Supplement 7 — For Lessons 13 & 14

Supplement Seven

For Lessons Thirteen and Fourteen

HOW TO GET HEALED AND STAY HEALED

The gospel teaches that forgiveness of sins and healing of the body go hand in hand. If ministers would teach all the gospel, people would have faith in both healing and forgiveness and would get both at the time of being saved from sin. The following Scriptures prove that both benefits were provided in the sacrifice of Calvary: “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” Matthew 8:16-17; “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” 1 Peter 2:24. The following passages prove that both forgiveness of sins and healing of the body should be received at one time: “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” Psalms 103:3, “For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?” Matthew 9:5 “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” Matthew 13:15, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” James 5:14-16. Thus it is very clear that healing is just as easy to receive from God as forgiveness of sins. Both can be received by the same simple faith in God and asking in the name of Jesus. Healing is part of your salvation; do not be cheated out of it any more than you permit yourself to be cheated out of forgiveness of sins.

II. Have Faith in God for Healing

If one will ask God for healing and believe that it is done as he is taught to ask for forgiveness of sins, it will be done. One should never doubt for one moment that God will heal him, just as he is taught to believe in forgiveness of sins. One should resist all doubt that he is healed, just as he must if he is tempted to doubt that God has forgiven him. Men are taught to accept salvation by faith and count it done whether they feel it or not. They are taught that God has forgiven them regardless of feelings; and if they will but believe this, they are saved. So it is with healing of the body. After prayer has been completed and healing has been asked for, one should likewise count it done and believe it regardless of feelings, symptoms, or outward evidences to the contrary.

If one will maintain that he is healed just as he must know that he is forgiven, God will confirm the healing just as He does forgiveness of sins. This fact cannot be overemphasized, as healing depends much on this firm stand that prayer has been heard and answered. If you want the benefits of the gospel, do what is required to get these benefits, and you will not fail to get them. If you are not saved and if you have not followed the instructions in the previous supplements, you must do so if you want results.

We cannot guarantee the benefits according to the gospel until you meet these conditions. Are the benefits worth the efforts in meeting the conditions? If they are, then do as you were instructed. If they are not worth the effort to believe God without a waver, then do not fret because you do not get what you want. You cannot expect God to be a respecter of persons and give you these benefits when you fail to do as He requires. God is not that kind of God, and He will not break His laws for anyone. He knows that every individual can, if he will, choose to meet the conditions of unwavering faith. Do not baby yourself any longer or complain that it is hard to believe. This very attitude is sinful, and you should ask God to forgive you for believing lies and Satan in preference to truth and God. As long as you cooperate with Satan and allow unbelief, you cannot cooperate with God and exercise true faith. One cannot serve two masters or have faith and unbelief in his life at the same time.

If you have repented of your sins and your unbelief, you have a right, a perfect right according to the gospel, to get what the gospel promises and what Christ died to give you. So it is all important to get rid of unbelief and have simple, child-like faith in God for healing, for material prosperity, and for anything that is asked of God. Faith is required according to Mt. 21:21-22; Mk. 9:23; 11:22-24; Heb. 11:6; Jas. 1:5-8. (See Lesson Ten, Point III.) Everyone who has faith will be healed without exception.

III. Wholly Trust God in Sickness and Adversity

The Bible says, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord . . . he shall be like the heath in the desert . . . Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is . . . he shall be as a tree planted by the waters . . . and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green [shall have health] . . . neither shall cease from yielding fruit” Jeremiah 17:5-10. See also Prov. 3:5-8; 2 Chron. 16:12-14; 2 Ki. 1:1-17; Mk. 5:25-34.

IV. Obey God and His Word

“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee” Proverbs 3:1-8; “Attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings . . . for they are life unto those that find them; and health to all their flesh” Proverbs 2:1-5Proverbs 3:13-24Proverbs 4:20-23; “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” John 15:71 John 3:2-221 John 5:14-15. See also Exod. 15:26; Deut 4:40; 7:12-15; 28:1-62; 30:1-20; Ps. 105:37; 107:20.

