The Bible is not like any other book. In Hebrews 4:12, we're told that the word of God is alive and powerful. It is the living word of God; that is why it has the power to set people free. The Scriptures also have healing power. The Psalmist said, "He sent His word and healed them" (Psalm 107:20). And, in Isaiah 55:11, God states, "My word that goes forth from My mouth shall not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire, and will achieve the purpose for which I sent it". In other words, whatever the Scriptures state, will be accomplished. Furthermore, God said, "I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled" (Jeremiah 1:12). So, we have God's personal guarantee of the fulfillment of the promises recorded in the Scriptures.

But, how do we know that the Bible's promises are still available for us today?

In Malachi 3:6, God stated, "I am the Lord, I do not change". The Bible also declares that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Therefore, whatever God was willing to do in the past, He is still willing to do today. Furthermore, the Scriptures repeatedly proclaim that God does not practice partiality or favoritism (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Deuteronomy 10:17). Thus, whatever God was willing to do for others, He is also willing to do for us.

We need to understand that the afflictions of sickness and disease are oppressions of the devil/Satan. In Luke 13:10-17, when Jesus healed a woman who had an infirmity that had caused her to be bowed or bent over for 18 years, He stated that it was Satan who had bound her with this affliction. And, in Acts 10:38, the Bible states that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power, and that He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. This scripture clearly states that "all" whom Jesus healed had been oppressed by the devil. It is true that there are a few texts which say that God brought sickness or disease upon people, but the people whom God afflicted with these sicknesses and diseases were either, the enemies of God and His people, or it was His people when they were living in open rebellion and disobedience. As long as God's people were faithful and obedient to Him, God has never brought disease or sickness upon them. Even in the case of Job, the Bible says that it was Satan who attacked Job and his family in various ways, including afflicting Job with boils over his entire body (Job chapters 1 and 2).

God identifies Himself as being our refuge, our help and our deliverer. As stated in Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble". When sickness or disease are negatively impacting your life, causing you pain or distress, that is "trouble". Thankfully, God has promised to deliver us out of our troubles (Psalm 50:15; Psalm 34:17). The Bible does not say that we will never have any troubles. Jesus told us that we will have tribulation/trouble in this world (John 16:33). In Psalm 34:19, scripture says that the righteous have many afflictions. However, that same text also states that the Lord delivers him out of them all. And, Jesus stated that He had been sent to release or "set at liberty" those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18). Remember, in Acts 10:38, it said that those whom Jesus healed had been "oppressed" by the devil. Thus, sickness and disease are stated to be an oppression of the enemy. And, therefore, when Jesus says that He was sent to release or "set at liberty" the oppressed in Luke 4:18; this would include those whom Satan has brought sickness and disease upon.

There are numerous scriptures throughout the Bible that promise healing to God's people. In Exodus 15:26, God states, "I am the Lord who heals you". In 3rd John verse 2, the Bible declares, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health". God proclaims, "I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds" in Jeremiah 30:17. The Scriptures state that "the Lord will take away from you all sickness" (Deuteronomy 7:15). The Bible says, "To you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2). Mark 6:12-13 records that the disciples "went out and preached that people should repent. And, they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them". In James 5:14-15 we're told, "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And, the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up". The Scriptures proclaim, "These signs will follow those who believe... In My name they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:17-18). In the Exodus 15:26 and Deuteronomy 7:15 passages, it referred to God as having put diseases upon Israel's past enemies, such as the Egyptians, just as I previously mentioned. And, the Exodus text also states that God's promise to His people of freedom from these diseases is conditional based upon obedience, which we will discuss later.

There are three additional Bible texts that we need to research. These scriptures convey an important, powerful and encouraging message regarding the connection of spiritual healing and physical healing, and regarding how Jesus paid the price for both by His sacrifice and suffering on the cross. Psalm 103:2-3 declares, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgives all your iniquities, and who heals all your diseases". In this text David chooses to present both of these subjects together, spiritual healing (forgiving our iniquities) and physical healing (healing our diseases). Is this just a coincidence? There are no "coincidences" in the Bible. God divinely inspired the Bible writers to say exactly what He wanted, and to say it exactly where He wanted. David presented the two subjects of spiritual healing and physical healing together, because that is what God inspired Him to do. We know that the Scriptures clearly teach that Jesus paid the price for our spiritual healing (forgiving our iniquities/sins) on the cross. He took our sins upon Himself and bore them, so that we don't have to. Is it possible that Jesus also took our diseases upon Himself and bore them, so that we don't have to as well?

