ARTICLES OF FAITH

Divine Healing

The first covenant that the Lord (Jehovah) made with the children of Israel after they were brought out of Egypt was a covenant of healing. The Lord said, "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord [Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord that healeth] thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26 _KJV).

Our Lord Jesus Christ went about Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people (Matthew 4:23-24).

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8 _KJV).

The vicarious suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ paid not only for the salvation of our souls but also for the healing of our bodies. "With his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5 _KJV). Matthew 8:17 _KJV reads, "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (See also I Peter 2:24.) We see from this that divine healing for the body is in the atonement.

Jesus said of believers, "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:18 _KJV). Later, James wrote in his epistle to all the churches: "Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:14-16 _KJV).