Had Adam and Eve not given in to the temptation of the serpent in the Garden, healthcare would never have become a household word. In the first place, Adam was created with a body that was meant to live forever. When a physical flesh and blood body is immune to everything that can possibly harm it, why would some type of government-provided, or subsidized, healthcare ever be needed? Simple question with a simple answer: it wouldn’t.
But we all know the result of the deception Satan used to corrupt the entire human race. The sin of Adam and Eve activated the curse of sin and death that Paul mentions in Romans 8:2. Every human being since Adam has been subject to that law except one, the Man Christ Jesus. He alone managed to live each day of His life totally free from that law and everything that the law brings with it. Had He not willingly offered His body a sacrifice for our sins, He would never have had a single moment of sickness, disease or pain.
You might be thinking, “Yes, but that was Jesus. We can’t expect to live a sinless perfect life like His, with no sickness, can we? I mean, we are still under the curse that causes us to age and be subject to physical infirmities, so getting sickness and disease is just something we have to expect and put up with, right?”
Well, the so-called healthcare industry, including “Big Pharma” would like you to think that’s true. After all, they make hundreds of billions of dollars selling their highly questionable products every year.
Why questionable? Just listen to the Big Pharma TV commercials. Their disclaimers running across the screen list warning after warning about the side effects of their FDA-approved ‘safe’ medicines. After watching these TV ads shamelessly hawking their wonder drugs, I think I would rather suffer from whatever ailment they claim to treat than risk the dreaded side effects.
And, if you think the TV networks running their ads care about the validity of the claims made in favor of these drugs, think again. They are raking in billions of advertising dollars from the companies that make this junk. That is a rather large motivation for running the ads without any question of whether the drugs are harmful.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe that some of the drugs made by Big Pharma do, in some cases, alleviate suffering in their treatment of certain diseases. I also believe some doctors, at least the more ethical ones, provide much-needed help for their patients who have, or think they have, no alternatives. But, the alternative is where God’s Healthcare Plan begins.
So, exactly what does God’s Word say about The Heavenly Healthcare Plan? The sum of His plan can be found in 3 John 2: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
The word translated health is the Greek word hugiaino (Strong’s 5198, pronounced hoog-ee-ah-ee-no), and it means to have sound health, to be well in body and uncorrupt (in doctrine), to be safe, sound and whole. Since all scripture is inspired by The Holy Spirit, this is God’s will for all people.
But let us first look in the Old Testament to see what God had to say about health. When the Israelites were traveling to their promised land after being freed from 400 years of slavery in Egypt, they had many encounters with God, and not all of them were so pleasant.
They constantly tried the patience of God, who had shown Himself so powerful on their behalf by placing mighty plagues on the Egyptians to convince Pharaoh to free them, then destroying pharaoh and his army as they pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea.
You would think they would be grateful every day for their miraculous delivery, but their constant complaining and whining about their current condition caused God to sentence them to forty years of wandering through the desert before they were allowed to possess the Promised Land. During those forty long years, they were given all the knowledge they should have needed to not only survive, but be totally healthy and prosperous, living in complete security.
For example, in Deuteronomy 28, all the blessings of God that Israel could have ever desired are listed in the first 14 verses. Every area of life was covered by multiple blessings in those 14 verses. However, the next 54 verses list all the curses that would come upon Israel if they disobeyed the commandments given to them by God.
Reading through the promised blessings, one might wonder why anyone would ever risk losing the them by being disobedient. Then, reading the last 54 verses of that chapter, and hearing the horrible curses that would overtake them because of disobedience really makes obedience seem to be the only logical choice.
We know that, according to the words written in the book of Exodus, after leaving Egypt and being led by God into the wilderness, the faithfulness to God’s commands did not last very long before the children of Israel decided to risk losing the blessings by their constant complaining, crying and disobedience. They were so focused on what they thought they had while living in slavery in Egypt that they failed to comprehend the marvelous blessings that God had planned for them in their Promised land.
One of the biggest complaints about the current healthcare plan for Americans is the cost to taxpayers and subscribers alike. The promises of our politicians to “keep your doctor” and “keep your plan” were as worthless as every other empty promise that comes from so-called representatives of the people.
There seems to be no end of the duplicity of these corrupt people when it comes to taking our money. However, the real beauty of God’s Healthcare Plan is that the cost was paid for once, for all time, for every person who would ever choose to participate in it. The price paid was detailed in Isaiah 53, and it was a truly heavy price for one Man—Jesus Christ—the Messiah.
He suffered being beaten and tortured worse than any other man in human history. And it was all acceptable and pleasing to God, His father, because Jesus was born to be the perfect spotless sacrificial Lamb. He is the only person worthy to redeem us and give us back the blessings that had been forfeit up to that time. Verse 5 of Isaiah 53 provides the words that sum up God’s Healthcare Plan: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
The word translated healed (Strong’s 7495) in verse 5 is the Hebrew word rapha (pronounced raw-faw) which means to mend, to cure, or cause to cure, and to make whole. Taken literally, this means that the wounds Jesus took for us, the pain and suffering and anguish He bore, has purchased for us, and on our behalf, whatever that word means.
I mentioned earlier that anyone can choose to participate in God’s plan, but, just as the Israelites were told to obey God’s commands in order to secure the promised blessings of health, prosperity, etc., there are certain requirements that must first be met to sign up for God’s Plan.
First, one must choose to make Jesus Lord and place Him and His Word first in one’s life. is accomplished by doing what Paul stated, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9 ).
Interestingly, the word here translated saved is the Greek word sozo (Strong’s 4982 pronounced sode-zo) and its meaning is a confirmation of the words in Isaiah 53:5: “to save, heal, deliver or protect, preserve and make whole.”
Conclusion
Even though God’s Healthcare Plan is much simpler than anything that ever came out of the halls of Congress. As opposed to the thousands of pages of confusing political doubletalk found in the Affordable Care Act, that even the members of Congress who voted for it had not read, God’s Healthcare Plan contains only a few simple, easy to understand words. Only a person who does not want to understand or accept it, could miss the simplicity of it.
However, God’s Plan is not automatic, and can never be taken for granted. It is not a once and done choice because we have an adversary who works hard in the physical and mental realm to get us into doubt about all the words God has spoken. This adversary is described as the thief who comes not but to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and his name is Satan.
If we allow Satan to steal our faith in God’s Word, and the eternal accomplishment of Jesus in His life of perfection, His death, burial and Resurrection, he will eventually kill and destroy us. This evil action is countered by the words of Paul regarding the putting on of our spiritual armor and standing strong against all the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6).
This is not an easy fight since there are so many ways that Satan can distract us and cause us to take our focus off the Word. However, the benefit is a long life lived in health and well-being, just as God indicate He desires in 3 John 2. Besides the obvious, and most beneficial, aspect of God’s healthcare Plan, that of living in perfect health and well-being, the plan can never be changed arbitrarily as happens so frequently to the plans devised by people.
Human courts are often politicized and make their decisions based on political pressure or intimidation, as well as hope for financial gain. However, God’s Word on salvation, health, and true prosperity have been forever settled in the Heavenly Court. No person on earth has the power to change that, and God will not change it. He said in Malachi 3:6b, “For I am the Lord, I change not;”
There is nothing on this earth surer than the Word of God and the work that Jesus accomplished in his beating and suffering and his death and resurrection. That work is the basis for the surety of the health plan that God so freely offers.
Are you ready to sign up for God’s healthcare Plan?
Footnote: All quoted Scripture is taken from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible.