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Matthew 12:43-45 ESV "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. [44] Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. [45] Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."
A material principality is that which is given power by the spiritual principality. For example, if someone believes the false rule, "If you step on a crack, you'll break your mother's back," then the believer of the false rule is placed under the power of every crack, which therefore becomes a material principality.
Now, science has made it possible to dispell the power of many spiritual principalities, such as the rule "step on a crack, and you'll break your mother's back." No one can be led to believe such a rule in the age of science. But in the age of sorcery, such deceptions may have been common.
No one can be made to believe, even today, that stepping on a crack will break his mother's back. But, when did God say that we need to take vitamins and medicines in order to be healthy? Hasn't He told us that Christ heals every kind of disease? But if you judge that you need vitamins and medicines to be healthy, God will judge it against you. You will thus be enslaved to the human industry of pharmaceuticals. And when you see that the pharmaceutical industry is corrupt, and cares not for your wholeness, but desires to keep you weak and dependent on them, who then will save you? You trusted in medicines, but now your trust in the medicine makers has been shaken. Your own judgments condemn you to perpetual and chronic sickness. Repent, and believe that God is the God who heals every disease. Even while you rejected His word, and sought healing from medicines; even while it seemed that medicines were healing you: behold, even then it was God who healed you.
Microbes = material principalities Viruses and bacteria only have power against those who submit to their spiritual principalities. The spiritual principalities which empower microbes are worldly rules of health and hygiene, which are not taught to us by the scriptures.
Other worldly rules which have no basis in Scripture (Subject to correction!)
With age comes pain, ugliness, bodily and mental weakness
Genesis 18:11-14 ESV Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. [12] So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" [13] The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' [14] Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."
Luke 1:36-37 ESV And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For nothing will be impossible with God."
Job 33:23-26 ESV If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him, [24] and he is merciful to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom; [25] let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor'; [26] then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness.
Worldly rules of health and hygiene:
Everything causes cancer. Therefore, you will get cancer.
James 4:7-8 ESV Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Your body needs vitamins to fight sickness. Therefore, if you do not take vitamins, you will get sick.
This rule rests on the belief that your body is deficiently made, so that it needs to be supplemented by expensive pharmaceutical products in order to function properly.
Since vitamins are expensive, dependence on them results in enslavement. See how the truth sets you free.
Christ preached that the poor are blessed. But if our health required expensive supplements, then the poor would be cursed, and Christ would be a liar.
Luke 6:20 ESV And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
The vitamins become material principalities of health in the mind of the one who submits to this rule.
Since God is the only true Principality of health, this belief is idolatry and abomination.
This rule makes the body itself a material principality of sickness. The body of the one who believes this rule will always tend towards sickness, unless they acquire and take vitamins.
The power of the body to make you sick (on the occasion that you do not take your vitamins) comes from the spiritual principality. Reject the rule (on the grounds that it has no Scriptural basis), and you will dispell the power of the body to make you sick if you don't take vitamins.
Psalm 139:14 ESV I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
If you have contact with a sick person, you will get sick.
Regarding Old Testament laws concerning leprosy: According to God's Word, God had not yet given the Jews a heart that understands. Therefore, God gave them rules to mitigate the pain of their ignorance. Lepers were separated from the people in order to reduce the occasions on which their worldly ideas of health would condemn them to sickness. Note this well: a false principality requires its material principality to obtain, before it can do any harm. Paul said that God "passed over" ignorance in the former times. One way in which God "passed over" their ignorance, by giving them a law that would allow them to avoid triggering the material principalities, by which demons (false spiritual principalities) ground their accusations.
Laws mitigate pain of ignorance
God had not given understanding to the Jews
Deuteronomy 29:4 ESV But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.
Pain of ignorance
Hosea 4:6 ESV My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Galatians 4:8-9 ESV Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. [9] But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
Galatians 3:24-27 ESV So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. [25] But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, [26] for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. [27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Note carefully: "until Christ came." Jesus not only approached lepers, He touched them, and allowed them to touch Him. We are judged under the law of liberty. Sick people are not material principalities of sickness to us, except when we go back to Egypt, into slavery to the those that are not gods, weak elementary principles of the world.
Titus 1:15-16 ESV To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. [16] They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
Matthew 8:2-3 ESV And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." [3] And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Overlooked ignorance
Acts 17:30 ESV The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
OT laws concerning leprosy
Leviticus 13-14
Acts 28:8-9 ESV It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. [9] And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.
If you do not wash your hands frequently enough or well enough, you will get sick.
Matthew 15:2-3,7-11 ESV "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." [3] He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ... [7] You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: [8] "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; [9] in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" [10] And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: [11] it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."
