Our knowledge of good and evil perverts God’s intent for us to be healed. Physical healing is a shadow or picture of spiritual wholeness. In itself, physical healing is not wholeness. Wholeness comes with restored fellowship with the Father through Christ. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross heals us by making us whole, not temporarily healed. His stripes purchased back the fellowship with God that was broken when we chose the knowledge of good and evil over the Tree of Life.
Our knowledge of good and evil also perverts what is intended as God’s Fatherly hand in our lives. This knowledge takes those hardships God means for our good and unilaterally decides to call them evil. Instead of humbly inquiring of the Tree of Life, this knowledge informs us that if it looks or feels bad, it can’t be good. It is wise to humbly remember that if we call “bad” what God means for our good, Satan has won. Satan has accomplished his will: to draw us away by tempting us to be as gods deciding for ourselves what is good and what is evil. Both the Old and New Testaments warn us that what can appear bad, in God’s hand, can be good.
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD. “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:8-12
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me–to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor. 12:7-10
We have within our carnal nature the inclination to take the “feel good” parts of God’s will, such as physical healing or prosperity and using our knowledge of good and evil, assume it is good to desire these carnal blessings. It’s not so. God’s will is a pure, holy package. God would have us desire wholeness through the Tree of Life above all else. When our knowledge of good and evil entices us to, like children, covet only that which looks good, we miss the purposeful wholeness of His will toward us. He does nothing without the eternal motive of forming a pure bride for His Son. Whatever device is necessary, He will allow because His purpose is for Christ to be formed in us. In this He is glorified.
Let us depart from thoughts and behaviors that demean the purity of the will of God. Let us cease to desire those parts which are carnal; the parts are lifeless without His wholeness. Physical healing may follow wholeness but let us never assume that physical healing is wholeness. Outside of wholeness, it is worthless and like all that issues from our knowledge of good and evil, it is death.