“When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” Mark 11:22-26; “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” James 5:14-16.

VI. Call Church Elders and Believe in Their Prayers

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick” James 5:14-16; “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” Mark 16:17-20.

Thousands of ministers today can testify of miraculous healings in their ministry in the lives of people who have obeyed James and called for prayer. Multiplied thousands of people are being healed every day by obeying this divine prescription. In almost every church there are many witnesses to the power of God to heal the body by faith in the name of Jesus Christ.

VII. Control the Tongue

“The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life . . . There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword; but the tongue of the wise is health . . . He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life; but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction . . . A wholesome tongue is a tree of life . . . pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones . . . Death and life are in the power of the tongue” Proverbs 10:11Proverbs 12:18Proverbs 13:3Proverbs 15:4Proverbs 16:24Proverbs 18:21.

“What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days, that he may see good. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” Psalms 34:13-141 Peter 3:10-11. It is interesting to note that nine times out of eleven plagues upon Israel, as recorded in Numbers alone, were caused by the misuse of the tongue.

VIII. Live in God and under His Protection

“He that dwelleth [remains, settles down, or takes up a homestead] in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow [defense, protection] of the Almighty . . . I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers . . . his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall Fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee . . . There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet . . . He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation” (Ps. 91).

IX. Praise God in Faith for Healing

David said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me . . . forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” Psalms 103:1-5. It is written of Abraham, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness” Romans 4:17-22Hebrews 11:11-12. Paul said, “Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” Philippians 4:5-6Hebrews 13:15-16.

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” Colossians 2:6-7; “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee . . . Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” John 5:14John 8:11; “If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” 1 John 3:21-221 John 5:14-15.

XI. Appropriate the Benefits of Calvary

“Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord . . . he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning [comprehending the benefits by faith of] the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep” 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” Mark 11:24.

XII. Resist the Devil—Refuse to be Denied

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you” James 4:7-8; “The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith” 1 Peter 5:8-10. See also Eph. 6:10-18; 2 Cor. 10:4-7.

XIII. Observe the Laws of God and of Nature

The body is God’s house as well as our own. It belongs to God and not to us; “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. As it is God’s house, we are forbidden to mar it, to defile it, or to abuse it 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

Common sense tells us that God can get more glory out of a body that is well and strong because a person with such a body has complete use of all his faculties. A rugged constitution, a keen, alert mind, and unimpaired moral and spiritual faculties are necessary if one is to fully glorify God in the body and spirit. We can glorify God best by bearing much fruit John 15:8. To bear much and good fruit the tree or vine must be healthy and normally free from disease and things that cause fruit to become faulty Matthew 3:10Matthew 7:16-20. So it is with a Christian.

If God can get some glory out of lives that are hindered by physical handicaps, how much more glory could He get out of the same people if they did not have such handicaps? Naturally, anyone with some physical handicap can do many things, but one can do more unhindered by such physical defects.

All governments and organizations require physical fitness. They have certain standards of fitness for their employees and make provision that it be kept up to the highest peak of efficiency. They demand that the least accident or sickness be reported and every sore, illness, cold, etc., be taken care of at once in order to check any further layoff or spread of the trouble to others. In every factory and public place we read signs such as “Be careful,” “Watch that cold,” “Don’t expose your body,” “Take exercise,” etc. Many firms provide their employees certain places for recreation and exercise on their own time. Laws are made in every city and state which require physical fitness for marriage, for certain public positions. Free clinics, medicine, advice, etc., are provided for those who cannot afford what they need to preserve their health. Parents will spend their all and sacrifice everything in life to see that their children have the best of physical care and protection. They would heal their own children in a second if possible. Practically every human being would make some sacrifice to see their fellowmen healed and enjoy good health. Men can fight and hate each other, but when sickness or death comes, the same men would aid their enemies to get well or have a decent burial if they die. Even most animals take care of their own and do every conceivable thing to prolong the life and welfare of their own.