Mark 5:25-29 ESV And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, [26] and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. [27] She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. [28] For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." [29] And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
Christ's power was even able to heal diseases which professional healers could not, after trying for years and years. And note this: He wasn't even trying.
2 Chronicles 16:12 ESV In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians.
Matthew 10:1 ESV And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
The power of sorcery comes by deception! Therefore, guard your heart, and see that you are not deceived! For the human institutions that act and speak in the name of science have become corrupt, and the Sorcerer has been set loose once again, and is deceiving the nations.
Luke 21:8 ESV And he said, "See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is at hand!' Do not go after them.
Revelation 20:1-3,7-8 ESV Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. [2] And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, [3] and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while... [7] And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison [8] and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.
Note that the material principality only has power over the one who submits to the spiritual principality.
Deuteronomy 32:41 ESV if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and will repay those who hate me.
Ignoring God's rules, and agreeing with the rules taught by the world, is enmity and hatred towards God.
Romans 1:18,24-25,28 ESV For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth... [24] Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, [25] because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. ... [28] And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Trust is a form of worship. Trust medicine, worship medicine. Medicine is a created thing. Therefore, trusting medicine is "worshipping and serving the creature, rather than the Creator."
2 Corinthians 1:9 ESV Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
Luke 18:9-14 ESV He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: [10] "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' [13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' [14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Philippians 3:3 ESV For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-
Isaiah 12:2 ESV "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."
Daniel 3:28 ESV Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
2 Kings 18:22-24 ESV But if you say to me, "We trust in the LORD our God," is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem"? [23] Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. [24] How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Isaiah 36:7-9 ESV But if you say to me, "We trust in the LORD our God," is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar"? [8] Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. [9] How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Ezekiel 7:3-4 ESV Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. [4] And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 7:8-9 ESV Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. [9] And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who strikes. Ezekiel 7:27 ESV The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the LORD." Ezekiel 11:19-21 ESV And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, [20] that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. [21] But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."
A man's "ways" are those indwelling principles which determine which *way* he will go, whenever he makes a decision. Basically any "way" which is not God's "way" is an abomination. When we go our own "way," we are doomed; when we go God's "way" (which is Christ), we are saved. And, as we know, the springs of life flow from the heart. Behavior flows from belief. Your beliefs are your "ways". Believe what God believes (Christ). Don't believe anything else, for what is not of faith is sin.
Romans 14:22-23 ESV The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. [23] But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Proverbs 4:23 ESV Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
John 14:6 ESV Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Ezekiel 20:23-26 ESV Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, [24] because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. [25] Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, [26] and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the LORD.
Matthew 7:2 ESV For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Matthew 12:37 ESV for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
The false rules that you believe will present themselves in the form of condemnations, especially against others. When you say that so-and-so will get sick because he did such-and-such, then you can be sure that YOU will get sick when YOU do such-and-such; not because the rule is true, but because you believe it is true, and by your words you will be condemned.
Romans 13:10 ESV Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
A Christian physician (one who seeks the healing which comes through the power of hearing the Word of God with belief) seeks to heal, because he loves those who are in need of healing.
There are also those who seek to heal in order to make a name for themselves. This evil heart may even cling upon the heart of one that is true. In order for healing to flow between two hearts, they must be able to forgive the sin that is in the other, as well as in their selves. Jesus paid it all. Forgive the sin, put away the pointing of the finger, thank Jesus Christ our Lord for giving us all a right standing before God, and then His healing power will flow in superabundance.
If you will forgive the sin of a Christian physician, then you will be receiving him in the character of Christ. #CharacterOfChrist
Matthew 10:40-42 KJVS He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. [41] He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. [42] And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Matthew 18:4-5 KJVS Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. [5] And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
What does it mean to "receive a righteous man in the name of a righteous man?" "Name," here has the sense of "character." So, if God sends a healer to you and you will not receive him in the character of a righteous man, then you will not receive healing through the healer, for healing is the reward of righteousness. Forgive the healer's sin, and thereby you receive him in the character of a righteous man.
Consider the alternative: when a man speaks to you in the character of a prophet, and instead of receiving him in the character of a prophet, you treat him as a worldly or naturally minded person. As an example, this is how Christ was received by his family, his hometown, and the religious leaders of the Jews.
The believer's origin is unseen. Don't pre-judge the man of God that is sent to you, just because you know something about his past or circumstance. Christ is fulfilling the law in them and for them just as perfectly as He is in and for you.
