The only way that people, who are separated from God, can be reconciled back to Him is by having their sin nature removed and replaced by the very “life” of God Himself and this comes to us through Jesus Christ. Jesus referred to this process as being born again. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

When we receive Jesus as our Savior and make Him Lord of our lives, He imparts the very life of God, into our human spirit and we are cleansed of all sin and unrighteousness. Ephesians 2:1, 5 proclaims that You! He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” And it further declares that God, “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” God’s life has come to those of us who are in Christ. God’s miracle working life, God’s eternal life, His restorative life, His healing life, His powerful Zoë life has come into our spirits!

When God’s life comes to people, they are changed. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The Holy Spirit comes in recreating that person into a new creation. It is God coming into the spirit of man giving new birth, infusing His Spirit and the person’s spirit into divine union. It is God imparting His nature, His substance, His being into the spirit of the person to give him His Zoë life. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death!

Historically this great plan of salvation from sin with the provision for healing was prophesied in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53:4-6 proclaims prophetically, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Many Bible scholars, in examining the original Hebrew text of this passage, more accurately translate the Hebrew words choli and makob as “sickness” and “pains” instead of “griefs” and “sorrows” as some Bible translations now have. Translated thus, Isaiah the prophet is saying, ‘Surely He hath borne our “sicknesses” and carried our “pains.” As such, this is a major prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ as not only our Savior but also our Healer.

During Jesus’ lifetime, He healed the sick everywhere He went so much so that the writer of Matthew 8:16-17, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote, “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.” This is verification that what was spoken forth in Isaiah was being fulfilled through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

1 Peter 2:24 further reinforces the fact that healing was secured for our bodies and minds when it states concerning 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.”  These three scripture verses jointly proclaim the same truth that Jesus not only dealt with sin when He became our substitute on the cross, but He also made provision for healing. The Isaiah scripture was a prophecy looking forward toward the future when “by His stripes we are healed.” The Matthew record was written about the present life of Jesus as Healer when He lived here on earth and 1 Peter 2:24 is written in the past tense looking back at the time of the cross when “by whose stripes you were healed.”

The Bible record of Jesus setting people free from bondage and healing them during His lifetime is voluminous.  Matthew 8:16 states that Jesus “healed all that were sick.” Luke 6:19 explains that “great multitudes followed Him” and “He healed them all.” Matthew 9:35 reports that Jesus went about all the cities “healing every sickness, and every disease among the people.” Jesus healed all and every kind of sickness and disease when He ministered here on earth. The good news is that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:3).  He is still our remarkable Healer!