Is God the only Being in the universe that loves to see His own children, His own creation, His own workers, and those whom He professes to love to be sickly, puny, tired, worn and good-for-nothing physically? Is He the only one who loves to see pain and disease in His own creation? Is He the only one who has not provided for the physical welfare of His own? Is He the only one who gloats over the handicaps of His children and desires them to be diseased so that He can be best glorified by seeing them sick? Is He the only one who prefers sickness to health? Who would not heal His children when they get sick? Who chastens His children by causing their lungs to be eaten up by disease, their limbs to rot off, their lives to linger between life and death in the most intense inhuman suffering for years upon years, and their lives to be destroyed by the enemies of both God and man? Who would make a creation only to let it end in suffering and defeat and to die prematurely as manifest on every hand; and who wills these sin-cursed, disease-destroying agencies to take their toll of life and to cut off men before they finish their lifework? Is He the only one who does not demand a high standard of physical fitness and efficiency among His workers? Is He the only one whose highest will is manifest by the sufferings, sicknesses, and helpless conditions of His people? Is He the only one who can get the best glory out of people when they are physically, morally, and spiritually deprived of their normal creative functions?

If He is this kind of being, then why did He not make man sick when He created him? Why then did He not keep men sick in both Testaments instead of healing them? If sickness is God’s will, why do not all men have the same diseases in order for all to be in the perfect will of God alike? Is He a respecter of persons in wanting only some to be in His will and to glorify Him by being diseased and others to be well and healthy so as to be out of His will? Why did Jesus die to take away our sicknesses? Why has God provided all necessary means of healing and health? Why has He cursed men who did not trust Him for healing?

Such doctrines as those expressed above are not in harmony with the Bible or the Being of God. It is God’s highest will for all men to “prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (3 Jn. 2). The blame for sin and disease cannot be laid at the door of God or on His will. The blame is entirely upon man and the enemies of both God and man. Instead of meeting the conditions of the gospel to receive healing and stay healed, men continue to break the laws of God and nature and live in unbelief and rejection of God’s way of healing and health in Christ. The sensible thing to do is to learn the cause of the trouble and remove it and keep the cause removed; then one can be healed and stay healed.

Ten Questions For Supplement Seven. Do You Know:

• That the rapture of the Church is not a part of the second coming of Christ? The rapture is a distinct event in itself and takes place at least seven years before the second coming of Christ. The rapture takes place before the Tribulation, and the second coming after the Tribulation. The rapture is the time when Christ comes for the saints 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, and the second coming is when He comes back to the Earth with them Zechariah 14:1-5Revelation 19:11-21. At the rapture, Christ takes the saints to Heaven 1 Thessalonians 3:131 Thessalonians 4:16Colossians 3:4, and at the second coming He leaves Heaven with them Revelation 19:11-21. At the rapture, Christ does not come to the Earth 1 Thessalonians 4:16, but at the second coming He does Zechariah 14:4Matthew 24:29-31. Since Christ does not come to the Earth at the rapture, it cannot be called the second coming of Christ.

• That the Bible plainly states qualifications for those who will go in the rapture? One must be “in Christ” 1 Thessalonians 4:162 Corinthians 5:17; be “Christ’s” Galatians 5:24; do “good” and be “blessed and holy” John 5:28-29Revelation 20:4-6.

• That there have been and will be five raptures in the first resurrection? First, the going to Heaven of Christ and the saints that were resurrected after His resurrection Matthew 27:52Ephesians 4:7-11Acts 1:11; second, the rapture of those “that are Christ’s at his coming” 1 Corinthians 15:231 Thessalonians 4:13-16; third, the rapture of the 144,000 Jews in the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth Week Revelation 12:5Revelation 14:1-5Daniel 12:1Isaiah 66:7-8; fourth, the rapture of the Tribulation saints Revelation 7:9-17Revelation 15:2-4Revelation 20:4-6; fifth, the rapture of the two witnesses Revelation 11:3-12.