John 3:6-8 ESV That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ [8] The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 10:24-26,30-38 ESV So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." [25] Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, [26] but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. ... [30] I and the Father are one." [31] The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. [32] Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?" [33] The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." [34] Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'? [35] If he called them gods to whom the word of God came-and Scripture cannot be broken- [36] do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? [37] If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; [38] but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
Luke 4:22-29 ESV And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" [23] And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, '"Physician, heal yourself." What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'" [24] And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. [25] But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, [26] and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." [28] When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. [29] And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
Matthew 13:54-58 ESV and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? [55] Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? [56] And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" [57] And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household." [58] And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
See also Mark 6:1-6
Jesus's homies had already assigned him a character in their minds. They thought they knew where He came from. They believed that a man's worldly origins determine his destiny. Jesus is the carpenter's son. He is rabble. He is uneducated. He is certainly no better than the rest of us.
James 5:15-16 ESV And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
ὄνομα Name, Character, Essence
John 17:3-4,6 ESV And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. [4] I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do... [6] "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
"I have manifested your name" When did Jesus teach about the name of God? According to our corrupted modern notions, a "name" is just a series of sounds or letters by which a particular person can be called. But Jesus never once taught such a name of God. But Jesus did manifest the character of God. He taught God's perfect law, illuminated God's triunity, and demonstrated the no-greater-love of God for the world. Thus, to know God's character is, in the Christian sense, to know God's name. To trust in His name, is to trust in His character. To speak in His name, is to speak in His character.
We can also "put on Christ" by "playing the role" of Christ. Remember that, after the resurrection, and prior to the Ascension, Jesus appeared in "different forms." Pretend that you are secretly Jesus Christ. Say what He said, and do what He did. If we confess (say the same thing as) the Christ, then Christ will say the same thing as us before His Father in Heaven.
Confess Christ
Remember that the Greek word for "confess" literally means "say the same thing." But, there is also false profession. Merely parroting the words of Scripture, while not without benefit, will never deliver the full payload of Gospel power. The "say" part of confess is one of several "say" words in the Greek. "Lego" carries the distinctive connotation of rational discourse. You should not only, and not merely, use the same Words as Christ, but endeavor to understand the logical wholeness of the Gospel, so that you can deliver its ideas in words that every individual conversant can understand ("fitting the occasion").
1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.
It is obvious that a person, even an unbeliever, can simply parrot the words "Jesus is Lord". Paul did not mean that the words cannot be spoken out loud without the Holy Spirit. But in the sense of rational discourse, no one can rationalize the Lordship of Christ, except in the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 15:8-9 ESV "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; [9] in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
They say what God says with their lips, but with their heart they do not understand. The evidence of their lack of understanding is that they trust in the commandments of men, holding to them instead of, and contrary to, the Word of God.
Ephesians 4:29 ESV Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
2 John 1:9 ESV Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Matthew 10:32-33 ESV So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, [33] but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. 32 Πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ὁμολογήσει ἐν ἐμοὶ ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὁμολογήσω κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ·
ἑτέρᾳ μορφῇ Different form
Mark 16:12 ESV After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 12 Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα δυσὶν ἐξ αὐτῶν περιπατοῦσιν ἐφανερώθη ἐν ἑτέρᾳ μορφῇ πορευομένοις εἰς ἀγρόν ·
By the Golden Rule, this admonition cuts both ways. For if you are pretending to be a "heteramorph" of Christ, then loving your neighbor as yourself will mean loving your neighbor as if he were Christ. I suppose that also must mean that Christ must love us as though we were Christ. He calls us brother and sister and mother, who would do the will of God. He is not pretending. If it feels like we are pretending, it is because His notions of us contradict our own notions of ourselves. In order to receive the revelation of the mystery of Christ in the believer, and the believer in Christ, the believer must surrender his notion of himself. He must deny his self, and agree with the self that Christ gives him.
The false self that dies in this notional surrender is the first man, the man of dust, the bare kernel. The true self, the second spiritual and eternal child of God, will be revealed by Christ at His Appearing, for when we see Him as He really is, we shall be like Him. St. John's language suggests a causal relationship. It is too wonderful for me.
1 Corinthians 15:35-38 ESV But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” [36] You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. [38] But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
1 Corinthians 15:42-49 ESV So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. [45] Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
1 John 3:2 ESV Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Romans 8:19 ESV For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
Luke 9:23-26 ESV And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [24] For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. [25] For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? [26] For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Mark 3:33-35 ESV And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” [34] And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! [35] For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus is heteromorphic. That is, He is a shapeshifter (or heteromorph)! You never know if the person begging you for something needful is Jesus Christ in another form!
If we feared God as God should be feared, we would love every man as we would love Christ, Himself - just to be safe! We would give to everyone that begged of us, we would humble ourselves before them, and serve them with tearful joy. But we don't, because our love has gone cold. Do not despair, neither be afraid, for He told us before that this would be.
