Healing is included in the Atonement - Paul's thorn and other unscriptural teachings

I have read many articles written by those who state that healing is not included in the Atonement, therefore concluding that it is not God's will to heal all.  I find this very disheartening. 
 As one who is called by God to be a healer and to teach divine healing; I have the duty to counter their objections and show people why their deductions are simply untrue.

Healing is included in the Atonement

Isaiah 53:4-5

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Some people say the sickness Isaiah was referring to was Jesus bearing our spiritual sickness or sin only. This deduction is only half true. The truth is, Jesus bore both our spiritual and our physical sickness on the cross. This is what Isaiah is referring to in Isaiah 53:4-5. Sin affects us in different ways. It affects our spirit, soul and body differently. And when we allow sin in, it will always manifest in the body as sickness. Therefore, sickness is actually iniquity in the body.

I am going to show you how this is true. Let's take a closer look at verse 4.

When the word choliy is used in the Old Testament, it always, always, always refers to physical sickness or disease, it never refers to sin.

The Hebrew word for sorrows is makob which means pain. It is translated as pain in Job 14:22 & 33:19.

It is clear that the sickness Isaiah is referring to in Isaiah 53:4 is Jesus bearing our physical sickness. In essence, verse 4 could be rendered this way "Surely He bore our sicknesses, and carried our pains."

Also, Isaiah 53:4 cannot refer to spiritual sickness or sin because as we see from looking at the Hebrews words choliy & makob, these words never refer to spiritual matters, they only refer to physical sickness.

Even Isaiah 53:10 says "Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief and made Him sick." (Amplified Bible)

There is still more proof that Isaiah 53:4 refers to sickness. It lies in Matthew 8:16-17...

"When evening come, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.' "

To show that Matthew 8:16-17 does include Jesus bearing our physical sicknesses. Let's break it down.

In verse 16 it says Jesus healed all the sick. That word translated as sick is the Greek word kakos which means to be physically or morally sick. This word is translated in the New Testament as literal sickness.

It is clear that the verses in Matthew 8:16-17 back up what was said in Isaiah 53:4-5. By simply allowing scripture to interpret scripture, it cannot be more clear that Jesus bore both our sins and our sicknesses by His death on the cross.

Just like Jesus forgave sin on the ground of the Atonement before He actually shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin; Jesus also healed all the sick on the ground of the Atonement before He actually took the stripes for our healing.

The blood Jesus shed was for the forgiveness of sin and sin only. The stripes Jesus bore was for our physical healing. If it is true as some say, that Jesus only bore our spiritual sickness on the cross, then it would not have been necessary for Jesus to be beaten and scourged. The blood that Jesus shed from the wounds in His hands and feet would have been sufficient for the atonement of our sins. In fact, one drop would have been enough.

The importance of faith in healing

Some go as far as to say that it cannot be God's will to heal all because that would mean that people would not die. Just because it is God's will to heal everyone does not mean you will not die! Everyone dies! It is God's will that you die of natural causes, not sickness and disease. Your body will grow old and just give out and then you will return back to the dust from which you came.

I read one article in which the writer stated that faith had nothing to do with someone receiving healing. The person stated that if it was God's will to heal all, then God would just heal them, regardless of their faith. Faith has everything to do with someone being healed, because without faith you cannot be healed. In fact, you must have faith to receive anything from God because God only operates by faith in Him and His Word.

There are many promises God extends to His children, but you will not received any of them apart from faith. In fact, you need to have faith in order to be saved.

Unbelief stops healing

Mark 6:5-6

"He could not do many miracles there, except lay hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith."

In Matthew 13:58 it says - And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Even Paul looked for faith before He healed. Because it says in Acts 14:8-10 - "In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, 'Stand up on your feet!' At that, the man jumped up and began to walk."

There is more evidence that faith is important to healing. Read about the faith of the centurion in Matthew 8:5-13. Jesus says to the centurion in verse 13, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would."

Read about the healing of the paralytic in Matthew 9:2-6. Verse 2 says when Jesus saw their faith. Also, in chapter 9 of Matthew, a woman who was subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched His cloak and Jesus said to her in verse 22, "'Take heart, daughter,' he said, 'your faith has healed you.'" And again in Matthew 9:27-31 where Jesus restored the sight of two blind men. Jesus says to the blind men in verse 29, "According to your faith will it be done to you"

Even Peter told the crowd at Solomon's Colonnade that the man crippled from birth whom Jesus healed through them was due to faith. Acts 3:16 - "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. For the whole story read Acts 3:1-16.

