Introductory Remarks
Let us begin by asking a very important question: “How did sickness enter this world?”
Our answer is found in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”.
Then physical death and all that produces it are the direct results of sin.
But how came man to sin? Read Genesis 2:17 and Genesis 3:1-19, and you will find that it was Satan who caused our first parents to disobey God. Then Satan is the real originator of sin, sickness, and death.
Many deny this and say that God Himself is the real author of sickness and death because He said to Adam (Genesis 2:17), “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”. But who caused Adam and Eve to disobey?
God’s command and so bring sin, sickness, and death into this world?
Satan. Then Satan, and not God, is the real author of sin, sickness, and death.
This explains why Christ said to the man whom He cured at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:14), “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee”. His sickness had come as the result of sin.
This explains also Christ’s words in Mark 2:9-11, “Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house”.
The people would not believe that Christ had power to forgive this man’s sins, so He says to them, in effect, “I will now prove to you that I have the power to forgive sins by curing this palsy, which is one of the consequences of sin. When you see that I can cure or take away this sin-produced disease, then you will know for a certainty that I also can take away sin itself”.
Again, we are absolutely sure Satan is the author of sickness as well as sin, because Christ always uses the same harsh word, epitimaō [G2008 επιτιμαω], to rebuke sickness {Satan’s work} as He uses to rebuke evil spirits.
In Luke 4:35 we read, “And Jesus rebuked [epetimesen – επετιμησεν] him {the evil spirit in a man}, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him”.
In Luke 4:39 we read, “And he stood over her {Simon’s wife’s mother}, and rebuked [epetimesen – επετιμησεν, the same word as in Luke 4:35] the {spirit of} fever; and it left her”. Christ used the same harsh word to rebuke all sicknesses as He used to rebuke all evil spirits, because all sickness is caused by Satan. This is the only explanation.
Yes, every sickness, disease, and deformity which Christ cured while on earth was the result of sin, Satan’s work. Read Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him”. Then all Christ cured, while on earth, were oppressed of the devil. This included also Lazarus’ sickness, even though Christ declares (John 11:4), “This sickness is … for the glory of God”.
Let us here examine this word “oppressed”. The Greek word is katadunasteuomenous [καταδυναστευομενους], the present participle passive, accusative plural of katadunasteuō [G2316 – καταδυναστευω]. This comes from kata [G2596 – κατά], down or under, and dunasteuō [δυναστευω
– Liddell & Scott1], I hold power or lordship. Then this word katadunasteuomenous in Acts 10:38 really means “those under the domination or lordship of Satan”.
Yes, every sickness, disease, and deformity that Christ cured while on earth was the result of Satan’s work, and it is the same today.
Not only is Satan the originator of sickness, but he is the propagator of it, for the Bible informs us that he has special evil spirits whose chief business is to make people sick.
In Luke 13:11 we read, “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together {bent double}, and could in no wise lift up herself”. Luke 13:16 informs us that this was Satan’s work: “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”
Notice now the words “which had a spirit of infirmity”. The word for “infirmity” here is astheneia [G769 ασθενεια], the commonest word in the Greek language for “sickness”. Then this poor woman had been dominated for eighteen years by an evil spirit, a spirit here called “a spirit of sickness”. Yes,
Satan really has “spirits of sickness” whose one great work in this world is to propagate sickness and disease.
In Mark 9:25, we find that Satan also has “deaf and dumb” spirits: “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him {note – these evil spirits are persons}, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him”.
Understanding Isaiah 53
In that wonderful 53rd chapter of Isaiah, prophetic of the sacrifice of Christ, the prophet begins by asking the question: “Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Here we have a truth of a wonderful thing that happened nearly 2000 years ago, when it is reported or made known to any one in need for soul or body it will make them perfectly whole, if they meet the conditions laid down in the Word.