Matthew 25:37-40 ESV Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? [38] And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? [39] And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ [40] And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25:41-46 ESV “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ [44] Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ [45] Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ [46] And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The unitive force is still love, even when it produces wrath. Love is manifested in a will to protect and avenge its beloved.
Note the unitive force at work. Because Jesus loves the brotherhood, He considers good works towards them as good works towards Himself.
Matthew 24:9-14 ESV “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. [10] And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. [11] And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. [12] And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. [13] But the one who endures to the end will be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Putting on Christ Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis Page 148-149, 7. Let's Pretend If you are interested enough to have read thus far you are probably interested enough to make a shot at saying your prayers: and, whatever else you say, you will probably say the Lord's Prayer. Its very first words are Out Father. Do you now see what those words mean? They mean quite frankly, that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like, you are pretending. Because, of course, the moment you realise what the words mean, you realise that you are not a son of God. You are not being like The Son of God, whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father: you are a bundle of selfcentred fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies, and self-conceit, all doomed to death. So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of outrageous cheek. But the odd thing is that He has ordered us to do it.
To speak and act in God's Character: We "put on Christ" like one puts on a costume. We are clothed in His righteousness.
A Christian is not the Christ. During this age, the Christian does imperfectly, and through Christ as our intermediary, what Christ did perfectly and immediately. Healing will never flow through the Christian's own righteousness, because the Christian has no righteousness of his own. Our righteousness comes from God's imputation of righteousness by our faith in His name. That is why righteousness is something that a Christian "puts on". It is our breastplate. It guards our heart. We put on Christ, the character of our Lord, when we pray and act from the standing of one who has fulfilled all of God's law.
Galatians 3:27 ESV For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
ἐνεδύσασθε To clothe
Romans 13:14 ESV But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
The Dangerous Sense Studies in Words, C.S. Lewis Page 12-13, Introduction, III. The Dangerous Sense When a word has several meanings historical circumstances often make one of them dominant during a particular period... The dominant sense of any word lies uppermost in our minds. Wherever we meet the word, our natural impulse will be to give it that sense. When this operation results in nonsense, of course, we see our mistake and try over again. But if it makes tolerable sense our tendency is to go merrily on. We are often deceived. In an old author the word may mean something different. I call such senses dangerous senses because they lure us into misreadings.
HELPS Word-studies 3686 ónoma – name; (figuratively) the manifestation or revelation of someone's character, i.e. as distinguishing them from all others. Thus "praying in the name of Christ" means to pray as directed (authorized) by Him, bringing revelation that flows out of being in His presence. "Praying in Jesus' name" therefore is not a "religious formula" just to end prayers (or get what we want)! ["According to Hebrew notions, a name is inseparable from the person to whom it belongs, i.e. it is something of his essence. Therefore, in the case of the God, it is specially sacred" (Souter).]
Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 10:10 ESV And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Isaiah 58:8-11 ESV Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. [9] Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, [10] if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. [11] And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13,26 ESV For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ... [13] For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. [26] If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Love has been called the "unitive force". By love, your pain becomes my pain. An insult to you, is an insult to me. When you are honored, I rejoice for you in the same way and for the same reason that I rejoice when I am honored. For there is only One who truly deserves honor, and let us always rejoice in His presence! If a brother is commended by Christ, then the Christ has manifested His nature in giving all that is His to those who are His. It is out of generosity, never out of obligation. He is Love, and let us always be rejoicing in His presence, with one heart, with one voice, and with one mind!
God give us the Heart of Christ, the Voice of Christ, and the Mind of Christ! For the healing of the nations in and by your name, and for your glory! Amen.
Romans 8:32 ESV He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 6:23 ESV For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:5 ESV and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 8:3-4 ESV For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Walking according to the Spirit means following in the footsteps of the Spirit, going where the Spirit goes, being led by the Spirit.
In your habits, in the formation of your practices, do not be led by the desires of the flesh. Rather, serve God, seeking His glory.
Romans 8:12-13 ESV So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13] For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
In your thinking, in the formation of your beliefs, do not be led by the flesh, judging by appearances. Judge with right judgment: agreement with the Word of God.
Matthew 10:32-33 ESV So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, [33] but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Confession means "say the same thing," or "speak together." Denial is the antithesis of confession. In denial, we say a different thing than Christ.
Example: Christ said "Blessed are the poor." Do you confess? Do you say the same thing as your Lord? Not just with your lips, but with your life? Do you seek wealth, and devote all of your time in this world to the generation of material wealth? If so, then you are not speaking together with Christ. You are denying Him.
