Healing is Included in the Plan of Salvation
Salvation is inclusive of the spirit, soul, and body. Jesus came to earth the reclaim the lost to God. The full plan of salvation includes all: the salvation of our souls, our mental and emotional well being, and freedom from diseases in our our bodies (healing). Let’s take a look at Isaiah 53:4-5 (Amplified Bible):
“Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.”
What Jesus did for us in saving us from sin, he also did for us in regards to sickness and disease, as well as for the peace and well being of our minds.
From Isaiah 53:4, the word griefs – is actually the Hebrew word Choliy – and it literally means sickness or disease. It was first used to in Deuteronomy 7:15.
Deuteronomy 7:15 The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.
The word sorrows – is actually the Hebrew word makob – and it literally means physical and/or mental pain and anguish . This word occurs 16 times in 15 verses of the Old Testament. It is first used in Exodus 3:7 to describe the physical and mental anguish Israel was suffering at the hand of the Egyptians.
Exodus 3:7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
We usually interpret Isaiah 53:3-5 to simply mean spiritual healing and salvation. However, let’s take a look at a New Testament passage:
MATTHEW 8:16-17 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
Sickness is to our bodies,is what sin is to our Spirits. It brings destruction and death. We should not tolerate sin in our lives, in the same way we should not tolerate sickness.
The original translation from Hebrew of Isaiah 53: 3-5 reads as follows:
“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne (carried) our sickness/disease And carried our physical and mental pains/anguish; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
The entire plan of salvation must be taught. We must realize that at salvation we are saved from sin, sickness and disease, as well as mental and emotional diseases and disorders. The Bible links forgiveness and sin together, confirming the complete work of salvation that God intended and for which Jesus paid.
PSALMS 103:2-3 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
MARK 2:1-12 1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ″Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” He said to the paralytic, ″I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
JAMES 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
JOHN 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
In verse 17 the word Saved comes from the Greek word – SOZO -Verb/Action Word – meaning to be saved or rescued out from under Satan’s power and restored into the wholeness of God’s order and well-being.
It also means; save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, be whole, and make whole.
This word – Sozo is used over 110 times in the New Testament.
It is used to mean saved – in the sense of being saved from eternal punishment from sin.
EPHESIANS 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved (sozo), through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
It is used to mean healed of disease.
MARK 10:52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed (sozo) you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
It is used to mean deliverance from demonic oppression.
LUKE 8:36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.
In many instances it means all three at the same time.
LUKE 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save(sozo) what was lost.
(Taken from Chad Fisher of Inspires Ministries)
