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The following article is an excerpt from the report
of the
Mr. McNab started by
reviewing the history of this teaching in God’s church since the
Mr. Herbert Armstrong
learned that God heals, in the summer of 1927.
His wife, Loma, was miraculously healed of several ailments, though the doctors
had given her only 24 hours to live.
In 1928, still some years
before his ordination, Mr. Armstrong gave his first sermon. It was on the subject of the Sabbath. A few weeks later, Mr. Armstrong gave his second
sermon — which was about DIVINE HEALING.
After Mr. Armstrong spoke, an elder from the Church of God Seventh Day
stood up, and preached against divine healing. There has been opposition to this
doctrine from the very moment it was restored to the church!
The early teaching of the
Mr. Armstrong’s teachings
were based on scriptures such as Exodus 15:26, where God states, “I AM the LORD
who heals you”. God is named for what He
is. The Hebrew here is Jehovah-Rapha
— our God-Healer.
Then in 2 Chronicles
The Church’s emphasis was
on relying on God for healing. The church had a negative view of the
medical profession. This can also be
seen in other publications, such as The Origin of Medical Science
in the October 1959 Good News, and The Origin of Medical Practice, an
In the 1970’s came the
infamous STP — the Systematic Theology Project (otherwise known as Slowly
Turning Protestant). One of the earliest
doctrines to be attacked at this time was healing. Healing was said to be something God did from
time to time in His sovereign mercy; it was not a Biblical promise, and
was not dependant on people having FAITH.
In 1979, Mr. Armstrong powerfully
revived and restored the doctrine of healing, in his 72-page book, The Plain
Truth About Healing. Regarding the STP teaching, HWA wrote on page
52, “It is part of a whole new, erroneous and corrupt teaching encouraging
faith in MEN and doubt in God … this entire UNauthorised teaching [has] been
made null and void BY JESUS CHRIST through His apostle”. As for the medical profession, Mr. Armstrong
states on page 49, “Once more to the question, Did God raise up the medical
profession for our day? EMPHATICALLY NO!”
In 1986, Mr. Armstrong
died and Mr. Joe Tkach was appointed.
Although many hundreds of changes in doctrine have since occurred, one
of the very first was healing, with Mr. Tkach’s series of articles on
the Plain Truth about Healing.
This was serialised in the Worldwide News from March 1987 — barely a
year after Mr. Armstrong’s death. Mr.
Tkach reverted to the STP teachings — that God had never promised to heal,
there was no such thing as physical sin, and healing was not a matter of
faith. The meaning of the Passover
symbols — especially the bread — was changed.
In 2001, one
When I first came into the
church I was impressed by people who mentioned miraculous healings. One elderly lady, then in her 70’s, explained
to me how she had suffered for years from angina. On the day she was baptised, she threw her
tablets down the toilet and flushed them away!
That was ten years earlier, and she had been well since that time.
But by the late 1970’s,
when I would approach ministers for anointing, I would be asked, “Have you seen
your doctor yet?” Ministers, at least in
our church area, were reluctant to anoint unless medical advice had been
sought.
On one occasion, by the
early 1980’s, I had to almost fight to get a minister to anoint my baby son,
who was unwell. Thankfully, my son was
healed instantly, even though I had to almost force the minister to comply with
the biblical instructions of James 5:14.
One of the key passages
on healing is Isaiah 53:4, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows”. The KJV and NKJV
translations obscure the plain meaning of this verse.
The Hebrew for griefs is choli,
which is usually translated SICKNESS (12 times) or DISEASE (7 times). The word for sorrows is makob, which
can be translated PAIN.
Young’s Literal Bible
Translation gives this verse as, “Surely our sicknesses He hath borne
and our pains — He hath carried them”.
Jay P Green’s Interlinear
gives, “Surely He has borne our sicknesses and our pains”.
And just in case we’re
wondering which of the translators has done a better job, the question is
answered once for all in Matthew 8:17.
Here God inspired Matthew, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
to translate the verse as, “He Himself took our INFIRMITIES and bore our
SICKNESSES”.
