UNDERSTANDING GOD'S HEALING PLAN!
Real, living faith must be based on God's will as revealed in His Word, the Bible. If the Disciples of Christ (and I am speaking of us, brethren) ...if they would obey His command to A search the scriptures (John 5:39) - if they would, like the Berean's, study the Bible daily (Acts 17:11) - they would know what God has - and has not - promised in His Word.
As Christ's modern day disciples, we must rightly divide “the word of truth,” as it tells us in 2 Tim. 2:15 in order to know exactly what God's will really is and thus be able to have faith in the solid foundation of His Word. Belief in whatever is stated in the Bible is a properly based belief. Faith that is not; is misplaced at best. Faith cannot be based on faulty human reason, but must be placed in God's Word. Then we can pray properly and expect to receive answers from God: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
Rom. 4:21 tells us faith is the assurance that what God has promised, He will perform - and God can not and will not lie! When we fail to petition God according to His will, we really can't expect an answer to our prayers - we do not have the proper faith God requires for answered prayer. James tells us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). Now drop back to James 1:6-7. Here James advises us, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.”Proper faith, of course, must also include keeping God's commandments, which are also revealed in the Bible, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).
Many people who think they have faith are forced to realize that perhaps their faith is not as great as they thought, because they don't receive what they pray for - because they misunderstand what God has actually promised in His Word. A good illustration of this problem is to be found in the subject of healing. We, as well as just about any Church of God, get a considerable amount of requests for prayers and for anointing for sickness. And that brings us to the subject of this article: when, or at what point exactly, should you ask to be anointed?
Let's look again at the book of James. The apostle James instructs Christians as follows: “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:14-15).
The Bible teaches that God can and does heal. But many misunderstand God's promises to heal and unfortunately, misapply them to their own distress and discouragement. It is vital that we do not misunderstand what God promises. Let's not read something in there that is not there. God nowhere in His Word, promises to heal every person of every sickness and every disease in this life - no one would ever die! God's Word also does not say when God will heal. Sometimes, we must wait patiently for God to heal us in His own good time and way. James said the prayer of faith would save the sick and that God would raise them up, but he did not say when God would do so.
On numerous occasions in the Bible, Christ, the apostles and the prophets healed people instantly. But there are other examples when God took a longer period of time before He raised up the ill and healed them. In some instances, God did not heal the people at all. But is His Word still good? Of course. Is it ever too late for God to “raise him up” and make a sick person completely whole? Hardly - with God, all things are possible. Sometimes God heals people instantly. Sometimes He delays their healing until the resurrection. In some instances He heals a person in this life after a certain delay.
There are three vital ingredients necessary in healing: 1) faith, 2) obedience and 3) patience. When a person prays for healing, he must believe, obey God and then, because God has not promised when He will heal, he must patiently wait for God's intervention. Heb. 6:12 tells us that it is only “…through faith and patience that we shall inherit the promises.” And we must sometimes exercise a lot of patience waiting for God to act when He knows the time is best! Yet, there is a long list of God's people in Heb.11 that “died in the faith, not having received [the fulfillment] of the promises.” Are we to have faith any different than these people? Heb. 11:6 tells us that we can't please God without faith, yet no one of himself has the kind of faith necessary to be saved, or for that matter, healed. That comes only from God and Jesus Christ. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal.2:16). Eph. 2:8 adds, “You are saved by faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Faith is also one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
A Christian must believe in God and believe what His Word says, and to realize that his own faith is not sufficient to save him - he needs to have the very faith of the Son of God added to his limited human strength. And that faith - a gift of God - comes as a result of God's grace, prayer and Bible study.
That brings us to the main point of this article: Just when should you be anointed for an illness: Have you ever wondered just how sick you should be before you “call on the Elders for anointing and prayer” to be healed? How can you know when you should call on God to be forgiven of your physical sins and be healed? God's word tells us that healing is one of the great benefits from God. “Bless the LORD, “(Psm. 103:2-3). Exodus 15:26 says “...for I am the LORD that heals you.”
God's true healing is not to be construed as a natural process of mending. It is an outright removal of the affliction - a direct miracle. While it is true that sometimes God heals a person over a period of time, nonetheless it is the direct intervention of God and not a natural, bodily, healing process. Healing is the forgiveness of sin! “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, `Son, your sins are forgiven you'” (Mark 2:5). Jesus, the Son of God, who came to bear our every sin in His body as a sacrifice for us, made it very plain that the healing of our physical bodies involves the direct forgiveness of sins! “But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins....” (Vs. 10). Jesus Christ, the first-born Son of God sits at His Father's right hand and still offers the sacrifice of His broken body to be applied for the forgiveness of our sins.