Now then, what is the report? Let me try, through the word of God, to establish you hearts in the fact that we are serving an unchangeable God. Not, as some people look upon Him, as the great I WAS, but great I AM. Did Jesus include Healing for the physical body in His Great Sacrifice on the Cross?
We say, through His Word, Yes, as real as Salvation for the soul. As Isaiah was given the vision of the sacrifice of Christ he exclaims:-“Surely He hath borne our sickness, and carried our sorrows,” then in the following verse he combines salvation for the soul, and healing for the body: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Praise God our sickness was laid on Him as well as our sins.
Then we have Peter linking salvation and healing together. “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” 1 Peter 2:24. The reader may say this refers to spiritual disease. Now then, we find Jesus in His ministry going into Peter’s house, whose wife’s mother is sick. When the evening was come they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils, and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esais the prophet:–“Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses” Sickness then came to us through the fall of our father Adam. In the image of God we were created.
Praise God, there is no sickness in heaven! Therefore we must admit we are a fallen and undone race, not only in our souls but our physical bodies. Our remedy was complete at Calvary. In His sacrifice Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. On the Cross He not only bore our sin, but the dire result of sin, sickness.
When on earth His ministry was forgiving sin and healing the sick. The two were not divided but went hand in hand. Should they not be the same today?
What then, someone asks, has happened with the Christian Church? It is answered by the prophet Isaiah, chapter 59, verse 2. “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.”
When the multitudes pressed upon Him in the days of long ago, He had compassion; His heart yearned; none were too weak or too far in the dark but His all-seeing eye reached, Can you claim His love has waned since then. Praise God, the things He loved to do then, He still loves to do to-day. Only one thing hindered the working of His power when He walked this old world. That thing was unbelief. Faith is the key to that power. Unbelief is the key that shuts out. Oh blessed light that shines in the darkness even though the darkness comprehended it not.
Suffering one, see Jesus only, the Blessed Burden Bearer, carrying our sins, bearing our sicknesses, enduring our pain. Oh that the world might see Thee.
“Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts,” saith He, “for whether is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or take up thy bed and walk.” In the Divine plan salvation and healing should never be divided. Has the Roman whipping post no message for you. Were His stripes only a form he had to endure? Ah no. Come with me. The hour is approaching for His death. Emerging from Gethsemane’s garden, condemned by Pilate before they led Him up to Calvary’s hill, His back is bared. Lash, lash, lash on the gentle back of the gentle one of Nazareth. Was He whipped that my sins might be taken away? Ah, no, His blood on the tree was sufficient for that. It was here He bore our suffering and “by His stripes we are healed.” But someone asks:-“Has not that been done away with?” Sorry to say it has by backslidden man, but the plan remains. “I am the Lord, I change not.”
Listen to the words of Jesus: “The works that I do shall ye do also, and greater works shall ye do because I go unto my Father.” “All power,” says He, “is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, and lo I am with you, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28: 18-20. As you go preach the gospel. Not politics, or social reform; but cleanse the leper, heal the sick, etc. Lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Mark 16: 17-19.
Some may say we have no right to call on God to remove our sickness, because He sent it. If the sufferer believes God sends sickness, why go to hospitals and doctors, etc. and spend thousands of dollars to get healed. If anyone thinks that, why not say, “Amen, Lord, I will suffer it because I am in your will, and what you will is best.” No, the Word points out that sickness came into this world through the devil, but praise God, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus is the same unchangeable one. In the fifth chapter of James we are given instructions to anoint the sick with oil, and the prayer of faith will save the sick. This does not mean we shall never die, because there comes a time when we go home, without suffering and groaning all our lives with a disease it is possible to be healed by looking to Jesus.
In conclusion, remember that:
1st.–Divine healing was not only for the Apostolic age, because you cannot find in the Word one passage to confirm that it has been withdrawn. Man has fallen from faith with the spirit of this age of delusion, nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh will He find faith on the earth?
2nd.–Divine Healing was not for those who were serving the God of this world. “Sin no more lest a worse thing come upon thee.” John 5:14.
