Probably the most overlooked truth to specific matters involving healing
is revealed in the earth walk ministry of Jesus Christ. There are
several places in the New Testament that express this truth but it is
more profound in the Gospel of John. During Jesus' final instructions to
the apostles found in John chapters 13 through 17, we see a
conversation that Jesus has that focuses around both Thomas and Philip.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in
Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I
am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you
know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going,
and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If
you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on
you know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:1-7)
Notice the statement that Jesus makes in response to Thomas. His response holds a very important key for us to grasp, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus
is the way to the Father, the truth concerning the Father and life as
the Father is life. In other words, any teaching on healing must be
built upon Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that John has already revealed to
us in the first chapter of his Gospel who Jesus is. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
(John 1:1-2, 14) God the Word simply put on human flesh and was given
the name Jesus. The Word in human flesh did not change or diminish in
any way. (Isaiah 40:8; Malachi 3:6) So when Jesus said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also" He
meant exactly that. Knowing Jesus, His nature, character, words,
actions, His very person was to know the Father, that is, the Godhead.
The apostle Paul tells us, "For in Him (Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9) Again, any teaching on healing (as well as all doctrine) must be upon Christ. "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:1)
Next, we see Philip question Jesus and Jesus' response. Philip said to Him, “Lord,
show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 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. Believe Me that I am in
the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the
works themselves." (John 14:8-11) Here lies another important key.
To see Jesus is to see the Father. Jesus is telling Philip that every
verbal expression and every action that is observed in the life and
ministry of Jesus is the Father. Jesus is revealing the Father's will,
nature, character, purposes and plan. The writer of Hebrews tells us in a
similar way, "Who (Jesus) being the brightness of His (The Father's) glory and the express image of His (The Father's) person..." (Hebrews 1:3} Another translation says, "And He (Jesus) is the radiance of His (The Father's) glory and the exact representation of His (The Father's) nature..." To fully grasp this, faith must operate over the reasoning of the mind.
Jesus tells Philip that His words and actions are not His but the
Father's. This is due the the connection that Jesus has with the Father.
Remember, the Word simply put on Human flesh. Jesus is God the Word in
human flesh. He is the exact representation of the Godhead. The very
essence of the Godhead in human flesh. Jesus makes another statement
concerning His relationship with the Father to Philip. "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works." If Philip does not have the faith
to believe who Jesus is, then Jesus is asking Philip to consider the
very works that He did or was doing. Facts are, no other person to date
in the history of man performed the works that Jesus was doing. Why? His
works were the works of deity. They were a reflection of the Father's
will.
The sad thing for many believers today is that they have been inoculated
with the doctrines of man that contradict the very words that Jesus
spoke to Thomas and Philip. They teach that God does not heal in the
same manner as He did through the ministry of Jesus and the early
church. Therefore, healing is today is unpredictable, unreliable and
inconsistent. That healing comes down to a choice that only God makes.
God chooses who he wants to heal and when He wants to heal. This of
course is completely inconsistent with scripture and has permitted the
devil to raise havoc in the Body of Christ in the form of sickness,
disease and even premature death. God's will has not changed. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
(Hebrews 13:8) Remember, God the Word simply put on human flesh, He was
called Jesus and as we see clearly, He never changes. The statement
that Jesus made to Philip is what must be addressed today, "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works." What are you going to believe? Where is your faith? Whose report are you going to believe, Gods or mans? No doubt, we will believe the report of the LORD!
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Monday, March 21, 2022
The Report of the LORD
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