“But he was wounded (pierced) for our transgressions (rebellion), he was bruised for our iniquities (sins): the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:5-6 (KJV)

Clearly, these prophetic words “his stripes” (above) refers to the atoning work of Christ at the Cross, paying for Israel’s and our sins, which were laid upon Him.  

“For he (the Father) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; (so) that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

This study is to correct a great error that persist among Pentecostals and other Charismatics who hold to the mistaken manmade doctrine of physical “healing in the Atonement,” based upon the above verses. They claim … Jesus purchased physical healing for us at the Cross.

But, the Bible word “Atonement” (cf. Rom. 5:11), referred to as “his stripes” in Isaiah 53, speak of Christ’s sacrificial death… to Atone for (expiate, pay for, take away) the Sins of Israel and all humanity, thus having nothing to do with physical healing.

What they fail to see is that today in this age, during today’s Gentile “dispensation of the grace of God,” we enjoy the grace relationship and provision of God that is in the Spiritual realm… not in the physical.

“… There is a (physical) natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ⁴⁶Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.” (1 Cor. 15:44, 46)

By His grace, we have the life sustaining power Holy Spirit by which we can endure all things until we are Raptured to heaven. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

So, is physical healing really what the Prophet Isaiah was speaking of in Isaiah 53:5?

As we study, we should never take only the part of the verse that we like, such as “with his stripes we are healed” while ignoring its whole context just to make it say what we would like it to say. We need to let the Bible speak and interpret itself. We don’t need a lexicon, commentary, or a denominational handbook to explain Isa. 53:5. The Holy Spirit Himself will teach us out of “the words of God” as they apply to us during this age of the pure “grace of God.”

Yes, Isaiah 53:5 surely speaks of Messiah’s Crosswork for all Israel and all humanity. But then we should note in this verse exactly ‘WHY He went to the cross.’ It was for “SIN.” It was not for physical healing. It was for the spiritual healing of the sting of “sin” – for mankind’s “soul sickness” that came by Adam who took “sin and death” into humanity. Just note the words in the verse.

“But he (Messiah) was wounded FOR our transgressions (rebellion), he was bruised FOR our iniquities (sins): the chastisement of (punishment FOR) our peace (with God) was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (cured). ⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:5-6)

It is erroneously supposed by most Charismatics (Pentecostals) that, through Jesus’ shed blood, we have the authority to claim and declare healing and recovery from every disease and illness. Some say, “If we are Christians, we should not be sick or dying.” According to these “healing-in-the-Atonement” adherents, Calvary’s cross is the means whereby Father God has guaranteed us Christians physical healing. They say, we just have to name it and claim it, claim deliverance from sickness “in Jesus’ name.”

Many are told not to believe the diagnosis from medical professionals. While doctors see cancer in us, heart disease in us, or some other verifiable medical condition, we are told to ignore that reality and live in a delusional world. They would urge us to declare, “I have Jesus not cancer! I have healing in Jesus, not a knee injury or back pain!” But, this assumption is extremely dangerous spiritually and physically. In fact, this is not faith at all. It is unbelief in the truth of what applies to us in this age!

I do want to clearly say, I personally do believe God is able and on occasion does heal us; but in this age of the sustaining “grace of God” such healing is according to His mercy and it rarely occurs. My wife and I have had 3 miraculous healings in our combined 78 years as genuine believers.

Peter, as “the Apostle of the circumcision (to Israel, Gal. 2:7),” did quote Isaiah 53:5 in v24 (below), in his 1^st epistle to Israel. Looking at this verse in its context we note that He “bare our ‘sins’ in his body on the tree” (v24) for the healing of our “souls” (v25), not for the physical healing of men’s temporal bodies.

“(Christ) Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: ²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him (God) that judgeth righteously:

²⁴ Who (Messiah) his own self Bare Our ‘Sins’ in his own body on the tree, that we (Israelites), being dead to Sins, should (can now) live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

²⁵ For ye (Israel) were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd (Jesus) and Bishop (overseer) of your SOULS. (1 Peter 2:22-25)

The Holy Spirit, through Peter, here above interprets Isaiah 53:5 for us. This healing is not physical healing. It is a spiritual healing, the healing of the SOUL, that is … the forgiveness of sins, and the “spirit of man” receives Christ’s resurrected “Spirit of life” to renew our souls

By the way, the verse before Isaiah 53:5, that is v4, is a reference to promised physical healing under special circumstances… for Israel:

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” The Holy Spirit interprets and confirms this verse for us in Matt. 8:16-17: “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick (due to devils): ¹⁷That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our ‘sicknesses.’”