We are a very scattered Church, so right off the bat, I want to show you that when it is necessary for you to request an anointed cloth rather than be anointed directly by an Elder, that it is every bit as effectual. You need to know that the oil that a minister uses in anointing has no power to heal. There is also no healing power resident within the hands of the physical individual who does the anointing. The healing power is not in the particular selection of words chosen for the prayer - nor is there any healing power within the threads of the anointed cloth! There is no MAN that has the “power of healing.” God is the Healer! And He heals through the power of His Holy Spirit and by the direct application of the punishment that Jesus Christ suffered.
So, before we go any further, let's do a quick
analysis of James 5:14: To review, it says, “Is anyone
among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” In our statement of beliefs, the Church of God, In Truth states that we do not believe oil represents the Holy Spirit of God - that honor actually falls to water. What then, does the oil used in the anointing of the sick represent? The primary item needed for divine healing is faith, which we touched on at the beginning of the article. The second most important item is prayer. We must ask God in faith and follow His instructions as given in James 5, calling on the Elders to pray for us - and as we often do, announce a prayer request to all the brethren through e-mail or announcements on the Sabbath, so we might pray for one another. The third item listed for healing is the oil. Why oil - if it does not represent God's Spirit - what does it represent? Certain oils have medicinal value and healing properties - such as pure, virgin, olive oil. The oil simply symbolizes the healing that takes place after you place yourself humbly under God's authority and prayers of faith are offered up on your behalf!
And by putting other scriptures together that relate to healing, we know that the laying on of hands also takes place.
James makes it clear that it is the prayer of faith which saves the sick and the forgiveness of sins. “...And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (Vs. 15).
Now, let's cover a couple of more points concerning the anointed cloth or prayer cloth: 1) Some refer to the anointed cloth as a “healing cloth.” This is another misunderstanding of the truth. It has long been the tradition of the Church of God that after applying the cloth, it should be burned. This was instituted (I believe, by Mr. Armstrong), so that no one will in any way, venerate the cloth! The only reason we send a cloth at all is because of the Biblical example of the Apostle Paul.
2) Some feel the cloth is not good enough - that they must have the minister anoint them directly and personally. This is not true either. The use of a cloth depends upon your inaccessibility to a minister at the time of your illness. You are not being slighted if you are sent an anointed cloth! Let's notice what God says about the use of anointed cloths or prayer cloths: “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:11-12). Let's not limit God in how He chooses to work miracles brethren.
Also the Church does not tell you that you can not go to a doctor - especially if it is for first aid. But, on the other hand, it must be your own personal, real, faithful conviction that you are going to trust your Living Creator God to forgive your sins and heal your body! You, as an individual, must choose in faith, to put your life in God's hands according to faith. Doctors have a place, but we must understand, they do not have the power to forgive your sin and heal your body! You must realize that just as it says in Rom. 14:8, whether you live or whether you die - because death is always a possibility as long as we are physical - you belong to Jesus Christ, you are the Lord=s and He will accomplish His will in each of our lives!
I want to make something else clear: Every year, we partake of the Passover. We take the symbol of broken, unleavened bread to represent the broken, sinless body of Jesus Christ sacrificed for our physical sins - sacrificed for our physical healing. Each year as we take this symbol we should be fully assured in our own minds as to its meaning and significance: We are saying that we trust completely in God for our physical healing, just as we trust in Him for our spiritual salvation! We should fully understand the meaning of the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ! We need to understand what we are asking for when we ask to be anointed - so that we do not regard it lightly! We are asking for the pain and punishment, the beating that Jesus Christ suffered at the hands of Roman soldiers the night before His death, to be applied for our physical sins. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet.2:24). Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”
Let's not pull any punches. This is a vital point: Basically from the waist up, the body of Jesus Christ was torn to shreds. Great chunks of flesh hung down in red ribbons like raw meat. In some places the white bones of His rib cage could be seen. As the metal pieces tied to the ends of leather thongs continued to be lashed around His body, they also whipped by His face and tore at His lips and nose and cheeks leaving His face in such a state that He was no longer recognizable. Isa. 52:14 says, “Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.”
Let's note just briefly, so we will fully realize what we're asking for when we are anointed. Here is a description given in the Encyclopedia Britannica concerning the Roman practice of crucifixion: “The criminal [being crucified] was first of all usually stripped naked and bound to an upright stake and so cruelly scourged with an implement formed of strips of leather having pieces of iron or some other hard material at the ends, that not merely was the flesh often stripped from the bones, but even the entrails partly protruded and the anatomy of the body disclosed. In this pitiable state he was re-clothed, and if able to do so, was made to drag the stake to the place of execution where he was either fastened to it or impaled upon it and left to die.”
I'm sorry for the gruesomeness of it all, but I hope this gives you some idea of what Jesus Christ went through for you and me! It was only because He was in perfect physical condition that He was even able to walk after receiving such a beating. These are the stripes by which you and I are healed! These are the stripes we ask to be applied to the bared back of Christ in our stead when we ask to be anointed. And sometimes once we begin to recognize the awesomeness of the sacrifice we're asking to be applied, we tend to go to the other extreme and quietly suffer through our illnesses considering ourselves to be more “righteous” because we're not asking to have the sacrifice of Christ applied to us.
