Here is another one. Is this word of faith? Maybe I just need more faith. đđđ
It would take a day and a half to go through it all, but you are correct, Mark: this is wrong.
The quoted words of Isaiah are to the nation with whom God has a covenantal relationship. Jesus did nothing but that which was prophesied He would, and He made it clear for whom He came: Israel, as per prophecy. His ministry was always the Kingdom. We are the church according to the mystery revealed to Paul by our Lord Christ Jesus AFTER His death and resurrection.
Most of the time, the mistake is made innocently enough that the two are confused because the Church is called Spiritual Israel. That too, however, should make plain that we’re not physical Israel to whom the Isaiah verses were written.
Does God always heal His children? Ask our apostle, the Apostle Paul, and he will tell you no, for God said to him, âMy grace is sufficient for thee.â Were God to always heal me, I would not die. I would live in this world a lot longer than I want to be here: forever. No thanks.
Having first sips of first coffee. Hope this makes sense.
Yeah, thatâs right. If you are sick itâs your fault, you reprobate. You just arenât arenât good enough. Youâre not doing it right.
Obviously, we are not healed as part of the death of Christ⌠and it will include a resurrected/transformed body.
Now listen to the simple wisdom of JVMâŚthis is a bit long, but necessary.
First Matthew explains that Christâs healing of the blind, and lame, and deaf, fulfilled this prophecy:
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âThat it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses [Mt 8:17].
âThis quotation is from Isa 53:4. Probably this verse is used by so-called faith healers more than any other verse. They claim that physical healing is in the Atonement, and they use this verse to support their position.
âLetâs turn the pages back to Isaiah and look at this verse, because I do not believe it gives sanction to the modern healing movement at all. âSurely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healedâ (Isa 53:4-5). Of what are we healed? This passage from Isaiah clearly states that we are healed of our transgressions and iniquities. You say to me, âAre you sure about that?â I know this is what these verses are talking about because Peter says: âWho his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healedâ (1Pe 2:24). Healed of what? âSins.â Peter is making it very clear that he is talking about sin.
âAll we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us allâ (Isa 53:6). It was your iniquity and mine which was laid upon Him. Obviously, Isaiah is referring to the fact that Christ would grapple with the great fundamental problem of sin. To contend that healing is in the Atonement is beside the point. So is a glorified body in the Atonement, but I donât have mine yet. Do you?
â> âAlso, a new earth with the curse removed is in the Atonement of Christ, but it is obvious that we do not have these yet. In this day when sin and Satan still hold sway, there is no release from sickness as an imperative of the Atonement. Why did Paul urge Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach? Why didnât he urge him to get his healing in the Atonement? Why didnât James urge the saints to claim the Atonement when he asked them to call in the elders to pray? (see Jas 5:13-15). Why didnât Paul claim healing in the Atonement when he mentioned the fact that there was given to him a thorn in the flesh?<â
âAnd lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon meâ (2Co 12:7-9, italics mine).
There are other examples recorded concerning this subject. Paul, in Philippians, had a regular hospital on his hands.
â> Epaphroditus had been ill (see Phl 2:25-27), and Paul did not use the Atonement to claim healing.<â
âMy friend, we need to face the fact that it is not always Godâs will to heal.
âHowever, sometimes it is Godâs will to heal. Instead of going to a tent or an auditorium where healing services are advertised, why donât you go directly to the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ? Find out if the healing is in His will for you. I believe in divine healing but not in so-called divine healers. Instead of going to an individual down here on earth who claims to have power, I prefer to take my case to the Great Physician and say with the leper, âIf thou wilt, thou canst make me cleanâ (v. 2). Then whether we are healed or not healed, He gets the glory. And we want Him to have that.
â> âApparently, Paul knew nothing of this modern cultism of seeking healing in the Atonement. God can and does heal today, but not through so-called faith healers.<â
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Selah
I am 76. I have in and on my body the scars and ongoing difficulties of life. I have a purified spirit by the Promise and Grace of God. But I also have the effects of disease at an early age and the effects of sin I have endulged in my life. This current Earth and current body are not my home. And God used the plagues on Egypt to convince the Hebrews that Egypt was not a good place to live ... He left Egypt to the state of degeneration their sins had achieved, He didn't heal Egypt so the Hebrews would feel at home there, He ghave them incentive to get the heck out of there.