Christ the Healer: An Analysis (part 13)

A study of the book, Christ the Healer, by F. F. Bosworth:

• Part 1 (Introduction)
• Part 2 (Interpreting the Scriptures)
• Part 3 (Where Sickness Comes From)
• Part 4 (Healing and the Will of God 1)
• Part 5 (Healing and the Will of God 2)
• Part 6 (Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh)
• Part 7 (Healing and the Atonement 1)
• Part 8 (Healing and the Atonement 2)
• Part 9 (Healing in the Present Age 1)
• Part 10 (Healing in the Present Age 2)
• Part 11 (Healing in the Present Age 3)
• Part 12 (God’s Purpose in Suffering 1)

VII. God’s Purpose in Suffering 2

3. Truth About God

Trials can:

1. Be used by the Lord to get our attention – to make us more aware of Him (Ps. 107)
2. Be a reminder of the sovereignty of God (Job 38:1-4; Ecc. 7:13-14; Rom. 9:14-24)
3. Teach us to fear (reverence and honour) the Lord (Prov. 9:10-11, 10:27; Ps. 33:18-19)
4. Provide opportunities for God to display His power (Jn. 9:3; Rom 9:17)
5. Be an evidence of God’s longsuffering and grace (Matt. 23:37; II Pet. 3:9)
6. Assure us of God’s love for His own (Heb. 12:6-7,10)
7. Reveal the faithfulness of God (Rom. 5:3-5; Phil. 4:11-13,19) -note that God keeps His Word both to bless and to chasten (Deut. 28:1-2,15; Lam. 3:22-39; Ps. 119:75)
8. Teach important lessons to the angels, to the glory of God (Job 1:9,21, 13:5; Eph. 3:8-10; I Pet. 1:11-12)
9. Give us a new appreciation for the sufferings and anguish of the Lord (II Sam. 18:33; Matt. 8:20; I Pet. 2:22-23; Jn. 1:11, 13:18; Mk. 14:50, 15:34)
10. Reveal God’s character to others, through us (Jn. 13:34-35, 17:23; II Cor. 1:5; Phil. 1:20)

4. Truth About Spiritual Growth

Trials can:

1. Prompt us to examine ourselves, to discover unrecognized sin (I Cor. 11:28-32)
2. Reveal wrong attitudes and sinful habits (Ps. 127:1-2; Prov. 16:18; Matt. 7:24-27)
3. Motivate us to change our ways (Jon. 1:1-4,17, 2:1, 3:3)
4. Remind us of our own weakness and the folly of trying to live independently of God (Prov. 20:24; Jer. 10:23; Jn. 15:5; Rom 7:18; II Cor. 3:5, 12:7-10)
5. Provide a test of the reality of our faith or the consistency of our obedience toward God (Deut. 8:2-3,5-6; Jud. 2:20-23; Job 23:10; I Pet. 1:6-7)
6. Be a tool in God’s hands to develop the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23; Jas. 1:2-4; I Pet. 5:10; Heb 6:10-12)
7. Be an evidence of spiritual vitality and commitment and growth (Jn. 15:18-21; Acts 5:41, 9:15-16; II Tim. 3:12)
8. Advance us to new levels of dependency and submission to God, leading to greater blessing and fruitfulness (Jn. 15:5; II Cor. 12:9; Phil. 3:10-14; Ps. 34:8)

5. Truth About Christian Service

Trials can:

1. Be a call to identify ourselves more clearly with Christ (Heb. 13:12-14; I Pet. 2:21; Phil. 3:7-10)
2. Spur us on to reach the lost for Christ (Acts 8:3-4, 5:40-42, 16:25; and, in principle, Lk. 16:23,25-27)
3. Remind us of our responsibility for one another (Josh- 7:1,4-5,11; I Cor. 12:25-27)
4. Give us opportunities to minister to others – i.e. in their trials (Lk. 10:30-37)
5. Help us develop new abilities or make us aware of gifts we never knew we had (Ps. 18:17-18,34-37; Jud. 6:11-12)
6. Increase the practicality and value of our ministry to others (II Cor. 1:3-6, 4:8-12,15)
7. Strengthen the bonds of love and friendship between God’s people (Acts 4:21,29,32-34, 11:27-30; Rom. 12:4-5,15; I Cor. 12:25-27; II Cor. 8:1-5; Phil. 4:13-18)
8. Provide us with key opportunities to glorify God (I Cor. 1:26-2:5, 6:20; Phil 1:20; Heb 13:15; I Pet.4:14,16)
9. Give us the opportunity to earn future rewards (I Cor. 3:11-15; II Cor. 4:17; Jas. 1:12 and Rev. 2:10 – the “crown of life” in these verses has been called The Sufferer’s Crown; Matt. 5:1-12)

Earlier, I mentioned Bosworth’s use of Jn. 8:32 and his statement that knowing the truth would get us healed. Of course that is true, in the eternal sense. But it is not so temporally. In this section, we have seen that there is much truth to be learned in and through suffering. Needless to say, not all of the many purposes given above will apply in every case. But in total, they give us some idea of the richness of the educational value of our trials.

Interestingly enough, Mr. Bosworth does admit that, to a degree. He says:

Sickness and afflication are permitted to remain on some as a halter, with which God leads them into the centre of His will, and when this has been done, He removes the halter. If God were to take the halter off too soon, many would run away, and so would deprive themselves of the pleasure of living out the Divine program.

pages 183-184

Whether he would admit it or not, the author, in these words, has given us a fine description of the purpose of Paul’s thorn in the flesh!

He makes another fascinating admission on page 100. “Every sick Christian, while sick, has a thousand times more to be happy over than the most cheerful sinner in perfect health”. Amen! And I would add that his situation is not necessarily improved by the restoration of perfect health. The bearing of the burden of illness may be a far more fruitful time of learning than he could ever have otherwise.