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1 THESSALONIANS 5:23-24
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
I was led to reconsider* these verses from 1 Thessalonians because I have been reading a brilliant book by Ruth Hawkey called ‘Healing The Human Spirit’ (Sovereign World Ltd., 2018). Ruth knows her subject well and draws out deeper truth from The Bible to shine a light on the healing ministry. I have not been so impacted by a work on this aspect of faith since finding the Reverend Henry Wright’s ‘A More Excellent Way’ about 25 years ago.
Ruth reiterates a truth that we can readily see, which is that our Lord in His Word begins from His viewpoint. This is something that we identify all through Scripture, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. We, as His saints have a tendency to talk of Body Soul and Spirit, but The Lord speaks of Spirit Soul and Body. Here In Thessalonians, Paul completes his letter with may your whole spirit, mind and body be preserved blameless … and crucially … at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus urges us to see ourselves preserved blameless, but in the order that He declares — first spiritually, then in our souls and minds, and finally in the body.
Ruth shows us that unless we are first healed spiritually, then everything else struggles and suffers. Bodily healing heals bodily, but this is our own way of dealing with the problem. Soul ministers to soul and body, but again this is only partially effective. Only Spirit heals the whole — Spirit Soul and Body — and it is The Holy Spirit ministering into our human spirit that performs the healing.
The fact of the matter is that Scripture shows us the perspective from God’s viewpoint. Everything begins with God, and we can only understand truth from His viewpoint. Study Scripture and let Him show you that everything begins with Him. It is not Body Soul and Spirit, which is our way, but Spirit, Soul and Body, which is His way.
As an example, Ruth Hawkey shows that any healing ministry must identify in what way the human spirit has become damaged or sick. She shows six areas in which we can all be affected, and it can be revealed as a combination of any of these…
Quoting scripture to bolster the argument, Ruth also mentions medical research which reveals the truth of the Bible teaching, and quotes case studies where The Lord’s Ministry through His saints has been effective. The book offers practical application principles of the way in which we can minister to others. There is much more to be said than can be included in a short meditation, but Ruth Hawkey’s book surely brings light to an oft misunderstood ministry.
But we should always remember that the power of forgiveness is the single greatest healing instrument of all. For our God is The One Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.
(*See also ‘Preserved Blameless’ from August 2023)
Ruth reiterates a truth that we can readily see, which is that our Lord in His Word begins from His viewpoint. This is something that we identify all through Scripture, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. We, as His saints have a tendency to talk of Body Soul and Spirit, but The Lord speaks of Spirit Soul and Body. Here In Thessalonians, Paul completes his letter with may your whole spirit, mind and body be preserved blameless … and crucially … at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus urges us to see ourselves preserved blameless, but in the order that He declares — first spiritually, then in our souls and minds, and finally in the body.
Ruth shows us that unless we are first healed spiritually, then everything else struggles and suffers. Bodily healing heals bodily, but this is our own way of dealing with the problem. Soul ministers to soul and body, but again this is only partially effective. Only Spirit heals the whole — Spirit Soul and Body — and it is The Holy Spirit ministering into our human spirit that performs the healing.
The fact of the matter is that Scripture shows us the perspective from God’s viewpoint. Everything begins with God, and we can only understand truth from His viewpoint. Study Scripture and let Him show you that everything begins with Him. It is not Body Soul and Spirit, which is our way, but Spirit, Soul and Body, which is His way.
As an example, Ruth Hawkey shows that any healing ministry must identify in what way the human spirit has become damaged or sick. She shows six areas in which we can all be affected, and it can be revealed as a combination of any of these…
- A timid and fearful spirit
- An imprisoned spirit
- A crushed spirit
- A defiled spirit
- An orphan or starved spirit
- A broken spirit
Quoting scripture to bolster the argument, Ruth also mentions medical research which reveals the truth of the Bible teaching, and quotes case studies where The Lord’s Ministry through His saints has been effective. The book offers practical application principles of the way in which we can minister to others. There is much more to be said than can be included in a short meditation, but Ruth Hawkey’s book surely brings light to an oft misunderstood ministry.
But we should always remember that the power of forgiveness is the single greatest healing instrument of all. For our God is The One Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.
(*See also ‘Preserved Blameless’ from August 2023)
AND CONSIDER THIS….
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
HEBREWS 4:11-13
PSALM 16 — spoken by Pastor Mark Rooney — music by Taryn Harbridge
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This Psalm has a special connection to us, as it was the favourite of a dear friend who died in much pain with cancer a good number of years ago. She found that these words helped carry her on to that better place. A painting with words from this Psalm still hangs in the church she loved.
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This Psalm has a special connection to us, as it was the favourite of a dear friend who died in much pain with cancer a good number of years ago. She found that these words helped carry her on to that better place. A painting with words from this Psalm still hangs in the church she loved.
A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT
God didn't make a mistake when He made you. You need to see yourself as God sees you.
JOEL OSTEEN
LISTEN TO THIS MEDITATION HERE…
COMING NEXT… #540 MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS
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JOB 38:22-24
“Have you entered the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
By what way is light diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
This phrase arose in our meeting a short while ago, and it stuck in my mind, as these unexpected poetic expressions often do. Why is snow described as a treasury? The obvious answer is that snow is white and represents holiness, purity and cleanliness — the absence of sin — and should thus be treasured (and aspired to) by the believer.
In the natural, there is little that is more beautiful — awe-inspiring even — than freshly fallen snow in a blanket covering the land, undisturbed, pristine and peaceful; bringing joy to the soul. These qualities give a spiritual form to what lies before us. First the Natural, then the Spiritual.
However, in The Lord’s Speaking there is always more, and we can see that He asks have you entered the treasury of the snow and follows this with have you seen the treasury of hail. He invites us to be a part of that holiness — in fact, to go beyond the surface and what it does for us — to realise that He is that treasury, the treasure in our earthen vessels.
In essence, it is an expression of Christ’s words “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23)
The treasury of hail speaks of another aspect of that growing to be one with Christ. The Lord asks if we have seen or understood it. For just as we learn of the washing by the water of the word, hail (as frozen water) tells of the hard word, the deeper aspects of Him, which can be more difficult to grasp. We need to have His Holy Spirit fill us with both of His treasuries so that we are prepared for the time of trouble and the day of battle and war.
In the natural, there is little that is more beautiful — awe-inspiring even — than freshly fallen snow in a blanket covering the land, undisturbed, pristine and peaceful; bringing joy to the soul. These qualities give a spiritual form to what lies before us. First the Natural, then the Spiritual.
However, in The Lord’s Speaking there is always more, and we can see that He asks have you entered the treasury of the snow and follows this with have you seen the treasury of hail. He invites us to be a part of that holiness — in fact, to go beyond the surface and what it does for us — to realise that He is that treasury, the treasure in our earthen vessels.
In essence, it is an expression of Christ’s words “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23)
The treasury of hail speaks of another aspect of that growing to be one with Christ. The Lord asks if we have seen or understood it. For just as we learn of the washing by the water of the word, hail (as frozen water) tells of the hard word, the deeper aspects of Him, which can be more difficult to grasp. We need to have His Holy Spirit fill us with both of His treasuries so that we are prepared for the time of trouble and the day of battle and war.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
PSALM 51:5-11
IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER — Tenebrae
Riches and the things that are necessary in life are not evil in themselves. And all of us face cares and troubles in this life. The sin comes in the time and energy we spend in pursuing these things, at the expense of neglecting Christ.
DAVID WILKERSON