Our Healing Covenant! By James L Lantz
God’s desire has always been for every person to be healthy and sound in every way. There is no mention of sickness and disease or death in God’s original creation. Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. The Apostle John was privileged to see and to share what it’s like when God’s people join Him in heaven where there is no curse. Rev. 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. The only logical conclusion is that God did not desire for His most precious creation to experience sickness, pain, or death because He did not give it to us in the beginning and He eradicates it from heaven. We know that the curse entered the earth through Adam’s sin and that every person who ever lived has been affected by the curse. God has extended covenants to all who would repent and serve Him. God shed the blood of animals and covered Adam and Eve from their nakedness! God conferred the blessing and dominion that He had given to Adam and Eve unto Noah and his sons. Genesis 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. God gave a token of the covenant to Noah and all who would come after him that He would never again flood all of the earth to destroy all flesh. Genesis 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
God has always been a healing God and He revealed Himself as the Lord who heals when the children of Israel needed the bitter water of Marah healed. Jehovah Rapha is the God who heals all our diseases and if He ceases to heal He would have to change His name and reduce our benefits. Psalms 103:2&3 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; God will not break His covenant nor alter the words spoken from His lips! God has never changed and He never will, He provided healing for those who loved Him in the old covenant and for those of us under this new and better covenant. Not everyone will receive the good news that healing is available to anyone at any time through Jesus as evidenced in His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus announced that He was anointed to preach, heal, deliver, recover, set at liberty, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, but they chose to reason. BEWARE OF REASONING! Jesus reproved their unbelief by mentioning how God had to go outside of Israel to find a widow woman who would feed Elijah and a leper who would receive healing from Elisha’s ministry. Luke 4:28&29 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. The scriptures don’t tell us if the angels caused the mob to be blinded or paralyzed but simply that Jesus just passed through the midst of them and went his way. Jesus left Nazareth and went to Capernaum teaching them on the sabbath days and His words were with power. Powerful miracles and healings began to take place in Jesus ministry as more people had ears to hear. Luke 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. Being eager and willing to hear the word of the Lord positions us to receive faith so that we can act on God’s word.
Take Heed How You Hear!
Rom. 10:17 WNT And this proves that faith comes from a Message heard, and that the Message comes through its having been spoken by Christ. There is a very good reason that Jesus would say, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. The account of the paralytic who was healed in Jesus’ meeting in Capernaum exposes how people can be present but not hear. Jesus is the master teacher and the Spirit of God was on Him without measure and yet only one man was healed in that meeting. Luke 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Notice how the Spirit of God reveals that the power of God was present to heal them, meaning everyone who needed healing. This healing power went untapped by the religious leaders who just sat by and then began reasoning in their hearts that Jesus the man, can’t forgive sins. Jesus perceived their thoughts and answered, which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven you, or rise up and walk?
Jesus came to undo the works of the devil! Sickness and disease is part of the curse of the law and it is devilish. It was satan that smote Job with sore boils from head to foot. The Psalmist calls disease evil. Jesus loosed a woman whom satan had caused to be bowed over for eighteen years. Luke 13:16 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? Doctor Luke also records in Acts ten that Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil! Sickness and disease, like sin and death, is not from God and needs to be resisted. When Adam chose satan’s lies over God the Father’s truth he unfortunately received satan’s judgement. Pro. 26:2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. There is good news in this curse filled earth! We can choose life and the Blessing of the Lord! Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: God’s people could walk in health in the old covenant on credit, looking forward to Jesus sacrificing His life for us. Today we read that CHRIST HAS REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE of the law! Galatians 3:13&14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. THIS IS AWESOME! Christ has brought redemption to fallen man. Matthew bears witness that Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus Himself, took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses. Mt. 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. Peter is a witness that Jesus, Himself, bore our sins in His own body and took stripes so we could be healed 1 Pet. 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Our redemption includes being translated from spiritual death to spiritual life, freed from the curse of sickness, and freed from the curse of poverty. We entered God’s kingdom through repentance from our sins, believing in our heart and confessing Jesus as our Lord. Our kingdom blessings of healing, provision, and protection are often appropriated through the exercise of some of these same basic spiritual laws of repentance, believing God with the heart, and confessing with the mouth. Sin cuts us off from God’s blessing but the blood of Jesus was shed for our sins. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. These spiritual laws will work for anyone, anywhere, who will activate them, regardless of gender, weakness of the flesh, or old age!
Isaiah 53:5 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.