Jesus has indeed done
something VERY SPECIAL for us — He has taken from us, and carried AWAY,
our sicknesses!
But WHEN did Jesus
accomplish this?
We know Jesus paid for our
sins by His DEATH. It is through the
death and shed blood of Jesus that we are forgiven, and can look
forward to the gift of eternal life.
But WHEN did Jesus pay for
our PHYSICAL HEALING?
The answer is that Jesus
volunteered to undergo a tremendous physical beating and punishment
BEFORE GOING TO THE CROSS, so that He might pay the penalty for our physical
sins, and bring us HEALING!
Isaiah 53:5 tells us, “And
by His stripes we are HEALED”.
The word stripes means bruises or wounds.
In 1 Peter 2:24 we read of
Jesus, “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”. The word for healing refers to
PHYSICAL HEALING throughout the New Testament — such as the centurion’s servant
who was healed, or the woman with the issue of blood who was healed.
We need to clearly
understand that Jesus’ stripes — the physical beating He underwent in
the hours before He was crucified — and His eventual death on the
cross, are TWO SEPARATE ASPECTS of His sacrifice for us.
The ONLY REASON for the
tremendous physical beating and pain that Jesus went through was so that
HEALING could be provided FOR US. The
Father and Jesus both wanted so much to make healing available that they
were willing to go through this horrible experience for our benefit.
Some today pay thousands
of dollars for medical assistance, but Jesus has paid a FAR GREATER PRICE!
It would be a great WASTE
— a tragedy — if we were to ignore, or take lightly, such a precious gift.
Consider Psalm 103:2-3,
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who
forgives all your iniquities, who HEALS ALL YOUR DISEASES”.
There can be serious
consequences if we do not understand and avail ourselves of what God has
provided. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-30 Paul
writes about the meaning of the Passover. The wine represents Jesus shed blood —
His death — by which we are forgiven and can enter the New
Covenant. The broken bread
represents Jesus’ broken BODY — for our healing.
Paul writes, “For he who
eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgement to himself, not
discerning the Lord’s body. For this
reason MANY are weak and SICK among you, and many
SLEEP (margin: are DEAD!)”, verses 29-30.
Notice that Paul says that
MANY were sick or had even DIED. And the
deaths must have been premature and unnecessary deaths — otherwise Paul
would not have felt it needful to comment.
Paul’s words apply to us
TODAY. If we see many who are sick in
the Churches of God, and many who are dying prematurely, then we need to do as
Paul says and EXAMINE ourselves (verse 28), and ensure we fully understand what
the Passover is about.
If we think back to the
FIRST PASSOVER, we will see that there were TWO SEPARATE ASPECTS. The BLOOD of the Passover lamb was splashed
over the doorposts, and was a SIGN to the death angel to pass over the
Israelites’ homes. In this manner they
were delivered from DEATH.
But, IN ADDITION, the
Israelites had to EAT THE BODY of the lamb, too. Why?
Perhaps the answer is given in Psalm 105:37 “[God] brought them out [of
Let’s look at the EXAMPLE Jesus
gave us in the New Testament. And
remember that Jesus only did the WILL OF THE FATHER.
Matthew 4:23-24. “Now Jesus went about all
Matthew 8:14-16. “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were
demon-possessed. And He cast out the
spirits with a word, and healed ALL who were sick, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying; ‘He Himself took our infirmities
and bore our sicknesses’ ”.
Matthew 9:35. “And Jesus went about all the cities and
villages … healing EVERY sickness and EVERY disease among the people”.
Matthew 12:15. “But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from
there; and great MULTITUDES followed Him, and He healed them ALL”.
Matthew 14:35-36. “And when the men of that place recognised
Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all that
were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched were made PERFECTLY
WELL”.
Luke 4:40. “Now when the sun was setting, all those who
had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His
hands on EVERY ONE of them and healed them”.
Luke 6:19. “And the whole multitude sought to touch Him,
for power went out from Him and healed THEM ALL”.
