Bill Johnson - Salvation Includes Healing
For some reason, they didn’t include healing in salvation. It was viewed as something that God could do if He wanted to, but it wasn’t considered a part of the package. Yet, the word salvation actually means deliverance, healing, and forgiveness. Healing is an expression of His holiness; sickness is to my body what sin is to my soul. Jesus asked the question when they lowered this man through the roof; his friends lowered him. It was actually the faith of his friends, not the sick man’s faith. It says of Jesus that when He saw their faith, referring to the men who lowered him into the room, He said to the man, «Your sins are forgiven.» This stirred up such controversy in the room because the people were becoming accustomed to healing people, but this whole issue of Him forgiving sin crossed the line for many of them. So Jesus asked the question, «Which is easier to say—'Your sins are forgiven, ' or 'Rise up, pick up your bed and walk? '» Once again, He put these two subjects like two sides of the same coin: the forgiveness of sin and the healing of disease. They are both parts of the same expression of God’s redemptive work.
When the concept of salvation was brought from the back burner to the front burner during the Reformation, it didn’t disappear throughout church history, but it had been kind of swept aside. When it was brought to the forefront again, for some reason, they still didn’t include healing in salvation. It was viewed as something God could do if He wanted to, but it wasn’t considered a part of the package. Yet the word salvation actually means deliverance, healing, and forgiveness, as it refers to these three realms. These are the three realms of the kingdom: forgiveness, deliverance, and healing. For that reason, the Apostle Paul said that the kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but it is righteousness, which deals with the sin issue; peace, which deals with the torment issue; and joy, which is the expression of healing. That’s why laughter is good medicine. Healing is an expression of the righteousness of God. So here we have the kingdom of God: it is not meat or drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
When someone is healed, let me rephrase something we’ve declared numerous times here through the years: we pray for the sick because we want Jesus to get what He paid for. If I were to buy you a car—let’s imagine Bill Gates buying it—so it would be a nicer car. Let’s say someone goes to the dealership and buys the car of your dreams. Perhaps there’s no dealership in Redding that carries your dream car, so let’s get you down to the Bay Area. They go in, write up the contract, and write a check for the entire amount of this fine car you have. They even pay your sales tax because of the large gift you’ve received. The person pays for your insurance for the first five years; everything’s covered. It’s yours, but it’s at the dealership. It would be kind of silly to go down there and pay for a car that’s already paid for. Yet a lot of people are trying to pay for what Jesus has already paid for; it has already been purchased.
An illustration that I’ve used numerous times, which beautifully illustrates this concept, is when Chris and Kathy moved here to be part of the team. Chris owned several businesses, closed them down, and moved here to help us. He still had some debt from closing those businesses down, but he didn’t announce it; he didn’t tell anyone. As close friends, I knew what he brought with him. I remember standing back there greeting people after they left an essential Sunday morning service when a lady came up to me and asked, «Is Chris here?» She had a check folded in half. I said he was preaching somewhere else that morning but would be here tonight. She said, «Would you give this to him?» I said sure. I waited until she walked around the corner; it wasn’t in a sealed envelope, and it felt like she wanted me to see it.
After she walked around the corner, I flipped it open, and it said thirty thousand dollars. I looked to make sure it was his name, and it was. I thought, «Well, that’s cool,» so I put it in my Bible, knowing I’d see him in our pre-service prayer meeting. We were praying when Chris walked in, so I walked over to him and said, «Hey Chris, someone gave this to me this morning for you.» He looked and said, «Does that say three thousand?» I said, «No, it’s thirty thousand dollars, it’s for you.» He ruined the entire prayer meeting; while everyone was praying, he showed them the thirty-thousand-dollar check, which was a great answer to prayer for them. The crazy thing was he never thanked me for all that money; he never said thank you at all because I didn’t write the check—I just delivered it. When you pray for the sick, you’re just delivering a check that someone else wrote; it’s already bought and paid for.
So here it says the Son of Righteousness will rise. Here’s what I want you to see: Jesus is becoming more manifest among His people like a sunrise, and there is healing in His wings. Interestingly, the word wings there can be translated as the edge of a garment. Habakkuk talks about the healing rays that come from His hands. I’m not trying to make it spooky; I’m just saying when He shows up, you should expect things to happen. The Son of Righteousness rises among His people. What is the sunrise? It’s the beginning of a new day. We’re about to see not power for entertainment’s sake, but power to illustrate the holiness of God—power that demonstrates and manifests the holiness of God against all that contaminates His people. But that’s not the end of the story; that’s the beginning. The start is for the people of God to taste what He bought for us, so that we can take it to the people who need it.