282. Physical Healing

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Col. 1:18.

What does it mean that Christ is the head of the body? It means that we must look to Him with all of our questions and needs. Do not bypass Him in a single thing. If you are sick, turn to the head of the body. Put your confidence in Him; for by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible. Col. 1:16.

You might ask: Should we not use doctors?

Of course you can use a doctor, but you must not let him use you. Your mind must not be turned from the head, Christ, in such a way that the doctor becomes your head. You ask for his counsel, but you alone must determine what is right for you. Your life is yours, not the doctor’s. If you give yourself over completely to the doctor, your mind will depart from having Christ as your healer.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, King Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. Two years later, King Asa died. 2 Chr. 16:12. What was his sin? That he trusted blindly in his physicians, and forgot the Lord. Asa’s physicians became his head—he presented himself unreservedly at their disposal.

It should not be this way in the church. Our head, Christ, has been placed above every power and authority for the body, and consequently over every type of science. As members of Christ’s body, we are also placed over every power and authority. A doctor must not become our head so that our Sun of Righteousness grows dim, because then we will enter into darkness and not walk in the light.

Sirach says: “Honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them; for their gift of healing comes from the Most High, and they are rewarded by the king.” Sirach 38:1-2.

Here Sirach says that we should receive help from the doctor when needed. That is the correct relationship for us to have. But do not blindly lay your life in his power; for healing comes from the Lord—the doctors themselves realize that.

A doctor can operate, but he cannot cause the wound to heal: that comes from the Lord. The doctor can prescribe medicines, but healing comes from the Lord.

There are Christians who, in their blind zeal for having the Lord as their healer, speak derisively about doctors. But Sirach says: The Lord has created him. A city with many people needs all types of tradesmen and all kinds of doctors. If you despise the doctor, why then visit the dentist about your teeth? All true science is from the Lord, for it is the glory of God to conceal a matter; but the glory of man is to search out the works of God. A body consisting of flesh and blood can be studied and examined. We call a midwife when a child is about to be born into the world and a dentist when a tooth needs to be filled or extracted. And when we break our arm or other bones, we go to the doctor. No one is sufficient of himself—we need one another.

But to surrender yourself entirely to the doctor’s treatment in life-or-death situations, without crying out to the Lord for help, is another matter entirely.

We should not become more stupid than the children of this world after God has enlightened our understanding. If that happens, it is because that person is proud. Some people exalt themselves because of their dreams, and some because of their visions, and still others by the fact that they never go to the doctor. But these people do not glorify God by such carnal exaltation. God is exalted when we, as His children, receive wisdom and understanding in all things. That brings honor to our heavenly Father.