There is no healing apart from an Atonement

In order for healing to take place, an atonement has to be made first. This atonement did not have to be a blood atonement, but nevertheless an atonement had to be made.

The bronze snake in Numbers 21:4-9 in which whoever looked upon the bronze snake would be healed is a type of atonement. Jesus alludes to this in John 3:14 - "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up."

Just as one would look up at the bronze snake to be healed. We will look up at Jesus as the one to save us from our sins and heal us of our sicknesses.

Some cite 2 Kings 13:14 - "Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died." They say that it is not God's will to heal because Elisha was not healed. There are three reasons why this is not true. First, just because Elisha was not healed does not mean it is not God's will to heal. After all, many people die of sickness and disease everyday but it doesn't mean it is not God's will to heal them. Second, I don't see anywhere in the scripture where an atonement was made for Elisha to be healed, after all, Elisha was still human and he would have needed an atonement like anyone else would have. Third, there is nothing in the scripture that suggests that Elisha asked God to be healed.

Job's was afflicted with sickness because of sin

A majority of sickness in our lives comes as a result of sin, but certainly not all. Some sickness is a result of generational curses that effect up to the third or fourth generation, some are born sick or deformed, some are sick due to an accident and some are sick because of their work environment, stress or our environment in general.

Let's look at the scriptures that show Job's sin was fear.

Job 1:5 - "When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, 'Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' This was Job's regular custom."

Job was offering sacrifices for his children just in case they may have sinned. This scripture said this was something Job did on a regular basis. He did this out of fear.

Satan knew Job was operating in fear and he knew it was sin, therefore he had a right to afflict Job. Because Satan said to God in Job 1:9 - ... Does Job fear God for nothing?

Because fear was a sin, Satan had a right to afflict Job and God allowed it. Read Job 1:12.

Since a majority of sickness comes about through sin, Job was no different. Read Job 2:4-7. Satan afflicted Job with sickness.

Job admitted he was in fear in Job 3:25 - What I have feared has come upon me; what I have dreaded has happened to me.

Paul's Thorn

Many opponents of divine healing have come to the false conclusion that Paul's thorn in the flesh was sickness.  I however, strongly disagree. So, I am going to go through the scriptures to show why I believe Paul was not sick.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.."

What is a thorn in the flesh?

A thorn in the flesh always refers to a group of people, a person or a personality, never to a thing such as sickness. See Numbers 33:55, Joshua 23:13 and Ezekiel 2:3-7. The thorn in the flesh is never indicated as sickness anywhere in the Bible.

What about the messenger of Satan sent to buffet Paul.

The Greek word for messenger is angelos which means angel or messenger. Again, a messenger or angel always represents a person, never a thing such as sickness.

The Greek word for buffet is kolaphizo which means to strike with the fist.

Remember, scripture interprets scripture. If the buffeting referred to in 2 Corinthians 12:7 really referred to sickness, it should also refer to sickness somewhere within those four scriptures. You should be able to connect it, but you cannot. If you read the four passages, you will see that they have nothing to do with sickness or disease whatsoever.

So, what do we know so far.

We know that a thorn in the flesh always refers to a group of people, a person or a personality, not a thing. We also know that a messenger is a person, not a thing. We also know that the word buffet never refers to sickness.

However, we do know that everywhere Paul taught he was harassed by Judaizers. It didn't matter where he went, Judaizers were there to harass him.

It is far more likely and convincing that the thorn in the flesh that buffeted Paul were Judaizers. Since Judaizers are a group of people, which would classify as a thorn in the flesh they would fit the description as a messenger of Satan who came to continually give Paul trouble.

Let's take a closer at Paul's hardships.

2 Corinthians 6:4-5

"Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger."

2 Corinthians 11:23-27

Paul's hardships are also outlined in the following scriptures. Acts 9:23; 26-29, Acts 13:6-12;44-50, Acts 14:1-19, Acts 16:12-40, Acts 17:1-14, Acts 18:1-23, Acts 19:23-31, Acts 20:3, Acts 21:27-32, Acts 23:12-15.

Out of all the hardships Paul said he endured, he never once mentioned sickness as one of them. If Paul was indeed sick, you would think he would have mentioned it.

Galatians 4:13-15

Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as and angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? For I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.

There are those who use this verse in an attempt to prove Paul's sickness was an eye disease called ophthalmia.

Ophthalmia is a eye disease that originated in the Middle East and it is extremely painful, fluid and pus ooze from the infected person's eyes. It would be a hideous and revolting sight to look upon.

Let's break down these verses in Galatians.

Now, to understand what Paul means by verses 13-15, we have to know the background of what was happening in Galatia at that time and the purpose of Paul's letter to the Galatians.

