Topical Bible: Sickness: God: Exhibits his Love in Healing

◄ Sickness: God: Exhibits his Love in Healing ►

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In the biblical narrative, sickness is often portrayed as a consequence of the fallen world, yet it is also a context in which God's love and compassion are profoundly demonstrated through healing. The Scriptures reveal numerous instances where God intervenes to restore health, underscoring His desire for the well-being of His people.

Old Testament Foundations

The Old Testament provides several accounts of God's healing power. In Exodus 15:26, God declares to the Israelites, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His statutes, then I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." This passage highlights God's role as a healer and His covenantal promise to protect His people from sickness as they remain faithful to Him.

The healing of Naaman, the Syrian commander, in 2 Kings 5 further illustrates God's willingness to heal beyond the boundaries of Israel. Naaman, afflicted with leprosy, is instructed by the prophet Elisha to wash in the Jordan River seven times. Upon obedience, his flesh is restored, demonstrating God's power and mercy.

Healing in the Ministry of Jesus

The New Testament amplifies the theme of divine healing through the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus' healings are a testament to His divine authority and compassion. In Matthew 4:23, it is recorded, "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people." His healings were not only acts of compassion but also signs of the inbreaking Kingdom of God.

One of the most poignant examples is found in Mark 5:25-34, where a woman suffering from a bleeding disorder for twelve years is healed by touching Jesus' garment. Jesus acknowledges her faith, saying, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction" (Mark 5:34). This account emphasizes the personal nature of Jesus' healing ministry and His recognition of individual faith.

The Apostolic Era and Beyond

The early church continued the healing ministry of Jesus through the apostles. In Acts 3:6-8, Peter heals a man lame from birth, declaring, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!" The man leaps up, walking and praising God, illustrating the continuation of divine healing through the power of Jesus' name.

James 5:14-15 provides instruction for the church regarding sickness: "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up." This passage underscores the communal aspect of healing and the role of faith and prayer in seeking God's intervention.

Theological Reflections

Throughout Scripture, healing is a manifestation of God's love and a foretaste of the ultimate restoration promised in the eschaton. While not all sickness is healed in this life, the biblical witness assures believers of God's compassionate presence and His ultimate victory over sickness and death. The healings recorded in the Bible serve as a reminder of God's sovereignty and His deep care for His creation, pointing to a future where "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:4).

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 38:17
Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but you have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Righteous Grace
... this great work of propitiation that exhibits God as "the ... thus secured will be
trial-proof, sickness-proof, deathbed ... the ungodly that the righteous God is the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bonar/gods way of peace/chapter iv righteous grace.htm

Matt. Ix. 27-30.
... gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every ... that for their praise'
sake, not for God's sake, he ... this doth He stop, but He exhibits also another ...
/.../homilies on the gospel of saint matthew/homily xxxii matt ix 27-30.htm

From his Commission to Reside Abroad in 1820 to his Removal to ...
... was himself laid for some weeks upon a bed of sickness, with a ... first of these conveys
a lesson of practical wisdom, and exhibits the method ... "O Lord God, who is ...
/.../chapter iii from his commission.htm

2 Timothy ii. 14-Nov
... For many such visitations God inflicts ... here many proofs of His righteous judgment,
and exhibits them to ... But whilst you remain in this sickness, it would show a ...
/.../homily v 2 timothy ii.htm

Of Preparation.
... Lord's Supper, God had sent that fearful sickness among them ... signs, but such as
wherewith Christ indeed exhibits and gives ... and blood, of the Son of God, who is ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bayly/the practice of piety/i of preparation.htm

At the Unknown' Feast in Jerusalem, and by the Pool of Bethesda.
... Fountain of the Virgin' in Jerusalem exhibits the phenomenon ... which leads up to the
Miracle, God manifest in ... so intensely selfish; and whose sickness was really ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xii at the unknown.htm

The Pattern of Service
... to the slow process of healing which this miracle exhibits. ... hands upon death, and
it lived; upon sickness, and it ... whom we would fain draw to the love of God. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/the pattern of service.htm

Humbly Inscribed to his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, one of his ...
... On yon cerulean plain,. In exultation to their God, and thine,. ... Eternal celebration
of His praise. ... Their dance perplex'd exhibits to the sight. ...
/.../young/youngs night thoughts/humbly inscribed to his grace.htm

Three Homilies. On Our Lord.
... brought her the treasure of healing for her sickness. ... power, but over its enemies
it exhibits its victories. ... that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. ...
/.../ephraim/hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/three homilies on our lord.htm

The Paralytic Let Down through the Roof.
... from within, and to remove your perplexity, he exhibits the man ... worked out by the
long duration of his sickness: or if ... by means of these words that God has not ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/homily on the paralytic let.htm