The Great Exchange: Physical Healing for Sickness
The Great Exchange is what Jesus purchased for us on the Cross of Calvary; the Great Exchange represents the major blessing or benefit of the New Covenant. The exchange is a trade, in that Jesus took something from us and then gave us something far, far better.
Today we are looking at the fact that Jesus took our sickness that we might have health; “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet 2:24; see also Isa 53:5).
In the New Testament of the Authorized Version of the Bible, the words heal or healed are used 28 times, and 26 of those times, it meant physical healing. Show More
Does Jesus Heal Today?
One of the great controversies in Christendom is, “does Jesus heal physically today?” Some Christians take the position that healing passed away when the Apostles passed away! Nothing could be further from the truth! “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” (Hebrews 13:8) God never changes! (Numbers 23:19). If God does change, how can we have any sense of security in our salvation? You see, faith requires us to be sure that God’s word was not for a season of time or certain individuals. Either the whole Word is true, or none of it is true!
- I.E., If I place a drop of poison in a clean, clear glass of water, would you drink it? Of course not, a little poison poisons the whole glass. The same is true of the Bible; it is pure and unadulterated; it is all true even if it sometimes seems impossible for our human minds.
Remember Isaiah 55:8-9, God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways are not the ways we would do things! We should never limit how God can or might act based on our own understanding. We are the ones who are limited; nothing is impossible with God!
God Never Changes.
If God does not change, how can some deny what God has said about healing? I believe that some have moved away from the supernatural healing of God because their focus has been on their personal experience, wrong teaching, or human understanding and logic.
- Personal experience – I am sure all of us have prayed for something or someone, and it did not work out as we hoped or expected. I remember as a new Christian, my pastor saying to someone, “are you here to serve or be served?” That is a profound question that all of us need to apply to our own lives. Did God the Father send Jesus to serve us, or did He send Jesus to set us free to serve Him?
Too many Christians see God as their personal servant, they would never say that, but their behavior indicates that to be the case. When they are in trouble or need, they pray and expect God to come to the rescue. However, the person has already determined how God should move in the situation. That is not how God works. Let me be clear, God does hear our prayers and comes to our aid, but His ways are not our ways. Remember, God has a plan and wants you to be a part of it, not the other way around.
God’s ways are always better than our ways, although we may not understand at the time. That is why faith is so important in our walk with God. “Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.”
- Human logic or “I think” – When personal experience does not produce the results, we expect then we try to understand with our human minds, “why not!” Our conclusion may be that “healing” is not for today! This means we are dismissing the scriptures and relying on feelings instead of faith.
- Wrong teaching – this comes about as a result of the fracturing of the Church. Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Charismatics. To be discussed in an upcoming episode.
Our trust and faith should be in what God has said in His Word, the Bible.
What Jesus said about healing:
- John chapters 14-16 – we will do more than even Jesus did…
- Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
- Mark 16:18b “they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
- Luke 9:2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
- Luke 10:9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
What the Apostles said about healing
- 1 Corinthians 12:9 “To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healingby the same Spirit;”
- Hebrews 12:12-13 “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”
- James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
- 1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
What Church History says about healing
- The 2000-year of church history has shown time and time again that there has always been a remnant of Believers who saw miraculous and progressive healings. By the way, all of these after the Apostles passed away!
- In the New Spirit-Filled Life Bible Notes by Jack Hayford, Pastor Jack Hayford encapsulates the thoughts of many theologians in the following statement:
- “The ministry of the supernatural is the heritage of the church according to Jesus’ own words (John 14:12–14). To pursue supernatural ministry is not a quest for the sensational, but a quest to allow the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus by doing His works through His body (the Church). Fundamental to the church’s mission is The Ministry of Divine Healing, as well as Ministering Deliverance from Bondage—seeing the sick made whole and the demonized made free (Mark 16:17). The path of Miracles is the portion of those who pursue God’s call to faith for achievements that transcend or goes above human abilities and imagination, and Power Ministry Through God’s Spirit brings such things into being.”
Physical healing is a sign that God is at work, and it is the greatest evangelistic tool we have at our disposal. All we have to do is believe!
Read Matthew 15:21-28 and see that “healing is our bread.”