Today I want to start a series on one of the most controversial topics in the Church - whether or not healing is in the atonement of Christ. To start with, re-look the above verses and study them. In fact, from my study of the Bible (and indeed of life) so far, I have come to the conclusion that healing is in the atonement. Let me explain why I think so…
Note: This is not a discussion about whether or not the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still in operation. This series deals primarily with whether bodily and soul-level healing are the (new) birth right of every born again child of God.
We have been bought with a price. The first part of this verse says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. By all accounts, it means our physical body and not the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is in us - God gave Him to us. So we do not belong to ourselves. We are purchased with a price. If our body were not purchased with a price, how could it be God's property? It would still have to be Satan's property or our own. But it is God's property. Next point… If the body is the temple, can sickness dwell in the house of God? Jesus said:
"It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' " Matthew 21:13
So clearly, sickness (symbolic thief) does not have a right to dwell in the temple of God. What should you do if you spot a thief where he should not be? Evict him, or call the police and throw (cast) him out. Well, then, if there is sickness in the body or mind of a born again Christian, it needs to be thrown out in the name of Jesus Christ or have the police (pastor, elders etc.) cast it out through prayer and/or commands, again in Jesus' name.
And if you think sickness - a state of 'less than perfect, divine health' - can legally be in a believer's body (other than as a result of sin), it means imperfections can be tolerated in the house of God. Then even a handicapped lamb (or a sinful Jesus) could be offered as a sacrifice in the temple. Then the very basis of our Christian faith would be voided! People would say, "Why get cleansed of sin - you would anyway make it to heaven!" So if you believe that bodily healing is not in the atonement, do you know what it implies?
Ahead in the series, we will look at other sensitive issues like:
- Does God sometimes allow sickness to come upon believers for His glory?
- If Jesus is not the answer to our sicknesses (that is, if Jesus is not enough to heal us), should we worship another 'god' to get healed?
- Is sickness totally unconnected to sin (despite being the result of sin)?
- Are medicines to be avoided if you believe in diving healing (consult your doctor!)?
In my view you see things a bit disturbed. Sickness is part of nature. Nature is (maybe) created by God, but if so, God doesnot control nature all the time. He let nature go its own way after (maybe) he has given nature its characteristics, what some people call "laws".
ReplyDeleteGod only changes the natural course of things if people are very much begging him to do so, e.g. by prayer.
Of course it is true that illness can be got by the patient and his social envirenment itself. If the patient do live unhealthy, by eating too little or too much, if he smokes or drink too much, if he does unhyenic things and so forth he can make himself sick. In many circumstances however it is the culture and society that can make people sick, e.g. by using not clean water, by having no suer and so on. However paranormal healing is possible and some chosen people can do this, either in the name of Jesus or in another way.
That Jesus healed was in my view to show 3 things:
1. The power of belief
2. That he and God cared for us and want to heal people who are ill, so that he and God want the best for us and for nature.
3. That illness itself was NOT an conscious act of God, just an incidental or accidental thing, that happened, because God gives both humans and nature freedom to act or to have consequences according to their natural laws.
The last arguement is in this discussion the most important and is the same answer to the question many people ask: "why was there a holocaust", "why was there war", why do I have such misfortune?"
Well it is just because God gives people freedom to act and let nature follow its own course.
The alternative is that we do not have the freedom to make mistakes or do something wrong.
Would we be than anything more than robots ?
Thanks Paul for leaving a comment. I believe that natural causes are responsible for many sicknesses, but they are a result of sowing and reaping. If you overeat and get an upset stomach, you can't blame Satan. But Satan is definitely the author of sin - and overeating/gluttony is sin. But praise God, He provides a way out - divine healing based on the Bible. What God wants is that we repent and turn to Him. As Proverbs 3:5 says:
ReplyDelete"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;"
And yes...paranormal healing is deadly. If you resort to it, you are playing with fire or jumping blindfolded into a dark well. It is Satanic. Those who are God's children should be as far from it as east is from the west.
Dear KITOOMAL, Bro...you seem to be completely out of context and connecting them...with healing...What is the context in which Paul was writing to Corinth?..Please read the scriptures carefully.........its about the sins one commits.........we are told not to defile and keep it (Our body's) HOLY because we are born again and Holy Spirit dwells in us and not to perform any act that causes SIN....it is not talking about healing........
ReplyDelete"Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins(in general) against his own body. 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.
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”[b] 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 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? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
AGAIN.......what is the context....not to defile the Temple of GOD, is he talking about once BODY..yes can correlate to one's body( physical, SPIRIT,SOUL))..but this is not talking about HEALING.......
12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”.....
Bro..please pick verses about Atonement and Healing... keeping your once body( physical, mental/mind:SPIRIT,SOUL) is was commanded......and if you defile...you MAY get sickness (not all the time).....and Atonement( is nothing to with Healing).. To make atonement (Lev 32 v.30) means to obtain a covering for sin, to wipe out, to cleanse, to appease, and to purge.
Hi, I appreciate your leaving a comment.
DeleteFirstly, I recommend reading the book "Bodily Healing and the Atonement", which conclusively proves the bodily healing truly is in the Atonement. Next...
Really, if you take everything in the Bible contextually, then very little of the Bible would apply to us. That's because none of us who is alive today was around when the Bible was written. But the Word of God never changes. The point is: if you truly believe that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, it actually means that you (your spirit) is the holy of holies - the innermost place you can get to in order to meet God. Would you bring anything that is not perfect, into His presence? God really wills that we prosper and be in health as our soul prospers. His ultimate goal is to reconcile every level of our existence to Him - spirit, soul and body. That will be accomplished at the Rapture, when we will be given incorruptible bodies. But that does not mean we do not look at the complete picture: that imperfection should not dwell in a perfect spirit (a born again spirit). The verses I selected at the beginning of the post are targeted at us born again people, whose bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. That's why the idea that we should not fall sick.
Also, I suggest you read through all the healing related posts on this blog to get a complete picture of what I am trying to convey. This post was just the first in a series. Here are links to those posts:
Does God Allow Sickness for His Glory?
http://ketanrindani.blogspot.in/2011/01/does-god-allow-sickness-for-his-glory.html
Is Sin Related to Sickness?
http://ketanrindani.blogspot.in/2011/02/is-sin-related-to-sickness.html
"Wilt thou be made whole?"
http://ketanrindani.blogspot.in/2011/03/thou-be-made-whole.html
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