Looking unto Jesus
Week 11 of a multi-part series
After three decades of ministry, I have learned that most believers would rather believe their own experiences, or what someone has taught them, over and above what the Word of God truly says. In trying to answer the myriad of questions that most believers have about the will of God and healing, I have found that sticking with the Bible over and above my experiences, or anyone else’s opinion, will always establish truth. It is also amazing to find the freedom that comes and the changed lives that result when truth is established.
When at any time I am in doubt of my heavenly Father’s heart or His will in any given situation, I have one proven and safe way of finding truth. Look at the life of Jesus!
Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner (John 5:19 NKJV). God the Son is the express image of God the Father. He only spoke what He heard His Father say, and only did what He saw His father do.
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3 NKJV). The Greek word translated “express image” speaks of an “identical copy” or a “perfect representation.” So we can be confident in knowing the heart of God concerning healing or anything else for that matter, by looking at the life of Jesus throughout the gospels.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works (John 14:9,10 NKJV). With this New Testament insight into the true nature of Father God, gone are the fearful pictures of Old Testament law and punishment. Now, only the heart of a loving Creator, who loves fallen man so much that He sent His Son to suffer the punishment required to redeem us, becomes visible.
With this “express image” to look upon, we can answer most questions concerning God’s will for healing and health. Such as, “Is it His will to heal? Does He want everyone well, or only those He considers deserving? Does He punish us with sickness, or sometimes allow it to teach us something? How do we appropriate this healing once we find His will? If it is His will to heal, why isn’t everyone healed? Does He take our children or loved ones in early death, just because He needs them in heaven?”