3rd.–Some believe their diseases incurable. “Who healeth ALL thy diseases.
4th.–Should we help the Lord a little? “Believe ye that I AM ABLE to do this? Yea, Lord, then touched He their eyes saying, “According to your faith be it unto you.” They did believe because their eyes were opened.
Jesus is our ransom, and He has redeemed the mortgage that was registered upon us by the curse. Genesis 2:17. “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” The atonement then meets our every need. “Where sin did abound grace doth much more abound.
As we are partakers of flesh and blood, He also took part of the same, that through death–which was physical–He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver. Heb. 2:14.
Since then the penalty was physical death, that is why Jesus had to die that kind of death, to taste if for me. With whom was He grieved forty years? Was it not with those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? Hebrews 3:17.
The children of Israel were bitten with serpents, and to save them from a physical death the brazen serpent was erected. “Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Some people look at their diseases, but through the atonement we can look and live. If you continue to look at your wounds you will die. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave: I will redeem thee from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction; repentance shall be hid from my eyes.” Hosea 13:14.
Divine Healing then is ours through the atonement and by His stripes many today are being healed.
We Pentecostal people pray for the sick from time to time and will be glad to ask God to help you.
Faith For Healing Is Based On Knowledge
At one of my Gospel Truth Seminars, I ministered to a man who had detached retinas. I was standing right in front of him, and he said I was just a blur. With the service about to start, I only had a moment to minister, so I told him to come forward at the end, and one of our prayer ministers would continue the process. He did and, after further ministry, gave a great testimony. Not only could he see me clearly, but he could see the faces of the people at the back of the auditorium. Thank You, Jesus! That’s a miracle!
In the same service, a woman came forward whose eyes were clouded with cataracts. She could barely see, but after the prayer minister prayed for her, the white glaze over her eyes was gone, and she said her eyesight was great. Another man came off the oxygen tank he had been attached to for months. Deaf ears were opened; cancers were cured; and backs were healed. Hallelujah!
The most exciting thing to me about these miracles is that I’m NOT the one who prayed for most of these people.
Not long ago, I was doing all of the ministry. Don’t misunderstand; I enjoy ministering God’s healing to people. But, as the crowds grew, it became difficult to pray for everyone. I often prayed with people till after midnight, and yet there were many more that couldn’t stay and left without their healing. Now that we have prayer ministers, hundreds of people can be ministered to each night. Many more miracles are taking place, and it’s especially satisfying to see them experience the same and even better results than I do.
I think this sends a much needed signal to all who will listen; television ministers are not the only ones who can operate in this miraculous power of God! Praise God for the true men and women of God on television, but Jesus said that believers will lay hands on the sick, and the sick will recover (Mark 16:18). The job of the minister is to train the body of Christ so that they can do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-12). The day of the one-man show in the body of Christ needs to come to an end, and we’re literally seeing that take place in our meetings.
Some of the local prayer ministers we train have never seen a miracle happen through them before. I remember one man who helped us at a seminar. He received the pre-seminar instruction and training, and on the very first night saw a person’s blind eyes open when he prayed. He told us the next day that he was so excited, he didn’t sleep all night. Not only did the blind person get healed, but I can guarantee you, that young man will never be the same. That is awesome!
Would you like to see the blind receive their sight or the lame walk when you pray? Do you desperately need healing yourself? Here’s the good news—whether you’re praying for another’s healing or receiving your own, it’s available to every true follower of Christ! Jesus gave every disciple who believes the power and authority to do the same works that He did. What a statement! But it is true. John 14:12 says,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
All believers will do the same works that Jesus did; it’s not limited to ministers. There’s just a shortage of believing believers.