There is no example in
Scripture of Jesus ever saying it was not His will to heal — or that it was
good for someone to remain sick — or that someone would learn more if they stayed
sick. Jesus healed ALL. And He is THE SAME yesterday, TODAY, and
forever (Hebrews 13:8)!
Jesus continued His
healing ministry even after He ascended to heaven.
Acts
Acts 28:8-9. “And it happened that the father of Publius
lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul
went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on
the island who had diseases also came and WERE HEALED”.
James makes plain what
church members should do in the event of sickness.
“Is anyone among you
sick? [It’s interesting that this is
almost a hypothetical question — IS anyone sick…? James implies that this may be a
rarity!] 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 WILL SAVE the sick, and the Lord WILL RAISE him up. And if he has committed sins [that would be physical
sins], he will be forgiven. Confess
your trespasses one to another, and pray for one another, that you may be
HEALED. The effective fervent prayer of
a righteous man avails much…Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the
truth (of God as Healer, perhaps?), and someone turns him back, let him
know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from
death and cover a multitude of sins”, James 5:14-20.
And note that it is the prayer
of faith that saves the sick, not simply the anointing with oil.
Let’s refresh our memories
as to what Mr. Armstrong taught, and what most Church of God members at least purported
to believe, say twenty years ago.
The following quotations are all from Mr. Armstrong’s 1979 book, The
Plain Truth about Healing.
“God had said to ancient
“God wants His people to
rely on Him, to TRUST Him…Is it because some of us do not know and rely on the
true God that we rely instead on medical doctors? God has said, ‘I am the God who heals you’”.
“What a TREMENDOUS price
God Himself, through Christ, paid in order that He might perform for us this
MIRACLE OF HEALING…He is so willing, indeed so anxious, to relieve us from the
pain, suffering or affliction that He gave His only begotten Son … to be
beaten, to suffer in our stead, so that, without violating any principle of His
LAW, we may be healed … We need to realise God’s LOVE and compassion. Healing must not be taken for granted or
treated cheaply”.
“And when we ask, for
instance, for healing, we do have an evidence – proof positive – that the
healing will be done…He promised to heal you.
But ‘according to your faith be it unto you’”.
“The Bible reveals God’s
will. We need never say, ‘Well, I know
God could heal me IF IT IS HIS WILL’.
You can know His will. And as far
as healing is concerned, I can tell you definitely that His word says plainly and
emphatically that it is His will … HE CAN’T BREAK A PROMISE”.
“And so with the member of
God’s church who has not as yet achieved full FAITH to BELIEVE GOD’S PROMISES
for the physical healing. He should have
that faith! He may pay himself the
penalty of the sickness or disease if he lacks faith to believe Christ paid the
penalty for him – to rely on GOD’S PROMISE to heal. So therefore, if a member has not yet grown
in the FAITH OF CHRIST to absolutely KNOW he can rely on God’s PROMISE of
healing – and if this member does call in the doctor or go to the medical
profession for help, God’s church does not condemn him – but rather, God’s
ministers should encourage such a one to GROW IN FAITH until he can rely on God
instead of relying on MAN”.
To summarise Mr.
Armstrong’s book:
But of course any
discussion of healing produces many questions!
What about Paul’s thorn in
the flesh?
What about Job? Didn’t God make him sick?
Doesn’t God use Sickness
to Teach Us?
Didn’t Paul Have a
Physical Infirmity?
What about those who died
in faith?
What about modern medical
science – isn’t it now so advanced, we don’t need God’s intervention?
Due to space limitations,
we will just look at some of these areas very briefly.
People sometimes say that
Paul was afflicted with a horrible infirmity or disease — a thorn in the
flesh — that God refused to heal (therefore, goes the argument, God
probably won’t heal me either).
We can find the details in
2 Corinthians 12:7-9. “And lest I should
be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the
flesh was given to me, a MESSENGER OF SATAN to buffet me, lest I be exalted
above measure. Concerning this thing I
pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me”.
A number of people say
that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was an unsightly eye-disease. Some state it was general ill-health, which
plagued Paul throughout his life. When I
was at school, my Catholic religious teacher taught that Paul’s thorn in the
flesh was the sin of lust! These
are all human interpretations. But how
does the Bible use the term thorn in the flesh?