Verse 13 says Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at first.

The Greek word for infirmity is astheneia - it means feebleness of the body or mind and is translated as infirmity, weakness, diseases and sickness.

I believe in some versions of the Bible, this word is incorrectly translated as illness.

Astheneia is translated once as sickness which is in John 11:4 and once as diseases in Acts 28:9. Both times it is clear that the verses were referring to sickness. However, it is also translated as weakness in 1 Corinthians 2:3; 15:43, 2 Corinthians 12:9; 13:4, and Hebrews 11:34.

Since this word can mean weakness of the mind, it is not fair to assume Paul's infirmity of the flesh meant sickness without digging deeper to see if that is what it really means.

For example, astheneia is translated as infirmity in the flesh in Romans 6:19 - I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Obviously, the infirmity in the flesh mentioned here has nothing at all to do with sickness. Therefore, based on this verse, it can be seen that an infirmity of the flesh does not have to be sickness.

Verse 14 - "And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus."

Paul was harassed in every city he visited by both Jews and Gentiles. He was probably under a lot of stress and mentally weak from the pressure he was enduring. I am sure he wanted to tell a few people off and he probably even wanted to slap a few people. Paul was human and he could only take so much abuse. It is very hard to be beaten and verbally abused and not want to lash out or fight back. This is probably the temptation that Paul was referring to in verse 14.

Verse 15 - "Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? For I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me."

This is a hyperbole, an exaggeration for effect, not meant to be taken literally. The Galatians were expressing their love and devotion to Paul.

For example, if I said I would give my right arm to be able to see my father again, I certainly would not be implying that I had anything wrong with my right arm. I would just like to see the father again because I missed him.

Galatians 6:11 - See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand."

In order to prove Paul had an eye disease, some people cite this verse as well.

The Greek word for large is pelikos which means how large or how great in a quantitative form. For example, there are 12 eggs in a dozen or a sale that offers buy one and get two free. In these examples, we are dealing with a quantity of something, not the size of something like a person's height or sizes such as small, medium or large.

The Greek word for letter is gramma which means a written letter, note, epistle or book.

Conclusion on Paul's thorn

Acts 19:11-12

"Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them."

If Paul really had the eye disease ophthalmia (which is very contagious) no one in their right mind would want any piece of clothing from his body to touch them. Instead, his clothing should have been burnt so that no one would contract the disease.

I have read an article by one opponent of divine healing who said that healing cloths were not scriptural. Not true! If it is wrong to use healing cloths as a point of contact for the sick. Why then did Jesus not correct the woman with an issue of blood who came from behind Him and touched the edge of His garment? As we know, she was healed by touching the edge of His garment.

A piece of cloth absorbs the healing power or energy that comes off a person who is anointed to heal. It really works in the same manner as the laying on of hands. God's healing power is transferred from one person to another or from one point of contact to another.

Ultimately, it is God's Word that heals and that should be all that is needed for people to get healed.  However, not everyone's faith is were it needs to be. Until people truly understand and believe it is God's will to heal them and they are willing to be patient and stand on His Word instead of their feelings, they will need the help of people laying hands on them, the aid of healing cloths and prayer and the need for medication and doctors.

Now, back to Paul. If Paul was sick, it probably was not an eye disease He suffered from because in Acts 9:18 it says "Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again."

If Paul was sick, do you think he would have been able to create faith in others to be healed?
It says in Acts 14:8-10 that a crippled man received the faith to be healed by listening to Paul's preaching. If Paul was so sick, feeble and weak as some say, it would be impossible for someone this sick to create faith in anyone to be healed.

Paul says in Romans 15:18-19 - "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ."

Usually people who are in ministry and suffering from poor health do not produce signs, wonders and miracles in their ministry. You cannot be sick yourself and expect someone else to believe you when you preach that it is God's will to heal.

Finally, you do not receive grace for sickness. You can search the scriptures and you will not find anywhere that God gives grace to the physical body. Grace is imparted to the inner being and it is renewed everyday.

What is meant by afflictions and chastisement

To be afflicted means to go through trials, hardships, persecutions and temptations.  The Biblical meaning of chasten is to instruct, train, discipline, teach or educate.

How many parents do you know who would withhold medication or medical attention from their children because they have done something wrong, such as, they were disobedient, rude to others or maybe they were caught smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or they were out too late at night? Would any parent even entertain such a thought? If any parent did this to their child, they would be sent to jail or the child would be taken away due to neglect.

