Error is often nothing but truth out of proportion. Balanced truth takes into account the great biblical doctrines of Creation, the Fall, Redemption, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the End. Seen in proper perspective, each element of divine revelation sparkles like a polished diamond when viewed from any angle. After half a century of reflecting on the topic and praying for the sick, I offer seven biblical perspectives on divine healing, which I believe are balanced, proportionate, and edifying.
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1. We affirm that God’s will for his creation is health and wholeness. We deny that God is the author of sin, disease or death. (Gen. 1:27, 31.)
2. We affirm that sickness, like all the world’s brokenness, is an ultimate result of human sin. We deny that specific wickness or trouble is necessarily related to any specific sin, or to the sin of any particular individual. (Rom. 5:12; 8:20-22; John 9:1-3; Book of Job.)
3. We affirm that God, by Christ’s redemptive work, will finally restore to its intended wholeness the creation he has made. This includes our bodies and whole selves. We deny that God is interested only in our “soul” or “spirit,” or that redemption excludes from its final benefits complete wholeness for the entire person. (Isa. 53:4-5; Phil. 3:20-21.)
4. We affirm that this full redemption will not come until the resurrection at the End. Until then, even God’s believing people continue to share in elements of the Fall. We deny that even mature believers can always expect perfect health and wholeness now, or that their sicknesses necessarily reflect any personal fault or lack of faith. (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor. 4:16-5:4.)