Titus 1:16 ESV They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
Luke 6:20 ESV And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
ὁμολογέω Lit. "Same-speak" Usu. Transl. "Confess"
HELPS Word-studies 3670 homologéō (from 3674 /homoú, "together" and 3004 /légō, "speak to a conclusion") – properly, to voice the same conclusion, i.e. agree ("confess"); to profess (confess) because in full agreement; to align with (endorse). [3670 /homologéō ("confess") means to speak the same thing, i.e. "assent, agree with, confess, declare, admit" (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 120).]
1 John 2:20-23 ESV But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. [21] I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. [22] Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. [23] No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
John 7:24 ESV Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Romans 8:5-8 ESV For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. [6] For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. [7] For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. [8] Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:14 ESV For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Deuteronomy 7:12-15 ESV "And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. [13] He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. [14] You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. [15] And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.
Exodus 15:26 ESV saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer." Exodus 23:24-26 ESV you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. [25] You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. [26] None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
Christ in us, Immanuel, diligently listens to the voice of the LORD His God. He, in us and for us, does that which is right in the LORD's eyes, giving ear to His commandments, and keeping all His statutes. Therefore, when we ask God for healing, and when we trust Him for our healing, we are only asking Him to fulfill His promises - for His glory!
When we fear what the world fears (that which kills the body) and when we trust what the world trusts, we are at enmity with God. We are scattering abroad, instead of gathering to Him.
Matthew 12:30 ESV Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Isaiah 8:11-15 ESV For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: [12] "Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. [13] But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. [14] And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [15] And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."
James 4:4 ESV You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
If you are seeking healing only for your own comfort, or if you are seeking the spiritual gift of healing miracles as a way to make a name for yourself, or any such self-centered motive, then you will not find it.
Only those who are called according to God's unchanging purpose are fit to receive this wonderful gift. And God's unchanging purpose is to glorify Himself. God is love. The knowledge of God is eternal life. So He glorifies Himself to give life to all His children. That's what God does, always. And the true Christian physician lives in submission to this word: whatever we do, we do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
John 10:10 ESV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
1 John 4:16 ESV So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
James 3:13-18 ESV Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. [14] But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. [15] This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16] For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. [17] But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. [18] And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Matthew 6:33 ESV But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Psalm 103:2-3 ESV Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
The Lord heals all our diseases. We seem to be healed by medicines, because man is given over to the belief that medicines heal, and God renders to man according to his beliefs. But even when it seems that medicines are healing us, it is the Lord who heals all our diseases.
Now, in the age of grace, we must distinguish between vengeance and discipline. The wrath which was due to all men has been poured out on the body of Christ, once for all. Our punishments now are disciplinary. That is, they are meant to be corrective and restorative.
Hebrews 12:11-13 ESV For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. [12] Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, [13] and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Job 34:12 ESV Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
Job 33:19-20 ESV “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones, [20] so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food.
Ezekiel 7:9 ESV And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who strikes.
Job 34:11 ESV For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him.
God may descend upon our altars, or he may not. Every Christian must be prepared to obey God's Word, even when we don't see God's healing.
Even when we don't see God's healing, we can know that we have perfect wholeness in the Spirit of Christ, which dwells within us. Therefore we seek understanding and pray for unshakable conviction regarding the spiritual and eternal reality of God's children. Only when we see that spiritual reality (by faith in God's Word) can we pray for healing, believing that we have received what we ask for.
When bodily healing does not come
Being a fool for Christ
When you make known or explain your sacramental decision to live without fear of sickness for the sake of the Gospel, worldly minded people will attempt to put you to shame if you become physically ill.
Even if Christians are subject to sickness, so too are the scoffers. The difference between us is that the scoffers live in fear of sickness, even when they are well. Their ways are perpetually pain-ridden. The wicked have no rest from their wickedness. Living fearfully is a sacrilige. That means that God is not glorified by fearful living. God's name is profaned among the nations because of fearful Christians. Living fearlessly glorifies God, because God is Love, and love casts out fear. Whether we live or die, we live to Christ!
Glorifying God with the fearlessness of Love
1 John 4:18 ESV There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
No rest for the wicked
Isaiah 57:20-21 ESV But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. [21] There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."
Isaiah 52:5 ESV Now therefore what have I here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the LORD, “and continually all the day my name is despised.
Proverbs 24:17-18 ESV Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, [18] lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
Acts 26:24 ESV And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind."
1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 4:10-12 ESV We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. [11] To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, [12] and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
Those who are strong are obligated to bear with the weak.
Romans 15:1-3 ESV We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. [2] Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. [3] For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."
Let God's will, not ours, be done.
Matthew 6:9-10 ESV Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. [10] Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Mark 14:36 ESV And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."
