“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to givethe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2Corinthians 46-7
I’ve heard for many years, and believe that our bodies are designed to heal themselves. But hearing it the other day in a radio AD it prompted another thought. I do believe our bodies are designed themselves, and it happens every day. You bite our tongue and in a few minutes or so it’s back to normal. It may take a little longer depending on the severity of the bite, but it does restore itself to normal in a short time. A cut, a scratch a stubbed toe, and a myriad of other things that traumatize our bodies are immediately addressed and restored by our body’s natural “healing” process. Even chronic illnesses can be reversed with changes in our diet and activity level without the aid of drugs and surgeries.
But, why is that? The simple answer is because God made it so. As I thought about that, the Lord dropped something else into my mind. A question: When did our bodies become capable of healing themselves? Was it from the beginning of creation that we had healing properties in our bodies? Was it something we had and lost? Or was it something that we received later?
The body’s natural state from the beginning was perfect, or at least very good according to the scriptures. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were immortal beings capable of living forever. There was no sickness, disease or injury of any kind. It was Heaven on earth. Therefore, there was no need for healing. Nobody ever got sick and nobody died.
Sickness and death came with the fall and with it man needed a means of restoring and maintaining their health, which had then become vulnerable to the elements of nature, cold and heat, darkness that made it hard to see and light that could blind their eyes. Their bodies after the fall slowly began to decline into aging and death.
The world became a hostile environment with thorns and splinters. Where once there had been beauty and verdant vegetation and all manner of fruits and things with pleasant odors, now wild beasts roamed about seeking who they could devour. The body was suddenly subject to poisons and toxins that attacked the body from within and without.
The mind of man was most grievously altered and shame and fear became his constant state of mind. When death entered his soul man lost his natural ability to sustain life in perfect health and wellbeing.
This was man’s fate from that moment unto this day. But something changed when Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of sin and death. He not only brought salvation but he brought healing. Before He came men died without remedy. Though inadequate attempts were made to treat illnesses through all kinds of human means there was no cure that was permanent or certain. God did, from time to time manifest healing and deliverance for His people Israel, but He also did the same for some who were not Israel.
“So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” Numbers 21:9
Leprosy and all kinds of diseases were death sentences for anyone who attracted them in that day. Jesus speaks of only one man Naaman a Syrian who was healed through the ministry of Elijah the prophet when there were many lepers in Israel who were not healed (cleansed)
“And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:27
The woman with the issue of blood spent everything she had on physicians but only got worse as a result of their efforts. But when she touched Jesus’ garment she was healed.
“And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” Matthew 9:20-22
These were all extraordinary events indeed. But they pointed to a time when healing would be made available to all. That time came when Jesus came to earth manifested as a man to bring salvation and with it, healing to all mankind.
The ability of the body to heal itself was given to all mankind as a result of Jesus dying on a cross for our sins, being buried for three day and then being raised up from the dead by the Holy Spirit on the third day. His resurrection is the foundation of our faith and it is the certainty that we are now being restored to life and that more abundantly.
Healing, that is, the ability of the body to heal itself came with the resurrection of Jesus. It is one with our salvation. Before we were saved healing was not available to us, but now, because of Jesus we who are born again in Him have within us the power of healing through faith in His name which is above every name.
Before His resurrection the only one who had the power and authority to heal was Jesus. Everyone He touched, or those who touched Him were healed immediately. Some received healing for themselves and others by faith for their loved ones, even though Jesus had no direct physical contact with them.
It is His presence that has brought a dimension of healing to bear on the very DNA of every person alive today, but only those who choose to believe it can receive Him and with Him the healing that He has bought with the price of His blood.
Yes, our bodies are designed to heal themselves, and now that life-renewing factor, once lost because of sin, has been restored to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The fundamental pathway that has been given to us to appropriate healing is our faith in God and the prayers we pray for one another.
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16
Note: Fervency is not measured in sweat and strain or some deep emotional outburst of expression. It is measured in the confidence of belief and assurance that the One to whom we pray hears, knows and answers our prayers. Fervency is measured in the heart’s determination to hold unswerving hope and expectation of what God has promised and the integrity of His Word.
We are not in this alone. Though our bodies still bear the DNA of sin, even after we are born again and obtained a new nature (and a new spirit) we also have the mind of Christ, and the Spirit of God, the Father, and Jesus Christ our Lord dwelling in us. By them and through them healing is made manifest in us.