Heb 2:1-2.
"If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord
your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments
and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have
brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you." Ex 15:26.
“My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your
ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart
from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst
of your heart; .” Prov
4:20-22.
2. “and
hearing by the word of God”
The “word”
used here is not the Logos, or the Scriptural representation of the knowledge
of God. It is the ‘rhema,’ word, or the personal
subjective word of truth directed into an individual’s spirit by the Holy
Spirit. It is subjective bec
“For if when we were enemies we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by
His life.” Rom
5:10.
We can peruse it lightly or thoroughly. By further examination, we find that the word
‘saved’ has additional connotations, as seen in the following ‘Srongs’ definition:
“saved”
-- to heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be
made whole.
As we meditate on the word, we may ask
that the Holy Spirit will reveal its truth to us, to the end that it might
become a ‘rhema’ word that we may receive into our hearts. This may happen in many ways or forms. Some
may say that it was as if a light was switched on in their understanding,
others that one or two words were impressed on their spirit, or yet again an
intuitive knowing, or again, an actual insight spoken into their spirit.
Whatever its manifestation, faith comes from a personalised spiritual
revelation of the truth by the Spirit. Psalm
107 says, “He sent His word and healed them.”
“And
bec
Their
soul abhorred all manner of food,
And
they drew near to the gates of death.
Then
they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And
He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed
them,
And
delivered them from their destructions.” Ps 107:17-20.
What word did God send? It was the rhema word. It may be in the form of a scriptural
quotation, but it becomes a rhema word when it is made alive to us personally,
with a ‘knowing’ attached to it.
Faith comes from diligent hearing.
Faith comes from a personal revelation of the word.
Faith comes from God: “For
by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Eph 2:8-9
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek,
and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you.” Matt 7:7.