Mark 11:22-24 ESV And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. [23] Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis Page 182, The Queen of Underland Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side, even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can, even if there isn't any Narnia.
The phrase "even if there isn't" parallels the language of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego responding to the king Nebuchadnezzar:
Daniel 3:3,16-18 ESV Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. [16] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. [17] If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. [18] But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Speak against the adversary: "He will deliver us! But if not, let us make this clear: We will not serve your gods. We will not go after your false salvation. If for no other reason: it does not even pretend to save from anything that we fear. We do not fear the fire. We do not fear plague. We do not fear anything that can destroy the body. We fear God. And you should too."
Deuteronomy 7:12-16 ESV “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. [13] He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. [14] You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. [15] And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. [16] And you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
Matthew 10:28 ESV And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
This is my favorite passage in all of The Chronicles of Narnia. In it, the gloomy character Puddleglum demonstrates why he is able to act, in the following moments, without any fear of error, concerning the existence and worthiness of Aslan (an allegorical representation of the Christ). The mere idea of Him outshines every dubious promise that the world is able to make. No matter what enchantments may be brought against Christ followers, evil designs to make them doubt, we can act without fear of error when we live by faith in a loving God who saves, because we have no other hope of salvation.
Acts 4:12 ESV And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Altars
The Living Sacrifice
It is for the glory of God that we live trusting God alone for health and healing. We give our bodies a living sacrament, acting out a Word that we know to be reliable. We are to be different from the world, while at the same time ready to welcome questions about the reasons why we act so differently.
We can make our lives a living sacrament by living out of conviction in the truth of these health related Scriptural ideas:
Although my bodily life has some value, I count it as lost, and rubbish in comparison to the spiritual and eternal life that I have hidden in Christ.
Colossians 3:3-4 ESV For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
1 Peter 5:10 ESV And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Philippians 3:8 ESV Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
John 17:3 ESV And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Whoever would save his life will lose it.
Matthew 16:24-25 ESV Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [25] For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Freedom from pharmaceuticals might mean living a shorter life. You have the choice to trade your independence for more life. But, beware: while the freedom you lose is true freedom, the life you gain in return is a mere counterfeit.
2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Matthew 16:26 ESV For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Do not fear what kills the body.
Matthew 10:28-31 ESV And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. [30] But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
God is the Lord that heals me.
Hosea 6:1 ESV "Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
Exodus 15:26 ESV saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer."
Blessed are the poor.
It is difficult for those who are wealthy to enter into the kingdom, because they already have the healing that comes by medicines (a mere counterfeit of the true healing). They do not seek the healing that comes from God only. Only those who seek will find. And, those who wait upon the Lord are not brought to shame.
Waiting upon the Lord
Hebrews 12:3 ESV Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Galatians 6:9 ESV And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. [17] For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Luke 18:1-8 ESV And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. [3] And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' [4] For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, [5] yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'" [6] And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. [7] And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? [8] I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Isaiah 40:27-31 ESV Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? [28] Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. [29] He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. [30] Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; [31] but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
This is true for every kind of blessing. The world offers counterfeit blessings, which only the wealthy can afford. Because the wealthy can afford them, they content themselves with them. But the poor must seek after the true blessings, which come from God only. Truly, truly, I say to you: blessed are the poor!
1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV But godliness with contentment is great gain, [7] for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. [8] But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. [9] But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:11-12 ESV But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. [12] Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 5:5-6 ESV She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, [6] but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.
Matthew 7:7-8,13-14 ESV "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened... [13] "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. [14] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Matthew 19:23 ESV And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 6:20-21,24 ESV And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. [21] "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. ... [24] "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
If healing comes only by pharmaceuticals, then the poor are cursed. For, pharmaceuticals are costly. Living free of dependence on pharmaceuticals is a way of showing the world that we truly believe that the poor are blessed. We will not call "blessed" anything which would entail that the poor are cursed, because we will not contradict our Lord Jesus Christ.
φαρμακεία The use of drugs, medicines, and "spells" (or, in modern parlance, "prescriptions") Usually translated "Sorcery"
Revelation 18:21-24 ESV Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more; [22] and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more, [23] and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. [24] And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”
Galatians 5:19-21 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
History and Etymology for pharmacy Late Latin pharmacia administration of drugs, from Greek pharmakeia, from pharmakeuein to administer drugs, from pharmakon magic charm, poison, drug “Pharmacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pharmacy. Accessed 1 Sep. 2021.
Also costly is verifying the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals. In fact, this cost is so prohibitive, that no one actually makes the attempt. In this way, many are led into the trap of putting trust in man. But trusting in man is explicitly cursed.