So, Isaiah 53:4 (not v5) predicted Jesus of Nazareth’s healing ministry while on earth that was accomplished by ‘casting out devils.’ These at this time were miraculous ‘signs’ to Israel in order to validate Jesus’ preaching of the “the Gospel of the Kingdom” for Israel. Jesus and His apostles preached that the kingdom was “at hand” and He healed the sicknesses that brought sorrow to Israel by ‘casting out devils.’

Let’s now consider why it would be important for Jesus to cast out the “devils (unclean spirits)” that possessed Jews in “the country” of Israel, and why they didn’t want Jesus to “send them away out of the country (land).”

“For he (Jesus) said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. ⁹ And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. ¹⁰ And he (this devilish spirit) besought him (Jesus) much that he would not send them away out of the country (of Israel). (Mark 5:8-10)

This unclean spirit knew that so long as unclean spirits possessed Jews in the land of Israel, the Lord could not bring “the kingdom.” Jesus had said “… if I (Jesus) cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.” (Matthew 12:28)

This is why at His 2^nd coming Jesus will purge “the land” of false “prophets” and “the unclean spirit (devils)” while Satan is locked away in the bottomless pit during the Millennium.

 “And it shall come to pass in that day (of the 2^nd coming), saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the (false) prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.” (Zechariah 13:2)

We also should note that Jesus’ earthly ministry of physical miracles of healing as sign of the kingdom occurred BEFORE the cross, not at the cross or through the cross… therefore, they were not based upon the atonement.

Interestingly, when James, as an Apostle of Israel, wrote to specifically to Israel (see James 1:1) about physical healing available to them… he never claimed or quoted Isaiah 53:5.

“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. ¹⁴ Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (James 5:13-15 (KJV)

Note here that there’s no mention of Isaiah 53:5 or the atonement! In this writing about physical healing, James didn’t quote Isaiah 53:5, “with his stripes we are healed.” This suggest that the “healing” of Isaiah 53:5 might be a different type of healing than the physical healing that James wrote of. Why?

This is because Isaiah is writing about the need for ‘spiritual healing of the effects of Sin’…  as the healing that flows from the cross, while James is writing about physical healing.  The Apostle James, and the Holy Spirit guiding him, obviously knew this to be true, and thus James didn’t quote Isaiah 53:5. Yet, James 5:13-15 is commonly appealed to in order to support modern-day Pentecostal healing crusades... while claiming “by His stripes (cross) we are healed.” Unlike those who like to quote him, James didn’t believe there was physical healing in “the Atonement.”

All these physical healing verses referenced above were not written to or about “the church… the body of Christ” during today’s “dispensation of the Grace of God.” A change had occurred after Acts 28:28. Now consider that, when advising sick Timothy, Paul’s ‘son in the faith,’ Paul never told Timothy “Claim your healing in the Atonement, Timothy! God has promised you deliverance from those sicknesses! You are a Christian and you are not supposed to be ill!” On the contrary, the once mighty Paul now instructed Timothy to use wine—as medicine—for his stomach problems and his frequent sicknesses (1 Tim. 5:23).

Act 28:28 marked the end of the transition from Israel under “the Law” to “the body of Christ” under pure grace, the miraculous signs of the kingdom being offered had now ended. Now, Paul admitted in his last epistle, that he had to leave a brother in Christ sick, Trophimus (2 Tim. 4:20) at Miletum: there was no miraculous healing. There often was no physical healing for Paul himself in Acts 16:22-23, 33 when he was beaten with “many stripes”; or in 2 Cor. 11:22-28, speaking of his various injuries sustained in the ministry; or in 2 Cor. 12:7-10. There was none Paul’s physical “infirmities” in general; in Gal. 4:13-15 we read of Paul’s “infirmity of the flesh,” likely a reference to his partial blindness (cf. Gal. 6:11). Thou Paul appealed for healing, the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2Cor. 12:8-9).

In Part 2, I will define real healing for God’s people during this age of “the grace of God.”