How do you get to the place where you can see the miraculous happen in and through you? It starts with the renewing of your mind. Faith is based on knowledge, and everything we need to know to be a victorious Christian is explained in God’s Word. That’s what the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:3-4:
“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Knowledge of a few basics truths, when properly understood and applied, will make a huge difference in releasing His power and receiving your healing. Last month I shared one of the most important things the Lord has ever shown me: God has already placed His healing power within us, and it is now under our authority. It isn’t up to God to determine who receives healing; it’s up to us! What a powerful statement! It’s our failure to understand and use the authority we have that is keeping God’s healing power from flowing as it should. It’s imperative that we discover what we have and learn how to release it. If you don’t have my album entitled The Believer’s Authority, you need to get it. The message will not only affect the way you receive and minister healing, but it will change the entire way you relate to God. It’s a powerful teaching.
Here’s another indispensable basic truth you must know and understand about healing: It’s never God’s will for us to be sick; He wants every person healed every time. That’s nearly-too-good-to-be-true news, but that’s the Gospel. Most Christians don’t know or believe that. They think the Lord makes them sick, or at the very least, He allows Satan to make them sick to either punish or correct them. That kind of thinking will get you killed; it’s not what the Bible teaches.
One of the most elementary principles in God’s Word is given in James 4:7. It says,
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
This verse clearly teaches that some things are of God, and some things are of the devil. Notice it doesn’t present a third category: from God through the devil. No! Sickness has nothing to do with God! Submit to the things of God, and resist the things of the devil. It’s that simple. To believe that God allows or approves of Satan’s actions defies the logic of James 4:7. It eliminates our responsibility to resist and places ultimate responsibility for everything back on God.
The widely-accepted doctrine that God controls everything is a deception. If Satan can confuse and deceive you on that issue, he’s got you! Why? Because you’ll stop resisting. No one wants to resist God’s will, and if you think that God is behind your sickness, you’ll submit to it. That violates the instruction of James 4:7, it won’t get you healed, and it lets Satan have his way in your life.
You must believe God always wants you healed. It’s so simple, it takes help to misunderstand. But sadly, most Christians receive plenty of help from religion in misunderstanding this. Look at it this way: If God wanted you sick, for whatever reason, then why visit the doctor or take medication? It would seem more logical to allow the sickness to run its course so God’s purpose could be accomplished. Of course I think that’s foolish, and hopefully, so do you.
What’s the bottom line on God’s will for our healing? His Word reveals that to us in 3 John 2, which says,
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
John was writing a letter to believers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He revealed that the Lord wants us healthy just as much as He wants us to prosper emotionally and mentally.
When Peter preached the Gospel to Cornelius in Acts 10:38, he summarized the ministry of Jesus by saying,
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
Today some preachers are saying that healing is of the devil, but that’s not the message Peter gave. Notice what Peter said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Not only was Jesus doing good when He healed people, but He healed all that were oppressed of the devil, not of God. That scripture clearly proves that sickness is not from God.
Isaiah 53 should end all debate. It was written prophetically about Jesus, the Messiah. Isaiah 53:4-5 says,
“Surely 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 healed.”
These verses reveal that physical healing is a part of the atonement of Christ. The Lord redeemed us from sickness just as much as He redeemed us from sin. He would no more want us to be sick than He would want us to sin. Those are radical statements to many Christians because we’ve been taught that forgiveness of sins is what salvation is all about. Well that’s certainly a vital part of salvation, but that’s not all that Jesus accomplished. We were also healed by His stripes. Sickness is not of God just as sin is not of God. Thank You, Jesus!
Just in case anyone might be thinking that the healing spoken of in Isaiah 53:4-5 is not physical but only emotional, the Bible gives a commentary on Isaiah’s prophecy. In Matthew 8:16 Jesus healed all the sick people brought to Him, and verse 17 says this was done…
“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”
Therefore, Scripture comments on itself and makes it very clear that the healing spoken of by Isaiah is referring to physical infirmities and sicknesses. If Jesus bore our sicknesses, then we don’t have to.
Living as a Christian in this World 