REASON TWO: HEALING IS IN THE ATONEMENT

REASON TWO:

HEALING IS IN THE ATONEMENT

John I. Penn, D. Min.

Christians often forget that healing is not some obscure concept that we can accept or reject, depending on our theological persuasion. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the suffering servant died not only to atone for the world's sins, but that God placed on him both humanity’s sins and infirmities, and by his wounds (stripes), we were healed (Isa. 53:5-10). The Old and New Testaments point to Jesus as God’s healing and saving Messiah. (See Isaiah. 61; Psalm 103).

The Greek word for salvation is Sozo, translated into English as healing, wholeness, deliverance, and wellness. God’s salvation touches every dimension of life: spirit, body, mind (emotions), and social context. Jesus' death on the cross destroyed human sin, sickness, and death. His death on the cross paid a sin debt that no humankind could pay. God shows humanity divine love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace through the cross. The cross atoned for sin, turning God’s wrath (propitiation) away from humanity. Now that forgiveness is available, we can boldly pray for healing, wholeness, and salvation. In the resurrection, there will be no sickness, disease, human brokenness, or death. Healing is in the atonement!

God has made healing central to the gospel of salvation. Jesus anticipated that the church would continue his threefold ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing until his return. When we pray for healing, those prayers will be answered either here or in the resurrection; but they will be answered in the affirmative! The how, when, and where is up to the sovereign God.

When Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30), I believe that he was saying that the Fall, the evil and disobedience that occurred in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3), was destroyed and that God’s good creation is being restored to its perfect order. Because sins have been atoned for, salvation must be understood as the ultimate healing.

Yet, some have asked, “If God has dealt with human sin, sickness, and death, why do they still exist?” Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross has indeed destroyed those evils. The Bible tells us that God’s kingdom has come near but has not fully come. We still live in a fallen world where sin, sickness, death, and evil still exist. Healing and salvation are visible signs that the kingdom of God is near. However, in the resurrection, no evil will be a part of God’s new order, when the kingdom of righteousness will be fully established. This will be after the resurrection of the dead and after the judgment of God. Then, God’s kingdom realm will be fully established where God’s perfect order of creation will be realized, restoring humankind to God’s ‘original goodness.’

What about the interim between now and the resurrection? The church, the body of Christ must continue Jesus Christ’s threefold ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing. The church is to be about creating the beloved community, welcoming the world, calling people to repentance, offering radical hospitality, and calling them to radical transformation. The church is to be busy fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. The ministry of the church, as a healing community, has never been so great and needed.