‘By his wounds you have been healed’

A few days ago, I was reading in 1 Peter and came to this verse:-

‘He himself (Christ) bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins & live for righteousness, “by his wounds you have been healed”.’ 1 Peter 2:24

‘by his wounds you have been healed’ – a text that is so often taken out of context – and yet so often limited when not done so!

Classic Pentecostal teaching sees this as a proof scripture for physical healing for God’s people; extreme prosperity, health & wealth, name it and claim it types sometimes take this to extremes! I have known some people who have said that they have been healed, when manifestly, they are not!

The context of the verse, both in 1 Peter and in it’s origins in Isaiah 53 make it clear that the scripture is talking about our spiritual healing, our restoration to God and the new life we have in him through his sacrifice on the cross – and yet, if we focus it purely on a spiritual level, we fail to recognise that we are whole human beings – body, mind & spirit.

God has a passion for the healing of the whole of our beings – body, mind & spirit – shalom – peace & wholeness.

Is this why having been really crook one day last week with sickness and diarrhoea, described as ‘sooooo pale….’ by my wife, struggling to get warm the following day, that I was then the following day feeling fine and that evening able to compete in an off-road sprint triathlon?

(Split times came out today – delighted to see I came 4th out of 47 in the swim – swim training obviously working…. more than can be said for the rest of the tri!!)

Is that also why I was able to compete, with minimal training on the run front due to foot problems which have received support from all fronts – physio exercises, podiatrist treatments & fitting of orthotics, regular use of an oscillatimg massager, & prayer… and 10 years on from an accident that threatened my life with 2 bleeds on the brain, a broken hip and pelvis…. that saw me unconscious/in stasis for 9 days, and yet, against all the odds, home within 3 weeks, with a loss of sense of smell and ability to remember names – both of which have generally been restored?

‘By his wounds you have been healed.’

Thank you Lord Jesus for your sacrifice on the cross which has bought my healing, body, mind & spirit. Thank you that I can live and enjoy life to the full in the light of that. Praise you for your abundant grace which you have liberally poured out upon my life. Tongues, because human words cannot fully express my gratitude and worship to you. Amen.