Simple Salvation Church of God

Posted by: Administrator on Sun, Jan 9, 2011

Covenant of Healing
Pastor Mark Stephens


GOD’S COVENANT OF HEALING
Healing is not a new provision brought into being through the ministry of Jesus. Healing was provided under the Abrahamic covenant. This is how that covenant came into existence:
Genesis 17:1-5, 7 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

When God appeared to Abram He said, “I am the Almighty God.” The original Hebrew says, “I am El Shaddai.” El means “supreme.” Shaddai means “the Breasty One.” He said, “I will be a God to you.” In other words, “I will be all you need-your father, your mother, your nurse, your provider.”
Today, I want to encourage you to realize the full significance of what took place between God and Abraham. They entered into a contract together. They made a covenant together-an everlasting covenant, an absolute agreement. God said, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee.” Then He sealed His side of the agreement by swearing an oath. In Genesis 22:16 God said, “By myself have I sworn.” There was no higher power to swear by, so He swore by Himself. He gave His own Word that He would bless Abraham and his seed. “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed… and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22: 17, 18).
The Hebrew word covenant means “to cut,” implying “where blood flows.” A blood covenant is the strongest form of agreement on earth. Two parties agree to certain terms and then seal their agreement by the shedding of blood. The covenant made between God and Abraham was sealed through the act of circumcision.

“This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” (Genesis 17:10, 11).
The shedding of blood was the most vital act of the Old Testament. Through circumcision, it stood as a sign of agreement, a token of the covenant between God and man. El Shaddai agreed to bless Abraham and his descendants exceedingly. In return, He required them to live uprightly before Him.
But man continually sinned against God, failing to hold to the terms of the agreement. Again, the shedding of blood held the answer. The Levitical priesthood was instituted to offer blood sacrifices that would atone (or cover) for sin. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22). By offering a lamb on the altar, the priests could purchase forgiveness for one year. God accepted these sacrifices in order to keep the Abrahamic covenant in force. This was the only way to bridge the gap between sin and righteousness.

Centuries later the supreme blood sacrifice was made. Jesus of Nazareth came to the world, born of a virgin. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb offered upon the altar of the cross. He was the last sacrifice of the Levitical priesthood. The blood He shed on the cross washed away forever the spot of sin. The Old Testament sacrifices only covered sin; the New Testament sacrifice-Jesus, the spotless Son of God- completely did away with sin. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12). By accepting His sacrifice, you stand before God clean and pure-just as if you had never sinned.

Jesus died for sin and, at the same time, did away with the effects of sin. When sin entered into the world, it brought with it the forces of destruction: death, sickness, poverty, fear. The price Jesus paid at Calvary was the full price, covering every area of human life: spiritual, mental, physical, financial and social. Our redemption is complete.
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13, 14).
“The curse of the Law” was the penalty for any person who disobeyed the statutes of the Levitical Law. Though Jesus lived a life without sin, He gave Himself to bear that curse as if He had sinned and disobeyed the Law. He took the punishment for the sin of mankind. He bore the curse so that we could receive the blessing. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).
Deuteronomy 28: sets out the stipulations of this blessing and curse.
Verses 3-14 list all the blessings of the law, describing prosperity in every area of life.

“The curse of the Law” begins in verse 15. Here is found every kind of curse that could possibly come on mankind: sickness, disease, poverty, lack, pain, suffering, etc. Then verse 61 says, “Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law…”
Jesus bore the curse of the Law. He bore every sickness and every plague known to man. He bore pain and suffering. Why? So that the blessing could come on us when we accept His sacrifice as our own. Because we are in Christ, we are Abraham’s seed and heirs to the blessing.
Jesus showed how healing is part of this blessing when He ministered deliverance to a woman in Luke 13:
Because Jesus healed this woman on the Sabbath day, the ruler of the synagogue was indignant; but Jesus answered him saying:
“Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

The Abrahamic covenant had been in force for many years. God’s people could have walked in health and well- being, but they had become too occupied with their religious traditions. The result was a standard of living far below that which God had intended for them.
This woman was a daughter of Abraham and, because of that, she had a right to be loosed from her infirmity. Satan had bound her for eighteen years for only one reason: because she was ignorant of her covenant with God. Jesus came and ministered as a prophet under the Abrahamic covenant. He healed the people according to the covenant. He came to set the captives free, and this woman was one of those captives. All she needed was for someone to tell her what was rightfully hers as a daughter of Abraham.

If that woman could be delivered and set free because she was Abraham’s seed, so can you on those same grounds. Because you believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted His sacrifice as your own, you are Abraham’s seed and heir to the promise. That promise includes physical healing. Satan has no right to put any sickness, disease or infirmity on your body. You are a child of God, a joint heir with Jesus and a citizen in the kingdom of God. You have a covenant with Almighty God, and one of your covenant rights is the right to a healthy body.
 

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