It is actually a matter of deciding when to call for this sacrifice: God commands us: “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:14-15).
The expression “let him call,” is not a suggestion, it is in the form of a command! Other translations render this, “If anyone is sick, he should call in the elders of the church and have them pray over him ....”
Perhaps we reason that we don't deserve this sacrifice. Well, that's absolutely true! But neither do we deserve the sacrifice of the life of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins that we might inherit eternal life! Yet we are commanded to repent and be baptized - which means we must claim the death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ to be applied in our stead! Once that sacrifice has been claimed, you no longer belong to yourself. You are purchased - paid for completely with a price beyond our conception. We are not our own, we are a member of the very Body of Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 6:19, “What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?” (1 Cor.6:19). What it is saying there is that you are no longer free to selfishly do with your body as you wish to do. You are now responsible to see to it that you are in reasonable health, and have strength to use that human body which you have, in the service of the whole Body of Jesus Christ - the Church! Look at the next verse, “For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (Vs.20). We glorify God by allowing Him to live His life in us. We must repent of our sins, both spiritual and physical, and ask for the sacrifice of Christ to pay for both. Then use our cleansed bodies and minds to serve God.
Another common error that is sometimes made, is to ask for anointing when you feel a cold or something else “coming on.” Obviously, if you feel something coming on, then you are not yet sick! Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and as such, God expects us to take care of it. We must take every precaution we can so that we will not come down with something in the first place. Anointing is not a preventative measure, nor should it be seen as a mere ritual. Each situation should be dealt with on its own. It should be applied only when it must be applied.
Another common error is being anointed as a last resort! We are not to go to a dozen doctors and try everything under the sun before asking for anointing. There are certain physical things that we can do for ourselves. There are common-sense laws of physical health we need to follow to help us determine how we should be living our lives. But even doing all we can do in the physical realm will not forgive our sins and heal us. That just gets our eyes off the spiritual and onto the physical. Only that sacrifice of Jesus Christ can heal you. Its application is spiritual and we can't see it. If we get our eyes and mind off Jesus Christ, and on some physical remedy, we are missing the point of healing entirely! And yet, there is no absolute formula with which we can judge whether we have become “sick enough” to ask for anointing. However, there is a good general rule of thumb that can be applied: The word “sick” used in James 5:14 is from a Greek word which Strong's defines as “to be feeble in any way.” Since we are to serve God in everything we do - whether our job, in the Church, in household duties and even raising children; this rule of thumb can apply: If you (or your child) are rendered unable to carry out your normal, daily routine that life as a Christian requires of you, then you should consider yourself “sick.”
For instance, if you cut your finger, you would probably just clean it, bandage it and continue with your daily routine. If the cut were to become infected, so that your whole hand might be affected - say the finger swells up and is rendered useless, then you would be “sick.” You would not be able to do the job that God called you to do. Now is the time to ask God to intervene, to forgive your carelessness, to forgive your sins, to cleanse you and make you whole and well and strong, so that you can serve Him in strength and health.
Another example might be: you wake up in the morning with a headache that is very bothersome, but may go away as soon as you eat breakfast, or begin your daily activities. However, if that headache persisted to the extent that it impaired your ability to do the job you have been given to do - to the extent where it distracted you and perhaps endangered you or others - then you are sick and should be anointed! But the first responsibility is yours! You must decide to contact the Elder. You must seriously stop and consider what you are asking God for, realizing at the same time that if you really are sick you must ask - but it is your responsibility to decide when to ask. And as soon as you have performed this responsibility it becomes the responsibility of the elder whom you have asked.
The elder must now make his decision based on the knowledge that you bring to him about your physical situation, and his knowledge of God's Word. But it is no longer your responsibility. Since he is acting as God's representative and serves you in the name of Jesus Christ, the elder in prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, calls on God the Father in Heaven and by the anointing with oil as a symbol of God's Holy Spirit, either anoints you or a cloth to send to you. It then becomes God's responsibility! The elder, laying his hands upon the head of the individual to set him apart, puts the responsibility for your healing in God's very hands! Now it is up to Him to decide whether He will apply the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is up to Him to decide when He will apply that sacrifice - and how!
We must be sure that we perform our responsibility! The elder will perform his responsibility and God will perform His!
I hope I properly answered any questions you may have had about when to call for anointing.
Remember, brethren, ask in Faith, apply the principles I have given in this article, and you will be able to have absolute faith - the faith of Jesus Christ - that you will be healed!
And when you do call on God for that sacrifice of His Son's broken body and when that sacrifice is applied, and you are healed - be sure to thank God and use that health and strength that you get by a divine miracle from our Merciful and Loving God, to serve Him and Him only!
Pete Fleming