Those who seek the blessedness of health through pharmaceuticals, believe the pharmaceuticals are effective, because they believe competent scientists have faithfully carried out the scientific method in order to discover the most effective remedies (rather than the most profitable remedies). Their faith is unfounded. All shall soon see that the profit motive is the wolf, and the sheep's clothing is a false therapeutic motive. Those who trust in man for their healing are thus cursed to be exploited, enslaved, poisoned and finally killed by pharmaceutical dependence.
2 weeks after this was written...
Jeremiah 17:5 ESV Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.
Giving your life a living sacrifice is all about expressing the character of God through your life and habits. The goal is to glorify God. We believe that God will deliver us from sickness, in accordance with His precious promises. But even if we are made to bear the burden of sickness for a little while, we must live our lives in a way that points people to the final deliverance from all sickness and suffering at the resurrection on the great day of Jesus Christ's coming.
Romans 12:1-2 ESV I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [2] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 ESV For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; [4] that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, [5] not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; [6] that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. [7] For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. [8] Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
ἁγιασμός Sanctification
Some things exist for the sake of other things. A woman's beauty is given in a way that is reserved specially for one man, her husband. Her beauty is for his sake. The quality of being for the sake of another is called sacredness. The sacrament of marriage gives us an image, something perceptible to our senses, which is analogous to our spiritual and unseen sacredness to God. We are for His sake. Sanctification is the process whereby a sacred object's sacredness is established and realized in consummation.
We are sanctified in truth. We must endeavor to believe what Jesus believed, and to understand as He understood. Then we will speak like He spoke. We will teach what He taught. And because our words will be His words, they will have power. That is the goal, anyways: the aim of our sanctification.
Christ is coming with power! Faith, Christianity and the Church, C.S. Lewis (Essary Collection) Page 113, Miracles (The following quote is preceded by a discussion of a class of miracles described as doing "small and quick what we have already seen in the large letters of God's universal activity.") The second class of miracles, on this view, foretell what God has not yet done, but will do, universally... The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10) and the walking on the water (Matthew 14:26; Mark 6:49; John 6:19) are glimpses of the beauty and the effortless power over all matter which will belong to men when they are really waked by God.
John 17:16-17 ESV They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17] Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
HELPS Word-studies Cognate: 38 hagiasmós (a masculine noun derived from 40 /hágios, "holy") – sanctification (the process of advancing in holiness); use of the believer being progressively transformed by the Lord into His likeness (similarity of nature). See 40 /hagios ("holy").
An altar is anything that is situated for the purpose of making an offering to God.
The Christian healer situates the hearing of God's Word with believing, and upon this altar of circumstances, he offers up the acceptable spiritual sacrifice of thanksgiving for the spiritual healing that has already occurred in the heart of the one who repented and believed, and makes a hopeful supplication to God to confirm His Word and His servants with an extension of the miracle that has already occurred into the physical world, with a physical healing.
1 Kings 18:23-24 ESV Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. [24] And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God." And all the people answered, "It is well spoken."
1 Kings 18:33-35 ESV And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." [34] And he said, "Do it a second time." And they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time." And they did it a third time. [35] And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
1 Kings 18:36-39 ESV And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. [37] Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back." [38] Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. [39] And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God."
Psalm 50:14-15 ESV Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, [15] and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
Genesis 8:20 ESV Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Romans 9:15-16 ESV For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” [16] So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
We cannot put God under obligation. No one can. Everything that comes to us from God (which, remember, is all that we have and all that we are) comes from His mercy and generosity. We are not owed a miracle, now or ever. Not even if you do all that God has ever commanded you to do. Even then, you are an unprofitable servant. Given what God had given you, God would have done it better. He doesn't need us to do what He wants to get done in the world. His call to us to participate in His purpose, to partake in the divine nature, is pure generosity. Our benefit is beyond valuation, but His name is defamed in the process. But He does it anyways, because God is Love.
2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, [4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
We cannot put God under obligation, but God can do something of the sort to Himself: He can make a unilateral promise.
Now, God acts from eternity. Every aspect of creation, from conception to execution, is the result of one, perfect motion. He knows Himself, and makes Himself known, and the worlds with their ages are the artful emanations of His eternal majesty.
John 8:58 ESV Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
This is a great mystery, but it is not so hard to understand and accept a narrower view of things. When God makes His promises known at one point in time, and then fulfills His promises at another point of time, what we perceive as two distinct temporal acts, are really just the temporal effects of one eternal act.
Eternity is before time in something like the way the power to act is before the act. The power to act may exist without the act. The act cannot exist without the power. The act proceeds from and depends on the power. Likewise, eternity may exist without time. We say that eternity is both before and after time. That's because eternity is always and unchanging. Worlds and their ages begin and end, but eternity is the beginning and the end. Time proceeds from and depends on eternity.