But, this is exactly what many people think God does. They say He chastises His children by putting sickness on them. God is love, unconditional love! God has many ways of teaching and bringing discipline to His children. One of the ways God will teach someone is through conviction and allowing them to reap what they sow. He might find it necessary to remove His hands of protection and let the devil afflict them. But, He will not discipline His children by sickness when Jesus already bore those sicknesses.

Epaphroditus, Timothy & Trophimus

Philippians 2:25-27

"But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow."

1 Timothy 5:23

"Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses."

2 Timothy 4:20

First of all, just because Epaphroditus was ill (and the key word is was) does not mean that it is not God's will to heal. Jesus never promised that you would be healed instantly. Remember, He does promise that you will recover (See Mark 16:17-18). Isn't this exactly what happened with Epaphroditus? The scripture says that God had mercy on him and healing is a mercy. Most healings that take place are gradual.  You will continually improve over time as you stay in faith.

Timothy was a bundle of nerves. I am sure he did suffer from some type of stomach ailment. As we know, most people who are nervous or worried on a consistent basis usually have stomach problems, too much worry and anxiety can result in ulcers. There is nothing wrong with Paul advising Timothy to drink a little wine. Studies have shown that a glass of wine a day is good for your health. If someone has a upset stomach or a headache, there is nothing wrong with me advising them to take a Tums or an aspirin.

Healing is designed to be simple. When you are forgiven of your sins, you are supposed to be healed also. This is how it is designed by God to work. However, if you don't believe it is God's will to heal, if you have unforgiveness in your heart, or some other sin in your life, it will block your healing. Sometimes we are sick because we have made ourselves sick by what we are doing to our own bodies.

It is God's will to heal you, but if you are doing something to cause that illness, you may not get healed until you stop that destructive habit. For example, God may want to answer your prayer by healing your cirrhosis of the liver, however, if you are unwilling to stop drinking, He probably won't heal you until He knows that you are serious about giving up the alcohol. You cannot expect God to heal you of a condition that you caused yourself by something you choose to put in your body, especially if you are not willing to stop filling your body with the substance that caused that condition in the first place. It would not be fair to ask God to do that. Jesus paid to heavy a price by taking those stripes on His back, for you to make yourself sick. Your body is the temple of God and you belong to God. As it says in 1 Corinthians 6:20 - "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." A sick body does not glorify God and He expects you to take care of it to the best of your ability. Jesus has already healed you by the stripes He bore, but that does not give you the license to neglect your body.

Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:20 that he left Trophimus sick in Miletus. This does not in any way, shape or form suggest that Paul was unable to heal Trophimus or that it is not God's will to heal. The people back in the New Testament were people just like us who also learning to live by faith. We don't know if Trophimus had the faith to be healed and we don't know if Paul prayed for Trophimus because Paul does not say if he did or didn't.

Some opponents of divine healing just assume that if someone is not healed instantly, then it is not God's will to heal. However, there are other factors (as I mentioned previously) that can play into receiving healing and it is these factors that the naysayer's fail to grasp or take into consideration.

Conclusion

Some say that God does not heal through faith healers. I don't like the term faith healer and I don't see myself as a faith healer. God is the healer, all I do is teach His word concerning His will to heal and allow Him to use me to heal when necessary.

They say that it is the Word of God that heals, therefore, healers are not needed. Well, going with the same argument. It is also the Word of God that saves, therefore, preachers are not needed to reach the people to get them saved.

Here's the deal, in a perfect world, the Word should be all you need to get saved, healed and to overcome any obstacle in your life. However, many people do not know how to apply the principles of the Bible to their lives.

God heals by faith and obedience to Him and His statues and ordinances. If you don't have faith that Jesus bore the stripes on His back so you would be healed, then you will not get healed. If you doubt that it is God's will to heal, then you are operating in unbelief and you will not get healed. So many people want something from God, but they don't want to play by the rules God has set to receive what He has for them.

Too many people view God as some sort of Cosmic Santa Clause, Genie of Cash Machine. Too many people want healed, but they don't want to know the Healer. Instead of praising God for His goodness and mercy, they only seek God when they want or need something. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 - "But first seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." If you are seeking healing, praise Him for being Jehovah-rapha (The Lord who heals you), thank Him that you are already healed by Jesus stripes and stand on His Word until you are healed.

It saddens me to see people teaching against divine healing because Jesus suffer so much to secure our healing and when you preach against it, it is robbing God's people of a covenant right and blessing that is bestowed upon us by God Almighty Himself. God loves you and He gave His Son for you, so that you would be free from sin and sickness and I am going to do everything I have been called do by God to make sure everyone knows it is God's will to heal at all times. There are no exceptions.