In Numbers 33:55, we read,
“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then
it shall be those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and
THORNS IN YOUR SIDES, and THEY shall harass you in the land where you
dwell”.
Joshua
So the Bible uses the term
to apply to trouble and harassment caused by PEOPLE. It does not refer to sickness or
disease. The term is merely a figure
of speech. In our society it is not
uncommon to refer to someone who is troublesome, or a real nuisance to us, as a
pain in the neck. This doesn’t
mean we actually have a painful neck!
God often referred to ancient
Looking back now at 2
Corinthians 12:7, Paul actually tells us what the thorn in the flesh was
— it was a MESSENGER OF SATAN. The Greek
word for messenger is the word usually translated ANGEL. This was a fallen angel, sent by Satan, to
pester and harass Paul, and cause him as much trouble as possible! As Paul said, “to buffet me” or “beat me”.
Should it be any surprise
to us that Satan would personally set out to thwart everything that Paul would
do? Paul was one of the mightiest of the
apostles, and would be bound to attract Satan’s attention and energy.
How was Paul
buffeted? He gives us the full story in
2 Corinthians 11:23-30, “…I am more: in labours more abundant, in stripes
above measure, in PRISONS more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews FIVE TIMES I received forty
stripes minus one. Three times I was
BEATEN WITH RODS; once I was STONED; three times I was SHIPWRECKED; a night and
a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in
perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles,
in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often…”.
Paul probably had one of
the toughest lives, and suffered more bruises, than any of God’s servants. Satan never stopped trying to destroy this
apostle. Yet notice, in this list of
Paul’s problems and difficulties, sickness is never mentioned.
Paul states in 2
Corinthians 12:8 that he asked the Lord “three times that IT (the evil spirit)
might depart from me”. Did God
refuse? No — He reminded Paul that He
had made supernatural provision to help Paul in every difficult
situation he would ever face. “And He
said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My STRENGTH is made perfect in
(your) weakness’”. When Paul fully
understood this, he was able to respond, “Therefore most GLADLY I will rather
boast in my infirmities that the POWER OF CHRIST may rest UPON ME. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak (humanly), then I am
STRONG (in the Lord)”.
Paul later explained to
the brethren in
So when we look closely at
Paul’s thorn in the flesh, we do not see an example of God breaking HIS
WRITTEN PROMISE to HEAL.
Some people say, “Well God
made Job sick, so I guess He has made me sick too for some purpose”.
We need to remember it was
actually SATAN who made Job sick. Yes,
some will say, but God allowed it.
True — but God will “allow” us to go out and rob a bank tomorrow. That doesn’t mean it’s His will.
There is much of interest
in Job’s experience, and many lessons we can learn. But perhaps the bottom-line is: JOB WAS
HEALED! Once he acknowledged his
ignorance, and repented of his self-righteousness, he was HEALED.
The best estimate the
commentaries can come up with is that the events recorded in the book of Job
took place in less than twelve months.
Anyone who believes they
are “another Job” should be greatly encouraged! Job was healed, within twelve months at
most. And then lived another 140 YEARS!
So the story of Job gives no
excuse for chronic sickness.
Some believe the Bible
teaches that God will use sickness to chasten us. They point to Hebrews 12:5-11. “And you have forgotten the exhortation which
speaks to you as sons, ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the
LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD
loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives…now no chastening
seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it
yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by
it”.
However, the word for chastening
means to TRAIN UP A CHILD. To train up a
child requires much INSTRUCTION given over many years. (There might even be the occasional spanking,
but not many parents would choose to teach their children by injecting
them with some horrible and painful disease!)
The Greek word for chastening
can also be found in Ephesians 6:4 and 2 Timothy 3:16. These verses clarify its meaning as: to train
and to instruct.
Ephesians 6:4. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your
children to wrath, but bring them up in the TRAINING and admonition of the
Lord”. This clearly has to do with
instruction, guidance and example.
2 Timothy 3:16. “All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
INSTRUCTION in righteousness”. God uses
HIS WORDS to instruct us … to child-train us …to discipline us!