Revelation 1:8 ESV “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Isaiah 41:4 ESV Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isaiah 44:6-8 ESV Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. [7] Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. [8] Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”
Hebrews 6:13-17 ESV For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, [14] saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” [15] And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. [16] For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. [17] So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
Hebrews 6:18-20 ESV so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. [19] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, [20] where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Romans 8:28-30 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30] And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
John 14:10 ESV Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
James 4:3 ESV You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
The method exposed herein is not new or secret. The command to speak truth with love is clear and direct enough that no one who trusts the Bible can deny that it is among our imperatives already.
Now, one thing that is a bit more mysterious is the relationship between evangelizing and healing miracles. How does speaking truth with love lead to bodily healing? How can we pursue these good works for the glory of God's kingdom? Scripture gives us insight into these questions. This synthesis attempts to organize parallel Scriptures pertaining to each element and each step of the process of spiritual healing.
Galatians 3:5 ESV Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith-
This either-or question has an answer: He who supplies miracles among you, does so by hearing with faith. Simplified: God supplies miracles among you by hearing with faith.
Hearing without faith is unprofitable
Hebrews 4:2 ESV For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
The word rendered "united" is used to describe the mixing of solutions.
συγκεράννυμι Lit. "Mix-together"
HELPS Word-studies 4786 sygkeránnymi (from 4862 /sýn, "identified with," intensifying 2767 /keránnymi, "mix into a new and improved compound") – properly, mix together into a superior compound – "a holistic blend" (unified whole) where the parts work together synergistically.
These words are among the jargon words used by apothecaries.
συγκεράννυμι results in a solution. This word is opposed to μίγνυμι, which merely produces a suspension.
This is the key to miracle working: get a feel for a person's or an audience's body of belief (via the spiritual laying on of hands), then devise a lucid apophthegem which will lead them to understand God's Word in a way they were lacking; and if they believe, the "inner-work" of a miracle will have been accomplished.
"Inner-work" is the native construction of the Greek borrowed word, "energy". The outer work is done by God, if He will have mercy, and confirm the steps of His children.
ἐνεργέω Lit. "inner-work" Usu. transl. "work"
HELPS Word-studies 1754 energéō (from 1722 /en, "engaged in," which intensifies 2041 /érgon, "work") – properly, energize, working in a situation which brings it from one stage (point) to the next, like an electrical current energizing a wire, bringing it to a shining light bulb.
The inner work of belief is what energizes the Christian for mighty works, by which God can be glorified, and the world turned upside down. Disagreeing with Christ is fatal to your spiritual power. Work on agreeing with Him only. Examine the body of your beliefs for beliefs which are founded upon appearance based judgments, instinctive (probabilistic) reasoning, and trust in man. These are improper foundations for beliefs, and whatever you build upon them will cause you to fall. The spiritual baptism is the grace by which your body of beliefs is destroyed, and renewed through trusting, understanding, and agreeing with the Bible.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 ESV Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. [6] He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. [7] "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. [8] He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."
Jude 1:10 ESV But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
John 7:24 ESV Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
2 Timothy 4:3-5 ESV For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5] As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 ESV If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, [4] he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, [5] and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
Titus 2:1 ESV But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
I will also discuss the spiritual significance of the laying on of hands. Scripture teaches us that, despite our spiritual blindness, we are able to "feel about" to investigate spiritual things. Blind men, and physicians too, lay their hands on a body as a means of investigating it. With the Holy Spirit's help, we can speak truth with love in a focused and intentional way, in order to lead men to repentance, which is spiritual healing.
Repentance is spiritual healing
μετανοέω Lit. "change-mind" Usu. transl. "repent"
HELPS Word-studies 3340 metanoéō (from 3326 /metá, "changed after being with" and 3539 /noiéō, "think") – properly, "think differently after," "after a change of mind"; to repent (literally, "think differently afterwards").
Many Christians focus on trying to change their outer works, without undergoing the painful self-death involved in changing their inner works (their beliefs). This is futile, and leads to frustration and disillusionment.
John 12:24-26 ESV Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 6:28-29 ESV Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" [29] Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
James 5:16,19-20 ESV Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working... [19] My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, [20] let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Isaiah 6:10 ESV Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
Laying on of hands: Investigative Motive
Luke 24:39 ESV See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
Acts 17:26-27 ESV And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [27] that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
Genesis 27:21 ESV Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.”
Laying on of hands: Therapeutic Motive
Mark 16:17-18 ESV And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; [18] they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 6:5 ESV And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:25 ESV Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
