No
5. Healing Our Lives
KEY BIBLE READING: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify
you completely; and may your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” 1 Thess 5:23-24.
One of the troublesome questions that confront people
seeking healing is - why isn’t it
happening? Or why is it taking so
long?
Whereas our minds are set on what is happening to our
bodies, God looks at our whole being, body, soul, and spirit, and the wellbeing
of the whole man. For instance it is
often the case that disorders of the soul, or the manner of our living, are a
major c
Before proceeding further, let us make a very brief review
of the components that make up our being.
The body is the medium through
which we make contact with material and physical things. The appeasement of bodily desires may
overshadow and hinder our spiritual growth.
The spirit is that part of us that
enables us to understand spiritual things, and have communion with God. One of its components is the conscience, which
enables us to know what is right and wrong, and to make decisions that are in
God’s will.
The soul
is the base of self awareness and emotions, the home of self desire, self satisfaction,
and self centeredness. It is the medium through which our personalities are
expressed.
Of
these three, the spirit is the highest part of man, being constantly connected
to God.
THE HEART is the indicator of the settled state of our wills -- what we
have willed forms the settled direction of our lives. In this light the state of our heart is an
indicator of our standing before God.
In healing our whole being, body, soul, and spirit, are
brought into a right balance and relationship with each other so that the
settled state of our hearts is in God’s will.
If there is an imbalance, such as our bodily desires dominating our
whole being, we are out of tune with God and His life giving Spirit. In a
perfect balance of the members of our being, the spirit holds sway over the
body and soul, and our lives are kept in God’s will.
Unfortunately the desires of the soul and body are so
strong and dominating that we bow to their power, and without God’s
intervention they will retain their control over us. That is why P
What P
The crucifixion of our old man is not a physical, but a
spiritual happening. But if by faith we
testify to what the Scriptures say, the Holy Spirit responds by undertaking a
work that puts to death the demanding appetites of the flesh that hold us in
bondage. “Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you
live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death
the deeds of the body, you will live.” Rom 8:13.
This work of overcoming the power
of the flesh may take a number of years, but the initial act of the will of
declaring our old man crucified with Christ is the one thing needed in this
case for healing to commence.
Of
course P
“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us* in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased [in his heart] from sin, that he no
longer should live the rest of his time
in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-3.
A type of suffering that God often allows to inflict us to break
the power of wilful flesh is SICKNESS. The reason why so many people are not healed
straight away is that God is undertaking a work that is turning a heart away
from fleshly indulgence, and towards a proper commitment to Him and His
righteousness and holiness.
God is continually working in the lives of those who seek His will for them. For
this reason it is important not to enter into a healing ministry that may be
interfering with God’s working in another person. We should wait on God’s
leading and peace to ensure that a healing ministry is in His will. P
Examine Yourselves
When faced with prolonged sickness that is not responding
to medicinal therapy and/or prayer, we should examine ourselves, body, soul,
and spirit, to see how they are related to each other and to God. “For if we would
judge [examine] ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we
are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the
world.” 1 Cor 11:31-32.
THE
STATE OF OUR SOULS
Unfortunately, in our living, more
often than not we are controlled by our self orientated soul, and our bodily
desires. But at the moment we totally
surrender our lives into God’s refining hands, He undertakes a long and
profound work that reverses the controlling forces in our being, so that the
spirit gets stronger and stronger, and our soulish desires become weaker, until
eventually we are mostly governed by our spirits. We “walk after the spirit” and not the flesh.
To be growing in the Lord, we must be a work of God in progress. “For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them.” Eph 2:8-10.
Our responsibility in the healing of our
souls is to set and maintain our hearts against the carnal desires of the flesh
that war against our spirits. In this respect Peter advises, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” 1 Peter
2:11-12.
OUR
BODIES
Our Bodies should be Sanctified or set apart to Christ
Our bodies were purchased
by Christ at the cost of His own sacrificed body and shed blood. We should consider them to be His property,
created for His purposes.
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have
from God, and you are not your own?
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and
in your spirit, which are God's.” 1 Cor 6:19-20.
As Christ
surrendered His own body and life to the death of the cross, our response
should be to set our bodies apart for His service.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom
12:1-2.