• That there are two main resurrections from the dead with a thousand years between them? The first resurrection is that of the blessed and holy; and this is before the thousand years, for we read, “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” Revelation 20:4-15.

• That we are living in the very last days of this age? This is proven by the fact that certain prophecies were to be fulfilled only in the last days of this age; and since they are now being fulfilled, this fulfillment is proof that we are in the last days. Read Mt. 24:37-38; 1 Tim. 4; 2 Tim. 3; 2 Pet. 3:1-9; Ezek. 37; Jer. 30:18-24.

• That no prophecy must yet be fulfilled and no sign must yet take place before the rapture? This is proven by the fact that the early Christians were looking for the rapture at any time in their day without any particular prophecy being fulfilled, as proven in Phil. 3:20-21; Titus 2:11-13).

• That all signs of the coming of the Lord point to the second advent and not to the rapture of the Church? This is proven by the fact that all signs of the coming of the Lord were given in connection with the second advent and not with the rapture (Mt. 24-25). Christians look for the rapture to take place at any time without any particular sign coming to pass, as proven in Point 6, above. One cannot look for an event to take place at any moment if certain other events must precede this event; so associate all signs of the coming of the Lord with the literal coming of Jesus to the Earth and not with the rapture, and everything will be clear.

• That two in the field, one taken and another left, does not refer to the rapture? This doctrine is connected with the literal coming of Christ to the Earth “immediately after the Tribulation” as proven by the word “Then” in Mt. 24:29-42. The statement, “the flood came and took them all away,” means “destroyed them all,” and proves that the ones taken away at the second advent will be those killed in the Battle of Armageddon and that those killed will make the carcasses for the eagles to eat, as pictured in Mt. 24:27-28; Rev. 19:17-21; Ezek. 39:17-21. The ones left will be those that are not killed in this battle. They will be permitted to live on in the Millennium, as in Zech. 14:16-21. This will be made clear by many Scriptures in Lesson Forty-four.

• That the fig tree of Mt. 24:31 does not refer to the Jewish nation? This never was the intended thought of Jesus. He was simply illustrating the fact that, just as we know when summer is near by the putting forth of the leaves on the trees so we would know that His coming to the Earth is near when we see the signs of Mt. 24:4-26 come to pass. In Lk. 21:29 we read, “Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” If we are going to make the fig tree the Jews then to be consistent we should make all the other trees the Gentile nations. If the Gentiles are going to bud forth and be blessed as are the Jews then the old theory of the Jews being blessed above the Gentiles in the latter days loses its force. This is not the thought at all, as can be seen by anyone who will take the plainly intended truth of the passages as he reads it. If we want to teach something about the Jews, get plain Scriptures to prove what is taught instead of using a few leaves of a fig tree as the basis of proof.

• That the Bible teaches a first and second coming of God the Father to the Earth? In Dan. 7:18-22 we have the fact that the Ancient of Days was coming to destroy the Antichrist. The Ancient of Days and the Son of man are two different persons, as proven in Dan. 7:9-14. If the Ancient of Days is not the Son of man, then He must be the Father. If He is the Father, then the Father is coming to the Earth when Christ comes. This is also proven in Zech. 14:5; Titus 2:11-13. We call this the first coming of the Father to the Earth to fulfill a mission. The second coming of the Father is at the end of the Millennium when the New Jerusalem, the capital city of God, comes from Heaven to the Earth to be among men forever, as stated in Rev. 21:1-21. This is the second time the Father is pictured in Scripture as coming to the Earth to fulfill a mission. This time He will be forever among men; and this planet, Earth, will be the site of His capital forever.