Paul says in Hebrews 4:12
that “the word of God is living and POWERFUL, and sharper than
any two-edged SWORD, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,
and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents OF THE
HEART”.
If we have a converted
heart then the words of God can CUT US DEEPLY when we are in the wrong. We can feel the wounds! God does not need to smite us with a dread
disease.
But what about Galatians
Let’s read the
account. “You know that because of
PHYSICAL INFIRMITY I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did
not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ
Jesus…For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out
your own eyes and given them to me”.
Paul relates here an
experience that happened when he FIRST preached to the Galatians. Acts 14:19-21 tells us what happened at that
time. “Then Jews from
Paul mentioned that he had
a physical infirmity when he first preached to the Galatians. No wonder!
If any one of US was pummelled with heavy rocks and stones —
horribly bruised, bloodied, and battered — and then physically dragged
along the ground, bumping our head and face — and giving the appearance of
actually being dead — then WE would certainly have a physical
infirmity! (Some commentators believe
that Paul actually WAS dead after this particular beating).
What about the reference
to the Galatians being willing to pluck out their own eyes? Well, possibly Paul’s eyes had been
damaged during his stoning. He may well
have had two “black eyes”, perhaps horribly bloodshot, and causing him
difficulty in the immediate aftermath of his beating.
However, it is most likely
to be another figure of speech (like Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”). Paul was recounting the tremendous affection
he received from the brethren in
There is no doubt Paul
bore many scars and marks from the endless opposition to his preaching, but
there is no indication that he went around sick and infirm. It would be difficult for a sick person to
accomplish even a fraction of what Paul did!
There are probably a
couple of other passages that someone might want to turn to to show that “God
doesn’t heal”. Any such verses must be
interpreted in the light of the Bible’s plain teaching that God DOES
HEAL, that He WANTS to heal us, and that Jesus Christ paid an ENORMOUS PRICE
for us to be healed.
What about doctors and the
medical profession? Where do they fit
into this question of healing? Isn’t
medical science far more advanced than in biblical times? Shouldn’t we take full advantage of what man
has to offer?
Some basic points we need
to remember:
We need to be very careful
if we look to man’s systems for help.
Dr. Robert S Mendelsohn has written, “I believe that more than NINETY
PERCENT of Modern Medicine could disappear from the face of the earth—doctors,
hospitals, drugs, and equipment—and the effect on our health would be immediate
and BENEFICIAL”, Confessions of a Medical Heretic. Dr. Mendelsohn was Chairman of the Medical
Licensure Committee for the state of
Mr. Armstrong makes a
number of comments on the topic of medicine in his book The Plain Truth
about Healing, such as the following:
“Once more to the
question, Did God raise up the medical profession for our day? EMPHATICALLY NO! …To those whom He has
called, He has revealed IN HIS WORD to them that HE is Yahweh-Rapha – their
HEALING God – the God who HEALS those who believe”.
“You who misunderstand or
lack faith, but trust in medical doctors, DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT THE OVERWHELMING
MAJORITY OF THE MILLIONS WHO DIE, DIE UNDER THE MEDICAL DOCTORS’ CARE? Yet you who disbelieve still have faith in
M.D.s. Frankly, it makes me a little
indignant, as I fully believe it does the living CHRIST, to find people
exalting the advances and “expertise” of medical doctors, while at the same
time denying that God’s PROMISES are promises – discrediting faith in God,
excusing their lack of trusting GOD while they argue for trusting MAN! God has PROMISED salvation and eternal life
on the SAME conditions He PROMISED healing – obedience and faith”.
Mr. Armstrong makes it
very plain in his book that the church does not condemn those who choose
to go to the medical profession for assistance.
Nevertheless, he emphasises that we should be learning to RELY ON GOD,
not on man. He writes, “God’s
ministers should encourage such a one to GROW IN FAITH until he can rely on God
instead of relying on MAN.”
Healing is a BENEFIT God has
made available to us — at great cost to Himself. Let’s make sure we REMEMBER all His benefits!
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