When Jesus Heals – Dale Black

During times of stress Satan can get a foothold in the life of a believer by attacking their body or their soul. Sickness, disease, anxiety and depression are more common anytime a person experiences uncertainty and stress. With all that has been happening in the world in recent months, the times we’re living in certainly qualify. Therefore, let us take a few minutes and talk about the provisions God has made available for healing—body, soul and spirt.

There is simply too much confusion about why believer’s aren’t receiving God’s healing, deliverance, or blessing. And much of this is due to a lack of understanding how God interacts with His people. He created mankind with the ability to access His provisions and blessings. But we not only need to know what God has provided to His children, we also need to pray and then stand in faith for what we need. This requires us to take action in agreement with our faith.

Understanding how God made us is the first step to receiving all He has for you. If you miss the basic, foundational truths of how God works and how we are to interact with Him, frustration can follow you around all of your days. How many times have you said or thought, “Why did God heal that other person and not me?” The Bible tells us that God is no respecter of persons. If this is true, and it is, then God doesn’t love someone else more than He loves you. And except in rare instances… all things happen by cause and effect.

God made us as a three-part person for a reason—so that you and I could successfully interface with the natural world, while at the same time have access to the spiritual one. Most importantly, even while living a natural body—the temporary part of us, we are equipped to engage in a personal relationship with God through our spirit and soul—both eternal parts. To have an effective life, in agreement with God’s intention when He created us, it is imperative that we successfully interact in both realms—natural and spiritual. We are spiritual, eternal beings (spirit and soul) who live temporarily in a physical body.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God is recognizing all three parts of a person—the spirit, soul and body. All three parts are necessary and must each be made perfect (mature)… or sanctified. Notice that God is the One Who sanctifies you. Your responsibility is to come into agreement with His Lordship of your whole person. That means all three parts of you.

Scripture refers to God as a triune being: Father, Son and Spirit. Likewise the Bible reveals man as a triune being—consisting of spirit, soul and body. The account of man’s creation reveals how his three-part nature came into being: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

We often think God is only interested in our spirit—and the body and soul are our business. God is interested in all three parts of us. He gives us a new spirit when we are born again, however, He gives us stewardship over the soul and body. That means we have responsibility.

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1:21. As we feed on God’s Word, and submit to it’s governance over our lives, our souls are saved by it. God’s Word brings a rebellious, carnally-minded soul, into agreement with the new born spirit, which God created in all who have trusted in Jesus for salvation.

But let’s look back at what God said when He made you. In the initial creation of man God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,” and “according to Our likeness.”

Image refers to man’s outward appearance, and it is only man who reflects the outward appearance of God. The body was formed from the elements of the earth and transformed into living human flesh. It was appropriate, therefore, that when the Son of God came to dwell on earth, it was in the form of a man—not a cow or a fish—and not even in the form of some heavenly creature, such as an angel.

The word Likeness refers to man’s inner nature—spirit and soul. Man’s spirit came from the inbreathed breath of God. The soul forms the ego, the individual personality and consists of three elements: the will, the intellect (or mind) and the emotions. The soul is an eternal part of us that gathers and processes information, then chooses what to believe and what actions to take. It has the responsibility for choices made. And unless it is re-born by the Spirit of God, all human behavior is controlled by three carnal motivations: “I want,” “I think,” “I feel.”

Man was created for personal fellowship with God. God’s desire is to interact with the individual, and to bring them into fellowship with Him. Only then can He bless them with the many blessings He provides. If we need healing or deliverance or blessing but don’t understand how to access these gifts God has provided, we are left frustrated.

In too many churches there is little understanding of the nature of worship, because we do not know the difference between the spirit and the soul. Worship is not entertainment. Nor is worship the same as praise. We praise God with our souls, and it is right to do so. Through our praise we have access to God’s presence. But once we are in His presence, it is through worship that we enjoy true spiritual union with Him and access to His provisions.

To be able to worship God in this way is the goal of salvation—first on earth, and then in heaven. It is the highest and holiest activity of which a human being is capable. It is only possible, however, when the soul and the body come into submission and harmony with the spirit. Such worship is too profound for words.

These words in Exodus are important.  “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26 NKJV)

As you go through your week, remember… with God nothing is impossible!