In Isaiah 53:4-5 we're told that He (Jesus) has borne, took up or carried (depending on your translation) our "choliy", which is the English spelling of the original Hebrew word used by Isaiah. This word is used 24 times in the Old Testament. The vast majority of the times where this word, "choliy", is used, it is translated as sickness, disease, illness, injuries or wounds, depending on which translation of the Bible you have. For some reason the translators of the King James version of the Bible chose to translate "choliy" as "griefs" in Isaiah 53:4-5, although their translation translates this word as either sickness, sick or disease 20 out of the 24 times it appears in the Old Testament. In view of the fact that this word is translated as sickness/sick/disease more than 80 percent of the time, and in view of the fact that this passage in Isaiah ends by saying, "with His (Jesus') stripes/wounds we are healed", I believe that it is probable that "choliy" should once again have been translated as sickness or disease in Isaiah 53:4-5. And, because this word is used in its plural form in this text, it would be sicknesses or diseases. Thus translated, this passage states that Jesus bore our sicknesses/diseases, and that by His stripes/wounds we are healed. It becomes obvious that this is the correct translation of Isaiah 53:4-5 when we consider a New Testament scripture that refers to this passage in Isaiah. In Matthew 8:16-17, after stating that Jesus had healed all who were sick, Matthew declared, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore/carried our sicknesses." When quoting the passage from Isaiah 53, Matthew said that Jesus bore our "sicknesses", not our "griefs". So, Jesus bore our sins so that we don't have to, and He also bore our sicknesses/diseases so that we don't have to.

Historians have always been a course in miracles  that, according to the Bible, Jesus died after only being on the cross for six hours. People who were crucified lived for much longer than that according to historical records. In fact, people frequently lived for a few days on the cross. Is it possible that, just as Jesus was bearing our sins as He hung on the cross, He was also truly and literally physically bearing the various diseases of humanity in His body on the cross? Could this be what caused Him to perish in just six hours? Was our precious Savior not only bearing the spiritual pain of carrying our sins and the physical pain of the nails in His hands and feet, but did He also have the various diseases of humanity (cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc) occupying His body, and causing Him additional unimaginable pain for our sake. We know that we can be delivered from our sins because Jesus bore them on the cross. Is this also why the Bible can promise us deliverance from all sickness and disease; because, likewise, Jesus bore them on the cross as well? And, is that why Psalm 103:2-3 put the two subjects of the forgiveness of our iniquities/sins and the healing of our diseases together, because they were both paid for and accomplished by the same event when Jesus bore them both on the cross? Moreover, is that why Isaiah 53:4-5, after beginning by stating that He (Jesus) has borne our "choliy" (sicknesses and diseases), then ends by stating that "by His stripes/wounds we are healed"? Once again, the Bible does not deal in "coincidences". I believe that these things are stated as they are stated and where they are stated because this is the truth. Our blessed Savior can and does offer us both spiritual and physical healing because of what He accomplished for us on the cross. And, as declared in Psalm 103:2-3, He "heals" all of our diseases.

You probably noticed that I emphasized the word "all" in Psalm 103:2-3. This scripture clearly states that God heals "all" of our diseases. Likewise, in Matthew 4:23-24, we're told that Jesus healed "all" kinds of sickness and "all" kinds of disease among "all" the sick people who were brought to Him. In Luke 6:17-19, the Bible states that a great multitude of people came to Jesus to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases, and it says that they were healed. Furthermore, this passage declares that power went out from Jesus and healed them "all". And, in Acts 10:38, we're told that Jesus went about doing good and healing "all" who were oppressed by the devil. Do you get the picture? Jesus healed "all" the people who came to Him from "all" the various sicknesses and diseases they had.

Are there any conditions for receiving healing? The first condition we need to consider regarding anything we are praying for is whether or not our request is in accordance with God's will. The Apostle John states, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him (Jesus), that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And, if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him" (1st John 5:14-15). Therefore, as long as what we are praying for is in accordance with God's will, we can be confident that we will receive what we prayed for