Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (emphasis added)

We know from Matthew 8:16-17 that the healing Jesus provided was not just spiritual. He was physically healing people and driving out demonic spirits in fulfilment of Isaiah 53:4 (the verse Peter is quoting here). How could Jesus do this BEFORE the cross? Through His Father’s TRUST (faith) that Jesus would walk through what was spiritually accomplished before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) – Mark 11:22. We also know from Isaiah 53:4 that Jesus was providing SPIRITUAL healing. What exactly WAS this healing Jesus released for us?

The Greek word for ‘healed’ in this verse (iaomai) means healing, particularly as supernatural and bringing attention to the Lord Himself as the Great Physician. It also draws the attention to the Lord, the supernatural Healer, beyond the physical healing itself and its benefits. It means heal, healed, healing, heals, and performs healing. It covers everything relating to being not whole then becoming whole. It covers physical AND supernatural healing. It covers carnal as well as spiritual healing. It is a word that covers EVERYTHING and one that – especially with these verses – we tie to salvation. That isn’t a limitation. It is INCREDIBLY good news.

The word for salvation is ‘sótéria’. It means deliverance and salvation. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-6). “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We’re VERY familiar with this word. It includes more than the process of being saved. The word that we use for salvation we use for five other things, all of which are provided for in Jesus. All five of them are part and parcel of the process by which we – IN JESUS – are made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Welfare is the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity. It is also the agency (physical and legal part of a governmental body as well as the process) by which such aid is distributed. Our SALVATION is about more than us not being in the boat headed to the hell that was never meant for humanity (Matthew 25:41). It is about us having ABUNDANT LIFE (John 10:10). Being happy. Having good things happen to us. “All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created” (James 1:17-18).

Prosperity is the condition of being successful or thriving. I’m sure no human being would be against this. At all. Under ANY circumstances. But this definition of prosperity is especially related to economic well-being. There is an impression in the Body of Christ that prosperity is wrong. That Jesus is against it. That it is a ‘false’ gospel. But prosperity ONLY works when you are operating in accordance with the Will of the Father. The Word of Faith isn’t about getting rich. It is about getting right and STAYING right with the Lord. “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation” (Romans 10:8-9). The Lord WANTS us to prosper, but if we don’t prosper SPIRITUALLY first (3 John 1:2) then the physical prosperity (which often includes money) becomes a snare and a love that pulls us down (1 Timothy 6:10). Seek ADONAI first (Matthew 6:33) and everything else will be second place, which means we can safely enjoy what ADONAI sends our way.

Jesus DELIVERS us. Deliverance is also part of this word for salvation. Deliverance is liberation. Being freed from that which enslaves us. Primarily, we are delivered from sin. “He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). We are delivered from sin. We are delivered from unrighteousness. We are delivered from disobedience. We are delivered from toil. We are delivered from sickness. We are delivered from shame. We are delivered from unproductiveness. We are delivered from an inability to SEE. We are delivered TO righteousness. We are delivered TO repentance. We are delivered TO correction. We are delivered TO peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience, self-control, love, and goodness. We are delivered FROM everything bad and TO everything good. We have been restored to where we should have always been (Isaiah 61:7).

Preservation is the activity or process of keeping something valued alive, intact, or free from damage or decay. Jesus doesn’t do something in us once only. It was RELEASED once in and through the cross, but it continues working in us and WILL continue until we have achieved perfection – which will come in fullness before the Throne of the Father. The works Jesus is performing in us are ONGOING. “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). They are also things WE need to make sure we are continuing to walk in by abiding in Jesus and MAINTAINING our relationship “Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2).

Safety is the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury, or loss. It is a device designed to prevent inadvertent or hazardous operation. It is to protect against failure, breakage, or accident. “The Lord will protect you from all harm; he will protect your life. The Lord will protect you in all you do, now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:7-8). “I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust—he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague. He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall” (Psalm 91:2-4). “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). “The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18). Adonai WANTS us safe. Adonai KEEPS us safe.

Our salvation, our HEALING, is so much more than just being free from an individual sickness. It is a WHOLE PACKAGE of deliverance, safety, prosperity, preservation, welfare, salvation, and healing. Adonai has done HIS part. In and through Jesus we have been given ALL blessing and prosperity (Ephesians 1:3). OUR part is to stay IN JESUS. To humbly submit to Adonai. To obey Him because we love Him. To declare Him our Lord and Saviour and then behave that way. When we do, it releases the Lord to give us all the blessings that He wants to give us – because we are abiding in Jesus, standing on the Word where He wants and how He wants. We are to devote ourselves to Him so that He can devote Himself to us. “The Lord says, “Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he is loyal to me. When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him honor. I will satisfy him with long life and will let him see my salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16).

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Psalm 40:6-8

“Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. You make that quite clear to me. You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings. Then I say, “Look, I come! What is written in the scroll pertains to me. I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts.”” Messiah would not come to toot His own shofar. He would not be here to establish HIS doctrine or rack up HIS followers. Messiah would be totally and utterly devoted to Yahweh. He would do nothing out of line with Yahweh’s wishes. He would take His joy from obedience. His delight would be the will of His Father. “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work”” (John 4:34). “So when he came into the world, he said,“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in. Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will, O God.’” When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” (which are offered according to the law), then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first to establish the second. By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:5-10). Jesus ONLY did what the Father showed Him to do (John 14:31). Jesus relied on the Word for His sustenance (Matthew 4:4). Jesus was devoted to His Father. Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b