Pursue Holiness
In examining the spiritual rightness
of our bodies, we should take note of the things that entice us to regularly
sin.
Jesus warned, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye c
The language in this reading is obviously figurative. e.g.
“If your right eye c
“pluck it out and cast it from you”: -- Set your will against it,
reject it fully in your heart, and put it on the cross to be put to death by
the Spirit. In setting his will, King David says, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes..” Ps 101:3.
Similarly,
“if
your right hand causes you to sin” -- Your right hand is the activity that is c
“cut
it off and cast it from you.” -- Set your will against that activity, reject it fully with your
whole heart, and put the desire for it on the cross, that it is put to death by
the Spirit.
“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one
another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,” Col 3:8-9
Rejecting it fully in your hearts means to reject it in its
entirety, not clinging on to part of it. God and the Holy Spirit will not be
satisfied with a partial rejection of sin.
OUR
SPIRITS
Just as the body needs exercise to keep it strong and healthy,
so does the spirit, but whereas the body needs physical exercise, the spirit
needs to engage in spiritual activity. e.g. praying regularly, reading and
meditating on the Scriptures, meeting together to offer worship, praise, and
thanksgiving to God, and using the gifts of the Spirit.
“Even so you, since you are
zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for
the edification [strengthening in Spirit] of the church that you
seek to excel.” 1 Cor 14:12.
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith,
praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the
love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Jude 20-21.
“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the
Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is
dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit…” Eph 5:17.
“And those who are Christ's have crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires. If we live
in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Gal
5:24-26.
HEALING
OUR LIVES
Before understanding how out lives must be healed, it is
necessary to understand God’s purpose for our lives. Why were we created? Why did God seek us out and provide the truth
and spiritual enlightenment to receive our salvation? What does God want and expect of us
personally? When we examine our lives in
the light of these questions, we may begin to see where we are out of order or
falling short, and how our lives need to be changed.
We Were Created
in Christ for Good Works
Of course our bodies are
the vehicle through which we experience many of the blessings God has provided
for us here on earth. But the higher
purpose for our bodies is that they are instruments set apart to God for works
that He has preordained.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Eph 2:10.
“Our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us,
that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good
works.” Titus 2:13-14.
We are Recipients
and Manifesters of Christ’s Life
We were created in order
that we might contain the Spirit of Christ, so that His life might be
manifested in us and through us to others.
“I have come that they may
have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.” John 10:10.
"I am the true vine...Abide in Me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can
you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John
15:1-6.
Collectively,
We are a Spiritual Temple Indwelt by God
Collectively, we were created as “spiritual stones fitted and joined
together by spiritual gifts and ministries, to form a temple for Christ to
dwell in our midst.
“…Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows
into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Eph 2:19-22.
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good
works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you
see the Day approaching.” Heb 10:24-25.
“…but, speaking the
truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ —
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint
supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its
share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Eph
4:15-16.
Not
Discerning the Body
Paul uses the analogy of the human
body to describe the nature of the membership of the Church, and the need to
love and care for one another.
“For as the body is one and has many
members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so
also is Christ…. If the foot should
say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore
not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am
not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the
hearing? If the whole were hearing,
where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of
them, in the body just as He pleased.
And if they were all one
member, where would the body be?
But now indeed there are many
members, yet one body. And the eye
cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head
to the feet, "I have no need of you."
No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are
necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be
less honourable, on these we bestow greater honour; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our
presentable parts have no need. But
God composed the body, having given greater honour to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body,
but that the members should have the
same care for one another. And if one
member suffers, all the members suffer with it;
or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”
1 Cor 12:12-26.
Further, Paul warns that not
having due care and love for each other endangers their own physical health.
“Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For
first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are
divisions among you, and in part I believe it…. Therefore when you come
together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk…. Therefore whoever eats
this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an
unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood* of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy
manner* eats and drinks judgment
to himself, not discerning the Lord's* body. For
this reason many are weak and sick among you,
and many sleep. For if we
would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are
chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” 1 Cor
11:17-31.
This study focuses on
setting our lives in order. We should
examine every part of our living experience to see if there is any aspect that
may provide a hindrance to our healing and health, and seek the guidance of the
Holy Spirit to set every part of our lives in order.