Why is Bodily Healing Important ?
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All of Creation is the work of God’s hands. God made the human body: though satan has caused many perversions even at the conception stage. Romans 8:22 tells us that the whole of creation groans and travails under the weight of sin. Man is the only creation of God that was made in the image and likeness of God. Man, a triune composition, of spirit, soul and body is God’s greatest and most complex creation. That in itself should tell us how great and precious man is, in the sight of God. Colossians 1:16 tells us that all things were made by Him and for Him. God made everything perfect in the beginning. All His works were good. So, God as our Creator has a definite interest in our body. Because of this reason, bodily healing and well being for His glory is absolutely important. The pressures of modern life are heavy but we must see as God sees and acknowledge Him as the Creator of our body. As the Creator, He has perfect knowledge of any mal functioning in a single cell and is able to restore it. Incidentally, He has all the spare parts too! Blessed be the Lord God, Almighty! If you are born again and have received His Holy Spirit, then your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 6:19 says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” When Jesus walked this earth, He considered His own body to be a temple (John 2:21). Our body is the housing for our spirit which is also the first place of worship (John 4:24). Is this not an amazing truth? Your body is the first temple of God’s Spirit! Can it be defiled or deformed? Would not God be interested in His temple? 2 Cor. 13:5 says, “... Jesus Christ is in you….” Philemon 6 says that every good thing is in us! Yes, the very kingdom of God has been put within us! 1 Cor. 6:13 says that the body is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body! 1 Cor. 6:15 says , “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?”. This shows our amazing connection with Christ! Oh, may your eyes be opened to see the glories of Christ! Col. 2:17 says that our body is of Christ! Oh, the love and grace of God! 1 Cor. 6:20 says that because we (including our body) has been bought with a price, we are to glorify God in our body and spirit which are God’s. Ephesians 5:23 says that Christ is the Saviour of the body! Let it be settled forever in your mind, that God is definitely and particularly interested in your physical body! 1 Thess. 5:23 says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Though angels dwell in the literal presence of God, they are not made in the image and likeness of God. Man is the instrument of God in His divine plan for all ages. In the world of matter, God needs a physical body to carry out His plans. More than all the sacrifices and burnt offerings, and tithes, God wants our body to be presented to Him as a sacrificial living instrument for Him to use. He sent His Son to be born as one of us to be the Saviour of the world. He did not send a special angel. Flesh and blood are vital in His plan of redemption Evil spirits, though they move in the air, can perform their full evil designs only through a human body. If they cannot find a human body they will try to inhabit any living thing to give expression to their vile nature. We have a clear indication of this in the incident found in Luke 8: 31-33. When Jesus commands the evil spirits in the man to come out, they beg Jesus not to send them away into the deep or abyss: but they beg him to atleast allow them to get into a herd of nearby pigs. When Jesus gives them permission, the herd of pigs take off violently and plunge themselves into a lake and choke themselves! Evil spirits fight for a foothold in the bodies of people and much more in the children of God. The full power and force of evil personified in a body will be seen when the anti-Christ is revealed shortly. The devil fought even for the dead body of Moses In Jude 9 we read how satan tries to get hold of the dead body of Moses. What will he do for a living body! There is a constant battle going on between good and evil, between God and satan and it involves the Triune Man. Our body being important to God, being His temple, is naturally a target for the devil. He will try every trick to lodge himself in our body: and sadly there are many within the body of Christ who unwittingly aid him in this evil task. Many Christians have done great things for God from the bed of illness. But Christians can bring greater glory and do greater things if the body is well. We don’t need any revelation or great theological understanding to grasp this fact! Consider this – sin does not glorify God, salvation does. By the same token, sickness does not glorify God - Healing does. Follow the healing ministry of Jesus and the apostles and see how God is glorified through healings. There is no substitute for the Commission - “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. Now we have many methods by which this is being fulfilled. But yet, there is no substitute for physically going. Jesus could have used other methods of reaching out to people, but He sent His disciples and He Himself went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. It is very difficult to do this with a sick body. Now, may the God of all grace minister to your body with His understanding and wisdom. 
Antioch House Email : wecare@antiochhouse.org |
